When Marvel’s Black Widow hit theaters and Disney+ last week, it snuck in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first mutant in the form of Ursa Major, member of Russian mutant team the Winter Guard–at least if actor Olivier Richters’ Instagram post is accurate (via Uproxx).
After Natasha Romanoff’s peaceful, if false, life in Ohio is upset so that she and her adoptive sister can be trained as an assassins, their mission-father Alexei Shostakov ends up in a Russian gulag where we find him effortlessly arm-wrestling (and maiming) a giant man he refers to as Ursa.
The post features Richters flexing alongside a gallery of comic book shots of Ursa Major, who has the ability to turn into a bear. In the comics, Ursa Major is a mutant like the X-Men, New Mutants, and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
“Marvel’s Black Widow is out. After two years, I can finally tell who my character is as stated on the IMDB: Ursa Major,” Richters wrote in the post. “The first mutant (X-Men) to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. … Ursa is part of the Winter Guard, noted for being ‘Russia’s answer to the Avengers.’ His power transforms him into an incredible bear, transcending The Hulk in size. Ursa appears many times in the comics fightning [sic] Wolverine and The Hulk. When production on set told me who I really was in Black Widow I let some tears in my hotel room, because my movie dream became true: being a official comic super Hero. I can only hope Marvel will bring back Ursa in full form.”
Richters appears to have edited the post slightly to remove the words “the first” and the X-Men parenthetical.
While this post officially confirms Richter’s role as Ursa Major in the MCU, whether or not he’s a mutant is a lot more complicated. Until Disney acquired Fox’s library of movies and television shows and the related rights 2018, the licensing rights to the X-Men and mutants belonged to Fox and were out of Marvel’s hands, forcing Marvel Studios to focus on then-less-popular characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.
With the X-Men back in Marvel’s house, mutants can join the MCU anytime. This seems, however, like something Marvel would want to do with more fanfare. Further, Marvel Studios has used mutants before–Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, better known as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, are mutants in the Marvel comics. Wanda is one of the most powerful mutants, too, with the ability to manipulate reality itself. For the MCU, however, she received her powers through experiments by Hydra using the Infinity stones that would later populate Thanos’ golden glove.
Quicksilver even appeared in both the MCU (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron) and in Fox’s X-Men series (played by Evan Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men Apocalypse, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix). WandaVision played with this duality in one of the most hotly-debated Marvel cameos yet.
In other words, while Ursa Major is historically a mutant, it’s impossible to say just yet whether or not the X-Gene is flowing through his veins.
“I’ve peaked in silliness,” Jamil wrote in the post. “I’m so excited!” Jamil, set to play the role of She-Hulk antagonist Titania, tagged the post with hashtags for Marvel, the MCU, and She-Hulk specifically. The video shows Jamil, masked and throwing a roundhouse kick. “I can’t believe I get to say this… Fighting my way through the MCU, coming to you in 2022!” reads the video, which then finishes off with a photo from Jamil of herself as a toddler striking an action pose. Jamil replied to a few responses, saying that her favorite Marvel stories are anything with Loki, though she also likes Drax, Groot, and Rocket as well. Jamil suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Sydrome, a disorder that affects connective tissue, and said in the thread that the She-Hulk team is “being amazing,” and that she plans to talk about it next year.
Disney first announced the She-Hulk show in August 2019 as part of D23. Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black) will play the part of She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters, cousin of Bruce Banner. In the comics, a blood transfusion from Banner imbues her with the same gamma-irradiated powers as her cousin. In the comics, Jennifer has full control over her powers, while Banner usually doesn’t. With Banner having merged Hulk and Banner in the MCU, this dynamic could shift for She-Hulk.
Walters is a lawyer specializing in super-powered beings, and the show is reportedly set to be a half-hour courtroom comedy, but with Jamil’s training videos we’re betting that case proceedings won’t go entirely peacefully. Titania is a frequent rival of She-Hulk, imbued with super strength. The comics have her getting her powers from Doctor Doom on a composite planet called Battleworld–we’re betting they’ll go with a more straight-forward but thematically similar approach for the character in the show.
Mark Ruffalo and Tim Roth will reprise their roles as Bruce Banner/Hulk and Abomination for the show. Roth’s Abomination was spotted in the latest trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, so we’re getting all the gamma-irradiated Marvel characters we can handle. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has suggested that the show will have all kinds of cameos, so cross your fingers for your favorite Marvel characters to show up. With that said, the Marvel shows so far–WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki, have focused primarily on their main characters and shied away from high-profile cameos.
