Month: July 2021

Actor Billy Boyd, who played Pippin in The Lord of the Rings, has revealed that the series nearly had a nude scene involving Pippin, Merry, and Treebeard. Boyd said in an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s late night show that writer Philippa Boyens wrote a gag sequence for Merry and Pippin where they climb on Treebeard the Ent and, upon falling out of his branches, land on the ground naked.

The scene was meant to demonstrate the pair’s penchant for hijinks, but it was ultimately cut for reasons that Boyd didn’t explain.

“There was almost nudity in the movies. Philippa Boyens…she did a gag. She wrote a scene, because we’d been doing some kind of gags and winding people, having a bit of fun. And she wrote a scene,” Boyd said (via Collider). “She said, ‘Oh, it’s a new scene we’re filming next week, with the Ents, with Treebeard, so when Merry and Pippin are up Treebeard, he gets a fright and shakes his branches, which makes you guys fall–and this has all been printed on this script–it makes you guys fall, and as you hit all the branches on the way down, by the time you hit the ground, you’re naked. And Merry turns to Pippin and says, ‘It’s cold, isn’t it?’ And Pippin says, ‘Hold me, Merry.'”

Boyd said he was being serious and that this scene was actually planned for the movie at a certain point. Dominic Monaghan, who plays Merry, joked in the interview that he was enthusiastic about the idea because he’s happy and comfortable showing off his body.

“I was kind of into it because I have a really fantastic ass and I thought now is the time to get it out,” he said with a laugh.

Nudity in The Lord of the Rings came up in the interview after Colbert asked for the actors to respond to the online petitions for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV show to not feature nudity in the way that Game of Thrones did over the course of the series. Officially, we don’t know if Amazon’s show will have nudity–barely any details on the show are available.

For his part, Middle-earth super-fan Colbert mentioned that The Hobbit book has nudity and that naked scenes could have a place in Amazon’s show.

“I don’t want to hear it from any of the prudes who don’t think there should be any nudity in The Lord of the Rings,” he said.

Amazon’s series is currently filming in New Zealand. Actor Benjamin Walker recently discussed the show’s gigantic budget and explained why he believes all the secrecy around the project is a good thing.

Disney Television Studios has unveiled its official schedule for Comic-Con@Home 2021, which will take place July 23-25.

The studio’s line-up features panel discussions with cast and producers from eight fan-favorite series, including animated comedies American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, Duncanville, Family Guy, and The Simpsons, along with Comic-Con newcomers Central Park and The Great North. The new Disney+ series The Mysterious Benedict Society is also in the mix this year.

See below for the official details of the panels coming from Disney Television Studios, which is comprised of 20th Television, ABC Signature and 20th Television Animation.

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July 23

3:00pm (PT): Duncanville

“Join the Harris family and friends for a hilarious conversation about the spectacularly average life of 15-year-old Duncan Harris on FOX’s hit animated series Duncanville. Executive producers Mike Scully and Julie Thacker-Scully, executive producer and star Amy Poehler, and stars Ty Burrell, Riki Lindhome, Joy Osmanski, Yassir Lester and Betsy Sodaro tease the rest of this season and next, and give fans a special look at an upcoming episode featuring a musical number with everyone’s favorite teacher, Mr. Mitch (voiced by Wiz Khalifa).”

July 24

11:00am (PT): The Simpsons

“Simpsons Season 33 and beyond! Join Matt Selman, Al Jean, David Silverman, Carolyn Omine, Mike B. Anderson, Debbie Mahan and moderator Yeardley Smith as they give you an exclusive sneak preview of Season 33. A panel of animators, writers and special surprise guests will answer your questions, tell behind-the-scenes stories, and reveal the secrets of the Springfield Cinematic Universe.”

3:00pm (PT): Central Park

“Join co-creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard; co-creator, executive producer and voice of Birdie, Josh Gad; the voice of Owen Tillerman Leslie Odom Jr.; the voice of Cole Tillerman Titus Burgess; and producers Kelvin Yu and Steven Davis, from Apple’s musical animated series Central Park for the show’s ‘Con debut. The panelists discuss how they brought this harmonious series to life by merging comedy with the very brightest talent of Broadway and some of the best songwriters in the world.”

