Netflix's The Punisher and Jessica Jones series' have been canceled. Deadline reports that the third season of Jessica Jones will still air on the streaming service, but it will mark the end of her run. The Punisher, meanwhile, will not return, having had a second season launch on Netflix in January, 2019.
This seemingly brings Marvel and Netflix's relationship as it pertains to creating new shows to an end. The streaming service has already called time on its Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist shows, which means The Defenders are no more. Netflix has indicated that the shows will remain on Netflix for subscribers to watch, however.
"Marvel's The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix," reads a statement issued to Deadline. "Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come.
"In reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel's Jessica Jones. We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter, and the entire cast and crew, for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognized by the Peabody Awards among many others."
Marvel TV boss Jeph Loeb has also released a statement, saying that the company was thrilled by the stories it told with Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Punisher. He went on to reflect on the achievement of bringing together the characters and talked up the talent that contributed to doing so.
"Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes. Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft. We loved each and every minute of it. And we did it all for you--the fans--who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it."
Interestingly, his statement also indicated that it was Netflix's decision to drop the shows, and suggested that Marvel isn't done with the characters. "Our network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters ... but you know Marvel better than that," he teased. "As Matthew Murdock's Dad once said, 'The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it's how he gets back up.' To be continued...!"
Of course, Marvel is owned by Disney and it has been speculated that these characters could have a future on Disney's own streaming service, which is called Disney+. The service will be home to Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Warsand another new live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian. Disney has also confirmed TV shows based on "beloved superheroes" that may not have had their own spotlight on the big screen. One of these is a show based on fan-favorite character Loki.
Disney's Kevin Mayer, the chairman in charge of direct-to-consumer offers, previously said that migrating Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Punisher is a possibility.
Amazon Prime has begun to tease its upcoming Lord of the Rings original show, with a series of posts on social media that both show maps of Middle-earth and quote the famous poem cited in Peter Jackson's film trilogy. As a result, fans have begun speculating on where and when the series will be set.
The first teaser was a tweet that displays a wide map of Middle-earth, conspicuously unlabeled, with the phrase "three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky." A threaded reply included a link to explore or download the map, complete with labels. A follow-up on Instagram quotes the next part of the poem, "seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone."
The teases are a clear reference to the poem from the series of novels that details the backstory of of how the Rings of Power were distributed and how the One Ring was used to deceive the various factions of the world. Gandalf, played by Sir Ian McKellen, memorably quotes a piece of the poem in the first Peter Jackson film. The full poem reads:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky; Seven for the Dwarf-lords in halls of stone; Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die; One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne; In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie; One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them; One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them; In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
That leaves six more lines left to quote, if Amazon plans to slowly cite the entire poem. We know this will be a prequel, and the community seems to believe it will detail the events that led to the War of the Ring--the climactic battle between Sauron's armies and the free peoples of Middle-earth.
Other than stating it takes place before Fellowship of the Ring, Amazon has been notoriously tight-lipped about its plans for its original series. We know it's an expensive project for the company, and that it has hired writers from Star Trek 4.
"Children are fascinated by real objects," Andrew Davenport, the creator of Teletubbies and countless other kids' shows, told the Guardian recently. "They will be able to see the weave of the fabric, the joins in the wallpaper, the printing on the wallpaper."
Davenport was talking about his new series, Moon and Me, but he may as well have been extolling the virtues of Nintendo's upcoming Switch platformer, Yoshi's Crafted World, whose environment is made entirely out of real, recognizable materials. Yoshi himself appears to be made out of wool, as he was in Yoshi's Woolly World, while the environment around him is constructed out of paper and cardboard.
As with similar games such as Super Paper Mario or Tearaway, this stylistic choice not only looks great, but also helps the game feel real. In a strange way, you can imagine yourself in there with Yoshi, and it's therefore hard not to smile when he sticks his tongue out and makes that silly little "BLANG" noise.
Crafted World attempts to go one further on this by letting you see the stitching in the facade presented to you: nearly every world is playable in reverse in what are dubbed Flipside levels. Here, you hop, skip, and flutter jump through the same level you just made your way through once again, except on the opposite side of the 2D plane. You're brought behind the seams and underneath the paintwork of the crafted world you just beat.
