Disney and LucasFilm have unleashed the hugely-anticipated first full-length trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi today, and alongside that a string of high-res stills directly from it.
You can check them all out in the gallery below.
Our initial thoughts on the trailer, which seems packed to the brim with misdirection, can be found and discussed here.
We’ve all just seen the first full length trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and boy, was it epic! This two and a half minute slice of nerd heaven appears to show some seriously climactic events. In fact, it appears to show events so massive they would straight up spoil the film. That seems unlikely (despite recent chatter of marketing departments spoiling films against the wishes of directors). In all likelihood, the majority of what we’ve seen is simply designed to misdirect.
As promised, a new trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been released, and you can watch it above. But just as its director suggests, this is one you’ll want to sit out if you want to avoid revealing too much. Don’t worry, we’ll leave those big moments out as well–but there are plenty of them.
As seen above, Rey, Finn, Kylo, and the rest of the Star Wars characters are all in very different places. Rey is off training with Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi, there are some great spaceship battles throughout the clip, and we even get to see a little bit of Snoke. However, like Johnson said, there are a few moments that might give too much away for most Star Wars fans. So again, if you’re looking to go into Star Wars: The Last Jedi fresh, you may want to skip this.
We finally see the spore drive put to use and Michael learns the true nature of the beast captured from The Glenn in Star Trek: Discovery, episode 4! Join Greg and Chastity as they break down “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not For The Lamb’s Cry”. Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.
Frankie Muniz, who starred on the Fox comedy Malcom in the Middle in the 2000s, revealed tonight that he doesn’t remember much of being on the show, or anything else that he lived through years ago. He made the revelation on Dancing With The Stars tonight, saying he had nine concussions and multiple “mini-strokes” in his life. However, he didn’t say for sure that these events are what led to his inability to remember playing Malcolm on the beloved show.
9News reports that Muniz also said, “I’m not actually sure how my memory loss started,” adding that he has never sought professional advice on his memory loss. “I’ve never been to the doctor and been like, you know, ‘Why don’t I have a memory?'” he said. “To be honest, I’ve never really talked about it.
Muniz’s TV father on Malcolm in the Middle, Bryan Cranston (Hank), talked about Muniz’s accomplishments during the Dancing With The Stars episode. “Frankie was a TV star, then he became a race car driver, and then a drummer in a rock band. I said to him, ‘What are you going to be next, an astronaut?'”
He added: “They are still [his] experiences. My job is to tell him to remember what happened on Malcolm in the Middle. What a life.”
Malcom in the Middle was on TV for seven seasons, wrapping up in 2006. The show also starred Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Masterson, Justin Berfield, and Erik Per Sullivan. In December last year, Cranston talked about the possibility of a Malcolm in the Middle movie.
GameSpot recently had the chance to speak to creative director Jens Matthies in Sydney. In our conversation, Matthies–who was also the creative director for The New Order–spoke about how the success of the first game shaped the studio’s vision for the sequel. That’s not something he really thinks about, because looking at it through that lens can “f**k you up creatively,” Matthies told us.
“As a creative person, you always want to do something more awesome than the last thing you did. You don’t want to go backwards,” he explained.
Also in our interview, Matthies spoke about how Wolfenstein II’s story–which is about a Nazi-occupied America–is “strangely topical.” It’s not something that the studio feels very good about, and that level of unfortunate relevance is not something the studio anticipated, Matthies explained.
We edited and condensed our interview with Matthies and broke it into key topics. He also spoke about feedback from the first game, what the game’s use of the id Tech 6 engine allows the studio to do, what fans can expect from the Nintendo Switch version, and more. Scroll down to see highlights from our conversation.
On Pressure To Deliver
“I think if you do look at it that way too much it will f**k you up creatively. Already when we were making the first one we were thinking about a trilogy. So we knew what kinds of seeds we wanted to plant in the first game that we could cash in in the second game. And we knew where the broader story arc would continue. As you make the game, you get ideas. So we make notes of all of those ideas that are right for the next game but not this one. Then when it comes time to make the next one you go through all the notes. As a creative person you always want to do something more awesome than the last thing you did. You don’t want to go backwards.”
On How Wolfenstein 2’s Story Is “Strangely Topical”
“That was definitely not something we anticipated. We started writing the script in 2014 right after we released the first one. Somehow things have gotten strangely topical. Which of course is not something we anticipated or feel especially good about. That’s the way it is, I guess.”
“That’s what Wolfenstein is to us–it’s that complete rejection of any kind of self-censorship or putting boundaries on your creative freedom.”
