Yearly Archives: 2020

Black Widow: Marvel Drops Final Trailer

Marvel has dropped the final trailer for Black Widow ahead of its release on May 1, and it gives us the best sense yet of what the film will be about. The trailer points to the plot featuring Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanov heading back to her homeland and reuniting with her former Russian agent partners to take down Taskmaster. The Marvel supervillain has taken control of the Red Room, the training facility that originally produced Black Widow, and begun manipulating its agents. We also see David Harbour's Red Guardian pulling off some extremely Captain America-y shield throwing, which is always nice. You can watch the trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://uk.ign.com/videos/black-widow-official-final-trailer"] Despite the coronavirus outbreak pushing back the release of No Time to Die, Disney is reportedly adamant that Black Widow will arrive on its scheduled release date. Marvel also revealed a new poster for the film today, adding its new characters alongside Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanov (including a reminder that The Departed's Ray Winstone is a member of the cast, despite no reveal of his character, even at this late stage): ESqvMg2U0AAxA41 Previous posters have given us a closer look at Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, David Harbour's Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz's Melina Vostokoff. If you want to know more about Black Widow's key players, we've got an explainer that will catch you up on who Yelena is in just one minute, as well as a full rundown of who Taskmaster is ahead of the villain's introduction to the MCU. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Ex-Doctor Strange Director Wants to Make R-Rated Star Wars Hoth Movie

Former Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson recently proposed his idea for an R-rated Star Wars horror movie set on the frozen planet Hoth, which he says wouldn't be connected to any previous characters or storylines. In a tweet that has since been deleted, Derrickson, who directed Marvel's first Doctor Strange movie in 2016, revealed what kind of Star Wars movie he would like to make if he was ever granted the opportunity to helm a Lucasfilm project. Scott Derrickson Tweet About Star Wars Horror Movie Hoth Derrickson explained that his entry into the Star Wars universe would be an original story, titled Hoth, grounded in the horror genre in a similar vein to "The Thing or Lovecraft's In The Mountains of Madness." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/14/what-is-doctor-strange-2s-multiverse-of-madness"] This comes a few months after Derrickson announced that he and Marvel Studios were splitting up over "creative differences" and that he was officially stepping down from directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the announcement, Derrickson confirmed that he would remain as an executive producer on the project. Prior to his departure, Derrickson, who is best known for his horror work on the likes of Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, emphasized how the Doctor Strange sequel would be the MCU's first "horror" movie. Star Benedict Cumberbatch also talked up how the project was looking to introduce some scares into the MCU. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-phase-4-official-lineup&captions=true"] While it remains unclear exactly where Marvel and Derrickson failed to see eye-to-eye on the Doctor Strange sequel, there have been some further shuffles behind-the-scenes, with Loki showrunner Michael Waldron reportedly hired to rewrite the script that was previously penned by Jade Bartlett and Sam Raimi rumoured to be in talks to direct the movie. For more on the MCU's upcoming plans, check out our rundown of all the new characters and cast members in Phase 4, read Kevin Feige's explanation of why there is no Avengers movie in the forthcoming slate, and find out how Marvel's Phase 4 will break the established mould to shape the MCU's future. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Warzone Battle Royale Reportedly Free to Play

