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  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Talk Omega-Level Threats Delay & Bug Fixes

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Talk Omega-Level Threats Delay & Bug Fixes

    It has been a big week for Marvel’s Avengers as we finally got our hands on Kate Bishop. The new character came with a fun new kit to play around with and an almost 3-hour story mission. It was a great start to what hopefully will be a continuous roll-out of content over the next couple of months. Of course, we also had our weekly developer stream to give us some minor updates. The biggest takeaway is that they confirmed we most likely won’t get any larger updates before the end of the year. So, we might not see the addition of Omega-Level Threats in the coming weeks. So, for right now, do not expect anything to drop until 2021. With the bad news out first, let’s jump into our stream round-up:

    • They are still actively working on Omega-Level Threats, especially the AIM Cloning Labs. It looks like they are trying to balance it out with Crystal Dynamics teasing something happening “sooner“. He sadly did not offer any details on what that could be.
    • They confirmed that a variety of bug fixes for Kate’s addition are still in the pipeline, such as her flying around the map, not activating pressure plates, and missions disappearing. They did confirm that her Harm Room mission will return.
    • They planned to add civilians into the game but faced a lot of framerate issues. CD is planning on making scenarios where they can bring them into the game. So, we can expect those kinds of missions in the future.
    • Crystal Dynamics is trying to avoid reusing assets too often, so we should expect more new content in the future.

     

     

    • Matchmaking will get an optimization, especially for future content additions.
    • Characters have changed quite a bit over the development cycle, such as Kate’s had a different weapon, while Iron Man was able to use a drone.
    • Roadmap still seems to be trapped in an approval process. CD didn’t offer any details on the matter.
    • They have approached the topic of Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Black Panther. They are not a liberty to say anything, as they can only confirm things that were approved internally.
    • Adjustments have been made to their Home Office situation. CD was able to streamline the process a bit to do mo-cap and record audio lines.
    • A variety of features are still in development with high priority, such as New Game+, Loot 2.0, Loadouts, Emote Wheel, and the addition of new villains.

     

    Most of the answers are things we’ve already heard in past streams. I am quite curious what the content is that could release before the Labs. There was a tease for an Inhuman addition a while back, so perhaps it is connected. I am not the biggest fan of the continuous delay of their Omega-Level threats. I understand why they are doing it, as there might be some issues with rejoining a mission when you lose your connection, but the game does lack some multiplayer content to keep players coming back to it. Here’s hoping that they might have some bigger plans for that shortly, as well as Clint’s addition isn’t delayed too far into early 2021. My prediction is still in late January to early February, but we will see what the next year brings.

    Source: Twitch

  • Jaimie Alexander to Return in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Jaimie Alexander to Return in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Just yesterday, we got a lot of information on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney’s Investor Day showcased the future Disney+ series and gave some small updates on the various films that will fill out Phase 4 and beyond. We sadly didn’t get too much detail on most of the films, but it seems that we didn’t have to wait long, as Deadline has now reported Jaimie Alexander is finally returning to the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder. She was noticeably absent in Taika Waititi‘s first MCU film, Thor: Ragnarok, after we witnessed the death of the Warrior’s Three. Supposedly, Loki disguised as Odin saw her as a threat and banished her. She was among those that vanished after the snap, so it is uncertain

    There is also the theory of her appearing in Loki in some capacity. It will premiere in May, so it is uncertain if they will confirm her appearance by then. Our very own Lizzie Hill heard recently from a trusted source she has a fun cameo in the Loki series. Still, it is great to see the fan-favorite character return. We have no idea what she was up to since Sif left Asgard behind and what her role will be in Love and Thunder. There have been rumors she might even get her Disney+ series at one point, which could fill in the blanks. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it could still be in the pipeline at one point. It is also uncertain ifs he is aware that Asgard has fallen and the alien race took refuge on Earth. We’ll see whatever the future has in store for Sif and how she’ll react to what Thor has become after the events of Avengers: Endgame.

