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Because Hollywood can never have too many superhero characters, superhuman assassin Bloodshot is headed to the big screen in 2020. Vin Diesel is bringing the popular hero to life, as he makes the jump from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Valiant's first stab at building a cinematic universe. (Watch the second Bloodshot trailer with Vin Diesel.) But who is Bloodshot, and why is his movie debut such a big deal? Read on for everything you need to know about the character and how the movie is drawing from the comics. These are the topics we'll be covering here:

• Who Is Bloodshot?
• Bloodshot's Origin
• Bloodshot's Powers and Abilities
• Bloodshot and the Valiant Universe
• A Tale of Two Bloodshots
• Vin Diesel, Bloodshot and Valiant's Cinematic Universe

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Who Is Bloodshot?

The easiest way to describe Bloodshot is that he's a mash-up of Wolverine and The Punisher. He made his comic book debut at a time when violent anti-heroes were all the rage and borrows many familiar elements from both those Marvel characters, even if the end result is a unique character. Like Wolverine, Bloodshot was subjected to medical experimentation by a sinister organization, transforming him into a killing machine with few memories of his past. Also like Wolverine, Bloodshot can heal from nearly any injury, thanks to the nanites coursing through his blood and transforming him into the ultimate super-soldier. As for the Punisher, Bloodshot shares Frank Castle's single-minded obsession with killing the wicked. But whereas Frank wages a constant war against any and all criminals, Bloodshot tends to direct his wrath against the organization that made him what he is. His goal is to get revenge for his stolen life and ensure Project Rising Spirit doesn't use its nanotechnology to create more super-soldiers. [poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=The%20easiest%20way%20to%20describe%20Bloodshot%20is%20he's%20a%20mash-up%20of%20Wolverine%20and%20The%20Punisher...%20even%20if%20the%20end%20result%20is%20a%20unique%20character."]

Bloodshot's Origin

Bloodshot is the culmination of decades of work by the scientists at Project Rising Spirit. PRS is dedicated to creating advanced super-soldiers capable of carrying out dangerous missions with no remorse or hesitation. Many of their previous creations failed, and it was only after PRS perfected its nanotechnology in the 21st century that they were able to fully realize their plans. Thus, Bloodshot was born. The actual origin of the man who became Bloodshot is shrouded in mystery. Bloodshot believes himself to be a man named Ray Garrison, a soldier who was revived after death and transformed by PRS. However, Bloodshot has come to learn most of his memories are false implants. In order to control their creation, PRS implants these memories into Bloodshot's mind, giving him a fake but very believable personal grudge against the targets he's assigned to kill. For a time, that system worked well, but Bloodshot eventually rebelled and now seeks to destroy the men and women who made him what he is... and just maybe find some semblance of a normal life once he's finished.

Bloodshot Cheat Sheet

First Appearance: Eternal Warrior #4 (cameo), Rai #0 (full) (1992) Creators: Kevin VanHook, Don Perlin, Bob Layton Aliases: Raymond Garrison Recommended Reading: Bloodshot: Definitive Edition TPB

Bloodshot's Powers and Abilities

Even if he didn't have superhuman abilities, Bloodshot would be a formidable opponent. He's trained in many forms of armed and unarmed combat, skills which make him an excellent fighter and assassin. But once PRS's nanites enter the equation, Bloodshot becomes an almost unstoppable foe. Those nanites grant Bloodshot all the basic superhuman abilities like enhanced strength, agility and endurance. They also allow him to heal almost instantaneously from any injury. The nanites even allow Bloodshot to morph his own body, changing his shape and appearance and also letting him interface with computer systems. [caption id="attachment_2229407" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Art by Brian Reber. (Image Credit: Valiant Entertainment)[/caption]

Bloodshot and the Valiant Universe

The various Bloodshot comics are published by Valiant Entertainment. Bloodshot himself exists as part of a larger, shared universe alongside other heroes like X-O Manowar, Ninjak, Faith and the members of the Harbinger Foundation. The Valiant Universe is similar to the Marvel and DC Universes in many respects, though it's generally geared toward an older audience and leans in a more science fiction-oriented direction. Most of the superhero characters in the Valiant Universe tend to either be technology-based, a la Bloodshot and X-O Manowar, or they're a member of an advanced subspecies of human known as Psiots (basically the mutants of the Valiant Universe). For the most part, Bloodshot's comics tend to stand alone without crossing over too heavily into other Valiant titles. However, characters like Ninjak do tend to pop up in Bloodshot's adventures from time to time. Valiant also publishes annual crossover events where several series are brought together, such as Harbinger Wars and 4000 AD. The current Valiant Universe has forged direct links between Bloodshot and the Psiot heroes of Harbinger. In fact, Bloodshot was originally tasked with hunting down and killing Psiots before he broke away from PRS. That connection may end up carrying over into Valiant's cinematic universe. On that note... [caption id="attachment_2229412" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The heroes of the Valiant Universe. Art by Lewis LaRosa. (Image Credit: Valiant Entertainment)[/caption]

A Tale of Two Bloodshots

Those trying to dive into the Valiant Universe for the first time may be confused to learn there are actually two incarnations of the character. That's because the Valiant Universe was completely rebooted in 2012. Valiant originally debuted in 1989 and experienced a meteoric rise and fall in the '90s. The company was purchased by video game publisher Acclaim Entertainment in 1994 and went into limbo after Acclaim filed for bankruptcy in 2004. [caption id="attachment_2229423" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Valiant has published two different versions of Bloodshot over the course of 30 years.[/caption] Valiant finally returned in 2012 with a brand new line of comics. While these comics featured familiar heroes and teams like X-O Manowar, Bloodshot and Harbinger, these books all started from scratch rather than continuing the story of the previous Valiant Universe. In that sense, the current Valiant Universe is similar to Marvel's Ultimate imprint - a streamlined, modernized take on an old favorite. And that's where newcomers will have the easiest time diving in.

Vin Diesel, Bloodshot and Valiant's Cinematic Universe

Bloodshot is set to make his big screen debut in March 2020. The Bloodshot movie is directed by Dave Wilson and written by Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer. It stars Vin Diesel as the titular hero, Guy Pearce as his creator, Dr. Emil Harting, Sam Heughan as Cpl. Harlan Shifflet and Toby Kebbell as Axe.

