Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City – Exclusive First Look Photos

IGN has your exclusive first look at Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, which Screen Gems bills not as a reboot or remake of their feature film franchise but rather as the origin story of the original Capcom games. Check out the three exclusive images below to see the new big-screen versions of Claire and Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, Albert Wesker and more characters gamers will recognize.

The upcoming film — written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night) — is based on the first two Resident Evil games. The movie chronicles how Raccoon City went from being a city of industry to a dying Midwestern town that’s become ground zero for the t-Virus outbreak.

In a new exclusive interview with IGN, Roberts elaborated on the differences between his Resident Evil movie, the prior films starring Milla Jovovich, and how his filmmaking approach here draws not only from the Capcom games but also old school genre filmmaking:

“This movie really had nothing to do with the previous franchise. This was all about returning to the games and creating a movie that was much more a horror movie than the sort of sci-fi action of the previous films. I was hugely influenced in particular by the remake of the second game and I really wanted to capture the atmosphere-drenched tone that it had. It was so cinematic. The previous movies were very bright and shiny whereas this movie was dark and grimy, entirely shot at night. It’s constantly raining and the town is shrouded in mist. … I was hugely influenced by movies like The Exorcist (and Exorcist 3!), Don’t Look Now, and The Shining. You can really feel the texture in this movie. Nothing in this town feels hi-tech. It feels dilapidated. I wanted Raccoon City to feel a bit like the town in Deer Hunter; a ghost town forgotten by the rest of the world. And the whole structure of the film was definitely very influenced by Assault on Precinct 13.”

Our first exclusive image from the film reveals the first look at Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield and Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy. You’ll notice Leon is wearing his police uniform, in keeping with what his job was at the time of the Raccoon City Destruction Incident.

In Resident Evil 2, Leon and Claire Redfield, sister of S.T.A.R.S. officer Chris Redfield (played in this film by the Arrowverse’s Robbie Amell), were among the few people who ventured into Raccoon City following the outbreak. They eventually crossed paths with Raccoon City Police Chief Brian Irons, played in this film by Gotham’s Donal Logue.

“The difference with this film as opposed to the previous movies is that it is an ensemble where each of the main characters carries huge importance to the narrative. They are not just cosplay characters who have the exact hair and costume of the characters,” Roberts said. “It was hugely important with the whole casting process to find people who embodied the spirit and energy of the characters I wanted to portray. I think often in game adaptations one of the big flaws can be just casting someone to look visually like the characters – giving them the identical haircut and clothes but not really trying to give the audience the thing that a movie does better than a game – which is to create a three dimensional character that you can really connect with and believe in.”

Roberts recalled the particularly difficult search for the right actor to play Leon S. Kennedy: “We must have seen so many people – it was really quite a tricky role because of the balance of humor and weariness. Then Avan read and I was like he’s the one! He gets it.”

IGN’s second exclusive image from Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City features, from left-to-right, Albert Wesker (Tom Hopper), Richard Aiken (Chad Rook), Jill Valentine (Hannah John-Kamen), and Chris Redfield (Robbie Amell) on the prowl in the Spencer Mansion, which Roberts previously described to us as being “creepy as f*ck” in his film.

“I wanted to go back to the horror of it all. I wanted scares and atmosphere rather than full-on action,” Roberts told IGN when comparing what differentiates Welcome to Raccoon City from the earlier Resident Evil films. “I think fans of the game felt the same. They wanted to see the iconic characters and locations and feel that the movie was more in line with the Resident Evil game world so that’s really why we chose to go in that direction. We worked hand in hand with Capcom on this movie to the point that we actually got blueprints from them on the designs of the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon police station in order to recreate them as perfectly as we could. We even have the exact artwork up on the mansion walls. Capcom saw it for the first time the other day and was so happy and excited.”

The final image we can exclusively reveal from Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City depicts Lisa Trevor, played in the film by Marina Mazepa. In the games, Lisa is the teenage daughter of the architect of the Spencer Mansion in Raccoon Forest who went missing while on a walk. Umbrella scientists working out of the Arklay Laboratory near the Spencer Mansion experimented on Lisa for years, including exposing her to multiple viruses.

These gruesome experiments on Lisa led Umbrella to discover the Nemesis Tyrant and the G-Virus, but they also transformed her into a deranged monstrosity. One of the scientists who experimented on her is Dr. William Birkin, played in Welcome to Raccoon City by Neal McDonough.

