Month: September 2021

Cowboy Bebop Fans Wondering About Ed ‘Will be Delighted,’ Netflix Showrunner Says

After being spoken about for years, a live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop is almost here, premiering on Netflix on November 19, 2021. And despite showing off the cast of heroes led by John Cho’s Spike Spiegel, fans have wondered where the fourth member, Ed, might be.

In a new interview showrunner and Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol screenwriter André Nemec tells Polygon that fans looking forward to Ed shouldn’t worry.

“Ed — everybody wants to know about Ed!” Nemec says. “People will be… very delighted when they watch the season.”

The people behind Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop have said previously that the hacker known as Ed (full name Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV) will be in the series. But with the main cast revealed there’s still no Ed anywhere to be seen, nor any news about casting.

Still, Nemec seems pretty confident that fans looking forward to Ed will be pleased with the live-action Netflix series, which is as strong a confirmation as we’ll likely get before the series premieres in November.

The full interview is worth a read for anyone curious about the direction of the live-action series. According to Nemec, the live-action series is not going to “ape the anime” but “live in the spirit” of the series. “There are obviously things that we cannot achieve with real people that an anime can,” Nemec says. Instead, the series will “build out the continuing stories of Spike Spiegel and Jet Black and Faye Valentine.”

One area from the anime that was vital for the team to bring back was the music of anime composer Yoko Kanno, who will be composing the original soundtrack for Netflix’s show. According to Nemec, Kanno has “completely reimagined” the music for the series, and old favorites from the anime will return in the Netflix show but in new ways.

Cowboy Bebop is shaping up to be a different kind of anime adaptation than the ones we have seen from Netflix so far. John Cho also recently spoke about taking on the role of Spike, including acknowledging the questions some might have about his age.

We’ll have to wait until November to see if Nemec and his team — which includes writers from Thor: Ragnarok, Sons of Anarchy, and Lost — will stick the landing.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Clid The Snail Review

Clid the Snail, a bizarre twin-stick shooter by the appropriately named developer Weird Beluga, makes a promising first impression with its odd setting and anthropomorphic character design. But it doesn’t take long for it to fall woefully short of its potential. Repetitive level design, muddy graphics, and arduously boring enemy encounters make the choice of a snail as the main character a little bit on the nose when it comes to the pace of the action.

The eponymous Clid is an ornery, cynical snail who loves to drink and tinker with weapons. The latter gets him kicked out of his settlement and sent into a blasted, post-apocalyptic world full of mutants and monsters who’ve used the discarded scraps of the old human world to create a newer, smaller one. Conceptually, this micro post-human world is an interesting place. Villages and outposts use discarded computer parts as building materials and CD’s as furniture. Every so often you’ll pass a human skull in the wild and someone will remark about the old Giants that used to roam this world.

The visuals often hamper themselves, though. Lighting is dark, each of the handful of locations all look like they’re in the same range of colors regardless if it’s a snowy mountain or an arid desert. A bloom-like effect lingers over everything, too, further muddying all of the environments. The little details of the slapdash constructs in the world get lost in this unfortunate effect. It’s hard to appreciate any small ornamentation when your point of view looks like a snail crawled over your camera lens.

It’s hard to appreciate any small ornamentation when your point of view looks like a snail crawled over your camera lens.

The story of this wandering rogue, the group of outcasts he meets, and their shared interest in saving their tiny world and making money doing so is predictable, but enjoyable. The writing is solid, with some clever quips here and there, but the Simlish-style gibberish voice acting doesn’t do the story justice. There is also a lot of expository monologuing to fill us in on past events that feel inessential to what’s happening in the present. Meanwhile, the characters in your ragtag group are all tropey yet enjoyable, well-written creatures that make all the other NPCs you meet feel shallow by comparison.

Besides sightseeing, you’ll spend a lot of time shooting your way through each stage in order to push back a plague that turned the local slug population into violent, berserk monsters. Clid’s arsenal is varied, with weapons like a flamethrower, lighting gun, and a shotgun at your disposal… but the problem is that aside from the shotgun and a few others, many of these weapons don’t feel very powerful. I almost never used anything but the main blaster’s charged shot because it often felt like the most efficient tool for nearly every job.

Enemies are very dumb, often just sprinting at you in a straight line, ripe for the shooting. Occasionally, an enemy arrives that forces you to think outside of the box, like big slug gladiators with tower shields that can’t be destroyed simply shooting at them, but that only pushed me as far as Clid’s secondary arsenal of grenades and mines. Outside of the more elaborate boss fights, the majority of the enemies in Clid the Snail are just various forms of melee goon that could never overcome the simple technique of being kited across the map and blasted one by one.

Level design and enemy encounters are largely repetitive over the five-hour journey. Most stages have a linear path to travel with the occasional branch to find weapon upgrades and the like, but they always culminate with Clid exterminating the slug menace in the local “lair,” a hive where waves of enemies spawn to stop you from destroying the core. These sections go on far too long, and there are no checkpoints during them, so if you die you have to start from the beginning. This horde-wave scenario finds its way into other non-lair portions as well, and it never feels fun or welcome.

Bugsnax Developer is Embracing the Four Day Work Week

The developer of PS5 launch title Bugsnax is permanently transitioning to a four-day work week in an attempt to give its employees a healthier work-life balance.

