Month: May 2020

Josh Gad is gathering the cast of The Lord of the Rings for his quarantine-friendly web show Reunited Apart. Gad’s LOTR reunion special will air this weekend on his YouTube channel, but he’s released a brief teaser via Twitter.

Enjoy this tease! To watch the full trailer for #LordOfTheRings #ReunitedApart go to https://t.co/H5wpKJTjxm NOW and SUBSCRIBE! Catch the entire episode this Sunday at 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 OM EST only at https://t.co/PtdorqAZ6O pic.twitter.com/7G3WbUI6ho

— Josh Gad (@joshgad) May 27, 2020

The teaser reveals Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Ian McKellen will make an appearance, but a recent post by Dominic Monaghan on Instagram confirmed the attendance of many other core cast and crew, including Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen, Andy Serkis, John Rhys-Davies, Karl Urban, Miranda Otto, and Peter Jackson.

This upcoming Lord of the Rings reunion is the fourth Gad had arranged for Reunited Apart, following The Goonies, Back to the Future, and Splash. The specials aim to raise money for COVID-19-related charitable causes.

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Luke is Games Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter sporadically @MrLukeReilly.

Warner Bros. reportedly still intends to bring back Henry Cavill as Superman in a future DC movie, although which one remains unclear.

Deadline claims they’ve heard “Cavill could come back in a couple of different ways, not a standalone film, but there are plans to put him back in the big red cape again sources with knowledge tell us.” Variety reports that Cavill is “is in talks to return as Clark Kent in an upcoming DC Comics movie.”

Deadline points out that while Wonder Woman 1984 and The Suicide Squad are already done filming, and Superman isn’t expected to appear in 2021’s The Batman, Cavill’s Man of Steel could appear in such future DC productions as Shazam 2, Black Adam, or Aquaman 2.

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Shazam 2 seems like a likely bet given the Superman cameo at the end of the first movie, but Black Adam could also be a possibility given Dwayne Johnson’s previous pronouncement that a Superman/Black Adam brawl “is in the cards.”

Cavill recently appeared in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel watch party during which time the release of the Snyder Cut of Justice League was officially announced.

Deadline’s report follows rumors from Heroic Hollywood which claimed Warner Bros. had put the brakes on developing a Supergirl movie in favor of another Superman project starring Cavill.

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It was reported in 2018 that Henry Cavill was out as Superman, while Cavill later insisted the role was still his (as did his Justice League co-star Jason Momoa).

Cavill still has to finish filming Season 2 of Netflix’s The Witcher, which was shutdown indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

His next movie, Enola Holmes, sees Cavill play Sherlock Holmes. The film was originally meant to be released theatrically by Warner Bros. but will now debut on Netflix instead.

WarnerMedia’s HBO Max has officially launched, with over 10,000 hours of movies and shows from the company’s vast entertainment library. (Here’s every TV show and movie available on HBO Max at launch.) For the price of a regular HBO subscription, you’ll have access to a library that includes Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty, HBO’s Game of Thrones, TNT’s The Alienist, and a slew of anime from Studio Ghibli and Crunchyroll, as well as HBO Max’s own Originals developed exclusively for the platform.

At launch, the streamer has a small collection of scripted, unscripted, and documentary shows for you to binge, including a new batch of Looney Tunes Cartoons, a rom-com series starring Anna Kendrick, and a new late-night show featuring Elmo as the host. Below, we’ve reviewed the first batch of HBO Max Originals, with more to come as new shows are released over the next few months, including the first of several Adventure Time specials, Season 2 of Doom Patrol, and Regular Show creator JG Quintel’s new animated comedy Close Enough.

Looney Tunes Cartoons

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Official Plot Synopsis: Looney Tunes Cartoons is an all-new series from Warner Bros. Animation starring the cherished Looney Tunes characters. Looney Tunes Cartoons echoes the high production value and process of the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts with a cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling. Marquee Looney Tunes characters will be featured in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven, and visually vibrant stories. The new series will include 80 eleven-minute episodes, each comprised of animated shorts that vary in length and include adapted storylines for today’s audience. Fans can also look forward to holiday-themed specials. Looney Tunes Cartoons is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and features a talented group of voice cast members including Eric Bauza, Jeff Bergman, and Bob Bergen. Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) serve as executive producers.