Marvel Studios has not yet set a release date for the show, but as Jamil’s tweet suggests, we’re expecting it sometime in 2022. In the meantime, we can look forward to Marvel’s What If…? in August and Hawkeye, which Black Widow teased a connection for, later this year.
After Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD changed a few things from their original releases, it was safe to assume Nintendo would do the same with the announcement of Skyward Sword HD in the February 2021 Nintendo Direct. But what exactly was changed? Well, we played both games to 100% completion and put them side by side to try and spot as many differences as we could, big and small.
Some of these changes include button controls for the entire game, brand-new camera controls, a new autosave system, character names added to text boxes, amiibo functionality, and a bunch of others, but you’ll have to watch the video to see everything. So stop reading this description and go do that if you haven’t already.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is now available for the Nintendo Switch. Alongside the game, Nintendo released a pair of Joy-Con controllers themed after the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, and a Zelda & Loftwing amiibo figure. If you’re looking for more Skyward Sword HD videos, we’ve got you covered here on GameSpot:
Collecting insects is an optional component to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, but it adds depth to the customization of your inventory. The ability to brew high-grade potions is a luxury in the standard game, and a necessity if you dare to challenge hero mode.
You will come across many insects on the beaten path during your adventure, and you can catch them with the Bug Net item that you can purchase from Beedle’s shop. While most bugs pop up at random throughout the world, some rarer types will require you to look a little harder. Later in the game, you can play a bug-catching mini-game, where you will be rewarded with five bugs of a specific type, depending on your performance.
Once you have some bugs, take them to the Potion Shop inside the Skyloft Bazaar. There, bugs can be used to power up standard potions and greatly increase their effectiveness. Insects can also be a great source for acquiring Rupees. If you approach Strich at night in his room in the Knight Academy, he will buy three random insect types, at values ranging from 1 to 50 rupees.
We’ve got everything you need to know about Skyward Sword’s bug population on the table below, from where you can find each type, to what it’s used for, and what it’ll fetch you in a sale.
Blue butterflies found throughout Skyloft and the surface. These often mark the locations of Gossip Stones and Goddess Walls.
Stamina Potion + (2), Air Potion + (2)
5 Rupees
Gerudo Dragonfly
Dragonflies that spawn throughout the desert, and are usually found in pairs. Mildly difficult to catch.
Revitalizing Potion++ (1), Stamina Potion + (2)
30 Rupees
Sky Stag Beetle
They tend to lazily hang on tree trunks in Skyloft. They’re easily caught by rolling into trees, no net required!
Stamina Potion+ (2), Air Potion+ (2)
20 Rupees
Eldin Roller
These quick beetles are tricky to catch, but you’ll find them all over the Eldin Volcano region. Easily dug up near the entrance of the Fire Sanctuary.
Heart Potion++ (1), Guardian Potion+ (2)
40 Rupees
Faron Grasshopper
Grasshoppers appear all over Faron Woods, most conveniently, near the sealed grounds.
Guardian Potion+ (1), Stamina Potion+ (1)
40 Rupees
Deku Hornet
These irksome bugs are all over Faron Woods. You can easily capture swarms by dislodging their hive and netting the enraged hornets as they seek revenge on you.
Heart Potion++ (3), Revitalizing Potion+ (3)
1 Rupee
Skyloft Mantis
These are some of the rarest and most difficult insects to catch. Easiest to locate at the pumpkin patch in Skyloft.
Air Potion+ (2), Revitalizing Potion+ (2)
20 Rupees
Lanayru Ant
These ants are quite common in the desert, and can be found in bulk near the Lanayru Sea. Look for them under piles of sand you’ll need to clear with your Bellows.
Revitilazing Potion++ (3), Air Potion+ (2)
20 Rupees
Sand Cicada
The Lanayru cicadas are hard to find, but easy to catch. Check around the desert entrance.
Heart Potion++ (1), Revitalizing Potion++ (1)
50 Rupees
Volcanic Ladybug
You’ll find ladybugs all over the cave walls of the Eldin Volcano region. They’re slow-moving and easy to catch.
Heart Potion+ (1), Stamina Potion+ (3)
30 Rupees
Starry Firefly
Only found at night in Skyloft. You can easily collect them by sleeping at Beedle’s Airshop. They also like to hang around by the water’s edge.
