Author: Trafficblast

WWE’s The Miz Wants To Play Johnny Cage In Mortal Kombat Movie Sequel

The new Mortal Kombat reboot is out in the wild, available to watch in theaters or on HBO Max (at least for the next month or so), but people are already talking about sequels. That might be because the final moments of the film not so subtly name drop one of the series’ core characters, Johnny Cage. Now, the wrestler and actor known as The Miz has a suggestion for who should play the arrogant martial artist: himself.

One of the biggest questions for Mortal Kombat fans ahead of the film’s debut was, “why isn’t Johnny Cage in the movie?” The director had a simple answer: there’s only room enough in the movie for one arrogant jerk, and the story centers heavily around Kano. Kano is an arrogant jerk. Johnny Cage is all but guaranteed to appear in any (currently unannounced) Mortal Kombat sequels, but the movie didn’t go so far as to give him a face.

Michael Mizanin, who wrestles as The Miz, put his name in the hat, saying “I AM the special effects. Let me do the casting for you” in a tweet accompanied by a picture of Cage from the games. Mizanin has been wrestling for almost 20 years and has a few films to his name, including direct-to-video films The Marine 3: Homefront up through The Marine 6: Close Quarters. In other words, while he may not be a superstar on the level of John Cena or Dwayne Johnson, he’s no stranger to being in front of the camera.

Ed Boon, one of the creators of Mortal Kombat and the current Creative Director of Mortal Kombat game developer NetherRealm Studios, backed up Miz’s self-promotion saying that the “guy makes a compelling case” in a retweet.

Commenters have responded to Boon’s retweet with varying levels of enthusiasm, with some suggesting that better casting than this would be impossible. Others, meanwhile, have dropped names like Arrow star Stephen Amell, who has extensive stunt fight experience thanks to his CW superhero show, and is currently filming a wrestling show called Heel for the Starz network; other fan-suggested names include actors like Channing Tatum and Ryan Reynolds, both of whom have extensive action resumes of their own.

Mortal Kombat is in theaters now. If you haven’t read any reviews, you can check out our review and see what other critics are saying about the film, which is helping the US Box Office reach new highs since last March when things began to shut down due to COVID-19. We also have covered a major change that’s throwing more than a few fans off, and of course scoured the movie for every single Easter egg.

Now Playing: Mortal Kombat (2021) Cast Plays Real or Fake Game Character

Apple iOS, tvOS Update 14.5 Includes PS5 DualSense, Xbox Series X Controller Support

Apple’s latest round of device updates brings support for the latest console controllers to iOS and tvOS. The iOS 14.5 and tvOS 14.5 updates apply to Apple’s iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV, and they each add support for both the PS5 DualSense and the Xbox Series X|S controller, among other new features.

The feature, which lists both Series X|S and DualSense wireless controller support, can be found under the Gaming section in the changelog (via WCCF Tech). The same update number is used for the latest tvOS firmware, which will update any Apple TV devices that you have.

The controller support on tvOS isn’t too surprising, as we’ve heard reports that Apple is phasing out its TV remote’s ability to double as a game controller. Instead, newer versions of the remote will prompt you to connect a supported wireless controller like those from PlayStation or Xbox, or to use an older Apple TV remote.

Other new features of the iOS update includes the ability to unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch even if wearing a face mask, support for the new AirTag dongles, more robust privacy settings that will allow you to control which apps can track you across other apps, and other quality-of-life features. The tvOS update features a new color balance tool that uses your phone to calibrate its settings.

Apple recently issued a big update to Apple Arcade, adding loads of games including new releases and a selection of classics. If you’re looking for the right controller to use to play games on your iOS or tvOS device, check out our selections for the best mobile controllers.

