Ray Fisher Accuses DC’s Geoff Johns of ‘Racially Discriminatory Conversations’

The ongoing conflict between Justice League actor Ray Fisher and WarnerMedia and DC Films continues to grow. In a tweet posted Tuesday morning, Fisher accused former DC Films co-president Geoff Johns and producers Toby Emmerich and Jon Berg of “racially discriminatory conversations” focused on his character of Cyborg in Justice League.

“When it comes to matters involving race, I always try to give the benefit of the doubt to those who may be ignorant of their own biases,” Fisher wrote, saying he received information about the conversations from individuals who witnessed them firsthand. “But when you have studio executives (particularly Geoff Johns) saying ‘we can’t have an angry black man at the center of the movie’ — and then those executives use their power to reduce and remove ALL black people from that movie — they are no longer entitled to any benefit associated with doubt.

“[WB head] Toby [Emmerich], Geoff [Johns], and [WB co-president of production] Jon Berg were not ignorant of their biases,” Fisher continued. “They understood full well that the racist rhetoric they chose to entertain in those meetings was offensive, discriminatory, and unacceptable. Furthermore, they dared not speak those things to me, nor any black person associated with the film. Instead, they chose the cowardly route of gaslighting — complete with extremely problematic requests such as asking me to ‘play Cyborg like Quasimodo;’ and forcing a scene to be reshot so they could highlight the existence of Cyborg’s penis.”

You can read Fisher’s entire statement below:

Fisher continued his post stating that while Geoff Johns was not credited as a co-writer on Joss Whedon’s reworking of Justice League, he was an “enforcer” of race-based discrimination during conversations with Emmerich and Berg. Fisher also reiterated his position that DC Films president Walter Hamada owes an apology to those individuals who participated in the investigation of workplace toxicity on the set of Justice League.

Hamada and Fisher were thrust into the spotlight following Fisher’s accusations against director Joss Whedon, who took over for Zack Snyder following his departure from the original project.

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WarnerMedia and DC Films dispute Fisher’s allegations, citing a third-party investigation that found no misconduct and no interference from Hamada, whom Fisher has accused of protecting Johns. This lead Fisher to state he would never participate in any project associated with Hamada in the future. WarnerMedia said the investigation resulted in “remedial action,” but failed to specify against whom.

And we learned from Zack Snyder that Cyborg’s storyline had been reduced when he left the project, something he hopes to remedy with the upcoming Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

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Whedon has since stepped down from directing HBO’s The Nevers series, citing the COVID-19 pandemic. HBO is owned by WarnerMedia.

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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

WandaVision Director Addresses Controversial Line About Grief

A line about grief from the latest episode of Marvel’s WandaVision on Disney+ has stirred up quite a bit of fan debate online, so IGN asked series director Matt Shakman to offer some insight on the original intention behind the line.

Warning: full WandaVision spoilers ahead!

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The line in question–“What is grief, if not love persevering?”–comes in Episode 8 as Agatha Harkness takes Wanda on a supernatural trip down memory lane to unearth the source of the Hex. One pitstop in Wanda’s memory of Avengers HQ shows her opening up about the loss of her brother Pietro, who was killed by Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Vision consoling her with one of his many philosophical musings on life.

Wanda: It’s just like this wave washing over me again and again. It knocks me down and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again. And I can’t… It’s gonna drown me. 

Vision: No. No, Wanda.

Wanda: How do you know?

Vision: Because it can’t be all sorrow, can it? I’ve always been alone so I don’t feel the lack. It’s all I’ve ever known. I’ve never experienced loss because I’ve never had a loved one to lose. What is grief, if not love persevering?

While the line about grief was received earnestly by some who expressed how they could relate to what Vision said, it wasn’t long before those with an opposing view began to heavily criticize the line, and now the line has completed the full Internet Discourse Cycle by becoming the basis for a viral meme.

Shakman explained how the line about grief and the scene where it is delivered was so significant to Wanda’s life.

“[Episode 8] was so important because it pulls back the curtain on what the whole story has been all season, and hopefully folks can go back and look at episodes one, two, and three in a new light now. This is a story about love, it’s about loss, it’s about grief, it’s about how we move on from loss, something I think we all know too much about in general, but especially this year of the pandemic,” Shakman told IGN in an interview. “And so everything that we’ve done so far, even silly live-audience sitcoms in the ‘50s, is fueled by Wanda’s loss and about how she’s trying to find solace from that loss. So that’s what the Avengers HQ scene is really about.