“Lisa Trevor is actually quite a pivotal role in the movie. I was always fascinated by her when playing the remake of the first game. I found her character both disturbing and at the same time strangely haunting,” Roberts told IGN. “When we were discussing how to bring this story to life it was one of the elements that I really wanted to feature strongly as she has never been in any of the filmed versions of Resident Evil. I wanted her to be a three-dimensional character, not just some creepy specter. We cast Marina Mazepa, who had just done Malignant for James Wan and really worked hard in bringing this character to life in a way I think the fans are going to love so much. She’s terrifying but also tragic. In the movie, we really connect her to Claire Redfield’s story, starting with the orphanage where Claire grew up.”

Fans of the games should know that Capcom was involved in the film’s development and designs. “We worked very closely with Capcom. Every character and creature is from the game and as such, I wanted to be as faithful as possible. I wanted to create a truly immersive feeling for the fans,” Roberts explained. “But that also became the trickiest part of adapting a piece of IP like this because I didn’t just want to put the game on screen – it had to be its own thing with living breathing characters and creatures (and, of course, zombies!) that felt true to the world.”

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City opens only in theaters on November 24, 2021, in the US, December 3 in the UK, and November 25 in Australia.

(Editor’s note: Our original post incorrectly included Brad Vickers instead of Richard Aiken. We regret the error.)

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City Director on Casting, Creatures and Capcom

The upcoming movie Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City tells the origin story of the Capcom games. Written and directed by Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night), this film is based on the first two Resident Evil games and chronicles how Raccoon City went from being a city of industry to a dying Midwestern town that’s now ground zero for the t-Virus outbreak.

In an exclusive e-mail interview with IGN, Roberts elaborated on the differences between his Resident Evil movie and the prior Screen Gems film series starring Milla Jovovich and produced by Paul W.S. Anderson, as well as how his vision for the movie draws not only from the Capcom games but also John Carpenter-era genre filmmaking.

IGN: Resident Evil is one of the most commercially successful video game movie franchises ever. Why reboot it instead of continuing it?

Johannes Roberts: I actually love the first movie so much. I think it’s great. And Milla just created such an iconic character. But it was its own thing. It wasn’t really Resident Evil as I knew it – the previous movies never captured the game and the feelings I got when playing the game (that’s not a criticism I think it just went in a different direction). I wanted to go back to the horror of it all. I wanted scares and atmosphere rather than full-on action. I think fans of the game felt the same – they wanted to see the iconic characters and locations and feel that the movie was more in line with the Resident Evil game world so that’s really why we chose to go in that direction. We worked hand-in-hand with Capcom on this movie… to the point that we actually got blueprints from them on the designs of the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon police station in order to recreate them as perfectly as we could. We even have the exact artwork up on the mansion walls. Capcom saw it for the first time the other day and was so happy and excited. And that – as a nerd – made me so happy and excited!

How do these incarnations of characters such as Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy differ from their versions in the past films?

Johannes Roberts: The difference with this film as opposed to the previous movies is that it is an ensemble where each of the main characters carries huge importance to the narrative. They are not just cosplay characters who have the exact hair and costume of the characters. I think previously everything had been all about the Alice character – which was never in the games – and the game characters that did appear like Jill, Leon, Claire, and Chris did so as kind of supporting cameos. Jill and Leon in this movie are equal leads along with Claire and Chris and Wesker.

Jill was such a fun character to play around with – a sort of live-wire, small-town girl – she’s kick-ass but not in a superhuman way. You really feel scared for her when shit goes down. Hannah John-Kamen really brought her to life! Leon Kennedy was interesting because in many ways he was my way into the movie as a writer – I sort of saw the story through his eyes. I wanted to move away from the buff action hero that Leon has become in the later games and return to the Leon Kennedy of his very first ‘rookie’ incarnation in the Resident Evil 2 game. In this movie he is not at all an action hero – he’s slightly out of his depth, very hungover, and cannot believe the s**t that is going down on his first day. The events of the film help create the ‘hero’ Leon they know from the games.

There is definitely a Carpenter vibe to his character. When I was writing him I had sort of a cross between Jack Burton and MacReady in my mind! It was probably the trickiest role to cast to find someone who could carry that off! Avan Jogia really nailed it. He’s so wonderfully disheveled and out of his depth in the movie.

IGN: Can you define what your visual aesthetic was for this film in terms of differentiating what audiences have seen in past Resident Evil movies?