Activision and Infinity Ward are reportedly launching a free-to-play, standalone Call of Duty: Modern Warfare battle royale game called Warzone. The report comes from YouTuber Chaos, who recently posted a gameplay impressions video that has now been removed. The video explains in detail that Warzone is free-to-play and does not require players to own Modern Warfare. It’s multiplatform and cross-play, too. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/05/call-of-duty-modern-warfares-rumored-warzone-battle-royale-map-reportedly-leaks"] Warzone is reportedly a 150 player battle royale with support for solo, duo, and three-person teams. There are two modes: one which seems a fairly traditional fight-to-the-last-player-standing, and another called ‘Plunder’, which the video does not detail beyond it being a respawn-based mode focusing on collecting cash. Cash is apparently part of the traditional mode, too; it can be looted across the map and is used at buy stations to purchase killstreaks, as well as revive tokens to get killed team members back in the fight. It looks like building a good stockpile of cash may be important for long-term survival. Purchasing revives is not the only way to bring back dead squaddies; when you die you reportedly are taken to the gulag, where you must compete in a 1v1 match that is essentially Modern Warfare’s Gunfight mode (the map used in the video is even Gunfight’s Gulag map). Winning this 1v1 will throw you back into the match. Apparently this feature won’t be available in the later minutes of a match. Warzone’s map is apparently large and completely custom made - meaning no reused building assets - and, like Black Ops 4's battle royale mode Blackout, will feature classic maps. This time they will be from Infinity Ward's back catalogue, such as Broadcast, Overgrown, Scrapyard, and Terminal. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] Furthermore to these leaked details, Twitter account @CODTracker claims that adverts for Warzone have already gone live on Twitch. Currently there is no official word from Activision or Infinity Ward regarding Warzone, but Chaos notes in his video that he attended a pre-release preview event in order to capture his gameplay footage. It’s currently unclear if Warzone is due for imminent launch or is still some months away. For more Call of Duty, check out the leaked Warzone map, which looks identical to that seen in Chaos’ video. There was also a report that Warzone will feature a ping system and vehicles, two features this latest leak also supports. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter

Westworld: The 5 Biggest Questions for Season 3

With Westworld returning to HBO in just a few days' time -- on Sunday, March 15 -- we're taking a quick look at some of the biggest questions looming ahead of the show's third season. Season 2 ended with rebel-bot Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) escaping Westworld in a Host body resembling Delos' Executive Director, Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson). Sometime later, in the real world, Dolores rebuilt her original body along with the Host form of Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), who she also brought back to "life." A Host resembling Hale was with her as Dolores set out to lead an A.I. uprising, with Bernard resurrected to play the role of her adversary. Season 3 will introduce Aaron Paul's Caleb, a criminal-for-hire who forms a special Bond with Dolores. But does he know she's a Host? What role will he ultimately play in the war to come? Let's check in with some of the biggest "WTF?"s ahead of Season 3.

Who is Aaron Paul's Caleb?

eqvmoK3vXqeGK3iz5Ry33BWhat's up with Aaron Paul's Caleb Nichols? Why does he join Dolores in her mission to subjugate humanity? Does he know she's a Host? Is he a Host but doesn't know it? Series co-creator Jonathan Nolan told EW that "Aaron’s character will challenge Dolores’ notions about the nature of humanity. He’s the type of person who doesn’t get to go to Westworld.” That quote seems to suggest that Caleb is human, despite theories abound that he's somehow Dolores' secret Host son. Through Caleb, viewers will get a closer look at what life is like outside of the parks, in 2058 Neo-Los Angeles. He's a construction worker by day (and has a robot named George), and by night he works as a thief as part of a crew. From the looks of one of the "hidden trailers," Caleb comes into conflict with the new character Vincent Cassel is playing. Cassel could be a crime boss or an executive at a tech firm targeted by Dolores. Most likely, it's looking like, huge twists aside, Caleb is there to fall in love with Dolores. And possibly vice-versa.

What is Soloman?

dimsThis might wind up being the biggest wild card of Season 3. More than Maeve wielding a sword or possible trips into a World War II-themed park. Teasers for Season 3 introduced us to a new tech company called Incite and a new look at a historic timeline of global events within the show - including the activation of a system called "Solomon" (and is that Vincent Cassel's voice?). Those familiar with Jonathan Nolan's Person of Interest already know of his affinity for secret menacing A.I. programs being put into place without the public knowing - and this could be the case with Solomon (on POI, it was "Samaritan"). The date shown for Solomon's birth is 2039, which would be long before the Host uprising in Westworld (which could be the divergence listed in 2058). Does that mean the real world is already running at the behest of a massive A.I. system? One that's supposedly in place to manage "divergences?" If so, then how does it figure into the larger war that Dolores looks to wage? Or Delos' plans to achieve immortality by transferring mapped human brains into Host replica bodies? Is Solomon and its handlers the real enemy here or is this something Dolores might want to partner up with? [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=tv-shows-to-watch-in-2020&captions=true"]

Are Dr. Ford (or Arnold Weber) Still Present?

