Paddy Considine, the actor playing Viserys I Targaryen in HBO’s House of the Dragon, spoke to GQ about embodying the character in the television adaptation, and revealed Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin told him he preferred his interpretation to the one he wrote in the books.

In the interview, Considine talked about how he interpreted Viserys as less passive than he was described in the books, and that he wanted the character to be more driven as a leader who desired peace.

“What I found really interesting about him was that he wasn't corrupted by power,” Considine told GQ. “He just wanted peace. He wanted people to be happy at the end of the day, but that makes him weak. So what would have made him more relatable, if he was a dictator? If he was a tyrant? Would that be more satisfying? It's not who he is.”

According to Considine, it took time for other members of the show’s production to get on board with his interpretation, but he also says Martin was so pleased with how Viserys’ live-action iteration turned out that he told the actor he portrayed the superior character in the end.

“I got a text message that simply said: ‘Your Viserys is better than my Viserys’," Considine said. "It was from George R. R. Martin. And I thought: that’ll do it. Thanks for trusting me.”

House of the Dragon is eight episodes into its 10-episode season. For more on the show, check out IGN’s review of the latest episode.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

Paddy Considine, the actor playing Viserys I Targaryen in HBO’s House of the Dragon, spoke to GQ about embodying the character in the television adaptation, and revealed Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin told him he preferred his interpretation to the one he wrote in the books.

In the interview, Considine talked about how he interpreted Viserys as less passive than he was described in the books, and that he wanted the character to be more driven as a leader who desired peace.

“What I found really interesting about him was that he wasn't corrupted by power,” Considine told GQ. “He just wanted peace. He wanted people to be happy at the end of the day, but that makes him weak. So what would have made him more relatable, if he was a dictator? If he was a tyrant? Would that be more satisfying? It's not who he is.”

According to Considine, it took time for other members of the show’s production to get on board with his interpretation, but he also says Martin was so pleased with how Viserys’ live-action iteration turned out that he told the actor he portrayed the superior character in the end.

“I got a text message that simply said: ‘Your Viserys is better than my Viserys’," Considine said. "It was from George R. R. Martin. And I thought: that’ll do it. Thanks for trusting me.”

House of the Dragon is eight episodes into its 10-episode season. For more on the show, check out IGN’s review of the latest episode.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

Jonathan Majors may have already played Kang the Conqueror once in the Loki: Season 1 finale, but it's safe to say we've only seen one side of this complicated Marvel villain. Now Majors is offering more insight into his hopes for the role and why he wants Kang to be "an imposing figure" in future Marvel movies.

In an interview with Men's Health, Majors notes that Kang's complexity is what attracted him to the part originally.

“It was the character and dimensions of Kang [that drew him to the role]," Majors said. "And the potential that it had. I thought, I’ll take a chance on that.”

Majors specifically hopes to mold Kang into a nuanced, multi-layered villain over the coruse of the Multiverse Saga, specifically pointing to Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger and Josh Brolin's Thanos as sources of inspiration, though he also points out, "“Killmonger, Thanos, and Kang are not related, and that’s good for the MCU. It adds diversity.”

The article is also a chance for Majors to show off his impressive superhero movie physique. Majors makes it clear he knew putting on some extra muscle would be a requirement of joining the MCU, and looked to the role as an opportunity for personal growth.

“I look at Kang and I go, Okay, cool. It’s a certain IP where people expect this at a bare minimum,” Majors said. “No one should put themselves or their families in a place where they’re hurting, but your own discomfort is not necessarily a bad thing. That’s growth. It’s not comfortable, but you’re here to save the world, aren’t you? Or take over the world.”

Majors' strength and conditioning coach Jamie Sawyer also weighed in on the training process, revealing that the goal for Kang is less to present him as a sleek, musclular supervillain than to paint a portrait of a hardened warrior who has traveled the timestream and trained with the best warriors of every era.

“He is the warrior version of Kang, so there was a focus on what that warrior would look like who’s been around through the ages and has developed every type of combat skill,” Sawyer said. “It was about making him look like an imposing figure.”