Check out the first trailer for the Bloodshot movie below.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/bloodshot-trailer-2"] The movie looks to focus on Bloodshot's origin story, as the first trailer shows Ray Garrison waking up in a PRS facility, coming to terms with his new powers and being repeatedly mind-wiped and reawakened. The trailer doesn't actually show Ray in his evolved Bloodshot form, but an action figure displayed at NYCC indicated Diesel's Bloodshot will eventually gain the iconic white skin and red chest emblem that serve as the character's defining look. Indeed, in the second trailer for the film he does look closer to that version of Bloodshot in some shots. When Sony first announced the Bloodshot movie, the plan was to use it as a launching pad for a larger cinematic universe. Sony also revealed plans for a Bloodshot sequel, a Harbinger spinoff and a Harbinger Wars movie that would serve as a crossover between the two franchises. However, Sony recently sold the Harbinger rights to Paramount Pictures, part of what seems to be a trend of Sony minimizing its risk on expensive, unproven franchises. It's unclear whether Bloodshot and Harbinger will still exist as part of the same universe, meaning the Harbinger Wars crossover could be in jeopardy. [widget path="global/page/polldaddy" parameters="id=10439112&question="] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

This article contains spoilers from the season 6 premiere of The Flash, “Into the Void.”

What do you do when you learn the exact day you’re going to die? Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) will have to figure that out this fall on The Flash.

In the superhero drama’s season 6 premiere, the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) revealed that the Flash is indeed destined to die on Dec. 10, 2019, in the coming crisis, as foretold on the updated future newspaper. Of course, Barry and Iris (Candice Patton) believe they can fight it, but the Monitor assures them it’s inevitable. How they handle this news will fuel the season as it heads toward the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover.

“The countdown begins next week. What kind of urgency does that give them? An extreme one,” showrunner Eric Wallace told reporters at a recent screening of the premiere. “It turns the dial up to 10, and it makes you think, ‘Is every moment together our last? What can we do? Should we fight this? Is it inevitable?’ These are all the things that they’re grappling with for these next seven episodes, because 8 ends and it’s ‘Crisis’ time, and it’s time to go off to literally cosmic war. So the relationship is strained, but it’s also going to bring them closer together than ever before because that’s what tragedy does.”

This isn’t the first time Barry and Iris have received this kind of news. In season 3, the team fought to change the timeline after Barry witnessed Savitar kill Iris in the future. You can expect the couple to respond differently now that the shoe is on the other foot.

“It’s not the same because of what they learn next week, and that’s the great part of the story,” Wallace said. “The Monitor showing up and kind of making a cosmic pronouncement drives you to extremes in order to fight against or accept the coming crisis. And every episode this season, , 3, 4, 5, and 6 especially, are all about ‘Do I accept death or do I fight it?’” He added that Barry will turn to Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp), Earth-3’s Flash, for help.

Barry’s shortened life expectancy creates an interesting parallel with Dr. Ramsey Rosso (Sendhil Ramamurthy), the big bad of the season’s first seven episodes. Toward the end of the opener, Ramsey learned he was dying from a rare form of cancer and tried to use dark matter to cure it, which transformed him into the DC Comics villain Bloodwork.

“For the first time in the show’s history, we have a villain and a protagonist who are going through the same thing,” said Wallace. “It’s the reason Bloodwork was chosen as a villain this season. It was very deliberate, because they’re going to learn about halfway through this season, ‘Maybe we’re not so different,’ and what does that mean?”

He added: “‘Crisis’ is about grief and about death and about the end of all worlds. So you have Bloodwork a villain who was facing his own end of his own world. So from his point of view, ‘Who cares about crisis? I might die before.’”

Bloodwork is “even more concerned about the immediacy of his own life and how to live past that,” Wallace said. “Now, does that mean he could perhaps live past ‘Crisis?’ the real question that towards the end of the season, obviously, he has to grapple with.”

The season 6 premiere set up many other things to come in the season. Below, Wallace breaks down the rest of the premiere and shares a few more teases about what’s to come.

On how Barry’s death relates to Oliver’s final season journey on Arrow:
At this point in time, Barry has no idea that Arrow’s Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) is working for the Monitor — but he will eventually. “It’s so great because I can’t tell you when it happens, but I will tell you that is a scene that happened and is a moment and it is coming, and let’s just say people might get pissed off a little bit,” Wallace said.

On Killer Frost’s new lease on life:
With Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) agreeing to let Killer Frost take the wheel more often and Ralph (Hartley Sawyer) by her side as a life coach, Caitlin’s icy persona will try to build a life for herself this season. “It has been a pure delight writing Killer Frost this season because she’s much more in the forefront than Caitlin is because that life coach stuff starts next week, in 602,” said Wallace. “It’s led to these hilarious situations because basically, we talk of her as a teenager who finally got the keys to the car but doesn’t know how to drive…. So everything is new through her eyes, which means she’s going to make some mistakes, which is great. That’s going to lead to some more tears. But then at the end, she’s going to grow into something that didn’t exist before. You know, maybe you do lose that killer?”

He continued: “Both the result of where she goes in ‘Graphic Novel #1’ and where she ends up emotionally gives her the strength to face what lies in ‘Graphic Novel #2.’”

On why the season 6 version of Harrison Wells is his favorite one yet:
“He’s cool. He’s suave. It’s just what Tom said at Comic-Con. This is a man of adventure. This is a man who can kind of get in a fight and hold his own. We haven’t seen a Wells like that, but there’s this completely unexpected side to him, which I will not spoil,” Wallace said. “He has a secret that will be slowly dripped out in ‘Graphic Novel #1,’ but which will really mess with his mind, literally — that’s a spoiler right there — in ‘Graphic Novel #2,’ and it’s going to lead him to an emotional place that’s similar territory to one of the other Wellses, which I don’t want to give the spoiler away, but it takes it in a completely opposite direction…. It’ll be very apparent, I think by episode 6, what the hint is and what his secret is.”

