Although John Wick will be returning for two more sequels, it seems that the series will continue without some of its original team. Screenwriter Derek Kolstad will not be involved in John Wick: Chapter 4 or Chapter 5.
Kolstad is the major architect of the John Wick universe, having solo writing credit on the first two movies and shared credit with Shay Hatten, Chris Collins, and Marc Abrams on John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum.
The screenwriter revealed the news in an interview with Collider, saying it wasn’t his choice to leave the series. “No, it wasn’t my decision. When you think of the contractually of these things, the third one I shared the credit with any number of people, they didn’t have to come back to me, and so they didn’t.”
Still, Kolstad did not wish anyone working on the movies ill will, saying he’s still rooting for series director Chad Stahelski.
“I’m still close with Chad [Stahelski], still close with [John Wick co-director] David [Leitch]. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m excited to see… Seeing what the industry is and how things go, I just believe that you bless everything and hope it all the best, and to the players involved who are doing other things elsewhere. And yeah, it’s personal, so I’m never going to talk shit about John Wick. I want this thing to survive and thrive.”
Although Kolstad is no longer penning the Keanu Reeves-starring series, he still has plenty of things in the works. The writer is currently developing an adaptation of the action-horror manga Hellsing for Amazon Studios, which he describes as a dream project. Additionally, Kolstad is the sole screenwriter on the upcoming Bob Odenkirk action movie Nobody, which releases this Friday.
To get kick things off this month, Amazon Prime Video is releasing Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse starring Michael B. Jordan (Creed) on April 30. Per Amazon, this film centers on “the explosive origin story of action hero John Clark – one of the most popular characters in author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe. When a squad of Russian soldiers kills his family in retaliation for his role in a top-secret op, Sr. Chief John Kelly (Jordan) pursues the assassins at all costs.”
The streamer is also dropping a new horror anthology series, titled Them, which will debut on April 9. Season 1 of Them, which is set in the 1950s, “centers on a Black family who moves from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood during the period known as The Great Migration. The family’s idyllic home becomes ground zero where malevolent forces, next door and otherworldly, threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them,” according to a synopsis from Amazon.
You can watch the thrilling trailer for Them in the video below:
Also be sure to check out the slideshow gallery below for a spotlight of some of the most notable April Amazon Prime Video releases, followed by the full list:
Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2 is a workout for your hands.
That isn’t a result of inaccessible controls; with this DLC, id Software has added the option to fully remap console controls. Even with that flexibility, after a few hours with the new DLC expansion to the 2020 shooter, my palms and knuckles begin to ache. I’m playing on PS5, and the DualSense is a beefy controller. The Ancient Gods Part 2 pushes you to use every square inch of it. There are a lot of demons to kill here and with Ancient Gods Part 2, id Software has given us the Doom Slayer’s most expansive arsenal of weapons to do so yet. Far from being just a set of three new levels, Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2 introduces multiple new enemies, a new traversal mechanic and a new weapon, all of which alter the flow of battle for the better.
I had my frustrations with The Ancient Gods Part 1, most stemming from the introduction of new enemies (like the Blood Maykr and the Turret) that required pinpoint accuracy to eradicate, which had a tendency to slow fights to a crawl. But The Ancient Gods Part 2 thankfully leans back in the other direction. One new addition to the bestiary, the Cursed Prowler, can (as the name suggests) curse you if it manages to land a hit with its projectile attack. To break the curse, you need to kill the Cursed Prowler. Simple enough. But this durable creature can only be killed with a Blood Punch. And, if you don’t have a Blood Punch ready, you’ll need to Glory Kill other monsters to build your meter up. So, instead of rooting you in one spot with your eye to the scope, the Cursed Prowler encourages you to dive into the fray. It can be frustrating to get hit with a curse and begin losing health in the middle of a tough battle, but it’s a change for the better: one toward frenetic movement and away from the occasional aim-down-sights inertia of the first DLC.
The Ancient Gods Part 2 returns to a more frenetic pace after Part 1’s more slowed-down combat.
Other new enemies similarly keep things moving. The Stone Imp is a variation of the Imp that upgrades the fodder enemy’s defense with a rocky layer of skin. To take it down, you’ll need to bust out the Combat Shotgun’s automatic fire mode and load the Imp’s igneous exterior with shells. Then there’s the Armored Baron which can be taken down quickly with a well-timed, well-aimed blast, or worn down slowly with the Plasma Rifle. There’s the Riot Soldier, whose hefty riot shield means you’ll need to attack from behind. And then there’s the Screecher Zombie, which you need to avoid entirely; kill it and it temporarily boosts the speed and defense of every other enemy in the area. The Ancient Gods Part 2 keeps you dancing, scrambling behind an opponent, strafing around it or guiding other enemies away from it. Where The Ancient Gods Part 1 frequently halted the dance, Ancient Gods Part 2 adds new steps.