Apple iOS Update 14.5

Unlock iPhone with Apple Watch

Ability to unlock your iPhone X and later with Apple Watch Series 3 and later when you attempt to use Face ID while wearing a face mask

AirTag and Find My

Support for AirTag to keep track of and find your important items like your keys, wallet, backpack and more, privately and securely in the Find My app

Precision Finding uses visual, audible, and haptic feedback to guide you directly to your nearby AirTag using Ultra Wideband provided by the U1 chip on iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 models

AirTag can be located by playing a sound via the built-in speaker

The Find My network with hundreds of millions of devices can help you find your AirTag, even when it isn’t nearby

Lost Mode notifies you when your AirTag is found, and you can enter a phone number where you can be contacted

Emoji

Support for separate skin tones for each individual in all variations of the couple kissing emoji and couple with heart emoji

New face emojis, heart emojis, woman with a beard emoji

Siri

Siri now includes more diverse voice options

Incoming calls can be announced with Siri, including who is calling, when you’re wearing your AirPods or compatible Beats headphones, and you can answer hands-free

Group FaceTime calls are supported by asking Siri to FaceTime a list of contacts or a group name from Messages

Emergency contacts can be called by asking Siri

Privacy

App Tracking Transparency lets you control which apps are allowed to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites for ads or sharing with data brokers

Apple Music

Share your favorite lyrics using Messages, Facebook, and Instagram Stories, and subscribers can play the snippet in Messages without leaving the conversation

City charts showcase what’s popular in over 100 cities from all over the world

Podcasts

Podcasts Show Pages are redesigned to make it easier to start listening

Option to save and download episodes, automatically adding them to your Library for quick access

Download behavior and notification settings can be customized on a show-by-show basis

Top Charts and popular categories in Search help you discover new shows

5G improvements

Dual SIM support enables 5G connectivity on the line that’s using cellular data on iPhone 12 models

Smart Data Mode improvements further optimize your experience on 5G networks for better battery life and data usage on iPhone 12 models

5G international roaming enabled on supported carriers on iPhone 12 models

News

Redesigned News+ tab enables Apple News+ subscribers to quickly find, download, and manage magazine and newspaper issues

All-new Search experience that helps you find relevant topics, channels, and stories

Maps

Accidents, hazards, or speed checks along your route can be reported by telling Siri on your iPhone or on CarPlay

Estimated time of arrival (ETA) can be shared when cycling or walking, in addition to driving, by asking Siri or tapping on the route card at the bottom of the screen, then tapping Share ETA

Reminders

Ability to sort reminders by Title, Priority, Due Date, or Creation date

Option to print your reminder lists

Translate

Translation playback speed can be adjusted by long pressing the play button

Gaming

Xbox Series X|S Wireless Controller or Sony PS5 DualSense™ Wireless Controller support

Fitness+

Ability to stream audio and video content from Apple Fitness+ workouts to AirPlay 2-enabled TVs and devices

CarPlay

ETA in Apple Maps can be easily shared while driving with new Siri or keyboard controls in CarPlay

This release also fixes the following issues:

  • Messages at the bottom of the thread may be hidden by the keyboard under certain circumstances
  • Deleted messages may still appear in Spotlight search
  • Messages may persistently fail to send texts in some threads
  • Mail would not load new emails for some users until restarting the device
  • Call blocking and identification section may not appear in Phone settings
  • iCloud Tabs may not appear in Safari
  • iCloud Keychain could be prevented from turning off
  • Reminders created via Siri may be unintentionally set for early morning hours
  • Battery health reporting system will recalibrate maximum battery capacity and peak performance capability on iPhone 11 models to address inaccurate estimates of battery health reporting for some users (https://support.apple.com/HT212247)
  • Optimization to reduce the appearance of a dim glow that may appear at reduced brightness levels with black backgrounds on iPhone 12 models
  • AirPods audio routing to incorrect device for Automatic Switching
  • AirPods Automatic Switching notifications might be missing or duplicated

You Can Thank Satoru Iwata For Pokemon Snap

Although he’s perhaps best remembered for being Nintendo’s affable president until his untimely passing in 2015, the late Satoru Iwata began his career as a highly regarded programmer. During his tenure at HAL Laboratory, he worked closely with Nintendo and had a hand in many of the company’s most celebrated releases, from programming Balloon Fight’s distinctive physics to creating Super Smash Bros. on the side with his then-HAL colleague, Masahiro Sakurai. However, perhaps no series benefited more from Iwata’s touch than Pokemon, and he was particularly instrumental in shaping one of the franchise’s most beloved off-shoots, Nintendo 64’s Pokemon Snap.