On the rapid growth of Iris’ newspaper:
“If we know from 518 that she becomes a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and that she has an empire, we need to start building those seeds. We need to do it now. So we have very urgently done that this season,” said Wallace, teasing that we’ll meet her first staffer in episode 2. “It’s very much about seeing her take charge of what we refer to as Team Citizen, and they will appear and they will be getting into trouble, especially in the back half of our show because now we have a new way to bring in meta story lines: her investigations. It doesn’t always have to be a bank robber anymore. So it’s been a blessing from the story gods.”

On Cisco and Camilla’s relationship:
“As far as their relationship ups and downs and highs and lows, they won’t be having kind of drama . They’re doing great,” said Wallace. “And that’s one of the themes of season arc that plays over all 22 episodes. Can you be happy being human? Can you be happy not being a meta? Can you be happy not saving the world every week?”

On Keiynan Lonsdale’s eventual return as Kid Flash:
Although nothing is locked in yet, Wallace is hoping to “get Kid Flash for a couple because the story’s so good. And the little tease is Kid Flash will now meet a classic villain from the classic days from classic comic books, and maybe he’ll have to save the Flash’s behind, which is what I want to see because maybe he’s not a kid in anymore. It’s time to grow up.”

The Flash airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.

Related content:

The Flash boss promises to reveal ‘new sides’ to Barry and Iris in season 6 The Flash reveals first look at ‘angry,’ ‘unpredictable’ new Wells in season 6 trailer The Flash star Grant Gustin previews how ‘Crisis’ will affect season 6

Last month, we reported that an Arrow spinoff series showcasing crime-fighting team The Canaries was in development - featuring Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak’s daughter Mia Smoak (Katherine McNamara) teaming up with Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy).

Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim sent out a tweet on the day of Arrow's final season premiere confirming the spinoff, revealing its name, and sharing a cool poster from artists Emanuela Lupacchino, Dave McCaig, and Brett Breeding!

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HBO’s Watchmen TV show, an adaptation/extrapolation of the iconic graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, premieres this Sunday. Despite the fact that Watchmen is one of the most well-known comics ever made (it is famously the only comic book included on TIME’s list of 100 great novels, among other honors), it is fair to expect that many people watching the show will be unfamiliar with the source material. The show itself certainly expects that. Taking place 30 years after the events of the comic, and populated with almost entirely different characters, Watchmen can be viewed by any fan of showrunner Damon Lindelof’s previous TV work (Lost, The Leftovers) without having to do any homework. 

But the Watchmen show does contain several references, both visual and thematic, to the original comic. In case you’re a newcomer to the franchise, EW put together a list of highlights that might help you understand some of the references. 

What happened at the end of Watchmen?

Since the show opens 30 years after the events of Watchmen proper, it’s worth noting where we last left off in this world. Written and published in the mid-’80s, Watchmen was concerned with many of that zeitgeist’s issues — first and foremost the threat of nuclear war and mutually assured destruction. Over the course of the book, the United States and Soviet Union inch closer and closer to making the Cold War very, very hot. Nuclear disaster is eventually prevented thanks to the mad plans of Ozymandias, a.k.a Adrian Veidt. Veidt creates a giant tentacled monster to destroy New York City in a way that looks like an alien invasion. That convinces the Cold War superpowers to stand down and work together rather than destroy each other. In other words, he saved the world! Though keep an eye out for strange aftereffects of the faux-alien squid in the show…

Who are the people to know?

We just mentioned Ozymandias, a.k.a Adrian Veidt. Even before he saved the world by destroying New York, Ozymandias was one of the richest and smartest people in the entire world. 

Then there’s Rorschach, the vigilante detective whose stark black-and-white morality was reflected in his signature mask. Rorschach did not survive Watchmen because he refused to keep Veidt’s secret. In order to maintain the illusion that the New York-destroying monster was an alien threat, Dr. Manhattan killed Rorschach before he could spread the word about what it really was. Even so, Rorschach sent his diary (which contained the full story) to the offices of his favorite right-wing newspaper; the last panel of Watchmen finds the editors deciding whether to publish it, sight unseen. Whether they did or not, it’s quite possible that Rorschach’s legacy could provide a strange influence to denizens of that world in decades to come. 

Dr. Manhattan was the only Watchmen superhero with actual superpowers. Originally the son of a watchmaker, he was pushed into a career in atomic science. One day, he accidentally got locked in an experimental chamber that atomized him completely. But when he reformed, he was capable of manipulating matter at an atomic level. He is nearly omnipotent, and likes to spend time on Mars. He was last seen departing Earth at the end of Watchmen, but he could always come back. 

There are three other main superheroes from Watchmen: Nite Owl, Silk Spectre, and The Comedian. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are both the second to use those code names; their predecessors fought crime alongside the Comedian in the World War II-era group known as the Minutemen. During that time, the Comedian tried to rape the first Silk Spectre. Years later, however, they made up and had a daughter named Laurie. Laurie took over as Silk Spectre, but knowledge of her real father was hidden and repressed from her until the events of Watchmen. 

The first Nite Owl, Hollis Mason, was a cop by day and a superhero by night. His successor in the role, Dan Dreiberg, was an actual mechanical whiz who built a flying and fully armed Owlship. 

After his time in the Minutemen, the Comedian became a rare “government-sponsored superhero,” carrying out black ops missions and assassinations during the Cold War. His murder sets off the events of Watchmen.      

What’s different in this timeline?

One of the most fun aspects of Watchmen is its depiction of an alternate history for the 20th century. Thanks to the work of the Comedian and Dr. Manhattan, America actually won the Vietnam War in this timeline. That success greatly bolstered the political career of President Richard Nixon, who retained the presidency for years afterward. Despite the fact that Watchmen is a bit of a commentary on Reagan-era politics and culture, Nixon is the president during it. And hey, the Comedian covertly assassinating Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein helped a lot with that, too. 

But nobody lives forever. As Watchmen draws to a close, there are visible headlines that a former actor with the initials R.R. is planning to run for president…but it’s Robert Redford, not Ronald Reagan.

Watchmen premieres this Sunday on HBO. If you want to know even more about the original comic, check out EW’s oral history from 2005 by Jeff Jensen, himself a writer on the new show. 

