The following contains major spoilers for WandaVision Episode 5. If you have yet to see the episode, this is your last chance to turn away.
In addition to being the creepiest one yet, this week’s episode of WandaVision had one of the biggest (and most meta) twists in MCU history–the “resurrection” of a long-dead character but with a caveat only a show like WandaVision could actually pull off.
Pietro Maximoff, AKA Quicksilver, is back. But he’s been very literally “recast.” Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who played Pietro in Avengers: Age of Ultron has been officially replaced in the MCU by Evan Peters, who played Pietro in Fox’s X-Men movie franchise. And to make matters even stranger, people in the universe of the show are aware of the change–the comment about “recasting” the role comes directly from Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) as she observes the show-within-a-show from the SWORD base.
We’ll give you a second to process that. Seriously, just let it sit for a moment.
If you’re left wondering what this could possibly mean for the MCU at large, you’re not alone.
The inclusion of the X-Men within the MCU has been a hotly debated and widely discussed topic since Disney purchased Fox, and the rights to the franchise, back in 2019. Peters’ inclusion in WandaVision is the first official move to bridge the gap between the two universes and undoubtedly paves the way for more potential X-Men and mutant outings in future MCU shows and movies.
However, the fact that this is all taking place within the Westview anomaly also makes it hard to count as a certainty. Wanda’s apparent psychotic break aside, she maintains that bringing Pietro to the house wasn’t something under her control, meaning he was sent in by someone–or something–likely influencing the parts of Westview that aren’t under Wanda’s immediate power. Which, of course, begs the question of whether or not Pietro is even real at all or will have the ability to leave the “hex” (as Darcy has dubbed the Westview bubble).
On top of that, there’s also the outsiders’ awareness of Pietro’s change. The MCU has recast roles before–Rhodey was played by Terrance Howard in the first Iron Man movie, and then Don Cheadle in every subsequent MCU movie–but the change was done from the outside and didn’t actually affect the in-universe characters at all. If Pietro is indeed an actual person and not some fabrication, it’s likely that this is our first actual glimpse of the MCU’s multiverse in action, bringing the Pietro of the Fox X-Men Earth over to the MCU Earth.
Uncharted games, without fail, beat the crap out of their protagonist, Nathan Drake, with over-the-top action sequences. We won’t know whether the movie is good until the credits roll, but Tom Holland said the Uncharted film is at least getting this part right in a new interview.
Talking to Variety on its Awards Circuit podcast (via Screenrant), Holland discussed his recent busy schedule, including Spider-Man 3, Cherry, and more. Holland’s upcoming Uncharted film, in which he stars as a younger Nathan Drake, came up during the conversation, and Holland had only superlatives to offer for the movie’s big set pieces.
The Uncharted film has some of the “biggest action sequences I’ve ever been a part of,” said the actor, best known for playing Spider-Man, who has had the snot kicked out of him by Vulture, Mysterio, Thanos, and Captain America. “The cuts and bruises and bangs I got from dangling off of wires and falling off things was ridiculous.” If anyone can speak to cuts and bruises, it’s Spidey.
The Uncharted film has been troubled since its inception. Sony announced the movie in 2008. After a fan campaign to get Firefly actor Nathan Fillion into the role, Sony announced Mark Wahlberg for the role of Nathan Drake with David O. Russel (Three Kings) as director. Russell dropped out, replaced with Neil Burger (Limitless), who gave way to Seth Gordon (King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters), then Shawn Levy (Stranger Things), Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), Travis Knight (Bumblebee), and finally Reuben Fleischer (Venom, Zombieland). The movie went through almost as many writers in the process, including writers behind the National Treasure films, with Sony even pursuing Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to write, who turned it down because “it’s just going to be Indiana Jones.” Mark Wahlberg shifted from playing Drake himself to the role of Drake’s mentor, Victor “Sully” Sullivan, and Tom Holland joined as Drake.
Uncharted is scheduled for February 22, 2022 right now, but that could change–especially with the way COVID-19 has delayed not just single movies but entire studio schedules.
2001 was a completely bonkers year for movies. Here we celebrate some of our favorites–and some others as well.
