By Meg Downey on Mar 31, 2019 09:22 am
Fans at Wondercon were treated to an extended look at Godzilla: King of the Monsters, featuring the awakening of King Gidorah from his icy prison as Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobbie Brown look on from the relative safety of a military base. As Gidorah breaks out, he uses his lightning breath to obliterate soldiers--just in time for Godzilla to arrive on the scene. Of course, the footage cuts before the two can actually clash--but not before Gidorah gets to strike an incredibly iconic pose with his wings and three heads splayed for full effect--and, trust us, it looks and sounds absolutely amazing. Even for someone not completely steeped in vintage Toho lore, there will always be something awe-inspiring about a giant, golden, three-headed dragon in any context at all, let alone facing off against the world's most famous reptile. The context of the scene made it look like Godzilla was coming to the rescue of the humans, but director Michael Doughtery explained that the everyone's favorite kaiju's morality is not so easily distilled into good and evil. "Godzilla is a god, right? He's not good or bad. I think the big question is are we--as in the humans--good guys or bad guys? And that will affect how Godzilla reacts to us on any given day. The final shot we see of Gidorah on a volcano? The genesis of that moment is actually the Book of Revelations. We really wanted to put the 'god' back into Godzilla with this movie." Doughtery continued, "We wanted to treat them with the reverence we think they deserve. Mothra isn't just a giant moth, she's a goddess. That's how I always saw them growing up--not as puppets, but as deities." Speaking of puppets--the classic, practical monsters are definitely a thing of the past. The creatures here in Godzilla: King of the Monsters are motion captured, which was an important part of their development according to Doughtery. "Gidorah's three heads had to have their own personalities. When we were doing motion capture, we took three separate actors and bound them together as one creature. It was like a modern day version of the man-in-a-suit process." The visual effects aren't the only thing that got a major update--the kaiju sound effects were also heavily considered. "I think the creatures are like musical instruments, they have very particular noises, screeches, roars. We worked really closely with the sound designers," Doughtery explained. "We went out and recorded wild animals--turtles, even. Turns out turtles make really amazing noises. Rattlesnakes, vultures, owls--they have to sound like themselves." The majesty of the kaiju is all in service to a very human story, Doughtery assured. The monsters are the star of the show, but the movie is actually going to focus on a family. "A lot of it is about a family who survived the first Godzilla attack, so this is about how they cope with trauma and also giant monsters." He laughed. "We used to call this movie Kramer vs Kramer vs Godzilla, but Warner didn't like that too much." Despite the tragic loss of that amazing gag title, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is more than ready to bring the thunder to theaters this May 31.
By Michael Rougeau on Mar 31, 2019 07:37 am
The iconic Chucky--next set to be played by Mark Hamill--wasn't the only haunted doll that made an appearance during this year's WonderCon. Warner Bros. dropped the new trailer for the next Annabelle movie, Annabelle Comes Home, during its panel at the convention in Anaheim, California. Watch it below to see what's new in the third Annabelle movie, the latest chapter of the connected Conjuring universe to be revealed: In the trailer, a friend of the Judy Warren's (Ed and Lorraine's daughter) very unwisely disturbs the ghost-busting duo's private hoard of spooky nicknacks, and the results go about as well as you'd expect. Annabelle Comes Homes is the third movie starring the Annabelle doll as its main antagonist, although she's also made appearances in other Conjuring universe movies--and beyond. Other than what's in the trailer above, we don't know a ton of details about Annabelle Comes Home, besides that Gary Dauberman (writer of the previous two Annabelle films, as well as the upcoming It: Chapter Two) is directing, James Wan is producing (as always), and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise their roles as the Warrens. Annabelle Comes Home hits theaters June 28.
By Chris E. Hayner on Mar 31, 2019 07:08 am
There's one more iconic character for Mark Hamill to add to his resume. The man behind Luke Skywalker, Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, and a long list of other heroes and villains has found his next role as the murderous Chucky doll in the remake of the horror film Child's Play. The news was revealed during the Child's Play WonderCon panel, via a pre-recorded video from Hamill, in which he talked about his excitement to take on the psychopathic toy. The casting was even news to the movie's other cast members, who were only told of his joining the project just before they walked on stage. Aubrey Plaza, who stars in the movie, joked that she willed this into happening by killing Chucky with a lightsaber during filming. As for Hamill's role in Child's Play, he's still recording dialogue, producer Seth Grahame-Smith hinted. "To have an icon reimagining an iconic character is an incredible gift," the producer said. "He's taken on this challenge with a huge amount of energy and really come at it in a serious way." The actor himself teased this news was coming in a tweet a day before the official reveal.
