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El Salvador announced that it's officially started to mine Bitcoin using renewable energy that was drawn from a volcano.

Kavanaugh isn't even showing any symptoms. So who cares? Wishing him the best, but positive cases shouldn't be of any particular interest to anyone.

Disney said The Book of Boba Fett would premiere this December, and it's making good on its promise — if only just. The media giant has revealed that the Mandalorian spin-off will debut December 29th on Disney+. The art accompanying the release date doesn't show much, but you can assume Boba Fett won't suffer fools lightly. (Caution: mild Mandalorian spoliers ahead.)

The series follows Boba Fett and his mercenary ally Fennec Shand shortly after the end of Mandalorian season two, as the pair return to Tatooine and lay claim to Jabba the Hutt's former territory. Temeura Morrison and Ming-Na Wen will reprise their respective roles. Producers from the earlier show are helming this latest project, including Jon Favreau, Robert Rodriguez and Kathleen Kennedy.

This won't satisfy fans looking for Mandalorian season three, which will only arrive afterBoba Fett. It does give fans another Star Wars fix before the end of 2021, at least, and it ensures you'll have another major Disney+ show to watch once you've finished with Hawkeye.

YouTube has banned all videos containing misinformation about vaccines that are currently administered and have been approved by local health authorities or the World Health Organization. The measure is an expansion of a policy covering COVID-19 vaccines.

The service says that users shouldn't, for instance, post videos in which they claim that vaccines lead to chronic side effects (other than rare side effects that health authorities have acknowledged); content that alleges vaccines don't reduce transmission or contraction of diseases; or videos that have inaccuracies about vaccine ingredients.

There are some exceptions. YouTube "will continue to allow content about vaccine policies, new vaccine trials and historical vaccine successes or failures." Users can also share scientific discussions of vaccines and personal testimonials about their experiences, as long as they don't have a history of promoting vaccine misinformation and their video complies with YouTube's other rules. Posting videos that "condemn, dispute or satirize misinformation" that violates YouTube's policies should be okay too.

YouTube told the Washington Post that it's taking down channels linked to prominent anti-vaccine advocates, including Joseph Mercola and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The reason it didn't move to ban all anti-vaccine content sooner is because it was focusing on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.

“Developing robust policies takes time,” YouTube’s vice president of global trust and safety Matt Halprin told the publication. “We wanted to launch a policy that is comprehensive, enforceable with consistency and adequately addresses the challenge.”

YouTube, as well as Facebook and Twitter, banned COVID-19 misinformation in the early days of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. YouTube has removed more than 130,000 videos that broke its rules about COVID-19 vaccines, which it announced last October, and more than a million videos in total that included coronavirus misinformation.

Meanwhile, Facebook has been working to reduce the spread of anti-vaccine content since at least 2019. It formally banned vaccine misinformation in February.

Filed under: Government/Legal,Weird Car News,Infrastructure

Continue reading Britain mobilizes the army as panic buying drains fuel supplies

Britain mobilizes the army as panic buying drains fuel supplies originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Sep 2021 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There's a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of people who play Dungeons & Dragons and people who read comic books. Chaotic Neutral is a new project that lets you scratch both itches at once.

Written by Mark Sable (Miskatonic) and drawn by Chris Anderson (Heavy Metal: Los Angeles), Chaotic Neutral is inspired directly by the golden age of Dungeons & Dragons, before the Satanic Panic era where parents feared tabletop RPGs were corrupting an entire generation. The story asks a simple question - what if they were right?

Check out an exclusive preview of Chaotic Neutral #1 in the slideshow gallery below [note - beware of some NSFW content!]:

Chaotic Neutral revolves around a humble farmer named Stellan, who hires a group of adventurers to defeat an evil cult and rescue the Prince Bishop's daughter. However, Sable and Anderson are pointedly not following the traditional hero's journey with this story, so expect the plot to veer in some strange and unexpected directions. That includes a secondary comic by God Hates Astronauts creator Ryan Browne, which spoofs the fear-mongering Chick Tracts comics of the '80s.

The real novelty with Chaotic Neutral is that it's also a playable RPG campaign. The comic comes with an adventure module written by Sable and designed to be compatible with most classic tabletop RPGs. The set also includes a sheet of "Monster Cards" - trading cards spotlighting the strange beasts of the Chaotic Neutral universe and with character stats printed on the back.

"Chaotic Neutral combines a 48 page comic book story with a fantasy role playing adventure module in one exciting package," Sable told IGN. "It offers readers the chance to play in the same world and face the same dangers as the characters in the story. It's inspired by dark and daring old school RPGs , before the so-called 'Satanic Panic' of the 80s scared publishers away from dangerous, demonic elements of D&D. Chris Anderson's art perfectly balances this edge with a whimsical, modern touch that helps make the story and adventure accessible to modern readers."

"Shows like Stranger Things and Critical Role, combined with the ability to play with people around the world through platforms such as Roll20 and a longing to connect with people through the pandemic have made role playing games more popular than ever," said Anderson. "We’re paying tribute to the history of the games on many levels. We asked Ryan Browne of God Hates Astronauts and Curse Words fame to spoof the anti-RPG religious propaganda, Chick-Tracts, that were distributed during the satanic panic. We also have uncut monster stat cards, similar to those that came with some of the early games, drawn by comic and fantasy megastar artists Max Dunbar, Dan Panosian, Kyle Straham, Jeremy Haun, Tim Seeley, Kyle Strahm, Jim Rugg and Maan House. We want this to be a real tactile experience, down to the paper the book is printed on."

Chaotic Neutral is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. The drive will end on October 28. Assuming Chaotic Neutral is successfully funded, the bundle is expected to ship in April 2022.

Speaking of Critical Role, the popular YouTube series will be getting an animated spinoff called The Legend of Vox Machina, which has been picked up by Amazon Prime. IGN spoke with some of the Critical Role cast about the Kickstarter's impressive success, and their excitement about adapting the Vox Machina campaign. We also learned the lead designer behind Young Justice has joined the series.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

The closing credits for Star Wars: Visions describe the show as “inspired by Star Wars created by George Lucas”. The line elegantly distils the essence of this new animated Disney Plus anthology series, because unlike most other Star Wars movies and TV shows released during the Disney era, its stories aren’t restricted by the existing canon of a galaxy far, far away.

Instead, Lucasfilm has given a selection of top Japanese anime studios the freedom to reinvent the mythology of that famous universe how they see fit. The nine short films that comprise Visions are riffs on a theme of Star Wars, delivered in a variety of anime styles – ranging from dark and moody monochrome, to cute Chibi versions of Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt.

“We always knew we wanted to find a way to connect Star Wars to the storytellers in animation in Japan,” explains Star Wars: Visions executive producer James Waugh. “It was a matter of [finding] the best approach to allow those creators to do what they do best. That meant allowing them to explore all their imaginative potential in a way that didn't have the expectations of the core [Star Wars] saga story.

“[Lucasfilm president] Kathy Kennedy was actually the person who really championed this,” he continues. “She'd worked with [Studio Ghibli legend] Hayao Miyazaki, and she loved the work coming out of Japan. So we very quickly started taking meetings with different studios that we liked – we found unbelievable Star Wars fans, incredible passion, enthusiasm and great ideas.”

One of the other big reasons for Visions’ existence is the arrival of Disney Plus, which has given Lucasfilm a platform to try out more experimental Star Wars projects that may not reach orbit on other networks and streamers.

“The world very quickly evolved when Disney Plus became an option,” Waugh explains. “It became this incredible robust space to be able to tell new stories. Then we got to a place of thinking, ‘There’s so many great, unexpected stories and perspectives on Star Wars – where do we start?’ That’s when we realized the power of Disney Plus allows us to break traditional form, and we decided to do something more anthological, and to really showcase the entire spectrum of tones and styles going on in Japan.”