At the time of its release, Pokemon Snap was one of the first games spun off from the breakout monster-catching series, but it was not initially envisioned as a Pokemon title. When HAL first began development, the project was known as Jack and the Beanstalk–a “normal game in which you took photos,” as Iwata described it in a 2010 Iwata Asks interview. Nintendo’s legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto was also involved in the project, helping to develop its photo-taking element, but progress stalled because the game lacked a compelling direction–until Iwata made a proposal.

“I was working to make the photo-taking aspect more robust, but Iwata stressed that while a game where you take photos was a decent start, what really mattered was what you could photograph,” Miyamoto recalled in Ask Iwata. “Then, at one point, he told me, ‘Miyamoto, I think it’s Pokemon. That’s what the people really want to photograph.’ I thought this was a great idea, and this became the guiding principle for the game. In summary, Iwata contributed the idea that what everybody wanted to photograph was Pokemon, while it was my job to construct an interesting system for taking all these photographs, making this one of our closest collaborations.”

Not everyone was initially thrilled by the decision to convert Jack and the Beanstalk into a Pokemon game. As HAL’s Masanobu Yamamoto recalled, “I was involved as a designer, so when characters other than the ones we had designed were used, I had a slightly negative reaction to it.” Despite this reticence, however, Yamamoto came around to the idea. “That time, adopting the Pokemon world clarified what we should do and the direction we should head, and I came to like Pokemon, so I felt like that had saved us,” he said.

Pokemon Snap eventually released in 1999 and became a big hit for the Nintendo 64, moving more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. The game would later be re-released for the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console, further cementing its legacy, although it would take more than 20 years for it to receive a proper follow-up in the aptly named New Pokemon Snap, which releases on Nintendo Switch this week. But while Bandai Namco handled development duties for the sequel in place of HAL, it’s a testament to the original’s appeal that the studio chose to stick closely to the N64 game’s formula, which wouldn’t have taken shape had it not been for Iwata.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

This Year’s Oscars Had The Lowest Viewership Ever, And That Is No Surprise

This year’s Academy Awards broadcast on ABC had the lowest viewership in the awards show’s history. The numbers are in, and the awards show averaged 9.85 million viewers for the Sunday broadcast, according to the live + same-day numbers from Nielsen and relayed by Variety.

This is down 58.3%, or 13.75 million viewers, from the 23.6 million viewers for last year’s show. The year before that had 29.6 million live and same-day viewers.

The dramatic downturn in viewers is not surprising to some industry observers. Analyst Matthew Ball explained back in 2018 that no one should be surprised to see the dropping numbers because the show does not innovate or give people a good reason to watch it live as opposed to just following along on Twitter or elsewhere as the winners are announced.

Below you can find Ball’s thread on the matter, which remains topical even three years later. Be sure to read the full thread to learn more.

The 93rd Academy Awards broadcast featured a unique broadcast structure, as it was split between presentations at Union Station and the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles due to the pandemic. The show also went without a host for a second year in a row.

Nomadland was a big winner during the show, taking home three awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Chloe Zhao), and Best Actress (for Frances McDormand). Zhao became the second woman in Oscars history to win Best Director and the first woman of color to win the award.

Netflix was also a big winner, with its movies taking home seven Academy Awards. Tenet also picked up an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, becoming the third Christopher Nolan film to win in that category.

Game Of Thrones Prequel House Of The Dragon Now In Production

HBO has announced that production has officially begun on the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. The new spinoff is expected to launch sometime in 2022.

The news came via HBO over Twitter, with a picture of the cast at a socially distanced table read. This overdue news, or something like it, has been expected for some time now as the network has been recently and very steadily making a wide array of casting announcements. Check out HBO’s tweet and picture below, signaling the auspicious start for a show that will continue the fantasy series’ legacy.

So far, House of the Dragon stars Fabien Frankel (The Serpent), Paddy Considine (24 Hour Party People), Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), and Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers). Sonoya Mizuno (Devs), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Steve Toussaint (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), and Eve Best (Nurse Jackie) will also feature.

House of the Dragon is co-created by author George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony, Rampage). Miguel Sapochnik (Trainspotting, Game of Thrones) will serve as showrunner along with Condal. Joining them as a writer and executive producer will be Sara Lee Hess (Orange is the New Black, Deadwood).