It’s hard to believe that 2001 was two decades ago–and not just because the last year has felt like two decades in and of itself. The early ’00s are now officially in nostalgia territory and primed to give you an existential crisis about the passage of time. Thankfully, however, 2001 was a year with some truly incredible movie releases across all genres. From campy comedies like Wet Hot American Summer to the first Lord of The Rings movie, Hollywood was cranking out hits. Of course, there were also more than enough utterly regrettable movies to hit theaters, as well. But sometimes, even those have a special place in our hearts.
Unfortunately, it may be a while before we’re all able to file into a theater and experience this sort of magic again here in the present–but after a year of quarantine practice, we’re all mostly accustomed to the streaming service experience these days. And lucky for all of us, these 20-year-old movies are going to be easy enough to track down and re-watch, whenever and wherever you want.
So settle in and prepare to relive the feature films of your youth (or your teenage years, or your infancy) with 53 movies released in 2001. Let us know your favorites in the comments below.
Colin Farrell will be playing Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, but he will look nothing like himself. The change is so drastic that another cast member mistook him for a random “overconfident” extra on the film’s set.
As reported by Movieweb, Rupert Penry-Jones, who plays a “mysterious victim” in The Batman, admitted to having no idea he was talking to Farrell when he was in full costume.
“I arrived on set and there was this guy walking around who was being so over confident,” Penry-Jones said. “I had no idea who he was. He was being really friendly, he was telling all these stories, I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ I thought he might’ve been a supporting actor [an extra to you and me]. He kept on talking to me, just really friendly, really nice, and I started noticing things about his costume. He had a brace on his leg and these weird scars on his face, and I thought, ‘This is quite a lot of effort they’ve gone to for a supporting artist…’ and suddenly I realized, ‘Wait a minute this guy must be playing the Penguin, oh my God that’s Colin Farrell!'”
“I had only started it and I can’t wait to get back,” Farrell said. “The creation of it, the aesthetic of the character, has been fun and I really am so excited to get back and explore it. And I haven’t got that much to do. I have a certain amount in the film. I am not all over it by any means. But there are a couple of some tasty scenes I have in it and my creation and I can’t wait to get back. Yeah, I totally feel like it is something that I have not had the opportunity to explore before. It feels original and fun. But I am only at the start of the journey so I can’t wait to get back and really get into it.”
Quentin Tarantino recently appeared on a three-hour long episode of The Empire Film Podcast with Edgar Wright and spoke about how the talk show scene in Todd Phillips’ Joker is “subversion on a massive level.”
As reported by The Playlist, Tarantino began by discussing how, while most of the Joker is “fine,” the talk show show scene is where it becomes something truly special.
“Then it gets to the talk show scene, and you feel the ENTIRE atmosphere in the theater change,” Tarantino says with excitement. “It’s not suspense; they are beyond suspense. They are riveted. Everybody in the audience is completely plugged in.
“The subversion on a massive level, the thing that’s profound is this: It’s not just suspenseful, it’s not just riveting and exciting, the director subverts the audience because the Joker is a fucking nut,” Tarantino explained. “Robert De Niro’s talk show character is not a movie villain. He seems like an asshole, but he’s not more of an asshole than David Letterman. He’s just an asshole comedian, talk show guy.
“He’s not a movie villain. He doesn’t deserve to die. Yet, while the audience is watching the Joker, they want him to kill Robert De Niro; they want him to take that gun, and stick it in his eye and blow his fucking head off. And if the Joker didn’t kill him? You would be pissed off. That is subversion on a massivelevel! They got the audience to think like a fucking lunatic and to want something [they would never normally want]. And they will lie about it! [“Audiences] will say, ‘no, I didn’t [want that to happen]!,’ and they are fucking liars. They did.”
Tarantino also noted that you did yourself a disservice if you didn’t see Joker in the theater. In his words, “You got a hand job as opposed to great sex… [or a] three-some.”
Throughout the podcast, Tarantino also touches on James Cameron’s Aliens, The Terminator, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, and Django Unchained.
From Pickle Rick to the Vat of Acid, Rick Sanchez has proven himself to be the smartest man in the Universe. And across every feasible dimension, there can be only one Rick who’s the ultimate Rick. So, looking back at all 4 seasons, here are the Rickest Moments so far in Rick and Morty.
