CW has announced that an animated series focused on Batman villain Deathstroke is in development for its CW Seed digital platform.
As reported by THR, the news was revealed during CW’s upfront presentation and will follow Slade Wilson/Deathstroke as “his family is threatened by the murderous villain Jackal and terrorist organization HIVE.”
E3 2019 is fast approaching and there’s going to be a ton of PS4 games. While Sony won’t be attending this year, that doesn’t stop other developers from bringing PS4 games to the show. Big name publishers like Bethesda, Electronic Arts, and more are showcasing some of their biggest new games.
Sony decided against appearing at E3 2019 out of a desire to showcase its games in new and different ways compared to previous years. “As the industry evolves, Sony Interactive Entertainment continues to look for inventive opportunities to engage the community,” the company said in a statement to GameSpot. “PlayStation fans mean the world to us and we always want to innovate, think differently and experiment with new ways to delight gamers. As a result, we have decided not to participate in E3 in 2019. We are exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019 and can’t wait to share our plans with you.”
Death Stranding, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part II are still the company’s biggest upcoming tentpole releases. We’ve gotten a few updates since last year. Developer Hideo Kojima did tease via Twitter that he was working on a new trailer for Death Stranding. On the other hand, The Last of Us Part II co-director Anthony Newman said on Twitter that developer Naughty Dog is looking to hire people to help “close out” the long-awaited game. Unfortunately, Ghost of Tsushima hasn’t received any recent development updates.
E3 will last about three days going from June 11-13. A handful of press conferences from the industry’s biggest companies are scheduled to precede the show. Read on for the full list of confirmed PS4 games so far, and check back as we continue to update this article with more in the coming days.
When the John Wick series introduces a villain, they usually fall into one of two categories: They’re either a gun-toting badass like John Wick 2’s Cassian (Common) and Ares (Ruby Rose) or John Wick 3’s Zero (Mark Dacascos), or a spineless crime boss like the original’s Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) or 2’s Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio). John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum introduces one new antagonist who absolutely crushes this mold: The Adjudicator, played by Asia Kate Dillon.
The Adjudicator is a high level enforcer sent to New York by the High Table to exact punishment against those who aided John Wick in his defiance of the organization’s laws throughout John Wick 2. The character is also non-binary in gender, according to Dillon, and goes by “they”–a detail you might not pick up on in the film, but which informed how Dillon, who is non-binary in real life, approached playing them.
Throughout John Wick 3, the Adjudicator recruits Zero and his gang of sushi-carving ninjas, cuts the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) down to size, and delivers Winston an ultimatum to step down as the Continental’s manager or risk facing the consequences. And the Adjudicator manages to do it all without ever lifting a finger, raising their voice, or picking up a gun.
“I feel like there was a really clear vision that started from Keanu [Reeves], who had the idea for the character, and then [director Chad Stahelski] shared that vision,” Dillon told GameSpot. “We talked about the fact that they really wanted a character who could walk into a room and unsettle everyone, and intimidate everyone, with a quiet power and a quiet confidence. Because the vision was so clear, I felt really confident stepping into the role.”
“I love the idea of a character who doesn’t have to take up physical arms in order to be intimidating, and to be maybe the most intimidating person,” they continued.
That idea makes the Adjudicator unique in the High Table’s clandestine world of god-like assassins and crime bosses. The character’s authority stems partially from power itself; they speak for the High Table and carry out its will. But other powerful figures in John Wick’s world have picked up a gun and taken shots at John Wick when necessary, from John Wick 1’s Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist) to Santino in John Wick 2. The Adjudicator never once personally threatens another character with physical violence, yet they command more authority just by virtue of their presence than any other villain in the series so far.
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John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – Official Trailer
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Dillon said they played the character with quiet intimidation in mind. “I think it was really important for The Adjudicator to be really grounded physically, which for me involves a lot of stillness, and that their emotion isn’t lost in physical gestures–that it’s really coming through the articulation of their words, and the emotional intention of the scene–someone who has a quiet confidence, a quiet power, and is quietly intimidating,” the actor said. “I don’t see that person as someone who is sort of like, running around and bouncing off the walls physically. That is someone who, I think, is going to stand and deliver, so to speak.”
Dillon played the character like a “sheriff” to John Wick’s “cowboy”–a “force of justice,” or at least what the High Table views justice to be, in that world.
As for being non-binary, Dillon said that aspect wasn’t originally written into the character, but it was a natural fit.
“The character wasn’t written as non-binary, but through the discussions that I had with Keanu and Chad, and after reading the script, you know, it was just evident that this character didn’t need to be a cis person,” Dillon said. “It’s a credit to Chad and Keanu and everyone at Lionsgate that for them it was just, I mean, it wasn’t even something I had to convince them of. They just immediately said, like, ‘Yes, of course, no brainer.’
“The films have always been incredibly diverse, from the first one through this one,” they continued. “You have people of all different shapes, sizes, colors, ethnic backgrounds. There’s cultural diversity. I mean, there’s even diversity when it comes to the martial arts, you know–there’s Capoeira, and Muay Thai, and Jiu Jitsu. So adding gender diversity to the third film was just seamless.”
Like everything and everyone in these movies, the Adjudicator has a unique look. Dillon described it as “high femme, fashion foward.” The garments draped around the character’s shoulders, the gloves held in one outstretched hand–their clothes also contribute to the aura of authority, suggesting the Adjudicator never expects to be threatened physically or to need to defend themselves.