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4:00pm (PT): Family Guy

“Join cast Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, Arif Zahir and executive producers Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin from Fox’s hit animated comedy Family Guy as we celebrate 20 seasons of the series with a virtual trivia night. Watch our cast and producers compete against each other and see who knows the most about this iconic series. After, you’ll see a special sneak peek at the hilarity and hi-jinx coming up in our 20th season premiering this fall on Fox.”

5:00pm (PT): American Dad!

“Ever wondered how your favorite American Dad! episodes get made? Join Matt Weitzman as he walks you through the creation of an upcoming episode of the current season airing on TBS. You’ll see a table read, featuring stars Rachael MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes and Dee Bradley Baker, followed by parts of the episode in the animatic and early stages of color.”

July 25

11:00am (PT): The Mysterious Benedict Society

“Based on [the] New York Times bestseller which Time Magazine called “one of the best young adult books of all time,” – The Mysterious Benedict Society has finally come to life on screens across the world this summer on Disney+. Placed undercover at a boarding school known as The Institute, a group of orphans must foil a nefarious plot with global ramifications while creating a new sort of family along the way. Join our series stars, Tony Hale, Kristen Schaal, MaameYaa Baofo, Ryan Hurst and Gia Sandhu along with executive producers and writers, Phil Hay (creator), Matt Manfredi (creator), Darren Swimmer (showrunner) and Todd Slavkin (showrunner), as they talk about all the adventures from the first season, tease what’s to come in the final two episodes and the future of the series, moderated by TV Guide Magazine’s Damian Holbrook.”

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12:00pm (PT): The Great North

“Join us as we take a look at one of Fox’s newest animated series, already picked up for a third season, The Great North. Join creators and executive producers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux, executive producer Loren Bouchard and the all-star cast including Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate, Dulcé Sloan, Will Forte, Paul Rust and Alanis Morissette for a truly wild and hilarious Q&A including exclusive clips and breaking news on the outrageous Alaskan adventures in store for the Tobin family in the upcoming season.”

3:00pm (PT): Bob’s Burgers

“The cast and producers of the Emmy Award-winning animated Fox series Bob’s Burgers are back for another virtual ‘Con breaking news about the upcoming season, showing never-before-seen footage and answering questions from a few lucky fans who get to join the zoom to ask their burning questions directly to the panellists. Join creator and executive producer Loren Bouchard, executive producer Nora Smith and the hilarious cast including H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Dan Mintz and Larry Murphy for a panel you won’t want to miss.”

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Comic-Con International: San Diego cancelled its 2021 convention back in March due to precautions around staging an in-person event during the pandemic. As with last year’s SDCC, the physical convention is being replaced with a virtual Comic-Con@Home, featuring a variety of panels covering fan-favorite topics, from TV and movies to comics, publishing, toys, and so much more. Stay tuned to IGN for all of the latest details as they come in.

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Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

The fate of the entire universe once again hangs in the balance as warriors come together for one final clash in Warner Bros. Animation’s new feature-length film Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms – and we’ve got your exclusive first look at the trailer!

Arriving on Digital, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack on August 31, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms picks up shortly after the explosive finale of Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge — the 2020 blockbuster hit that initiated these animated films — as our team of heroes is besieged by the enemy forces of Shao Kahn, forcing Raiden and his warriors into a final Mortal Kombat that will determine the fate of the realms.

Check out the trailer for Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms here…

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Joel McHale (Community, Stargirl) and Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) return to their lead roles as Hollywood star-turned-fighter Johnny Cage and all-business warrior Sonya Blade as the heroes must travel to Outworld in order to defend Earthrealm and, simultaneously, Scorpion must find the ancient Kamidogu before it’s used to resurrect the One Being – which would mean certain destruction of all things in the universe.

