Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Already Getting Sequel, Spin-Off – Report

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is still weeks away, but Sony already has plans to expand its world. The studio is apparently planning for both a sequel and a female-centered spin-off, with some notable talent attached.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Avatar: The Last Airbender and Voltron’s Joaquim Dos Santos has been brought on to direct the sequel, with David Callaham (The Expendables, Wonder Woman 1984) writing. Meanwhile, Lauren Montgomery (Voltron, Batman: Year One) is set to direct another Spider-verse movie starring the female heroes, with Bek Smith (Zoo) writing.

The story of the sequel has not been detailed, but it’s expected to follow the upcoming film that uses Miles Morales as its central character. The spin-off is similarly mysterious, but it’s reportedly going to focus on Spider-Gwen, aka Ghost Spider. She’s one of two female Spiders in the upcoming film–alongside Penny Parker, the manga-inspired pilot of a SP//dr mech suit.

Other potential female Spider-verse characters could include Spider-Woman, Madame Web, Spider-Girl, and Silk. It’s unclear which of these, if any, are under consideration.

Into The Spider-Verse brings together interpretations of the character from across the spectrum: Peter Parker as an elder and experienced Spider-Man who takes Miles Morales’ newly initiated Spidey under his wing, along with Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Penny Parker, and even Spider-Ham.

The trailers have implied a much wider universe of Spider-people, though, even including an Easter egg from the PS4 game. Similarly, an ongoing Spidergeddon comic event has included all manner of alternative Spider-man interpretations, from Uncle Ben as Spider-Man to Spiders-Man–a swarm of sentient spiders wearing a suit. Wherever Sony takes the sequel, it has plenty of material to work from.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is coming on December 14.

Here’s Why Avengers 4’s Trailer Might Release Very Soon

Avengers 4 is already among the most anticipated movies of 2019, promising to resolve not just the cliffhanger left by Infinity War, but the entire last decade of Marvel films. The public hasn’t even seen a trailer yet, but there’s reason to believe that may change soon.

The ArcLight Hollywood is hosting a special screening of the film tomorrow evening, November 28, which will be followed by a Q&A from the co-directors, the Russo brothers. The original Infinity War trailer premiered on November 29. Marvel is publishing a “Prelude” comic on December 5, before which we expect the title of Avengers 4 to be revealed. Plus we already know that the Avengers 4 trailer is coming sometime this year.

Putting all the pieces together, it seems reasonably likely that tomorrow’s ArcLight event will premiere the trailer to the small audience in attendance. Then, the full trailer could drop on the Internet later in the evening or the following day–the one-year anniversary of the last trailer. And it would pave the way for the title reveal in time for the comic.

The title for Avengers 4 has been kept under wraps, though the Russos have dropped cryptic hints. So far the most likely one appears to be Avengers: End Game, a reference to a line (and major plot point) from Doctor Strange in Infinity War.

We expect Avengers 4 to conclude the Thanos arc of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First teased in a post-credits sequence in the original Avengers film, Thanos has not interacted with the MCU heroes directly until Infinity War. In that film his full plan for the Infinity Gauntlet was revealed: to obtain the power to snuff out all life in the galaxy by sheer will and a snap of his fingers. The resulting events killed off lots of well-established characters in the MCU, leaving a cliffhanger ending for Avengers 4.

Before it comes, though, we’ll be getting a dose of reinforcements. In a post-credits sequence in Infinity War, Nick Fury calls in one last contingency plan: Captain Marvel. The implication is that she’ll be the heroes’ trump card, and we’ll see exactly why–and where she’s been all this time–in her own standalone movie on March 8, 2019. Avengers 4 will follow on May 3.

Red Dead Online Store To Let You Buy Gold, But Not Yet

Red Dead Online, the online multiplayer mode for Red Dead Redemption 2, has kicked off for select players as part of the progressive beta rollout. As a result we’re starting to get an idea of how the in-game marketplace will work–including its real-money microtransactions.

On the Rockstar Blog, the studio addressed that some of the marketplace options aren’t active: “You may notice some areas of the in-game menus are not yet accessible or available during this early period of the Beta, such as the Red Dead Online in-game Store which will eventually open up to provide the option of purchasing gold bars to directly acquire cosmetic items like Camp décor, or a special style for your weapons.”

In our own playtime so far, though, we noticed one other possible use for gold. One vendor appears to offer to change your honor status (to Dishonorable) for three gold bars. Given that Rockstar has stated that you can buy gold bars for real money, this may mean you’ll be able to purchase changes to your honor status for real money. This could have a real effect on gameplay, as honor can impact missions.

Rockstar went on to say that it hopes that beta progress will be able to stay intact, but there’s a chance that it “may need to implement rank or other stat resets in case of issues.” Presumably, the real-money aspect will be added once the studio is sure it has crossed into permanent progress, since allowing players to spend real money and then resetting progress would likely annoy users.

For the time being, as of November 27, the beta is only available to Ultimate Edition purchasers. On November 28 it will open to all players who logged time on launch day, and then on November 29 that will expand to anyone who played by October 29. Finally, on November 30 the beta will be available publicly to all Red Dead Redemption 2 owners.

For more on Red Dead Online, check out what we’ve learned about the free roam and Battle Royale-style modes.

Red Dead Online: How To Get Your Pre-Order And Special Edition Bonuses

Red Dead Online, the multiplayer mode for Red Dead Redemption 2, has started to roll out to select beta participants building to a full launch later this week. If you pre-ordered or bought a special edition, chances are you have some bonuses waiting for you in the online Wild West, but you may be unsure where to claim them.