Axios reports that back in July, Young Horses said it tested out a four-day work week model as a trial run. Now, that change will become the norm for the eight-person studio. Young Horses President Phil Tibitoski says they know this shift was easier for them due to the studio’s small size.

“It was easier for us to implement because to measure our small team’s output is simple relative to those bigger studios, so our trial period and decision-making is faster than a studio who has to get buy-in from so many departments and investors,” Tibitoski said. He added that he thinks a four-day work week is possible at larger studios, but that expectations would have to change in order for it to work.

Crunch remains a heavily-discussed topic within the video game industry. Earlier this month, the co-presidents of Naughty Dog shared their thoughts on potential remedies to crunch, including unionization, mandatory hours, and more.

In our Bugsnax review, we called the game, ‘great,’ saying, “the laughs outnumbered the groans significantly as I found myself surprisingly invested in the events of the island and its inhabitants.” Now the game is set to come to Steam sometime next year.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Owen Wilson Joins Disney’s Haunted Mansion

After a supporting turn as Mobius in Marvel’s Loki, Disney is back in the Owen Wilson business. The actor is set to star in the studio’s Haunted Mansion, a new movie based off of the company’s popular theme park ride. The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Wilson joins a cast that already includes LaKeith Stanfield and Tiffany Haddish. Reports describe it as an ensemble production.

Director Justin Simien is helming the production, which will begin shooting in Atlanta in October. The filmmaker is coming off of his directorial debut Dear White People and the 2020 horror movie Bad Hair. Ghostbusters and The Heat writer Katie Dippold is penning the adaptation.

Haunted Mansion will be the latest Disney film based off of one of the company’s theme park rides. This summer, the studio’s Jungle Cruise grossed $193.7 million at the global box office, along with additional profits from its release on Disney Plus’ Premier Access program. A sequel has already been confirmed.

A movie based on Haunted Mansion was first released in 2003. The Eddie Murphy-starring comedy was a modest box office success, grossing $182.3 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $90 million.

In our review of the series premiere of Loki, IGN gave the episode a 7, saying that “Wilson and [Tom] Hiddleston have stellar comedic chemistry.” The actor can next be seen in Wes Anderson’s next film The French Dispatch in October.

For more on Disney’s upcoming slate, read our complete rundown of the studio’s line-up of live-action remakes.

J. Kim Murphy is a freelance entertainment writer.

Marvel’s What If…? Episode 5 Cast: Every Returning (and Replaced) MCU Actor

Full spoilers follow for Marvel’s What If…? Episode 5.

The MCU-based What If…? animated series is finally here, and it features many of the actual MCU actors from the movies voicing their iconic characters. At the same time, some actors aren’t back to reprise their roles as part of the What If…? cast…

In the fifth episode, What If…? gave fans a look at what some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (and villains) may look like if a zombie apocalypse overtook the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Tom Holland and Chris Evans didn’t reprise their roles as Spider-Man and Captain America, we did see the return of Paul Bettany’s Vision, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, and more. This week was another dark and gory look at an alternate universe, and it featured a ton of returning characters.

Each episode will feature new and returning characters from the MCU, and we are here to gather each one so you can keep track of which voice actors are returning to their roles, which aren’t, and what these new versions of our favorite heroes look like. We will also be updating this article throughout the season so be sure to check back each week!

What If…? Episode 5 Cast: What If… Zombies!

Bruce Banner / Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo once again lends his voice to Bruce Banner and the Hulk, who has arrived on an alternate Earth to warn the Avengers of Thanos. However, the heroes he came to warn have turned into an even bigger threat than he could have ever imagined.

T’Challa / Black Panther – Chadwick Boseman

Chadwick Boseman makes his second appearance in Marvel’s What If…?, and this time he is playing the Black Panther we know and love… well, except for the fact that he was kidnapped by Vision and partially fed to a zombified Wanda Maximoff.

Vision – Paul Bettany

Paul Bettany’s Vision has had a rough go of it in not only in our Marvel Cinematic Universe, but in this one as well. While the zombie apocalypse may have prevented Thanos from killing him, his fate here is just as grim. He is powerless to help cure a zombie version of Wanda, and he has resorted to kidnapping his friends to keep her alive. Furthermore, he still is killed when the Mind Stone is removed from his head, yet this time it is by his own hand.

Bucky Barnes – Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan also makes a return to Marvel’s What If…?, this time with his long-flowing hair and Vibranium arm. In Peter Parker’s “So You Want to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” video, he is not only known as Bucky “Silent But Deadly” Barnes, but his skills are listed as “murder, killer arm, and heavy sleeper.”

Hope van Dyne / Wasp – Evangeline Lilly

Evangeline Lilly takes on the role of Hope van Dyne once more, and is one of the people unintentionally involved in starting the MCU zombie apocalypse after Hank Pym found her mother Janet van Dyne who, in this universe, “contracted a quantum virus that corrupted her brain.”

Scott Lang / Ant-Man – Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd and his jokes find their way to Marvel’s What If…? this week, and while he returns as Ant-Man, most of his screen time is spent as a talking head that has been cured of the quantum virus that has turned this world into zombies. Does that make him Ant-Head now?

Happy Hogan / Zombie Happy – Jon Favreau

Happy Hogan is once again played by Jon Favreau, and although he gets a few moments to enjoy some Stark tech for himself, he soon thereafter becomes a victim of zombie Hawkeye.

