Beloved host Jonathon is on a rodent-themed vacation in the lush, verdant hamlet of Anaheim, CA and fan-favorite elderly Irish woman Lucy has taken a trip to News Island, but in their stead, join Max Scoville, Brian Altano, Matt Kim, and Janet Garcia as they discuss the thrilling delays of Square Enix’s most anticipated games, our 2019 PlayStation Wrap-Up stats, and what color the PlayStation 5 should be.
Download Podcast Beyond Episode 626 RIGHT HERE or go snag it on your Podcast service of choice.
Toss a coin to your Witcher and toss an email to your podcasters at [email protected]!
What wacky color schemes do YOU want to see the PlayStation 5 come in? To spark your imagination, take a gander at these silly Xbox Photoshops Max and Brian did. Even if you’re a PlayStation fan, they’re fun pictures! Look at ’em go!
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]Max Scoville is a host, producer, and frazzled substitute teacher on Beyond for IGN, you can find him on Twitter @MaxScoville.
Wrestling legend Rocky Johnson, father to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has passed away at age 75. WWE announced the news Johnson’s death in a statement on Wednesday.
“WWE is saddened to learn that Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles), a WWE Hall of Famer, former World Tag Team Champion, and father of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, has passed away at age 75,” the WWE statement reads, also adding, “WWE extends its condolences to Johnson’s family, friends and fans.”
The WWE recognized Johnson, known to his fans as “The Soul Man Rocky Johnson,” as a Hall of Famer in 2008. He was renowned as a tag team specialist and made history with his partner Tony Atlas, together known as the tag team Soul Patrol, when they became the first-ever black tag team to win the WWF Tag Team titles.
Rocky Johnson. Photo credit: WWE
Johnson began his wrestling career in 1964 as part of the National Wrestling Alliance, joined the WWF (now WWE) in 1982, and retired in 1991. After retiring, he trained his son Dwayne to be a wrestler. Dwayne’s wrestling name was originally “Rocky Mavia,” which was a combination of his father’s name (Rocky Johnson) and his grandfather’s name (Peter Maivia). Eventually he changed it to “The Rock,” a name that now endures as a tribute to his family’s wrestling heritage.
Many in the wrestling community have taken to social media to express their condolences and remember Johnson as a wrestling icon.
“I am so sorry to hear of the passing of the great Rocky Johnson. Always a gentleman, I always enjoyed talking with him. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and the fans who loved him. A very sad day for wrestling,” tweeted Mick Foley.
Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.
How do you play an invisible man? That’s one of the questions that immediately come to mind when you think of the classic Universal Monster and the men who have brought him to life. Leigh Whannell’s vision is a far cry from the 1933 Claude Rains version, and we have seen Kevin Bacon’s take on the evil and invisible antagonist in Paul Verheoven’s Hollow Man. This time it’s up to The Haunting of Hill House‘s Oliver Jackson-Cohen to take on the mantle. Alongside his director, the young British star is excited to do something completely different. The film’s big twist is that here Jackson-Cohen’s character is the villain, an abusive and powerful man who is desperate to destroy the life of the woman who dared to leave him. According to the actor who’ll be bringing the terrifying vision to life, it was the only way the story could be told.
“It’s an amazing space and amazing script, it’s such a genius kind of story. I think it’s the only way to do it. It completely turns the story on its head and Lee’s written such an incredibly solid script. I just think to go in by telling it from this woman’s point of view of something we’ve all experienced, you know, these relationships that are incredibly dangerous and toxic. To kind of look at it from that point of view and base it, in reality, is a genius way of handling the property.”
Bringing the character to life in a way that felt authentic and grounded was a challenge for Jackson-Cohen who sat down with IGN and a small group of press during a visit to the Sydney set of the Blumhouse film. However, the hook of invisible man Adrian Griffin being a sociopathic billionaire who can charm as easily as he can terrorize inspired the actor to find his footing.