Johannes Roberts: This movie really had nothing to do with the previous franchise. This was all about returning to the games and creating a movie that was much more a horror movie than the sort of sci-fi action of the previous films. I was hugely influenced in particular by the remake of the second game and I really wanted to capture the atmosphere-drenched tone that it had. It was so cinematic. The previous movies were very bright and shiny whereas this movie was dark and grimy, entirely shot at night. It’s constantly raining and the town is shrouded in mist.

I was very influenced by seventies filmmaking techniques – we shot using zooms a lot! And there are no drone shots in the movie or crazy CGI camera shots that are physically impossible. The movie has a very old-school retro feel to it. I was hugely influenced by movies like The Exorcist (and Exorcist 3!), Don’t Look Now, and The Shining. You can really feel the texture in this movie. Nothing in this town feels hi-tech. It feels dilapidated. I wanted Raccoon City to feel a bit like the town in Deer Hunter; a ghost town forgotten by the rest of the world. And the whole structure of the film was definitely very influenced by Assault on Precinct 13.

IGN: How do the creature and character designs in your film differ from what fans of the games and the preexisting movies know?

Johannes Roberts: We always returned to the game whenever we were looking at the characters and creatures and locations. It was our guiding star. As I said before we worked very closely with Capcom. Every character and creature is from the game and as such, I wanted to be as faithful as possible. I wanted to create a truly immersive feeling for the fans. But that also became the trickiest part of adapting a piece of IP like this because I didn’t just want to put the game on screen – it had to be its own thing with living breathing characters and creatures (and of course zombies!) that felt true to the world. There is some cool s**t in there. I mean some of the creature stuff looks f***ing incredible. It was a mixture of prosthetics, CGI, and creature performers. There’s some wonderfully freaky stuff in there. You’ll immediately recognize the creatures from the game but hopefully, we’ve gone beyond the game in terms of making these terrifying creations feel like they really could exist in real life.

IGN: Can you talk about the casting of the roles of Leo and Jill and what you wanted to achieve with that?

Johannes Roberts: It was hugely important with the whole casting process to find people who embodied the spirit and energy of the characters I wanted to portray. I think often in game adaptations one of the big flaws can be just casting someone to look visually like the characters – giving them the identical haircut and clothes but not really trying to give the audience the thing that a movie does better than a game – which is to create a three-dimensional character that you can really connect with and believe in. I think as I said before one of the traps of falling into game adaptations is to make it feel like a giant cosplay version of the game.

Our cast is obviously much more diverse than the original games but I wanted to resist the trap of just casting because someone just happened to look like their character identically. We actually had a lot of actors who came in and recreated themselves perfectly visually as the character they were reading – it was uncanny at times ha! – but it was not what I felt this story needed. With Jill, I knew Hannah from Ready Player One and this show she was in at the time called The Stranger and I just knew she’d be perfect. Leon was much harder. We must have seen so many people – it was really quite a tricky role because of the balance of humor and weariness. Then Avan read and I was like he’s the one! He gets it.

IGN: What was your overall design philosophy on differentiating this film’s creature designs from both the existing films and games?

Johannes Roberts: There is actually quite a lot that has never been in any previous movie to be honest which is exciting. And even the stuff we have seen before – I won’t give it away but there are some iconic creatures fans will be so happy to see – we have really gone all out in making them feel like characters – we really focus in on each individual creature whether it be zombie, or crow, or Doberman or… (I won’t spoil the rest) – but it’s never huge wide shots of faceless hordes – it’s about detail. It’s about really connecting with that individual creature at that time. Making it feel like a living breathing thing. Feeling our characters’ disbelief at what is unfolding.

John Carpenter is the master of this. Watch The Thing — each creature moment is treated as an artwork — you get to marvel at its entire glory. It’s never just hundreds of things thrown at you. There is real personality and life in each creature set piece. And the character reactions then just feel so honest and real. And the fear is then very real. I very much had this in mind when shooting Resident Evil – especially when recreating moments like the turnaround zombie from the game – as well as when things go REALLY crazy toward the end – I really invite the audience to revel in the creations we have put on screen. I can’t wait for people to see all of them in their full glory!

IGN: How much does the story of Lisa Trevor come into play in this film? And what is the importance of including her here? In this film?