There’s one other aspect that makes the Adjudicator unique in the world of John Wick: Unlike almost every other character who challenges the assassin or stands against him, the Adjudicator actually makes it through John Wick 3 alive. There’s a good chance they’ll come back for the inevitable John Wick 4, although with the all-out war brewing between Wick and the High Table–judging by John Wick 3’s ending, at least–the Adjudicator might not make it through the next one.
Hopefully, you haven’t gotten your fill of live-action Pokemon movies. Following the box office success of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, which has already earned over $60 million after one week in theaters, it’s being reported that a sequel is being developed. Though there aren’t many details at this point, it’s hardly a surprise that a property with as much lore as Pokemon is being looked at for more big screen adaptations.
The news comes from ComicBook.com, which cites numerous sources that claim Legendary Entertainment is moving forward with a sequel to the film, which stars Ryan Reynolds as the titular yellow pocket monster. Based on the report, it sounds as if the next movie will be a direct sequel to Detective Pikachu, while further Pokemon films will be explored in the years to come.
While a second Detective Pikachu film would likely put its primary focus on Pikachu once again, there are still tons of Pokemon that populated the world of Ryme City and beyond in the first film. GameSpot’s resident Pokemon experts managed to identify nearly 100 different little monsters in the movie, as well as a slew of Easter eggs that hint at even more.
While Detective Pikachu is the first live-action foray for the franchise, it’s not the first movie. The animated Pokemon: The First Movie was released in theaters in 1998, with a long line of sequels and spin-offs in the years since.
Destiny 2‘s Season the Drifter is quickly coming to an end. The season’s last Exotic, Outbreak Perfected, is out in the wild, and we’re currently seeing the final Iron Banner before the Season of Opulence starts on June 4 and brings new content for Annual Pass holders. And with his arrival this weekend, Xur brings not only another stash of Exotic weapons and armor, but the final Invitation of the Nine, completing the story of the Drifter and the Emissary. Unfortunately, at least one of those Exotics has a nerf coming its way.
Head to Titan if you’re looking for Xur. He’s hanging out on The Rig in a small building to the north of the spawn point. Ride your sparrow until you’ve got water on your left, then head into the low building to your left to find Xur inside. He’s offering D.A.R.C.I. this week, an Exotic sniper rifle that gives you information on enemies when you aim down the sights at them with its Personal Assistant perk, and which amps up the damage you do when Personal Assistant is active.
For armor, Xur offers Celestial Nighthawk helmet for Hunters, which gives you one high-damage shot for your Golden Gun Super, rather than several weaker shots. It also makes enemies explode, and killing enemies with your Golden Gun gets you Super energy back. Titans get the Ursa Furiosa gauntlets, which give you Super energy back based on how much damage you absorb with your Sentinel Shield Super, and gives you faster movement speed when you’re using it. Finally, for Warlocks, there’s Geomag Stabilizers, a set of boots that increase the duration of your Chaos Reach Super as you do damage with it. You can also sometimes get Super energy for sprinting.
Here are all the Exotics Xur offers this week and what they’ll cost you:
Geomag Stabilizers (Exotic Warlock leg armor) — 23 Legendary Shards
If nothing Xur has strikes your fancy, you can also purchase a Fated Engram from Xur. Thanks to a recent update, Fated Engrams can now dish out Exotics from the Forsaken expansion, as well as from the original Year One group (but not from the Black Armory or the Jokers Wild expansions). Grabbing one of the engrams gives you a random Exotic that you don’t already have–if you can afford it. Fated Engrams will run you 97 Legendary Shards, and you can only get one per account each week. Xur also offers the Five of Swords challenge card for free, which allows you to add difficulty modifiers that increase your score in Nightfall runs.
Finally, this Xur visit marks the arrival of the final Invitation of the Nine weekly bounty, which you can also snag one from Xur. Completing these gives you a Powerful gear drop, as well as a bit of story about the Nine and the Drifter and a new Lore entry that fills in the history of the Emissary of the Nine. Unlike the other bounties that have had players visiting planets and completing Strikes, this one takes you to the Crucible to play through nine different matches. If you’re not finished with your older Invitations, you can still complete one per week until you’ve received them all. Be sure to finish the bounty by Thursday’s daily reset, or you won’t be able to grab a fresh bounty from Xur on Friday.
Legendary creators Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev are teaming up for the first time at DC Comics with a six-part mystery thriller event called Event Leviathan this June–and it’s already shaping up to be an ominous affair. Take a look at these promotional posters highlighting each of the characters caught in Leviathan’s web, from Batman and Batgirl to Plastic Man and Lois Lane.
“You have tried everything,” Leviathan’s message reads. “The world needs us to do better.”
Likened more to Agatha Christie novels than typical superhero bombast, Bendis teased the event in an interview with GameSpot at DC’s Burbank offices late last month.
“[By the end of the story] Leviathan will have risen and what it is and what they’ve done will have landed,” Bendis said. “And so there are a lot of pieces that are going to shift and a lot of heroes are going to have a kind of a new purpose–like a new motivation, because the enemy will have revealed itself. He’s not selling villainy and he’s not selling antagonism. There are heroes and there are villains and then there’s this other thing right now. And that other thing isn’t playing by the rules dictated by the rules of the genre. That’s going to mess up a lot of people’s heads.”
While Event Leviathan itself is a self-contained six-issue series, it’s being supported by various specials and one-shot issues, like the preview in last month’s Year Of The Villain kick-off special and next week’s upcoming Superman: Leviathan Rising special by Bendis and artist Yanick Paquette.
Take your first look at the Leviathan Rising special here.
Superman: Leviathan Rising hits shelves on May 29 while Event Leviathan #1 arrives June 12, everywhere comics are sold.
