Netflix has announced that Killing Eve actor Kim Bodnia, will portray Vesemir in Season 2 of Netflix's The Witcher. "I am so thrilled to welcome Kim Bodnia to the cast of The Witcher," series showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich said. "I have admired his unique talents in shows like Killing Eve and The Bridge, and cannot wait for him to bring strength, tenacity, and warmth to the character of Vesemir, who is such an integral part of our upcoming season." To see Bodnia, and all of the other new and returning characters coming to The Witcher's second season, check out the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-witcher-explaining-all-the-characters-and-who-plays-them&captions=true"] Here's how the streamer describes Vesemir in Season 2: "A charming relic of the witcher Golden Age, Vesemir is the oldest and most experienced witcher in our series, as well as a father figure to Geralt. As one of the survivors of The Massacre at Kaer Morhen, a haunting slaughter that nearly exterminated the Witchers, he is fiercely protective of the remaining few, who he sees as an endangered community who can find glory on 'the Path' to slaying monsters." Before Bodnia's casting announcement, there was a social media frenzy about the possibility of iconic Star Wars actor Mark Hamill portraying the elder Witcher. Back in January 2020, IGN spoke to Hissrich about Hamill's interest in the project and the fan reaction around it. "Mark has always been of interest to me and interest to the project," Hissrich told IGN. "We have not contacted his agent yet because we’re not casting the role quite yet, but that being said, I am loving what’s happening on the internet. And I’m loving all of the fan reaction to it. Obviously, we’ve seen what a huge fanbase The Witcher has, and to add that to a Star Wars fanbase... it makes my mind explode a little bit." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/18/how-much-does-the-witcher-know-about-the-witcher"] Season 2 of The Witcher will premiere in 2021, but if you want to see Bodnia sooner than that, be sure to check him out in Killing Eve and the upcoming Netflix fantasy series, The Letter for the King. What do you think of the casting? Let us know in the comments below. [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

The Simpsons' social media pages announced a new Maggie short film, which will premiere in theaters with Pixar's Onward. The short is called Playdate with Destiny, and an image accompanying the social media post shows Maggie sitting next to another baby overlooking what appears to be the country of Greece, judging by the blue-domed architecture. "Maggie Simpson is speechless...," the caption reads. "Playdate with Destiny, a new Simpsons short film before Disney & Pixar’s Onward. Exclusively in theaters!"

Maggie Simpson is speechless… Playdate with Destiny, a new Simpsons short film before Disney & Pixar’s Onward. Exclusively in theaters! #TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/3090Zv8uYE

— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) February 28, 2020

This will be the third time the Simpsons have made it to the big screen. The Simpsons Movie made over half a billion dollars at the box office 13 years ago and another short film starring Maggie played in front of Ice Age 4 and some screenings of Life of Pi in 2012 and 2013. That short was called The Longest Daycare, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It lost the Oscar to Disney's Paperman, which played in front of Wreck-It Ralph. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-30-simpsons-episodes&captions=true"] Assuming there won't be a Pixar short and a Simpsons short in front of Onward, this is the second Pixar movie in a row to not feature a Pixar-created short film in front of the movie. In Pixar's defense, new shorts from the company are uploaded almost every month on Disney+ under the Sparkshorts label. A Toy Story short film also recently premiered exclusively on the service. Does this mean that Pixar will only premiere new shorts on Disney+? Or is this just an extra bit of cross-company fun with Disney purchasing The Simpsons and the rest of 20th Century Fox for over $70 billion? Pixar will release another movie, Soul, in June, so fans won't have to wait long to find out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/the-simpsons-hit-run-in-dreams"] The Simpsons have been in the news a couple of times over the past month. Apu's voice actor won't be playing the role after years of controversy and The Simpsons will feature an Avengers-satire on Sunday's episode where Bart threatens to spoil a big superhero movie after attending a preview event, which leads to studio executives trying to silence him. Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and producer Kevin Feige will all voice characters for the episode. As for Onward, IGN praised the film in its review. IGN's critic said, "Pixar's Onward is enchanting; a sweet, heartwarming and fun-filled fantasy adventure tale featuring a solid voice cast." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who refuses to watch Simpsons on Disney+ until they fix that trash aspect ratio. Also, Disney+ needs to upload The Longest Daycare.