Johannes Roberts: Lisa Trevor is actually quite a pivotal role in the movie. I was always fascinated by her when playing the remake of the first game. I found her character both disturbing and at the same time strangely haunting. When we were discussing how to bring this story to life it was one of the elements that I really wanted to feature strongly as she has never been in any of the filmed versions of Resident Evil. I wanted her to be a three-dimensional character, not just some creepy specter. We cast Marina Mazepa, who had just done Malignant for James Wan and really worked hard in bringing this character to life in a way I think the fans are going to love so much. She’s terrifying but also tragic. In the movie, we really connect her to Claire Redfield’s story, starting with the orphanage where Claire grew up.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City opens only in theaters on November 24, 2021, in the US, December 3 in the UK, and November 25 in Australia.

Xbox Is Now The Official Gaming Partner Of England Football

Microsoft has reached a deal to become the official gaming partner of England’s national football teams. The multi-year deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, makes Xbox the official partner for England’s men’s and women’s teams, along with the eLions eSports team, and Wembley Stadium itself.

Additionally, Microsoft said in a news release that it is working with The Football Association on a “grassroots gaming campaign” to help create “exciting experiences for football and gaming fans across the nation.”

The first stage of Microsoft’s partnership with the FA kicks off with a new branded message, “When Everybody Plays, We All Win.” Microsoft and the FA said they have a “shared vision of inclusivity in play” in both digital worlds and in real life. This message is especially noteworthy following England’s loss in the Euros final when several members of the club received horrific and disturbing messages of hate.

“At Xbox we strive to remove barriers and to empower people to experience the joy of play: millions of people around the world find common ground and connect through playing games, as they do with football,” Global Xbox partnerships boss Marcos Waltenberg said. “In The FA we see a tremendous organization which has the same drive and ambition to empower people as we do at Xbox. Through our partnership we aim to bring further value to the England Football Teams and power the dreams of players and fans everywhere.”

FA marketing director Kathryn Swarbrick said, “Gaming is loved and embraced by fans across the world, and we see this partnership as an opportunity to take that relationship to the next level for all of those connected with English football. ‘When Everyone Plays, We All Win’ is a message that rings true of what we strive to achieve at The FA and we hope that our inspirational national teams can bring great value to Xbox.”

This is not the first time that Microsoft has sponsored a football/soccer club, as the Xbox company previously had a deal with the Seattle Sounders of the MLS to be it jersey sponsor. However, this deal ended in 2019.

In other Xbox news, the company has urged its fans to get vaccinated as COVID-19 cases continue to surge in the US and globally. Microsoft is heading into the holiday season with Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite leading the way for its first-party lineup.

Xbox Uses Its Giant Platform To Dispel COVID-19 Myths, Encourage People To Get Vaccinated

Xbox has used its platform to dispel myths about the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage people to get the jab. Writing on Twitter, the official Xbox account–which has 16.5 million followers–put out a call for fans of gaming to become heroes in the real world by getting vaccinated as Delta cases surge across the US and around the world.

“The power of play makes us heroes in new worlds every day. You can be a hero in real life too by getting vaccinated against COVID-19, protecting yourself and the people around you.”

Xbox held a Q&A with Dr. Jay Butler and Dr. Judy Monroe, two of the highest ranking doctors at the CDC, and if you missed the livestream, you can check out some key takeaways below, which included debunking conspiracy theories that the vaccine alters your DNA or comes with a microchip. Just recently, the FDA officially approved the Pfizer vaccine following its rollout under Emergency Use Authorization.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in the US and around the world as the Delta variant spreads. As for Xbox, the company is headed into the holiday season with Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite leading the way for its first-party lineup.

Hideo Kojima Believes Video Game Photo Modes Can Make You A Better Photographer

Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima isn’t just a fan of video game photo modes, he’s a big believer in using them to improve your own skills in the real world.

“If you keep taking pictures, even in-game, your sensitivity and skills will naturally improve. Composition, layout, focus,” Kojima tweeted. “Most importantly, you will know what you want to photograph. After that, the in-game experience will surely come in handy when you shoot with a real camera or smartphone.”

A number of games, especially those of the open-world genre variety, come equipped with a built-in photo mode that allows users to take a perfect snapshot of the moment that they’re in. These modes have gotten more advanced over the years, and these days it’s commonplace to see that function augmented by advanced photographic features such as setting your aperture, tightening your focal distance, or applying a few filters.

Sony’s first-party games in particular have made great strides forward in this area, as everything from Marvel’s Spider-Man to Ratchet Clank: Into the Rift features a photography suite that allows for an incredible amount of customization. Death Stranding is no stranger to these shutterbug systems, as players could document their journey through various snapshots.