Jeffrey-Wright-as-Bernard-Lowe-and-Anthony-Hopkins-as-Dr.-Robert-Ford-sitting-in-WestworldOnce Season 2 introduced the idea that Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins) could upload his consciousness into a place like the Cradle, or that Hosts could live a free life in the virtual Eden of the Valley Beyond, we now have a story sandbox that allows for pretty much anyone to come back. Once Ford entered Bernard's mind in Season 2, and then had to be purged when Bernard wiped his own memories, he was supposedly killed off forever. He remained on as part of Bernard's own imagination, but for show purposes he seemed to be gone. And yet, it was Dr. Ford who was trying, at all costs, to stop Delos from their wicked plan to create human Hosts in order to live on past death, so it would be strange for him to be completely out of the mix. Perhaps he's a part of Maeve now, since Maeve was Ford's favorite Host. Whatever the case, it's hard to imagine him not popping up again, in control of things somehow. Dr. Arnold Weber is a different story since he's been dead for 35 years. But did Dolores make a Host form of him though? No, not Bernard, who was created in Arnold's image, based on both Ford and Dolores' best recollections, but an actual Arnold Host? He's someone who actually hadn't been brought back to the show's present, so it'd make for a cool surprise.

Could Arnold Be the Host in Charlotte Hale's Form?

westworld-s02e10-pearlWhich pearls did Dolores escape Westworld with at the end of Season 2? One was presumably Bernard, since she brought him back from the brink, in his own body. Another pearl probably landed in whoever's occupying the Charlotte Hale husk. Or Did Dolores basically copy her own self into Hale? Or, you know, is it Arnold? Angela? Abernathy? Those Hosts who went to the Valley Beyond couldn't have been in her possession, right? So that means no Teddy or anyone else who retired to that VR "free will" world (which Dolores herself shuffled off somewhere safe). Could the pearls she took, because they came from the Forge, be Delos-copied human minds? As in, maybe they're not Host brains but real people brains? Could she have William or William's daughter Emily?

Did Dolores Win?

Screen-Shot-2018-06-24-at-2.58.06-PMSeason 2 ended with a stinger that's supposedly set far into the future. We watched William (Ed Harris), wounded, enter the Forge to find his daughter there, still alive. Both William and his daughter are Hosts though, obviously, but Emily is the one running a "fidelity" test on William, who's very specifically the William who kind of died at the end of Season 2. Host Emily was created to do very different things while this William is very much the "Man in Black" who has no idea time has passed. So, who's bringing William back and why? Is it Emily? Is this Emily the head of Delos now? And is William being brought back to take out Dolores on behalf of Delos? Or is Solomon behind this resurrection? The biggest question now is: Is this a future where Dolores won? Did A.I. succeed in fully supplanting humanity? Are we that far into the future that she's taken over everything? And is William being brought back because he knows something key that can turn the tide for humans? We'll have to find out, starting March 15! [poilib element="accentDivider"] [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/21/how-leaving-westworld-changes-westworld-in-season-3-comic-con-2019] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Cyberpunk 2077 Updates Its Feminine Protagonist’s Look

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red is celebrating International Women’s Day by showing off an updated depiction of the feminine version of the protagonist, V. The new art is also Cyberpunk 2077’s reversible box art.

 cyberpunk 2077 update

CD Projekt Red shared the new look from the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account. V still looks like the hardened citizen of Night City we’ve seen in other trailers and screenshots, with a few key differences. This feminine version of V now has much brighter red hair, pierced ears, and some minor changes to her face. It appears some of the smokey eyeshadow is gone, and the lines in her face (we assume an indicator of some past bodily modification or repair) swoop a little lower on her cheeks now.

Here's an older look, for reference.

cyberpunk 2077 old

The official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account confirmed in multiple tweets that this new image (the first on this page) will be the reverse box art cover, so you can decide whether you have a masculine or feminine V gracing your game.

Character customization will be a core part of Cyberpunk 2077, unlike the more set-in-stone Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Players will be able to change their V’s body type, clothes, hairstyle, tattoos, makeup, skin tone, and more. CD Projekt Red is also allowing players to choose a body type rather than a strictly defined gender, although the studio was criticized last year for a problematic depiction of a transgender person on an in-game poster in demo footage.