With all these moving parts, fights often feel hectic. But The Ancient Gods Part 2 gives you a new weapon to push back and help set the pace. The Sentinel Hammer is an incredibly useful tool for crowd-control–especially when used in concert with ice grenades. The new weapon launches you into the air and brings you crashing down with stupefying force, killing all small enemies and stunning all heavy enemies within a pretty wide radius. It’s great. It allows you to temporarily escape conflict, recalibrate, heal and jump back into the fray. It’s so useful that I wish there was a way to take it back into the original Doom Eternal campaign or the first DLC.
Like the base game and Part 1 before it, The Ancient Gods Part 2’s story is front and center. The sheer number of proper nouns hasn’t changed. But The Ancient Gods Part 2 does have some terrific sights which make the story a little more palatable. You fly on a dragon. You join an all-out war for control of Hell. You beat up an arch demon who looks exactly like the Doom Slayer. Are there lore reasons for all these things? I’m sure. But I ignored that completely and enjoyed the imagery the way you would enjoy set dressing whipping by on a rollercoaster ride.
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My biggest gripe with The Ancient Gods Part 2 is the very last thing you do before you hit credits. The final boss fight feels like a very intentional troll aimed at critics of the Marauder, the multifaceted warrior enemy who can deal out damage to the Doom Slayer from any distance. It will certainly make Marauder haters who return for this DLC feel justified in that opinion. The final boss is basically a hulked-out version of the base enemy, with the same basic moveset and the ability to summon ghostly versions of the game’s roster of heavy enemies at will. If this boss lands a successful melee attack, the Doom Slayer drops healing orbs which the boss will use to replenish its health. So, you may whittle the boss’ health to nearly zero, but if it lands two melee attacks on you, its health will be topped up all over again. Oh, and did I mention that there are five phases? It’s a grueling, deeply frustrating fight and it left a bitter taste in my mouth as I finished an otherwise great expansion.
That said, id Software has largely toned down The Ancient Gods Part 1’s most annoying excesses with Part 2 and added a new crowd-control weapon that you will miss any time you return to the previous installments. In short, this is the most complete version of Doom Eternal and, aside from a terribly frustrating late-game boss fight, a consistently great note for Eternal to go out on.
The new season of the wildly popular superhero anime My Hero Academia premiered on March 27–and here’s the best part: If you’re in the US, Canada, the UK, Brazil, or Mexico, you’ll be able to watch Season 5 at the same time as it airs in Japan–both subbed and dubbed–on streaming services like Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Before Season 5 arrives, get yourself prepared by signing up with Funimation Premium right now.
If you need a refresher on the events of Season 4, we last left off with a massive battle between the current number one ranked hero, Endeavor, and a bioengineered Nomu monster which nearly cost Endeavor his life. His victory was hailed as the coming of a “new symbol of peace” by the media, a title once held by All Might, the former number one hero who passed his quirk ability, One For All, on to the quirkless Midoriya Izuku, AKA Deku, the show’s main protagonist.
Since then, Deku’s relationship with All Might has grown into a close mentor/mentee bond that has put some level of strain and secrecy between him and his UA classmates, especially his childhood frenemy, Bakugo Katsuki. Meanwhile, the evil machinations of the mysterious All For One and his League of Villains, have thrown most of the heroic world into chaos and fear, making the training of Deku’s Class 1-A even more critical.
The next season of the show will handle that conflict as it continues to grow, but it will also deal with the Joint Training Arc, which manga-readers will recognize as the story involving heroes from Class 1-A and Class 1-B coming together at their school in various training situations and simulations. Notably, this arc also returns some fan-favorite side characters like Shinshou and Monoma to the spotlight, if only for a brief moment, as the two classes vie for success in their respective competitions.
Season 5 will run for 25 episodes, and will also include the show’s landmark 100th episode. The show continues to be produced by Studio Bones and will feature and opening theme song called No.1 by DISH.
Catch the first episode of My Hero Academia Season 5 on Saturday, March 27.
As you play through the story you gain access to new abilities, which you can customize to your choosing like you would your Magic The Gathering Deck. We gained the ability to summon a Water Elemental, Telestrike which lets us teleport and strike down our foes, and more. Try out the Open Beta today March 23, 2021.
Respawn has released a small patch for Apex Legends on the day of the Season 8 Ranked Split. The patch brings back heat shields to the ranked playlist, but also nerfs the item.
Primarily designed as a means of temporarily surviving outside the ring, heat shields were removed from the ranked playlist following the discovery of an exploit that allowed players to survive indefinitely outside the ring. With their return to ranked, it’s probably safe to say that the exploit has been fixed.
