Hollywood is struggling in modern times to show diversity that matches its audience, whether it comes to race, gender, or ability. Now, the remake of The Stand, which is airing on CBS All Access, is under fire for casting actor Henry Zaga in the role of deaf-mute character Nick Andros, with members of the Deaf community releasing a statement in response to the move.
70 members of the Deaf community signed a statement this week calling the casting of a hearing actor in the role “not acceptable,” THR reports. Signing members include directors and actors of screen and stage among others, such as actor Antoinette Abbamonte (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and director Jules Dameron (Reverse Polarity).
“We will not endorse, watch, or support your miniseries on CBS All Access,” the letter reads. “We will share our displeasure of the casting decision and airing of the miniseries on CBS All Access with our Deaf community, signing community, friends, and family of Deaf individuals; together we make up 466 million worldwide.”
The letter states that no Deaf professional actors were contacted to audition for the role of Nick Andros on The Stand, and that “the decision was made without respect to and for Deaf professionals, union and non-union alike.”
This isn’t the first time this particular casting decision made the news. In 2019, a Deaf man named Jared Perez-DeBusk reached out to director Josh Boone on Instagram, where Boone justified the decision through the character’s speaking parts, as well as noting that actor Harry Zaga worked extensively with ASL experts and member of the Deaf community to correctly portray the character.
The character, Nick Andros, is deaf-mute character, but speaks extensively during dream sequences and plays a pivotal role in the plot. This can be a difficult situation to navigate; Netflix’s Daredevil likely could not have cast a blind man in the role of Matt Murdock due to the extensive stunt work involved in that production. But Perez-DeBusk pointed out that if Zaga worked extensively to portray a Deaf character, a Deaf actor could’ve worked to portray a hearing one. Actor Rob Lowe portrayed the character in the 1994 mini-series.
This is just the latest instance of Hollywood’s continued inability to cast characters with an eye toward diversity. Actors like Halle Berry and Jared Leto have come under fire for playing (or considering playing) transgender characters, as did Scarlett Johansson’s infamous portrayal of Japanese character Motoko Kusanagi in the Ghost in the Shell film.
CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 released on consoles in a less than optimal state–and now, PlayStation has taken action. The company has removed the game from the PlayStation Store, and promised to issue refunds to customers.
Cyberpunk 2077 no longer appears when you search for it on the PlayStation Store, and Sony has shared a link for players to claim a refund for the digital version of the release. This applies to both the PS4 and PS5 stores.
SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, and we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store and want a refund. Please visit the following link to initiate the refund: https://t.co/DEZlC0LmUG.
As players began to discover Cyberpunk 2077’s shoddy release state on consoles, developer CD Projekt Red suggested that Sony and Microsoft would be able to issue refunds; however, it eventually transpired that consultation with these companies had not happened, and the company soon stopped suggesting contacting PlayStation for a refund.
This is an uncommon action on Sony’s part–games have been removed from the store before, and refunds issued, but it’s rare to see it happen with a game of this size. Equally, some games that are technically flawed continue to be available on the PlayStation Store, indicating that this is an extreme case.
As of writing, the game is still available on the Xbox family of consoles, including the Xbox One.
The trailer starts similarly, and is still giving us major Dead Space vibes–which makes sense, since developer Striking Distance was founded by the game’s co-creator, Glen Schofield. However, while the initial trailer cut away from the monster attack, this one doesn’t.
This extended trailer shows the character we were introduced to during The Game Awards getting brutalized, and it’s not pretty. If you’re not good with eye stuff (as many people aren’t), you might want to skip this trailer.
The trailer also has a new ending, proving the character’s fate definitively.
The Callisto Protocol will release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2022. We haven’t seen gameplay footage yet, so it’s not entirely clear what kind of game it will be just yet.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Cyberpunk 2077 has been a long time coming. Since the game was first revealed in 2012, we had to wait six years before we saw a 48-minute long work in progress gameplay video.
Now, Cyberpunk 2077 has finally been released, and we can compare those work in progress visuals to the finished product. In the above video we compare scenes from two key moments in the game, an early mission where V and their friend Jackie Welles are on a job to rescue a wealthy woman who has been kidnapped by scavengers, before visiting the Ripperdoc to enhance V’s cybernetics. Then, we take a look at a second mission, where V and Jackie met Militech agent Stout, and infiltrate the Maelstrom gang hideout to pick up an advanced bot for fixer Dexter DeShawn.
