Yearly Archives: 2020

Mattel Announces New Fan Takeover Line of WWE Elite Squad Action Figures

Mattel revealed a brand new line in its WWE action figure series at the Mattel & WWE Elite Squad fan panel at Comic-Con@Home on Thursday, and this time they gave fans the power to choose what figures got made. The WWE and Mattel panel was featured as part of IGN's Comic-Con@Home livestream - for more, you can check out the full Comic-Con 2020 panel schedule for IGN's stream. The new Fan Takeover line will be released in 2021, be distributed exclusively by Walmart, and centers around the idea of giving fans the power to choose which unique set of ring gear gets used for the upcoming action figure of a wrestler. "Fan Takeover allows the fans, the WWE Universe, to choose the gear they want to see on these WWE figures," said Steve Ozer, action figure marketer at Mattel. "There's lots of requests for specific gear, and now fans have their chance to have their voices heard and get that gear into the line." There were two waves announced at the panel, with wave one consisting of: Seth Rollins with his black and gold ring gear from WrestleMania 35 where he faced Brock Lesnar Seth Shayna Baszler in her silver and black attire. Shayna Ricky Steamboat with his white pants and headband from the iconic WrestleMania 3 match against Randy Savage Steamboat and Adam Cole in his traditional black and yellow gear Adam Cole Wave 2 will follow afterward and will include: Randy Orton in his blue attire from when he was the Intercontinental Champion Randy Orton Christian in his "Hit the Switch" shirt from 2011 Christian Sean Waltman, AKA the 123 Kid, AKA X-Pac, in his NWO gear. Xpac_bio And finally, Johnny Gargano in his Wolverine-inspired attire from Takeover Toronto Johnny Gargano Wolverine The Fan Takeover line wasn't the only announcment at the panel, however. There were a ton of reveals covering other Mattel lines of WWE action figures as well, including:
  • Candice LeRae Elite Series figure
  • Rhea Ripley Elite Series figure
  • Undertaker 30 Year Anniversary Elite Series Figure
  • Mia Yim WWE Series figure
  • Humberto Carrillo WWE Series figure
  • Tegan Nox WWE Series figure
  • Dakota Kai WWE Series figure
  • Toni Storm WWE Sereis figure
  • King Corbin Elite Series figure
  • Alexa Bliss Elite Series figure
  • Bayley Elite Series figure with slashed inflatable tube man
  • Jerry "The King" Lawler Elite Series figure
  • Mae Young Elite Series figure
  • Stunning Steve Austin Elite Series figure
  • The British Bulldog Elite Series figure
  • Street Profits Elite Series figure
  • Bianca Belair Elite Series figure
  • Angel Garza Elite Series figure
  • Kushida Elite Series figure
  • Io Shirai Elite Series figure
  • Ricochet Elite Series figure
  • Firefly Funhouse Bray Wyatt Elite Series figure
  • The Fiend Bray Wyatt Ultimate Edition Series figure
  • Charlotte Flair Ultimate Edition Series figure
  • The Rock Ultimate Edition Series figure
  • NWO Hulk Hogan Ultimate Edition Series figure
  • Macho Man Randy Savage Ultimate Edition Series figure
  • Edge 2020 Royal Rumble Ultimate Series figure
  • Jake the Snake Roberts Legends Series figure
  • Hall of Fame Ultimate Warrior Legends Series figure
  • Eddie Guerrero Legends Series figure
  • Mr Wonderful Paul Orndorff Legends figure
  • The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase Legends figure
  • Nikolai Volkoff Legends Figure
  • Brutus the Barber Beefcake Legends figure
  • Diamond Dallas Page Legends figure
  • Mr. T Elite Series figure
  • Mr. T and Roddy Piper Boxing Match double pack Elite Series figures
  • Mr. T Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • The Fiend Bray Wyatt Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Seth Rollins Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Jake the Snake Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • NWO Macho Man Randy Savage Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Becky Lynch Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Ricky Steamboat Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Rowdy Roddy Piper Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Hulk Hogan Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Stone Cold Steve Austin Masters of the WWE Universe figure
  • Chyna WrestleMania series figure
  • Edge WrestleMania series figure
  • Shawn Michaels WrestleMania series figure
  • Goldberg WrestleMania series figure
  • Paul Ellering WrestleMania series figure
  • The WrestleMania Ring Cart from WrestleMania 3 with Andre the Giant or Macho Man Randy Savage
[poilib element="accentDivider"] Mitchell Saltzman is an Editorial Producer at IGN and is a life long fan of professional wrestling.