Related content:

Damon Lindelof gives his first deep-dive interview for HBO’s Watchmen Tick tock! HBO’s Watchmen teaser trailer counts down to a reckoning Dave Gibbons on the Harvey Hall of Fame and the continuing legacy of Watchmen

Stephen Amell‘s time under the hood is coming to an end. On Tuesday, Arrow returns for its eighth and final season, which takes his Oliver Queen, a.k.a. the Green Arrow, on the road as he tries to prevent the destruction of the multiverse in the forthcoming crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Ahead of the final season premiere, EW is sharing the chat we had with Amell in July for our August Arrowverse cover story (please note that some of these quotes have appeared previously on EW.com).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When did you realize you were ready to hang up the hood and end your run on the show?
STEPHEN AMELL: So, we were most of the way through season 6 and I called up Greg , and I go, “I’m contracted through season 7, but I’d like to be the end.” And he’s like, “Okay, take a second to think about this, and I’ll call you back in a week, and we’ll see.” And he called me back in a week, and he goes, “How are you feeling?” And I go, “Okay, it’s time.” And he convinced me, because he’s way smarter than I am, to come back for a limited run this year, and I think that it’s really given the show an opportunity to go out on its own terms. I’m scared. I’m legitimately frightened about the end of it, and I’m very emotional and melancholy, but it’s time. 

What about the ending has you frightened?
I’m 38 years old, and I got this job when I was 30. I’d never had a job for more than a year. The fact that I’ve done this for the better part of a decade, and I’m not going to do it anymore, is a little frightening. But then I remember that I was able to move to L.A. in 2010 because my grandfather lent me $15,000 and I had no citizenship, I had nothing. So try to put your level of being frightened into a relative capacity.

Was there a specific moment in season 6 that led to this decision?
No, no, no, no, no. There wasn’t a specific a moment when it came to the creative direction of the show. I’ve always loved it. There have been seasons that I’ve liked less than others. But it was just time to move on. My daughter is turning six in October, and she goes to school in L.A., and my wife and I want to raise her in Los Angeles. When it came time to do Arrow, I didn’t really have any choice. They offered me the job, and if they had said to me, “Yeah, you can have the job, but you have to pay us $5,000 per episode just for you to be in the show.” I would have been like, “Yeah, okay. Sure, I’ll do that.” So it’s more about having time and opportunity now.

From talking to the producers, I know you were the first person to audition for this role. What do you remember about that experience?
So I went to a hockey game with my cousin Robbie on a Saturday night, and he goes, “Have you gotten an audition for Arrow yet?” And I go, “No, what’s Arrow?” He goes, “It’s based on the Green Arrow.” He goes, “Well, I read the pilot, and I pictured you the entire time that I was reading it.” He’s like, “I’ve got an audition, but I actually don’t want to go, because you are going to get cast in this role.” I went in , and David Nutter was there, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg. Greg was in his office, because he was like, “If you find someone interesting, let me know.” And I went in, read, and Dave Nutter looked at me, and he goes, “Can you go outside for a couple minutes?” And I go, “Yeah, for sure.” And I came back into the room, and there are 11 more people there, and they just had me read again….I got the job the following Tuesday morning.

In reading the pilot script, what did you initially connect with that made you want to do the show?
Have you ever worn a superhero suit?

Apart from on Halloween? No.
Well, it’s f—ing awesome.

Yes, that’s true.
And that was it. Hung got canceled, and I needed a job, and I thought the script was great. And Greg Berlanti at that point in time wasn’t Greg Berlanti, but David Nutter was David Nutter. And he’s one of the most kind, generous, thoughtful men that I’ve ever met. And he believed in me, and I believed in him. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.

When it premiered, Arrow stood out from other superhero shows that had recently been on the air. Did it feel like you all were doing something new in season 1, or were you just focused on trying to get it done?
Just trying to get the work done. The first season was very, very difficult for me. Everything was going great. They wanted my character to be very stoic and disaffected, right? And then the show came out and got a great rating and was a smash hit, and then all of a sudden I had an acting coach, because all of a sudden now that the show was a hit, people wanted to have an opinion. We were on our own for the first nine, 10 episodes. That was very, very tough.

At the end of the first season, once I realized I was done, I flew back from Vancouver and I did The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Carol Burnett was the first guest. We went for dinner afterwards with my buddy and my wife, and he goes, “You’re done, man. You’re done with season 1.” And I go, “Yeah, I am.” And I got sick really bad. I got walking pneumonia. I was sick until the fourth episode of season 2.

Wait, seriously? How did you work? 
I faked it until I made it.

What was it like adjusting to the physical demands of the role?
I loved it. I loved all of it. Doing a lot of the stuff that I did in the pilot was proof of concept for the series. I had to do it. In episode 2, episode 3, episode 4, I had to do it period, because photographically when you do stunts, they were able to film me doing it. They were able to shoot on my face, and if we didn’t continue on in that manner, something would have been missing.

Do you remember when you realized the show was a hit?
People think that the height of the show is when it’s premiering, when my torso is 90 ft. tall on Sunset Boulevard. That’s not it. It actually compounds over the years, and people become really, really big fans because of the amount of content that you’re pushing up, right? I didn’t realize that the show was a giant hit until 2017, when I was on an island called Panarea, which was off the coast of Lipari, which is off the coast of Sicily. It’s so small, there aren’t even cars — golf carts, that’s it. We walked into this restaurant that looked closed, and this woman walks out. We’re like, “Are you guys open?” And she goes, “Si, Arrow.” I’m like, are you f—ing kidding me?

At what point did you start to feel ownership of the character?
Well, I got it during episode 6, and then I got an acting coach after episode 9. That threw it off a little bit. Right around the midway point of the second season. If a director wants something from me specifically, I’m happy to give it to them, but they better come prepared because I know everything about the show. They’re like, “Well, we want to Oliver to do this,” and I’ll be like, “Well, there’s a problem with that. In episode 306…” And if they’re prepared and they have a good reason, then I’ll do what they want.