• New Star Wars movies and TV shows explained
• Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus: all the latest info
• The Mandalorian season 3: everything we know right now

A new Vision

Freed from the constraints of existing mythology, Star Wars: Visions reveals aspects of that famous galaxy we’ve never seen before. While the lightsabers, Stormtroopers and Star Destroyers look familiar, they’re also reflected through an all-new prism, with exciting new reinterpretations of very familiar iconography. But, with the envelope being pushed by the creative teams, was there ever a moment when Lucasfilm felt the need to hold them back?

“I think, in general the misnomer is that we're usually not [open to new ideas] in some sense,” Waugh counters. “And I think, no matter what kind of storytelling we're doing, we're always trying to find a way to make sure a creator can realize their vision. With these Visions in particular, there was an opportunity to use the form of animation to do things we just haven’t done in live-action.”

That freedom to experiment allows ‘The Ninth Jedi’ – one of the standout episodes of the anthology – to put an entirely new spin on the color-scheme of a Jedi’s lightsaber. “We definitely had an internal conversation of, ‘Look, this isn’t normally what we do, but it really works with the logic of the story,’” says Waugh. “Also, the inherent values of Star Wars are so baked into that short that we went with it.”

And while musicians have always been a part of the Star Wars universe – from Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes in A New Hope to the Max Rebo Band in Return of the Jedi – ‘Tatooine Rhapsody’ breaks convention by putting rock group Star Waver (quite literally) on center stage.

“‘Tatooine Rhapsody’ was one of the first pitches we got, and it definitely was a testing ground moment for us,” Waugh admits. “‘Can we do a space opera? Is this too far?’ But I think that, very quickly, we realized just how cool and unique [it was], and how Visions essentially opens the door for lightsabers that change color and rock operas – and Pinocchio stories about droids who wish they could become a Jedi one day.”

• New Star Wars movies and TV shows
• Andor: everything we know about the Star Wars Rogue One prequel
• The Bad Batch season 2: everything we know so far 

East meets West

“Star Wars is a universe and there’s history and storytelling going on all the time,” Waugh adds. “With Star Wars the opportunity to be able to continue those stories in other spaces is, I think, absolutely there. I personally want to see the band, Star Waver, carry on – we'll see what happens with that, but I think potential is rife. All those ideas are just so unique – I hope the enthusiasm is there, because we're really excited about that potential too.”

Another of the most compelling elements of Visions is the way the Japanese influence shines through, both in the soundtrack (both Japanese and English-language dubs are available), and the visuals, where elements of Japan’s culture, architecture and history mesh seamlessly with the iconography of George Lucas’s universe.

“George Lucas was inspired by Akira Kurosawa films and classic Japanese cinema,” says producer Kanako Shirasaki. “Now animators and creators in Japan are heavily influenced by Star Wars, because they watched Star Wars when they were teenagers, or really small with their parents. They have the essence of both, and they’re very excited to explore their visions, drawing influence from Star Wars, while at the same time bringing their Japanese aspect to the shorts.”

“The sort of dialogue between East and West, culture inspiring culture, has been really amazing to watch,” continues Waugh. “Star Wars is so infused with Kurosawa films and [Japanese film genre] Jidaigeki storytelling that it almost feels that it was coming home in a way.”

As ever in the Star Wars franchise, there’s also the potential for the Star Wars: Visions shorts to spin-off in other directions – in fact, the story of the mysterious lead character from ‘The Duel’ will continue in novel Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon (on sale October 12).

“There's so many interesting droids and characters in every short that you feel you want to learn more about them,” says Shirasaki. “I’d love to hear how fans react when the series is officially released.”

Star Wars: Visions debuts on Disney Plus on Wednesday September 22.

Back in 2019, Boston's Piaggio Fast Forward company released the first iteration of an automated cargo hauler for pedestrians, dubbed the Gita (pronounced JEE-tah). Two years, and multiple design improvements later, PFF is set to release a smaller, more nimble version which they're calling the Gitamini this October.

With a cargo volume of up to nearly 2,000 cubic inches and capable of carrying up to 44 pounds of gear and traveling at a top speed of 22 mph, the original Gita was a startlingly large machine able to hold a shopping carts-worth of groceries and keep up with cyclists. However, the Gita's size made it a liability to other pedestrians when navigating on crowded sidewalks, especially the earlier versions that relied on a belt-mounted tracker to know where its owners were.

The Gitamini, on the other hand, is about the size of a Border Collie (990 cubic square inches of cargo space) and weighs just 28 pounds. It can carry up to 20 pounds of gear and thanks to external handles the mini can easily be hoisted over curbs, stairs and other obstacles even when fully loaded. The mini is rated for a maximum range of 21 miles or around six hours of use before needing a recharge. What's more, PFF has traded in the belt-based tracker for advanced optics and machine vision. With the push of an onboard button, the mini will autonomously find, recognize and follow its "leader" using only visual and radar cues like color and motion — the robot does not require a GPS, cell, or wireless network connection in order to do so. 

Piaggio Fast Forward

The mini is also equipped with what the company is calling "pedestrian etiquette software." This trains the robot to follow its leader at a safe distance and speed while proactively anticipating the movements of the people around them. The mini's wheels are independently powered, enabling it to make Rivian-esque zero-radius tank turns, while a third motor is dedicated to maintaining the robot's balance when accelerating and braking. 

"Seeing the initial consumer response to Gita proved to us what a pioneer the product was within the consumer robotics industry,” said Greg Lynn, PFF’s CEO, said in a prepared statement. “The ask to ourselves then became, ‘how do we take what we have heard from people and create something different for a new segment of consumers?’’ Gitamini is the company's answer.

The Gitamini is slated to go on sale for $1,850 on October 15th while the original, larger Gita will see a price reduction to $3,250 at the same time. 

There's no shortage of ways to capture YouTube videos on the web. Take your pick of dangerous websites, or just go old-school and record a video of your desktop. Now, YouTube is finally offering a simpler solution for computer users: A download button. As Android Police reports, it's currently available as an experimental feature for Premium subscribers. That's not a huge surprise, as YouTube already offers mobile video downloads for subscribers too. 

Once you've flipped it on, you'll see a download button right next to the share option below videos, or alongside the three dot menu when browsing. After downloading a video, it gets placed in your offline YouTube library. You can choose to grab videos in resolutions from 144p to 1080p — sorry, 4K fanatics. At this point, there doesn't appear to be any size limit, aside from your available storage.

From my quick tests, the feature works as advertised on Safari and Chrome. Personally, it's not something I'd use as often as mobile downloads, but it's a nice option to have for future trips.

What has Steve Ballmer excited now that he can't channel his boundless enthusiasm into Windows developers? Lavatories, apparently. As ZDNetnotes, the former Microsoft chief (and now LA Clippers owner) told The Washington Post and others that he has been obsessed with toilets at the Clippers' upcoming stadium, the Intuit Dome. And yes, Ballmer declared "toilets, toilets, toilets" — when he repeats a word multiple times, you know he's serious.

This doesn't mean the toilets are about to run Windows or flush water in Microsoft colors. Rather, it's that the Intuit Dome will have an NBA-leading ratio of toilets (one for every 27 seats in the upper deck). Ballmer hates waiting in line for the washroom at a sports arena, and that high ratio will make sure you spend more watching the game than doing your business.

It won't surprise you to hear the Clippers used technology to solve that problem, however. The team used a computer model to estimate how long it would take a fan to use the washroom, grab food and return to their seat. That high toilet-to-fan ratio should help you get back in the space of a typical NBA timeout. Don't laugh too loudly about Ballmer's toilet fixation, then, as you might just appreciate it when nature calls in the middle of a playoff game.