Majors will return as a new version of Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which his theaters on February 17, 2023. Marvel fans at D23 got an early look at the sequel via a new teaser, though that footage has yet to be released online. Director Peyton Reed teases that Quantumania will be "a hard left turn" for the series, balancing the Lang family dynamic with the threat posed by Kang.

Majors is also expected to be the lead villain in 2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which will be directed by Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Quantumania's Jeff Loveness.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Jonathan Majors may have already played Kang the Conqueror once in the Loki: Season 1 finale, but it's safe to say we've only seen one side of this complicated Marvel villain. Now Majors is offering more insight into his hopes for the role and why he wants Kang to be "an imposing figure" in future Marvel movies.

In an interview with Men's Health, Majors notes that Kang's complexity is what attracted him to the part originally.

“It was the character and dimensions of Kang [that drew him to the role]," Majors said. "And the potential that it had. I thought, I’ll take a chance on that.”

Majors specifically hopes to mold Kang into a nuanced, multi-layered villain over the coruse of the Multiverse Saga, specifically pointing to Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger and Josh Brolin's Thanos as sources of inspiration, though he also points out, "“Killmonger, Thanos, and Kang are not related, and that’s good for the MCU. It adds diversity.”

The article is also a chance for Majors to show off his impressive superhero movie physique. Majors makes it clear he knew putting on some extra muscle would be a requirement of joining the MCU, and looked to the role as an opportunity for personal growth.

“I look at Kang and I go, Okay, cool. It’s a certain IP where people expect this at a bare minimum,” Majors said. “No one should put themselves or their families in a place where they’re hurting, but your own discomfort is not necessarily a bad thing. That’s growth. It’s not comfortable, but you’re here to save the world, aren’t you? Or take over the world.”

Majors' strength and conditioning coach Jamie Sawyer also weighed in on the training process, revealing that the goal for Kang is less to present him as a sleek, musclular supervillain than to paint a portrait of a hardened warrior who has traveled the timestream and trained with the best warriors of every era.

“He is the warrior version of Kang, so there was a focus on what that warrior would look like who’s been around through the ages and has developed every type of combat skill,” Sawyer said. “It was about making him look like an imposing figure.”

Majors will return as a new version of Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which his theaters on February 17, 2023. Marvel fans at D23 got an early look at the sequel via a new teaser, though that footage has yet to be released online. Director Peyton Reed teases that Quantumania will be "a hard left turn" for the series, balancing the Lang family dynamic with the threat posed by Kang.

Majors is also expected to be the lead villain in 2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which will be directed by Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Quantumania's Jeff Loveness.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Avengers: Secret Wars, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four have all been delayed amid a substantial scheduling shakeup for the MCU.

Disney confirmed a raft of new dates following reports that work had been paused on Blade. Here's the full list.

• Chevalier: April 27, 2023
• A Haunting in Venice: September 15, 2023
• Blade: September 6, 2024 (previously November 3, 2023)
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: May 24, 2024
• Untitled Deadpool Movie: November 8, 2024 (previously September 6, 2024)
• Fantastic Four: February 14, 2025 (previously November 8, 2024)
• Untitle Marvel Movie: November 7, 2025 (previously February 14, 2025)
• Avengers: Secret Wars: May 1, 2026 (previously November 7, 2025)
• Untitled Marvel Movie 2: Removed from schedule (previously May 1, 2026)

This has the practical effect of pushing back the start of MCU's Phase 6, which was slated to begin with Fantastic Four in 2024. It now means that Phase 6, likely to be the biggest ever for the MCU, will begin in early 2025 and conclude in 2026.

With Phase 4 still underway, we've only heard snippets so far of these upcoming films. We know that WandaVision director Matt Shakman will be helming Fantastic Four, and that Michael Waldron [Doctor Strange 2 and Loki] will be writing Avengers: Secret Wars. Elsewhere, Ryan Reynolds has been teasing the new Deadpool film, which will feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

The delays appear to have been spurred at least in part by Blade, which recently lost its director. Earlier today, reports emerged that Marvel was delaying the start of production to further develop the film amid a search for a new director.

