Month: January 2019

Xbox One has a lot of games ready for the horizon and a few are already confirmed to release this year. Here’s a fun montage of all the console exclusive games we know that are coming to Xbox One in 2019! What games do you hope to see added in the future?

In The Punisher Season 2 releasing on Netflix this month, we will see Billy Russo become the villain Jigsaw, one of The Punisher’s biggest comic book enemies. So who is Jigsaw? Chastity digs into his Marvel comic origins.

Disney’s new live-action Pinocchio movie has suffered what sounds like a major setback. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey said in a new interview that director Paul King (Paddington 1 and 2), pulled out of the project over the holidays for family reasons.

McGarvey told Discussing Film that King personally chose him to be the cinematographer for the Pinocchio movie, so now that he’s out, it means McGarvey is as well. He initially said the Pinocchio movie “has been canceled,” but he went on to say that Disney is looking for a new director, and then production may start again. Or it might not, McGarvey said.

“I don’t think it’s a secret anymore, but the film has been canceled. Over the holidays, over Christmas, the director pulled out of the film for family reasons,” he explained. “Disney are trying to find a new director. They’re trying to get it going but I’m unlikely to be involved now because Paul King, who directed Paddington 1 and 2, wanted me to be his [director of photography] on the film.

“Who knows, the director they eventually bring on, it will probably be delayed by some time now; it probably won’t shoot until July or August, if it does at all.”

When Disney finds a new director, this person will likely choose their own director of photography, and from the way McGarvey was speaking, it sounds like it wouldn’t be him.

McGarvey earned two Best Cinematography Oscar nominations, for the movies Atonement and Anna Karenina, both of which were directed by Joe Wright.

King is not the first director to drop out of Pinocchio, as Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro was originally eyed to direct. He’s not doing the Disney movie, but he is set to write and direct an animated musical adaptation of Pinocchio for Netflix. Sam Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) was also attached to direct the new Pinocchio before dropping out.

Tom Hanks is reportedly being considered to play Pinocchio’s father, Geppetto, in the new film, though whether or not the recent director change affects this remains to be seen.

While the new Pinocchio might not be happening soon, Disney has a few live-action remakes coming up in 2019 including The Lion King and Aladdin.

2K Sports and the NBA have announced a major extension on their licensing deal for the NBA 2K series in a move that’s said to be worth north of $1 billion.

The official line is that this is a “significant, multiyear global partnership extension.” Terms were not disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal reports that Take-Two, which owns 2K, is set to pay as much as $1.1 billion over seven years to the NBA and its players’ union. That information is credited to a source who is said to have knowledge of the deal.

According to the report, the $1.1 billion over seven years is “more than double” what Take-Two paid the NBA for its previous licensing deal that was announced in 2011. The figure is said to be based on a percentage of sales of NBA 2K games.

One of the reasons why the licensing fee might be so much bigger this time around is because the NBA 2K series is believed to be an even bigger revenue juggernaut now that the franchise includes microtransactions. This has been a company-wide push, as Take-Two has said it aims to put microtransactions in all of its franchises going forward. NBA 2K’s use of microtransactions, which started in 2013, has been controversial, but they are still in the game and will no doubt continue to be used in future titles.

The latest NBA 2K game, NBA 2K19, was a smash hit. It sold more than 10 million units, and it drove even more money from its microtransactions. In total the NBA 2K series has shipped more than 86 million units since it first launch 20 years ago.

Take-Two chief Strauss Zelnick said he’s excited to work together with the NBA to “find new and innovative ways to captivate and engage basketball fans, and expand further the success of the NBA 2K brand.”

The NBA also has a licensing deal with Electronic Arts for the NBA Live series. However, it’s not immediately clear if the NBA has reached a new deal with EA as well.

In addition to the NBA 2K series, 2K Sports published last year’s NBA Playgrounds 2, which is an arcade-style title.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr, the MMO’s next major expansion, will be released on June 4, ZeniMax Online Studios announced today.

Elsweyr, which will be “similar in size and scope to last year’s Summerset zone,” features a thirty-hour, “year-long” main story told over four quarterly releases, beginning with the Wrathstone DLC in February. The story will see players side with the Khajiit as they defend their homeland from both invading Imperials and dangerous dragons.

Dragons are being added to The Elder Scrolls Online for the first time in Elsweyr and will be more difficult to defeat than the ones players may have encountered in Skyrim, according to Creative Director Rich Lambert.

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The first trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home dropped today, giving fans their first look at Peter Parker’s Eurotrip and Jake Gyllenhaal’s spellbinding take on one of Spidey’s classic villains, Mysterio.

But what we saw of Mysterio in the trailer, in his first live-action portrayal, seemed far from the maniacal machinations we’ve come to expect from the self-aggrandized “Master of Illusion.” By the end of the reel, Peter’s classmates were in awe of Mysterio, calling him “Iron Man and Thor rolled into one” as they watched footage of him battling a giant water monster in Venice.

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