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising,Ford,Truck,Off-Road

Continue reading Ford actually built a 'Very Gay Raptor' in response to an internet troll

Ford actually built a 'Very Gay Raptor' in response to an internet troll originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 2 Sep 2021 15:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Green,Hyundai,Hatchback,Autonomous,Electric

Continue reading Hyundai Ioniq 5 reports for robotaxi duty with an armada of sensors

Hyundai Ioniq 5 reports for robotaxi duty with an armada of sensors originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 6 Sep 2021 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking for the best TV shows to watch right now on HBO Max? Warner Bros' streaming platform has a whole range of top-rated series to check out, so there is bound to be something for you to binge watch. Or view at your leisure, whichever you prefer.

The latest entries in our best HBO Max shows list are The White Lotus and Mare of Easttown. The former is a satirical miniseries, created by School of Rock alumnus Mike White, and arrived in July – and it's proven to be so popular that a second season was just greenlit. Mare of Easttown, meanwhile, is a crime drama starring Kate Winslet that's received critical acclaim for its mysterious plot and strong castings.

If neither of these shows doesn't sound like your idea of a good time, however, there are numerous other TV series that you may want to see instead. From iconic shows like Friends and The Sopranos, to animated offerings including Rick and Morty, there's something for everyone on our list of the best HBO Max series ever made.

Of course, you'll need to sign up for an HBO Max subscription if you want to enjoy what's on offer on the streamer. There are three subscription tiers that you can sign up to and, depending on which you pay for, you'll get various benefits for doing so.

If you're already a subscriber, though, you'll want to dive straight into our list of the best shows on HBO Max right now. Don't delay, then: check out our list below, which we've divided up into comedy and drama sections. There's more to these shows than these simplistic genres, too, so you won't be left for wanting with our choices.

• Here's everything you need to know about HBO Max
• Check out the best HBO Max movies to view right now
• Or find out if there's a free HBO Max trial you can sign up to instead

Best HBO Max shows: dramas

Mare of Easttown

Kate Winslet (Titanic, Steve Jobs) stars as Marianne 'Mare' Sheehan, a police detective charged with investigating the recent murder of a teenage mother in a Philadelphian suburb. A local hero, Sheehan's reputation has taken a hit recently due to her inability to solve the case of a missing girl for over a year – a stressor that exacerbates her other personal problems, including a recent divorce, her deceased son and a custody battle.

Ably supported by a strong cast including Jean Smart (Watchmen, Frasier), Evan Peters (X-Men, American Horror Story) and Guy Pearce (Iron Man 3, Memento), Winslet gives a career-defining performance in a series that ramps up the tension throughout its seven episodes. Its ending is a little lacking but, if you can look past that, Mare of Easttown is well worth your time.

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

It's a Sin

This five-part series from the mind of famed Welsh writer Russell T. Davis (Queer as Folk, Doctor Who) draws on his own experiences of life as a gay man in 1980s London. Davis vividly evokes the community, friendship and freedom that five 18-year-old men experience after they leave home for the capital, and the dark pall that falls over the city as the AIDS crisis intensifies.

There’s a uniformly excellent cast. Singer Olly Alexander plays aspiring actor Ritchie, Omari Douglas is the unapologetically flamboyant Roscoe, and Callum Scott Howells is wide-eyed Welsh boy Colin. Keeley Hawes, Neil Patrick Harris, and Stephen Fry are equally brilliant in supporting roles, and there’s a killer 80s soundtrack including Blondie and the Pet Shop Boys.

It’s also impeccably written by Davis, who wrings raw emotion from his endearing, frustrating, but always empathetic characters, each of whom confront AIDS and public ignorance throughout the decade. Whatever happens, they’re spurred on to live and love more fearlessly than ever.

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

The Flight Attendant

Anchored by a hugely engaging turn from Kaley Cuoco, this mystery-thriller – based on the 2018 novel by Chris Bohjalian – charts the misadventures of American flight attendant Cassie Bowden. She’s a booze-hound and party-girl, who, after a layover in Bangkok, wakes up with the hangover from hell and the body of her one-night stand ice-cold beside her. With no recollection of what happened, she becomes embroiled in an international conspiracy and desperate to prove her innocence.

It’s a first-class production: slick, breezy, and effortlessly entertaining. Cuoco is a delight as Cassie, the girl-next-door with alcohol dependency issues who’s constantly being bailed out by Annie, her long-suffering lawyer friend (Zosia Mamet). Rosie Perez also stars as her eager-to-please colleague Megan, finding covert thrills trading company secrets, while T.J. Mackie is her anxious though affectionate older brother.

The show was nominated for two Golden Globes – for Best Actress and for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. It doesn’t tax the grey matter much, but like the best cocktails, it’s expertly made and easy to swallow.

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

Chernobyl

This factual drama about 1986's Chernobyl disaster won tons of plaudits upon its 2019 release for both its attention to detail (though numerous inaccuracies have been alleged), and the easy-to-draw modern parallels of how the truth is misrepresented to suit the whims of governments. 

Jarred Harris stars as Valery Legaslov, charged with trying to solve the crisis in collaboration with Stellan Skarsgård's Boris Shcherbina of the Soviet government. Even if it's not exactly a documentary, this miniseries successfully captures the horror the citizens of Pripyat must have felt at the time, and the resourceful way the crisis was eventually resolved. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

Deadwood

Sweary Western drama Deadwood, like The Sopranos and The Wire, is one of the big '00s HBO hits that defined the kind of adult TV output it's now synonymous with. Set in the late 1800s, it's about the titular settlement at a key moment in history, and explores the impact of civilization on a massive cast of characters. 

A textured, complicated drama, Deadwood demands you turn your phone off and pay attention, but it's an incredibly rewarding watch, bookended by last year's long-awaited movie finale. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 3

Doom Patrol

Based on Grant Morrison's comics, Doom Patrol is DC's weirder version of the X-Men, a drama about a group of superpowered outcasts. This quirky and adult series, which HBO Max picked up following a first-season run on the DC Universe streaming service, features the likes of Timothy Dalton and Brendan Fraser in its cast, and is worth trying if you think the DC Universe is just about Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. 

The third season arrives on September 23, so now is the best time to binge watch this surreal superhero series.

Seasons on HBO Max: 2

Game of Thrones

Despite a widely hated ending, Game of Thrones is a compelling fantasy drama that blew everyone away when it debuted in 2011. 

The show had such a huge impact because it took George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of books so seriously, and spent a lot of money bringing that world to life, and drawing in credible actors like Sean Bean and Lena Headey to make it have a historical drama-like feel. If you've never been on that journey through Westeros, you owe it to yourself to watch it. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 8

I May Destroy You

Forged amid the #MeToo movement, and a product of writer-producer-director-star Michaela Coel’s own experience of sexual assault, I May Destroy You is an BBC/HBO co-production that, over 12 episodes, skilfully unpacks the concept of sexual consent in the age of Tinder.

Coel is Arabella, a Twitter-famous writer and black Londoner recently returned from an unproductive trip to Italy. She initially bails on her friends – aspiring actress Terry and personal trainer Kwame – to attempt a stimulant-fuelled all-nighter. But her resolve weakens, and she steps away to briefly share a few drinks in a local bar. When she next regains consciousness, she lacks any recollection of the night’s events. Only the intrusive image of a man standing over her in a toilet cubicle provides any clue as to what happened.

It’s a poignant, thought-provoking, and often very funny series, whose unconventional narrative structure and kinetic style mirror Arabella’s subjective experience of trauma. It flew straight to the top of critics’ Top TV Shows of 2020 lists: proof if any were needed that Coel is no one-hit wonder.

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

The Leftovers

Fans of Lost should watch co-creator Damon Lindelof's first HBO series, which is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Tom Perotta. It's almost an answer to the mythology overload of Lindelof's prior series – it has a central mystery, in that 2% of the world's population vanish at once leaving those left in the world with permanent emotional scars, but it's not what drives the show. 