Bill and Ted 3 Debuting Simultaneously in Theaters and Streaming Video

With more and more 2020 movies being pushed back to next year over coronavirus concerns, at least we can still count on the Great Ones. Orion Pictures will release Bill & Ted Face the Music simultaneously in theaters and On Demand. The news comes as Orion also debuted the full-length trailer for the long-awaited third movie in the Bill & Ted saga. Check that out below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/bill-ted-face-the-music-official-trailer-2"] The film's release date is being pushed back slightly, but only by a few days. Bill & Ted Face the Music will now debut on Tuesday, September 1 rather than Friday, August 28. This makes Bill & Ted 3 the latest major 2020 release to turn to streaming in the wake of widespread theater closures. Both Trolls: World Tour and Scoob skipped theaters entirely in favor of video-on-demand releases. And with Trolls outperforming the original, we've speculated this pattern could spell a worrisome trend for struggling theater chains. Still, a hybrid theatrical/VOD release may be the only way to give Bill & Ted Face the Music a wide release in the US anytime soon. Warner Bros. recently delayed Tenet indefinitely, a sign that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is making it very difficult for studios to plan their release schedules. Bill and Ted Face the Music again stars Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan and Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston, Esq. The sequel explores their struggle with middle-age and the pressures of fatherhood, with the two still trying to write the greatest song ever made in order to unite all of humanity in harmony. The new trailer sheds more light on the sequel's plot, as it seems the duo attempt to travel into the future to "steal" that song from their older selves. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Recently, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter joined the 2020 Graduation Commencement at San Dimas High School (the home of Bill & Ted) to congratulate the graduating class and remind them to be excellent to each other. Both Reeves and Winter will also take part in the Bill & Ted Face the Music panel at Comic-Con@Home, one of the 9 things we're excited to see at Comic-Con this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Update: Bill & Ted Face the Music Release Date Moves Up a Week

UPDATE: Bill & Ted Face the Music is now releasing in select theaters and on-demand on August 28, one week ahead of its previously announced release date. Alex Winter shared the most excellent news in a tweet on Thursday. "Great news my excellent friends! @BillandTed3  is moving up a full week to release on August 28!", he wrote. "On demand and in select theaters in the U.S.!" In a follow-up tweet, Winter stated that international release date will be announced soon. It may be that August 28 is a US-only date and international audiences will be able to watch from a different day. [poilib element="accentDivider"] ORIGINAL STORY: With more and more 2020 movies being pushed back to next year over coronavirus concerns, at least we can still count on the Great Ones. Orion Pictures will release Bill & Ted Face the Music simultaneously in theaters and On Demand. The news comes as Orion also debuted the full-length trailer for the long-awaited third movie in the Bill & Ted saga. Check that out below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/bill-ted-face-the-music-official-trailer-2"] The film's release date is being pushed back slightly, but only by a few days. Bill & Ted Face the Music will now debut on Tuesday, September 1 rather than Friday, August 28. This makes Bill & Ted 3 the latest major 2020 release to turn to streaming in the wake of widespread theater closures. Both Trolls: World Tour and Scoob skipped theaters entirely in favor of video-on-demand releases. And with Trolls outperforming the original, we've speculated this pattern could spell a worrisome trend for struggling theater chains. Still, a hybrid theatrical/VOD release may be the only way to give Bill & Ted Face the Music a wide release in the US anytime soon. Warner Bros. recently delayed Tenet indefinitely, a sign that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is making it very difficult for studios to plan their release schedules. Bill and Ted Face the Music again stars Keanu Reeves as Ted "Theodore" Logan and Alex Winter as Bill S. Preston, Esq. The sequel explores their struggle with middle-age and the pressures of fatherhood, with the two still trying to write the greatest song ever made in order to unite all of humanity in harmony. The new trailer sheds more light on the sequel's plot, as it seems the duo attempt to travel into the future to "steal" that song from their older selves. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Recently, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter joined the 2020 Graduation Commencement at San Dimas High School (the home of Bill & Ted) to congratulate the graduating class and remind them to be excellent to each other. Both Reeves and Winter will also take part in the Bill & Ted Face the Music panel at Comic-Con@Home, one of the 9 things we're excited to see at Comic-Con this year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Ultra-Rare Pokemon Card Breaks Its Own Sales Record