Everything feels cohesive, and it's easy to marvel at everyday objects as you amble past. A train made out of a Coke can, for example, or a house made out of old cereal boxes. For adults, it takes you back to childhood arts and craft classes; for children, it might reinforce the notion that creating anything is possible with enough hard work and a glue stick.
However, in the three levels we played at a preview event, Yoshi's Crafted World makes less of this opportunity than perhaps it could have done--less than Tearaway did, in any case. Media Molecule's game, of course, had the PS Vita's added inputs to further connect you with its world as you tapped into the screen or punched in from the rear touchpad. However, those inputs were married to some truly inventive platforming. Yoshi's Crafted World, on the other hand, simplifies its mechanics in favour of--thus far--platforming that's pretty basic. There's some rudimentary puzzle solving, but as yet this amounts to little more than simply collecting different pieces of a required construction, while the Joy-Cons' motion capabilities and the Switch's touchscreen were not utilized in these levels.
Even in the Flipside levels, success appears to be a simple case of retracing your steps and collecting three baby Poochies--adorable, of course, but hardly inventive. Seeing the craft behind the levels at work is genius, but whether that exciting feeling will last the entire game remains to be seen.
Exacerbating the problem is that Yoshi's platforming feels somewhat fiddly. It certainly doesn't feel as natural or as satisfying as Nintendo's pedigree would have you expect, and Yoshi himself feels better and easier to control in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe than he does here in his own game. Crafted World is less demanding than the Mario Bros. series, so its platforming drawbacks are less of an issue; however, it can still be frustrating when you misjudge that gap or accidentally collide with that Shy Guy--especially in co-op, where the addition of another player makes things even more chaotic. Nevertheless, Yoshi's Crafted World does look and, crucially, feel real, as if you're constructing a world of your own, and that's an impressive feat for a game about a tiny green dinosaur who lays eggs at will.
"[For kids,] there's a joy in seeing the messiness," says Davenport. Yoshi's Crafted World might be a little messy, but it's also bursting at the seams with joy.
Far Cry: New Dawn wins the battle of the new releases this week as it debuts at No.1 in the UK physical sales chart, ahead of Metro: Exodus at No.2. Xbox One console exclusive Crackdown 3, however, fails to make the top 10 for the week ending February 16.
Sales monitor GfK Chart-Track also notes that Metro: Exodus was top of the chart in terms of revenue--likely owing to New Dawn's lower RRP. Microsoft's commitment to making all first party games available on release day at no extra cost with Xbox Game Pass should also be remembered. For comparison's sake, the last big Xbox exclusive, Forza Horizon 4, debuted at No.3, so Crackdown 3's No.13 finish may come as a disappointment for Microsoft. Jump Force is the final new release this week, and it finishes at No.4 in its first week on sale.
Far Cry: New Dawn launched to a mixed critical reception. We awarded the spin-off a 6/10 in our Far Cry: New Dawn review, with critic Edmond Tran stating the open-world title "is a palatable but unremarkable spin-off that feels like it could have achieved so much more."
Our 8/10 Metro: Exodus review, meanwhile, was rather more positive. Michael Higham said "Exodus puts together a charismatic crew of friends and family that you'll want to follow to the ends of the earth."
Finally, Crackdown 3 has suffered from a poor reception from critics, including a 5/10 in GameSpot's Crackdown 3 review. Chris Pereira said "the game has little new to offer beyond cool destruction tech that never gets put to good use."
You can read the full top 10 sales chart below, courtesy of UKIE and Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
Tonight, during the WWE event Elimination Chamber, the first-ever Women's Tag Team Champions were crowned after one intense battle. 12 teams entered the Chamber, and one-by-one they were eliminated until only one tag team survived.
By the end of the contest, Sasha Banks & Bayley stood victorious, and were handed the brand-new title belts, making them the inaugural champions. After the match, while being interviewed in the ring, Bayley said, "I don't even know what to say," as she held back tears. The crowd chanted, "You deserve it" over and over again.
"No one know how hard we fought to get this," Bank said. "If you guys, legit, only knew... This is just the beginning of more changes to come."