Instead, this is a knotty character drama about grief, faith and the struggles of personal fulfilment. Starring Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon and Christopher Eccleston as characters dealing with loss in different ways, it's arguably the most underrated HBO drama there is. 

The second season, which moves the show to a different town and essentially has an entirely new story, has its own Picnic At Hanging Rock-style mystery about some missing girls. This is the best part of the show – though the final third season manages to shed further light on these brilliantly constructed, three-dimensional characters. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 3

The Plot Against America

The Plot Against America is an alternate history drama that shows what happens to a Jewish family in New Jersey, after the USA chooses to elect Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh over Franklin Roosevelt on the brink of World War II. 

Another series by The Wire's David Simon and collaborator Ed Burns, it shows how latent antisemitic attitudes are enabled by this new isolationist leader, and the terrifying ways in which parts of Nazi dogma begin to infiltrate American life. While it's hard viewing at times, it's certainly resonant today for a number of reasons, and features a dazzling ensemble cast, including Zoe Kazan and Winona Ryder. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

Six Feet Under

Over five seasons, this acclaimed drama series charted the highs and lows of the Fisher family - owners of a Los Angeles based funeral home. When patriarch Nathanial Snr. dies, eldest son Nate (Peter Krause) reluctantly returns home to take over the business. Along with his high-strung mother Ruth (Frances Conroy), repressed brother David (Michael C. Hall), and fiery teenage sister Claire (Lauren Ambrose), they’re all forced to confront, not only the daily business of death, but the messy reality of living.

Created by Academy Award-winning writer Alan Ball, Six Feet Under tackled taboo topics with honesty, heart, and lashings of dark humour. Yes, season 4 was unremittingly bleak (the particularly traumatic abduction lives long in the memory). But Six Feet Under’s revered final episode, both painfully beautiful and profoundly sad, succinctly demonstrated the show’s dramatic and emotional power.

Seasons on HBO Max: 5

Sharp Objects

Amy Adams stars as Camille, a journalist who returns to her hometown after two young girls are murdered, in this adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel. Sharp Objects explores Camille's toxic relationship with her withering mother (played by Patricia Clarkson) and half-sister Amma (Eliza Scanlen). 

It's not really a mystery show, and is instead focused more on these brittle character dynamics, and the sense of decay in this fictional Missouri town. The resolution to this miniseries is one of the most shocking reveals ever shown on television, though – do not miss it. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

The Sopranos

No list of the best HBO shows is complete without The Sopranos, the David Chase-created drama series that put the network on the map in the late '90s. The show is about Tony Soprano's (James Gandolfini) dual life as an Italian-American gangster and patriarch of a family, and the various ways in which he struggles with that psychologically – including his close relationship with his therapist. 

In many ways, this is the prestige TV template that many dramas still go by: tortured antihero male characters, slow-burning serialized plotting and shocking character deaths. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 7

Succession

You're supposed to hate billionaires, right? So why is that HBO's Succession is full of characters that you can't help but become incredibly invested in? As business magnate Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is hit by a health scare, he needs to decide which of his children will inherit his business. Will it be heir apparent Kendall (Jeremy Strong)? The Loki-like, misanthropic Roman (Kieran Culkin)? Or maybe it'll be liberal outsider Siobhan – also known as Shiv (Sarah Snook). 

The power struggle between the siblings, still ongoing after two seasons, is genuinely  fascinating. Created by Jesse Armstrong, this show feels like it fits in the lineage of The Thick of It and Veep, both of which Armstrong worked on – the swear-y, smart dialogue and often bitter character moments give Succession a rare magic. Bring on season 3, which arrives on October 17.

Seasons on HBO Max: 2

True Blood

Before Game of Thrones, HBO's first big-budget move into genre TV (other than the animated Spawn series) came with this adaptation of Charlaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries. Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is a telepathic waitress who falls in love with Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), and investigates a series of vampire-related crimes in Louisiana. The ensemble cast, beautiful swampy setting and its borderline-campy tone make True Blood a very entertaining watch – plus it has one of the best theme tunes of all time. 

Over the course of the show, more and more characters join the busy ensemble, and it's fair to say the quality declines in later years – seven was probably too many seasons. But it's still well worth checking out if you've never seen it before. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 7

True Detective

The consensus on grim detective anthology show True Detective is that its first season, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, is the best, its second with Colin Farell and Vince Vaughn is the worst, and the third featuring Mahershala Ali is somewhere in the middle. 

While the first season is fantastic and the second is a little too muddled, despite having its moments, we'd argue the third is the greatest – with Ali and Stephen Dorff successfully embodying their characters over a case spanning decades. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 3

Watchmen

A sequel to Alan Moore's comic set in the present day, Watchmen is probably the best DC Comics TV show ever made. In this series, Rorschach's mask has been appropriated as a symbol by the Seventh Kavalry, a group of white supremacists, while police wear masks to hide their identities. Angela Abar (Regina King) fights crime under the alias Sister Knight, and is forced to investigate the truth about her boss, police chief Judd Crawford (Don Johnson), after he's found hanging from a tree. 

As much a history drama as it is a continuation of the comic's story, this show delves deep into racism in America, beginning with a vivid and scary look at 1921's Tulsa race massacre. The show then explores the theme of inherited trauma, tying together parts of Watchmen lore with an original story that's very relevant to our times.  Meanwhile, Adrian Veidt, aka Ozymandias from the comics (played by a very game Jeremy Irons), lives in some kind of Downton Abbey-style moon prison. 

Somehow, Watchmen makes these disparate threads coalesce – offering an affecting and breathtaking follow-up to a seminal comic that's surely beyond any fan's wildest dreams. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

The Wire

David Simon's examination of how drugs shape Baltimore, from the dealers up to the politicians, is widely considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made. It's a rich, textured drama that carefully draws parallels between different strata of the city, and makes as many sympathetic characters out of the dealers as it does the cops. 

Likewise, it shows the fallibility of the police, government and even the press – The Wire shows us the mistakes, the price of pursuing numbers at all costs and the various ways people are trapped within the choices they've been forced to make. This is the show that made Idris Elba and Dominic West household names. It's a riveting watch that requires a touch of patience – give it the first season of 10 episodes before making up your mind. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 5

Best HBO Max shows: comedies

The White Lotus

Billed as a comedy-drama series, The White Lotus ends up being much more than what it first appears. It kicks things off by introducing viewers to its various staff and guests, who respectively work and stay at the fictional Hawaii-based hotel. It isn't long, however, before a wider murder mystery – which had lurked in the background – comes to the fore, as do a number of other dark secrets. 

With its complex characters and curiously interwoven narrative that twists and turns throughout, The White Lotus is more than just a stereotypical dramedy. It's getting an unexpected outing thanks to the critical acclaim that it's been met with, too, so there will be more anthology-style stories to check out in the future.

Seasons on HBO Max: 1

Barry

Barry is a dark comedy about an assassin who wants to be an actor. The unusual tone of the show shouldn't work – it's hilarious, violent and sometimes incredibly intense on an emotional level. But Bill Hader is just magic in this show, as is his surrounding cast, like wannabe actress Sally (Sarah Goldberg) and Barry's handler, Fuches (Stephen Root). 

But the real secret sauce of the show is Henry Winkler's Gene Cousineau, Barry's acting coach who's a borderline scam artist. Cousineau feels so much like someone you could imagine meeting – he's a brilliant creation. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 2

The Comeback

One of HBO's minor shows in terms of finding an audience but a definite cult hit, Lisa Kudrow stars as Valerie Cherish, a former sitcom actor who tries to mount a comeback a decade later. 