An extremely rare Pokemon card has sold for over $200,000, breaking the previous record for most expensive sale held by none other than itself. This card, the Japanese "Pikachu Illustrator" card, is one of only 39 made and one of 10 left in the world. The previous record for most expensive Pokemon card sale was held by this card when it sold for $195,000 last October. When this card sold for $233,000 earlier this month, it broke its own record. Japanese Illustrator Pikachu "What makes it so rare is that it was not sold, but awarded as a prize in an illustration contest through CoroCoro Comic," an auction description from the $195,000 October sale explains. "This unique card was created specifically for the contest. In the January 1998 issue, three 1st Place winners had a copy of the card, as did another 20 2nd Place winners. With cards awarded in two more contests that year, there were a maximum of 39 copies released." This month's sale happened on ZenPlus and was purchased by an American customer through ZenPlus' Pokemonmania store, the company said. What makes this card so special beyond it being a part of a contest over 20 years ago is that it features art by the original illustrator of Pikachu, Atsuko Nishida. The $233,000 card was graded as a Professional Sports Authenticator Mint 9, which means the card is in superb condition with no more than one flaw. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-cutest-pokemon-from-sword-and-shield&captions=true"] As for as why someone would want to spend that kind of money on a single Pokemon card, it isn't due to the card's competitive nature. The card doesn't really do much beyond authenticate its recognition as a winner in the 1998 contest. "We certify that your illustration is an excellent entry in the Pokemon Card Game Illustration Contest," the card reads, as translated by ZenMarket. "Therefore, we state that you are an Officially Authorized Pokemon Card Illustrator and admire your skill." It would seem that whoever purchased this card bought it for the collector's value as it won't be doing them any favors in future trading card battles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Ultra-Rare Pokemon Card Breaks Its Own Sales Record

An extremely rare Pokemon card has sold for over $200,000, breaking the previous record for most expensive sale held by none other than itself. This card, the Japanese "Pikachu Illustrator" card, is one of only 39 made and one of 10 left in the world. The previous record for most expensive Pokemon card sale was held by this card when it sold for $195,000 last October. When this card sold for $233,000 earlier this month, it broke its own record. Japanese Illustrator Pikachu "What makes it so rare is that it was not sold, but awarded as a prize in an illustration contest through CoroCoro Comic," an auction description from the $195,000 October sale explains. "This unique card was created specifically for the contest. In the January 1998 issue, three 1st Place winners had a copy of the card, as did another 20 2nd Place winners. With cards awarded in two more contests that year, there were a maximum of 39 copies released." This month's sale happened on ZenPlus and was purchased by an American customer through ZenPlus' Pokemonmania store, the company said. What makes this card so special beyond it being a part of a contest over 20 years ago is that it features art by the original illustrator of Pikachu, Atsuko Nishida. The $233,000 card was graded as a Professional Sports Authenticator Mint 9, which means the card is in superb condition with no more than one flaw. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-cutest-pokemon-from-sword-and-shield&captions=true"] As for as why someone would want to spend that kind of money on a single Pokemon card, it isn't due to the card's competitive nature. The card doesn't really do much beyond authenticate its recognition as a winner in the 1998 contest. "We certify that your illustration is an excellent entry in the Pokemon Card Game Illustration Contest," the card reads, as translated by ZenMarket. "Therefore, we state that you are an Officially Authorized Pokemon Card Illustrator and admire your skill." It would seem that whoever purchased this card bought it for the collector's value as it won't be doing them any favors in future trading card battles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Psychonauts 2 Delayed to 2021