This news also comes in at the tail end of Game of Thrones’ 10-year anniversary a month, which has offered fans curated playlists of the series for custom viewing marathons and some new merch and giveaways. While not officially part of these festivities, creator George R. R. Martin also recently announced he’s working on a Broadway version of his fantasy epic that will “tell the whole story.”

First Dying Light 2 AMA Reveals Handmade Guns And More

The first Dying Light 2 AMA from developer Techland has led to answers to some big questions about the upcoming zombie-parkour hybrid. The AMA, led by Dying Light 2 lead game designer Tymon Smektała, touched on multiple subjects including handmade weapons, the game’s new volatiles, and the importance of different decisions players would make.

Unlike the first entry in the franchise, Dying Light 2 will largely exclude firearms from player’s arsenals. Late in Dying Light 1, players could find guns like pistols and rifles across the game’s city. However, the sequel will change that radically. “So… There are no firearms in the world of Dying Light 2,” Smektała said. “Why? Because it’s a world war, the civilization is destroyed. It’s gone, so actually no one is able to create like… professional firearms.”

Even though players won’t have access to M16s or Colt 45s, guns will still be present in the game. Players will be able to make their own eventually, with Smektała offering the example of a handmade shotgun. This weapon would be crafted with scavenged parts and go into the player’s left hand, allowing them to use a melee weapon at the same time. However, since it’s a handmade weapon, these shotguns would break very easily. Players will have other ranged weapon options, like “bows and something extra which fit [sic] more the modern type ages idea, the modern type ages concept.”

Responding to a question about how many story-changing decisions players could make, Smektała instead answered by detailing the varying levels of choices present in Dying Light 2. The first, or top-level as Smektała describes it, belongs to the game’s main story choices. These are the decisions players will make that affect the game’s ending and how players get to that point. On the second level are a mix of main story and side quest decisions. These choices don’t affect the game’s ending, and instead usually “influence the world” according to Smektała. Finally, third-tier choices encompass the city alignment system, in which players make decisions that grant territory in the city to the game’s various factions.

As it turns out, some of those decisions will also release new types of infected into the game world. Smektała revealed that Dying Light 2’s new volatile shown during last month’s developer update is a new type of infected being added to the game. It will only show up if players make the right (or wrong) decisions.

Today’s AMA was the first of many according to last month’s developer update, which also announced that the game is still planned for release this year. In February, Techland faced multiple accusations of being a toxic workplace environment due to its leadership. The game will be coming to the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. So far, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game have not been announced.

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Capcom Arcade Stadium Going Multiplatform In May, Will Add More Games

The retro collection Capcom Arcade Stadium for Nintendo Switch will get more packs of games after the collection comes to more platforms later in May, Capcom has revealed. Currently, the game offers three different retro packs grouped according to different eras of Capcom’s arcade output. While we don’t know what the new games are, or when they’ll be coming, more features are coming to the game to celebrate its multiplatform launch.

Those features include an invincibility mode that allows players to triumph over the games without having to dump virtual quarter after quarter in, as well as a set of display frames for your digital arcade. The invincibility mode and the frames cost $1 each, while each pack of games within Capcom Arcade Stadium cost $15 each, or all three currently available for $40. Capcom Arcade Stadium will come to PS4, Xbox One, and Steam on May 25, along with the two new paid features.

In addition to Capcom Arcade Stadium, Capcom revealed that Ghost ‘n Goblins Resurrection–a modern reboot of the infamously-difficult arcade game–will come to PS4, Xbox One, and Steam on June 1. It’s been available on Switch for a while now, and unlike its forebears, it features adjustable difficulty settings. It also has limited co-op which allows another player to control three supporting characters to help Arthur save the day.

Capcom’s most high-profile release of the coming months is definitely Resident Evil Village, also known as Resident Evil 8. If you’re curious about the upcoming horror game, its limited-time demo for May has been extended from one day to one week.

Now Playing: Ghosts n’ Goblins Resurrection Official Release Date Trailer | Nintendo Direct

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Mortal Kombat Movie Writer Has Big Plans For A Sequel

The new Mortal Kombat movie is in theaters and on HBO Max right now. If you haven’t watched it, check out GameSpot’s Mortal Kombat review for an idea of what you’re missing out on. Given everything that happens at the end of the movie–including a tease of what’s to come–it’s clear that the film’s creative team has some big ideas for a sequel. What, exactly, do they want to do, though?