The Simpsons' social media pages announced a new Maggie short film, which will premiere in theaters with Pixar's Onward. The short is called Playdate with Destiny, and an image accompanying the social media post shows Maggie sitting next to another baby overlooking what appears to be the country of Greece, judging by the blue-domed architecture. "Maggie Simpson is speechless...," the caption reads. "Playdate with Destiny, a new Simpsons short film before Disney & Pixar’s Onward. Exclusively in theaters!"

Maggie Simpson is speechless… Playdate with Destiny, a new Simpsons short film before Disney & Pixar’s Onward. Exclusively in theaters! #TheSimpsons pic.twitter.com/3090Zv8uYE

— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) February 28, 2020

This will be the third time the Simpsons have made it to the big screen. The Simpsons Movie made over half a billion dollars at the box office 13 years ago and another short film starring Maggie played in front of Ice Age 4 and some screenings of Life of Pi in 2012 and 2013. That short was called The Longest Daycare, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. It lost the Oscar to Disney's Paperman, which played in front of Wreck-It Ralph. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-30-simpsons-episodes&captions=true"] Assuming there won't be a Pixar short and a Simpsons short in front of Onward, this is the second Pixar movie in a row to not feature a Pixar-created short film in front of the movie. In Pixar's defense, new shorts from the company are uploaded almost every month on Disney+ under the Sparkshorts label. A Toy Story short film also recently premiered exclusively on the service. Does this mean that Pixar will only premiere new shorts on Disney+? Or is this just an extra bit of cross-company fun with Disney purchasing The Simpsons and the rest of 20th Century Fox for over $70 billion? Pixar will release another movie, Soul, in June, so fans won't have to wait long to find out. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/the-simpsons-hit-run-in-dreams"] The Simpsons have been in the news a couple of times over the past month. Apu's voice actor won't be playing the role after years of controversy and The Simpsons will feature an Avengers-satire on Sunday's episode where Bart threatens to spoil a big superhero movie after attending a preview event, which leads to studio executives trying to silence him. Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo and producer Kevin Feige will all voice characters for the episode. As for Onward, IGN praised the film in its review. IGN's critic said, "Pixar's Onward is enchanting; a sweet, heartwarming and fun-filled fantasy adventure tale featuring a solid voice cast." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who refuses to watch Simpsons on Disney+ until they fix that trash aspect ratio. Also, Disney+ needs to upload The Longest Daycare.

The developer behind horror games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and SOMA has a new teaser for its next game Frictional Games has led people on a scavenger hunt with their last few hidden videos, but the latest one shows something. It phases in and out of the darkness from the eyes of a character saying, "Don't lose it. No, no, come on. Need to find him. He must understand. I am Tasi. I am still Tasi." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/28/new-frictional-game-i-am-tasi-teaser"] The desert scene that appears for a matter of three seconds shows a few details worth analyzing. First, there's a sandstorm and what appears to be a cavern with a bright light coming out of it. It's not uncommon for Frictional Games to force players underground during brutal weather like in the Penumbra franchise. Also, the desert doesn't have much going on aside from a rock, a tree, and a few crystalline looking rocks. The odd cavern and crystals allude to it being another sci-fi game from the developer. The other main focus of the video is the short dialogue from what may be a protagonist named Tasi. Unfortunately, there isn't much to analyze. However, the character says they need to find "him" and that he needs to understand something. This leaves a lot of room for theories and guessing for sleuths in the community. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=25-scariest-games-of-this-generation&captions=true"] Frictional Games first teased this new project using an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Eventually, this led to a website named "nextfrictionalgame.com" with a pulsating brain neuron that has since changed. The picture below now shows the fetus of a growing baby. [caption id="attachment_231108" align="alignnone" width="720"] Credit: Frictional Games[/caption] Within the last month, two other videos were uploaded by the developer, "Box 52, Tape 16" and "Box 7 Reel 2, Partial Success". Credit to the /r/gamedetectives subreddit for discovering the second video. It's only a matter of time until more people find secrets surrounding the Tasi teaser. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