In Peter Parker’s “So You Want to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” video, he is not only known as Happy “Never Actually Happy” Hogan, but he’s also wearing a shirt that says, “I’m not single, I’m saving myself for Thor.” Also, his skills are listed as “driving, coffee, and boxing.”

Okoye – Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira lends her voice to Okoye once more this week after making an appearance in the second episode of What If…?

Sharon Carter – Emily Vancamp

Emily Vancamp is once again Sharon Carter in this week’s episode, and while she has a good run helping out the team, she, unfortunately, is attacked by zombie Captain America before being blown up from the inside by Hope.

In Peter Parker’s “So You Want to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse” video, she is known as Sharon “The Blond Bond” Carter and her skills are listed as “spycraft, first aid, and eulogies.”

Kurt – David Dastmalchian

David Dastmalchian is back as the “Resident Weirdo” Kurt and is one of the stars of Peter Parker’s “So You Wanna Survive The Zombie Apocalypse” video. His skills are listed as “languages, Slavic folklore, and crime.”

Peter Parker / Spider-Man – Hudson Thames

While Peter Parker is one of the main characters of this week’s episode, Tom Holland does not reprise his role as Spider-Man. Instead, Hudson Thames takes on the legendary role. Thames was previously seen in Mad Men, I think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, and more.

Ebony Maw – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

Tom Vaughan-Lawlor is once again Ebony Maw, but his arrival on Earth is short-lived after the zombie Avengers turn him into an undead nightmare as well.

Steve Rogers / Captain America – Josh Keaton

Josh Keaton, who voiced Steve Rogers in What If…?’s first episode, is back again for a short appearance as Captain America. The Avengers turning into zombies was one of the main reasons the full-blown apocalypse occurred, and Cap himself was undone by Hank Pym in tiny form.

The Watcher – Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright is once again The Watcher, but we get a brief look at his face, whereas before he was mostly a figure in the sky without an actual face. Could this evolution mean we are heading towards his role in future stories being expanded? Only time will tell.

Zombies

This week’s episode of Marvel’s What If…? was filled with zombified versions of our favorite heroes and villains, and while some of them had voice actors behind them, others just made an undead showing without words. These include Wanda Maximoff, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Wong, Cull Obsidian, and the Mad Titan himself – Thanos. Unfortunately, for this universe, Thanos still has the Infinity Gauntlet.

What If…? Episode 4 Cast: What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

Doctor Strange – Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch returned to play Dr. Stephen Strange M.D. — aka Sorcerer Supreme for Earth — in this twisted tale of obsession and regret.

Christine Palmer – Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams once again played Christine Palmer, Stephen Strange’s love interest, marking her first return to the MCU since 2016’s Doctor Strange. McAdams will be back as Christine again in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The Ancient One – Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton reprised her role as The Ancient One, once again attempting to guide Doctor Strange through obstacles and temptation that could lead to ruin and cosmic devastation.

Wong – Benedict Wong

Benedict Wong was back as Doctor Strange’s trusty Sanctum Sanctorum sidekick, Wong, though ultimately no one would be spared in Strange’s dark and warped quest to reclaim the love of his life.

O’Bengh – Ike Amadi

A new character in the MCU, O’Bengh was the guardian of the Lost Library of Cagliostro. He eventually died of old age after Strange spent centuries learning forbidden knowledge and absorbing the energy of other magical beings.

In the comics, there is speculation that Cagliostro’s real name was O’Bengh.

Christine Everhart – Leslie Bibb

Leslie Bibb can be heard briefly as reporter Christine Everhart, who appeared in both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 (as well as a viral videos released by Marvel preceding Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War).

What If…? Episode 3 Cast: What If… The World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?

Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson

Nick Fury takes center stage in the third episode of Marvel’s What If…?, and Samuel L. Jackson returns to voice the MCU character he’s been playing since 2008’s Iron Man. Unfortunately for this version of Nick Fury, his idea to form the Avengers didn’t go quite as planned.

Hank Pym / Yellow Jacket – Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas returns to play Hank Pym, but in this alternate universe he ends up becoming one of the episode’s true villains after his daughter Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly/The Wasp in the MCU!) passed away on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission. Instead of becoming Ant-Man, he becomes Yellow Jacket, as he did in the comics.

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow – Lake Bell

Scarlett Johansson, who is currently in a legal battle with Disney over a Black Widow contract breach, did not return to play Black Widow in this show. Instead, actress and comedian Lake Bell lent her voice to the iconic role. Bell and her voice have appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, the Harley Quinn TV series, Cryptozoo, and much more.

Tony Stark / Iron Man – Mick Wingert

Much like Black Widow, Iron Man also has a new voice actor as Robert Downey, Jr. did not return to play the character that kicked off the entire MCU. Instead, Mick Wingert took up the role. Wingert has played Tony Stark in a ton of Marvel shows, including Marvel Future Avengers, Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.

Agent Coulson – Clark Gregg

Clark Gregg once again becomes Agent Coulson in Marvel’s What If…? and is rightfully very impressed with Thor and his hair.

Brock Rumlow – Frank Grillo

Frank Grillo is back as Brock Rumlow and adds Marvel’s What If…? to the list of his MCU appearances that also include Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Clint Barton / Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner, who already appeared in the first episode of Marvel’s What If…? alongside Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, returns for a bigger role in episode 3. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have quite a happy ending. Luckily, he will reprise the role once more in his own Disney+ show later this year.