After selling 5 million copies on PS4 and PC, Death Stranding’s next chapter kicks off in September with a director’s cut edition that will expand on the Social Strand system introduced in the game. As for Kojima, the 58-year-old developer plans to still keep on producing games while his mind remains sharp enough to do so, and it’s rumored that he may have inked a new deal with Microsoft to bring his next game to Xbox.

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Naughty Dog Teases Future: “Single-Player Experiences Are Near And Dear To Us”

Naughty Dog is currently making its first-ever standalone multiplayer game, but what other projects might the studio make in the future? We don’t know for sure just yet, but Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells said fans can look forward to the studio making new IP and also working on established franchises.

“I think the easy answer is: both. I think there’s excitement to develop new IP, but there is still a ton of love for Uncharted and The Last of Us, and I think you’ll see both kinds of projects from us in the future,” Wells said in an interview with Game Informer.

Now Playing: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy – Launch Trailer

Naughty Dog is known for its big, cinematic single-player story-focused games, and you can expect this to continue in the future.

“Single-player experiences are near and dear to us. It’s what has attracted a lot of people to Naughty Dog, and that’s what inspires them, so I think we’re going to keep at it as long as we can,” Wells said.

Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann is also quoted in the interview, saying Naughty Dog studio owner Sony has never come to the team with a mandate to make a certain type of game.

“There has never been a mandate like, ‘Oh, this is where we see the winds shifting. Can you start making these kind of games instead?’ We know just as they know that when you work on something you’re excited by, something you’re passionate by, you’re going to do great work,” he said.

One of Naughty Dog’s first successful games was Jak and Daxter, and Wells said if the studio had “endless resources and time,” it would be fun to return to making “lighter fare” games like that. “You look at what Insomniac is doing with Ratchet and Clank and it’s exciting. It’s great to see that stuff. We’re just limited with time, you know, I’m 48 years-old and how many more games do you get to make, so you got to pick and choose,” Wells said.

As for Druckmann, he said when Naughty Dog finishes a particular project, the team will spend “quite a bit of time” deciding what to do next and if it should make a new IP or dig back into its catalog for a sequel.

“We really take our time with it, and if you were to see our folders of concept art you’d see unused concepts that are all over the gamut,” Druckmann said. “Then we look at everything and we ask ourselves what are we excited by? What’s something that’s going to challenge us and push us, and push the medium as far as games that can be? Because that inspiration is so important to carry through years of production.”

Beyond the new Last of Us multiplayer game, Naughty Dog has no announced projects. Naughty Dog has already said it will not make more Uncharted games, but the studio is open to having a different developer come in to make Uncharted 5.

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Daily Deals: Big Savings on Webcams, Kindles and More

This Sunday of deals is full of fun. We’ve got a bunch of different Kindle models discounted today, several gaming laptops and desktops from Lenovo and Newegg, a bunch of webcams from the likes of Razer and Logitech and to top it off, a crazy looking chair that we’re pretty sure you would never want to leave once you sat down in.

Lenovo Intel Gamer Days Sale: Save on Legion Gaming Laptops and Desktop PCs

Lenovo’s “Legion” series of gaming PCs and laptops offer the latest and greatest gaming performance at a very reasonable cost. They’re equipped with the newest RTX 30 series video cards, which offer huge speed gains compared to the previous generation’s RTX 20 series cards, along with new technology like DLSS 2.0 (very useful) and ray tracing (not as much). Alongside these new GPUs are your choice of either AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series or Intel’s Rocket Lake/Tiger Lake processors. Lenovo also offers one of the best customer service experiences compared to other prebuilt PC makers, which is especially important if you haven’t built the PC yourself. Lenovo’s sale events can be hard to navigate, so we’ve conveniently rounded up a list of the best Legion deals going on right now.

Lenovo Legion Gaming Laptops

Lenovo Legion Gaming PCs

Daily Deals for August 29th 2021

Aussie Deals: Cheap Co-Op Gems, 30% Off Returnal, 20% Off Aliens: Fireteam, and More!

In these bizarre times, socialising is important. Don’t do enough of it, and you might become isolated, weird, and playwrighting about St. Swithin’s Day. That being said, I’ve located a bunch of discounted co-op experiences that can help you feel a sense of community and common decency again. Alternatively, there’s a compilation that pools together 30 years of Street Fighting. Go heavy kick the ever-loving pixels out of one another instead. We all cope in different ways.