Guardian Potion + (3)
30 Rupees
Woodland Rhino Beetle
These forest beetles are pretty plentiful in Faron Woods. The easiest place to find them is on vines near the Sealed Grounds.
Screenwriter Eric Pearson would seem to have the Marvel Cinematic Universe running through his bloodstream at this point. After enrolling in the Marvel screenwriting program in 2010, he wrote the four Marvel One-Shot short films that were released from 2011-2013. That led to his working on the Agent Carter TV show before he co-wrote the screenplay for Thor: Ragnarok while also handling various uncredited script doctoring assignments for the studio. And his latest MCU project, Black Widow, just hit theaters and Disney+ Premier Access.
Pearson chatted with IGN to fill us in on the process behind penning the return of Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff, which just broke pandemic box office records. We discussed the changes made to the Taskmaster character, what’s really up with Red Guardian and Captain America, the big Easter egg he really wants to drop in the MCU, and more.
David Harbour’s Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov is one of the highlights of Black Widow, a blowhard Russian version of Captain America who tells seemingly tall tales about fighting Cap back in his glory days. The movie has some fans debating the question of whether or not Red Guardian and Captain America ever really battled it out, because while it’s true Cap was on ice in 1984 when Alexei says they fought, we also know Steve Rogers has travelled through time (and therefore could’ve shown up in 1984). For his part, Pearson doesn’t think Alexei is lying. Which doesn’t necessarily make his stories true…
“I think that Alexei Shostakov believes every word he says,” says Pearson. “Whether or not it’s true, time will tell probably. I love him as a dopey adversary. Steve Rogers is great because he’s a scrawny guy who only wishes he were bigger so he would have a chance to fight the bad guys. And in the arms race of the Super Soldier serum, the Soviet Union — I just like to find the comedy in it — and they gave it to a guy who’s narcissistic and already big and strong. And all he wants to do is be Steve Rogers on the front lines with his shield. But instead, in kind of being ahead of the game of the Cold War, they make him go undercover. So he literally has to pretend he’s not strong. That is really fun for me. And that makes it fun for Alexei as a character who constantly feels the need to remind people that he’s great. And especially when you’re thinking of an embarrassing dad, what could be worse? Someone who’s talking about how great they are.”
At one point in Black Widow, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova refers to Red Guardian as “Crimson Dynamo” — either by mistake, or purposely to bruise his ego. But Crimson Dynamo is actually another Russian hero from the Marvel comics; he’s sort of an Iron Man from behind the Iron Curtain. And indeed, Red Guardian and Crimson Dynamo have both served on the Russian superhero team the Winter Guard. (The original Crimson Dynamo in the comics also shared a name with Mickey Rourke’s character’s father in Iron Man 2.) Pearson says the reference is more for fun than any concrete evidence that the other Winter Guard characters exist in the MCU, however.
“I’m not sure if they do or do not exist,” he says. “Weirdly, I remembered the Crimson Dynamo [while writing]. That was a pure callback back from having read comics as a kid. And the idea of just someone calling him the wrong superhero name, I just put that in there. Whenever I’m writing for one of these, I always try and add in extra references, just in case an Easter egg works. For Thor: Ragnarok, there were a couple of different times [we did that]. There was Beta Ray Bill showing up here, or he’s over here, just little passing by things. And ultimately we decided it was too distracting and didn’t work. [Though Bill did still get a different shout-out in the film.] But in this one, I remember just writing the dialogue, knowing [the character]. I did a quick check to be like, ‘I am thinking of a Marvel character, not a DC character?’ I was like, ‘Yep. It was Marvel. I’m just putting it in.’ And then it never got flagged. And I think it gets a pretty good laugh too.”
That said, even for someone who has worked so extensively with Marvel, Pearson is still not sure what goes on behind closed doors that determines which Easter eggs make it through and which don’t. He does have a particularly notable Marvel reference that he’s been trying to push through, though.
“I might’ve had a reference to [Doctor Doom’s home country] Latveria in there — I might have, but I don’t think so. I don’t think that lasted very long,” he laughs. “I’m always trying to throw Latveria into stuff. … It’s like one of those things where you want to be the first one to say it on an Instagram post or something!”