Apex Legends Season 8: Mayhem introduces Fuse, aka the “Bombastic Explosives Expert.” The latest addition to the roster has officially joined the Apex Games, and he arrives along with the new 30-30 Repeater and several welcome changes to Kings Canyon, which is now back in the map rotation following its removal in Season 7. If you’re having trouble with Fuse’s abilities, you’ve come to the right place–we have a few tips and tricks for how to best utilize his explosive moveset.
Unlocking Fuse is an easy enough process–you just need to buy him. Head on over to the Legends tab while in Apex Legends’ in-game store and then click on his icon. Per usual, the new legend costs 12,000 Legend Tokens or 750 Apex Coins, whichever you prefer. Legend Tokens are earned by playing and leveling up while Apex Coins can only be bought with real-world money. Starting at level four, you earn 600 Legend Tokens every time you level up, so that’s 20 levels. 750 Apex Coins is about $8 USD.
Fuse’s General Overview
Alright, so now that you have Fuse, how do you use his skills effectively? Well, despite his laid-back attitude, there’s actually a bit of meticulous strategy to playing as Fuse. All of his abilities are based around doing as much explosive damage as quickly and efficiently as possible, but you won’t go very far if you just fire them off willy-nilly–especially while indoors as Fuse’s abilities will damage him if he’s caught in the blast radius. Though Fuse can be an excellent character for temporary area denial if you don’t have a Wattson or Caustic in your squad (both of whom offer a more effective solution), it’s not his strong suit. Fuse is at his absolute best when out in the open, spearheading his squad’s offensive efforts, especially when third-partying (which, for those not in the know, is the act of joining an ongoing fight between two other squads once they’ve both thinned each others’ numbers a little). Thanks to his abilities, Fuse can turn the tides in his squad’s favor when they’re launching ambushes or trying to fight off more than one enemy squad.
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Apex Legends – Official “Meet Fuse” Character Trailer
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Passive Ability: Grenadier – Stack an extra grenade per inventory slot. Fire grenades farther, faster, and more accurately.
Fuse is the only character who can stack two grenades per inventory slot, freeing up extra space for healing, ammo, or just way more grenades. But it’s the second aspect of his passive that is worth pointing you. Fuse flings grenades incredibly far and with pinpoint accuracy, adding them as a viable option for long-range combat.
Tactical Ability: Knuckle Cluster – Launch a cluster bomb that continuously expels airburst explosives on impact. (Cooldown time: 25 seconds)
Even if you haven’t looted grenades to take advantage of his passive, Fuse always has access to grenades thanks to his tactical ability. A direct hit from Knuckle Cluster will initially deal 10 damage with the four subsequent explosions doing 10 damage each for a combined total of 50 damage. If you don’t land a direct hit then the overall damage will depend on how many of the explosions hit the target.
Ultimate Ability: The Motherlode – Launch a bombardment that encircles a target area in a wall of flame. (Charge time: 120 seconds)
Fuse has an amazing ultimate ability–while it lacks the overall area of effect that Gibraltar and Bangalore have with their ultimate abilities, that’s a small tradeoff when you factor in that The Motherlode is a brutal trap. Those inside the ring of fire it creates will be forced to remain in place or risk taking damage. If they try to escape the circle, they’ll immediately take 35 damage and be slowed, taking an additional five ticks of 8 damage, for a total of 75 damage once all is said and done. And this ability has range–Fuse can fire it up to 200m away.
Tips To Play Fuse
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fuse’s abilities excel at mid- to long-range, so weapons that can handle combat at both ranges are ideal complements–the 30-30 Repeater, G7-Scout, Hemlock, and Triple-Take are our personal favorites
Wattson is a hard counter to Fuse as her Interception Pylon will intercept all thrown grenades, Knuckle Cluster, and The Motherlode–essentially cancelling out all of his abilities. If you spy a Wattson, you need to hit hard and fast before she has a chance to set up.
Octane, Wraith, Pathfinder, and Horizon can soft counter Fuse by using their abilities to outrun or avoid his abilities, and Caustic and Bangalore can soft counter Fuse by using their abilities to blind him (to be most effective, all of Fuse’s abilities require you to have some idea of where an enemy is).
Fuse is a hard counter for both Lifeline and Rampart. Knuckle Cluster can finish off targets being revived through Combat Revive or trying to heal with D.O.C. Heal Drone, and The Motherlode can easily trap targets who are huddled around D.O.C. or Lifeline’s Care Package. Rampart’s abilities don’t fare much better–Knuckle Cluster instantly destroys Amped Walls and can be easily stuck to a Rampart who’s prone while using her Emplaced Minigun, and The Motherlode can easily trap Rampart while she’s using Emplaced Minigun.