Oh, and before I forget: Battlefield V can be acquired for nix on PC. You just need to sign up to Amazon Prime’s equally free, 30-day trial.

Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch

Purchase Cheaply for PC

Exciting Offers for XO/XS

Product Savings for PS4/PS5

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Adam’s an Aussie deals wrangler who spends too much of his income on the bargains he finds. You can occasionally find him @Grizwords.

Candyman Slashes Through Box Office Competition With Strong $22.3 Million Opening Weekend

R-rated horror slasher Candyman had a strong opening weekend at the domestic box office, earning $22.3 million in 3,569 theaters.

This news comes by way of Variety, which also reports that the Nia DaCosta-directed and Jordan Peele-produced film brought in an additional $5.2 million overseas across 51 international markets. This brings Candyman’s opening weekend grand total to about $27.5 million.

The movie, which cost MGM $25 million to produce, is due to be quite profitable for the studio, according to Variety. This is especially great news for MGM as other R-rated movies have struggled in the pandemic-era box office. The Suicide Squad opened to just $26.5 million, despite industry expectations that predicted it would pull in around $30 million, for example.

However, unlike Candyman, The Suicide Squad also debuted on a subscription streaming service (HBO Max), following suit with many other movies released this summer. What The Suicide Squad didn’t make at the box office, it might have made up for with new HBO Max subscriptions.

Candyman debuted exclusively to theaters, though, and having already made back the money it cost to make, the upcoming three-day weekend could be big for the horror movie. Variety cites the movie’s nature as a sequel, as well as its 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and “B” CinemaScore, as reasons for its box office success.

The Yahya Abdul-Mateen II-led movie knocked Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy down to second place after the video game-themed movie sat at the number one spot for two weeks straight. Free Guy earned an additional $13.6 million from 3,940 theaters, a decline of 27% from its second weekend to the third, according to Variety’s report. This brings Free Guy’s grand box office total up to $179 million.

The animated PAW Patrol from Paramount took third place this weekend, bringing in $6.6 million from 3,189 theaters. Its grand total in the U.S. and Canada where it was shown sits at $24 million. Disney’s Jungle Cruise came in fourth, bringing in another $5 million for a total of $187 million at the box office (although the movie is also available on Disney+ as a Premiere Access title).

Sony’s Don’t Breathe 2 took fifth place with $2.8 million across 2,703 theaters, bringing the movie’s total at the domestic box office to $24.5 million.

Check out our thoughts on Candyman in IGN’s Candyman review and then read this list of seven things you probably didn’t know about Candyman. Check out this video featuring the movie’s director and cast discussing the legacy and meaning of Candyman after that.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise Wasn’t Going to Make the Sequel Unless Val Kilmer Was in It

Top Gun: Maverick producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, has revealed that Tom Cruise insisted Val Kilmer return as Iceman for the sequel.

This news comes by way of People, which reports that Bruckheimer said Cruise was the driving force behind getting Kilmer back as Iceman in the Top Gun sequel.

Now, more than 35 years later, Top Gun fans will see Cruise’s Maverick and Kilmer’s Iceman reunite on the screen when Top Gun: Maverick debuts in theaters on November 19.

“He said, ‘We have to have Val, we have to have him back. We have to have him in the film,'” Bruckheimer told People. “And he was the driving force. We all wanted him, but Tom was really adamant that if he’s going to make another Top Gun, Val had to be in it.”

Bruckheimer said Kilmer is a “fine actor [and] such a good individual,” revealing that watching him and Cruise reunite on set was “very emotional.” The producer continued and explained that bringing back some of the Top Gun gang was something the Maverick team wanted to do.

Kilmer’s son, Jack Kilmer, told People that the actor was “so stoked” to return to the role and that Top Gun: Maverick really honors the legacy of Iceman.

Kilmer has actually been wanting to return as Iceman for years now. When the sequel’s title was revealed back in 2017, Kilmer took to Instagram to express his interest in reprising his original Top Gun role.

“I’m ready Tom — still got my Top Gun plaque,” Kilmer said. “Still got the moves! Still got it!”

Then, a little over a year later, it was reported that Kilmer would, in fact, be returning to the role of Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick. Now, audiences will see Iceman and Maverick on screen together once again when the sequel hits theaters November 19.

While waiting for the movie’s release, check out the first Top Gun: Maverick trailer and then read about how the Navy stopped Cruise from flying an actual jet in Top Gun: Maverick. Read about how Kelly McGillis wasn’t asked to return for Top Gun: Maverick after that.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.