There are some actors who don’t have that much knowledge about their shows. Did this come naturally to you, or did you actively work to become an expert on the show?
I just care a lot. Arrow was the most important thing in my entire life by a wide margin. And then I got married, and it became the co-most important thing in my entire life. Then my wife and I had , and Arrow dropped to number three. But I f—ing care a lot about it. I really, really do. I think about it all the time.

For the first five seasons, we aired on Wednesday nights. On Wednesdays, whenever a new episode was airing, I don’t care about ratings that much, but I would have a recurring dream that I was naked in bed, but the entire crew was waiting for me to get up, and they were all in my bedroom. This happened every f—ing time. I don’t want to call it a nightmare, but it wasn’t a nice dream. This happened because I really care. It extends beyond personal satisfaction. It extends to just other people, cast, and crew getting the opportunity to do something like this. This is not common. You know what I mean? We’re going into our eighth season. This just doesn’t happen.

I asked Beth Schwartz this when she took over as showrunner, but I’m curious to hear your answer, too. In your opinion, when do you think Arrow is at its best? Like, this is the platonic ideal of an Arrow episode?
523. I was mad that more people didn’t die when the island blew up. Episode 220 when Susanna Thompson as Moira died, I love that episode. Episode 116, when Tommy finds out that I’m the Green Arrow. Episode 214 when I confront Laurel about drinking. Nick Copus directed that episode, and he went handheld. I’m very, very proud of that scene. I love 309. But when is it at its best?

It’s at its best in season 2 when Sara reappears. I’m thinking as I read the script, “Okay, cool, she’s coming back and the big reveal is going to happen when her dad Quentin gets to see her again. That’s probably not going to happen for a couple of episodes.” Nope, act three. That’s when Arrow is at its best. Greg used to say all the time, “You have a hit TV show until you don’t, so don’t save s—t.”

One of the show’s biggest surprises was, of course, Emily Bett Rickards as Felicity —
Yeah, you can’t plan. They cast a girl in episode 3 that all of a sudden became the linchpin.

The Olicity of it all is such a big part of why people love the show. What do you think has drawn them to it?
Have you seen Emily act? That’s what makes it work. She’s supremely talented and awesome and carved out a space that no one anticipated. I don’t know that show works if we don’t randomly find her.

How are you feeling about entering this final season, at least as of now, without her?
Not great. I think Arrow as you know it effectively ended in 722. It’s a different show in season 8. It’s like we’re playing our greatest hits. The premiere is the pilot. It’s almost like episode 1 is an ode to season 1. Episode 2 is an ode to season 3.

How’d you feel when you started getting the scripts for Arrow’s final season?
It was weird, actually, because Beth just had her first kiddo, and so the writers’ room, instead of taking a break after the season ended, worked through. Her assistant sent me episode 801 two weeks after we wrapped. I didn’t read it for four weeks because I needed some time to reset. I’m so excited about them. I just hope that we get to do all the things that we want to do. Don’t leave anything in the quiver.

Arrow started out as this grounded and realistic show, but now we have Oliver running around with the Monitor. How does it feel to get to this point where it’s like there aren’t anymore rules?
It’s fantastic, because I’m going to get to work with actors this year that I’ve never worked with before, that if we were grounded I’d never get to work with. I’m pumped we’re going to get to do that this year.

What is the most important thing you’ll take away from this experience?
I started the show dating a girl and I’m walking away from the show as a husband and as a father, and a way better actor. I don’t mean for that to sound ostentatious, but I’ve got reps now. I’m very proud of how hard I’ve worked at being a good actor. That’s not to say I’m not going to be s—t in something sometime. But I feel like walking away from the show, for me, there’s no room that I can’t go into, and there’s no scenario where I will be intimidated because I’ve worked nonstop for eight years. And I love it.

The biggest thing I’ll take away from doing the show is my kiddo really admires what I do. She comes to the set all the time, and I know that won’t last forever, but she sits there in video village, and she wears her cans, and she calls action every once in a while. Honestly, that’s the coolest thing.

What has it been like to watch Arrow give way to an entire universe?
It’s been amazing. I’m so proud of Grant and Melissa , and I really like that Caity has grown into the leader that she has. I’m pumped for Ruby . It’s great you do a show and it births other shows.

When I spoke to Marc, he said he woke up that morning and wrote the final scene. Do you know how the show’s going to end?
I do. He told me today, and I cried. I cried as he was telling me. There are a lot of hurdles to get over to make that final scene.

Arrow airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

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Apex Legends developer Respawn's new Star Wars game, Jedi Fallen Order, is coming up on its release in November. The time before release can be when developers push extra hard in what is known as a "crunch" period.

The game's director, Stig Asmussen, has now shared his perspective on the practice of crunch and how the Jedi Fallen Order team worked to try to make sure its developers did not burn out. His comments came not long after top developers at CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077) and Crystal Dynamics (The Avengers) also spoke out about crunch, and you can see their thoughts further down the page.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Asmussen said Respawn never enforced crunch periods on Jedi Fallen Order--and that's a change. For some of his past games (Asmussen was the game director for God of War III), he said he was part of teams that were forced to work extra long hours.

"Basically everybody said, 'You've gotta work these hours," and we realised that wasn't a fair and sustainable approach [for Fallen Order]."

For Fallen Order, Asmussen said individual developers could decide what hours they wanted to work. "We left it up to the team," he said. "It's like, 'Look, everybody I think carries their own responsibilities and their own tasks, and takes them very seriously, so why treat people like children, and say you have to be here at a certain time?'"

For those who want to work extra hours, "It's your choice," Asmussen said. Those who stay late were given "support," including meals after hours, he added. On top of that, Asmussen said some of the project leads worked extra hours to show their team members that they are acting as a unit.

"We're not going to tell you there are certain hours we're going to be crunching at. You can make your own schedule, and the leads made a commitment to put in extra effort and extra hours as well to show that we're all in it together," Asmussen said.

"We understand your life outside of work is far more important than what you're doing in the office, and we try to respect that." -- Asmussen

Even if Respawn did not enforce crunch or have their employees stick to strict schedules, some developers might feel pressured to work beyond what is normal to finish a project and demonstrate their commitment to colleagues and bosses. Eurogamer asked Asmussen if Respawn keeps a close eye on developers to ensure they are working in a healthy and safe manner, and the director responded emphatically.

