Finally, the long-awaited sequel to Persona 5 is making its way to the west. Atlus took to Twitter to share a brand new trailer for the action-RPG spin-off featuring everyone’s favorite Phantom Thieves. Instead of the classic RPG-style, this sequel is co-developed by Koei Tecmo, who is well-known for their Dynasty Warriors series. As such, this new entry combines the original’s game style with hack and slash. Unlike Persona 5 Royal, this is not an expansion of the base game but a true sequel that continues the story of the original with a brand new set of villains to face. The game is slated to release worldwide on February 23rd next year.
The story takes place six months after the ending of the original. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts return to investigate mysterious events taking place across Japan. The game has already been available in Japan since February 2020 with the title Persona 5 Scramble. It is crazy to think that the Western release took an entire year, but long-time fans might remember when the mainline games took this long to release outside of Japan. Persona 5 has already had multiple spin-offs, such as Royal expanding the base game and the main characters taking center stage in Persona Q2: New Cinema. I hope we are also building up to an announcement or tease for the sixth installment in the franchise. These spin-offs add content in-between the main series development cycle, but after 5’s success, I hope we do not face another eight years of development.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier still has no release date. It was originally going to air in August, but now WandaVision has the honor of kickstarting the new Disney+ era for Marvel Studios. Even after the constant delay, we barely have any idea about what we can expect from the story. We know that Baron Zemo will play a major part, and we get introduced to a brand new Captain America. Charles revealed one more big bad about two months ago would also make his appearance in the series, ULTIMATUM’s Flag-Smasher. We didn’t get a great look at the character, but some of his goons wore outfits quite similar to their comic counterpart. @tfatwsbr was so nice to share some promotional material that offered our first official look at the character and ULTIMATUM’s logo.
🚨 EM PRIMEIRA MÃO! 🚨
A Zazzle abriu sua loja oficial de TFATWS e acabou confirmando a participação do vilão Flag-Smasher na série! Vários itens foram lançados com a arte do personagem.
It looks like they took a very different approach from the character’s original design. It states Flag-Smashers, so we might see a variety of members wear that moniker throughout the show. It could even be a new name for the group instead of ULTIMATUM. We still have no official word, who could be playing the character, but it was theorized that it is Noah Mills. So, who knows if the one showcased here might turn out to be the real one.
For those wondering, as per usual in the Marvel Universe, ULTIMATUM is an acronym. It stands for Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind. They might be avoiding having to spell that out in the show, so they just went with a new name. The group’s logo is a nice spin on the original. Hopefully, the fact that this promotional material making the rounds also means we could get some news on the show’s future soon. Until then, we can theorize what their inclusion might indicate for the Disney+ show.
Two more days to go until Kate Bishop finally arrives on Marvel’s Avengers. As such, we still get some fun leaks from @mmmmmmmiller that offer us a glimpse of what we can expect from the game’s future. His last leak may have given us a better understanding of who is voicing T’Challa in what may be our third DLC. The day before we even got a look at some new architects that teased the existence of Moon Knight and Namor within the game‘s universe. Miller has now taken to Twitter to share another voice clip featuring Steve Rogers and Kate discussing the search for a member of the Young Avengers. The multiversal traveling America Chavez seems to be missing, and Kate is out to find her.
This reveal is quite curious, as it may hint at other Young Avengers existing as well. We know that Kate was about to join the Avengers officially, but we don’t know much about other teams existing. We are still waiting to see if the X-Men or Fantastic Four already exist in this universe. I am curious how this will develop, as America might become playable at some point or act as an NPC on an Outpost. Her addition makes sense as the Tachyon Rifts are going to break the multiverse.
So, she might be the one to help you travel between different dimensions, such as revisiting the post-apocalyptic world teased in Clint’s storyline. Marvel Rising viewers might also remember that her origin is tied to the Kree, which seems to be the main threat of the game’s first season. So far, it looks like they are not holding back with the various corners of the Marvel universe. Hopefully, this means we’ll get to visit some unique locations in future updates.
The other day we were able to get the first look at Alaqua Cox’s Maya Lopez/Echo during a rehearsal and between takes of scenes for the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye. Those videos showed Cox using sign language to communicate with crew members and the lead up to a scene involving her father, William, played by Zahn McLarnon.