    Source: Deadline

     

  • ‘House of Dragons’ Adds Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, and Matt Smith

    ‘House of Dragons’ Adds Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, and Matt Smith

    HBO has been hard at work at expanding their popular franchise, Game of Thrones. The series known as House of Dragons will focus on the House of Targaryen. It takes place 300 years before the events of the original show. So far, we only had one confirmation for the show’s cast but it looks like they are finally rounding out the rest of the game. The Hollywood Reporter has officially announced that Ready Player One‘s Olivia Cooke, Wanderlust‘s Emma D’Arcy, and the former time-traveling Doctor, Matt Smith, have joined the series. The latter was reported by the Illumerdi just a week ago.

    Smith will play the rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen, who was one of the first characters revealed for the series. He is the younger brother of Paul Considine‘s King Viserys, who he is always trying to impress. His first-born child will be played by D’Arcy, who is a dragon rider facing adversity due o her gender. Lastly, Cooke is set to play the daughter of Otto Hightower, Alicent. She is the Hand of the King.

    The series was picked up for 10 episodes last year in October. Martin and Ryan Condal created the series with the pilot episode set to be directed by Miguel Sapochnik. THR has also revealed that Banshee’s Greg Yaitanes joined as a director alongside Snowpiercer‘s Clare Kilner and The Witcher‘s Geeta Patel. Game of Thrones‘ final season has left a sour taste for many fans, so it will be interesting to see if this brand new prequel series can make up for it. The Targaryen era also will feature many more dragons than that of the original series, so it’ll be interesting how they’ll balance it out before their budgets get too bloated. 

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Ms. Marvel’: Rish Shah Playing the Inhuman Kamran

    ‘Ms. Marvel’: Rish Shah Playing the Inhuman Kamran

    Ms. Marvel has only just entered production early on, but we still got a sneak preview during Disney’s Investor Day. We don’t have too many official details on the Disney+ series’ casting. A while back, the Illuminerdi broke the news that Inhumans Red Dagger and Kamran would be joining the project. The latter is a rather interesting addition, as he was a key player in the original comic series as Kamala’s love interest. He also turned out to be Inhuman. Kamran can charge his body with bioluminescence that he transfers into inanimate objects. The moment he does this, these objects become miniature bombs. Well, it looks like the actor Rish Shah has confirmed his involvement via Instagram with the upcoming Disney+ series and that he will be playing Kamran. @cosmic_marvel was able to get a snapshot of his story where he confirmed it.

    There hasn’t been any information on how large a role he has currently. His involvement with the project would hint at them following the iconic storyline from the comics. Now, it was an essential moment in Kamala’s road to becoming a hero so I won’t spoil it here. Still, the inclusion of other Inhumans may be confirming that this series is building up an entire section of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has yet to be explored through Marvel Studios. We still do not know if the Royal Family might make an appearance at some point, but Charles was able to find some clues to Maximus’ potentially appearing, which you can find here. Hopefully, we get some tease of what the Inhuman future within the MCU might look like once the show airs next year.

    Source: Twitter, Illuminderdi

  • ‘THE MANDALORIAN’ CHAPTER 15: Din Shows His True Face

    ‘THE MANDALORIAN’ CHAPTER 15: Din Shows His True Face

    Ever since meeting up with Bo-Katan back in Chapter 11, Din Djarin has been showing signs of trying to reframe his beliefs. Not only has he realized that he does not seem to grasp the history of both Mandalore and its people, but also that how he was raised isn’t the only way for a Mandalorian to go through life. The most obvious of his mandates is how he should not remove his helmet in the presence of other living beings. This development is something that, ever since Chapter 1, has sometimes gone against his immediate interests, such as his time on Sorgan. Yet, somehow he was able to uphold it in some way, mostly at least.