Speaking to Syfy Wire, the movie’s writer Greg Russo revealed a new location he would like the next movie in the franchise to visit, should it get made. “One of the realms that I felt like it didn’t make sense to introduce in this story because we were so focused on Earthrealm and Outworld, was Edenia, which is another big realm in the Mortal Kombat universe,” he teased.

If you’re going to Edenia, naturally you’d expect to see the realm’s royalty–which is exactly what Russo has in mind. “My favorite character, Kitana, is a princess in Edenia and it just didn’t feel right to bring her in,” he said. “There’s other characters too that people love there, like Sindel and Jade and all those characters. So that’s a whole realm that I think is worth exploring, and I have some really cool ideas of what I would do with storylines there.”

Of course, given the tease at the end of Mortal Kombat, you should also expect the arrival of Johnny Cage in the next film. However, while a poster of the character is seen in the first film, nobody has been chosen to actually portray Johnny yet.

“I haven’t actually done enough of a character exploration,” director Simon McQuoid previously told GameSpot. “I know who Johnny Cage [the character] is, I understand. But I haven’t really put a lot of thought to [who could play him], because it’s not something at the time [that] we needed to… [I] had enough characters to think about.”

Hopefully, now McQuoid, Russo, and the rest of the Mortal Kombat team will get the chance to flesh out their ideas. With an impressive box office haul for pandemic era movie-going, plus a launch on HBO Max, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we’ll see another Mortal Kombat movie.

Now Playing: Mortal Kombat (2021) Cast Plays Real or Fake Game Character

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Beautiful Falcon and Winter Soldier Poster and Heartwarming Video Highlight Finale Reactions

SPOILER WARNING: Major spoilers for the conclusion of Falcon and the Winter Soldier below.

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The official Captain America Twitter account changed its banner image and bio section Monday, simply reading “on your left” alongside a new image of Sam Wilson in his Captain America outfit. The change came in the wake of Friday’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale, which saw Sam take up the shield at last.

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The changes are part of a broader reaction on Twitter, which has seen #CaptainAmerica trending alongside special hashtag emojis. Fans have also resurfaced a heartwarming clip from a 2020 Vanity Fair interview, in which Anthony Mackie describes how his son was initially mesmerized by the idea of his father becoming Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame.

“I’m at the theater with my son, and the movie ends,” Mackie remembered in the interview. “My son goes…’dad? Are you…are you Captain America?’ And I said ‘I think so!’”

Mackie said that after looking a little stunned, all his son said was “cool.”

“I’m like…that’s it? That’s all I get?” Mackie exclaims, imitating his son’s nonchalant attitude. “Cool, cool. ‘You don’t cry, I’m not going to cry.’ So all night we’re hanging out, they get tired, we put them to bed. A week later he calls me bawling. And he’s like ‘dad, you’re Captain America!’ Yeah, dude.”

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Mackie imitated his son’s flustered call. “‘That’s so amazing! I’m so proud of you!’ So then I start crying, and I’m like ‘you’re proud of me?’”

After chuckling a bit, Mackie reflected on the real weight of the moment for him as an actor and a dad.

“It’s funny. As a parent, you do so much, and all you want is the approval of your kids,” Mackie said. “Nobody else matters. I don’t care what anybody else on the internet says. My son said it was cool, so it’s cool. That’s been the biggest thing with Marvel and all these movies. You realize it’s an opportunity for you to spend time with your kids. Every Marvel premiere, I get to take my son and we sit and we eat popcorn and we watch the movie. We talk about it afterwards. He says his favorite part, I say my favorite part. That’s what this character has become. A way for my son and I to bond over movies.”

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Mackie’s son won’t have to wait much longer to see his dad as Captain America again. After the conclusion of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Captain America 4 is reportedly being written by the same showrunner Malcom Spellman and staff writer Dalan Musson. There’s still a few questions left lingering from the Disney Plus series, like what will happen to John Walker’s U.S. Agent. Judging from how things wrapped up, it may all be leading to the Secret Invasion event in the next phase of the MCU.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/Stan stan for IGN.