Verdict: Warner Bros.’ wacky 90-year-old animated franchise returns with a hefty batch of new adventures (80 in total, with 10 episodes available at launch) featuring iconic characters like Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and more. Looney Tunes Cartoons honors the past with its distinct animation and over-the-top comedic antics that evoke classic storylines – such as Bugs battling a mad scientist and his hairy monster Gossamer. Everything here feels (if you’re familiar) very much like the Looney Tunes of old without trying to modernize any of the subject matter or violence for today’s audience. Whether or not this new iteration will appeal to a new generation remains to be seen, but if you’ve been longing for some old school Looney Tunes, then this should scratch that itch. (And if not, HBO Max also boasts all the classic Looney Tunes cartoons as part of its library.) – David Griffin

Score: 8

Love Life

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Official Plot Synopsis: Love Life, the first full-length scripted series to star Oscar-nominee Anna Kendrick, is about the journey from first love to last love, and how the people we’re with along the way make us into who we are when we finally end up with someone forever. This fresh take on a romantic comedy anthology series is from creator and co-showrunner Sam Boyd (In a Relationship) and is produced by Lionsgate Television and Feigco Entertainment. The series will follow a different protagonist’s quest for love each season, with each half-hour episode telling the story of one of their relationships. Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, A Simple Favor) stars in the first season along with Zoë Chao (Downhill, Strangers), Peter Vack (Someone Great, The Bold Type), Sasha Compere (Miracle Workers, Uncorked), and Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Another Year). Kendrick serves as an executive producer alongside Paul Feig (A Simple Favor, Bridesmaids) and Dan Magnante (Someone Great). Sam Boyd, who wrote the pilot and directs, also executive produces with co-showrunner and executive producer Bridget Bedard (Transparent and Ramy).

Verdict: Anna Kendrick is reliably charming in her most prominent TV role to date, providing Love Life with its beating heart; it’s just a pity that the show surrounding her feels so conventional. Coming after Hulu’s stylish (and considerably more adventurous) High Fidelity, which also tackles the idea of revisiting a person’s formative relationships over the course of one season, Love Life is a bittersweet but frustratingly safe exploration of how our dating choices can have ripple effects throughout our lives, treading ground that many dramedies have explored before. Kendrick keeps things buoyant (assisted by a scene-stealing Zoe Chao), and the series’ 30-minute episodic structure helps keep the momentum going for an easy, diverting binge, but for a show about the highs and lows of love, it can’t help but feel strangely half-hearted. – Laura Prudom

Score: 7

The Not Too Late Show With Elmo

Official Plot Synopsis: Elmo is the host of his very own talk show and he’s going to bring you some (not-too-late) fun with an all-new, celeb-studded talk show series. This brand-new “primetime” series brings familiar Sesame Street friends like Elmo, Cookie Monster, celebrity guests, and laughs the whole family can enjoy! Elmo will interview guests such as fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and John Oliver, comedian John Mulaney, New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander, actress Blake Lively, and award-winning musical acts Lil Nas X and The Jonas Brothers. The Not Too Late Show with Elmo is produced by Sesame Workshop.

Verdict: In his latest venture, Elmo attempts to carve himself on spot on the Mount Rushmore of iconic television late-night hosts like Carson, Letterman, and Leno with a talk show of his own. The Not Too Late Show features all of the elements you’d come to expect in this genre, such as a house band, live studio audience, and celebrity guests like the Jonas Brothers. The problem with HBO Max’s take on this type of show is that it doesn’t offer anything new (despite the puppet host) and is a bit awkward at times, as celebrities try to interact with Elmo in a natural way. But more often than not, the conversations feel forced and the concept feels too adult for kids to enjoy (does the Sesame Street audience really crave a late-night format?) and too juvenile for grown-ups. Elmo, adorable as he is, is no Conan O’Brien. – David Griffin

Score: 5

Craftopia

Official Plot Synopsis: Craftopia is an epic kids crafting competition show hosted and executive produced by YouTube influencer Lauren Riihimaki aka (LaurDIY). Creating and demonstrating crafts to over 8.9 million subscribers on her YouTube channel, LaurDIY has been deemed the “millennial Martha Stewart” by Forbes. On Craftopia, 9 to 15-year old contestants put their imaginations to the test and make their crafting dreams come true in a magical studio. After racing to fill up their carts with inspiring materials from the studio “store,” crafters meet larger-than-life challenges, making truly inventive and amazing creations in order to take home the ‘Craftrophia.’ Craftopia is executive produced by Rhett Bachner and Brien Meagher for B17 Entertainment.