    Here’s a spoiler warning. If you haven’t watched the latest episode yet then only continue at your own risk, as we will spoiler a major reveal from the episode.

     

    Right after leaving Bo-Katan on his way to Nevarro, we saw how Mando is now a bit more relaxed regarding his no-mask policy, especially around Grogu. As both were enjoying some chowder, we got a glimpse of “Chin Djarin” as he didn’t bother leaving the room to eat on his own. Instead, he lifted his helmet just enough, not caring if Grogu looked at him or not. And now, as we approach the season finale, with Grogu’s life on the line, Chapter 15 couldn’t make it more clear that fatherhood is Mando’s new creed.

    The mission they set out on has hit a few snags. And at least two of them could be swiftly overcome if Din went against the “don’t remove the helmet” directive. On both occasions, he doesn’t even flinch anymore. It’s like Din has come to understand there’s something more important at stake and that the weight of the old ways that he believed in has lessened. He exchanged his Beskar helmet for an Empire one to infiltrate the base. Not just that, he goes as far as removing it altogether when faced with a do-or-die situation, where Grogu would forever be beyond his reach.

     

     

    There’s a point when Mayfeld manages to put into words what we as the audience were dying to ask: “Is it that you can’t take off your Mando helmet, or you can’t show your face?”. Din is now clearly bending the rules as he sees fit. He is somehow still a bit stuck in his old behaviors out of force of habit but has yet to realize that he has already left his old way of life behind him. That might have been what once guided him, but now his life has an entirely new meaning that he has finally learned to embrace. His final words, directed at Moff Gideon, sum it up perfectly: “Soon, he will be back with me. He means more to me than you will ever know.” That’s likely to be something he never said regarding his guild.

  • Disney’s Investor Day: Our Team’s Top Picks

    Disney’s Investor Day: Our Team’s Top Picks

    Yesterday was a day packed with numerous interesting and unexpected announcements regarding some of everyone’s favorite characters and franchises. It was a mixture of brand new surprises and expected announcements. Disney went all out, and it will take a while to unpack everything that they disclosed in their 4-hour long Investor Day presentation. But, we have to start somewhere, and for now, some projects caught our eye, for one reason or another. Here are our team’s picks:

     

    Charles Murphy

    For me, it’s simple: the revelation that Christian Bale is playing Gorr the God Butcher. We’ve been all over the map with Bale because we really had a hard time thinking they’d use Gorr after having co-opted parts of his power set with Hela in Ragnarok. Knowing that we are going to get Gorr in this film cements the fact that we are getting a much more direct adaptation of one of my favorite modern-day comic runs in Jason Aaron‘s Thor. I haven’t been able to get my head around what this means: are we going to see the 3 Thors story and see things at the end of time? Is it set in the modern-day? I know whatever it is, I’m ready for it!

     

     

    Ms. Lizzie Hill

    People need something to get behind,” as Bucky Barnes said. Well with kick-ass ladies, exciting action, an ominous intensity, and a fractious buddy cop comedy vibe I can certainly get behind the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Can’t wait for March!

     

     

    Charles Villanueva

    After watching each trailer numerous times, I gotta say that Loki takes the cake in this category. For someone like me who was less than whelmed at the idea of Tom Hiddleston returning for another rodeo as the God of Mischief, that teaser really put me in my place. It’s as if every scene deserves an article on its own just for how intriguing it is. The set design looks crazy. Feige described the show as a crime thriller and I certainly got some Twin Peaks vibes seeing the teaser play out. Color me convinced.

     

     

    Joseph “The Machine” Aberl

    I think the biggest move of the night was to confirm what will happen with Black Panther‘s sequel. It wasn’t about the film but more about how they want to honor Chadwick Boseman‘s legacy moving forward. T’Challa was a big character moving into the next phase of their franchise, so anything could’ve happened. Yet, they took an honorable route and decided they will not recast the character. We will continue revisiting Wakanda in the future with a new generation taking over keeping Boseman‘s legacy alive.