This new video shows what we are told is one of the takes of the full scene. While we are fully aware that is doesn’t reveal much given that it is shot from behind the scene, it should still be pretty cool to see the scene in Hawkeye knowing you had a glimpse at it first!
All eyes are on Kate Bishop’s release next week that will finally expand Marvel’s Avengers. She will get the ball rolling on future content while teasing the overarching storyline that we can expect for the game’s first season. So far, we know that Clint Barton will join her next year and, hopefully, Black Panther shortly after. we still haven’t officially seen his design or any real information on him, but that never stopped anything from leaking. @mmmmmmmiller offered us some teases of the design and even an audio voice clip. Well, now he revealed some more that has started many wondering who exactly might be playing the king of Wakanda.
So, a lot of this dialogue seems to take place during the missions. “They are getting too close” could hint at a new mission type, where you have to keep enemies from reaching a new area. There is a strange line where it sounds like he mentions “Goku”, but I am unsure who he is referring to in this. There is even a mention of the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives him his powers. So, these are probably just early recordings that were added in advance, so they don’t have a massive update once the character is made available. It is uncertain how far into development he is still, so they might’ve just started recording not too long ago. We have to keep in mind that every voice actor also has to abide by the two-week rule when they travel for recordings and mo-cap.
Now, the big question remains who might be voicing T’Challa. A lot of people online have pointed out that it seems to be Christopher Judge. Many will recognize his voice from God of War‘s Kratos or his time as Magneto in X-Men: Evolution. I was a bit skeptical about it, but they have gotten some big names to join them, such as Ashly Burch as Kate Bishop and Giacomo Gianniotti as Clint Barton. Now, I think the only audio file that gives it away is the third one. The rest sounds a bit off, especially as they seem to be a combination of multiple lines that muddles it a bit. Yet, I also wondered if they may have taken a look at the character’s history in animation and video games.
I tried to compare those that have voiced T’Challa before to see if one came close. I wondered if they brought back Djimon Hounsou, who voiced the character in the Marvel Knights animated series. One of my favorites was James C. Mathis III’s iconic take on Black Panther from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Luckily, he continued to voice the character in Avengers Assemble, but his voice doesn’t match that of the leaked recordings, so it doesn’t look like he is part of Marvel’s Avengers. Hounsou‘s original take on the character was quite distinct and wouldn’t match this one either. Still, especially with that third recording, the voice matches that of Christopher Judge the most. I would love to see Hounsou return to the role, as in some film’s his voice could match the audio files. We’ll have to wait for an official announcement, but it was fun to speculate. For fun, I’ll leave you with this hilarious video of Judge telling dad jokes as Kratos.
UPDATE: It looks like Star Wars’ Obi-Wan series isn’t heading to Boston, Massachusetts after all. They were right about Boston, but it will be the one that is 100 miles north of London. They are set to film in the capital of the United Kingdom as well.
Around four months ago, we shared the news that Star Wars untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi is slowly starting production. They weren’t quite ready to film but started preparing set pieces for whatever locations the famous Jedi might end up visiting. It looks like they are finally ready to film, as news broke that the Disney+ series is eyeing January 4th to start its production in Boston. Ewan McGregor is set to return as the titular character, as it takes place at some point in time after the events of Revenge of the Sith. So far, no official name has been given, but it looks like Star Wars: Kenobi might become the official title, as is stated in the Production List. It also includes the following project summary:
Tatooine-a harsh desert world where farmers toil in the heat of two suns while trying to protect themselves and their loved ones from the marauding Tusken Raiders. A backwater planet on the edge of civilized space. And an unlikely place to find a Jedi Master in hiding or an orphaned infant boy on whose tiny shoulders rests the future of a galaxy.
It is rather interesting that they are going to film in Boston. We have no details on the story, so the city could become the backdrop for a futuristic city in space. The description focuses heavily on Tatooine, but it looks like Kenobi might travel quite a bit throughout the series. There is also a chance that some sequences also take place in flashbacks, where we see Kenobi’s life on Coruscant. Various sources are going around teasing the series story, such as a conflict between Kenobi and a former Clone Trooper. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get our hands on set photos that offer a tease of what the show might have in store for us.