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If you’re wondering what other characters you’ll meet in Cyberpunk 2077, the artist Grimes recently leaked her own character’s backstory.

Cyberpunk 2077 releases on September 17, 2020, thanks to a relatively recent delay. You can preorder the Cyberpunk special or regular editions with our helpful guide.

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Don’t forget to check out our other International Women’s Day coverage, including a guest editorial from Ubisoft’s Alice Rendell on how burning out influenced her game developer career.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/definitely gonna play that fem V kinda guy for IGN.

Box Office: Pixar’s Onward Opens Big, But Not Pixar-Big

Disney-Pixar’s Onward, featuring the voices of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, topped the box office this weekend with an estimated $40 million. This made for a good opening, but still one on the lower end of initial expectations which predicted $40-45 million. Onward's weekend is also, per Variety, on par with the debut of Disney-Pixar's The Good Dinosaur, which debuted with $39 million and wound up being the lowest-grossing Pixar film of all time. The last two Pixar films, Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2, both had massive opening weekends. Both were also sequels to big hits and opened in the summer, not March. IGN's review of Onward hails it as a "fun-filled fantasy adventure tale featuring a solid voice cast." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/21/pixars-onward-review"] The Invisible Man, dropping about 49% from last weekend, pulled in an estimated $14 million to take the number two spot. Right now, it's at $52 million domestically. For third place, it was The Way Back, starring Ben Affleck as a mourning alcoholic who tries to turn his life around as the coach of a high school basketball team. It brought in an estimated $8.5 million. IGN's review of The Way Back notes that it's a "gratifying sports movie that is made better than the average by some sadness, some realism, and Ben Affleck's performance."

North American Box Office Estimates

In a close race for third, Sonic the Hedgehog will fall just behind The Way Back. Still, the well-received video game flick has, to date, earned a whopping $141 million here in North America. Meanwhile, Focus Features’ Jane Austen adaptation, Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, brought in $5 million, landing in sixth place. Bad Boys for Life continues its juggernaut run, crossing the $200 million domestic mark this weekend. Here are the Top 10 North American box office estimates for the (2-day) weekend (via Box Office Mojo)
  • 1. Onward $40,000,000
  • 2. The Invisible Man $15,150,000
  • 3. The Way Back $8,500,000
  • 4. Sonic the Hedgehog $8,000,000
  • 5. The Call of the Wild $7,000,000
  • 6. Emma $5,000,000
  • 7. Bad Boys for Life $3,050,000
  • 8. Birds of Prey $2,160,000
  • 9. Impractical Jokers $1,845,000
  • 10 My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising $1,528,753
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-disney-and-pixar-animated-movie&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

SNL: Watch Daniel Craig Find His Southern Accent for Knives Out

After spoofing his own James Bond film, No Time to Die, earlier in the show, Saturday Night Live host Daniel Craig then helped take a playful swing at the southern accent he used, playing ace sleuth Benoit Blanc, in Rian Johnson's Knives Out. In the skit, Craig, playing himself, meets with Rian Johnson (played by Mikey Day) and introduces his accent coach, Franklin Hughes (Beck Bennett). From there, Craig and his coach launch into outrageous and cartoonish Southern caricatures, all of whom are complaining about their big sweaty butts. Click here to watch the sketch, or click on the image below... [caption id="attachment_231525" align="aligncenter" width="720"]Screen Shot 2020-03-08 at 10 Click to watch Daniel Craig in the SNL skit "Accent Coach."[/caption] Rian Johnson recently said that his idea for a Knives Out sequel involves a "whole new cast." Knives Out was a huge success for Lionsgate, earning close to $300 million at the worldwide box office. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-movies-of-the-decade-2010-2019&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