Verdict: This delightful crafting competition series, featuring contestants between the ages of 9 to 15, showcases the unique talents of these creative youngsters in their quest to win a $5,000 grand prize. Each episode has a different competitive theme, like creating a memorable wall hanging or party invitation using the various tools and crafting supplies found in the colorful studio store. YouTube star LaurDIY is a great host, who not only encourages the contestants but also offers insightful tips about how you can make similar creations at home. Whether you’re a long-time crafter or a newbie, Craftopia is an inspiring and charming look at some of the best young talent around. – David Griffin

Score: 8

Legendary

Official Plot Synopsis: Pulling directly from the underground ballroom community, voguing teams (aka “houses”) must compete in unbelievable balls and showcase sickening fashion in order to achieve “legendary” status. The cast includes MC Dashaun Wesley and DJ MikeQ as well as celebrity judges Law Roach, Jameela Jamil, Leiomy Maldonado, and Megan Thee Stallion. From Scout Productions, Emmy Award ® winners David Collins (Queer Eye), Rob Eric (Queer Eye) and Michael Williams (Queer Eye) serve as executive producers. Jane Mun (People’s Choice Awards, MTV Music Awards, America’s Best Dance Crew) and Josh Greenberg (Lip Sync Battle, Sunday Best, America’s Best Dance Crew) serve as executive producers and showrunners.

Verdict: Legendary is pure chaos, and you’ll either love it or hate it on those terms. If you’re a newcomer to the world of ball culture (or, like me, only have cursory knowledge thanks to FX’s Pose), Legendary doesn’t offer much background or context on the diverse community at its heart – diving headfirst into flashy dance contests with only a brief introduction to each of the eight competing houses who are vying for supremacy. That breakneck pace – not to mention the jaw-dropping death drops – makes this glitter-packed competition series an engaging (if slightly overwhelming) watch, but it’s unlikely to serve as an easily digestible introduction for anyone who’s not already interested in voguing or the underground ballroom scene, and by focusing solely on the performances, it feels like we’re missing out on the human connection that has made RuPaul’s Drag Race such an addictive hit. – Laura Prudom

Score: 6

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What do you think of HBO Max’s launch day lineup? Weigh in below! If you’re still confused how to sign up for HBO Max, check out our guide, the key differences between HBO Max, HBO Now, and HBO Go, and which notable DC TV shows and movies are missing from the launch. Plus, learn why you can’t watch HBO Max on Fire TV and Roku yet, and get the intel on the addition of Darkseid to Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League.

Hitting more than a year after launch, the big patch that coincided with the release of Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath is exactly the kind of shot in the arm that MK11 needs to keep going strong in its second year. There are new stages, Friendships for every character, a plethora of big-time balance changes that shake up the meta, stage fatalities, quality of life improvements, and more.

The best part is, all of that is free. You don’t need the $40 Aftermath expansion to experience any of it. …Which makes the value of the actual expansion itself a bit questionable. Don’t get me wrong, what little content Aftermath offers is great. The three-hour campaign is a worthy epilogue to the main Mortal Kombat 11 story, and the trio of new characters – Fujin, Sheeva, and RoboCop – are all interesting in their own ways (though some are more interesting than others). But no matter how you slice it, there’s just not much meat on Aftermath’s bones when you compare it to most expansions.

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Aftermath’s campaign picks up right where Mortal Kombat 11 leaves off and takes us on a predictable but enjoyable and action-packed side-story that inserts all of the non-guest DLC characters.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Shang%20Tsung%20has%20one%20of%20the%20best%20shit-eating%20grins%20I’ve%20ever%20seen.”]Easily the best part of the whole Aftermath campaign is actor Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa as Shang Tsung, who – along with stealing souls – also steals every single scene that he’s in. It should be obvious to any MK fan that Shang Tsung isn’t to be trusted, but the way Tagawa and the writing plays with that expectation is delightful. Few characters are as smug and smarmy as Shang Tsung, and Tagawa is able to convey that masterfully not just with his voice, but also one of the best shit-eating grins I’ve ever seen.