Psychonauts 2 has seemingly been delayed from this year to a 2021 release. A date was conspicuously absent from its gameplay trailer in the Xbox Games Showcase, but an Xbox Wire blogpost about the game reads: "Psychonauts 2 releases in 2021 on Xbox Game Pass, Windows PC, Mac, Linux, and PS4." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/psychonauts-2-gameplay-trailer-featuring-jack-black"] It's not the first delay for the game - at E3 2019, Double Fine founder Tim Schafer announced that the game had moved to a 2020 release from its planned 2019 date. That delay is perhaps no surprise, as Schafer recently explained the amount of extra work Microsoft's acquisition of his studio (and the financial security that offers) allowed it to complete - including re-adding all the boss battles in the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Psychonauts 2 Delayed to 2021

Psychonauts 2 has seemingly been delayed from this year to a 2021 release. A date was conspicuously absent from its gameplay trailer in the Xbox Games Showcase, but an Xbox Wire blogpost about the game reads: "Psychonauts 2 releases in 2021 on Xbox Game Pass, Windows PC, Mac, Linux, and PS4." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/psychonauts-2-gameplay-trailer-featuring-jack-black"] It's not the first delay for the game - at E3 2019, Double Fine founder Tim Schafer announced that the game had moved to a 2020 release from its planned 2019 date. That delay is perhaps no surprise, as Schafer recently explained the amount of extra work Microsoft's acquisition of his studio (and the financial security that offers) allowed it to complete - including re-adding all the boss battles in the game. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Star Trek: Prodigy, Strange New Worlds, and Discovery Season 3 Teased

The Star Trek Universe panel at Comic-Con@Home 2020 celebrated not one, not two, but five different Star Trek shows that are currently in various stages of production and development: Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and the previously untitled kids animated series that's in the works for Nickelodeon -- which just saw its official title announced during the panel: Star Trek: Prodigy. Cast, writers and producers from most of these shows were on hand for the panel to celebrate Trek in its infinite diversity in infinite combinations, but things kicked off with the Prodigy title. The Star Trek Universe panel was featured on IGN's Comic-Con@Home livestream. You can check out our full Comic-Con 2020 livestream panel schedule for all the other panels and interviews coming up on our livestream during Comic-Con@Home. Read on for more on what to expect from Star Trek: Prodigy and other highlights from the panel. Or you can watch the full panel right here: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/star-trek-universe-official-panel-comic-con-2020"]

