The Boys Season 2: 16 New Things We Learned From Comic-Con

The Boys Season 2: 16 New Things We Learned From Comic-Con – GameSpot

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The Comic-Con@Home panel for Amazon's superhero send-up The Boys Season 2 did not disappoint.

The Comic-Con@Home panel for Amazon’s superhero send-up The Boys Season 2 did not disappoint.

Comic-Con 2020–officially known as Comic-Con@Home, for obvious reasons–kicked off on Thursday with a slew of panels. The highlight for many was no doubt Amazon’s The Boys, and not just because the superhero send-up was one of the best shows of 2019. The panel itself was excellent, a perfect example of how to do a Comic-Con panel in quarantine while keeping things engaging and entertaining.

That’s partially down to the experienced moderator, actor Aisha Tyler, who knows exactly what questions to ask and how to pace these things. But more importantly, the actors and creators on the panel weren’t afraid to actually reveal things about The Boys Season 2. Much too often in these panels, the actors are sworn to vows of silence, unable to reveal even the tiniest, most inconsequential plot points (or, in the case of a movie like New Mutants, unable to actually release the film after years of delays).

It probably doesn’t help that, this year especially, many shows and movies are effectively in limbo, with production halted and release dates postponed. Luckily, The Boys Season 2 is finished already, and its first three episodes are dropping on Amazon September 4. During the panel, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg also hopped into the call to announce that Amazon has ordered Season 3, although they don’t yet know when it will go into production.

For now, we still have Season 2 to look forward to. Here’s everything new we learned about it during The Boys’ Comic-Con@Home panel.

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1. Butcher's motivation has changed

1. Butcher’s motivation has changed

At the end of Season 1, Butcher was left gawking as Homelander revealed that Butcher’s wife Rebecca is still alive, and has been raising her and Homelander’s child in secret for the last eight years. During the panel, Butcher actor Karl Urban revealed that rather than continuing his quest to get revenge against Homelander, his motivation in Season 2 will shift to rescuing his wife. Whether she actually needs rescuing–considering she’s never tried to contact him all these years–remains to be seen.

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2. Butcher is going to undergo some character development

2. Butcher is going to undergo some character development

The Boys is full of ruthless characters, both of the powered and mundane varieties. Butcher was perhaps the most heartless of them all, since the loss of his wife made all “supes” evil in his eyes. But in Season 2, he’s going to become less selfish. Hopefully, the rest of the Boys forgive him for abandoning them to go after Homelander.

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3. Homelander becomes increasingly unhinged

3. Homelander becomes increasingly unhinged

In Season 2’s most recent trailer, we caught a glimpse of Homelander sipping the now-deceased Stillwell’s breast milk. In Season 2, he’s going to become more and more unhinged. “Homelander killed the only person who can control him in Stillwell, and he’s increasingly out of control,” said showrunner Eric Kripke during the panel. He’s going to make Vought into a more and more sinister place.

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4. Starlight is trapped within The Seven

4. Starlight is trapped within The Seven

Part of Homelander’s domination of Vought and the Seven is the fact that Starlight will be trapped in her current situation. She may have betrayed the Seven at the end of Season 1, but Homelander doesn’t necessarily know that, and Kripke said Annie “is sort of trapped in this living nightmare.”

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5. Starlight is going to have to compromise on her morals

5. Starlight is going to have to compromise on her morals

Speaking of which, Erin Moriarty, who plays Starlight, said while her character’s moral center will remain intact, she’s going to start compromising in various ways to help contend with this crazy world she’s now a part of. That will include working directly with Butcher, a character she no doubt finds unsavory, and blackmailing A-Train to keep their Season 1 confrontation a secret.

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6. A-Train survives

6. A-Train survives

This should come as no surprise, but A-Train has survived his Compound V-induced heart attack at the end of Season 1. We’re going to learn more about his personality in Season 2, including why he’s so driven to always be the best.

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7. There are other speedsters

7. There are other speedsters

A-Train actor Jessie T. Usher borrowed a term from The Flash during the panel to reveal that there are other “speedsters” within the world of The Boys, beyond just Shockwave, the opponent A-Train raced in Season 1. We’ll probably meet some of them in Season 2.

