The Reason Why Doctor Octopus Was Female in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which placed very high on our ranking of all the Spidey flicks, was overflowing with fun twists and surprises. The least of which was the reveal of Kathryn Hahn’s scientist character, “Liv,” really being Olivia Octavius – or Earth 1610’s version of Doctor Octopus!

Apparently, this cool plot swerve came about because of co-director Bob Persichetti’s friendship with Hahn.

During this past week’s Comicbook.com’s online watch party for Into the Spider-Verse, featuring executive producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord, co-director/writer Rodney Rothman explained the gist of it…

Hahn, whose Octavius role was originally a “Big Lebowski type dude” according to Rothman, is the second person to play Doc Ock on the big screen after Alfred Molina famously played the tentacled terror back in 2004’s Spider-Man 2.

Recently, Sony revealed its all-encompassing branding name for not only the past Spider-Man movies featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield but also the current Tom Holland/MCU-related films as well as titles such as Venom and Morbius.

Meanwhile, Venom 2, like most other films, including the next couple Spider-Man movies, has been delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

If thinking about Doc Ock has made you want to revisit the Sam Raimi Spider-films, here’s a fun look back at Tobey Maguire doing a shirtless, shredded R-rated screen test for the first Spidey movie.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Daily Deals: Xbox Game Pass, Ryzen and Intel CPUs, iPads and More

Welcome to Saturday’s Deal page, and boy do we have some fun ones today. Our leading deal is on Xbox Game Pass, which already is a stellar deal, but has been sweetened ever more with the inclusion of free Spotify along with your purchase! Of course, we have much more than that, as both Ryzen and Intel CPUs are on sale, iPads are discounted at Best Buy, and a slew of gaming PCs are available at HP.

Sign up for 1 Month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 and Get 6 Months of Spotify Premium (and Play Red Dead Redemption 2 for Free)

Works for both NEW and EXPIRED accounts

Update: New for this month, get 6 months of Free Spotify Premium as part of your Game Pass Ultimate perks (more info here). Once you have signed up for a membership, use your Xbox One or Game Pass Ultimate app on your Android or iOS phone (under “profile”, then “perks”) to claim your Spotify Premium membership.

The “1 month for $1” deal is available for any expired account (not just new ones). Game Pass Ultimate is basically Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass combined into one membership. You even get access to Game Pass for PC. Normally you’d be paying $14.99 for one month, but Amazon is offering an additional month for free. In addition to Red Dead Redemption, Game Pass gives you access to tons of high profile games like Kingdom Hearts 3, Nier Automata, Gears Tactics (for PC), NBA 2K20, Yakuza Kiwami, and much much more.

Grab the Latest Model Apple iPad for $329

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The latest model iPad comes with a lot of bells and whistles, not the least of which is the stunning 10.2 inch display, which makes it great for both artistic work but also video playback. Did we mention it’s also $100 off and comes with a year of Apple TV?

40% Off 1 Year of PS Plus Membership, Now $36.99

Use code “DSPLYMBR”

PS Plus membership discounts only happen a few times a year so grab this deal when you can. This membership lets you play games online (absolutely necessary for games like NBA 2K20, Madden NFL 20, FIFA 20, Overwatch, Rocket League, and more). You’ll also get PS Plus exclusive discounts at the PlayStation Store as well as new free games every month. Best of all, it’s email delivery so you’ll get your code within 24 hours.

Get a Ryzen CPU for up to $60 Off at Newegg

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If you’re in the market for a new CPU, or have just been waiting for the right deal to come along, Newegg might be the place to be. They’re currently offering varying levels of discount on Ryzen CPUs, which have turned into the go-to CPU for productivity minded individuals. We should also note that all the CPUs come with Free Shipping and Xbox Game Pass!

Get the Intel i7-9700K for $378 at Newegg

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If you lean more towards the Intel side of things, or simply want one of the fastest gaming CPUs on the market, you can grab this i7 on sale for $378.

36% Off BeachBody.com Membership

p90xJust because the gym is closed doesn’t mean you have to be packing on unwanted pounds and giving up on your dreams for a sculpted physique. BeachBody.com is very well known for creating the P90X and Insanity workout regimens. They have dozens of other online workout videos as well like PiYo (Yoga and Pilates), 21-Day Fix, Focus T25, and more. Right now monthly membership costs $8.95 per month (originally $12.99). You can sign up for just a few months (to last you through the shelter-in-place situation) or for a full year for the same rate.

Switch to the New Apple iPhone SE on Visible and Get a $200 Prepaid Mastercard (Pay $40 or Less Per Month for Unlimited Data, Messages, and Minutes)

Black 256GB Model Is Back in Stock

The new Apple iPhone SE is now available on the Visible network. Switch over from your current carrier to Visible and get a $200 Prepaid Mastercard when you purchase the iPhone SE. The $40/mo Visible plan gives you unlimited data, text, and phone, but that gets even cheaper if you sign up with more people (Party Pay). With 2 members the price drops to $35/mo, with 3 members it’s $30/mo, and with 4 members it’s $25/mo. Visible is owned and operated by Verizon, so you get access to the best overall network in the country.