Of course, this is far from Hamill's first voice work. In addition to his aforementioned Batman: The Animated Series turn as the Joker, he's done voices for TV shows like SWAT Kats, Adventure Time, and Ultimate Spider-Man. The panel also included some new footage from Child's Play, which featured a young boy (Gabriel Bateman) trying to convince his mom (Plaza) that his toy doll had come to life and was, in fact, a murderer. Of course, if you know anything about the Child's Play franchise, you should be able to guess that was followed by a lot of carnage as Chucky tried to kill the mom and her son. Child's Play also stars Bryan Tyree Henry and Tim Matheson. It hits theaters on June 21.
By Alessandro Fillari on Mar 31, 2019 03:50 am
The remaster for Crash Team Racing channels much of the same energy and cartoonish personality that made the classic PS1 title such a well-loved game. Developed by Beenox, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Refueled also manages to go a bit further than updating the original, including more content than people had anticipated. During PAX East 2019, we spent some time racing on the different tracks in Nitro-Refueled, which included the return of some tracks found from the sequel Nitro Kart. Speaking with GameSpot at PAX, Beenox co-studio head Thomas Wilson described the approach they took with the remaster, and what sort of content they wanted to include with the game. "With the name Nitro-Fueled, we wanted to see how we could complement the original experience," said Wilson. "We did that by adding new tracks that originated from Crash Nitro Kart, and which we decided pretty early on we were going to do that. We felt it was the right decision, and it was all about creating a more well-rounded package for fans." During our hands-on time, we got to play across four different tracks pulling from CTR and Nitro Kart. One thing that the original game was known for was its challenging difficulty, and that's certainly present here. I really found myself struggling to keep up with other opponents--both AI and other players. One sudden hit from an enemy's missile or driving straight into a vial of chemicals almost inevitably put us in a bad way. With that said, I still felt that Nitro-Fueled managed to recapture that same sense of fun from the original, which was present in the updated art style that looks more vibrant than ever. This remaster also includes a number of changes and revisions to the core gameplay. For instance, all the anti-gravity sections from Nitro Kart's tracks have been removed in order to keep it consistent with the courses from the original game. Nitro-Fueled also offers an upgrade to the original's car combat mode. Featuring only the standard battle mode, the remaster will also incorporate the maps and modes from Nitro Kart as well, bringing it to a total of 12 different battle maps with multiple game types, including standard combat and capture the flag. From our recent hands-on, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is shaping up to be a solid remaster that will rekindle the fast-pace and fun of the original. For more from PAX Eat 2019, including the latest on Borderlands 3, and other games that caught our interest in the show, be sure to check out
By Kevin Knezevic on Mar 31, 2019 03:30 am
Atomic Wolf, the indie developer behind the Bomberman-like Mad Age & This Guy, has given us a first look at a new title called Liberated during PAX East 2019. In stark contrast to the studio's previous effort, Liberated is a stylish, narrative-driven 2.5D stealth game inspired by noir films and graphic novels. Set in a bleak, dystopian future where the government is using technology to surveil and manipulate the public, Liberated tells the story of a group of characters who cross paths with the authoritarian police force and a violent opposition group fighting against it. The narrative is framed like a graphic novel; the game is divided up into four chapters, which are presented as four comic book issues, with story and gameplay sequences unfolding across different panels. Throughout the course of the game, players will be faced with choices that will affect how the story is shaped and lead to entirely different endings. Among other things, players must choose whether to cooperate with the government or the opposition group. As the story unfolds, however, you'll realize the decision isn't as black-and-white as it may initially appear, and every choice you make will carry a consequence. You can watch the reveal trailer for Liberated at the top of this story. We've also captured more than 10 minutes of gameplay footage at PAX East; in the video above, you can watch Atomic Wolf play through a portion of the game's first chapter, which follows a hacker who was discovered by the police. The footage is taken from an alpha build of the title and the game quality is not final. Liberated is slated to launch on Steam later this year. Following its PC release, Atomic Wolf is also planning to bring the game to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
By Chris E. Hayner on Mar 31, 2019 01:07 am
When Arrow ends next season, it will already have lost one of its primary players. Emily Bett Rickards, who has played Felicity Smoak since Season 1, is leaving the series at the end of Season 7. Rickards made the announcement herself on Instagram, writing, "Felicity and I are a very tight two. But after one through seven, we will be saying goodbye to you." That will leave the final 10-episode of Season 8 without the character, who also happens to be Oliver Queen's (Stephen Amell) wife, mother of his child, and--essentially--the brains of the Team Arrow operation. What remains to be seen is how Felicity will exit the series. Throughout Season 7, a flash-forward storyline has shown she's still alive years from now, operating under the Calculator moniker her father once used. It's entirely possible that she and her soon-to-be-born child will go into hiding ahead of Season 8, as the Green Arrow prepares for his last stand. Hopefully, the final 10 episodes of the series will spend a little time dealing with the various characters coping with losing Felicity, regardless of the cause. Given her status as a member of the original Team Arrow, and the incredibly valuable role she plays in the current team's operations, her presence will be missed. Whatever the case, cherish the moments you have, Felicity fans. Her time on Arrow is coming to a close soon. Arrow airs Mondays on The CW.
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