The whole thing is documented as part of a reality show, and explores the challenges of working in Hollywood as a middle-aged woman in brutal, but hilarious fashion. A second season was then commissioned some years later off the back of its later popularity – it's worth checking out.

Seasons on HBO Max: 2

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Larry David's semi-improvised and star-studded sitcom has been on the air for 20 years now. 

A show about the co-creator of Seinfeld getting into awkward social situations in affluent areas of LA shouldn't be this good. But the real Larry David and his team of directors are fantastic at picking up on universally awkward social moments – and somehow it's remained at the same high quality bar for 10 entire seasons. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 10

Eastbound and Down

Baseball player Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) returns to his hometown after a career downturn, with the intention of winning the heart of his now-married childhood sweetheart, April (Katy Mixon) and returning to the big leagues. 

Powers is a reprehensible but oddly lovable character, with a ludicrous mullet and no self-awareness of how embarrassing he is. He's an amazing comedic creation, though over time the tone of the show changes as Powers moves down to Mexico, and the ensemble cast around him is switched up. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 4

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Best known for kickstarting Will Smith's career, as well as its catchy theme tune, The Fresh Prince doesn't really get enough credit for being one of the best sitcoms of the '90s. Will (played by Will Smith) gets into a fight in his home city of Philadelphia, and leaves to move in with his upper class California-dwelling relatives, the Banks family. 

The Fresh Prince is synonymous with special episodes, particularly the one where Will's dad returns, but it's also a laugh-a-minute series with genuinely affable characters and hilarious episodes right up until the end of its six-season run. Remember the Vegas dance contest episode? This is still a treat to rewatch.

Seasons on HBO Max: 6

Friends

Probably the biggest coup by HBO Max, Friends was still one of Netflix's most popular series before it made the jump to the newer streaming service. Friends' gender politics and gay panic jokes make it feel like a product of its time, but if you can stomach that, it's remarkably consistent and very funny even when you're deep into its 10-season run. 

This sitcom about 20-somethings (and then 30-somethings) making it in New York felt so fresh when it first arrived, and there's a reason it's endured as long as it has. It's the kind of show you'll always enjoy having on in the background. "We were on a break!", and so on. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 10

The Larry Sanders Show

Instead of becoming the host of a late night talk show, Garry Shandling made an incisive, revolutionary sitcom about a fictional late night talk show instead. The Larry Sanders Show felt about a decade ahead of its time in its examination of the machinations of fame, and its documentary-like style is a clear influence on the likes of The Office. Larry Sanders also features a fantastic ensemble cast, including Jeffrey Tambor, Rip Torn, Penny Johnson and Janeane Garofalo. 

Its vast range of guest stars playing fictional versions of themselves makes this show something of a '90s time capsule, too. The Larry Sanders Show is still as funny now as it was back then.

Seasons on HBO Max: 6

Mr. Show

Comedy nerds are no doubt very familiar with '90s sketch series Mr Show already. Co-created by comedians Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, this innovative show connects every sketch together in each episode with a long, bizarre narrative, and the results are mostly great. 

The pair have gone on to have successful careers apart from one another and, as a show that's nearly 30 years old, Mr. Show is starting to show its age. Still, it's an enjoyable watch if you fancy some throwback sketch show television.

Season on HBO Max: 4

Rick and Morty

Adult Swim has its own hub on HBO Max, and while it's not widely populated as it could be, it's definitely a good start. Rick and Morty is the centerpiece of that offering, with the first three seasons of the series available. 

Rick Sanchez is a misanthropic scientist who drags his grandson, Morty, into numerous traumatizing sci-fi adventures. Really, Rick and Morty's closest relative is Futurama – it's an acquired taste, but a very popular one. HBO Max has non-exclusive rights to Rick and Morty, so you can also watch it on Hulu in the US. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 4

Silicon Valley

Despite satirizing the tech industry's showy nonsense and often ludicrous CEOs, Silicon Valley doesn't have many hard edges as HBO sitcoms go. Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch) starts his own company with his (sort of) friends, after creating an algorithm that can compress files with no loss in quality. 

While protecting his own terribly-named company, Pied Piper, from larger entities, Hendricks tries to make his fortune to mixed results. This is easy-to-watch and extremely entertaining, and it comes from King of the Hill creator Mike Judge.

Seasons on HBO Max: 6

South Park

HBO Max has the rights to the entire series of South Park, including the latest one, season 24. The adult animated sitcom from creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker has changed a lot over the years from shock comedy to insightful satire, and we'd only really recommend watching from season 4 onwards – but when South Park is on-form, it's capable of being the funniest show on TV. The season 24 premiere South Park Pandemic Special being a prime example.

While the series primarily focuses on four kids, Kenny, Kyle, Cartman and Stan in the fictional Colorado town of South Park, over time the focus shifts to different people and stories in the town in a fashion not dissimilar to The Simpsons. 

Seasons on HBO Max: 24

After finding success with DC's The Suicide Squad, writer-director James Gunn is returning to Marvel for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and now he's shared an update on how it's coming along.

Posting on Twitter, Gunn shared an image of a giant stack of hand-drawn storyboards that he recently finished for the long-awaited sequel. "This represents 12 pages of script & will be the foundation for this section of the film. Designing the film like this is the most important part of my job at this point," Gunn said. The writer-director also shared some examples of his storyboarding style, and he spoke about his process--you can read more from his tweets below.

"A numbered, written shot descriptor accompanies every storyboard. In these, I'll also describe notes for the stunt team, the production designers, costumers, & so on, as well as reminding me of notes to give my actors (also sometimes alternate dialogue I'll throw out on set.)," Gunn said.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Netflix's upcoming anime series based on the Tomb Raider franchise has reportedly cast Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) as the voice actor behind Lara Croft, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

First announced back in January, the Tomb Raider anime will follow Lara Croft's adventures after the events of the Crystal Dynamics reboot trilogy, which wrapped up with 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Plot details are still light, and other casting announcements are still ahead which might help fans better guess where the story is going.

Tomb Raider will be written by Tasha Huo (The Witcher: Blood Origin, Red Sonja), who is executive producing with dj2 Entertainment founder and CEO Dmitri M. Johnson (Sonic the Hedgehog), Stephan Bugaj, and Howard Bliss. Jacob Robinson will be an executive producer via his company Tractor Pants.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Following a successful reveal of Project Eve at Sony's latest PlayStation Showcase, Shift Up CEO Hyung-Tae Kim bought a little present for each of the game's 260 developers--a PlayStation 5.

According to Daniel Ahmad (via Twitter), Swift Up's CEO chose the PS5s as a gift so that the game's creators could all play Project Eve when it eventually releases. It's unclear exactly how Swift Up's CEO acquired so many of the still hard to find consoles, but given Project Eve's role in the recent PlayStation Showcase, Ahmad says it probably wouldn't have been too hard to secure so many units.

Despite each of the game's developers receiving a PS5 to play the game on, Project Eve was announced as a multiplatform title back in 2019, and slated to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Whether or not the title is now a PS5 exclusive is unclear, but Project Eve will take advantage of the PS5 DualSense controller's haptic feedback according to an official PlayStation Blog post, though Swift Up hasn't revealed specific details on that front.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Even before The Suicide Squad hit theaters and HBO Max, it was known that one of the (anti-)heroes in the movie, John Cena’s Peacemaker, would be getting a TV spinoff. We now have a first-look image from the show.

Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive image from the Peacemaker series which includes a couple of familiar faces for anyone who has seen The Suicide Squad.

Massive Spoilers for The Suicide Squad Below

In James Gunn’s Suicide Squad reboot, Peacemaker and Bloodsport (Idris Elba) have something of a not-so-friendly rivalry that culminates in a shootout towards the end of the film. Bloodsport shoots Peacemaker through the neck, but a post-credits stinger revealed that Peacemaker survived the shootout and is recruited by Amanda Waller’s subordinates to save the world from some new threat.