It seems that Deadpool is heading to Japan. Marvel and JUMP have collaborated on a brand new manga series, Deadpool Samurai, which got announced at Tokyo Comic-Con. Interestingly enough, this series was initially released as a one-shot back in October, which was written by Sanshiro Kasama with art by Hikaru Uesugi. As the name implies, the story follows Deadpool’s escapades in Japan’s Edo period, where he took on various samurai with his usual wacky humor. To break the fourth wall completely, he was the only one that was his usual self with plenty of references to the larger Marvel universe. It looks like the one-shot was a big success that they ordered an ongoing series for Shonen Jump that will go into serialization as of December 10th.
Marvel x JUMP x Deadpool! Our new manga series just announced at Tokyo Comic Con. Launches December 10th!! pic.twitter.com/Q0pY5n3IDK
There is no English release currently planned, but we can expect it to hit the West in the future. It is great to see the series continue, as the original one-shot was hilarious. We get introduced to our main character pretending to be a baby while trying to intimidate a group of samurais. In the middle of the battle, he is reading a JUMP magazine, so he seems to care even less about continuity in this series, especially how he solves a hostage situation.
It will be interesting to see how they turn this into an ongoing series, as the one-shot is quite removed from the overall Marvel universe. There is a cameo by Wolverine at the end confirming he misused a time-machine, but mangas commonly have overarching stories. He might get stuck in that timeline and meets copies of the original Marvel characters that lived during this period. Not like Deadpool cares about continuity, so anything is possible.
Filming on the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye got underway in Brookly this week and, from what we’ve seen, it is evident that the show is heavily influenced by the Matt Fraction and David Aja run that began in 2012. While we’ve known this to be the case for some time now, I think the set photos we’ve seen so far may indicate a more direct visual adaptation than many fans were expecting and now we’ve got an exclusive first look at something else than fans of the run are sure to recognize even if it does look a bit different: Clint’s 70’s era muscle car!
Edward Baker was able to locate this 70’s Buick Gran Sport sneakily parked around the corner from where filming was taking place on Wednesday. During his time there, he also overheard the crew discussing how they had hoped to procure a more comic-accurate 70’s era Challenger, but ended up with this GS. So no, this isn’t just some car that happened to be parked on set and, to be honest, when I heard the scene that was being shot I asked Baker to snoop around and see if he could find a 70’s Challenger and moments later, he found this GS.
Clint’s car is part of one of the most exciting issues of Fraction’s run. In issue #3, Clint buys a 70’s Challenger from a woman he just met (and may have slept with) and then immediately proceeds to have it stolen by the tracksuit mafia, get it back by having Kate crash her car into it, and then demolish it over the course of a wild high-speed chase through NYC in which he manages to deploy pretty much every one of his “trick” arrows.
Should Marvel Studios plan to recreate this crazy car chase, it wouldn’t necessarily have to do so over the course of the next week, but that would certainly make things more NYC authentic. The car chase culminates on what I think is the George Washington Bridge (I’m not a New Yorker, I’m just guessing here!), so while the streets of Georgia could easily be used for a car chase, it would be hard to replicate the bridge. We’ll keep an eye out for you and see if they are in fact going for the big time car chase in the series.
UPDATE: David Aja has clarified it was in fact the GWB.
Crystal Dynamics is still hard at work on Marvel’s Avengers. We are only a few more days away from the first DLC character being added. Kate Bishop will offer some brand new story content and continue where the Reassemble campaign left off. We even got a special War Table that offered a deep dive into the character and teased her story. Well, that wasn’t all as, after a short Thanksgiving break, the developers returned with a brand new stream to showcase the character in all their glory. Our CD mainstays Phil and Andy were also joined by fellow developers Scott and Nicole, who were able to offer some insight. Of course, a brand new stream also means you’ll get a brand new recap. Now, let’s jump right into all the major reveals and teases.
General Updates
Let’s start with some general updates. Phil revealed that he is the reason for Tony’s “Who you going to call?” line in the game. It was a collaborative effort, as they also worked together on characterization with Marvel.
New Game+ or Campaign Replay, as Phil titles it, is still being worked on, but it is already in the bug testing phase.
Loot is getting a complete overhaul. It will take time, but it is a big priority for the team. We can expect some major changes with future content.
The Omega Threat delays are due to some network issues. The missions are very long, so they want to ensure that multiplayer works as intended.