For more graphics comparisons, check out our look at the game running on a base PS4 and a PS5. Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Stadia.
Note: It might be obvious, but this post contains significant spoilers for the story and ending of Cyberpunk 2077–even though we’ve tried to limit them.
There are a bunch of different endings available in Cyberpunk 2077 depending on your choices, your relationships, and how you’ve interacted with Johnny Silverhand over the course of the game before you reach it. Triggering them all requires some work, but if you’ve met the prerequisites, you’ll see how to access each one in a pretty straightforward way when the time comes. That’s true of all but one separate, secret ending that you might not ever know you have access to–and which will put you through one of Cyberpunk’s toughest challenges.
To get the secret ending, you need to make sure to have a high level of friendship with Johnny, which means you have completed his many side quests and have chosen friendly dialogue options, as opposed to antagonistic ones, when dealing with him. Check out our rundown of everything you should do before reaching Cyberpunk 2077’s endgame for a complete picture of what Johnny Silverhand quests you can do and how to unlock them.
After that, you need to progress the story to the Point of No Return at the start of the story mission Nocturne Op55N1. Taking on that mission starts the endgame and locks you out of any additional side missions, while also putting you on track to the choices that unlock the various endings.
How To Unlock Cyberpunk 2077’s Secret Ending
Before heading to the Point of No Return in Nocturne Op55N1, raise your relationship with Johnny to 70% or higher.
You can track this at the top of the menu screen–it’s the number beneath the Samurai logo, labeled You Only Live Once. We’re not entirely sure how you can raise this number effectively, but we do know that you’ll need to complete all of Johnny’s side quests starting with Chippin’ In. In general, you want to treat Johnny as a friend and confidant in dialogue choices, especially during the end portion of Chippin’ In and during his other side quests. In general, try not to be antagonistic to Johnny during quests to continue to increase the number.
Continue through Nocturne Op55N1 until you reach the rooftop conversation with Johnny.
Choose to let Johnny take on Arasaka Tower with Rogue. When Johnny asks if you’re sure, just wait–it’ll be about five minutes.
After a while, Johnny should offer you another option to take on Arasaka alone, with no backup. Choose this option to access Don’t Fear The Reaper.
The thing about his ending is that it’s extremely difficult. You’ll face a mess of top-tier enemies without anyone to help you, making this one of the toughest missions in the game. What’s more, if you die, the credits will roll. You only get one shot at the Don’t Fear The Reaper quest (at least, unless you load a save to before Nocturne Op55N1), so make sure you’re very ready. We recommend you craft top-tier equipment and complete as many side quests as you can in order to increase V’s level and make yourself as resilient as possible.
Finishing the Secret Ending unlocks content you can’t get any other way, so it’s worth doing if you’re especially hardcore about the game.
The next character being added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is Cloud’s archenemy, Sephiroth, who unlocks on December 22 (or earlier, if you can beat him in a special challenge). Fans have been wary about how much extra Final Fantasy music and content would be introduced, since Cloud, infamously, only had two character-specific music track when the game launched. Sephiroth, it turns out, is getting more support.
During today’s presentation, it was revealed that nine new Final Fantasy songs are being introduced in this update, bringing the total to 11. These are focused on music from Final Fantasy VII and its spin-off movie, Advent Children, and include some new arrangements of classic songs.
Sephiroth’s track list
Here’s the full list of tracks:
Opening – Bombing Mission (new arrangement)
Those Who Fight (Advent Children version)
Those Who Fight Further (Advent Children version)
Aerith’s Theme (new arrangement)
Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII (new arrangement)
Jenova
Cosmo Canyon (new arrangement)
One-Winged Angel
Advent: One-Winged Angel
These tracks have been added to the Midgar stage, too. Sakurai said that getting the rights to use the music from Final Fantasy has been challenging because of the need to get the rights from copyright holders in numerous different regions. However, it seems that an agreement was reached for these extra tracks.