"Absolutely," Asmussen replied. "I know there are several times over the course of development where I told people to go home. You get so close to it you lose perspective, and not only that, you risk people burning out. At Respawn it's a really big deal [that] we understand your life outside of work is far more important than what you're doing in the office, and we try to respect that."

Unlike the movie and TV industries, video game industry workers are largely non-unionized. People who work on movie and TV sets can typically only work a set number of hours based on their union contracts, but this kind of setup is considered to be rare in gaming. Over the years, various video game developers have been accused of demanding lengthy crunch periods, and the stories of burnout are prevalent.

Just recently, CD Projekt Red commented on the the vibe at the studio now with Cyberpunk 2077 entering the end of its production period ahead of its April 2020 release date. CD Projekt Red's John Mamais, who heads up the company's Krakow office, said everyone is "working really hard right now" to hit the deadline for Cyberpunk 2077. He said the team is excited by the positive reactions at industry events--like PAX Aus most recently--but that in turn creates pressure, and some developers feel like they are in a "vice."

"You're in a vice, in a way, which takes its toll on the team." -- CDPR Krakow's John Mamais on how developers might feel

"I guess the vibe in the office is there's always a level of excitement there based on results that we get from going to conferences like this [PAX Aus] and seeing people really excited about the game. So that keeps the hype up but it also puts some pressure on, so that's kind of the vibe," he said. "You're in a vice, in a way, which takes its toll on the team but there is ... a healthy, extrinsic kind of pressure to make [the team] really excel."

Mamais added that working at CD Projekt Red is not for everyone--some have come in and found the experience too challenging. CD Projekt Red is trying to put practices in place to "keep the work under control," Mamais said, though he acknowledged "it's not always possible to do that."

"There are a lot of people who come into the industry that are fresh; they don't really understand what it takes to do it," he said. "So we get a lot of new guys coming in, and they go, 'Oh god, this is like too much.' But then we have other guys come in from Rockstar Games, and they're like, 'This is not even crunch!' We're doing the best we can to keep the work under control. But sometimes when you're doing some big-ass game like this, it's not always possible to do that. It takes really hard work to make it really awesome."

In October 2014, before the launch of CD Projekt Red's acclaimed RPG The Witcher 3, the studio was accused of "crunching for over a year" in a bid to overcome development challenges.

Also at PAX Aus, Crystal Dynamics boss Scot Amos told GameSpot that the studio has a "family first" mentality for the ongoing development of The Avengers. "One of the things that I tell my team all the time: If you have a kid's birthday, then go take care of your kid's birthday, like what, what are you crazy?" he said.

Amos said he is aware of the "horror stories" about crunch in video games, but for Crystal Dynamics, he wants to have his team work in a "smart, balanced way."

"We've actually changed everything from structures of how we do certain workdays with no meetings, go and get stuff done days which are very focused, 'Hey, come in, and get your stuff done, we don't want to interrupt you,' we'll provide meals free, whatever it is," he added.

For more on these stories, check out GameSpot's extended coverage below.

• Marvel's Avengers -- Studio Head Talks Character Appearances, Crunch, And Squirrel Girl
• Cyberpunk 2077 Dev Talks Multiplayer, Censorship, Crunch, And More

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella received a big pay increase for the latest fiscal year. The executive was paid $42.9 million--including his salary and stock options--for the latest fiscal year that ended on June 30. That is a big increase (66 percent) from the previous year.

All of this information was posted publicly in Microsoft's latest annual proxy statement filed with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission and reported on by CNBC.

As CNBC reminds us, Nadella earned $84.3 million during the fiscal year 2014, which was when he took on the role of CEO following Steve Ballmer.

Nadella's base salary went up by $1 million to $2.5 million for the latest fiscal year, while his stock awards also improved. Explaining the increases to Nadella's overall pay package, Microsoft said, "Mr. Nadella's strategic leadership, including his efforts to strengthen trust with customers, drive for a company-wide culture change, and successful entry and expansion into new technologies and markets."

Microsoft's proxy statement explains that it determines pay scales for its executive officers in an effort to "attract, motivate, and retain the key executives who drive our success and industry leadership while considering individual and Company performance and alignment with the long-term interests of our shareholders."

When determining pay rates, Microsoft's executive compensation committee looks into a number of factors, including third-party compensation surveys and public data from other, similar companies. Additionally, pay is determined by role and responsibility.

Executives can also receive performance-based bonuses, with different business categories weighted differently, seemingly as a method to motivate executives to hit certain milestones. Given that Nadella's base salary is $2.5 million, he earns most of his money from stock rewards and other bonuses.

Nadella's increased pay package comes amid booming business for Microsoft. In 2018, the company temporarily overtook Apple to become the highest-valued pubic company on Earth. Microsoft became a trillion-dollar company in April, and the valuation has stayed that high throughout the year.

Xbox hardware sales are slowing down, but things might turn around in the next year as the company is expected to release a next-generation console with Halo Infinite as a launch title in Holiday 2020.

Amazon's The Boys has cast Ratatouille's Patton Oswalt in a "#SecretRole" for its second season.

The Boys creator Eric Kripke took to Twitter to reveal the news that Oswalt would be joining the cast of The Boys for at least its second season, saying "Thank you @pattonoswalt, that was AMAZING! #TheBoysTV #Season2 #SecretRole"

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Since we originally unveiled our next-generation console in April, we know that there’s been a lot of excitement and interest in hearing more about what the future of games will bring. Today I’m proud to share that our next-generation console will be called PlayStation 5, and we’ll be launching in time for holiday 2020.

These updates may not be a huge surprise, but we wanted to confirm them for our PlayStation fans, as we start to reveal additional details about our vision for the next generation. WIRED magazine covered these updates and more in a story that posted this morning.

The “more” refers to something I’m quite excited about – a preview of the new controller that will ship with PlayStation 5. One of our goals with the next generation is to deepen the feeling of immersion when you play games, and we had the opportunity with our new controller to reimagine how the sense of touch can add to that immersion.