For any bonuses, first you have to complete the Red Dead Online tutorial. From there, you can find your extras in a couple of different locations. To claim a horse, just sell the default one to make space and then pick up a new one from the stable. For guns and outfits, you can visit a store, or just consult the catalog that you carry with you wherever you go. The catalog is given to you during the tutorial.

As of Tuesday, November 27, only Ultimate Edition players have access. The next phase will begin on November 28, for anyone who played the game on launch day. After that, on November 29, the beta will open for anyone who played by October 29. Finally, on November 30 the mode will be widely available for anyone who owns any version of Red Dead Redemption 2. The initial launch began at 8:30 AM ET / 5:30 AM PST / 1:30 PM GMT / 12:30 AM AEDT, so we expect each phase to launch at that time on their respective days.

However, the launch isn’t going off without a hitch. Rockstar Support is investigating an issue impacting Xbox One owners of the Ultimate Edition that’s preventing them from accessing the beta. In our own playtime, we’ve gotten into the game but suffered frequent errors that eject us.

Red Dead 2 Update Adds Online Mode, But Errors Remain

Red Dead Redemption 2‘s online beta, named Red Dead Online, has begun today for select users with the release of a new update. For the time being it’s only available to Ultimate Edition owners, and it will expand to a wide release beta in two phases to take place later this week. The progressive roll-out is meant to help mitigate any issues from a wide public launch. It has already hit some reports of Xbox access and general errors causing the game not to work, however.

As of Tuesday, November 27, only users of the Ultimate Edition have access to the beta. Some Xbox One Ultimate Edition owners have reported issues with their access, and Rockstar Support has stated that it is aware of the problem and investigating. The support account has not mentioned any similar problems on PlayStation 4. [Update: The Xbox One-specific issues involving Online access have now been resolved, according to Rockstar. In our experience, players are still being periodically booted out the game, though.]

Those who are getting into the game are also getting their own share of errors. In our own time with the beta, we’ve seen several errors that have booted us out of the game in progress.

The next phase of the beta will be any early adopters, as defined by those who played the game on launch day, gaining access on November 28. After that anyone who played by October 29 will gain access on November 29. Finally, the beta will go to a full public launch on November 30. The initial Ultimate Edition launch began at 8:30 AM ET / 5:30 AM PST / 1:30 PM GMT / 12:30 AM AEDT, so it’s likely the other days’ expansions will too.

Red Dead Online aims to blend the multiplayer from the original Red Dead Redemption with lessons Rockstar says it has learned since then, likely referring to its years of experience with Grand Theft Auto Online. It touts the “deeply detailed landscapes, cities, towns and habitats of Red Dead Redemption 2 into a new, living online world ready to be shared by multiple players.”

Using Red Dead 2’s vast open world as a the core of the online experience makes sense, given that it was one of the most widely praised aspects of the campaign.

“Red Dead Redemption 2’s version of America is vast and wide open, stretching from snowy mountains and the Great Plains down to the original game’s New Austin in the southwest,” said critic Kallie Plagge in GameSpot’s Red Dead Redemption 2 review. “Further to the east is the Louisiana-inspired Deep South, which is still feeling the effects of the Civil War after nearly 40 years. There’s a distinct shift when traveling from region to region; as grassy hillsides become alligator-filled swamps, Union veterans give way to angry Confederate holdouts, and good intentions and casual racism turn into desperation and outright bigotry.”

The Flash Serves Plenty of Thanksgiving Cheer

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.

Thanksgiving is a time for togetherness and reflection, and in Central City that means looking back at your dysfunctional relationship with your father and having an emotional meltdown. Father/daughter relationships were clearly the big theme of this week’s episode. And while I tend to get annoyed with episodes that make such a blatant display of drawing parallels between heroes and villains, this episode is earnest and heartwarming enough to forgive its reliance on holiday-flavored schmaltz.

The Barry/Nora dynamic took a sharp turn this week as two decades of repressed emotional trauma finally burst forth all at once. As cutesy as their relationship has been most of this season, this proved to be a welcome dramatic shift. It’s safe to say we understand Nora and what drives her a little more, as well as appreciate how much of her hostility towards Iris has been a case of emotional projection on Nora’s part. She also went through a key moment in her superhero evolution this week. Nora finally understands something her father seemed to intuitively grasp from the beginning – that being a hero means laying your life down each and every day on the job.

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Guacamelee! 2: New Character Skins and Challenge Level Enter the Fray

Guacamelee! 2 is available now on PlayStation 4 and PC, and is receiving two new DLC packs over the next couple of weeks featuring additional playable character skins as well as a new challenge level.

Revealed through the PlayStation Blog, Guacamelee! 2 will add the Three Enemigos character pack for $3 tomorrow, which gives you the chance to play as the bosses El Muñeco, Uay Pek, and Jaguar Javier instead of hero Juan. The characters are designed to change how you approach the game as a whole, with their own strengths and weaknesses, and come with additional trophies.

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SpongeBob SquarePants Creator Stephen Hillenburg Dies

Creator of the ever-popular SpongeBob SquarePants cartoon series, Stephen Hillenburg, died on Monday at the age of 57, according to a tweet from Nickelodeon.

The cause of Hillenburg’s death was ALS, which he announced he had been diagnosed with last year.

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Nickelodeon released a statement about Hillenburg’s passing, saying, “We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS.”

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Walking Dead Characters Ranked By How Much We Care

Warning: Spoilers follow for AMC’s The Walking Dead through Season 9’s midseason finale, “Evolution.”

Even with the multitude of characters it’s killed off over the years – the mounds and mountains of bodies that have piled up – The Walking Dead still has the largest ensemble on TV. As we regroup after Season 9’s midseason finale, “Evolution,” the show still has two dozen names and faces to juggle. And our feelings about most of them, a solid 75 percent of them, range from intolerance to indifference.

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