The developer behind horror games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and SOMA has a new teaser for its next game Frictional Games has led people on a scavenger hunt with their last few hidden videos, but the latest one shows something. It phases in and out of the darkness from the eyes of a character saying, "Don't lose it. No, no, come on. Need to find him. He must understand. I am Tasi. I am still Tasi." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/28/new-frictional-game-i-am-tasi-teaser"] The desert scene that appears for a matter of three seconds shows a few details worth analyzing. First, there's a sandstorm and what appears to be a cavern with a bright light coming out of it. It's not uncommon for Frictional Games to force players underground during brutal weather like in the Penumbra franchise. Also, the desert doesn't have much going on aside from a rock, a tree, and a few crystalline looking rocks. The odd cavern and crystals allude to it being another sci-fi game from the developer. The other main focus of the video is the short dialogue from what may be a protagonist named Tasi. Unfortunately, there isn't much to analyze. However, the character says they need to find "him" and that he needs to understand something. This leaves a lot of room for theories and guessing for sleuths in the community. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=25-scariest-games-of-this-generation&captions=true"] Frictional Games first teased this new project using an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Eventually, this led to a website named "nextfrictionalgame.com" with a pulsating brain neuron that has since changed. The picture below now shows the fetus of a growing baby. [caption id="attachment_231108" align="alignnone" width="720"] Credit: Frictional Games[/caption] Within the last month, two other videos were uploaded by the developer, "Box 52, Tape 16" and "Box 7 Reel 2, Partial Success". Credit to the /r/gamedetectives subreddit for discovering the second video. It's only a matter of time until more people find secrets surrounding the Tasi teaser. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

"We feel absolutely compelled to follow the most responsible course of action and prioritize the safety and well-being of our attendees, our staff and of course the general Icelandic public."

"We feel absolutely compelled to follow the most responsible course of action and prioritize the safety and well-being of our attendees, our staff and of course the general Icelandic public."

Kojima Productions may have just teased that it's working on a Silent Hill game in a very strange way. Or it might be trolling the internet. Or it might be a coincidence. Whatever it is, it's fun. On the Death Stranding studio's English language Twitter account, head of communications Aki Saito posted a picture of himself to jokingly prove he still worked at the company. He wrote: "Sorry to be silent everyone! I've been really busy lately.....I think i can say more soon about what we are going to....."

Sorry to be silent everyone! I've been really busy lately.....I think i can say more soon about what we are going to.....#KojimaProductions https://t.co/Vr0qPj3DwV pic.twitter.com/BiweDgGC4v

— Kojima Productions (@KojiPro2015_EN) February 28, 2020

That message, and that picture have sent internet detectives into overdrive. The subtle hint about talking more what the company's working on is one thing, then the use of the word "Silent". Getting even deeper, zooming into the picture reveals a notepad Saito's using that reads "Next week!". And, if you want to get really wild, the pencil he's written it with says "PYRAMID". Some have taken the use of 'silent' and 'pyramid' (Pyramid Head is the series' most notable antagonist) to mean the company is working on a Silent Hill game, and that it will be announced or teased next week. But, it must be stated clearly, this may be a joke from Kojima Productions, or a total coincidence. [caption id="attachment_2311088" align="alignnone" width="878"] A close-up of Aki Saito's hand, notepad and pencil. I can't believe this is work for me.[/caption] To the theory's credit, we did learn recently that Hideo Kojima has been working on a new concept, and has recently tweeted that he's watching scary movies to "make the scariest horror game". In a separate report, we recently learned that Konami may be working on a "soft reboot" of the Silent Hill series, with two new games apparently in the works. Infamously, Hideo Kojima was at one point working on a Silent Hill game, Silent Hills, but it was cancelled by publisher Konami, after Kojima left the company, taking much of his staff with him. He'd go onto use the touted star of Silent Hills, Norman Reedus, as the star of Death Stranding. If Konami and Kojima had reconciled and begun working together it would be almost as astoundingly strange a story as, well, this one you're reading right now. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/09/18/silent-hills-concept-trailer-tgs-2014"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and his mind feels like it's spinning out of control. Follow him on Twitter.

Kojima Productions may have just teased that it's working on a Silent Hill game in a very strange way. Or it might be trolling the internet. Or it might be a coincidence. Whatever it is, it's fun. On the Death Stranding studio's English language Twitter account, head of communications Aki Saito posted a picture of himself to jokingly prove he still worked at the company. He wrote: "Sorry to be silent everyone! I've been really busy lately.....I think i can say more soon about what we are going to....."