The Transformation of the Taskmaster
One of the biggest ways the Black Widow movie differs from the Marvel comics is in its depiction of the secondary villain the Taskmaster. In earlier versions of the story, the character was a guy named Tony Masters (like in the comics) who Nat had a run-in with in Captain America: Civil War or Captain America: The Winter Soldier and they had “some sort of past,” says Pearson. “But it felt less than [satisfactory] to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m this guy with this power for some reason. And I hate you.’ I wanted to make it resonate more for who she is and her journey.”
In the film we eventually learn that she’s Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of primary villain General Dreykov (Ray Winstone), who was badly injured in an attack by Natasha years earlier. Essentially mindless now — or trapped in her own mind — she is like a walking, not-talking killing machine who her father utilizes for high-stakes missions.
“We knew that Taskmaster would be there as this kind of Terminator-like villain, a physical villain,” says Pearson. “I was focusing on the bigger picture of the Red Room and Dreykov and what’s the appropriate adversary, big picture-wise, for Natasha. And it really just fell into place. … Okay. They stole the key to freewill and the ability to deconstruct the brain from Ohio [during the undercover assignment in the film’s opening flashback scene]. Okay. Dreykov is running this, and [Nat] tried to kill him, and it didn’t work. Okay. She’s got a dark secret from her past that she’s really ashamed of. And in the opening, we see her as a child, most passionate about trying to protect Yelena. So protecting little girls, girls that are younger than her, that’s very important.”
So from there, it became a question of what would be the darkest thing that Nat could have done? The thing that she’d be the most ashamed of?
“Oh, she intentionally put a young girl [in danger],” continues Pearson. “That felt like something that was a good emotional wound for Natasha to have to overcome. And then also for Natasha, as someone who likes to be in control of their life and information, the idea of a secret from the past, or a loose end, is something that she would hate. So this thing that you thought you did, it actually wasn’t that way. Plus, we’ve got this mystery of Dreykov’s daughter. … I was like, well, this seems to make sense a lot, and it gives her something to not expect in the final confrontation of like, ‘Oh wait, no, there’s a face to my haunted past that’s really traumatizing.’”
Yelena Belova and Not Passing the Black Widow Torch (Yet)
Marvel certainly seems to be positioning Pugh’s character Yelena to replace Natasha as the MCU’s new Black Widow, even if the Black Widow movie’s post credits scene sets her up as an adversary for Clint Barton in the upcoming Hawkeye Disney+ series. Either way, Pearson says that he never saw Yelena in a “passing the torch” sort of way.
“I didn’t see it that way, just because every time you try and look forward too much in writing a Marvel movie, they remind you of how much work you still have to do on this movie,” he laughs. “It also feels kind of arrogant and obnoxious to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, this character is going to just go on to run millions of franchise.’ Well, you haven’t done one yet. You have not completed one movie with this person yet. So why don’t you stop patting yourself on the back and do some work? That’s the attitude that I’ve found there. And also, as far as me as a fan though, I would love to see more stories of all of these people.”
From Pearson’s first talks with Marvel about Black Widow, there was already in place the film’s basic idea around Nat’s secret family — their past together, then the years spent apart, and then “getting the band back together,” as he puts it. When it came to Yelena, the writer felt Natasha needed “a good foil” — not an adversary, but someone who could take on Natasha where her defenses are greatest, namely her emotional dimensions.
“There’s a clear delineation in Natasha Romanoff’s life,” says Pearson. “She had a traumatic upbringing in the Red Room, and then she defected and went to S.H.I.E.L.D., where she got to reinvent herself exactly how she wanted to be. And you see that in Winter Soldier and these other movies, where you never really know what you’re getting from her. She’s only speaking when she wants to. She’s controlling how much you know her, how much she knows you. This movie, we had to knock all that down. So the best way to do it was with these people who know her in a way that she can’t control. And for Yelena to come in… contrary to Nat, she’s like an emotional volcano. She’s just so willing to state her opinion, say what she thinks, talk about how her feelings were hurt. She’ll just say it all. What could make Natasha Romanoff more uncomfortable? It was great to come at it from, ‘Okay, I’ve got to dig into Natasha. It’s Natasha’s movie. And now we’ve got this powerhouse in Florence, but how are we going to get the best out of Natasha? It’s by having the appropriate Yelena to screw with her.’”
What did you think of Black Widow? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Insomniac Games shed the “conventional wisdom” that games need to be difficult in designing Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.