SNL: Host Daniel Craig Shares Fake Scene from Delayed No Time to Die

Daniel Craig hosted this week's Saturday Night Live, which was originally intended to lead into an April release for No Time to Die. Unfortunately, Craig's final Bond film was pushed to November due to global health concerns. That didn't stop Craig from "sharing a scene" from the film, however. Craig used his monologue to praise the work Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge did on the No Time to Die script - even making a Bond/Fleabag joke... Then Craig offered up a special "sneak peek" of No Time to Die, featuring a James Bond in a casino (with SNL's Chloe Fineman as a character who resembles Ana de Armas' upcoming character) becoming increasingly giddy and rowdy due to his luck at the craps table. Check it out... In other TV news, Gina Carano posted a behind-the-scenes photo as she wrapped Season 2 of The Mandalorian, the Game of Thrones showrunners will make a cameo in Westworld: Season 3, and Disney has announced a Beauty and the Beast prequel series. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-next-james-bonds-who-never-played-007&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Anthony Mackie: You’ll Be Surprised How ‘Evolved’ Characters are in Falcon and The Winter Soldier

With Marvel's Black Widow release date currently unchanged, the next Phase 4 project afterwards is the first-ever Disney+/MCU series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier - starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as Sam Wilson and James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Mackie recently spoke to THR about how the MCU movies, in general, differ from Marvel's new Disney+ shows, and what fans can expect from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. "They're going to feel different in and of themselves, because they're shot in a completely different way than the movies," he said. "I think people are going to be surprised by how in-depth and evolved the characters become by having six to eight hours to them, instead of just two hours." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=how-sam-wilsonfalcon-became-captain-america&captions=true"] Scheduled for an August release, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier also features the return of Daniel Bruhl's Zemo and Emily Van Camp's Sharon Carter, as well as Wyatt Russell as John Walker - aka U.S. Agent. "When you're on a team, you play your role," Mackie said, of his six MCU movie appearances as Sam Wilson/Falcon. "But with this [series], you really get to see who the characters are in their lives between the movies." Click here for a quick rundown of how Sam Wilson became Captain America in the comics, which seems to be what this series is angling to do given how Avengers: Endgame concluded. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/22/altered-carbon-season-2-review-in-1-minute"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Doom Eternal PC Spec Requirements Revealed

Doom Eternal fans have been ready to rip and tear since the game was announced at E3 2018. There’s just one last question for those of us who prefer to slay our demons on PC: What are the PC system requirements? Bethesda has finally revealed what minimum and recommended settings you’ll need to play Doom Eternal at its best.

Doom Eternal can conceivably hit 1,000 frames per second. That comes with a pretty steep cost in terms of GPU power.

Minimum PC Specs for Doom Eternal

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

  • OS: 64-bit Windows 7/64-Bit Windows 10

  • Processor: Intel Core i5 @ 3.3 GHz or better, or AMD Ryzen 3 @ 3.1 GHz or better

  • Memory: 8 GB RAM

  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4GB), GTX 1060 (6GB), GTX 1650 (4GB) or AMD Radeon R9 290 (4GB)/RX 470 (4GB)

  • Storage: 50 GB available space

  • Additional Notes: (1080p / 60 FPS / Low Quality Settings)

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Recommended PC Specs for Doom Eternal

  • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

  • OS: 64-bit Windows 10

  • Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K or better, or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X or better

  • Memory: 16 GB RAM

  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB), RTX 2060 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX Vega56 (8GB)

  • Storage: 50 GB available space

  • Additional Notes: (1440p / 60 FPS / High Quality Settings)

Most notably, Doom Eternal’s minimum GPU settings are what Doom 2016 had for a recommended spec list. If you’re going with the minimum settings, you should still be able to get 1080p and 60 frames per second on the game’s lowest settings. If you’re shooting for a higher FPS rate and sharper graphics, the recommended settings will let you play at 1440p and 60 FPS. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/24/doom-eternal-the-final-preview"] You’ll surely need all the PC power you can get while you’re shotgunning demons in the face. Remember that you’ll be doing it while listening to composer Mick Gordon’s heavy metal choir, featuring the harsh vocal talents of numerous artists, including the late Nature Ganganbaigal (Tengger Cavalary), James Dorton (Black Crown Initiate), Sven de Caluwe (Aborted), Tony Campos (Static X and Ministry), Linzy Rae (The Anchor) and more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/05/doom-eternal-soundtrack-behind-the-scenes-video"]

If you can’t wait until Doom Eternal releases on March 2020, check out our final preview.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/rip-and-tearer for IGN.