Their development cycles are getting better, so they are much better at getting timings down. Some of their co-workers have yet to take a break since the entire thing started. A lot of future features are also based on user feedback.
Kate will be available on the start screen and may have some additional music added to the game.
Kate Bishop Gameplay
They worked on Clint and Kate around the same time, which is a given with their archery focus. Clint’s background as Ronin and Kate’s fencing lessons in the comics was the inspiration for her melee combat. Both characters will use a variety of arrow types.
Kate stole the quantum technology from AIM. It is the basis for her abilities. There are sadly no unique status effects, but some moves stack additional quantum damage. It is mainly a visual effect and became a part of Kate’s fiction to create unique abilities around.
Kate is a support-focused character. You can optimize your build to either focus on her arrow abilities or even her blade. Most of her heroics include a special ability that helps your team during battle.
One can see their experience with the Tomb Raider franchise in Kate’s pull of the bowstring. You can quickfire or pull it in for critical damage, which looks to be quite satisfying.
Her support heroic Decoy allows her to spawn a clone who can damage enemies. It acts as a turret, which zones enemies. You can also add an ability to turn it into a quantum bomb to take out multiple enemies. They will be focused on the decoy, so you can support it mid-battle for additional damage.
Quantum Overdrive is a similar ability to Captain America’s Brooklyn Brawler. It gives her infinite intrinsic ability, so you can teleport around the map freely as long as it is active.
Warp Arrow allows you to shoot an arrow for a long distance, which instantly teleports you to that location. They are quite useful for boss fights to avoid larger attacks. There are, however, some limitations to where you can place portals, and enemies can’t enter them. You can activate the warp arrow at any time with a button press, so you are not dependent on hitting an actual surface to activate it.
You can switch your loadout just like Iron Man and Black Widow. Disruptor arrows are great to stack up combos. You can time the bow to get a perfect draw that deals with critical damage. Demolition arrows can attach to targets, which can be activated remotely or with a perfect shot.
The Scattershot can damage multiple enemies from a distance, but you can stack damage if you shoot from close-range.
Kate can hack doors like Iron Man and Black Widow.
Taking AIM Story
Kate was going to become an Avengers before A-Day happened. She sees the Avengers as her family, so she will add a great new dynamic. They teased her interactions with Tony.
When she was young, she decided she wanted to be like Hawkeye and eventually became his protége.
Nicole, one of the game’s writers, teased that she is fun, sarcastic, and confident. Like an older sister to her mentor, as she has it all together. They took a lot of inspiration from Matt Fraction‘s My Life as a Weapon story and her time with the West Coast Avengers.
They teased that a lot of references to Fraction‘s stories are scattered throughout the story and with the skins.
I have to say, my first impressions of Kate were very positive. She looks like a fun character to play. I might end up focusing on a sword build, as that quantum sword looks like a lot of fun. The animations were very fluid, and they put a lot of thought into how she plays. I cannot wait to play her once the DLC is released next Tuesday. I also cannot wait to see how the story will expand and what it may tease for the future. It also was just fun to see the developers finally be able to showcase their first major DLC and having a blast doing it.
Star Wars has been introducing a brand new era that has yet to be explored, the High Republic. The new series was unveiled alongside a bunch of comics and books that will explore a time where the Jedi Knights had to face a threat that may change the Force as they know it. We haven’t heard any official word if they would also start adapting the new era in other mediums, as it primarily was called a publishing project. Unlike The Mandalorian and other Star Wars franchises, this takes place a couple of hundred years before the events of the films. So, they don’t have to adapt the storylines to fit within the existing timeline. It offers creators more freedom than before, which would make it a perfect era to adapt as a film or TV series.
Cinelinx has heard rumblings that there are plans to adopt the new era in live-action and animation. Lucasfilms has seen quite the success in the medium after The Clone Wars and Rebels. There is even a spin-off for The Bad Batch planned to release at one point. There were rumors of other animated projects being in development, so this is our first real hint that they aren’t just focused on live-action moving forward. There is a good chance that this show won’t enter production for quite some time, as they might focus on getting the High Republic branding out first. Hopefully, we might get an official announcement in the future that showcases the various shows and films that are planned. We still have no idea what the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Cassian Andor series will be officially titled. So, maybe Lucasfilm will give us an overview soon, or at least during Disney’s Investor’s Day.
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