“And it’s also about [Wanda and Vision’s] connection. We’ve seen them together, they’ve been quite charming together making paprikash, we’ve seen the highs and the lows, but this is the moment where they really come together. This is the moment where [Vision] provides the solace that she needs, a way forward, and that line [about grief] is quite beautiful. But it’s also made especially beautiful by the line before it, as well, when Wanda articulates what loss is like to her and he is able to give her a way forward. He is able to show her that love is the way through that. He is quite a wise person, Vision. Even though he’s not human, he seems to be more human than any of us. He has some of the best lines in the MCU, I think that one [about grief] written by [WandaVision writer] Laura Donney is gorgeous.”

Stay tuned to IGN for the full interview with director Matt Shakman.

For more on WandaVision, check out how that little Monica Rambeau moment is a big setup for Captain Marvel 2.

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Joshua is a Senior Editor and Producer of Features at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Star Wars are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.

Here Are the Free Games Available Now

Everyone loves free stuff. It’s the best. Whether you do your gaming on PlayStation, Xbox, or PC, you can generally find some free games to download–though for the consoles you usually need a subscription service to grab ’em. (Switch owners can play retro games at no extra cost if they subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online). The only problem is, it can be tough to keep track of what free games are available at any given time.

We thought we’d make it easy on you. Whenever there’s a free game to download at one of the major online stores, we’ll highlight it below. All you have to do is check back often to make sure you get the free games you so richly deserve.

Free PC Games on Epic Game Store

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For years and years, Steam seemed unstoppable. It was the storefront for PC games. How could any company possibly compete with such an entrenched powerhouse? Turns out the answer is: by offering tons of high-quality games for free.

Anyone with an Epic Games Store account can download at least one free game each week from the online retailer. It’s a heck of a perk, and one you should take advantage of on a weekly basis if you like free games. And who doesn’t?

Other Free PC Games

Epic Games Store isn’t the only online game distributor in the “giving away PC games”… er, game. Above is a list of others you can snag if you haven’t yet.

Free PlayStation Games

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As part of Sony’s Play At Home initiative, everyone can grab a copy of the PS4 game Ratchet & Clank for free. It’s yours to keep, as long as you add it to your library before March 31.

Free PlayStation Plus Games

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Each month PlayStation Plus subscribers get a batch of new games they can keep and play for as long as they’re a PS Plus member. The only catch is that you have to add the games to your account each month, or you’ll lose out on the opportunity. See above for this month’s selection of freebies for PS4 and PS5 owners.

Free Xbox Games with Gold

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Anyone who wants to save money should check out our rundown on how to get a cheap Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

If you’re an Xbox Live Gold member (or if you have Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Xbox Live Gold), you get free games each month you can download and play for as long as you’re a member. This month’s selection is listed above. But, like the free games with PS Plus, you have to add them to your account the month they’re available, or you’ll miss the opportunity to have those games.

Free Games with Nintendo Switch Online

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Free Switch games are harder to come by. In fact, they almost never happen, unless you count the NES and SNES games Nintendo Switch Online subscribers have access to. That said, no really exciting games have been added in a while, so it’s not as compelling as the similar services for PlayStation and Xbox. That said, NSO costs less, so at least that’s something.

Free Games from Amazon Prime Gaming

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Amazon Prime members get a batch of free PC games each month. Granted, you need to sign up for Prime, which costs money, but if you’re already a member for the free shipping or Prime Video, you might as well take advantage of the free games each month.

In addition to free PC games each month, Prime members also get in-game items in all kinds of titles, ranging from Destiny 2 and League of Legends to Red Dead Online and Star Wars Squadrons.

Unless you’re really into indie titles, t’s probably not worth signing up for Prime just to get the free games. Prime’s free PC games don’t tend to be as big or well-known as the ones Epic Games Store doles out for free. But if you’re already a Prime member for the many other benefits, there’s no reason not to take a look at what’s on offer each month.

If you don’t have a gaming PC, or you also have a console, you can check out our best PlayStation dealsbest Xbox deals, and best Nintendo Switch deals as well. We keep those articles updated with all the best deals on games, consoles, accessories, and more.

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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NYC Movie Theaters Are Re-Opening This Weekend, And Tenet Will Be There

Batman director Christopher Nolan’s big-budget action movie Tenet opened in theaters back in August 2020, but the film never played in New York City because cinemas there were closed. Now that they are opening again this weekend, Tenet will get to play in one of the biggest movie markets on the US east coast.