HP OMEN 15″ 1080p 144Hz Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2060 for $1277.99

The HP OMEN laptop has excellent build quality… one of the best in its price range. This is a well equipped laptop that even includes 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD drive. The highlight, though, is the RTX 2060 video card which performs better than the GTX 1070. At this price, it’s a no brainer, unless you want something massively overpowered like the deal below.

  • Click Here
  • Select Display – 15.6″ 144Hz 1080p IPS (+$70)
  • Proceed to shopping cart
  • At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
  • Price should show up as $1277.99
  • Optional: Upgrade to RTX 2070 for $1421.99

HP OMEN 15″ 4K 3840×2160 Intel Core i9-9880H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 for $1883.65

Get it with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD Upgrades for Only $108 More

You won’t find another laptop with beastly specs like this for under $2K. Not only are you equipped with an RTX 2080 Max-Q video card, the most powerful mobile GPU available, you’re also getting an Intel Core i9-9880H 8-core processor and a gorgeous 4K IPS display. Upgrading your RAM and HDD will push it just over $2K although you could probably do that on your own and save some money.

  • Click Here
  • Select Processor and Graphics – i9-9880H + RTX 2080 (+$980)
  • Select Display – 15.6″ 4K IPS (+$150)
  • Proceed to shopping cart
  • At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
  • Price should show up as $1880.99

HP OMEN 17″ 1080p 144Hz Intel Core i9-9880H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 for $1916.99

Get it with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD Upgrades for Only $45 More

The 17″ model doesn’t have any option to upgrade to 4K, but one could argue that 4K is overkill for a laptop. You still get a 1080p display with 144Hz refresh rate.

  • Click Here
  • Select Processor and Graphics – i9-9880H + RTX 2080 (+$1080)
  • Select Display – 17.3″ 144Hz 1080p IPS (+$100)
  • Proceed to shopping cart
  • At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
  • Price should show up as $1916.99

HP OMEN Obelisk Intel Core i5-9600K RTX 2080 Ti Gaming PC for $1682.99

I’ve never seen a prebuilt gaming PC with an RTX 2080 Ti (the fastest video card out right now) for this price. This PC is customizable on HP’s website, but buying the base config has its merits. In terms of gaming, upgrading from an Intel Core i5-9600K to an Intel Core i7 is a waste… performance-wise they are identical. Also, by upgrading the RAM and storage on your own, you can save alot of money and pick your own, better parts at the same time.

  • Click Here
  • Select Graphics Card – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (+$450)
  • At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
  • Price should show up as $1682.99

Dyson V8 Animal Cord Free Vacuum for $299

dyson

Need something light and easy to work with while cleaning your home? This Dyson vacuum is ideal for you. It’s a low effort device that is great at cleaning up hair and other light particles off the ground, without the need for a large, bulky vacuum or a ton of cords.

Dell HDTV Deals with Free Gift Cards

Dell has pushed out some new great deals on HDTVs. Not only do these prices include instant discounts, you also get a bonus Dell eGift card that you can use on practifcally anything at Dell.com. It’s emailed to you shortly after your TV ships and you carries a 90-day expiration.

TIDAL 4-Month HiFi Music Streaming Plan for $4

Pay $1/month for four months (the normal cost of the HiFi plan is $19.99/mo). TIDAL is a music streaming service that offers 60+ million tracks and 250,000+ videos with premium quality audio. The HiFi plan upgrades the audio to lossless high-fidelity.

ComiXology Free Trial Extended to 60 Days

The ComiXology trial period is normally 30 days.  ComiXology is Amazon’s digital comic platform and is the largest digital retailer of American comics. The site hosts 20,000 digital comics, graphic novels, and manga from DC, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and more. Here’s your chance to access all of it, totally free, for 30 60 days. If you’re an avid comic reader, you might want to consider continuing on afterwards, since it’s only $5.99/month. You can even sign in with your Amazon account.

Online Learning Course Bundles from Stack Social

Want to be more productive at home? Stack Social has plenty of practical courses that can kick start your career. For under $40 per bundle you get dozens of hours of online instruction in programming, game creation, video production, ethical hacking, and more… all from the safety of your home.

Free Sling TV from 5pm to Midnight (CNN, MSNBC, Food Network, HGTV, Cartoon Network, and More)

No Credit Card Required for Signup

Sling’s Happy Hour promotion is offering free Sling Blue from 5pm to midnight (normally $30/month). You can keep up with live news about the COVID virus from CNN, MSNBC, HLN, and Fox News, or just lose yourself in family friendly TV shows from HGTV, Food Network, A&E, Bravo, TNT, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, The Discovery Channel, Nick Jr, and more. Best of all no credit card is required.

Doom Eternal’s First Major Update Empowers Demons To Slaughter You

The first major update for Doom Eternal is on the way, and it’s bringing a major feature that could change the course of a battle: Empowered Demons. Your in-game struggles could make another player’s life even harder in the campaign mode, but there is a reward for beating one.