Betty Ross – Stephanie Panisello

The role of Betty Ross has changed once more as Hulk’s Jennifer Connolly nor The Incredible Hulk’s Liv Tyler returned to reprise their role. Instead, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness’ Stephanie Panisello makes her MCU debut in Marvel’s What If…?

Bruce Banner / Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Bruce Banner and The Hulk make their Marvel’s What If…? debut in episode three. Although it’s always great to see Mark Ruffalo take on the role again, he returns for a story that sees an unfortunate end to his character.

Loki – Tom Hiddleston

Hot off the season finale of Marvel’s Loki, Tom Hiddleston appears again in the MCU as Loki in Marvel’s What If…? In this alternate universe, he comes to get his vengeance after the fall of Thor, and also takes the opportunity to become the ruler of Earth. Not bad for a day’s work.

General Ross – Mike McGill

Although William Hurt played General Thunderbolt Ross in Black Widow, Mike McGill was the one who voiced the short appearance by the general in this episode. McGill was recently seen in Bosch, Grace and Grit, Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy, and more.

Lady Sif – Jaimie Alexander

Much like Loki, Lady Sif returns to the MCU after making an appearance in Marvel’s Loki. Even better, Jaimie Alexander returns to lend her voice. Alexander is also set to be a part of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel – Alexandra Daniels

Although she is only seen for a brief moment at the very end, Captain Marvel answers Nick Fury’s call and heads to Earth to help her old friend. Instead of Brie Larson, Mothers and Daughters’ Alexandra Daniels plays the hero also known as Carol Danvers.

Thor

Thor and his majestic hair appeared in this episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but the God of Thunder had no lines, so there was no chance for Chris Hemsworth to return… yet.

What If…? Episode 2 Cast: What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?

Star-Lord T’Challa – Chadwick Boseman

Before his death in 2020, Chadwick Boseman recorded his final lines for T’Challa for Marvel’s What If…?, but in this version he plays Star-Lord T’Challa instead of Black Panther. While he made his debut as this alternate version of his character in the second episode of the series, there are still more episodes with his character in them.

Nebula – Karen Gillan

Karen Gillan returns to voice Nebula, and this time she is sporting some flowing blonde hair and, thanks to T’Challa becoming Star-Lord and helping turn Thanos into a “good guy,” she is free to live another life that is not helping her adopted father balance the universe.

Yondu – Michael Rooker

Michael Rooker once again becomes Yondu in this episode of What If…? and sees first-hand what happens when he leaves important jobs to other people. Since his Ravagers picked up T’Challa instead of Peter Quill, the trajectory of his life has changed greatly as well.

Korath – Djimon Hounsou

In a hilarious twist to the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy, Djimon Hounsou returns to play Korath, who is this time a huge fan of Star-Lord and ends up joining his team of Ravagers.

King T’Chaka – John Kani

The life of King T’Chaka is altered when his son goes missing one day, but that doesn’t stop him from searching the stars for T’Challa in the years that followed. John Kani returns as the voice of the king, and we get to see younger and older versions of him in the episode.

Thanos – Josh Brolin

In perhaps the most shocking twist of all, Josh Brolin returns to play a Thanos who has decided to give up on his idea of wiping out half of all living things in the universe. He has joined Star-Lord T’Challa and the Ravagers and, while he still jokes about his original plan being efficient, he has turned into a much more friendly Mad Titan.

The Collector – Benicio del Toro

Benicio del Toro once again plays The Collector, a character who has seen his stock rise after not having to deal with Thanos in his quest for the Infinity Stones. He is a force to be reckoned with in this alternate timeline, but ultimately is no match for T’Challa and his friends.

Ego – Kurt Russell

While it is but a brief cameo, Kurt Russell once again becomes Ego and decides to pay a visit to his son Peter Quill at a Dairy Queen. Quill of course never ended up becoming Star-Lord in this reality, though what this meeting with Ego means for him is unclear (for now).

Kraglin – Sean Gunn

Hot off his role as Weasel in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, the director’s brother Sean Gunn lends his voice once more to Kraglin.

Taserface – Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan is also back as the Ravager Taserface, joining Star Lord T’Challa and the rest of their crew across the stars.

Howard the Duck – Seth Green

Howard the Duck, who makes his fourth MCU appearance following the first two Guardians of the Galaxy films and Avengers: Endgame, is once again voiced by Seth Green and looking classy as ever.

Okoye – Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira has only one line, but it’s always a treat to hear and see Okoye – the general of the Dora Milaje – get more screen time.

Carina – Ophelia Lovibond

In this alternate story, Carina was never killed as she never tried to use the Power Stone against The Collector. What’s more, she gets some karmic justice against her captor.

Proxima Midnight – Carrie Coon

Carrie Coon once again plays Proxima Midnight, who joined forces with The Collector after Thanos had a change of heart.

Ebony Maw – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor

As with Proxima Midnight, Ebony Maw was on the look-out for new work following Thanos joining the Ravagers, and he joined The Collector just as the other members of the Black Order did.

Drax – Fred Tatasciore

Drax the Destroyer shows up in this episode of Marvel’s What If…?, but now he is… Drax the Bartender? While it’s great to see Drax again, he was voiced by Fred Tatasciore instead of Dave Bautista, who has said he was not asked to return to play his MCU character.

Corvus Glaive – Fred Tatasciore

Fred Tatasciore also plays Corvus Glaive from the Black Order, replacing the original voice actor Michael James Shaw.

