New Predator Movie Will be Called ‘Skull’ And Will Feature a Female Hero

New details have been revealed for Dan Trachtenberg’s upcoming Predator movie, as the final leg of production gets underway.

During a recent interview with Collider, producers John Davis and John Fox revealed the title of the new Predator movie is Skull and that it is “probably three-quarters of the way through” production. They also shared that Trachtenberg’s film will be a female-fronted origin story tracing the Predator’s first journey to Earth.

“It goes back to what made the original Predator movie work,” Davis said of Predator 5, which he likened to the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring film The Revenant. “It’s the ingenuity of a human being who won’t give up, who’s able to observe and interpret, basically being able to beat a stronger, more powerful, well-armed force.”

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Both producers praised Trachtenberg’s “completely unique” vision for the movie, though it’s still unknown whether the tone of the film will steer it towards an R-rating or PG-13. Davis said it “it all depends on how you end up cutting it,” admitting that it was originally “conceived as an R-rated movie” but “it could easily end up PG-13” after edits.

Wherever it lands with its rating, Davis believes the fifth installment in the mainline Predator franchise could end up being one of the film series’ standout entries. “It’s going to be, I believe, the second best — or the first… or it may be equal to the first one,” he said, expressing his high regard for the upcoming Predator movie.

“I feel like the first one was a wonderful, interesting movie and I know what worked about it. I feel like we kind of never got back there again,” he added, comparing the franchise’s later releases to the 1987 original. “We ended up in different places. I think this is a worthy complement to the first one. It’s going to be as good.”

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The franchise’s previous entry, 2018’s The Predator, was written and directed by Iron Man 3’s Shane Black. It pulled in the highest box office gross for a single Predator movie, with a worldwide gross of $160.5 million. Only Aliens vs. Predator made more at the box office for the Predator franchise, hitting $177.4 million.

Unfortunately, The Predator cost a hefty $88 million to make and likely millions more to market, according to The Numbers. IGN’s review of The Predator acknowledged that the 2018 film “splintered apart in the haphazard and shoddy-looking last half-hour, largely derailing what began as a promising entry in the wildly inconsistent franchise.”

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Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Bob Odenkirk Hospitalized After Collapsing On Set of Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk was taken to hospital on Tuesday after reportedly collapsing on the set of AMC’s Breaking Bad spinoff series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Odenkirk, who is 58, was filming the sixth and final season of Better Call Saul in Albuquerque, New Mexico when the incident occurred. Crew members immediately responded to Odenkirk’s collapse and called an ambulance for the star to be swiftly taken to hospital, where he remained on Tuesday night.

Image credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

It’s not immediately clear what caused the collapse, though David Cross, who collaborated with Odenkirk on HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob and David, assured fans that he would provide an update when possible. “I will share what I know when I can but Bob is one of the strongest people I know both physically and spiritually,” he wrote on Twitter. “He WILL get through this.”

Michael McKean, Odenkirk’s Better Call Saul co-star, was one of many actors and industry professionals who wished Odenkirk well on social media following the news of his hospitalization. “Sending huge love to our @mrbobodenkirk,” he wrote on Twitter. “You got this, brother.”

Better Call Saul is currently shooting its sixth and final season, which will air on AMC in 2022. The series serves as a prequel to Breaking Bad, charting the evolution of Odenkirk’s character from his early days as a struggling lawyer named Jimmy McGill to becoming the popular Saul Goodman character he portrayed in the flagship series.

Odenkirk’s performance in Better Call Saul has earned him numerous awards and nominations, including three consecutive Golden Globes nominations for Best Actor in a Television Series, and four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He’s also picked up awards in similar categories at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards.

TMZ first reported this news.

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Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Dr. Mario World Will Be Unplayable After November 1

Dr. Mario World, the match-three mobile game released by Nintendo in 2019, will become unplayable after November 1.

Nintendo has shared the news on the official Dr. Mario World website where it said, “The Dr. Mario World game’s service will end on November 1, 2021”. The company offered a “sincere thanks” to players who have accessed the game since it began service in 2019.

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In the announcement, Nintendo explained, “If you start up the Dr. Mario World game after the game’s service has ended, an end-of-service notification will be displayed and you will not be able to play the game.” However, fans will still be able to access their player history once the Dr. Mario World servers shut down.

The company plans to release Dr. Mario World Memories, which “is a web page that will become available after the game’s service ends” and will act as a memento for those hoping to look back at their player history in the app.