To that end, there are two key innovations with PlayStation 5’s new controller. First, we’re adopting haptic feedback to replace the “rumble” technology found in controllers since the 5th generation of consoles. With haptics, you truly feel a broader range of feedback, so crashing into a wall in a race car feels much different than making a tackle on the football field. You can even get a sense for a variety of textures when running through fields of grass or plodding through mud.

The second innovation is something we call adaptive triggers, which have been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2). Developers can program the resistance of the triggers so that you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain. In combination with the haptics, this can produce a powerful experience that better simulates various actions. Game creators have started to receive early versions of the new controller, and we can’t wait to see where their imagination goes with these new features at their disposal.

While there’s much more to share about PlayStation 5 in the year ahead, we have plenty of blockbuster experiences coming your way on PS4, including Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima. I’d like to thank all PlayStation fans for continuing the journey with us, as we embark on the future of games.

The post An update on next-gen: PlayStation 5 launches late 2020 appeared first on PlayStation.Blog.Europe.

The huge success of this year's John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum proved that there is plenty of life left in the action franchise. The fourth movie is due in 2021, and there's also the TV spin-off The Continental on the way too. It's now been confirmed that a spin-off movie titled Ballerina is also happening.

According to Deadline, Ballerina will focus on a young female assassin who is out for revenge after her family is massacred. A character credited as Ballerina appeared in John Wick: Chapter 3, played by real-life ballerina Unity Phelan. However, it is unknown if this is the same character, and no cast has been announced for the movie at this time.

The Ballerina script, which is penned Shay Hatten, was not initially written as a John Wick movie. As The Hollywood Reporter revealed in 2017, it was part of a bidding war between studios; when Lionsgate won, they made plans to turn it into a Wick spin-off. Hatten was also hired to co-write John Wick: Chapter 3 with Wick creator Derek Kolstad.

Ballerina will be directed by Len Wiseman. He is best known for the first two Underworld films, as well as this year's short-lived DC show Swamp Thing. He also helmed Live Free or Die Hard and the Total Recall remake.

John Wick Chapter 4 releases on May 21, 2021. The video game John Wick Hex was also released today, October 8. Check out the first 17 minutes of gameplay, and read GameSpot's interview with the game's creator Mike Bithell.

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Director Sam Mendes (Skyfall, Road to Perdition) and cinematographer Roger Deakins (Skyfall, The Shawshank Redemption) brought their World War I drama 1917 to New York Comic Con today. The film consists of one single shot over the course of its two hours, with no cuts.

Also on hand were writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, producer Pippa Harris and stars George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman. Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Madden, Mark Strong and Colin Firth also have roles in the ensemble drama (but weren’t in New York today).

Check out this behind the scenes look at 1917:

The panel began with a tease for the film, which lays out the basic premise: Mendes explained that the movie is set over the course of about two hours on one day. Two soldiers (MacKay and Chapman) are sent on a mission to convey a message that will save 1600 of their fellow soldiers, who have been lured into a trap at the Hindenburg Line. And as noted above, the film is made up of one single take, with no cuts.

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History has revealed a new trailer and release date for the sixth and final season of its Norse epic, Vikings.

Season 6 of Vikings will premiere on Wednesday, December 4 on History. “I always knew how ‘Vikings’ would end and, after 89 episodes, I truly believe the saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons has been told and we are leaving our beloved fans with the proper and definitive ending they so deserve," said series creator Michael Hirst. "Although it is bittersweet there are still 20 episodes left and the most ambitious and intensely emotional episodes are still to come.”

Watch the Season 6 trailer in the video below:

The final season will consist of 20 episodes airing in two parts, with the first 10 episodes airing this year and the remaining ten episodes set for a 2020 premiere. Here's how History describes the final season:

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It's coming in time for Christmas.

Update:

Following the interview, Blizzard has announced that Ng Wai "blitzchung" Chung was in violation of the 2019 Hearthstone Grandmasters Official Competition rules. Blizzard says it will remove Blitzchung from the Grandmasters, and he will not receive prize money for his performance in Grandmasters Season 2. Furthermore, Blitzchung has been banned from Hearthstone esports for 12 months starting on October 5, 2019. Both casters have also lost their contracts with Blizzard.

According to Blizzard, Blitzchung's actions during the interview violated Rules section 6.1 (o) which reads:

"Engaging in any act that, in Blizzard's sole discretion, brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the pulic, or otherwise damages Blizzard image will result in removal from Grandmasters and reduction of the player's prize total to $0 USD, in addition to other remedies which may be provided for under the Handbook and BLizzard's Website Terms."

Continue reading…

Director Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds brought the action-comedy Free Guy to New York Comic Con.

We took some of Intel and AMD’s most powerful HEDT processors and turned them into stovetops to make some truly regrettable pancakes.

Today at Microsoft’s Surface event in New York, alongside new laptops and various other Surface devices, we saw the company announce a new kind of device; the new “Surface Duo”. The new device more or less loosely described as a phone, is a clamshell dual-screen phone with a full swivel hinge design.

The design of the phone at the moment look relatively simplistic, but we were certainly shown just prototype devices. The interesting design aspect was that the device lacked any kind of external features aside from the Windows logo – particularly missing from the device was any kind of rear camera.

On the “inside” – or rather more aptly, on the side with the screens, we did see the device have an earpiece speaker as well as a camera. It’s possible Microsoft where is envisaging you using this single camera in all scenarios and would be relatively practical given you can use the opposing outwards facing screen as the viewfinder.

The screens themselves has two 5.6” screens which when unfolded amount to a diagonal of 8.3”.

The device is running a customized version of Android as the OS.

Currently the prototype devices are said to be running Android 9 Pie with a Snapdragon 855 SoC – although these specifications are sure to change until the device’s actual launch.

Much like the Surface Neo, this has been pretty much just a teaser pre-announcement of the Duo as the devices aren’t scheduled to come out until the holiday season in 2020.

To the surprise of almost no one, Netflix has renewed the enormously successful Stranger Things for a fourth season. Judging by the teaser video, it seems the series' core setting might not be long for this world. It tells us "We're not in Hawkins an...