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8. Hughie will become more self-sufficient

8. Hughie will become more self-sufficient

Throughout Season 1, Hughie was highly dependent on the people around him, first his girlfriend Robyn (rip) and later Butcher. In Season 2, actor Jack Quaid revealed, Hughie will continue to grow more self-sufficient, after his successful rescue op at the end of Season 1–no thanks to Butcher.

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9. He'll try to rebuild his relationship with Annie

9. He’ll try to rebuild his relationship with Annie

That said, Hughie has real feelings for Starlight, and he’s going to try to rebuild their romance. Since Annie found out toward the end of Season 1 that he’d been lying to her, she probably won’t be too receptive.

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10. Mother's Milk will lead the Boys (temporarily)

10. Mother’s Milk will lead the Boys (temporarily)

We don’t yet know how Butcher will get out of his situation with Homelander at the end of Season 1. But while he’ll reunite with the Boys eventually, he’s going to be out of the picture for a while, and during the panel, Mother’s Milk actor Laz Alonso revealed that his character will be stepping up to become the group’s de facto leader in the meantime.

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11. The Deep goes on his own journey

11. The Deep goes on his own journey

The Deep actor Chace Crawford revealed during the panel that his character goes on his own “spiritual” journey or quest that will take him to some surprising places. Fingers crossed he joins some sort of supe cult.

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12. The Deep rides a whale, and it's awesome

12. The Deep rides a whale, and it’s awesome

Amazon showed off a new clip from Season 2 during the panel, and it was awesome. As the Boys fled a pack of finned sea creatures on a speedboat, a massive shape rose from the water. Of course, it was the Deep, riding a whale. He parks it between the Boys and land, but Butcher has other ideas, driving the boat directly into the whale, with spectacularly gory results. And we thought it was hard watching an innocent dolphin get run over in Season 1.

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13. We'll find out more about Kimiko's backstory

13. We’ll find out more about Kimiko’s backstory

Kimiko–sometimes referred to simply as “the female”–was one of Season 1’s most mysterious characters (surpassed only by Black Noir). In Season 2, we’ll learn more about her, revealed her actor, Karen Fukuhara. And that additional backstory may change the nature of her relationship with Frenchie.

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14. We'll learn Frenchie's real name

14. We’ll learn Frenchie’s real name

On the topic of Frenchie, actor Tomer Capon revealed that as part of his expanded backstory, we’ll find out Frenchie’s real name–not to mention how he came to join the Boys in the first place.

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15. Stormfront is almost certainly a neo-nazi

15. Stormfront is almost certainly a neo-nazi

Throughout the panel, series newcomer Aya Cash (You’re the Worst) made veiled references to aspects of her character she disagrees with, while showrunner Eric Kripke mentioned white supremacy as an issue Season 2 will tackle. On top of that, “Stormfront,” Cash’s character’s name, is also the name of an infamous white nationalist website. Oh, and there’s the fact that, in the comics, Stormfront, although male, is literally a neo-Nazi. Yeah, we’re pretty sure on this one.

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16. Season 3 is already confirmed

16. Season 3 is already confirmed

Lastly, during the panel, producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg confirmed that Season 3 has already been confirmed by Amazon. They don’t know when it will enter production, but in the meantime, Season 2 is almost here to tide us over.

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company


Star Trek At Comic-Con: 18 Things To Know About Discovery, Picard, Prodigy And More

During a virtual panel for Star Trek Universe during Comic-Con@Home 2020, we got to learn more from the cast and crew of Star Trek Discovery, Star Trek Picard, and the upcoming Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks. And we even got a new series announcement for Star Trek Prodigy.

The highly anticipated Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is a new series based on the years Captain Christopher Pike led the U.S.S. Enterprise, features fan favorite characters from Star Trek Discovery Season 2 – Captain Christopher Pike, Number One and Science Officer Spock. During the Discovery portion of the panel, the cast told us how their experience on Discovery has impacted their characters as they head into exploring strange new worlds.

Moving on to Star Trek Discovery Season 3, we got a few hints about character development from the cast. We got a first look at the new series Star Trek Lower Decks launching August 6th on CBS All Access. Officially announced during the panel was a new show for kids on Nickelodeon being developed called Star Trek Prodigy.