In an interview with Axios, Rift Apart game director Mike Daly explained that the team’s thinking on difficulty had changed and that the studio no longer felt the need to design games that were satisfying as a result of difficulty.
“We have to sort of shed this conventional wisdom that games kind of need to be a hardass for you to get satisfaction out of it,” Daly said. “We no longer think about, like, ‘What will make the most elite players feel good about themselves?’ And more like, ‘What will enable everybody to have the experience they want to have?’ Because that’s sort of the most important thing to us.”
Axios pointed out many of the ways Ratchet & Clank has grown more accessible to players, citing things like the game’s “ping” and hint system, its Activity Cards, and skippable puzzles.
Insomniac Games’ director of core technology, Mike Fitzgerald, said making puzzle levels in a Ratchet & Clank game completely skippable like they are in Rift Apart “would have been unthinkable three to five years ago.”
The PlayStation Plus-exclusive Activity Cards go a long way in making the Rift Apart experience easier for players, too, be it a player finds themselves stuck on where to go next or looking for something quick to do in the game. As Axios pointed out, the Rift Apart cards are used to signpost in-game tasks as well as hidden items or trophy-related quests.
They also reveal how long certain tasks will take to complete so a player with just 20 minutes to play can easily jump into something in Rift Apart that shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes. Axios says these times are estimates on the developer’s behalf that are then compared to other players’ average times using Sony’s online PlayStation Network.
The portable device bears more than a passing resemblance to Nintendo’s popular handheld-console hybrid, the Nintendo Switch, given its general size and form factor. But unlike the Switch, the Steam Deck is built to play your Steam library on-the-go, and the impressive-looking piece of tech is launching this December. Here is everything we know so far, including the various versions, incompatible games, design, battery, specs, accessories, and preorder information.
Valve surprised the gaming community this week with the announcement of the Steam Deck, a new foray into dedicated PC gaming hardware. The portable device bears more than a passing resemblance to Nintendo’s popular handheld-console hybrid, the Nintendo Switch, given its general size and form factor. But unlike the Switch, the Steam Deck is built to play your Steam library on-the-go, and the impressive-looking piece of tech is launching this December. Here is everything we know so far, including the various versions, incompatible games, design, battery, specs, accessories, and preorder information.
Call of Duty’s Zombies mode has been around for almost as long as the series entirely. Dating back to 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War, the side mode (that almost wasn’t) took over and became a phenomenon over night. In this video, Richie Bracamonte explains why the series is so fun and the reasons why it’s so great.
From humble beginnings, to the sprawling multiverse it has become, Zombies mode has had many successful staples of gameplay that have helped it succeed for more than 10 years. These include gameplay mechanics like perks, wonder weapons and the hunt for the illustrious Easter eggs. As the years went on, more and more secrets were uncovered that led to a grand story. Across multiple titles through the Black Ops series, we saw strong character development and several additions to the mode that only made for a stronger experience.
Today, Zombies mode is still going strong. New maps are regularly added, as well as new modes and ways to play. The story continues to expand on a seasonal basis, and fans are still chomping at the bit for more content just like they were in 2008. Stay tuned to GameSpot for Zombies updates and more nostalgic videos just like this one.
July has finally arrived, and with it comes some incredible events like EA Play Live and its Spotlight Series, San Diego Comic-Con (which is taking the form of the all-digital event known as Comic-Con at Home), TennoCon, and much more.
IGN is carrying the streams for many of these events and, as usual, this July 2021 event hub and watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch each and every show, including when they start, a list of places you can watch them with us, and what you can expect to see at each show.
If you’re interested in watching TennoCon and all the events that will make up EA Play Live, we’ll be hosting the stream here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch these events:
Warframe fans rejoice! TennoCon – Warframe’s online convention – is taking place on Saturday, July 17 and promises to reveal “what lies in wait for the future” as the New War approaches. The TennoCon stream begins with a Welcome to TennoCon 2021 event at 9:30am PT/12:30pm ET/5:30pm BST. If you are in Australia, that translates to Sunday, July 18 at 2:30 am AEST.
There will be streams throughout the day, but the main event – TennoLive – begins at 2pm PT/5pm ET and will feature a “celebration of all things Warframe with the year’s biggest news, reveals, and prizes hosted by the devstream crew.”
The full TennoCon schedule is as follows;
9:30am PT/12:30pm ET – Welcome to TennoCon – Get the full rundown of the day’s events, giveaways, and more.
