Month: August 2018

Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar’s next big game, Red Dead Redemption 2, is coming in October and parent publisher Take-Two has high hopes for it.

During an earnings call today, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the game will be “yet another creative milestone” for Rockstar. Boasting further, Zelnick said Red Dead Redemption 2 aims to “redefine our industry” and “captivate audiences around the world.”

“Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar Games’ first title developed from the ground up for the current console generation,” Take-Two said. “We could not be more excited about the upcoming launch of Red Dead Redemption 2, which is poised to be another massive entertainment event.”

Zelnick didn’t say anything more about how Red Dead Redemption 2 will “redefine” the gaming industry. Intriguingly, Rockstar has said the game will have a new and innovative multiplayer mode, but no further details about this have been announced.

While Red Dead Redemption 2 is expected to be a massive success, it is not projected to sell better than Rockstar’s previous game, Grand Theft Auto V. That title has shipped nearly 100 million units, making it one of the most successful titles in the history of the world.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (and maybe PC), and there will be a few different versions to choose from.

A prequel to 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, the new game follows the story of outlaw Arthur Morgan. In addition to the campaign, there will be some kind of online mode that is expected to feature PlayStation-exclusive content and microtransactions.

EA has scrubbed a mention of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a song featured in Madden NFL 19.

‘Big Bank’ by YG ft. 2 Chainz, Big Sean and Nicki Minaj is one of the 31 songs on the latest Madden’s EA Trax soundtrack. The original verse by Big Sean goes like this: “You boys all cap, I’m more Colin Kaepernick.” The below video is how it sounds with Kaepernick’s name entirely removed in Madden 19.

Kaepernick is a controversial figure in football and politics for protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016, which was the last year of his contract with the 49ers. His protest sent ripples throughout the NFL, and other players began taking the knee, attracting ire from conservative figures and President Trump. Following his departure from the team, Kaepernick remained unsigned, leading him to file a grievance against the NFL.

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Update 8/02: Check out all the Diamond Select collectibles from SDCC below.

Diamond Select Toys brought a very impressive lineup of figures and statues to this year’s Comic-Con. Their booth features a jam-packed lineup covering popular franchises like Marvel, DC, Star Trek, Stranger Things, Pacific Rim, The Muppets and Kingdom Hearts.

Check out our slideshow below for a closer look at these amazing collectibles.

Stranger Things fans will be pleased to see a wide assortment of characters from the show (including Barb!), plus an entire set of the boys in their Ghostbusters costumes. DST has a massive lineup of Marvel and DC statues in the works, covering both classic comic book appearances, animated series and even a few statues based on the Dark Knight Trilogy. We’re also impressed with the company’s new line of 1:2 scale busts, which feature both comic book heroes and movie icons like Captain Jack Sparrow and the Iron Giant.

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Details about Matt Reeves’ project, The Batman, have all been unsubstantiated for a long time. Now, things are getting more tangible as Reeves talks about getting the script together, and gives us just a tiny bit of information on the new Batman film.

For a while, many reports seemed to indicate that Reeves’ project would be based on the Year One storyline from the comics, which follows Batman’s origins. But now, Slashfilm is reporting that Reeves definitively denied that claim, saying, “We’re not doing any particular [comic]. Year One is one of the many comic books that I love. We are definitely not doing Year One. It’s just exciting to be focused very specifically on a tale that is defining for him and very personal to him. Obviously we’re not doing an origin tale or anything like that.”

He went on to talk about the tone of the film he wants to create, saying, “We’re doing a story that is definitively Batman, though, and trying to tell a story that’s emotional and yet is really about him being the world’s greatest detective and all the things that for me, since I was a kid, made me love Batman,” Reeves continued, “I’ve talked about making it a very point of view noir-driven definitive Batman story in which he is investigating a particular case and that takes us out into the world of Gotham.”

Reeves also talked about how this film will fit into the larger DC Cinematic Universe. Ben Affleck was initially set to helm the film, but the actor has since backed away from the franchise, and now he may not appear in the movie at all. Reeves didn’t answer the question of whether Affleck will be in the movie, but he did say, “There are ways in which all of this connects to DC, to the DC universe as well.”

Reeves is known for having directed Cloverfield and the two most recent Planet of the Apes movies. With the image of Batman brooding over his latest case with a cigarette and a gravely voice-over firmly planted in our minds, we’re really interested to see Batman conceptualized as a film noir detective.