Young T’Challa – Maddix Robinson

Young T’Challa only showed up in a deleted scene in Black Panther, but he gets a bigger role in Marvel’s What If…? In this episode, he was played by Maddix Robinson instead of Ashton Tyler.

Peter Quill – Brian T. Delaney

Peter Quill’s destiny was changed the most when the Ravagers picked up T’Challa instead of him. While we only see him for a brief moment, we see that his new fate was to work at Dairy Queen until his Dad pays him a visit. Chris Pratt did not return to voice this version of Peter Quill, and he was instead voiced by Brian T. Delaney.

Queen Ramonda, Shuri, and Cull Obsidian

Queen Ramonda of Wakanda, Shuri, and Cull Obsidian all make an appearance in this episode of Marvel’s What If…? but they have no lines so there were no returning or new actors for their characters.

What If…? Episode 1 Cast: What If… Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?

Captain Carter/Peggy Carter – Hayley Atwell

Hayley Atwell voices Peggy Carter in a story focusing on what would happen if she was the one who became a super soldier. Steve Rogers still joins the fight with a suit made by Howard Stark. Chris Evans did not return for this episode of What If…?, and instead Josh Keaton lent his voice to Skinny Steve Rogers.

Skinny Steve Rogers – Josh Keaton

Despite many of the other MCU characters returning to reprise their roles, Chris Evan did not return for What If…? to voice Skinny Steve Rogers. Instead, Josh Keaton became this alternate version of Steve. This voice actor is also known for his roles as Peter Parker in the animated The Spectacular Spider-Man series, Tony Stark in Marvel’s Iron Man VR, and many other projects.

Dr. Erskine – Stanley Tucci

Stanley Tucci voices Abraham Erskine, the only scientist to perfect the Super Soldier Serum. In this version of the story, he lives!

Howard Stark – Dominic Cooper

Dominic Cooper is back as (the younger version of) Howard Stark, who is the father of Iron Man himself, Tony Stark. In this story, Howard Stark created the first Iron Man armor in the Hydra Stomper.

Colonel Flynn – Bradley Whitford

While Bradley Whitford’s Colonel John Flynn has not been in a big MCU film, he was part of the Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, which was one of a series of shorts that expanded on the MCU world.

Johann Schmidt / Red Skull – Ross Marquand

Hugo Weaving did not return in What If…? to reprise his role as Red Skull, and instead Marvel brought back Ross Marquand, who played Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Dum Dum Dugan – Neal McDonough

Neal McDonough is back to voice Howling Commando Dum Dum Dugan from The Winter Soldier (and Agent Carter).

Bucky Barnes – Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan voices Bucky Barnes. In this alternate tale, Bucky was not experimented on by Arnim Zola and therefore never became The Winter Soldier.

Arnim Zola – Toby Jones

Toby Jones has returned to the MCU to voice Arnim Zola, and his fate is still very tied to Bucky Barnes, even if he isn’t as successful in this timeline.

Nick Fury – Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson returns to play Nick Fury and make a brief appearance at the end of the episode.

Hawkeye – Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner once again become Hawkeye in Marvel’s What If…?

The Watcher – Jeffrey Wright

Jeffrey Wright plays The Watcher, a celestial being assigned to watch over Earth and its surrounding solar system. He’ll serve as the narrator for the series each week.

MCU Characters Confirmed for Future Episodes

Thor – Chris Hemsworth

Chris Hemsworth will voice Thor in a story that might be Ragnarok focused, considering some of the other casting news revealed.

Grandmaster – Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum will voice Grandmaster, the ruler of Sakaar.

Korg – Taika Waititi

Ragnarok (and Love and Thunder) director Taika Waititi will be voicing a character — probably (hopefully!) Korg.

Loki – Tom Hiddleston

Tom Hiddleston will return to Disney+ to voice Loki. A Variant Loki, probably!

Jane Foster – Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman returns to voice Jane Foster. Will she somehow figure in a Ragnarok-era story, even though she was absent from that film? Time will tell!

Ant-Man – Paul Rudd

Paul Rudd will voice Ant-Man.

Kurt – David Dastmalchian

David Dastmalchian will voice Kurt, the hacker member of Scott Lang’s crew.

Hank Pym – Michael Douglas

Michael Douglas will voice Hank Pym, creator of the Ant-Man suit and tech.

Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan will voice T’Challa’s cousin N’Jadaka – aka Erik Killmonger.

Bruce Banner/The Hulk – Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo will voice Bruce Banner and/or The Hulk.

For even more on the show, check out our article on how to watch Marvel’s What If…?, get the lowdown on these nine crazy What If…? comics storylines, or catch up on how Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa becomes Star-Lord in the series.

August 18, 2021: This story has been updated with the latest information about Marvel’s What If…?

Metroid Prime’s Crunch Was So Bad That It Nearly Broke Retro Studios

Metroid Prime is nearly 20 years old, but a new interview is shedding light on the development of the groundbreaking series.

Former Retro Studios developer Mike Wikan went on an episode of the Kiwi Talkz podcast to discuss crunch within Retro during the development of Metroid Prime, as well as the effort from Nintendo to change the Metroid Prime Trilogy’s writing to fit within the Metroid Prime universe.

The ‘Nine Month Death March’ at the End of Metroid Prime’s Development

Discussions surrounding crunch are at the forefront of video game discourse in 2021. From Naughty Dog to Rockstar, to CD Projekt Red, more employees, writers, and fans are speaking out about a problem in the video game industry that dates back to long before the wider public noticed it.