10am PT/1pm ET – Sounds of the System – Join us as we pull back the curtain on how your favorite sounds in the Origin System are created! Caution: May contain brussels sprouts.
11am PT/2pm ET – Live Developer Q&A – Get answers to your questions straight from the source!
12pm PT/3pm ET – The Art of Warframe – Make sure you catch this in-depth look at the creative process of designing iconic Warframe characters, environments and worlds as we chronicle the story of Warframe up to now.
1:15pm PT/4:15pm PT – Community Art Show and Cosplay Contest – We’re showcasing the extraordinary creativity of the Warframe Community all throughout TennoCon! Don’t miss these amazing creations, Tenno.
2pm PT/5pm ET – TennoLive – Don’t miss the day’s main event! A celebration of all things Warframe with the year’s biggest news, reveals and prizes hosted by the Devstream crew.
EA Play Live Spotlight Series – Madden NFL All-Access: Scouting – How the Community Is Shaping Madden 22
The EA Play Live Spotlight Series is a collection of four events that share more about EA’s games ahead of its EA Play Live main showcase on July 22. Two of these events – The Future of FPS and EA <3s Independent Studios – have already taken place and have featured some of the developers behind Apex Legends, Battlefield 2042, It Takes Two, Lost in Random, and Knockout City sharing more details on their games and what the future holds for them and the industry as a whole.
The next EA Play Live Spotlight Series event – Madden NFL All-Access: Scouting – How the Community Is Shaping Madden NFL 22 – is set to take place on Monday, July 19 at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST. If you live in Australia, this translates to Tuesday, July 20 at 3am AEST.
This event will share stories of how “fans have impacted the development of franchise mode and helped bring to life highly requested features like Staff Management, weekly game strategy and a new scenario engine.” Furthermore, we will also get a first-ever deep dive reveal of the brand-new scouting feature that will arrive in Madden NFL 22 in September.
EA Play Live Spotlight Series – FIFA Next Gen Gameplay Powered by HyperMotion Technology
The fourth and final EA Play Live Spotlight Series event is FIFA Next Gen Gameplay Powered by HyperMotion Technology on Tuesday, July 20 at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST. If you live in Australia, this translates to Wednesday, July 21 at 3am AEST.
While EA hasn’t revealed too much of what we can expect from this Spotlight Series event, it did share that Wired UK’s Amit Katwala will be hosting a panel of FIFA developers including lead gameplay producer Sam Rivera, FIFA gameplay director Kantcho Doskov, gameplay producer Shaun Pejic, and global community engagement (FIFA) manager Gabriel Zero.
HyperMotion Technology combines “Advanced 11v11 Match Capture and proprietary machine learning technology to deliver the most realistic, fluid and responsive football experience for next-gen consoles and Stadia, unlocking the raw emotion, passion and physicality of the world’s game.”
All of these EA Play Live Spotlight Series events are leading to the EA Play Live main showcase that will feature new gameplay reveals, a few giveaways, and other surprises. EA understands that fans may be wondering what’s left for its main event after the Spotlight Series, but it promises the answer is, “a lot.” EA Play Live, which is being hosted by WWE superstar Austin Creed and will being on Thursday, July 22 at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST. If you live in Australia, this translates to Friday, July 23 at 3am AEST.
EA isn’t revealing everything that will be part of the show, but it does share that the event will run for around 40 minutes and will begin with a short pre-show that serves as a recap of sorts. While we know we will see more from Battlefield 2042, Apex Legends, and Lost in Random, it kind of feels as though we know more of what won’t be there than what will.
While we won’t be streaming SDCC, we are here to help you know exactly what will be featured at the show and when each event airs so you won’t miss a thing. SDCC in 2021 is an all-virtual event known as Comic-Con at Home 2021, and while it won’t feature the likes of Marvel and DC Films, there is a ton to look forward to.
Some of the biggest panels to look forward to during Comic-Con at Home 2021 will surely be the Snake Eyes panel on July 21, the Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two panel on July 23, The Walking Dead final season panel on July 24, and many more.
SDCC runs from July 21-25 and the full schedule is as follows:
Comics Arts Conference Session #2: Eisner’s A Contract With God In Depth
Cosplay–The Spice of Life!!!