The panel closed with a Q&A with the main cast and special guest stars from Star Trek Picard Season 1. As we already know, Season 2 is happening – but there is still no set date on when we’ll get it. Sir Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis and Jonathan Frakes talked about returning to Trek as Picard, Data, Deanna Troi, and Will Riker long after The Next Generation era. Jeri Ryan talked about what it was like to play Seven of Nine again. And Stewart and Spiner talked about getting closure for Data and Picard.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

PS5: If White Is Not Your Style, One UK Company Is Selling A 24-Carat Gold-Plated Model

The PlayStation 5 is due to release later this year, and not everyone is happy with the system’s design, with its white exterior turning off some fans. But there will be at least three other colors available for the system through a third-party UK retailer–you’ll be able to buy a PlayStation 5 covered in gold and platinum.

Truly Exquisite is selling the PlayStation 5, as well as the wireless headset and DualSense controller, with a gold coating. The system will also be available in Platinum and 18K rose gold, if you’re rich but not that rich.

You can register your interest in the system on the store page, and admire the system in all its gaudy glory below. The system will be custom made, and likely won’t be available until after the system launches–and we’re not entirely sure when that will happen yet.

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This is one thing the system will definitely have over the Xbox Series X, which, as far as we know, cannot be bought with a gold coating. The PlayStation 5 is also a very big console, so you’ll be getting quite a bit of gold with this model.

If you can still afford to buy games after splurging on a gold PS5, here’s everything we know of coming to the system.

Halo Infinite Multiplayer Makes Grappling Hook A Pickup, 4-Player Split-Screen Confirmed

Halo Infinite‘s gameplay debut at the Xbox event was focused exclusively on showcasing the campaign, which features open-world elements and some new tools for Master Chief to play with. Chief among them is the grappling hook, known as the grappleshot, which stands to have a major impact on gameplay. However, while it is included in Infinite’s multiplayer, it will not be something you have access to at all times.

The briefest of insights into Infinite’s multiplayer component was shared as part of a 343 Industries blog post. It confirms that new weapons and equipment (including both the grappleshot and Drop Wall, the deployable energy shield seen in the gameplay demo) will be available in multiplayer. But in order to use them, you’ll need to first pick them up on the map. It’s unclear if they’ll have a limited number of uses once you do so–the grappleshot operates on a cooldown timer in the campaign–and it seems like we’ll need to wait for more information. 343 says it’ll be “talking more about multiplayer details soon.”

Also confirmed is four-player split-screen co-op support for Halo Infinite. This is a feature first announced back in 2018, but given how things can change, there was perhaps some question of whether it would indeed make the final cut. Luckily, 343 told GameSpot that it will be included with Halo Infinite. This is a reversal from Halo 5: Guardians, which cut split-screen.

It’s unclear how split-screen will impact the resolution or frame rate. 343 promises “near-instant” load times, as well as 4K and 60 FPS support in the campaign, on Xbox Series X, but those figures may only be accurate when playing with a single person on the system. 343 also says it’s “designing Halo Infinite to grow and evolve over time so we can continue to deliver experiences to our players well beyond launch.” Given the focus right now is on the campaign, this evolution involves that side of the game, with new stories being added over time. But it seems safe to assume Infinite’s multiplayer will also expand with new content post-launch.

Halo Infinite is an Xbox Series X launch game and releases sometime this holiday. It’s also set to launch on both Xbox One and PC, with a Steam release planned for the latter platform.

Now Playing: Halo Infinite Gameplay Demo | Xbox Games Showcase 2020

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Comic-Con At Home: New Mutants Gets A New Trailer, But No Surprise Streaming Release

While many were speculating that The New Mutants Comic-Con@Home panel would see the announcement of an early digital release, that wasn’t the case. However, new footage of the movie has arrived to keep you prepared for a movie that was noted at the panel as coming out on August 28.

During the panel, the opening sequence for the movie was revealed, which showcases a young girl running for her life. This transitions into a more traditional trailer, which is full of horror elements, and a giant demon bear–and yes, that’s in the comics. You can check out the video for yourself below.

There are new emojis on Twitter you can use while you wait for the late-August release date: #NewMutantsCannonball, #NewMutantsWolfsbane, NewMutantsSunspot, #NewMutantsMirage, and #NewMutantsMagik.