And the first image basically picks off from there. Cena’s Peacemaker is back up and running, and he’s sitting at a table with some folks from Waller’s office including Economos and Harcourt, as well as another costumed character, Vigilante.

this team may not look like much, but im a member of it so you know its absolutely elite #peacemaker https://t.co/jMA59Okx6c pic.twitter.com/PKGieqjhdt

— Peacemaker on HBO Max (@DCpeacemaker) September 13, 2021

Gunn says he’s not a fan of bringing back characters after they seemingly died, but he became his worst enemy to get Peacemaker his show. “I did exactly the thing I hate when other filmmakers do [it],” Gunn told EW. “But I did it! I’ll have to live with the repercussions, which is the most incredible TV show people will ever see.”

Peacemaker is set to premiere in January 2022 with an eight-episode season. He’ll team up with three new characters, a mercenary named Murn, the character Vigilante, and a character named Adebayo.

Gunn wrote all episodes of Peacemaker and directed five of the season’s episodes. Meanwhile, Gunn is still working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after becoming re-united with Marvel. Check out IGN’s The Suicide Squad review where we praised Gunn’s irreverent take on the DC villain-verse.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

“Was Google’s decision to kill Google Reader actually the key turning point in the destruction of western civilization? Kills the decentralized web, gives rise to Twitter and Facebook becoming the algorithmic overlords. Maybe…”

- Vinay Gupta

Lyft will cover the legal fees of drivers sued under the state of Texas’ recently enacted SB8 abortion law, the company announced on Friday. The law prohibits women from terminating a pregnancy after six weeks. That’s a time frame before most even know they’re pregnant. Critically, SB8 also allows private citizens to sue anyone who assists a pregnant woman trying to skirt the ban, including rideshare drivers who face the prospect of $10,000 fines.

“This law is incompatible with people’s basic rights to privacy, our community guidelines, the spirit of rideshare and our values as a company,” Lyft said in a blog post. In response to SB8, the company is establishing a legal defense fund it says will cover 100 percent of the legal fees incurred by its drivers. It’s also donating $1 million to Planned Parenthood.

“This is an attack on women’s access to healthcare and on their right to choose,” Lyft CEO and co-founder Logan Green said on Twitter in which he also called other companies to offer the same support. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi responded some 30 minutes later, announcing Uber would follow suit. “Team Uber is in too and will cover legal fees in the same way,” Khosrowshahi said. “Thanks for the push.” The move comes after the US Supreme Court formally denied a request earlier in the week from abortion clinics in the state to freeze the law.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home has been released -- well, officially, this time -- and it confirms the movie is drawing from one of the most controversial Spider-Man comics ever published to explain how Peter Parker’s secret identity could be restored following the events of Far From Home. The plan involves Doctor Strange and the multiverse and promises some familiar but not necessarily friendly faces that will appear to stir things up.

Full spoilers from the Marvel comics are incoming!

The trailer reveals Tom Holland’s Peter Parker seeks out the help of Benedict Cumberbatch’s Master of the Mystic Arts in order to make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man. The exposure of the wall-crawler’s secret identity by Mysterio at the end of Far From Home has put Peter’s loved ones MJ, Aunt May, and Ned in hot water, too. It will take some supreme sorcery to make the whole world forget he is Spider-Man. Luckily, Pete knows a guy.

Peter sees Strange as the perfect solution to all his woes - a wizard who can wave a hand and make the world forget Spider-Man's secret. Strange apparently doesn’t necessarily feel the same way, cautioning Peter, “Be careful what you wish for, Parker.”

Let's explore the evidence that Spider-Man: No Way Home is drawing its inspiration from Marvel Comics’ notorious “One More Day” storyline -- and why Doctor Strange is the key to solving Spidey's identity crisis.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Comics Inspirations - Civil War and One More Day

First, we have to go back to the comic book version of Civil War, where Peter willingly reveals his secret identity to the world as a sign of support for the Superhuman Registration Act. However, he's forced to become an underground fugitive after rebelling against Iron Man and the SHRA. His situation quickly grows desperate after Aunt May is shot by an assassin hired by Kingpin. Ultimately, Peter and MJ are forced to make a literal deal with the devil, Mephisto, sacrificing their marriage in exchange for May's life and turning to a combination of science and magic to collectively make the world forget Spider-Man's identity.

But is that actually what's going to happen in No Way Home? We have our doubts, especially since Peter's situation in the MCU is quite a bit different. For starters, Peter isn’t married in the MCU. And it's important to remember the MCU Peter is hardly the blue-collar nobody he is in the comics. As far as the movies have shown, he's still a duly registered hero in compliance with the Sokovia Accords. He has the backing of the Avengers and other connected people like Happy Hogan and Nick Fury.

Yes, there's the pesky issue of Mysterio framing Spider-Man for murder, but as the trailer shows it appears Peter didn’t end up alone and on the lam following Far From Home. Peter theoretically has the resources to protect his family and work to clear his name. This has even fueled speculation No Way Home will re-introduce Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock to the MCU, with the law firm Nelson & Murdock defending Peter in court.

To be clear, we highly doubt Marvel Studios and Sony have made a direct adaptation of One More Day. The original story was highly controversial and still tends to inspire a fair amount of vitriol online all these years later. We don't necessarily see Mephisto factoring into the plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home, especially after he was a no-show in WandaVision -- and with so many other villains already poised to appear in the film. Speaking of the devil ...

Spider-Man: No Way Home Villains - Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Electro and More?

“Hello, Peter.” The trailer ends with the return of Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus and also includes homages to Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx’s Electro, both of whom have long been rumored to appear in No Way Home along with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their respective Spider-Man roles. With the trailer establishing these multiverse elements, might Peter become lost in the Marvel multiverse, struggling to find his way home and temporarily teaming up with his counterparts from other worlds? That's certainly one way to highlight the comics’ all-important theme of power and responsibility and gives the title of “No Way Home” added meaning.

We could easily see No Way Home boiling down to one basic conflict. Will Peter choose to flee his world and recover his old life in a new one or does he accept the responsibility he has to protect his own world, no matter the personal cost?

And if the multiverse is the key to restoring Peter's identity, what does all this mean for Strange's future MCU? We know Spider-Man: No Way Home plays into the events of 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If Strange is arrogant enough to think he can manipulate time and space not just to save all existence, but to help out individual heroes, that could have dire consequences for the larger MCU.

Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and the Marvel Multiverse

As we saw in Avengers: Infinity War, Strange was able to explore millions of possible timelines in the span of a few minutes, scanning the multiverse for the one reality where Earth's heroes eventually triumph over Thanos. Could Strange attempt something similar here? Will he scan for a universe where Peter's identity was never leaked and merge that reality with the MCU?

Many fans are also wondering why Doctor Strange even cast that spell, especially since it was one Peter could evidently so easily help screw up? If there's one consistent theme when it comes to magic in the MCU, it's that spells always carry a cost. If Strange finds an alternate universe where Spider-Man's identity is still secret, what's the cost of altering his reality? Will two worlds become one? Merging multiple worlds into one inevitably results in some rough edges and cosmic mistakes. But Strange also concedes there’s much about the multiverse they don’t yet understand.

Perhaps helping Spider-Man is exactly what further unlocks the door to the Multiverse of Madness -- as much as Wanda’s possession of The Darkhold or Sylvie’s shattering of the sacred timeline did. In that case, Doctor Strange, not Spider-Man, would be the real loser in this One More Day-inspired conflict.

What did you think of the new trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home? What are your theories about how the magic and multiverse of it all will play out? Let us know in the comments.

And for all things MCU and Spider-Man, keep it locked on IGN.

Spoilers for Marvel’s What If…? Episode 2, which is now streaming on Disney Plus, ahead. Read our review of Episode 1 here.