During the match, Banks and Bayley eliminated Tamina--along with the help of everyone else. During the final moments of the Elimination Chamber, it was Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. Sasha Banks locked in the Bank Statement on Deville, forcing her to tap after an exciting battle.
What's different about these tag titles--compared to all others--is that they are not brand specific. If a team from Raw is champion, another team from Smackdown can be in the running for a title shot. This places a heavy emphasis on competition between the two brands, which adds some fun to the shows. [Raw/Smackdown] can currently claim brand dominance because two of their superstars are champions. The only question is how will #1 contendership work in the future?
For more on Elimination Chamber, check out our predictions for the show and make sure to check out our live results, updated regularly.
2019's Elimination Chamber has come to a close, and you can find the full results for the WWE PPV below. While the opening and closing Elimination Chamber matches were the highlight of the evening, the matches that took place in between didn't exactly get WWE fans out of their seats. Scroll down to see the final results of all the matches.
One of the most insane structures ever devised by WWE is coming to the Elimination Chamber PPV today. WWE's latest event has seven matches on the card--five of which are title matches--and two of them will take place in the Elimination Chamber.
The show will air on the WWE Network and on PPV, taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main card begins at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET / 12 AM GMT (February 18), with a Kickoff Show starting one hour prior.
The Elimination Chamber is a giant metal structure placed around a WWE ring. Inside this monstrosity, there are four plexiglass pods. Six wrestlers enter the structure--four of which go into individual pods. Two wrestlers begin battle inside the ring, and one-by-one, wrestlers are released from their pods. The WWE superstars get eliminated until only one remains. In most cases, the last person standing becomes champion, and they rule Bartertown.
The biggest thing to look forward to this evening is the crowning of the first-ever Women's Tag Team Champions. Who will win? Will it be the brute "Blaster" force of Tamina and Nia Jax, the cunning "Auntie Entity" strategy of the Iiconics, or will it be our "Max Rockatansky," Sasha Banks and Bayley? We have a few predictions for this and all the matches taking place this evening. Additionally, there will be one more EC match for the WWE Championship, featuring six competitors from Smackdown.
Below, you'll find up-to-the-minute updates and results for all the matches taking place this evening. After the show is over, make sure to come back to GameSpot for our review of the show.
Elimination Match Card:
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa (Cruiserweight Championship)
Bobby Lashley (c) & Lio Rush vs. Finn Bálor (Handicap Match for the Intercontinental Championship)
The Miz & Shane McMahon (c) vs. The Usos (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Ruby Riott (Raw Women's Championship)
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose vs. Naomi & Carmella vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. The Iiconics (Elimination Chamber for the Women's Tag Team Championship)
"The New" Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe (Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship)
KICKOFF SHOW
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Akira Tozawa (Cruiserweight Championship)
Murphy pins Tozawa at 13:20.
MAIN CARD
Women's Tag Team Elimination Chamber Match
Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Sonya Deville & Mandy Rose vs. Naomi & Carmella vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan vs. The Iiconics (As competitors are eliminated, they'll be crossed out here)
Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville vs. Sasha Banks & Bayley start
Riott Squad released
The Iiconics released
Naomi & Carmella released
The IIconics eliminate Naomi at 17:10
Nia Jax & Tamina released
Nia & Tamina eliminate the IIconics at 20:12
Tamina eliminates the Riott Squad (WWE Network issues, no timestamp)
Everyone pins and eliminates Tamina at 26:36
Banks submits Deville at 32:25
Sasha Banks and Bayley win
The Miz & Shane McMahon (c) vs. The Usos (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
Jimmy pins Miz at 14:10
Bobby Lashley (c) & Lio Rush vs. Finn Bálor (Handicap Match for the Intercontinental Championship)
Balor pins Rush around 9:00 (WWE Network issues)
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Ruby Riott (Raw Women's Championship)
Rousey submits Riott at 1:40.
Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin
Corbin pins Strowman at 10:45
Men's Elimination Chamber Match
"The New" Daniel Bryan (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Randy Orton vs. Samoa Joe (As competitors are eliminated, they'll be crossed out here)
Rainbow Six Siege's big new Operation Burnt Horizon update is on the way to PS4, Xbox One, and PC soon, and publisher Ubisoft has finally revealed all the details. As revealed during at the 6 Invitational, Year 4, Season 1 will bring two new Operators, Mozzie and Gridlock, as well as a new map named Outback.