In this case, it dates back to 2002, when the Austin, Texas-based Retro Studios was developing the first-ever 3D Metroid game in partnership with Nintendo. Wikan, who worked on the game, said that crunch was a big problem during the development of Metroid Prime.

“I had two times where I was there for 48 hours straight with one hour of sleep, and then a couple of 36 hour days,” Wikan said. “The last nine months we were pretty much there 24/7, working on the game.”

After Metroid Prime shipped, Wikan says morale was low within Retro’s ranks. In fact, according to Wikan, many team members were ready to quit, and Wikan himself even had multiple job offers on the table. Then, things changed for the studio when Nintendo stepped in.

“To their credit, Nintendo realized what was going on, and they came in and took over the company, [they] bought it out,” Wikan said. After Nintendo bought Retro, Nintendo of America’s Michael Kelbaugh was put in charge. Wikan says he asked Retro employees to give him a few weeks to turn it around, and he eventually, “restored faith in leadership.”

The turbulent past of Retro Studios pre-Nintendo is well-documented. The studio has a history of layoffs, crunch, and unrealized ambition prior to Nintendo’s decision to step in and put Kelbaugh in charge, who is still President of Retro Studios today.

According to Wikan, the change in ownership and leadership worked, and the studio began following healthier work practices. However, it still wasn’t perfect. “In fact, after Metroid Prime 1, we rarely crunched,” Wikan said. “We had some crunch but it wasn’t like the nine-month death march at the end of Metroid Prime 1. That was the worst.”

Nintendo’s Involvement in Reworking Metroid Prime Trilogy’s Script

Also in the interview, Wikan revealed he was part of a four-person team tasked with reworking the three mainline Metroid Prime games into a collection. The package was released in 2009 on Wii as Metroid Prime: Trilogy.

Besides changing some boss fight balance issues, and some small technical problems, Wikan and his team left the three games largely unchanged. At least, until Nintendo came in and started reworking the script. Wikan says Nintendo combed through the scans from all three Prime games and created a spreadsheet analysis of how it fits within the Metroid Prime universe.

“They sent us hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of edits and changes for all the text to make sure everything harmonized and worked in the Metroid universe. That’s the level of detail that they put into it,” Wikan said. “Probably 50 to 60% of the work we did on the Trilogy was changing those dang scan files.”

Wikan is no longer with Retro, but the studio is now working on the delayed Metroid Prime 4. At E3 this year, Nintendo said they’re “working hard” on Metroid Prime 4, which lead to the announcement of Metroid Dread; a new entry in the mainline 2D Metroid series. Dread is wrapping up the story of Samus and the Metroids, a story that is largely unrelated to her adventures in the Prime games.

Check out the full episode of the Kiwi Talkz Podcast for more insight from Wikan on his time at Retro Studios making Metroid Prime.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Star Trek Discovery Season 4 Release Date Announced, Picard Season 2 Trailer Revealed

Star Trek Day 2021 has not only revealed that Star Trek: Discovery’s fourth season will premiere on November 18, but it has also given us a new trailer and a February 2022 release window for Star Trek: Picard’s second season.

That’s not all, however, as a new look and an October 28 premiere date was given for Star Trek: Prodigy – the upcoming animated kids’ series that will see the return of Kate Mulgrew as a hologram of Captain Kathryn Janeway – and a mid-season trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks’ second season was also unveiled.

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard’s panel was the final one for the Star Trek Day celebration and it revealed a new trailer for the show’s second season and the first look at Annie Wersching as the Borg Queen.

Although Patrick Stewart couldn’t make the Star Trek Day celebrations, it was also announced that Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the cast will be returning for a third season.

Joining Stewart on Picard’s second season will be Allison Pill’s Dr. Agnes Jurati, Isa Briones’ Soja, Evan Evagora’s Elnor, Michelle Hurd’s Raffi Musiker, Santiago Cabrera’s Cristobal Rios, Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, Orla Brady’s Laris, John de Lancie’s Q, Annie Wersching’s Borg Queen, and Brent Spiner’s Data.

We’ve already seen a bit of footage and a poster of this new season, and it appears to be dealing with time travel, Seven of Nine missing her Borg implants, and what appears to be a modern-day Los Angeles.

As previously mentioned, Star Trek: Picard will debut exclusively on Paramount+ in February 2022.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery’s fourth season will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ on November 18, 2021, and the panel shared a bit more about the show’s upcoming adventures.

“Season four of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered,” The official description reads. “With Federation and non-Federation worlds alike feeling the impact, they must confront the unknown and work together to ensure a hopeful future for all.

Season four’s cast includes Sonequa Martin-Green’s Captain Michael Burnham, Doug Jones’ Saru, Anthony Rapp’s Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman’s Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz’s Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala’s Cleveland “Book” Booker, and Blu del Barrio’s Adira.

While we didn’t get a new trailer, we were treated to a new look at Captain Burnham in season 4 which you can see above. Until we get new footage, be sure to check out the teaser that was released in April 2021.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy will debut exclusively on Paramount+ on October 28, 2021 with a one-hour premiere, and Star Trek Day unveiled a brand-new trailer and the official key art for the animated kids’ series.