This is more like it. After a surprisingly average premiere, Marvel’s What If…? finds much more success as it leaves 1940s Earth for the cosmos. While the alterations to the Sacred Timeline made in the premiere felt a little more nuanced, Episode 2 goes for broke in the ways it plays with our understanding of integral MCU players. That leaves us with a rollicking 30 minutes of TV which, through no fault of its own, is tinged with the unavoidable melancholy that comes with hearing the late Chadwick Boseman perform T’Challa for the first time since his passing.

This episode posits a world in which Yondu (Michael Rooker) outsourced Peter Quill’s abduction to Kraglin (Sean Gunn) who, instead of snatching Quill, accidentally grabs the Prince of Wakanda instead. The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) bridges the gap between the abduction and the present day by detailing the influence T’Challa’s unimpeachable moral compass had on a universal scale as he grows into the renowned Star-Lord that Quill had deluded himself into thinking he was at the time in his career. That means Korath’s (Djimon Hounsou) not asking “WHO!?” on Morag, it’s more like “HOOOWEEE!”

What If...? Will Feature More of Chadwick Boseman

Luckily, this isn't the last we'll hear of Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa in What If...? Executive producer Brad Winderbaum previously revealed to IGN that Boseman's voice will appear in four episodes of the series, playing a different version of T'Challa each time. "Unfortunately, he never was able to see the finished product, but he was very excited about taking part in it," Winderbaum said.

While I still have significant reservations about What If casting MCU actors to reprise their roles in this animated series, where experienced voice actors might work better, Boseman’s performance is an absolute joy. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and with that mantle lightyears away, this T’Challa is a flirty, gregarious badass. Boseman sinks his teeth into this new characterization and brings refreshing lightness to T’Challa. It’s going to be very hard for some fans to watch this episode knowing it marks the beginning of the end of our time with the character, but Boseman’s enthusiasm and commitment (especially in the face of what he was going through) are a huge source of comfort. The other MCU vets voicing their characters have mixed success, though the quality of the performances is better overall this week.

Boseman’s performance is an absolute joy.

I gave What If’s premiere credit for its restraint in diverging too far from MCU history out of the gate, for the sake of warming casual viewers up to the multiverse. This episode sits at the other end of that spectrum and feels like a better fit for the show’s format and style. T’Challa has reformed the Ravagers into a much less dysfunctional group of galaxy guardians who are all more or less on the same page about their benevolent missions. That’s especially shocking, given who T’Challa’s got working as his Draxian muscle. Credit where it’s due: having Josh Brolin stop by to voice a redeemed Thanos in just the second episode is bold. And this Thanos has got some Big Dad Energy, cracking jokes and showing genuine affection for his crewmates and (adopted, as they’ll remind you) daughter, Nebula (Karen Gillan).

This is all made especially bizarre by just how seamless Brolin’s performance feels in animation. We’re already used to a certain level of unreality when it comes to the CG-created Thanos, so after a couple lines of dialogue, I found myself forgetting this wasn’t actually Sacred Timeline Thanos. Oh, and do the Ravagers crack a joke about Thanos’ original plan to save the galaxy with genocide? No, they don’t! Do they crack multiple jokes about it? Sure do! Yeah, the first one had that hallmark bite of caustic humor which define the Guardians as we know them, but it’s a tired bit by the third mention.

Nebula enlists T’Challa’s help in tracking down the Embers of Genesis, a world-engine Macguffin currently in the hands of the man who filled the power vacuum Thanos left behind: The Collector (Benicio del Toro), who’s shredded now. With an even more flamboyant personality and an arsenal of famous MCU weapons to defend himself, The Collector’s a fun foe for T’Challa and the Ravagers to battle, and those moments of action again prove to be a highlight of What If’s execution. The cosmic setting really works better for What If’s art style than the drab WWII-era Earth we got last week, with the vibrant colors of James Gunn’s Guardians films popping nicely across both action and exposition. That, coupled with the story’s breakneck pace, give this episode a great momentum that it carries through to the end.

What If is still playing its cards close to the chest when it comes to what degree these new pocket universes will interact with each other. Just like last week, this episode’s final scene hints towards a grander play, with a pair of cameos resulting in a new power dynamic to keep an eye on as these disparate timelines inevitably start to drift closer to one another. Uato’s repeated insistence that he can’t (or, won’t,) interfere with the events unfolding sounds more and more unlikely. Methinks The Watcher doth protest too much.

Following Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie has closed a deal to star in Captain America 4.

As reported by Deadline, Captain America 4 is being written by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's head writer and creator Malcolm Spellman and series staff writer Dalan Musson. Deadline's sources have also said there is no director set for the film as of yet.

There is also no word as to whether or not Sebastian Stan will return as Bucky Barnes in Captain America 4, and Deadline also notes that, "this is not believed to be the top secret project tipped by [Deadline writer] Justin Kroll that might bring Chris Evans back into the fold."

This news follows a similar report by The Hollywood Reporter that also noted this project was in development, and this latest update confirms it is well on its way.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier told the story of Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson becoming Captain America, and the series finale left the audience with many questions regarding John Walker, Sharon Carter, and much more.

While there is no word as to when this movie would hit theaters, we do know that the MCU film with the farthest away confirmed date is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5, 2023. There are a ton of other projects in the works without dates as well, including Moon Knight, Blade, and the second season of Loki, so it will be interesting to see where Captain America 4 fits in.

For more on Anthony Mackie and his journey to become the new Captain America, check out our look at our review of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's first season, Spellman's answers to finale questions, and why the series may have taken a "muddled approach to the new Captain America."

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Corey Taylor and his solo band donned KISS's signature black-and-white makeup for their concert last night (Monday, August 16) at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield, Missouri. Special guests CHERRY BOMBS, led by Taylor's wife Alicia Taylor, were unable to perform for reasons that haven't been disclosed. Earlier today, the SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman took to his Twitter to share a pre-show photo of him with his solo band taken on Monday, and he included the following message: "Last night we had to pull off a special show in Springfield, MO, because our @cherrybombsrock couldn't perform. If you have a ticket stub, digital copy or printed ticket from last night, it gets you into tonight's show for free. So come see us all get crazy! Take care out there!" Corey and his band are scheduled to perform tonight at Grinders KC in Kansas City, Missouri. Taylor kicked off his "CMFTour" summer 2021 tour on August 6 at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Nevada. The shows find Corey and his band running through anthems from his critically acclaimed solo debut "CMFT", choice cuts from his SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR catalogs, and various covers and surprises. 2021 has been as busy as ever for Taylor. Having recently wrapped the sold-out spring leg of his "CMFTour", which he documented in a series of "Tour Diaries" for Rolling Stone, Taylor also released an inspired new cover of CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG's "Carry On" and fronted GROUND CONTROL, a supergroup also comprised of Taylor Hawkins (FOO FIGHTERS), Dave Navarro (JANE'S ADDICTION) and Chris Chaney (JANE'S ADDICTION) performing at "The Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day" in tribute to the late David Bowie. "CMFT" made impressive debuts on charts around the world in October, entering at No. 1 on Billboard's Current Hard Rock Albums chart, while claiming No. 2 on Current Rock Albums, No. 6 on Vinyl Albums, and No. 9 on the Top Albums charts. Furthermore, "CMFT" landed Top 10 on the official album charts in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, with Top 20 debuts in the United Kingdom, Finland and Japan (international chart). "CMFT" was recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston and Corey's recording band — Christian Martucci (guitar), Zach Throne (guitar), Jason Christopher (bass), and Dustin Schoenhofer (drums).

The advanced engineering company Boston Dynamics has released a stunning new video showing its Atlas robots doing parkour, including vaulting over objects and even performing backflips.