Empowered Demons will soon arrive to Doom Eternal in a free update. When a player is killed, the demon who killed them will be powered up and transported to a separate player’s game. If this demon is killed, the player will get bonus health and ammunition, as well as experience for their overall Doom Eternal level. The campaign’s later battles are already challenging, and this should take things to the next level.

Battlemode has also been tweaked, offering a death report feature so players can learn more about what went wrong in a match. There are also changes to the tutorial to make it easier to learn, and new anti-cheat features. Given the delicate difficulty balance necessary between the Slayer and the two demons, keeping things fair is essential.

One feature that isn’t ready for release yet is the much-teased Invasion mode, which lets players enter others’ campaigns and control a demon directly. The first story-based DLC is also on the way, and there are Doom Eternal DLC screenshots available to view here. If you’re on PC and struggling, you can even make the game a little beat easier with the help of a new mod.

Now Playing: Doom Eternal Video Review

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Want to See Hugh Jackman Audition for Wolverine, the Role that Would Change His Life?

Here at IGN we occasionally like to showcase something from geekdom’s rich history — a pop-culture Time Capsule, if you will, that gives us a peek in to the past, perhaps providing a new appreciation for previous projects.

If you’d like, please check out the past few Time Capsules:

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We’ve got a super-duper snikt!-y treat for you this week as we all get to take a look at baby-faced Hugh Jackman first auditioning, and then screen testing, for the part of Wolverine – a role he’d go on to play another 137 times in approximately 502 X-Men movies (including Kate & Leopold, because His Grace Leopold Alexis Elijah Walker Thomas Gareth Mountbatten, 3rd Duke of Albany was clearly the Black Rook of the Hellfire Club).

Jackman, a relative unknown at the time, was given the job of a lifetime as one of Marvel Comics’ most popular mutilators: a nearly-immortal hairy Canadian with Frederick Krueger knuckles and a super-indestructible skeleton sponsored by the best black market torture porn a shadow government could buy. Jackman’s Wolverine would go on to become the absolute glue of the series, even classing up the joint by delivering the X-verse’s first-ever “f***k” in First Class. Which is a record that would eventually, and gratuitously, get shattered over and over by Deadpool while ordering breakfast.

The first video shows Jackman and director Bryan Singer going over a few scenes — like Logan being grumpy with Rogue and Logan being grouchy with Jean — while also delving into the character’s overall usefulness, in the first film, as an expediter of exposition.

The second video comes with a choice “and Anna Paquin” credit as Jackman and Paquin run through the Riding in Cars with Bubs scene from the beginning of the film, right before he clashes with Sabretooth. Who will make no mention whatsoever of their harrowing 150-year history together as trusted friends and fierce rivals. Of course, this is why we have Wade Wilson out there Cloroxing the timeline. Check it (them) out below, or here and here!

They start off a bit bumpy, but Wolvie and Rogue would go on to be close friends. She’d become his In Case of Emergency contact for all cell phone contracts and timeshare sweepstakes while he’d give her his family’s secret recipe for Lemony Snikt, which is a delightful dessert for unfortunate events.

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One day, the MCU’s Phase 4 will officially start, and with it will come the promise of mutants. Here are four ways mutants could be introduced to the Marvel films. Of course, the unofficial fifth way would be — you guessed it — Juggalos.

And if this also means rebooting Wolverine with a new actor, Jackman is reportedly all for it. And as long as it hurts every time, we’re onboard too.

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Silence of the Lambs Sequel Series ‘Clarice’ Officially Ordered at CBS

CBS has officially ordered Clarice, a procedural sequel to The Silence Of the Lambs, straight to series.

Per Deadline, Clarice, which was previously announced as being in development in January, will star Rebecca Breeds (Pretty Little Liars, The Originals) in the titular role of FBI agent Clarice Starling and will take place after the events in Thomas Harris’ landmark novel, The Silence Of the Lambs.

Clarice will be set in 1993, a year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs. The series is a deep dive into the untold personal story of Clarice Starling, as she returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C. The show is not based on the sequel book, Hannibal, which was adapted for the big screen in 2001 and for the third season of NBC’s Hannibal – which adapted elements of Harris’ books Red Dragon, Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising, but not Lambs due to rights issues.

Rights issues is also why Clarice probably won’t be able to use Hannibal Lecter as a character, or even any other Harris-verse characters not introduced in The Silence of The Lambs novel.

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Clarice also stars Kal Penn, Orange is the New Black’s Nick Sandow, and The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz. It’s written and executive produced by Alex Kurtzman (Fringe, Sleepy Hollow, Star Trek) and Jenny Lumet (2017’s The Mummy).

CBS has also picked up The Equalizer reboot starring Queen Latifah and Chris Noth and a Chuck Lorre-Marco Pennette comedy, B Positive, headlined by Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley) and Annaleigh Ashford (Masters of Sex).

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.