Also returning for the sequel are Jordan Rodrigues (Lady Bird, The Fosters) as Liu Kang; Patrick Seitz (Mortal Kombat X, Aggretsuko, Naruto: Shippuden) as Scorpion & Hanzo Hasashi; Artt Butler (Her, Star Wars: The Clone Wars) as Shang Tsung & Cyrax; Robin Atkin Downes (The Strain, Batman: The Killing Joke) as Shinnok & Reiko; Dave B. Mitchell (Mortal Kombat 11, Call of Duty franchise) as Raiden, Kintaro & Sektor; Ikè Amadi (Mass Effect 3, Mortal Kombat 11) as Jax Briggs & One Being; Grey Griffin (The Loud House, Young Justice, Scooby-Doo franchise) as Kitana, Satoshi Hasashi & Mileena; and Fred Tatasciore (Robot Chicken, Family Guy) as Shao Kahn.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms is directed by Ethan Spaulding (Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, Batman: Assault on Arkham) from a script by Jeremy Adams (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II) and based on the video game created by Ed Boon and John Tobias.

Special features include:

• The God and the Dragon: Battling for Earthrealm (Featurette) – Go behind the scenes and inside the creative process of bringing Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms to action-packed life on screen.

• Voices of Kombat (Featurette) – Join Joel McHale, Jennifer Carpenter, and the cast as they detail the process of creating unique and compelling voices for the larger-than-life characters in the film.
• Kombat Gags: Gag Reel (Featurette) – Step inside the VO booth with the cast of the film for all of the flubbed lines and outrageously improvised lines from the cutting room floor.
• Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms Audio Commentary (Audio Only) – Producer Rick Morales and Screenwriter Jeremy Adams take the audience inside the art of writing and animating the film in this feature-length audio commentary.

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In an age of cryptocurrencies and digital banking, gift cards are an oddity in that landscape due to their inflexible nature and many of them having expiration dates. One cunning thief, however, funded a lavish lifestyle with Xbox gift cards using a loophole in Microsoft’s online store, as a Bloomberg report detailed how engineer Volodymyr Kvashuk managed to steal over $10 million from Microsoft before he was eventually busted.

It was the perfect crime: As an employee of Microsoft who was tasked with simulating purchases on the company’s digital store, Kvashuk discovered that whenever he tested purchases of gift cards he would receive real codes. Kvashuk started small, generating Xbox cards in increments from $10 to $100 while working his day job of preventing the online store from shipping fake purchases of physical goods. Recruiting a few co-workers to help him in his scheme and using multiple profiles while routing his internet traffic through servers in Japan and Russia, Kvashuk would generate thousands of dollars’ worth of gift cards and then sell them online for up to 55% off their regular price.

Kvashuk even went so far as to build a computer program to increase the speed at which he bought gift cards, selling them in bulk on the marketplace Paxful, which allowed gift cards to be traded for cryptocurrency. One trader is reported to have paid Kvashuk 1.98 Bitcoins, then worth $17,240, for 300 Xbox cards. With all that Bitcoin and some crypto-investing, Kvashuk was able to purchase his dream lakefront home, but Microsoft’s Fraud Investigation Strike Team–FIST–was onto him.

In 2018, FIST noticed a spike in online purchases using gift card codes and corporate investigators traced the irregular activity to two internal test accounts belonging to employees of the Microsoft store team, and these accounts were soon blacklisted after it was discovered that $8 million had been stolen. When a third account was activated and stole another $1.6 million in Xbox gift cards, the jig was essentially up.

Microsoft called in a veteran detective of Scotland Yard’s computer crime unit, Andrew Cookson, to help assist FIST, and after reading through CSV data, Kvashuk’s name turned up as one of the official test accounts that had bought some Xbox gift cards illegitimately in 2017. Kvashuk had already been connected to stolen codes that had been used at Microsoft’s web store to buy three Nvidia GeForce graphics cards, which had been shipped to “Grigor Shikor” at unit 309 of the Norman Arms in Seattle. There was no Shikor living at the Norman Arms in that unit, but Kvashuk was living in unit 101. Busted.