Fuse is a soft counter for Revenant, as The Motherlode can trap targets using or returning to the simulacrum’s Death Totem. The Motherlode soft counters Loba as well by punishing squads that group around Black Market Boutique. Fuse is also a soft counter to Mirage, as a well placed Knuckle Cluster will damage Mirage and likely destroy all (or at least most) of his decoys if timed to go off just after he uses Life of the Party.
Fuse benefits from having a Pathfinder or Octane on his squad, as either one can use their ultimate abilities to help him get to high ground and rain down destruction. Octane’s Jump Pad is also helpful for getting you over the flames and into the center of The Motherlode to finish off a squad you trapped (remember: you also take damage from your abilities so do not walk through the flames). Additionally, Fuse pairs up well with Bloodhound and Crypto, who can reveal enemy positions in order for him to better hit far-off targets with Grenadier and The Motherlode.
Season 8’s Fuse, an offensive legend, is the first time that Respawn has added two new characters of the same class back-to-back–Season 7 saw the introduction of Horizon, another offensive legend.
How To Best Use Grenadier
Thanks to Grenadier, Fuse can pull off some incredible ricochets with Frag Grenades, as he fires them with enough force that they keep going a ways even after bouncing off a wall. You don’t even have to put your incredible geometry skills to good use either, as Fuse can see the path the grenade will take after the bounce.
When using Loba’s Black Market Boutique, Fuse can steal two grenades of the same type at once, provided that two grenades of the same type are in the area. This is a great way to make sure you always have enough explosives to take full advantage of Grenadier.
How To Best Use Knuckle Cluster
Knuckle Cluster is a great breaching tool for doors; use it to ensure no one is trying to ambush you–the cascading explosions will damage and likely clear out any targets lying in wait near the doorway.
If an enemy is holding a door closed while healing, don’t bother kicking open the door when your tactical ability is ready to go–not only is Knuckle Cluster faster but you’ll likely down them with the subsequent explosions.
When fired in an enclosed space, Knuckle Cluster is a great way to stave off an enemy’s advancement just long enough to pop a shield cell or begin your retreat, so if your team is on the back-pedal, fire your tactical–the enemy may still push through it, but at least you’ll know that they’ll have to take damage to do so.
Like Rampart’s Amped Wall, a direct hit from Knuckle Cluster will instantly destroy Loba’s Black Market, Wattson’s Perimeter Security, Crypto’s Surveillance Drone, and Revenant’s Death Totem.
Knuckle Cluster is surprisingly loud, so use it to mask the noise made when reviving a squadmate.
How To Best Use The Motherlode
The Motherlode can only be fired upwards in an arc, so you should never use it while indoors unless your plan is to corner yourself alongside your enemies so that you can yell, “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re all trapped in here with me!”
The Motherlode pairs well with Horizon’s Black Hole–let her drag an enemy squad together so that you can trap them all at once. Or, conversely, fire The Motherlode first and then place Black Hole near the edges to drag enemy squads into the damaging flames. Either way, you can get some extra damage by firing your Knuckle Cluster into the mix or have Caustic toss in his Nox Gas Grenade or Gibraltar call in his Defensive Bombardment.
Pay attention to the map to find ideal targets for The Motherlode. Squads (especially inexperienced ones) traditionally pack together when using Respawn Beacons, crafting at Replicators, or looting Care Packages–all of which are ideal scenarios for The Motherlode to trap them.
The Motherlode doesn’t affect teammates, only enemies and yourself, so even if you can’t run through the flames in order to finish off a trapped squad, your allies can.
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Firebase Z is the newest map in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War‘s Zombies mode. While the map is now live and available to play for all players, the upcoming Easter egg quest doesn’t go live until 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT on Friday, February 5. For now, there are still some essential tasks you can get started on learning in the new Firebase Z map, including how to turn on the power and how to activate the Pack-A-Punch machine.
Get a head start on these now so you can be prepared to tackle whatever the Easter egg quest has in store tomorrow, including a new way to unlock the RAI K-84 Firebase Z Wonder Weapon.