     

     

    Superhero Theorist

    I’m a sucker for anything regarding the Multiverse. So you can guess how excited I was when Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange 2 would not only tie in with WandaVision but Spider-Man 3 as well. This takes me back to SDCC 2019 when Feige confirmed that Phase 4 would tell mini-arc stories based on 3-4 films and shows rather than a bigger story arc based around 23 films. So if the Multiverse is one of those stories based around the events of WandaVision, Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange 2, and potentially possibly even Loki and What If?, then I’m all for it.

     

     

    John Sabato

    The best reveal for me would have to be that of the Ahsoka solo show reveal. Something that many of us were hoping would be in the works, especially with how Dawson played to the character to an almost perfect pitch. It’ll be exciting seeing her go after Grand Admiral Thrawn and hopefully see Ezra appear. My most disappointing reveal would have to be that of Shang-Chi. It had nothing to do with the quality of the film it was just that we were shown nothing from the film, not even a sizzle reel while shows like Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel, which gave us a better look and they’re not even done filming. While the project still a bit away it would’ve fit to see a first look at the film instead of just confirmation on the cast.

     

     

    Dalbin Osorio

    For me, I loved the announcement that Hayden Christensen was returning as Vader in the long-rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi show: seeing Vader turn into the menace and homicidal maniac leading into Rogue One and Episode 4 is always good news. He may have been awful in Episode 2 but he was great in Episode 3 and has shown incredible development as an Actor since leaving the Star Wars universe. What disappointed me, though, was not hearing anything about XMen. We got an F4 reveal, so many shows that will undoubtedly impact the very fabric of the MCU, and it feels a little like Feige is toying with us by knowing he has the X-Men in his back pocket. Still, a logo reveals, or even just one word (mutants) would’ve been cool to allude to the future.

     

     

    João RP

    Several project confirmations made me very happy. From the new Alien series to Taika Waititi‘s Reservoir Dogs and the MCU’s Secret Invasion series with Ben Mendelsohn returning. But I’ve got to say that having Patty Jenkins direct her own Star Wars movie is the surprise announcement that really made me gasp. She’s hardly the one to get herself on a project without making it her own in a way that elevates the material, and her personal background with her father having been a fighter pilot will surely make this a special project for her. Having her use that strong affinity to the subject to tackle a story about the Rogue Squadron, a group of fighter pilots initially founded and led by the Original Trilogy’s Wedge Antilles, sounds like a great start to the history of women directing Star Wars feature films.

     

  • LockeDown #1: Captain America Now a Government Pawn

    LockeDown #1: Captain America Now a Government Pawn

    Welcome to the brand new podcast series Lockedown. As we haven’t gotten any Marvel Cinematic Universe content for 2020, it felt like the perfect time to make up for that by introducing an in-universe podcast series. Your host John Locke tackles the many changes and developments in a world where the Avengers have officially disbanded. In today’s first episode, he kicks off the series by discussing the government’s meddling with Captain America, the allegations against Spider-Man, and the strange occurrences of the small town of Westview.

     

     

    If you enjoyed the episode, don’t miss out on getting early access by subscribing to our Patreon to be one of the first to listen to the next entry:

  • From ‘Speed’ to ‘Inglorious Basterds’: ‘The Mandalorian’ Is Expanding Its Inspirations

    From ‘Speed’ to ‘Inglorious Basterds’: ‘The Mandalorian’ Is Expanding Its Inspirations

    This week’s episode of The Mandalorian was the final build-up to the season finale. It featured the return of Bill Burr‘s Mayfeld, the galaxy’s most prominent man from Space Boston. The episode set-up is surprisingly simple as they try to get their hands on some intel to save Grogu. Now, the main part of the episode takes place on a stolen Empire vehicle that is transporting a precious material that blows up when rattled too much. Of course, that kind of set-up is begging for someone to meddle in their affairs. I won’t go into too much detail about what happens in the story. The aspect I want to focus on is the simple approach to taking an existing concept and twisting it on its head as the series grows beyond its initial inspirations.