A month later Kvashuk would be fired and in February 2020 he was charged with a number of crimes such as money laundering, identity theft, and wire fraud by federal prosecutors. In November of 2020, a judge sentenced him to nine years in prison. It’s a wild story, with the Bloomberg report containing even more fascinating details, such as Kvashuk being the sole person responsible for global fluctuations in the price of Xbox gift cards on reseller markets at one point.

Summer Games Done Quick–or SGDQ, as it’s more commonly known–is returning this weekend for more game speedrunning and charity fundraising. As always, the event will feature a whole bunch of the world’s best players trying to complete games and special challenges as quickly as possible, all while raising money for Doctors Without Borders.

SGDQ 2021 will be entirely online as we continue efforts to eliminate COVID-19. More than 100 speedruns will take place over the week, which kicks off on July 4 and runs through July 11. They include a run of the new game Ghosts ‘N Goblins Resurrection by TheMexicanRunner as well as a blindfolded Super Mario 64 run from Bubzia. The camera doesn’t really let you see much in that game sometimes, so perhaps it will be easier than we think?

How To Watch SGDQ 2021

SGDQ 2021 will be streamed on the organization’s official Twitch channel beginning July 4 at 8:30 AM PT / 11:30 AM ET, and we’ve embedded the stream directly above. The stream will run for around 12 hours each day, and it includes some newer games like Bowser’s Fury for Nintendo Switch and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. The Souls series almost always gets represented at the event, and Dark Souls 3 is confirmed, with Demon’s Souls available as a bonus game. If you’ve been itching for a Nintendogs run, this is the event for you, as well.

The full schedule is available on the official website. 100% of donations will go to the charity, and the event always has incentive rewards including entry into raffles for prizes or getting to pick character names in a game being streamed.

Ai: The Somnium Files is set to launch for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC in spring 2022. It’s already up for preorder (see it at Amazon). It’s available in a standard edition and a special collector’s edition. Below, you’ll find all the details about what comes in each edition, where you can preorder it, and how much it costs. Let’s get down to business.

Ai: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative Collector’s Edition

Amazon

• Get it for PS4 – $119.99
• Get it for Nintendo Switch – $119.99
• Get it for Xbox One – $119.99

According to publisher Spike Chunsoft, the collector’s edition comes with the following (capitalization very much theirs):

• AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES – nirvanA Initiative 
• Exclusive Good Smile Company POP UP PARADE ~170mm PVC figure of the beautiful AI-Ball “Aiba”
• SECRET OF THE WORLD: THE DEFIniTIVE ART BOOK featuring concept art and illustrations by Yusuke Kozaki
• HARMOniOUS DISCORD official soundtrack by returning composer Keisuke Ito

Ai: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative Standard Edition

Amazon

• Get it for Nintendo Switch – $59.99
• Get it for Xbox One – $59.99
• See it for PS4 – (Not yet available)

If you don’t need or want the extras, you can preorder the standard edition, which just comes with the game.

Ai: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative Release Date

No exact release date has been announced yet, but the game will arrive on all platforms sometime in spring 2022.

What is Ai: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative?

Ai: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative is a sequel to the 2019 mystery detective game AI: The Somnium Files.

This time around, you play as Special Agent Mizuki who, along with her AI partner Aiba, must solve a series of strange murders. Six years ago, the right half of a body was discovered. This mystery went unsolved until now, when the left half of the body shows up with no signs of decay. What is happening? That’s up to you to uncover.

Other Preorder Guides

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company for developers including Rockstar Games, has acquired Dynamixyz, a French-based studio that has provided facial animation services for Take-Two games NBA 2K21 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

The acquisition means that Dynamixyz will now provide exclusive facial animation and proprietary motion capture to all of Take-Two’s publishing labels and developers.