Star Trek: Prodigy’s trailer was virtually introduced by Kate Mulgrew and showed a bit of the “motley crew of young aliens who must figure out how to work together while navigating a greater galaxy, in search of a better future.”

These six “young outcasts” have commandeered a ship they know nothing of, and are greeted by a holographic version of Captain Kathryn Janeway. Throughout their adventure, however, they will “each be introduced to Starfleet and the ideals it represents.”

This new series is being produced by Nickelodeon and CBS Studios’ Eye Animation Productions and is developed by Emmy Award winners Kevin and Dan Hageman (Trollhunters and Ninjago).

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Paramount+’s animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks got a mid-season trailer for its second season during the Star Trek Day celebration.

Developed by Emmy Award winner of Mike McMahan (Rick and Morty), Star Trek: Lower Decks “focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.”

Season 2’s cast includes Tawny Newsome’s Ensign Beckett Mariner, Jack Quaid’s Ensign Brad Boimler, Noel Wells’ Ensign Tendi, Eugene Cordero’s Ensign Rutherford, Dawnn Lewis’ Captain Carol Freeman, Jerry O’Connell’s Commander Jack Ransom, Gillian Vigman’s Doctor T’Ana, Fred Tatasciore’s Lt. Shaxs, Paul Scheer’s Lt. Billups, and Carl Tart’s Lt. Kayshon.

For more on Star Trek Day 2021, check out the newest cast members of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a list that includes younger versions of classic Star Trek: The Original Series characters like Cadet Nyota Uhura.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Tales Of Arise Review — Wake Me Up Inside

As the first major original JRPG on new consoles and the latest installment of a very long-running series, Tales of Arise comes with a lot of expectations attached. Arise sets out to refresh its visual presentation and gameplay to appeal to a new audience, but it also tries its best to retain what has made the Tales series so beloved among its longtime fans: fun characters, fast-paced combat, and an epic sense of scale. While it manages to succeed admirably at most of what it tries to do, a few shortcomings keep it from being the new standard-bearer for RPGs to come.

300 years ago, the planet Dahna was invaded by the people of their neighboring star, Rena, and crumbled beneath the might of the Renans’ advanced technology and knowledge. Since their conquest, the Renans have destroyed the once-vibrant Dahnan culture and enslaved the planet’s people. One day, a nameless, amnesiac slave known only as Iron Mask finds himself caught up in a supply train hijacking by rebel forces–and discovers that the freight is a Renan woman with a strange curse. As he gets swept up in a Dahnan rebellion, Iron Mask discovers new powers, his true name–Alphen–and a connection to the Renan girl, Shionne. But this tiny slave rebellion grows into something much bigger.

Now Playing: Tales Of Arise Video Review

The beginning of Tales of Arise is a marked departure from the chipper banter and adventuring most Tales games lead off with. With heavy topics like slavery and oppression taking center stage in the narrative, the overall tone of Arise’s story for the first several hours is quite dour, drilling into you the sheer misery and desperation of the Dahnan people. Fortunately, once your party fills out, the familiar Tales party dynamics come back in full force, with characters’ personalities bouncing off each other in numerous entertaining dialogue exchanges. The rapport among your teammates–and watching their interactions change as they go through individual character arcs–is a major draw, and you’ll find yourself eager to keep playing just to see the team react to the latest turn of events around the campfire or complain about the latest broken dungeon elevator.

It’s good that the characters are so likable because they really help carry the story through some rough patches. The abuse and liberation of oppressed peoples is very challenging and prescient subject matter to tackle, and generally, Tales of Arise handles the material well–but at times it disappoints by not diving beyond a superficial level into some of the difficult moral issues the story presents. The pacing can also feel rushed, as the plot frequently introduces characters who we don’t get to know well but are suddenly rendered very important to the current events, and then quickly exit the narrative after contributing their major story beat. While the narrative in Arise’s latter half shifts thematically, many of the same issues remain throughout.

Like most JRPGs, the narrative in Tales of Arise is very linear. That isn’t a bad thing, however, as the constant promise of new lands to explore or new dungeons to delve into is a strong impetus to keep moving. You are also presented with numerous optional side quests to tackle, should so you so choose, and a very convenient fast-travel system makes it easy to return to previous areas should you want to do additional exploration or resource gathering for crafting and cooking. (There’s also a surprisingly satisfying fishing minigame at ponds throughout Arise that, if you’re not careful, will consume far too much of your playtime.)

But as beautiful as Arise’s environments are, the big gameplay draw lies in its battles. The Tales series has always leaned heavily on the appeal of its robust, action-oriented combat, and Arise is no different in this respect. When you encounter enemies during exploration, you’ll be spirited off to a combat screen where you’ll go toe-to-toe with foes in a small arena. During combat, you can move freely and execute a variety of normal and special attacks called Artes, which you assign to controller buttons. Naturally, you can also jump and guard/dodge enemy attacks. Heavy emphasis is placed on positioning, dodging, and chaining attacks together to land massive combos, breaking down foes’ resistances to set up a team-based finisher called a Boost Strike. While you can only directly control one character at a time, you can give your three companions detailed strategies to follow, and their AI tends to function quite well.

There’s always something fresh and new being added to combat … making Tales of Arise’s battles feel consistently exciting

There are some interesting new twists to combat this time around, however. Offensive and restorative Artes no longer use the same resource pool, as healing spells (and environmental interactions) now utilize a separate, party-wide Cure Points stock. This separation allows for all characters to focus more heavily on offense during battle, as there’s no need to worry about saving a specific character’s Artes for healing in emergencies–though characters like Shionne will still need to be ready to switch between fighting and healing when needed, and the Cure Points pool always needs to be carefully monitored.