“We’ve seen the villain so many times, so I think as an actor, you always want to try and think of the most interesting way. To me, it was a sort of a no-brainer when I read [the script] that I wanted to — these people who are narcissists and are so controlling in relationships, they are incredibly intelligent — make Adrian so good at performing, and pretending to be so charismatic and to fool people into a false sense of security. That’s the direction we’ve gone with him, which I personally think is the right way to do it. It’s been really good fun because we kind of want to mess with an audience as well, and mess with them going, ‘Wait, but he’s not… he didn’t seem to be a bad guy. He seemed nice.’ But then he does these horrific things.”
The setup for the new Invisible Man relaunch is a timely one that has echoes of the Me Too movement and emotionally driven horrors like Midsommar that dare to lift the lid on emotionally abusive relationships. Finding an antagonist worthy and fitting of the story was vital and that’s where the concept of a San Francisco tech billionaire came from, someone whose wealth, unquestioned power, and absolute arrogance becomes the ultimate weapon.
“[That aspect] is hugely important. I think that Leigh said when we first having conversations, ‘It’s the ultimate power: to be invisible.’ I mean, we all stay in these apartments in Sydney. And the other day, I was sort of doing that weird thing when you’re on your own and you’re like having a conversation to the air. When you don’t think anyone is watching, or you’ll be playing music, and you’ll really be hitting a note that no one should ever hear. And I did think what if someone was sitting in that chair? There’s something sort of inherently terrifying about that. I think for someone like Adrian, it’s the ultimate power, but it’s also the decline of his grip on reality and his grip on any kind of humanity and I think it is because of that wealth and power.”
That realism and dedication to doing something entirely new led to their tech-heavy take on the character. Though Jackson-Cohen’s lips were (mostly) sealed, he did reveal what separated their take from the H.G. Wells novel and classic Universal film that inspired it.
“I think where Leigh is very smart is that our film is not potions and magic. It’s a very probable story that is quite timely as well. So I think approaching it — and specifically with this abusive relationship and how it isn’t necessarily a physically abusive one, it’s an emotional one — I think that’s something that speaks to so many people, because we’ve all been there or we’ve witnessed friends that are going through it. When someone says something to you and you kind of you can rationalize in a way. It’s about that, it’s about this woman getting out of this relationship that is toxic and then trying to deal with the aftermath of that.”
Fans of Netflix’s hit word of mouth horror series The Haunting of Hill House first discovered the actor as Luke Crain, the drug-addicted son of the clan, whose life has been devastated by the strange happenings he was party to as a child. His empathetic performance and heartbreaking rendering of the damaged young man seems to make him a prime candidate to bring something layered and possibly relatable to the dark role in The Invisible Man, but Jackson-Cohen is quick to explain that the only way we’d see that side of him is if it was a way for Adrian to gain control.
“I think that the way that Adrian operates he could play on that as a performance, knowing full well, exactly what he’s doing. The whole thing’s about manipulation. I think that that’s very true, again, of these relationships. I watched all these documentaries on women and men that stay in these relationships and why they keep on going back and it was really interesting. There was this woman that was interviewed, and it sounded so horrific what was going on in that particular relationship. But she said, ‘Every time I would go and say I’m done, he would cry. And it would hook me back in because I didn’t want to see him so broken.’ It’s all a tactic, so what’s been interesting with this is playing around with that idea of how much manipulation? How much you can get her to believe?”
With such a lightning rod topic at its center, how does Jackson-Cohen think that the film will resonate with victims of domestic violence and abuse? He’s hopeful that it will be a cathartic experience elevated by a strong central performance from his co-star Elizabeth Moss.
“I hope that the film resonates with people that have had similar situations. And, you know, the way that Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss) was written, She is such a strong woman. And the thing is that a lot of what’s been so interesting in sort of researching this is that so many of the people that are in these relationships, it’s not because they’re weak, it’s because of this sort of mastermind power that’s been sort of hooked on to them, that is still impossible for anyone that’s intelligent [to escape]. And a lot of these people that are stuck in relationships like this are incredibly intelligent, and Celia being one of them. She’s a very smart, strong, intelligent woman.”
The Invisible Man hits screens on Feb. 28 in the US and UK and Feb. 27 in Australia.
HBO announced Wednesday that it has greenlit a three-part animated series titled Aquaman: King of Atlantis for HBO Max. James Wan, the director of the 2018 live-action Aquaman film, will executive produce via his Atomic Monster production company. The announcement was made at the WarnerMedia Television Critics Association (TCA) day.