“Dynamixyz’s revolutionary facial analysis technology and services is a highly complementary and strategic addition to Take-Two’s world-class publishing and development structure,” Take-Two’s Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and Independent Publishing said in the announcement blog post. “Gaspard and the visionary team at Dynamixyz have a well-earned reputation for providing the widest and smartest range of facial motion capture solutions to the entertainment industry, and their work has captivated millions of people around the world from the box office to the living room. We’re thrilled to have them join our team, incorporate their proprietary technologies and creative wonder into our future offerings, and to continue to evolve their capabilities and solutions.”

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In our review for Red Dead Redemption 2, we noted that the facial animations in the game were “is a noticeable step up from GTA V.” While in our review for NBA 2K21, although we felt the start-up on animations once the ball got to the post lacked urgency we felt, in general, that dribbling felt “more responsive and rarely leads to the awkward, uncontrollable animations that have plagued the franchise for years.”

In addition to working on video games, Dynamixyz has previously provided its services to other forms of media in the entertainment industry, including the animated TV series Love, Death, and Robots, in addition to movies such as Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame.

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Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

The Uniqlo X Animal Crossing collection is available now featuring Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed clothes both in stores and in-game. The collection had been previously announced for July without a specific date. You may want to hurry if you’re interested, as Animal Crossing: New Horizons merch tends to sell out pretty quickly.

The retail half of this collection features six T-Shirts for men, seven for women, and five for children. It also has three baby shirts, three bags, and three towels. The adult-sized shirts are available for $20 USD both online and in Uniqlo stores. The online shop is limiting orders to one piece per pattern per customer, so you can only order one of each design.

Uniqlo also put together a number of custom designs for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, making in-game versions of the real designs that players can download. You can also visit the Uniqlo Dream Island, which has a recreation of a Uniqlo store. The Dream address is DA-5439-8379-5190.

Uniqlo has done multiple video game collections in the past, including one for the Mario 35th anniversary and a collection inspired by Pokemon Go.

Netflix is producing a sequel to the 2020 Charlize Theron movie The Old Guard, which is good news because the original film left off on an epic cliffhanger.

Theron told Variety that a script is complete and shooting will begin in the first quarter of 2022. Little else is known, but Theron did confirm that the gay couple from the 2020 movie, played by Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli, will return in the sequel.

The Old Guard reached 78 million viewers in its first four weeks, making it the fourth most popular Netflix original movie of all time based on Netflix’s numbers for people who watched at least two minutes.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez,The Old Guard follows a group of immortal soldiers out for revenge. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthias Schoenaerts also starred in it.

If you haven’t seen the movie, we won’t spoil it for you here, but the final scene is a dramatic cliffhanger. Here’s to hoping the sequel picks up from there.

What We Do In The Shadows creators Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement are working on a new TV show. Clement has revealed the series will be very different to anything they’ve made before.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Clement was reluctant give many details away but did give a few hints about what to expect. “Taika and I are working on a new series right now which we just started writing,” he said. “I can’t tell you much about it yet, but what’s fun about it and what makes it exciting for me is it’s something I always wanted to do which is long-form episodes in a sitcom. It’s an action-adventure comedy.

“It’ll be different from what I’ve usually done. I’ve made three sitcoms now, and I hope this one is still funny but more of an adventure series.”

Waititi and Clement have collaborated numerous times in past. The pair co-directed and starred in the 2014 horror comedy movie What We Do In The Shadows, which spawned the highly acclaimed show of the same title and the spin-off Wellington Paranormal. Waititi also directed multiple episodes of Clement and Bret McKenzie’s musical comedy series The Flight of the Conchords.

This new show is one of many projects that Waititi is involved in. His upcoming sports comedy Next Goal Wins, starring Michael Fassbender, was shot in late 2019, and he recently wrapped production on the Marvel movie Thor: Love and Thunder, ahead of its February 2022 release. He’s also producing the HBO pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death, developing two animated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory series for Netflix, co-producing the FX comedy Reservation Dogs, and is attached to a future Star Wars movie.