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Apart from Tagawa’s performance, everything else is business as usual for a NetherRealm story mode, with the exception of it being over in just about three hours or so. There’s tons of well-choreographed fight scenes, smart integration of gameplay that forces you to learn characters you might not otherwise play, and a couple of head-scratching moments of questionable logic as Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, and Fujin attempt to pull off a time-travel heist. Still, if you’re able to turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride it takes you on, Aftermath’s campaign is a good time for as long as it lasts.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Aftermath%E2%80%99s%20campaign%20is%20a%20good%20time%20for%20as%20long%20as%20it%20lasts.”]In addition to serving a mini-campaign, Aftermath also doubles as a mini-character pack. The three characters it adds to the roster are Fujin, the God of Wind (making his first appearance in a Mortal Kombat game since Mortal Kombat Armageddon 14 years ago); Sheeva, the four-armed Shokan queen (last playable in Mortal Kombat 9 in 2011); and RoboCop, whose voice and facial capture (when you do actually see his face,) is actually performed by the man himself, Peter Weller.

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RoboCop is no doubt the most prolific of the pack, but unfortunately, he’s also the least interesting fighter. His basic moveset feels very plain, just about every special move he has feels like it’s been done before, and overall his playstyle just isn’t one that’s very fun to play. That said, he’s an extremely effective zoner, with what is probably the best low projectile in MK11, so if you like characters that hang back and bombard your opponents with a constant barrage of bullets, bombs, and missiles, RoboCop was custom made for you.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=Unfortunately%2C%20RoboCop%20is%20the%20least%20interesting%20new%20fighter.”]Sheeva, on the other hand, is a blast. She’s an absolute bruiser with extremely satisfying combos that make me feel like I’ve hit my opponent a thousand times by the time I’m done. She’s a close-range powerhouse with a nice variety of playstyles in her three competitive variations. Her first variation gives her the ability to alter the landing spot of her iconic teleport stomp for some risky mind games; the second focuses almost entirely on combo damage; and the third is a mixup machine with overheads, lows, and command grabs.

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In stark contrast to RoboCop, virtually everything that Fujin does is completely unique to him, which makes him a very strange and exciting, if slightly unwieldy, character. Nothing about him is conventional, from his ability to run on air, to his weird launching tornado that requires you to actually manually direct it, to his unique slide that can be used to slip under projectiles and either start a combo or hit with an extremely satisfying krushing blow.

It’s kind of a bummer that currently the only way to get any of them is to buy the $40 Aftermath package, whereas all of the other DLC characters are available for $6 a piece. Hopefully somewhere down the line, NetherRealm will offer the option to buy these characters a la carte, or at the very least as a part of a new reasonably priced kombat pack seperate from the Aftermath campaign, because.Sheeva and Fujin especially are great additions to the roster. Even RoboCop, despite being a bit boring to play, is still fun to see in action.

SpaceX will launch its first flight into space with humans aboard on Wednesday, May 27, with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The crew is headed to the International Space Station (ISS), and if they’re successful, this will mark the first-ever privately owned company to send humans into space while meeting NASA’s certification requirements.

Update: The NASA and SpaceX launch has been delayed due to weather. The new launch date is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22pm ET/ 19:22pm UTC. 

Elon Musk’s company designed the spacecraft, which is planned to launch on May 27 at 4:33pm ET/1:33pm PT. National Geographic will live stream the entire event, beginning at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT. “Launch America: Mission to Space Live” on its Nat Geo Channel, which will have updates about any changes to the launch time. The launch is also streamed online on NASA’s YouTube channel.

IGN spoke with retired astronaut Cady Coleman, who logged 180 days in space, and trained Sandra Bullock for her role in the Oscar-winning film, Gravity, on this momentous event and how privatized space launches could help bring more opportunities to American astronauts in the future.

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“People are meant to explore. Our earth is part of a much bigger place, and that’s kind of this big statement, but it’s really true. And in order to explore you have to go there,” Coleman said. “We’ve had a space station in orbit for almost 20 years, and we are testing things out in that space station and we’ve been going back and forth with the Russians for the past nine years, and now we have the added capability of being able to launch from the U.S.”

NASA’s Opportunities with SpaceX and Boeing

“I think NASA has taken a new look at ‘How can we do this and how can we do this efficiently’ and looking at commercial companies like SpaceX and Boeing, we can say, ‘This is what we need.’ And they get to use their ingenuity and their ideas to design. So you don’t just have this thinking from the government of ‘This is the way we’ve always done it,'” Coleman said.

A major difference of private companies such as SpaceX or Boeing creating the spacecrafts has to do with risks – Coleman explained the commercial companies are able to take further hardware risks than NASA is able to.