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Back in March, I got my hands on a WWE Cookbook, and I laughed, a lot. There were tons of pun-filled recipes, and the whole concept was silly. I ended up making a couple recipes, and one of them was great. So when the Overwatch cookbook rolled around, I was curious. What do video game characters eat? Throughout my decades playing games, I know video game characters mainly eat apples, large chunks of meat, or full pizzas left on city streets or hidden inside old oil drums.

Well, that's not the case with Overwatch: The Official Cookbook. The introductory page explains that this cookbook takes recipes from your favorite heroes from the game and their homelands. The book is separated by continents--and the moon, which is an orbiting body of Earth--and there are sub-sections featuring Overwatch characters, like three recipes from Australia under the Junkrat section.

The cookbook is written by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel, who has similar books based on Game of Thrones, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and Elder Scrolls. I am surprised there are so many cookbooks based on video games.

If you're interested in picking this book up, check out Overwatch: The Official Cookbook, the Insight Editions has more info, as well as pre-order links for the October 1 release. The book retails for $35.

When it comes to cooking and Overwatch, I was perplexed. What do I cook? There were plenty of recipes, and it was hard to choose. So I decided on what seemed like the most boring recipe...

Lentil Soup

Every time I've ever been to a diner--one of those restaurants with at least 80 items on the menu, half of which are deep fried--I've always seen a man, sitting alone, eating lentil soup. I've never seen a group of people eating it, nor anyone enjoying themselves while eating it. What is the big deal with lentil soup?

Since I'm working from home, alone, why not give it a whirl? This recipe comes from the Africa section of the book, under Ana's subsection. Apparently, after looking it up, lentil soup dates back thousands of years, and different regions have their own variety. I've already learned something new on this journey.

After picking out my recipe, I was about to get started. Then, I realized two things: I couldn't find red lentil beans and I lost my immersion blender, needed to make the recipe. Regardless, onward I went, throwing culinary caution to the wind.

Crybaby

There is a bunch of chopping to kick it all off. Chop some onions, some garlic, some carrots, and do all of it while not cutting yourself. Did I cry during this? Yes, and I'd blame the fragrance, but we all know the real reason was that I was coming to terms with making lentil soup, alone, during a weekday.

Take that, stupid onions

The greatest revenge for making me cry is to be put into a pot with butter and garlic. This scenario only works if you're chopped up onions though. I'm not putting a bully into a hot pot. You let the onions cook down for a bit while you contemplate your recipe choices. I went through a myriad of emotions during this contemplation sequence.

Revenge is best served hot

When the onions soften up and start to brown, it's time for the next step. Warning: Your house will now smell like onions and garlic. I would not recommend getting a round of Overwatch in during this time, as you have to stir this up a bit during the cooking process, but you could stir and shoot stuff with your Overwatch blasters.

This doesn't look good

Next, tomato paste, lentils, carrots, and seasoning is dumped into the pot and you do some more stirring. It sure does smell good, but the second those lentils went into the pot, I couldn't help but think, "Where is my immersion blender?" I know I had one during college, but that was a decade ago.

Now we're making soup!

The chicken stock is added, and you bring the whole thing to a simmer and let it cook for a bit. During this time, you can do what I did and tear apart your kitchen trying to find an immersion blender you haven't seen in the last decade. Still, you refuse to give up looking for it because you're really stubborn. What I should have done was played Overwatch for a bit, to get more in the mood.

No blender? No problem!

As soon as it was done simmering, and everything cooked down, I saw why the immersion blender was needed. This needed to be pureed. My dreams of being that old man, eating lentil soup alone are crushed…

That's when it hit me, I shall crush these lentils like they crushed my spirit with that potato masher thing I never use.

It actually worked?

So, it didn't get pureed, but smashing this soup was the way to go. R.I.P. Immersion blender I probably lost years ago. However, after adding the heavy cream, this does not look appetizing. It also feels like it has nothing to do with Overwatch.

The final product and review

Obviously, this doesn't look like something you'd be really excited to eat, which is probably why every time I see someone eat it, they looked totally bummed out. However, I was totally wrong about lentil soup. This is probably one of the better things I've cooked this past year. It was full of flavor, and what really works is that it was easy to make. I bet it would have been even better if it was pureed.

Yes, lentil soup sounds like the most boring recipe that no one would get legitimately excited about, but I am ever so wrong. This was exceptionally delicious. So I guess, one day, I'll be that guy eating lentil soup in a diner by myself, as long as said diner's soup is anything like the one I made.

Ease to make: 8/10

Taste: 10/10

Yeah, it's true the connection to Overwatch as a whole isn't as strong as many fans would like, but this is a solid international cookbook. Again, this hits stores on October 1, and you can pre-order the Overwatch cookbook here.

DC's modern TV universe kicked off with Arrow back in 2012, and while that series is coming to a close with its eighth season, another show is spinning out of the world of Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell), centering around Queen's grown-up daughter, Mia Smoak.

The series will be introduced as a backdoor pilot during the final season of Arrow, according to Entertainment Weekly. It will star Katherine McNamara, returning as Smoak, who takes on the role of Green Arrow, along with Katie Cassidy Rodgers as Laurel Lance and Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake, better known as The Canaries.

While it's unknown exactly where in the Arrow-vewrse timeline this series will be set, Mia was first introduced in a series of flashforwards in Season 7, where she fought under the alias of Blackstar. Chances are the new series will be set at that point in the timeline, with Ridgers and Harkavy playing older versions of their characters. However, with the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover coming this December, it's safe to say that things in the DC TV Universe are going to be shaken up and anything is possible--including time travel, which already happens regularly on DC's Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash..

For the backdoor pilot, Arrow showrunner and executive producer Beth Schwartz will co-write alongside Marc Guggenheim, Jill Blankenship, and Oscar Balderrama. All of them will serve as executive producers of the potential new series, along with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schecter.

Arrow returns to The CW on October 15, and the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover kicks off on December 8 with Supergirl, continuing with Batwoman on December 9, The Flash on December 10, then concluding with Arrows and Legends of Tomorrow on January 14.

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