Deadline reports that Tenet will play in the following cinemas starting this Friday, March 5: AMC Lincoln Square, AMC Empire, AMC Kips Bay, Village East by Angelika (70mm), and Showcase Cinemas Jamaica.

Tenet will be available in both IMAX and 70MM at the AMC cinema in Lincoln Square.

According to Deadline, Nolan was involved in the “behind-the-scenes” discussions with New York State governor Andrew Cuomo’s team that successfully convinced the politician to re-open cinemas in the city. Movie theaters in New York State had been open since October 2020, but March 5 is the first time they are re-opening in New York City.

Despite releasing to a movie market that was seriously impacted by COVID-19, Tenet has made more than $363 million worldwide to date. The overwhelming majority of Tenet’s box office results came from international markets ($305 million), compared to $58 million from the US, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

Theaters in NYC can only accept 25% capacity, the governor said, and a cap of 50 people per screen. Everyone must wear a mask and follow other health and safety protocols as part of the directive.

Tenet is a time-bending action movie starring John David Washington, Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson, and Kenneth Branagh. For more, check out the video above where Pattinson and Debicki tell us about their favorite video games.

Now Playing: Tenet Stars Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki Discuss Their Mysterious Characters & Favorite Games Ever

New Apex Legends Switch Gameplay Trailer Shows Off Legendary Pathfinder Skin

Respawn has released a new gameplay trailer for the Nintendo Switch port of Apex Legends. The trailer reveals a new Pathfinder skin as well, which will be exclusive to the Switch version of the game for a limited time.

As seen in the trailer, the new legendary P.A.T.H. Pathfinder skin recolors the happy-go-lucky robot with a sleek red-and-white paint job. The trailer doesn’t mention how long this skin will remain exclusive to the Switch version.

Interestingly, this trailer may also tease more, currently unannounced additions to Apex Legends. At 0:26, you can see Rampart dancing with a microphone and at 0:38, you can see Mirage, Bangalore, Lifeline, Gibraltar, Pathfinder, and Wattson also all doing emotes that aren’t present in the game.

These could be upcoming banner poses that may be added in future events (maybe one that’s tied to a future Caustic town takeover), or perhaps Respawn will begin adding brand-new ground-based emotes alongside the current collection of skydive emotes and holo-sprays. Banner poses make more sense given Apex Legends is a first-person shooter and you normally can’t see your character, meaning you wouldn’t even see the emote you’re using. But we’ll have to wait and see.

Those who download Apex Legends on Switch within two weeks of its launch (so between March 9 and March 23) will automatically unlock the first 30 levels of Season 8’s battle pass. Additionally, all Switch players will earn double XP during that two week period.

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Valheim Players Use Ocean To Yeet Themselves Into The Sky

Players of one of the hottest PC games right now, Valheim, are finding ways to exploit the title to make new experiences–like using the ocean as a giant trampoline to launch themselves.

Reddit user HotGuuuuu uploaded a clip of their exploit: hurtling a massive longboat down a tree-constructed ramp and using the vast ocean as a springboard to catapult themselves into the air. The ramp is built atop a mountain, so you can really see the speed they accumulate.

Curiously, despite the ocean looking very much like real water, the longboat simply bounces off the surface as if it’s made of rubber. HotGuuuuu bounces off the water’s surface a couple of times, launching several hundred feet into the air, before plummetting into a nearby forest.

Valheim is incredibly popular on Steam right now, selling four million copies in its first three weeks and sitting at the number three spot on the top-10 played games on the platform.

The game recently received a brand-new patch that adds some improvements to the game’s dedicated servers and makes wolves significantly less horny.

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Animal Crossing Player Recreates The Mario Experience On Their Island

Animal Crossing: New Horizons fans are always expressing their creativity through the game’s building mechanics, and they can sometimes achieve goals that seem impossible to casual players. That is definitely the case with Twitter user doom_mori, who managed to create a Mario-like platformer experience on their island using the themed items added for Mario’s 35th anniversary by a recent update.

While parts of this build are not possible without hacking the game–which we don’t recommend, as it can get your island’s Dream Address taken down, among other consequences–it’s still incredibly impressive. Especially lucky is the fact that the warp pipes work in the order they intended; the direction you exit a warp pipe is random, and if you have more than two on your island at a time, the connection between pipes is random, too. The Super Mario Sunshine music also adds a bit of atmosphere to the clip.

In other Animal Crossing news, an enthusiastic fan recently recreated the first act of the megahit musical Hamilton in New Horizons, and it’s quite elaborate. An upcoming update for the game will add Sanrio-inspired villagers and items to the game, and that’s set to release later in March.