In addition, Nintendo has also told fans that Diamonds, an in-game currency that can be obtained in exchange for real-world money on the app store, will “no longer be available for purchase from July 28, 2021.” In conjunction, Dr. Mario World’s official Twitter account announced the game’s final world in a Tweet earlier today, which you can see below.

Dr. Mario World is the second mobile app to be shut down by Nintendo after it closed its first-ever smartphone app, Miitomo, back in May 2018. We called it “fun, but flawed”

Since the release of Dr. Mario World in July 2019, Nintendo has further added to its roster of mobile games. Mario Kart Tour, a mobile take on the popular Mario Kart series, launched on devices in September 2019 and has seemingly been more successful for Nintendo. As of April 2021, SensorTower reports that the racing app has surpassed over 200 million downloads and amassed $200 Million in lifetime revenue.

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Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Someone Has Been Faking a Relaunch of Fallout Studio Interplay

Publisher Interplay Entertainment has announced that a Twitter account claiming to announce a relaunch of the storied developer is a fake.

A now-closed account, @InterplayEnt, began posting last weekend, promising that a relaunch of the company (with its early “By gamers, for gamers” slogan reinstated) would come in October, with a formal announcement to come today, July 28.

The fake account then posted a press release that claimed the relaunched company would aim to release new games in many of its best-known series, including Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, MDK, and more. The release also claimed the new Interplay was actively working on 15 games, including Messiah and ClayFighter, and would re-establish multiple development divisions. You can see the fabricated release below:

The fake Interplay relaunch press release. (Source: Twitter)

The release caused some suspicion, particularly as the lucrative Fallout licence is held by Bethesda (who famously went to court with Interplay over it), and a new Baldur’s Gate game is already in development at Larian.

As expected, Interplay’s official Twitter account, InterplayGames, subsequently moved to discredit the InterplayEnt account, saying, “We have found that there are accounts impersonating Interplay across social media platforms […] Statements made by any other accounts do not represent Interplay. We appreciate those that have brought the offending accounts to our attention.”

Twitter subsequently closed the InterplayEnt account. No details have emerged as to who was behind it, or their motivations. Upon learning the account was fake, many fans subsequently asked the real Interplay to work on some of the dormant franchises it had mentioned.

Interplay has seen some troubled years since its glory days in the ’90s, facing bankruptcy, selling off many of its owned franchises, and entering into a lengthy legal battle with Bethesda over the Fallout licence. Most recently, it published Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, which we called “a bland, boring trek through repetitive encounters that’s filled with bugs and annoying design choices“.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Where to Preorder The Lord of the Rings Illustrated Edition

The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest book series ever created. Now, a new hardcover Illustrated edition of the epic tale is coming out on October 14, 2021, in the UK. The 1954 edition of the novel only features two illustrations from Tolkien, but this latest Lord of the Rings Illustrated version will have “30 other sketches, illustrations, and maps.”

Originally listed for £60, the standard Illustrated Edition is now available for £43.29 instead if you preorder, while the premium deluxe edition is now down to just £112.50, instead of £150. Don’t worry if you’ve already got your preorder in, as Amazon will automatically bring your current order down to the lowest price.

Preorder The Lord of the Rings Illustrated Edition

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There are two versions to choose from before the release. The standard illustrated and new hardcover edition which features a stunning white cover, will set you back £60 and features 1248 pages in a hardcover binding. But, for the serious fans, there is also the Deluxe Special Edition to consider.

This very special deluxe edition is quarter-bound in cloth and red leather, with raised ribs on the spine and stamped in two foils. The pages are edged in gold and contained within are special features unique to this edition. It is limited to a worldwide first printing of just 5,000 copies, and will cost £150, likely destined to become an incredible collector’s item for any who choose to pick it up.

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Robert Anderson is a Commerce Editor and deals expert for IGN. Send him awesome gaming screenshots @robertliam21 on Twitter.

 

The Suicide Squad Review: James Gunn Unleashed

The Suicide Squad is a second chance–not just for the franchise, but also for director and writer James Gunn, who found himself in the position to pitch Warner Bros. a DC movie only after being fired from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise at Disney. The stars had to align just right for this movie to be made at all, and it feels like a gamble in some ways–Warner Bros. bet not just that the controversy over Gunn’s old tweets would blow over, but also that moviegoers would give The Suicide Squad another shot after the commercially successful but otherwise dismal 2016 version.

It might come as a relief, then, that The Suicide Squad is completely delightful. It’s shocking, bloody, hilarious, and heartfelt, with a winning ensemble who never feel wasted (unless that’s the point–we’ll get to that).