How to turn on the power
When you first drop into the map, your first objective is to talk to Ravenov. Follow the waypoint and you’ll find him shacked up in a corner area of the courtyard. Chat with Ravenov and he’ll tell you about the Pack-A-Punch machine, eventually directing you to a teleporter that’ll take you to Omega Base.
How to get to the teleporter
Use the teleporter to get to Omega Base.
To get to the teleporter, you need to open up a door leading to an Equipment Storage area with stairs that’ll take you to the roof. Shoot up some zombies until you’ve collected 1,250 points and then cash those in to get the door open. Follow the waypoint up and you’ll hear some more radio chatter from Doctor Peck discussing turning the power on. But you can just ignore that and hop in to arrive at Omega Base.
How to activate the Aether Reactors
Once you arrive at Omega Base, your mission is to activate all three Aether Reactors at a total cost of 1,500 points–500 each.
Aether Reactor locations
Reactor One – Military Command
Reactor Two – Mission Control
Reactor Three – Data Center
Each Aether Reactor is marked with waypoints on the map, so head to whichever one you and your crew want to start with first. Know that each area will be locked with some gates, so grind away at the spawning zombies until you have enough points to open the way to them all.
Activating an Aether Reactor in Firebase Z.
Activating an Aether Reactor is simple. Approach it and fork over the points needed to turn it on. Once you’ve done that, your next job is to defend the Collector points found in the immediate vicinity from a few waves of zombies. If you’re having trouble keeping track of which collector is being attacked, look out for when each one’s respective “Protect” waypoints flash red, which indicates when they’re being damaged. Unload on the invading undead long enough and eventually the Collectors will charge fully, thus activating the Aether Reactor.
You’ll need to fight off waves of zombies after activating each reactor.
Repeat this process with the rest of the Aether Reactors and you’ll have successfully turned on the power. With that objective finished, head back to the teleporter.
How to activate the Pack-A-Punch
Now that you’re back at the starting courtyard area, return to Ravenov and interact with the Pack-A-Punch machine to turn it on. You can now upgrade the firepower of your weapons, which will be a must to successfully complete Firebase Z’s Easter egg.
Using the Pack-A-Punch machine in Firebase Z.
The first upgrade will cost you 5,000 points, with subsequent ones coming in at 15,000 and 30,000 points. Be sure to come back when your currently equipped weapon isn’t quite cutting it against the undead hordes.
How to complete Firebase Z’s Easter egg
The Firebase Z Easter Egg isn’t live yet, so we don’t yet know how to complete it. Be sure to check back later, as we’ll be updating this guide with all the information you need to know.
How to unlock the RAI K-84 Wonder Weapon
The RAI-K84 Wonder Weapon.
The RAI K-84 is the big new Zombies mode weapon added alongside the Firebase Z map. You can technically unlock it now; for more details, read our guide on how to unlock the RAI K-84. We’ll update this guide when we learn how to unlock the RAI K-84 in tandem with the Easter egg.
Ahead of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition’s May release, developer BioWare keeps teasing us with comparison shots of just how much the upcoming remaster reimagines the appearance of certain characters and places. The studio has now tweeted a side-by-side for how protagonist Shepard’s appearance changes.
The comparison in question specifically looks at the default appearance of the character in the original Mass Effect. As you would think, the change for the default female version of the character is a far more drastic change, as there was no iconic female option until Mass Effect 3.
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BioWare said that implementing iconic female Shepard into Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 was one of the first things the studio did for the remaster. “We’ve done another pass on her where we’ve done everything from slightly modifying some larger forms of her face or adding some medium and fine details like wrinkles and pores and specular breakup,” environment and character artist Kevin Meek said.
Beyond this, BioWare has retroactively added Mass Effect 3’s improvements to the character creator back into the first two games with this remaster, allowing you to put together your ideal Shepard right from the get-go. Additionally, the developer has added brand-new options that weren’t previously in the original trilogy, including more Black hairstyles.
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Mass Effect: Legendary Edition will launch for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The remaster will support faster loading speeds when played via backwards compatibility on Xbox Series X|S and PS5.
Chadwick Boseman has posthumously made SAG Award nomination history by receiving a total of four nominations on Thursday. No other actor has earned that many in a single year in the movie categories.
Additionally, Boseman was nominated as Levee for the outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role category. He was again nominated for Stormin’ Norman in the outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role.