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Yuffie Episode, PS5 Upgrade Detailed

Square Enix has shared more details on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, including story info on the Yuffie DLC episode. The company also outlined some of its enhancements and new features for the PS5 port.

The Japanese publication Game Watch (translated via Gematsu) explains the background of Yuffie and her partner, the new character Sonon. The two are elite operatives for Wutai, and are dispatched to Midgar to steal the “Ultimate Materia” from the Shinra company. Yuffie herself is a ninja who uses a shuriken weapon. Yuffie is the commanding officer to Sonon, though he’s older, and he is said to have trained under Yuffie’s father.

The new episode starring the pair will take place over two chapters: first as the two hook up with Avalanche, and then the Shinra heist attempt. Yuffie has both short- and long-range combat capabilities, and she can perform special contextual actions like breaking Shinra boxes and crossing a wire fence.

The Yuffie episode will require a separate purchase, but upgrading to the PS5 Intergrade version from your PS4 copy is free and you can carry over your previous save data. The PS5 version will feature new lighting effects, fog effects, and some upgraded resolutions. You’ll also able to choose between the 4K Graphics Mode and the 60 FPS Performance Mode. And a new photo mode will let you adjust the angle, colors, and exposure.

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Valheim Update: Dedicated Server Upgrades And Wolves Are Less Likely To Make Babies

A new patch is available now for the hit Norse multiplayer game Valheim. Among a handful of smaller changes, it makes a big change for dedicated servers and also tweaks the game balance so wolves are less horny.

Starting with the dedicated servers, this new update makes it so dedicated servers now always use direct connections instead of using the Steam Datagram Relay (SDR) system.

“This should result in much lower latency for most players,” developer Iron Gate said. “I really hope this patch solves a lot of connection issues introduced in last weeks patches (due to switching socket backend),” the studio said.

Elsewhere, the March 2 update for Valheim contains a change that makes wolves less likely to mate. The patch notes state that the update “lowered wolf procreation slightly.” The developers apparently thought there was something wrong with wolves making cubs more than they should, so wolves are slightly less horny now, to borrow a phrase from PCGamer.

The Valheim patch notes also mention some localization updates, while the Bonemass enemy’s puke effect should not work properly, thank goodness. You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by Iron Gate on Steam.

Valheim has sold more than 4 million copies and reached more than 500,000 concurrent players on Steam, making it one of the most popular games on the entire platform. In response to the huge success, developer Iron Gate is expanding its five-person studio.

Valheim March 2 Patch Notes

  • Localization updates
  • Made Haldor head-turn smoother
  • Object network interpolation is skipped if object was far away, solved issue with network players flying through the air when entering dungeons & exiting portals etc
  • Added -public 1/0 flag to dedicated server again, Allows players to host local lan only servers
  • Join IP-button updated to allow for lan-connections (dedicated servers only) & added DNS support
  • Dedicated servers use directIP connection instead of SDR, solves issues with slow steam relays in some areas of the world
  • Bonemass puke-effect network fix
  • Updated Dedicated-server PDF manual
  • Prevent pickup items when entering portals
  • Lowered wolf procreation slightly
  • Lowered chance of boss trophy talking

Now Playing: The Valheim Viking Guide For Beginners

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Peacock Orders New Bill Nye Series, The End Is Nye

Peacock has ordered the science series The End is Nye, hosted and co-executive produced by pre-eminent science guy, Bill Nye. According to a release, each episode will dive into the mystery and reality of both natural and unnatural threats, “from viruses to volcanoes, asteroids to authoritarianism, and climate change to chemical warfare.”

The show, the release promises, is intended to explore “worldwide catastrophes” and their ability to provide both “thrills, but also hope and a way forward… The End is Nye offers a scientific blueprint for surviving anything that comes our way.” No release date has yet been announced, nor has it been disclosed how many episodes of the new series will be in the works. Previously, Nye’s Bill Nye Saves the World ran for three seasons on Netflix.

Brannon Braga (Cosmos: Possible Worlds, Star Trek) will serve as showrunner, director, and co-executive producer of all episodes. Fuzzy Door Production’s Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) and president Eric Huggins will round out the co-executive production duties. The series is coming about via Fuzzy Door’s current overall deal with NBCUniversal.

MacFarlane is also reportedly working on a Revenge of the Nerds reboot starring the Lucas Brothers–who are identical twin comedians, actors, and writers–which doesn’t yet have a home. For NBCUniversal, MacFarlane is also adapting The Winds of War and War and Remembrance–a series of World War II novels.