Just pushed out a small @playapex update: 🔥 Heat Shields are returning to the regular loot pool in regular and ranked playlists. 🚫 Fast-heal has been removed from Heat Shields 🔧 Minor map tweaks to prevent players from getting stuck in King’s Canyon 🛡️ Shields up, Legends 🛡️
The patch is geared towards addressing the heat shield’s secondary function: faster healing. When used outside the ring, heat shields imbue healing items with enhanced strength, allowing those inside them to more quickly recharge body shields, use bandages to recover health, revive teammates, or self-revive. This patch removes that function.
It’s actually a pretty major change–and honestly, not one that I’m all that fond of. Heat shields previously existed as this risky way to get the drop on squads by temporarily fighting from places outside the safe zone, with their loud deployment and bright blue dome acting as a beacon to your location. Additionally, they worked as a great way to loot and heal up before making a last ditch effort to reach the safe zone after being caught outside of the ring following a prolonged fight.
With this patch, neither strategy will be as easy to pull off–I think you need the benefit of being able to quickly heal in order for heat shields to have any utility in Apex Legends’ meta. Heat shields last for shorter periods outside the ring the later into the match you go, but the faster healing benefit ensured you could quickly pop at least one healing item before the shield collapsed during the end-of-match rings. Without that benefit, they’re just beacons to a squad caught outside the ring–despite their name, heat shields do not actually act as shields that block damage.
That said, Respawn seems open to feedback on how heat shields are working out and whether they need further tweaking, so maybe the item will be further adjusted in future updates. “Share clips of why turning this on in ranked is a bad idea,” Apex Legends associate live balance designer John Larson tweeted. “Share clips of why turning this on in ranked is a good idea. Curious to see how heat shield affects gameplay. I got some theories. Keep in mind we have plenty of dials we can turn for balancing.”
A new update for The Sims 4 is now available on all platforms. It makes a number of fixes to the game, as well as adds bunk beds and tweaks Afro-centric hairstyles.
Hairstyles like “Puffball” and “Short Afro” have been retextured so they look a little more realistic, with curling patterns that are more prominent. In addition to the change, both hairstyles now have conversions for adults, children, and toddlers.
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The update also adds bunk beds to The Sims 4. There is a “basic style” bunk bed that matches the Mod Pod bed from the base game, as well as a metal framed version. Furthermore, the top bunk can be separated from the rest of the frame and used “on its own.” There’s also relax posture Sims can use when in all bed types.
Various Sims 4 expansions also get bug addressed. The base game sees toddlers now actually eating the food prepared for them, while Seasons gets a new Polar Bear Plunge Tradition. The full patch notes are below.
The Sims 4 Patch Notes
Bug Fixes
Sims 4:
Toddlers will now eat the food your Sims have prepared for them. My mom used to say when my siblings and I were children that “this is not a restaurant, you eat what I cook for you all” so yeah… a lot of times I saw my sister stay at the table until she finished all her veggies… her nemesis was spinach. Bet my Mom wishes she had this fix… yup!
Is your Sim creating puddles as they drink water? We have tweaked and duct-taped every leak your Sims could have so this should no longer occur.
Auto Solving for Hygiene should no longer queue a drink in the interaction queue. OK.
Elder, Adults, Young Adults, and Teen Sims can now Play Dolls With Toddlers. Aww, adorable. ^_^
21st Birthday Create a Sim assets puTop_EF28TankScallop and puBottom_EF28JeansCuffed are now properly displayed with the Special Birthday icon and tooltip.
As always this editor and the Localization team made some adjustments and perfected some of the text in-game across all packs and previous updates. #fabuloso
Get to Work
Scientists Sims can now complete the Transform Some Grass task.
Cats and Dogs
Kittens will now Age Up when given Age Up Treats. Now, why would you have your kittens age? Who wannnntttsss kittensss to live foreverrrrrrrrrrr? – Oh ooo oh – Who dares to be a kitten foreveeeerrrr?
Pet Poop is now able to be used properly as a Fertilizer. This means that no, you are not storing Pet Poop forever in your Sims inventory, it will now be used again… as intended.
Seasons
Ever heard that saying “it is as useless as plowing the sea?” What? Is that a Venezuelan saying only? Well, those Maids that were mopping puddles while in a thunderstorm? That’s a thing in the past… the immediate past… yes.
For those who are Polar Bear enthusiasts, we have great news! The Polar Bear Plunge Tradition is now able to be celebrated.
Get Famous
Global Superstar Sims will no longer get the React with Disgust from other Sims – especially on their wedding… really? This was a thing? – Reacting with Disgust will be left for those Celebrity Sims that are not famous and they appear on the Lot – Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
Eco Lifestyle
Fixed an issue with Insect Farms that were displaying Ready to Collect when they actually were not. Hold yer tiny insect horses little guys!