     

    There are some minor spoilers in this article on specific scenes. So, if you want to watch the episode without any spoilers, only continue at your own risk.

     

    Let’s go back in time to 1994. Keanu Reeves just starred in a film titled Speed. Jan de Bont directed a film that had a simple premise. A group of people got trapped in a bus that cannot slow down. If it does, it would blow up and kill everyone in it. Well, what happens if you twist that concept and can only drive so fast while a group of pirates tries to board your ship? That is pretty much how director Rick Famuyiwa approached this episode. Their vehicle has highly explosive material that can blow up at any point. It adds a great level of tension that makes every move by Mando important, as one false shot or mistake, and he might end up blown to smithereens.

     

     

    Well, the episode didn’t end there, as we got one more very obvious reference. The episode also includes a variation on a very iconic sequence from Quentin Tarantino‘s Inglorious Basterds. I think at this point, anytime a character has to sit across from someone who is part of an evil regime and get a cross-examination while trying to blend in will always make me think of that film. Christoph Waltz‘s opening sequence showcased how well one can build tension through dialogue and subtle facial expressions. I was quite surprised to see such a scene make it into The Mandalorian. The episode that introduced Ahsoka Tano was also very heavily based on Yojimbo, especially from a visionary standpoint. There is a limit too often they can fall back on the Western routes of this series, so we might be heading into a future with many more inspirations taking place throughout the eight-season run.

  • New ‘WANDAVISION’ Trailer May Have Snuck in an Awesome Easter Egg

    New ‘WANDAVISION’ Trailer May Have Snuck in an Awesome Easter Egg

    This article, like the last few that I’ve published tonight, is not meant to be scoops or pieces where I claim facts. This one, like the others, is just me picking apart the trailers we all saw today and being a fan. And tonight there was one last thing in my mind that wouldn’t let me go to bed: a possible High Evolutionary Easter Egg in the new WandaVision trailer.

    A couple of scenes in the new trailer introduce a new actor named Herb, who seems to be hanging out with Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes. How do we jump from 70’s or 80’s Herb to High Evolutionary? In the comics, the High Evolutionary, whose true name was Herbert Wyndham, had a major role in the backstory of Wand Maximoff including the recent 2015 retcon which took away her and Pietro’s mutantness and made them failed experiments of Wyndham’s.

    I’m certainly not claiming that Herb will be the High Evolutionary in the series (although that would be AMAZING); I’m simply suggesting that Marvel Studios could have chosen any of 1000000000 names for Agnes’ friend and that by choosing Herb, they were at least Easter Egging us in one very specific direction.

    WandaVision begins streaming on January 15th on Disney Plus.

     

  • Owen Wilson Confirmed as Mobius M. Mobius in ‘LOKI’

    Owen Wilson Confirmed as Mobius M. Mobius in ‘LOKI’

    The Loki trailer presented at the Disney Investor Day presentation was full of major reveals, such as the fact the the Lord of Lies will likely go before the Council of Kangs. One thing that I personally missed upon first viewing was confirmation that Owen Wilson was confirmed to play a member of the TVA’s middle management, Mobius M. Mobius.

    Thanks to closed captioning, the mystery of who Wilson will portray in the series had been revealed and I think I speak for fans around the world when I say, “WOW!” The character of Mobius is an interesting one whose appearance is based on Marvel Comics writer and one-time editor Mark Gruenwald and was one of many cloned TVA management workers. It’s occurred to me that given Wilson’s alleged comedic chops, Marvel Studios might have the man portray several of these cloned characters which would be an interesting time for a guy who has admitted he’s never taken himself that seriously as an actor.

    Loki is set to stream on Disney Plus in May of 2021.