“If they [SpaceX/Boeing] test something out and it doesn’t work out, they can go, ‘Okay we learned something,’ but if NASA or the government has a big test, and if it doesn’t work out, then we have an investigation, rightly so, and they’re using tax dollars. So in this case, SpaceX and Boeing can do all of the trying out of things that they want to. They’re still signed up to deliver a vehicle to us that works a certain way, but they’re taking bigger risks than we can, and by them taking bigger risks, everybody gets further ahead,” Coleman said.

Coleman added the distinction of the involvement of risks, saying, “No one can take risks with humans that aren’t appropriate. Space travel is never safe, but we have to try and make it as safe as we can.”

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The Future of Americans in Space

In terms of SpaceX being the first commercial company for the launch, Coleman said they and Boeing both bring really valuable approaches for the future. “Both of them bring such increased capability that we are going to be able to launch more easily. From the U.S. we have more control about timing, about what’s going on and how, and that’s going to lead to basically more data points, of what kinds of things can we do up in space.”

Although SpaceX is the first private company to mark this historical event, Coleman said she believed Boeing was actually expected to be the first launch of the two, but ran into some problems and had to delay.

Coleman shared that even though the launch on Wednesday has a two-person crew that is made up of both males, that is not representative of where NASA and the commercial companies are at in terms of equality.

“We have a crew of a group of about eight astronauts that are a part of this commercial crew group, and are made up of both women and men, but when only two people go and they both happen to be guys, in a field that has been traditionally male-dominated, I think it’s really easy to create an impression that women and minorities are not a part of this program, and that is a completely incorrect impression.”

The chief pilot for Boeing’s first mission is a woman pilot, Nicole Mann.

Bringing the ‘Magic’ of Space to Film

Coleman was in space on the ISS when she and Sandra Bullock got in contact with one another for Bullocks role in 2013’s Gravity, with Coleman saying the experience became a great morale booster for the entire crew while up there.

“The two things that she wanted to understand was, how does it feel to be a human being living so far from everyone that you care about, and not knowing when on Earth you’re going to come home,” Coleman said. “And the other thing, was a more physical thing, she wanted to understand what it was like to move up in space.”

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Coleman said that moving in space isn’t as much about, “floating around, grabbing handrails and pulling yourself along and giving yourself a shove, it’s just this magic flying.”

National Geographic will continue the live coverage on Thursday, May 28 as the Crew Dragon spacecraft is expected to dock at the ISS. More space content can be streamed on Disney+ leading up to and after the event, including, Apollo: Missions to the Moon, One Strange Rock, Mars: Inside SpaceX, and Mission to the Sun.

Stay tuned to IGN for a follow-up to the SpaceX launch and in the meantime, for more space news, read about the closest black hole to earth that has recently been discovered and how one black hole appeared to break the law of physics itself.

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Jessie Wade is Homepage Editor and the science lady at IGN. Follow her on Twitter @jessieannwade.

Director Leigh Whannell and Blumhouse Productions’ rethinking of The Invisible Man proved to be a hit when it was released in February, despite the COVID-19 pandemic forcing theaters to close shortly after it opened. Regardless, the Elisabeth Moss vehicle injected new life into the age-old story, and now Mondo, those purveyors of fine posters and memorabilia, are releasing a limited edition print timed to the film’s release on 4k Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital this week.

Created by Mondo artist Francesco Francavilla, there are two versions of the poster — the regular version and the variant. The piece is a subtle nod to Francavilla’s previous Invisible Man poster for the classic Universal Monsters film that Mondo released back in 2012.

Get an exclusive first look at both versions of the poster below:

THE INVISIBLE MAN (Regular version)

• by Francesco Francavilla (Twitter/Instagram: @f_francavilla)
• Edition of 225
• 24″x36″ screenprinted poster
• Printed by DL Screenprinting
• $50

THE INVISIBLE MAN (Variant version)

• by Francesco Francavilla (Twitter/Instagram: @f_francavilla)
• Edition of 100
• 24″x36″ screenprinted poster
• Printed by DL Screenprinting
• $75

Both posters will be available on Thursday, May 28, at 11am (CT) via THE DROP. Keep an eye on Mondo social media channels for any updates and on-sale info!

For more on The Invisible Man, check out our rave review and discover these 10 reveals about the film from director Leigh Whannell.

The Invisible Man is now available on 4k Ultra HD, Blu-ray and Digital.

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