Doctor Who
Housebroken
In Conversation with Alex Ross: The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Mural and Poster Book
Making A Living Being Creative: Film and Television
Manga Publishing Industry Roundtable
The Legacy of Del Close, Creator of DC Comics’ Wasteland
V. E. Schwab’s ExtraOrdinary Comics Panel
11am – 12pm PT
Animals in Graphic Novels and Games
BrickJournal: Building with LEGO During Covid
Comics Made Me Who I Am Today: Kids Graphic Novelists and Their Influences
Day of the Dead: Adapting a Legend
DC Wonder Women: Wonder Woman Across the Multiverse
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: From Animation to Imagineering
Narrative Design for the Computer Gaming Industry
Psychology and Pop Culture: An Empirical Adventure
Re-imagining
the Past, Present, and Future of Science Fiction and Fantasy The
Comics Craft of Genre and Developing Image Comics Characters That Leap
from the Page
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Underlined Buzz Panel
12pm – 1pm PT
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Cast Conversation and Sneak Peek
Dive into an Ocean of Science with Surfside Girls!
Drawing Apart: New Coming-of-Age Comics
Indie
Toy Makers Unite! A conversation with those making indie action
figures. Legacy of Aztec Culture: 500 Years After the Fall
LMGI: Hollywood Location Scouts
Telling True Tales
The Adventure Zone and Bubble: Podcasts to Comics
The Annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panel
The Great North
Tidings from Middle-earth: LOTR on Prime and more
1pm – 2pm PT
Behind the Score of Lovecraft Country
Black Nerd Problems
Cutting Edge Art Creation for Comics
Dexter
Don’t Fear A Red Planet
Globalization of Comics: Authors and Industry Breaking International Barriers Let’s Make a Comic with RH Graphic!
Meet the Creators and Cast of Netflix’s Norsemen
RWBY
The Secret Origin of “a Superstitious and Cowardly Lot”
Where Do We Go From Here?
2pm – 3pm PT
Comics Journalism 2021: Representation Matters
Flip it and Reverse it: YA Authors Reimagine Genre
How to write psychologically rich characters
More Science in Your Fiction with The League of Extraordinary Scientists & Engineers
Music in Motion Pictures and Television: The Soundtrack of Comic Book Characters and Superheroes
Netflix Geeked: Army of Thieves
Robotech: The New Beginning
The Art of Stardust with Charles Vess and Neil Gaiman
The Legacy of Chucky
The Mighty Crusaders: Archie Comics Super Heroes
3pm – 4pm PT
Behind the Scenes with the Creative Team of Image Comics’ Bestselling Superhero Series Radiant Black
Bob’s Burgers
Irish Hijinks with Thomas Lennon and Ronan Boyle
Meet the New Voice Talent Behind Anpanman
The Science of Star Wars
Tor: The Pitfalls of Perfect Worlds
Writing for TV: From First Draft to Getting Staffed
4pm – 5pm PT
A Conversation with the Cast & Executive Producers of EPIX’s Chapelwaite
How to Create Your Own Novel: From First Idea to Publishing
Jack Kirby: Architect of Science Fiction Land
Penguin Teen – Carving Out Space: Six YA Female Authors Discuss Their Craft
Uncovering the Science of Sci-Fi with Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
These are the main events we know about, but we will be updating this July 2021 event hub throughout the month as new and exciting events are announced![poilib element=”accentDivider”]
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.
The Continental, a John Wick spinoff about the fictional chain of hotels for assassins, has hired director Albert Hughes and seemingly reworked the premise into a three-night limited event series.
The Hollywood Reporter says that The Continental will now be three, 90-minute specials with a budget that now rivals some movies. Sources say filmmakers now have a $20 million budget to use for the limited event.
Hughes, who previously directed films like The Book of Eli, will direct the first and third episode and serve as an executive producer across all three installments. The director for the second episode has not been hired yet.
The Continental is set 40 years before the events of John Wick and will focus on a young Winston, played in the films by Ian McShane. The series will be about how The Continental chain was founded in 1970s New York.
Originally a movie about Keanu Reeves’ retired hitman avenging his murdered dog, the John Wick franchise has spawned its own mini-universe thanks to the world-building laid out by creator Derek Kolstad.
The fourth and fifth John Wick film is already in development, while a potential movie spinoff called Ballerina, based on the mysterious ballet troupe in John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, is currently in the works.
The team behind John Wick also created films like Atomic Blonde and Nobody, and while neither film is officially tied to the John Wick universe, the creators have teased there could be potential crossovers, but only in limited ways like in easter eggs.