The next MCU movie is Wakanda Forever, which is slated for release on November 11. You can find our full schedule of movie releases here.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Avengers: Secret Wars, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four have all been delayed amid a substantial scheduling shakeup for the MCU.

Disney confirmed a raft of new dates following reports that work had been paused on Blade. Here's the full list.

• Chevalier: April 27, 2023
• A Haunting in Venice: September 15, 2023
• Blade: September 6, 2024 (previously November 3, 2023)
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: May 24, 2024
• Untitled Deadpool Movie: November 8, 2024 (previously September 6, 2024)
• Fantastic Four: February 14, 2025 (previously November 8, 2024)
• Untitle Marvel Movie: November 7, 2025 (previously February 14, 2025)
• Avengers: Secret Wars: May 1, 2026 (previously November 7, 2025)
• Untitled Marvel Movie 2: Removed from schedule (previously May 1, 2026)

This has the practical effect of pushing back the start of MCU's Phase 6, which was slated to begin with Fantastic Four in 2024. It now means that Phase 6, likely to be the biggest ever for the MCU, will begin in early 2025 and conclude in 2026.

With Phase 4 still underway, we've only heard snippets so far of these upcoming films. We know that WandaVision director Matt Shakman will be helming Fantastic Four, and that Michael Waldron [Doctor Strange 2 and Loki] will be writing Avengers: Secret Wars. Elsewhere, Ryan Reynolds has been teasing the new Deadpool film, which will feature the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

The delays appear to have been spurred at least in part by Blade, which recently lost its director. Earlier today, reports emerged that Marvel was delaying the start of production to further develop the film amid a search for a new director.

The next MCU movie is Wakanda Forever, which is slated for release on November 11. You can find our full schedule of movie releases here.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Meta and Microsoft announced during the 2022 Meta Connect conference the Meta Quest 2 is getting Xbox Cloud Gaming integration in the future, allowing users to stream Xbox games to the headset.

According to a post on the Oculus Blog, players will be able to stream "hundreds" of games to Meta Quest Store compatible devices, including the Meta Quest 2. This will work for games that aren't inherently VR compatible, as the setup will let you play these games on a 2D screen the company describes as like "having a private movie theater available at all times."

As of this writing, there’s no hard release date for when Xbox Cloud Gaming will be available on the Meta Quest Store. However, the Oculus Blog post says both companies will be announcing further details “as soon as possible.”

Xbox Cloud Streaming is already available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, and lets you stream Xbox games to mobile devices, Smart TVs, and even Xbox consoles. Earlier this week, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer posted a photo of what turned out to be a prototype for the Xbox-branded streaming stick codenamed Keynote. The company has since shelved the idea to pivot to other means of cloud streaming integration, such as bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming to the Meta Quest Store.

This all comes just under two weeks after Google shut down Stadia, its own video game streaming service, and left several projects in development for the platform in a precarious state.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

Meta and Microsoft announced during the 2022 Meta Connect conference the Meta Quest 2 is getting Xbox Cloud Gaming integration in the future, allowing users to stream Xbox games to the headset.

According to a post on the Oculus Blog, players will be able to stream "hundreds" of games to Meta Quest Store compatible devices, including the Meta Quest 2. This will work for games that aren't inherently VR compatible, as the setup will let you play these games on a 2D screen the company describes as like "having a private movie theater available at all times."

As of this writing, there’s no hard release date for when Xbox Cloud Gaming will be available on the Meta Quest Store. However, the Oculus Blog post says both companies will be announcing further details “as soon as possible.”

Xbox Cloud Streaming is already available for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, and lets you stream Xbox games to mobile devices, Smart TVs, and even Xbox consoles. Earlier this week, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer posted a photo of what turned out to be a prototype for the Xbox-branded streaming stick codenamed Keynote. The company has since shelved the idea to pivot to other means of cloud streaming integration, such as bringing Xbox Cloud Gaming to the Meta Quest Store.

This all comes just under two weeks after Google shut down Stadia, its own video game streaming service, and left several projects in development for the platform in a precarious state.