HBO Max’s announcement makes no mention of whether Jason Momoa or any other cast members of the DC live-action film will lend their voices to the show or if it is even tied to it beyond being about Aquaman and Wan being involved.
The official synopsis follows:
“Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, the series begins with Aquaman’s first day on the job as king of Atlantis and he’s got a LOT of catching up to do. Luckily, he has his two royal advisors to back him up – Vulko, the scholar, and Mera, the water controlling warrior-princess. Between dealing with unscrupulous surface dwellers, elder evils from beyond time and his own half-brother who wants to overthrow him, Aquaman is going to have to rise to the challenge and prove to his subjects, and to himself, that he’s the right man for the trident!”
“This DC property is a fan-favorite rich with well-known characters and dynamic storylines,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max. “On the heels of Warner Bros. Pictures’ box office smash hit, we are certain Aquaman: King of Atlantis will be an exciting addition to our already robust slate of kids and family programming.”
In addition to Aquaman: King of Atlantis, HBO Max’s animation line-up includes Looney Tunes Cartoons, Jellystone, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Little Ellen, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Rick and Morty, The Boondocks and more.
Along with Wan, Aquaman: King of Atlantis is executive produced by Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear (Annabelle Comes Home), Rob Hackett (Swamp Thing) and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!).
Victor Courtright (ThunderCats Roar!) and Marly Halpern-Graser (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) will serve as showrunners and co-executive producers.
Respawn Entertainment has patched Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order so that the pre-order bonuses for the action-adventure Star Wars title is now unlocked for all players.
Like a lot of other video game releases, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order gave players who pre-ordered the title several exclusive cosmetic items. These cosmetics include:
Orange Lightsaber blade color
Mygeeto Campaign Lightsaber hilt
Umbaran Campaign Lightsaber hilt
Bee D-1 skin
Gold Squadron Stinger Mantis skin
This content is now available to every Jedi: Fallen Order player, regardless of whether or not they pre-ordered the game.
The update that unlocked the pre-order content was part of a larger patch that also included various fixes and improvements. The Bounty Hunter glitch that would sometimes get them stuck in Zeffo has been fixed, along with fixes to the photo mode that should prevent it from breaking the game.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is an action-adventure Star Wars game by Respawn Entertainment that follows the Jedi in hiding Cal Kestis as he takes on the Empire. IGN reviewed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and awarded it a 9/10. IGN nominated Jedi: Fallen Order for the 2019 game of the year awards.
TNT has announced the release date for its upcoming sci-fi thriller, Snowpiercer. The series will premiere on Sunday, May 31, 2020.
The announcement was made at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour. Here’s how TNT describes the series. “Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, Snowpiercer centers on the remnants of humanity who inhabit a perpetually moving train, with 1001 cars, that circles the globe. Class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out in this riveting television adaptation.”
TNT also unveiled a new poster featuring stars Daveed Diggs as Andre Layton and Jennifer Connelly as Melanie Cavill, which you can check out in the gallery below:
This particular version of Snowpiercer, which has already been renewed for a second season, is based on the 2013 film and the graphic novel of the same name. The series has been in development for nearly five years and when asked about the show’s lengthy production, Diggs jokingly said, “It takes a long time to make good s**t.”
The latest adaptation of the post-apocalyptic science fiction story Snowpiercer will arrive on TNT on Sunday, May 31 at 9pm, the network announced during a Television Critics Assocation event.
The original story comes from the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochetteollows, but the more well known version these days is the 2013 film adaptation by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (who more recently directed and co-wrote last year’s phenomenal Parasite, GameSpot’s favorite movie of 2019). According to a press release, TNT’s version is based on both the graphic novel and the film, whatever that means. It’s likely the show will take elements of both and stretch it out to span multiple seasons of television, though the exact details aren’t yet known.
The series stars Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs, along with Alison Wright, Mickey Sumner, Susan Park, Iddo Goldberg, Katie McGuinness, Lena Hall, Annalise Basso, Sam Otto, Roberto Urbina, Sheila Vand and Jaylin Fletcher.
This story is developing–keep checking back for more info.