In addition, some new posters for the film have been revealed as well. Many of them pay homage to classic horror movies or feel like they come straight out of the ’80s horror era. You can see a few of them below.

This panel was a late addition to Comic-Con@Home, with the announcement coming on July 16. Because of this, many people speculated that the film would be heading to VOD rather than being pushed back to a later date again, as the film was originally supposed to be released on April 13, 2018. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Since the original release date, it’s received a staggering amount of delays due to Disney buying 20th Century Fox properties–which included this movie–avoiding conflicts with other movie release dates, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New Mutants is “an original horror thriller set in an isolated hospital where a group of young mutants is being held for psychiatric monitoring,” reads an official description. “When strange occurrences begin to take place, both their new mutant abilities and their friendships will be tested as they battle to try and make it out alive.”

Directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars), the movie stars Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), Blu Hunt (Another Life), Alice Braga (The Suicide Squad), and Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why).

While The New Mutants didn’t get an early release, another highly-anticipated movie did. Earlier today, it was revealed that Bill & Ted: Face the Music would be headed to VOD on September 1, two days ahead of its SDCC panel.

For more Comic-Con 2020 coverage, stay tuned to GameSpot.

New Star Wars, Avatar 2, Delayed a Year After Disney Reschedule

Disney announced it will push back its upcoming Star Wars and Avatar films by a year after rescheduling its film release calendar.

According to Variety, a new Star Wars movie will now debut around the holidays every other year starting in 2023. The new trio will begin with the first new Star Wars movie on December 22, 2023, while the second and third will follow on December 19, 2025, and December 17, 2027, respectively.

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Meanwhile, a new Avatar movie will be released every other year. So Avatar 2 will now be released on December 16, 2022, Avatar 3 will be released on December 20, 2024, Avatar 4 on December 18, 2026, and Avatar 5 on December 22, 2028.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Avatar And Star Wars Movies Suffer One-Year Delay

The long-in-production Avatar sequels, as well as the upcoming Star Wars movies, have been pushed back by a full year, Disney has announced via a Variety report. Director James Cameron commented on the announcement with a statement saying the delay was due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“As many of you are aware, due to COVD-19, we were forced into an unexpected lengthy delay in starting the live-action filming we are currently doing in New Zealand,” Cameron said. “What most of you likely do not know is that the pandemic is still preventing us from being allowed to recommence most of our virtual production work on stages in Los Angeles. That work is just as critical to the films as the live-action work.”

The Cameron-directed follow-ups to 2009’s Avatar will now release every other December, with the second entry arriving on December 16, 2022. This means Avatar 3 will debut on December 20, 2024; Avatar 4 will come out on December 18, 2026; and Avatar 5 will hit theatres on December 22, 2028.

“Prior to the COVID-19, everything was on track to bring you the first sequel in December of 2021,” Cameron continued. “Unfortunately, due to the impact that the pandemic has had on our schedule, it is no longer possible for us to make that date.”

Additionally, the trio of Star Wars movies are now expected to drop around Christmas every other year, alternating with the Avatar sequels. The first film in the new set of movies will arrive on December 22, 2023; the second will come out on December 19, 2025, and the final one will drop on December 17, 2027.

Avatar New Release Schedule

  • Avatar 2: December 16, 2022
  • Avatar 3: December 20, 2024
  • Avatar 4: December 18, 2026
  • Avatar 5: December 22, 2028

Star Wars New Release Schedule

  • New Star Wars Move 1: December 22, 2023
  • New Star Wars Movie 2: December 19, 2025
  • New Star Wars Movie 3: December 17, 2027

Disney’s blockbuster Christmas release schedule was shaken up as theatres like AMC continue to contend with reopening in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. Many tentpole movies, including Disney’s Mulan and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, have been pushed back while theatres figure out the safest way to reopen its doors to the moviegoing public. According to Variety, Mulan has been taken off the release calendars entirely.

Fortnite Won’t Get Cars For A Few More Weeks

Don’t expect cars to be added to Fortnite Battle Royale just yet. On Twitter, Epic announced that it would take a few more weeks to get cars added into the game, in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, saying the vehicles needed an inspection.