On Feedback From The First Game
“A big one was switching to a new engine because the first one was made in the transition from the previous generation to the new generation of consoles. So that was really important to us, to get a real engine upgrade. So in terms of the visuals and how our faces can express things, everything the sound design, the technology is way, way, way more advanced. This of course is a big learning curve too but something we felt was really important to make it a true next-gen game.”
On Xbox One X And PS4 Pro Support
“I’m not so attuned to those plans. But for sure, those are support and the engine can take advantage of that extra power.”
On What Id Tech 6 Allows MachineGames To Do
“Everything on the audio/visual front has a very big upgrade. The whole sound engine is new, it’s everything from the AI–we rebuilt everything. So everything is much more capable.”
On Why MachineGames Won’t Dial Anything Back
“Never. That’s what Wolfenstein is to us–it’s that complete rejection of any kind of self-censorship or putting boundaries on your creative freedom. For Wolfenstein to feel like Wolfenstein, it has to be just totally over the top and it has to be whatever you think is cool and right for the game. And if you start trying to put some filter on it, it just won’t feel right.”
On The Nintendo Switch Version
“We just want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to play the game. So any platform that can run the game, we want to be on. And it seems intriguing to me to have it portable and all that stuff. But the experience itself, it doesn’t really matter what kind of platform you’re on, it’s still the same game.”
On The Experience You Can Expect From Wolfenstein 2 For Switch
“I think a good reference point would be Doom. Because it’s the same engine. It will be whatever Doom is capable of, that is what Wolfenstein is capable of.”
On Why Wolfenstein 2 Doesn’t Have Multiplayer
“Whenever we start a project we analyse it from every angle. So we definitely talked about it. But we feel like we make the best games when the whole team is focused on the same thing. Otherwise you start competing for resources and we don’t feel that’s the best way to make a game for us because we like everybody to be super focused on one purpose. So we decided to go single-player only.”
“We definitely talked about it.” — Matthies on multiplayer for The New Colossus
On Wolfenstein 2’s Music
“It’s huge. And for this game, because of the dramatic scope of it, we have two composers–Mick Gordon (Doom) and a Danish composer, Martin Stig Andersen (Limbo). Mick is leaning a little bit more to the Resistance themes and Martin is more on the Nazi side of things. And having those two guys working together and kind of trying to outdo each other–it’s been amazing. They are amazing collaborators and they are very, very good at spotting what a scene needs. And I don’t just mean a cutscene but also a gameplay moment. Any kind of moment that you want to heighten a feeling for the player; they are very good at spotting those. They are masters at that craft. That’s been amazing.”
On A Wolfenstein For Mobile Devices
“Oh yeah, we think about everything, all the time–we just don’t have the time to do it. So, who knows what happens in the future, but it’s not something we’re looking at at the moment.”
On The PC Version Of Wolfenstein II
“We have uncapped frame rates. We are huge PC players, too, and I think all of id’s games have a very strong PC DNA in them. So it’s very important for us to make sure the PC version of the game feels as solid as any console version. And [PC] is also our primary testing platform. I am confident that PC players will be very happy with the PC version.”
On A Potential Wolfenstein Movie
“I don’t know. I would love to make one. But no one asked me to yet.”
DC has been exceptionally tight-lipped about its upcoming November story Doomsday Clock, which introduces the iconic characters of Watchmen into the main DC Universe for the first time. During a panel for the comic at New York Comic-Con, writer Geoff Johns lifted the veil and explained why the publisher has been secretive about the 12-issue miniseries.
Johns spoke with Lev Grossman–an expert on all things Watchmen and the author of The Magicians series–as to just why readers are being kept in the dark about the upcoming book. “We want you to experience it by reading it,” explained Johns.
That comment is not without its merit. Many times, comic book publishers will unveil too much information about their upcoming series, even spoiling major moments–like deaths and rebirths–and full pages on the day of or even before the book’s release. Many big events completely lose their allure and mystique through spoilers and story details released to the public, and interest in the series–as well as sales–suffer.
However, DC readers needed something to wet their whistle with Doomsday Clock, as the company has been teasing it for months now, with numerous promo images but not much else.
Johns revealed the first six-pages for the premiere issue of the comic and walked through it panel by panel, and you can see the lettered version of those pages below.
When the final page of this preview was revealed, the hall erupted in cheers and applause as Watchmen character Rorschach appeared on the screens on the sides of the stage. Johns insisted that Doomsday Clock is something anyone will be able to read, as long as they’ve read Watchmen, which many comic book fans consider to be required reading.