Sorry to be silent everyone! I've been really busy lately.....I think i can say more soon about what we are going to.....#KojimaProductions https://t.co/Vr0qPj3DwV pic.twitter.com/BiweDgGC4v

— Kojima Productions (@KojiPro2015_EN) February 28, 2020

That message, and that picture have sent internet detectives into overdrive. The subtle hint about talking more what the company's working on is one thing, then the use of the word "Silent". Getting even deeper, zooming into the picture reveals a notepad Saito's using that reads "Next week!". And, if you want to get really wild, the pencil he's written it with says "PYRAMID". Some have taken the use of 'silent' and 'pyramid' (Pyramid Head is the series' most notable antagonist) to mean the company is working on a Silent Hill game, and that it will be announced or teased next week. But, it must be stated clearly, this may be a joke from Kojima Productions, or a total coincidence. [caption id="attachment_2311088" align="alignnone" width="878"] A close-up of Aki Saito's hand, notepad and pencil. I can't believe this is work for me.[/caption] To the theory's credit, we did learn recently that Hideo Kojima has been working on a new concept, and has recently tweeted that he's watching scary movies to "make the scariest horror game". In a separate report, we recently learned that Konami may be working on a "soft reboot" of the Silent Hill series, with two new games apparently in the works. Infamously, Hideo Kojima was at one point working on a Silent Hill game, Silent Hills, which was cancelled by publisher Konami, and led to Kojima leaving the company, and taking much of his staff with him. He'd go onto use the touted star of Silent Hills, Norman Reedus, as the star of Death Stranding. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2014/09/18/silent-hills-concept-trailer-tgs-2014"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and his mind feels like it's spinning out of control. Follow him on Twitter.

When it's released on March 23, Half-Life: Alyx will be a notable moment in the timeline of VR gaming – perhaps the medium's first true blockbuster. It's led to a rush of first-time VR buyers, eager to play the first full Half-Life game in 16 years. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus) has led to production shortages of several of the compatible headsets you'll need to actually play it. With under a month until release, we looked into each of the major VR headset manufacturers – Oculus, HTC, and developer Valve itself – and what the status of their production is ahead of HL: Alyx's release date, to get a sense of which units may be available to buy if you don't already have one. Before we get going, of course there are more important things than games, and factory shutdowns have been a major means of protecting lives in the wake of a virus that has already killed thousands – these are necessary means, not inconveniences. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-games-industry"]

Valve Index

Valve's Index headset was already sold out practically worldwide following the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, with Valve proactively working to supply more for those who hadn't secured a pre-order. In a statement, however, the developer confirmed that coronavirus-related factory shutdowns meant there would be "far fewer units" available on release than planned: "With Half-Life: Alyx coming March 23rd, we are working hard to meet demand for the Valve Index and want to reassure everyone that Index systems will be available for purchase prior to the game's launch. However, the global Coronavirus health crisis has impacted our production schedules so we will have far fewer units for sale during the coming months compared to the volumes we originally planned. Our entire team is working hard right now to maximize availability." It's unclear at time of writing how many will be made available at release, but it may well be that Index is in short supply, at best, come March 23.

Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S

Oculus Quest, considered a popular entry-level device for VR, is in a similar position. Facebook (which owns Oculus) has also announced that the standalone VR headset has been selling out in many regions, and remains unavailable to buy in the UK and US at time of writing. It too, has seen an impact on replenishing those stocks because of coronoavirus. A spokesperson told IGN, "like other companies we’re expecting some additional impact to our hardware production due to the Coronavirus. We’re taking precautions to ensure the safety of our employees, manufacturing partners and customers, and are monitoring the situation closely. We are working to restore availability as soon as possible.” Facebook wouldn't comment on the effect of production shutdowns on its other headset model, the Oculus Rift S but, given it too is made in China, it seems likely to have been hit by factory shutdowns as well. The Rift S is also currently unavailable to buy in the US or Australia, with no indication of when stock might be replenished. It remains to be seen how many units of either Oculus headset will be released in the next month but, again, it feels unlikely to meet demand.

HTC Vive

Of the three main manufacturers, HTC is the only company seemingly untouched by production problems, and its Vive headsets seem to be the surest bet for availability come launch day. In a statement to IGN, a spokesperson said, "As our Vive VR products are assembled and built in Taiwan, our supply chain has been relatively unaffected by COVID-19. In addition to having our Cosmos headset in stock, the newly announced Cosmos Elite began preorders on February 24 and will ship to those who preordered on or around the on-sale date of March 18 [...] We look forward to allowing customers to experience Half-Life: Alyx on our headsets as soon as it is released." Of course, Vive remains a relatively expensive way to play HL: Alyx – requiring a powerful PC as well as a headset that comes in at $499 USD / £499 / $939 AUD. However, with no production problems, it may be the easiest route to playing as Alyx on March 23. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/21/half-life-alyx-reveal-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.