You can unlock Sephiroth as a playable character right now through the Sephiroth Challenge, and doing so is not very difficult.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai gave us a closer look at the game’s next DLC fighter, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII, during today’s video presentation. In addition to detailing the fighter’s moveset, Sakurai revealed when Sephiroth will join the roster, and it’s very soon.
Sephiroth will officially join the roster next week, on December 22. However, Nintendo is giving fans a chance to unlock the new fighter early through a special limited-time event. If you’ve purchased the Fighters Pass Vol. 2 or Sephiroth’s character pack, you can challenge the One-Winged Angel as a boss fight. If you manage to defeat Sephiroth, you’ll unlock him ahead of his official release date. The event runs from December 17-22.
Like other DLC fighters, Sephiroth arrives alongside a brand-new stage, Northern Cave, as well as a handful of unlockable Spirits and nine new songs. The full song list includes:
Opening – Bombing Mission
Those Who Fight (Advent Children version)
Those Who Fight Further (Advent Children version)
Aerith’s Theme
Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII
Jenova
Cosmo Canyon
One-Winged Angel
Advent: One-Winged Angel
As previously mentioned, you can get the One-Winged Angel either as part of the game’s $30 Fighters Pass Vol. 2 or by purchasing his fighter pack individually for $6.
Sephiroth is the third character to arrive as part of Smash Bros. Ultimate’s second wave of DLC, following Min Min from Arms and Steve from Minecraft. There are still three more DLC fighters in development for the game, although Nintendo hasn’t hinted at who those will be or when fans can expect them to arrive.
In other Smash Bros. news, Nintendo is offering another free item pack for the game. Switch Online subscribers can now claim the Spirit Board Challenge Pack 7, which includes a handful of items that will make it easier to battle some of the tougher opponents in the game’s Spirit Board mode. You’ll need to have an active paid subscription in order to claim the freebie.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai shared more details on the game’s next DLC character, Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth, during today’s video presentation, but that wasn’t all he discussed. Sakurai also revealed a new assortment of Mii Fighter costumes that are coming soon to the game.
Five more costumes are being added to Smash Bros. Ultimate next week, all of which are based on Square Enix characters, including three from Final Fantasy VII: Barret (Gunner), Tifa (Brawler), and Aerith (Swordfighter). On top of that, there’s going to be a Chocobo Hat and a Gunner costume based on Geno from Super Mario RPG. Each costume will cost 75 cents.
Next round of Mii Fighter costumes
As for Sephiroth, the new fighter joins the roster next week, on December 22, but you’ll be able to unlock him a few days early if you can beat him during a limited-time event. He’ll arrive alongside a new stage, music tracks, and Spirits. You can get the One-Winged Angel as part of the game’s $30 Fighters Pass Vol. 2 or pick his character pack up individually for $6.
Sephiroth is the third new fighter from Smash Bros. Ultimate’s second wave of DLC, following Min Min from Arms and Steve from Minecraft. Three more DLC fighters are still on the way, although Nintendo hasn’t yet shared any details about who those will be or when they’ll release.
In other Smash Bros. news, Nintendo is giving away another free item pack for the game. For a limited time, Switch Online subscribers can grab the Spirit Board Challenge Pack 7. This pack comes with an assortment of items aimed at making it easier to challenge tough Spirits in the game’s Spirit Board mode. Like other Smash Ultimate freebies, however, you can only claim the item pack if you have a paid Switch Online subscription.
When a number of new Marvel series were announced as part of the future slate of Disney+ programming, there were quite a few surprises for comic fans. One of the biggest was Ironheart. The series, described as the story of “the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man,” will star Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams.
You might have heard about Riri when she first made waves in the Marvel universe in 2016 in the pages of The Invincible Iron Man. She counted Tony Stark as a mentor, teamed up with Spider-Man Miles Morales and Ms. Marvel, and even faced Thanos. Let’s meet the genius teen to get an idea of what Disney+ might have in store for us.
Discovered as a prodigy at a very young age, Riri Williams was determined to be an astronaut until her life was forever changed by an act of violence. When Tony Stark could no longer be Iron Man, Riri stepped into his armored shoes with an advanced, high-tech suit she built herself.
Ironheart might be just a teenager, but the gifted inventor is following in Tony Stark’s footsteps—and blazing her own trail.