The seeds for this story reach back to the DC Rebirth one-shot comic from June 2016, where Dr. Manhattan was revealed on the final page–which marked the first time that character appeared in the main DC Universe. Since then, vague promo images and an event at this past year’s San Diego Comic-Con continued to tease the book without any solid information.
While Johns discussed the creation of the comic and why he wanted to write it, he kept story details incredibly vague. However, he explained his passion for this project and that he wanted to put the heartbeat back into the DC Universe: “I wanted to get back to the essence of these characters,” said Johns.
The writer also expressed his admiration for the original Watchmen series and that he and artist Gary Frank were following a rule book for this series. Frank was following a nine-panel grid, much like the original graphic novel, and Johns said that Frank has “a slight echo” to Watchman‘s artist Dave Gibbons. “He’s the only artist to do the project,” said Johns. “If Gary doesn’t draw it, I can’t write it.”
During the final minutes of the panel, Johns explained this is a standalone story, not an event. There will be no crossovers or tie-ins into other series. Readers interested in Doomsday Clock will have to buy the 12-issue miniseries and nothing else.
Finally, according to Johns, Dr. Manhattan will be naked in this series. That, along with the swearing in the preview of the book, means that DC is keeping in tone with the original series, which is adult in nature. You can see the full comic and Mahattan’s blue penis in Doomsday Clock, which hits stores on Wednesday, November 22.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare‘s Halloween event is now underway. All month long, players will be able to take part in Willard Wyler’s Halloween Scream, a limited-time celebration that features Halloween-themed loot, new game modes, and more.
At the start of every week, players can get a free Halloween Supply Drop in Infinite Warfare simply by logging in to the game, while a free Halloween-themed cosmetic item will be available every Friday. In addition to that, you’ll be able to earn Halloween gear and loot, including new zombie-themed Rig skins.
Beyond all the Halloween-themed items you can get, the Halloween Scream event adds a couple of new modes to the game, including the return of Gesture Warfare. This mode will only be back until October 12 and allows players to use gestures to kill their opponents. The following day, developer Infinity Ward will introduce Boss Battle mode, which allows players to jump right into battles against the final bosses from the various Zombies DLC chapters. However, you’ll need to own the DLC packs to access the chapters.
Finally, Infinity Ward is making the popular Carnage map from the recent Retribution DLC pack free to play beginning on October 12. For the duration of the event, players who play on Carnage will earn double XP. Willard Wyler’s Halloween Scream runs until November 1. You can learn more about the event on the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare website.
While movie adaptations of video games don’t exactly have a great track record, hopes were high for last year’s Assassin’s Creed. The movie had a high-profile cast, acclaimed director, and big budget, as well as a big following for Ubisoft’s games series.
Unfortunately, the film was met with poor reviews and a disappointing box office take, putting hopes of a sequel into doubt. Now, star Michael Fassbender has spoken about what he thinks went wrong with the movie, and what the chances of a follow-up are.
Speaking to Movienco, Fassbender said that he didn’t think that the film was “entertaining” enough. “For sure, it wasn’t ideal,” he said. “I think we missed an opportunity there a little bit. So we’ll wait and see what Ubisoft are coming up with. But right now I don’t know.
“I would make it more entertaining, that’s really the main note. The feeling of the film, I think it took itself too seriously and I would get to the action a lot quicker. I think there’s three beginnings of the film, which is a mistake.”
Before Assassin’s Creed was released last December, there was talk of potentially two more movies, with Fassbender onboard to produce and star. However, the film only made $54 million in the US, with a worldwide total of $240.6 million from a production budget of $125 million.
Shadow of War, which launches on October 10, is the sequel to 2014’s Shadow of Mordor. Developed by Monolith, we found the sequel to be bigger and more ambitious than the first title, though we had our issues with it as well. You can read our full Shadow of War review here.
As for The Evil Within 2, it’s from the same studio as the first one, Tango Gameworks in Japan. The team is led by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami. The Evil Within 2 puts you back into the shoes of detective Sebastian Castellanos who is looking for his lost daughter in a world filled with horrors.
Other notable new releases this week include the physical version of Friday the 13th: The Game, which of course launches on Friday the 13th. New PlayStation VR releases this week include combat racing game Radial G: Racing Revolved and the murder mystery game The Invisible Hours from Rime developer Tequila Works.
We finally see the spore drive put to use and Michael learns the true nature of the beast captured from The Glenn in Star Trek: Discovery, episode 4! Join Greg and Chastity as they break down “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not For The Lamb’s Cry”. Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.