Star Trek: Prodigy

While Star Trek is returning to the world of animation with Lower Decks next month, Star Trek: Prodigy will be a more kid-friendly animated show that will also be the first of the Star Treks in the CBS All Access era that will not be exclusive to the streamer in the U.S. The series will premiere on Nickelodeon in 2021 and is described as a CG-animated series that will follow "a group of lawless teens who discover a derelict Starfleet ship and use it to search for adventure, meaning and salvation.” It will be written by Emmy-winning writers Kevin Hageman and Dan Hageman, known for Trollhunters, The LEGO movie, and Ninjago. "In addition to Lower Decks ... we're developing a new show for kids on Nickelodeon that the talented Hageman brothers are developing and show-running [and] that we're super excited about for kids to have a way into the Star Trek brand," said executive producer Heather Kadin during the panel. star trek prodigy logoOf course, Star Trek was first depicted as an animated series from 1973-1974 for a two-season continuation of The Original Series which saw the return of most of the voice cast of the classic series, including William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley. Now that legacy will continue with Lower Decks, which is targeting a more adult demographic, and with Prodigy for the kids.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the recently announced spin-off series which will feature Anson Mount’s Captain Pike, Ethan Peck’s Mr. Spock, and Rebecca Romijn’s Number One. The characters were a hit with fans when they appeared in Season 2 of Discovery, and executive producer and Trek head honcho Alex Kurtzman said during the panel that “we heard the fans.” He laughed about how they really wanted to tell people about the show at Comic-Con a year ago, but that deals were still being hammered out at that time. Kurtzman also revealed that 10 stories have been broken for the series so far, which would seem to imply that Season 1 will be a 10-episode run (though that of course could change). Strange New Worlds will feature the mission of the USS Enterprise under Captain Pike in the time period after his appearance on Discovery but, obviously, before Captain Kirk takes command of the ship. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-discoverys-redesigned-uss-enterprise-bridge&captions=true"] Mount teased that the show will deal with Pike’s knowledge of his ultimate, tragic fate -- revealed a half-century ago on The Original Series and also touched upon in Discovery. “I think he’s going probably to wrestle with how he can best utilize the rest of his life for the good of the world, the universe,” said the actor. Romijn added that she thinks a lot of that will involve “surrendering to the unknown together. Working as a team to surrender to the unknown,” to which Mount agreed, saying that Pike is probably wrestling with his knowledge of the future alone right now… but the actor hopes that his character will learn to let other people help him on that front eventually. As for Peck’s version of a younger, more emotional Spock, the actor said that Spock’s interaction with his adopted sister Michael Burnham on Disco was essential to transforming the character “from someone who was born on Vulcan who is half human that has been taught to be Vulcan. And I think Michael Burnham gives him the permission to be human and teaches him what it is to be human, so that is essential to the development of Spock as we follow along between the conflict between emotion and logic going forward to when we first see Leonard Nimoy in The Original Series.” There’s no word yet on when Strange New Worlds will debut, but we’re here for it.

Star Trek: Discovery

Even though Star Trek: Discovery’s third season will (hopefully) be released this year, the panel didn’t give us any new info on what to expect. Instead, almost the entire cast sat down with executive producer/co-showrunner Michelle Paradise and director Olatunde Osunsanmi for a virtual table read of Act 1 of the Season 2 finale “Such Sweet Sorrow: Part 2.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-discovery-virtual-table-read-storyboards-visual-effects-and-more&captions=true"] Joining in were: Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Saru, Anthony Rapp as Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Hugh Culber, Anson Mount as Captain Pike, Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, Mary Chieffo as L'Rell, Ethan Peck as Spock, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, Tig Notaro as Jett Reno, Jayne Brook as Admiral Cornwell, Alan van Sprang as Captain Leland, Emily Coutts as Detmer, Oyin Oladejo as Owosekun, Patrick Kwok-Choon as Rhys, Sara Mitich as Nilsson, and Ronnie Rowe Jr. as Bryce. Shazad Latif, who plays Ash Tyler/Voq, was conspicuous by his absence. The full episode table read will be available on the official Star Trek site, but what was teased here was a lot of fun. Perhaps the best part was the never before seen content that CBS peppered the read with, including storyboards, visual effects renderings, and more. During the Q&A portion of the Disco panel, the actors did hint at Season 3 a bit. The most telling comment perhaps came from Mary Wiseman, who said that in the new season the crew are “really on the edge of the unknown, so I think all of our ideas about what the future holds and who we are and who we want to be are going to be transformed.” Indeed, being catapulted a thousand years into the future will do that to you! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Elsewhere in the Trek universe, Star Trek: Picard's second season is currently being written, the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks debuts on August 6, a Section 31 series starring Michelle Yeoh is being developed, and rumors of even more projects continue to bounce around the subspace airwaves. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-lower-decks-cast&captions=true"] But what do you think of the name Star Trek: Prodigy and the rumored premise of the show? How about the upcoming Strange New Worlds, Disco Season 3, or the whole Trek slate? Let's discuss in the comments!