Gunn’s version of The Suicide Squad doesn’t waste time laboring over the details of its premise–that a government agency led by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) implants bombs into the heads of supervillains and then sends them on deadly missions, leaving the US with deniability (and most likely ridding the world of some supervillains in the process). The program’s official name is Task Force X, but they don’t call it the Suicide Squad for nothing, as you’ll learn early on in this movie. A lot of characters die very quickly, which explains how Gunn managed to balance the massive ensemble cast that we’ve seen in all the marketing. The answer: he didn’t.

The Suicide Squad really focuses on a handful of characters that the writer and director put a lot of care into molding. There’s Idris Elba’s Bloodsport, a deadly mercenary and reluctant leader; Margot Robbie’s iconic Harley Quinn, who everyone should be familiar with by now; Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag, who returns from the first film; John Cena’s Peacemaker, who believes he’s doing bad things for the right reasons; King Shark, a Groot-like hulk voiced by Sylvester Stallone and mo-capped by comedian Steve Agee (who also plays one of Waller’s lackeys in the film); and arguably the two standouts, David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man and Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher II.

In writing about this movie, it’s tempting to devote several hundred words to these characters. Cena’s Peacemaker provides many of the movie’s funniest moments, but he has a sinister side as well. He and Bloodsport engage in an ever-escalating gun-measuring contest, which is hilarious, but also results in lots of unnecessary deaths. Then there’s King Shark, a murderous people-eater who is going to chomp his way into your heart as surely as Gunn’s past CGI anthropomorphisms have. And that’s not even mentioning the wide cast of supporting characters, including those who don’t make it very far into the mission; even if they’re only around for a short time, each one manages to make an impression.

Regarding Polka-Dot Man, Gunn told press repeatedly in the lead-up to the film’s release that he wanted to take the most ridiculous villain he could find and transform him into a complex character. He undoubtedly succeeded. Dastmalchian gives a truly sad sack performance, while his weird but powerful abilities, tragic backstory, and extremely unique psychosis (he hallucinates his mother’s face on all his foes) make for a magnetic anti-hero. Melchior, meanwhile, provides the actual heart of this film in a surprise performance as another unknown villain, the second Ratcatcher (the first was her father, a fun cameo we won’t spoil).

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These villains and anti-heroes invade the South American island nation of Corto Maltese, a location from DC comics, in order to destroy a lab where research was being done on a mysterious weapon that Waller says can’t fall into the hands of a new regime that’s unfriendly to the US government. Unlike in the last Suicide Squad movie, this is a mission that actually makes sense for Task Force X–dangerous, difficult, and far too dirty for actual superheroes to carry out. This mission takes up most of the film, besides a slightly too-long tangent involving Harley Quinn getting romantic with one of Corto Maltese’s new leaders. There’s no appearance by or mention of the Joker in this movie, but it’s interesting to see Harley’s arc playing out and continuing across all these different films, tied together by Robbie’s energetic, irresistible portrayal.

Also unlike the 2016 version, this Suicide Squad is rated R, and Gunn takes full advantage. There is some legitimately shocking violence in this movie, plenty of foul language, and even some body horror courtesy of that whole secret lab thing. Gunn also fills the movie with his signature needle drops, folksy rock songs that often accompany slow-mo shots of a bunch of characters walking together in a line. There are maybe one or two too many–you get the sense Gunn was really let loose to indulge himself here–but at least they’re much more interesting than the 2016 version’s infamously bland and uninspired top 40 dad rock soundtrack.

Of course, superhero movie fans know that Gunn has since been re-hired to continue the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise after all. So it’s unclear whether most of the characters or threads in The Suicide Squad will be picked up again (aside from the Peacemaker show). But it’s OK if this is all we get; The Suicide Squad is one of the most fun, heartfelt, and surprising modern DC movies we’ve seen yet. Here’s hoping it leads to Warner Bros. taking more chances on talented filmmakers, because the results are something special indeed.

Mythbusters Props, Including A Buster Dummy, Being Auctioned For Charity

It’s been five years since the original incarnation of Mythbusters–hosted by Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman–came to an end. Now, fans of the series could own their very own piece of it thanks to an auction of several of the show’s props, creations, and even one of the iconic Buster dummies. Even better, proceeds from the auction will benefit the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation, named in honor of former host Grant Imahara, who died unexpectedly last year.

The online auction kicks off on Friday, August 20. However, you can get a preview of what will be available now. And trust us, if you were a Mythbusters fan, chances are some of this will look pretty familiar.