What? Vertical Gardens are evolving! Fixed an issue in which Vertical Gardens didn’t Evolve when they were both in the Ready to Evolve and Ready to Harvest state.
The Community Voting Board has been found and reinstated in Build Mode! However Cafés, Restaurants, and Vet Clinics will have to wait for a future update as it will be still missing for these lot types.
Loving that Off the Grid life but suddenly plumbing is required? Wait, what? Say no more… We have now made it so that eating/drinking Cereal, Milk, Juice, Yogurt, and Water doesn’t require plumbing. Wait, why would Milk – well even Cereal – require plumbing? Is there a Cereal bar plumbing system I don’t know about that is in the game? Wouldn’t that be filled with soggy Cereal? I have questions!
The best way to keep Cricket Flour is to store it in the refrigerator! Now you can have your flour ready to use extra fresh and crisp (crisp? crunchy?). We have also made it possible to store Beetle Nuggets, Bombardier Beetle Nuggets, and Grub Meal. Buen Provecho!
Parenthood
Parent Sims, were your Teens misbehaving? You grounded them, but they keep doing mischievous things? We have fixed an issue with Teens misbehaving stealthily while Grounded via the Phone. My parents grounded me in person, but hey, whatever works.
Journey to Batuu
We fixed an issue in which Batuu alien residents did not have the correct look. However, this fix is not retroactive and will be seen fixed in New Saves.
Nifty Knitting
Sims can resume Knitting after being interrupted while Knitting.
The Beginner’s Yarn Basket is now properly tagged under Skill-Building Objects in Sims’ Inventories.
Bust the Dust
We retrained our adorable yet filthy Dust Bunnies to not appear quite so often. We also made some tweaks to the dust situation and we hope now that it doesn’t accumulate as frequently as it has. What’s your favorite name for your Dust Bunny? Mine is Furthur! (Italian Simmers… hope you know what I’m talking about).
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While Rick and Morty centers on its titular characters, the character who has gone through the most changes has been none other than the show’s punching bag, Jerry Smith. Jerry starts off as a standard, albeit slightly dumb dad who loses his job, his confidence, and goes through a divorce. As of late, he is now trying to become better and at the very least, not as pathetic. Here are the Jerry-est moments of Rick and Morty Seasons 1 through 4.
As Space Jam: A New Legacy is nearing its release in theaters and HBO Max on July 16, Moose Toys and Warner Bros. have announced they’re teaming up on a line of all-star toys and collectibles to celebrate the film. According to a release (via PR Newswire), these toys will first be available sometime in April, and they’ll run the gamut from action figures, playsets, plush characters, and more.
“To put our excitement about this partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products into basketball terms, it’s like shooting a nothing-but-net-three-point-buzzer-beater to win the game,” said Ronnie Frankowski, chief marketing officer Moose Toys. “Working closely with Warner Bros., every attention to detail was paid to make sure our toys bring that big screen action into the hands of the fans. Our toys deliver awesome replicas of the stars of the movie, along with fresh new ways to play. We cannot wait for fans to bring their favorite characters home.”
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The range of toys includes the first ever action figure that really jumps, dunks and hangs-on-the-rim, just like LeBron James’s character in the film, which will go for an MSRP of $20. There will actually be at least two LeBron action figures at that price–one in his all-star civilian jersey, and another Ultimate Tune Squad one, complete “with four accessories and speaks more than eight ready-for-battle phrases and sounds,” although it’ll hard to be imagine any of the accessories tops the included jetpack. A full list of toys will be announced closer to launch.
Space Jam: A New Legacy is written by Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Keenan Coogler, and Terence Nance. The director of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler, is co-producing alongside James, Maverick Carter, and Duncan Henderson.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
The high-end controller features customization options like swappable thumbstick caps, back paddles, and face plates.
The PowerA Fusion Pro controller for Nintendo Switch is now available for preorder, in advance of its release next month. The wireless controller implements many of the customizable features of other higher-end controllers and brings them to Switch. It costs $100 and will release on April 4.
The PowerA Fusion Pro includes four programmable paddles on the back, and magnetic faceplates so you can swap between white and black appearances. The thumbstick caps are swappable as well, with convex and concave configurations, and it has rubberized grips. It also comes with a detachable 9.8-foot USB-C cable for charging, and a travel case to carry the controller and all of its accessories and swappable parts.
This suite of controller features is similar to what the Xbox Elite controller has. That controller also boasts customizable paddles and higher-end grips than the standard controller. Similarly, Sony released a back-paddle peripheral that attaches to the PS4 DualShock 4 for extra customization.
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