The new vehicles were featured in the trailer for Chapter 2 Season 3 at the start of the season, but they have yet to be added. According to a tease on Epic’s official website that roadways would become available as the water level receded throughout the season, making drivable vehicles available later.

There are other drivable vehicles in the game already, like helicopters and boats, but the trailer specifically teased drivable trucks and cars, which have not been in the game previously. Other vehicles, like hamster balls and golf carts, have been in the game previously, but have since been removed.

Players have found files in the game for four types of cars, small cars, medium cars, large cars, and trucks.

One of the leaked Week 6 challenges for Fortnite Season 3 was to gas up a vehicle at Catty Corner, which implied that vehicles would be available in the game this week. Fortnite’s Update 13.30 went live recently, which updated gas stations in Salty Springs and Pleasant Park.

Now Playing: Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 3 – Battle Pass Trailer

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Another Big Summer Sale Just Went Live On The Epic Games Store

The Epic Games Store hosted its annual Mega Sale back in May, but the PC games store just kicked off another big summer sale–clearly one wasn’t enough. The Epic Summer Sale 2020 features many of the same discounts we’ve seen in previous sales, and it offers a nice opportunity to use up any remaining $10 coupons from the previous sale. Unfortunately, you can’t earn any new coupons in this one. The $10 coupon, if you have one on your account, will be applied automatically at checkout when you buy any game or add-on that’s $14.99 and above. If you’d rather not spend the coupon now, you still have until November 1 before it expires.

The latest summer sale features discounts on some of Epic’s biggest PC games, including Control, Borderlands 3, and Red Dead Redemption II. Strategy fans can grab Civilization VI‘s pricey Platinum edition upgrade for $40, down from its usual $80, unlocking six DLC packs and the two expansions. Some recent releases from May, Saints Row: The Third Remastered and the open-world shark RPG Maneater, are on sale for $30 each. Two of our Game of the Year 2019 picks, Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium, also see sizable discounts.

Quick look: Epic Summer Sale 2020’s Best Deals

The Epic Summer Sale 2020 runs until August 6 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, so you have a couple of weeks to decide what games you want to pick up. In the meantime, Epic is still offering free games on a weekly basis–this week, be sure to claim narrative adventure Tacoma and dungeon-crawler Next Up Hero and add them to your library.

AT&T Boss on Whether Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984 Will Skip Theaters for VOD

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shake up theater releases, AT&T CEO John Stankey said he’d be very surprised if Tenet or Wonder Woman 1984 premiered on streaming services or as video on demand.

Stankey spoke to these two Warner Bros. movies — AT&T is the parent company of Warner Bros. — in a recent earnings call and reiterated the importance of theatrical releases for tentpole movies like Tenet and Wonder Woman 1984. He didn’t rule out subscription and VOD integration into the company’s future schedule though.

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“Do I think that there could be some things that we had originally chartered and built for theatrical release that maybe migrate into a (subscription and video on demand) construct?” Stankey asked during the earnings call, according to The Wrap. “Sure I think that could occur. Is it going to happen on a movie like Tenet or something like Wonder Woman 1984? I’d be very surprised if that would be the case.”

Stankey took it a step further and said he can “assure you on Tenet that’s not going to be the case.” He said that the theatrical release will always have an important role moving forward for Warner Bros. There is content that is more enjoyable and better to see in theaters than in a living room, Stankey added.

Stankey continued and said that content on the margins might be looked at as better to distribute in “another construct,” likely alluding to VOD. Universal Pictures’ Trolls World Tour took a theatrical detour down that route and it was a huge success.

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Tenet was delayed to August last month before it was announced this week that it has been indefinitely delayed. This news comes after reports that Tenet director Christopher Nolan pushed for a July release date, despite Warner Bros. market judgement.

On the DC side of Warner Bros. movies, Wonder Woman 1984 is currently looking at an October 2, 2020, release date, although considering the movie has been delayed four times already, who really knows when this movie will hit theaters.

In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins to put her future plans for additional movies on pause. As we patiently await the movie’s theatrical release, read about Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah character from the movie and then check out how Hero Within is making some Wonder Woman 1984-inspired clothing pieces available for everyone at home. Here are some ways to help, and stay safe, during the Coronavirus pandemic.

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