Kenneth Shepard is a writer covering games, entertainment, and queerness all around the internet. Find him on Twitter at @shepardcdr, and listen to his biweekly video game retrospective podcast Normandy FM, which is currently covering Cyberpunk 2077.

After teasing a new headset under the codename Project Cambria and leaked images surfacing online, Meta has officially unveiled the Quest Pro virtual reality headset. It's now available for preorder on Amazon.

The VR revolution is underway. We've designed an all-new headset packed with advanced tech and geared for productivity, creative work and collaboration. This is Meta Quest Pro, available 10.25. Pre-order today. https://t.co/YaFHvwYHlG pic.twitter.com/cBagf0TSGp

— Meta Quest (@MetaQuestVR) October 11, 2022

Revealed during the Meta Connect keynote, the Quest Pro features several improvements over the Quest 2, such as a new optical stack that replaces the Fresnel lenses found in the Quest 2. Meta also confirmed that the Quest Pro is the first device that is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ platform, which the tech giant touts is optimized for virtual reality to "run at 50% more power than Meta Quest 2 with better thermal dissipation."

As detailed in the latest blog post, the Quest Pro is claimed to have 37% more pixels per inch and 10% greater pixels per degree than the Meta Quest 2. The design of the Quest Pro is slimmer and more compact compared to the Quest 2, with pancake-shaped lenses and a curved-cell battery on the rear, which Meta claims is both the "the slimmest and most balanced VR device [it has] ever made."

The controllers included with the Quest Pro are called the Touch pro controllers, which offer built-in sensors on each controller, allowing you to track your position in a 3D space. Meta says the controllers are designed to provide stable stacking across "all of your VR apps."

As Meta previously confirmed earlier this year, the Quest Pro is designed for work, not gaming. Meta reiterates this in the latest blog post, noting that there is "a ton of content and updates still planned" for the Meta Quest 2. While also confirming that the Quest Pro is backwards compatible with Quest 2 apps and games.

The Meta Quest Pro is available now to preorder for $1,499.99 and will launch on October 25. It's currently available for preorder on Amazon.

The Quest Pro announcement is one of many that came out of today's Meta Connect keynote. Check out our roundup to see everything announced during today's event.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

After teasing a new headset under the codename Project Cambria and leaked images surfacing online, Meta has officially unveiled the Quest Pro virtual reality headset. It's now available for preorder on Amazon.

The VR revolution is underway. We've designed an all-new headset packed with advanced tech and geared for productivity, creative work and collaboration. This is Meta Quest Pro, available 10.25. Pre-order today. https://t.co/YaFHvwYHlG pic.twitter.com/cBagf0TSGp

— Meta Quest (@MetaQuestVR) October 11, 2022

Revealed during the Meta Connect keynote, the Quest Pro features several improvements over the Quest 2, such as a new optical stack that replaces the Fresnel lenses found in the Quest 2. Meta also confirmed that the Quest Pro is the first device that is powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ platform, which the tech giant touts is optimized for virtual reality to "run at 50% more power than Meta Quest 2 with better thermal dissipation."

As detailed in the latest blog post, the Quest Pro is claimed to have 37% more pixels per inch and 10% greater pixels per degree than the Meta Quest 2. The design of the Quest Pro is slimmer and more compact compared to the Quest 2, with pancake-shaped lenses and a curved-cell battery on the rear, which Meta claims is both the "the slimmest and most balanced VR device [it has] ever made."

The controllers included with the Quest Pro are called the Touch pro controllers, which offer built-in sensors on each controller, allowing you to track your position in a 3D space. Meta says the controllers are designed to provide stable stacking across "all of your VR apps."

As Meta previously confirmed earlier this year, the Quest Pro is designed for work, not gaming. Meta reiterates this in the latest blog post, noting that there is "a ton of content and updates still planned" for the Meta Quest 2. While also confirming that the Quest Pro is backwards compatible with Quest 2 apps and games.

The Meta Quest Pro is available now to preorder for $1,499.99 and will launch on October 25. It's currently available for preorder on Amazon.

The Quest Pro announcement is one of many that came out of today's Meta Connect keynote. Check out our roundup to see everything announced during today's event.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.