Gridlock is a 3 armor, 1 speed attacker who comes equipped with three Trax Stingers--throwable, expanding spike clusters that slow and damage enemies who walk on them. Think of them as attacking versions of razor wire that cause damage--and make a similar amount of noise. Gridlock is therefore seen as an anti-roaming Operator. Her weapons include the F90 assault rifle or M249 LMG, as well as the Super Shorty sawn-off shotgun.
Mozzie, meanwhile, is a 2 armor, 2 speed defender who wields three deployable Pest devices, which will automatically hack and take over any enemy drone that enters a small radius. The drone is then fully under the command of the defending team; a small blue light is the only indicator to attackers that their drone is no longer under their control. Mozzie can use an AR9 assault rifle or the R10 Ronie machine pistol, as well as the same Super Shorty as Gridlock.
Outback is the accompanying Australian-themed map to Operation Burnt Horizon. Its restaurant, hotel, and fuel station form a relatively small L-shape arena that offers ample opportunity for close quarters combat. Outback is free for all players, while Gridlock and Mozzie can be unlocked with in-game Renown or by buying the Year 4 pass.
Ubisoft has not yet announced a release date for Operation Burnt Horizon, but it will likely launch on the test server for PC players very soon, before a wider launch on all platforms in the coming weeks.
During the 6 Invitational stream, Ubisoft also detailed what it has in store for the game in the coming year. Firstly, it is reworking itself as a dev team and setting up number of cells to tackle different aspects of the Siege experience, including how players interact with the game and other players. One of the big new upcoming features is designed to address the ongoing team-killing issue. Season 1 of Year 4 will test reverse friendly fire, which damages players who attack others on their own team.
Those that deal damage to a friendly player are sanctioned, and then any additional damage they dish out is instead inflicted on them. Ubisoft noted this is the first iteration of the reverse friendly fire system, and it intends to work on it going forward.
Ubisoft is also planning to take ranked play out of beta, and will make the pick and ban game mode the primary match type in this competitive playlist. A ranked hub is being added in where players can get more information on what maps are being rotated in and out of the pool, personal performance stats, and other details on rewards for winning competitive matches.
Additionally, a playlist designed to help ease newcomers into the game is being added. It is for players level one to 50, and will put them in games with other people of a similar skill level. Rules will be very similar to those used in ranked matches to get newcomers comfortable with the way Siege is played at higher levels. Newcomers can still play casual matches, where action time will be reduced to three minutes and 30 seconds.
Naturally, each of the four seasons that make up Year 4 will also add two new characters from different parts of the world into the game. Older Operators, meanwhile, will be discounted, so they'll be cheaper to buy regardless of whether you're spending real money or in-game currency. Ubisoft intends to add in a new Operator select screen to accommodate the arrival of new character in Year 4 and beyond.
Map reworks are also in the plans. Kafe Dostoyevsky will get an expanded second floor to give players more space to work with, while the bottom floor staircase will be moved to help reduce dead space. The Bakery bombsite, meanwhile, has been moved into the kitchen, which helps out defenders.
Kanal is being re-imagined for Season 3. There's a new route up top and a tunnel below, so there's new options as you approach the red building. Choke points have been opened up so it's not as claustrophobic as it previously was. Finally, Theme Park is set to be changed in Season 4.
Operators will also be further balanced. For Lion, Ubisoft is pushing him towards a role that makes him an intel operator who helps others get kills by supplying them with information. Glaz became too good in close quarters, Ubisoft says, so his IR scope will be linked to his movements, meaning he'll require more skill to successfully penetrate enemy lines. He's also being shifted into more of a sniper role, instead of an entry fragger. Both of these characters will be updated in the first half of Year 4.
In terms of Gadgets, the deployable shield will be easier to position and have small slits in it that let whoever is behind the shield see what's happening on the other side. An operator cannot shoot through them, as they're primarily designed to be an intel-gathering tool. Capitao's fire grenade is also being tweaked so it's better for area denial. The breach charge is also undergoing a small quality of life change, so the impact of an explosion isn't as extreme. This means it's less likely to kill enemies that aren't really close to the blast zone.
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