Among the items that will be up for grabs is a very big Newton’s Cradle. This particular build was used as a scale model for the Season 11 episode where the team ultimately built a truly gigantic version of the popular desk toy out of cranes and wrecking balls. It would be hard to find a place for a wrecking ball Newton’s Cradle in your house, but this scale version would be an interesting addition to your collection.

And, as previously mentioned, there will be a Buster up for auction. The crash test dummy was practically the show’s mascot, being used for all kinds of experiments that saw it blown up, crashed into, and dropped from insane heights. Now you can let the dummy relax in your house.

Other items that will be available include a giant mechanical shark, Jamie’s amphibious bicycle, a number of blueprints for various builds, and even the arrow machine gun built for a Season 8 episode.

Over 80 items will be auctioned off, with a portion of proceeds going to the Grant Imahara STEAM Foundation, which “provides mentorships, grants, and scholarships to underserved youth in the areas of science, technology, engineering, art and math,” according to a press release.

While the auction doesn’t kick off until August 20, you can take a look at a number of items and register to bid now. Meanwhile, Savage will be highlighting several of the props and builds being sold off on his website Tested.com in a series of videos. Check out his look at the mechanical shark below.

PS Plus Free Games For August 2021 Revealed

PlayStation has announced the trio of free games PS Plus subscribers can snag in August. As revealed last month during PlayStation’s State of Play stream, battle royale title Hunter’s Arena: Legends will be available to claim all month. Both the PS5 and PS4 versions of the game are up for grabs, which marks a change from the recent trend of offering one PS5-only freebie. Hunter’s Arena: Legends will be joined by the wonderful family-friendly action-shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Tennis World Tour 2.

August 2021 PS Plus Free Games

Available from August 3 to September 6

  • Hunter’s Arena: Legends
  • Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
  • Tennis World Tour 2

This story is developing…

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Digimon Survive Delayed Once Again To 2022 Or Later

It looks like developer Witchcraft and publisher Bandai Namco have delayed Digimon Survive yet again. According to Toei Animation‘s latest financial report, the release date has been pushed back to “Q3 2022 and beyond”.

Digimon Survive is supposed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Digimon anime. The game follows a young man named Takuma Momozka and his group of teenagers. They get lost during a school camping trip and find themselves in a new world filled with Digimon. Takuma is paired with Agumon, and each of his friends earn Digimon of their own. Together, they must find a way to get back home again.

Digimon Survive was announced back in 2018 and was originally supposed to launch in 2020. However, producer Habu Kazumasa said that the game had been delayed to 2021. Now, it’s suffered an additional delay into 2022.

This is the latest game announced to be pushed out of 2021 and into 2022. There have been other notable titles falling to the same fate, such as Rainbows Six Extraction, Resident Evil: ReVerse, and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Digimon Survive will launch on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

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Xbox Games With Gold for August 2021 Announced

Microsoft has announced that the Games with Gold for August 2021 include Darksiders 3, Yooka-Laylee, Lost Planet 3, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

As detailed on Xbox Wire, all Xbox Live Gold members and those with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will gain access to these games when they become available, beginning with Darksiders 3 and Lost Planet 3.

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Darksiders 3 will be part of Games with Gold from August 1-31 and lets players become Fury, one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, as she hunts down the Seven Deadly Sins.

In our Darksiders 3 review, we said that “it is a straightforward action game that isn’t afraid to throw some serious old-school challenges at you.”

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Lost Planet 3 will be available from August 1-15 and, although it is the third entry in the Lost Planet series, it is actually a prequel that follows Jim Peyton as he reveals the hidden truths within the environments of E.D.N. III.

In our Lost Planet 3 review, we said that “it tells a good story and mixes up combat with a giant mech, but [it] is just too inconsistent.”

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Yooka-Laylee, which was developed by former core members of Rare as a “worthy spiritual successor” to games the team built like Banjo-Kazooie, will be available from August 16 to September 15. As the buddy duo Yooka & Laylee, players will embark on an epic quest to stop the corporate villain known as Capital B and his scheme to absorb all the world’s literature.

In our Yooka-Layee review, we said that it “is a good reminder that this genre, once thought to be dead, still has some life left in it.”

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Lastly, Garou: Mark of the Wolves will be available from August 16-31 and is the last entry of the classic Fatal fury series. Players can select over a dozen fighters to participate in the King of Fighters: Maximum Mayhem tournament.

In our Garou: Mark of the Wolves review, we said that although “it may have an unfortunate name, Fatal Fury: Garou – Mark of the Wolves is a fantastic old-school fighter.”

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While you wait for these games to arrive, don’t forget that Planet Alpha, Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break, and Midway Arcade Origins are still available from July 2021’s Games with Gold.

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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.