Riri Williams was a brilliant 15-year-old student studying at M.I.T. when she dared herself to build a set of high-tech armor just like Iron Man. Working in her dorm room with parts she borrowed from labs around campus, she soon succeeded. On her first attempt at superheroics, however, the patchwork suit fell apart around her. Undaunted, Riri continued her work on the reverse-engineered Mark-41 armor, and finally caught the notice of Tony Stark himself.
Realizing she needed an Artificial Intelligence to make the most of the armor, she brazenly asked Stark for one. He was intrigued, but AI was exceedingly expensive. Soon, the events of Civil War II took his attention away, and Iron Man was incapacitated when the conflict boiled over. Still, Stark, recognizing that Riri was a kindred spirit and the future of superheroes, had planned ahead. He had created an advanced AI construct of himself to help her while he recovered in a coma. Riri finally had the AI she needed and her suit was complete.
The genius teen was inspired to become an armored hero when her stepfather and her best friend were both murdered in a drive-by shooting. Determined to find a superhero name more fitting than Iron Girl or Iron Maiden, Riri decided on Ironheart to honor her fallen loved ones.
Riri operates as Ironheart with the love and support of her mother in Chicago, who will never stop worrying about the young superhero.
Ironheart’s Powers and Abilities
Riri Williams is an engineering prodigy with a super-genius-level intellect. Her armor is on par with Stark’s own advanced suit, and she had his digitized consciousness as an AI to teach and mentor her in how to best use it.
Thrusters in her hands and feet give Ironheart the power of flight. Explosive repulsor grenades, laser beams, precision missiles, and much more are stored in her arsenal, designed and built by Riri herself. After her suit was destroyed by Thanos, Riri designed Ironheart 3.0 with a magenta and black design distinct from Iron Man’s classic red and gold. She is constantly tinkering with the engineering and adding new technology, like an experimental stealth mode and solar power cells.
The Champions, a young team that included Miles Morales and Kamala Khan, took an early interest in Ironheart. Not one to make many friends, Riri was nervous about joining their ranks at first, but she fit in quickly. Her adventures as part of the team took her around the world, to space, and even to another dimension. Her inventions and quick thinking made her an invaluable member of the team.
She struck out on her own for a short time and returned to M.I.T., where she constructed a new AI with a design based on the friend she lost. But a new law prohibiting teenagers from being superheroes led her back to the Champions as they navigated the new normal together.
Ironheart’s Signature Villains
Riri is relatively new to the crime-fighting scene, but she jumped in rocket-powered feet first. She first faced off against ninjas led by an Inhuman with the ability to control technology. Later, as part of the Champions, she encountered formidable foes in Thanos and Man-Thing.
When Ironheart returned to Chicago in her solo adventures, mystical villain Midnight’s Fire took an interest in her. He offered her a place in the Ten Rings, a global mercenary organization. Riri refused. She tracked Midnight’s Fire with the help of the Unstoppable Wasp, Doctor Strange, and Shuri and Okoye of Wakanda and finally found him—along with her biological father.
Ironheart in TV and Games
TV: Disney+ won’t be the first time we see Ironheart on the small screen. She headlined Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron, a 2019 animated movie that told her origin story in the Marvel Rising universe. She was voiced by Sofia Wylie. She returned for another animated adventure a few months later, Battle of the Bands. In 2020, Ironheart, again voiced by Wylie, appeared in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Maximum Venom on Disney XD.
Games: Riri has also been in mobile games like Avengers Academy, Marvel Future Fight, Marvel Puzzle Quest, and Marvel Strike Force. She was also playable in Lego Marvel Superheroes 2 with the Champions character pack DLC.
Riri Williams in the MCU
Riri seems poised to take Iron Man’s place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although she seemingly won’t have the help of Tony Stark as a mentor after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Whether she’s part of the multiverse, a fractured timeline, or a new hero inspired by Tony’s sacrifice, she’ll fit right into the younger roster gearing up in Phase 4.
With no other details other than “coming soon,” Riri’s appearance in the MCU is a mystery for now, but her addition will be a welcome one. Could we even see the Champions team up in the MCU? The future of Marvel on Disney+ is bright.
Kelly Knox is a freelance entertainment writer who also contributes to StarWars.com, DCComics.com, Nerdist, and more. Follow her on Twitter at @kelly_knox to talk Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and comics.