Each character is also given unique perks that differentiate themselves and establish their particular roles in battle, making each of them play wildly different from each other. Alphen can sacrifice HP after using Artes to deal extra damage; sprightly mage Rinwell can charge and hold her magical Artes to chain together combos more easily; elegant knight Kisara guards with her massive shield rather than dodging and performs enhanced Artes out of her guarding stance; and so on. Each character also has a unique, limited-use Boost Attack that serves a distinct purpose, like Law’s armor-shattering punches or Dohalim’s movement-restricting vines.

Many of these layers to combat aren’t revealed or aren’t obvious right away, instead being rolled out over the course of the game. A good chunk of each characters’ skills will need to be opened up as you play through the Skill Panel system, where you spend SP earned throughout the game to enhance your characters’ abilities in combat. There’s always something fresh and new being added to combat as a result, making Tales of Arise’s battles feel consistently exciting.

When Tales of Arise’s combat is at its best, it feels like a well-oiled machine, with Artes flying, enemies being smacked around and juggled through the air, armor being crushed, and guards being broken, all topped off by a spectacular finishing Boost Strike or Mystic Arte to crush foes into oblivion. But it’s not always that smooth and satisfying–sometimes there is just so much happening on-screen at once (with much of it out of your control) that it’s difficult to keep track of what Artes your squad is tossing at the enemy and what attacks they’re flinging back at you, particularly during boss fights or when you’re taking on a large enemy pack. It’s not uncommon to find yourself severely damaged or KO’d without fully understanding why in these cases–and while it’s fairly easy to pick yourself back up, it’s still frustrating. There were numerous times when I felt like I was playing at my best and still getting pummeled for reasons that were unclear. Unlike many other Tales games, Arise doesn’t offer any co-op play, so you can’t rely on a buddy to help keep things under control, either.

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And then there’s the DLC problem. While Tales of Arise offers some paid cosmetic DLC–extra costumes and decorations, which don’t change gameplay–it also offers “gameplay boosting” packages that grant bonuses like permanent EXP and SP boosts, massive shop discounts, reducing all crafting and cooking materials needed to 1, and so on. While this is an optional purchase, the fact that it exists at all constantly made me second-guess the game’s design decisions: are healing items expensive to teach me to take less damage, or to get me to buy a shop discount DLC package? Are boss fights so much harder than standard fights because the designers really want to test my skills, or because I didn’t get that EXP boost DLC? I often felt like money and resources like SP were kept scarce, so instead of focusing completely on having fun and exploring Tales of Arise’s various gameplay systems, I was often wondering if I was being subtly pushed to buy gameplay advantages.

Taken as a whole, Tales of Arise is a very good RPG, boasting beautiful visuals, a wonderful cast of characters, and engaging combat mechanics–but its flaws (and that odious DLC) are also difficult to ignore. If you’re looking for a lengthy, charming, and engaging JRPG to play on your shiny new console or PC gaming rig, Tales of Arise is certainly a fine choice. Just don’t go into it expecting an all-time classic.

Aussie Deals: Over 80% Off AC, Just Cause, SoulCalibur, 50% Off No Man’s Sky, and More!

Good on Hello Games for celebrating the 5-year anniversary of No Man’s Sky with a 50% off sale. If you pressed eject on NMS quickly after launch, I think you’d best re-enter its orbit due to a number of radical updates. Other notable deals include some wellness titles for Switch (Ring Fit Adventure and Zumba). I’ve also found a cheap, quality wheel for Xbox fans, and a great PS score for AC: Origins.

Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch

Purchase Cheaply for PC

Exciting Offers for XO/XS

Product Savings for PS4/PS5

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Adam’s an Aussie deals wrangler who spends too much of his income on the bargains he finds. You can occasionally find him @Grizwords.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Cast Includes a Younger Cadet Nyota Uhura

During Star Trek Day 2021, it was revealed that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ full cast will include more actors taking on iconic roles from Star Trek: The Original Series alongside Captain Pike, Spock, and Number One, and that list includes Celia Rose Gooding playing a younger version of Cadet Nyota Uhura.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ casting news was shared alongside a new video that had these new actors unveiling which characters they will be playing in the upcoming original series arriving on Paramount+.

While it was previously revealed that Anson Mount’s Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn’s Number One, and Ethan Peck’s Spock would be starring in the show after appearing in Star Trek: Discovery’s second season, fans of Star Trek: The Original Series are in for a treat from the rest of the cast.

Joining Celia Rose Gooding’s Cadet Nyota Uhura, we will also see the return of Star Trek: The Original Series’ Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) and Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun). They won’t be alone, however, as there will be some new characters joining the crew.

Christina Chong will play La’an Noonien-Singh, Melissa Navia will become Lt. Erica Ortegas, and Bruce Horak will play Hemmer. While we don’t know much about La’an’s character, her last name will be of note to Star Trek fans as it’s the same as Khan Noonien Singh.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will follow the journey of the U.S.S. Enterprise years before Captain Kirk was in command, and the series premiere will be written and directred by Akiva Goldsman, who will also write the show’s complete story alongside Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Goldsman will also serve as co-showrunner with Henry Alonso Myers.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.