"Through jumps, balance beams, and vaults, we push Atlas to its limits to discover the next generation of mobility, perception, and athletic intelligence," the company said.

Two 5-foot, 190-pound Atlas robots take on the parkour course, running across banked plywood panels, performing jumps, and running up stairs. Another robot does the course in reverse. Then both robots land synchronized backflips. One of the robots then flaunts its success by emoting the "dirt off your shoulders" expression.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Suicide Squad.

The Suicide Squad's Margot Robbie performed one of the movie's most impressive stunts herself without using a double.

Robbie appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last month with James Gunn and John Cena to discuss some of the craziest stunts in The Suicide Squad. They spotlighted a scene in which Robbie's Harley Quinn kills one of her captors and then uses her bare feet to snatch the keys from his body before proceeding to unlock the handcuffs above her head — also with her feet.

pic.twitter.com/EDjoHM4IYN

— infamousmargot (@infam0usharley) August 8, 2021

Gunn praised Robbie for executing the trick herself, confirming that she facilitated her own escape in the scene rather than having a stunt double step in to break Harley Quinn free. The filmmaker shared his disappointment over the fact that Robbie's costume covers her face during one of the pivotal moments in the trick, so it isn't obvious that she's responsible for it.

"[Robbie] is like a human Swiss army knife... and watching this scene with her flipping backwards was just beyond incredible," Gunn said. "I was so happy that it worked and I was mesmerised by it and then I got into the editing room with the footage and [she] has a cuff on [her] outfit that covers her face so it looks like it's a stunt person... It's my biggest regret."

Despite coming away from the movie with one such regret, Gunn previously credited The Suicide Squad for having saved his life "in so many ways." He explained that, from a creative point of view, the movie helped him to rekindle his spirit and rediscover the reason why he started making movies in the first place — something he felt he had lost along the way.

The Suicide Squad opened at number one in the US weekend box office, but only earned $26.5 million. Its inclusion on HBO Max and the rise of COVID's Delta variant likely impacted its relatively underwhelming debut, but Warner Bros. release strategy shouldn't be written off just yet, as the movie also had the second-most-viewed premiere on HBO Max.

IGN's review of The Suicide Squad scored the supervillain blockbuster a 9/10, saying: "James Gunn absolutely kills it with The Suicide Squad. The film is a bloody, chaotic ride from start to finish that finally does justice to Task Force X. It's endlessly shocking and funny, and its showcase of F-list DC villains is nothing short of brilliant."

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Hello! I’m thrilled to share with you that Arashi: Castles of Sin launches exclusively on PlayStation VR tomorrow, August 10. 

In Arashi: Castles of Sin, assume the role of Kenshiro, an elite shinobi assassin. With an arsenal of feudal weapons and your wolf companion, Haru, exact vengeance against ruthless bandits who have terrorized the countryside and claimed castles across feudal Japan as their own.

One of the keys to making this game was to stay small, scrappy, and flexible. We kept our approach as DIY as possible by using state-of-the-art mocap tools like an inertial motion capture suit for full body capture, mocap gloves for finger capture, and an app that captures high quality facial motion. We captured this all on a sub-$1,000 laptop, proving it can be done without huge, expensive workstations.

By having these tools on hand, we were able to have a mobile mocap studio capable of shooting at a quality that would usually require a mocap stage, a dozen personnel, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of hardware and equipment – all with a three-person team of Forrest Söderlind, Patrick Jandro, and myself from our office last summer. 

To provide the motion capture for the combatants you’ll fight we worked with Master Russell McCartney, a world record holder in Japanese swordplay. As our Creative Director Tom Doyle likes to say, “you won’t simply be fighting against some sword-wielding bad guy; you’re actually facing one of the greatest swordsmen alive.” 

Your katana isn’t your only weapon though- it’s only one of ten different weapons in Arashi.  Meaningful player choices and expressive play are paramount to our design director, Peter Carlson, so we made sure each weapon has its own strengths and drawbacks which enable players to tackle challenges in the play style of their choice.

Our team was passionate about presenting this story entirely in Japanese with subtitles. We have a deep love and appreciation for Japanese cinema of the 40s and 50s and wanted to transport the player right into their own personal Criterion Collection film. 

We felt it was important to find a way to represent cultural mannerisms specific to Japan. Our solution: send a mobile phone all the way around the world to Japan, set up a tripod, and hit record on capture software while our Japanese voice actors performed. As excited as we were about it, presenting the entire game in Japanese brought about an interesting challenge as neither of our animators are Japanese speakers. Luckily, our 3D Art Lead Louis Lu and his wife are both fluent and helped make the lip syncing and subtitles as cohesive as possible. 

There was still plenty of work from there and Forrest and Pat say this was one of the most complex and rewarding experiences for them on this project. To give you a peek into one part of the process, we whipped up this video of Ayane, Kenshiro’s cousin and guide.

We wanted Haru to not just be a powerful weapon, but also your companion. To capture the spirit of Haru, we took a field trip to a wildlife sanctuary, Predators of the Heart, and had an amazing day studying and playing with the wolves. 

Haru was one part of our process that was a little less DIY. Our plan was to be at a mocap studio and shoot animation for her, but due to pandemic reasons that was a bust. We called up our friends at Beyond Capture in Vancouver, Canada, who coordinated with us for a remote capture of four German Shepherds, each with a different role: neutral, aggressive, cinematic, and playful. In all our careers, doing a remote quadruped shoot was completely unprecedented and a massive undertaking, but we’re so happy with Haru. 

Oh, and can you pet the dog? 

Yep. You can pet the dog. Well, wolf. 

When I’m playing Arashi, I feel like a stealthy, strategic ninja assassin in a playground with all my awesome toys. I laughed out loud with joy the first time I took on two enemies, fighting one with my katana and the other with my tanto. One of my favorite things is to drop a mine near a bunch of enemies and command Haru to distract them, luring them right into my trap. Boom! 

Our team is so excited for you to play starting tomorrow, August 10. We can’t wait to hear about your adventures in the shadows.

The latest MCU movie is finally here as Phase 4 continues.

After over a year of delays, Black Widow is finally here--and it's the first MCU movie released directly on Disney+ so you can watch from the comfort of your own home. While the timing may be a bit awkward, given Natasha's foregone conclusion as a dead superhero thanks to Avengers: Endgame, the movie itself is still exactly what you've come to expect from Marvel Studios. There's plenty of bombastic action, humor, and, of course, details crammed into every nook and cranny to help flesh out this massive shared universe.

Black Widow works to flesh out Natasha's backstory by adding a slew of new characters who, unlike Nat, will definitely go on to exist in future MCU projects--though what those projects will amount to is still a mystery. The best we can do now is take this information and start trying to sort out the pieces of the Phase 4 puzzle--and to do that, we'll need to take a look at some of the details hidden away in this movie in the form of Easter Eggs, references, and nods to the MCU at large.

So, without further ado, here is your (spoiler filled) breakdown of things you'll want to look out for as you watch Black Widow.

1. Yelena Belova

While the MCU may have invented Yelena's backstory as an Ohioan raised by two super spies and her adoptive big sister Natasha, she's still a character from Marvel Comics--and, unsurprisingly, a Black Widow agent.

2. Sokovia accords

Our good friend, the Sokovia Accords, keep coming up--and it's no wonder. Given where this movie is set in the MCU timeline, this is the most pressing issue right now. I bet Ross and his team feel pretty silly being worried about this once Thanos rolls into town.

3. King of Wakanda

This is a bit of a two-for-one reference--the king Natasha literally fought was of course T'Challa, but lets not forget that Civil War kicked off with the assassination of a different Wakandan king, T'Challa's father, T'Chaka.

4. Incredible shrinking convict

Ant-Man's codename apparently isn't common knowledge yet.

5. Moonraker and box dye

While Natasha is in hiding, she spends her time watching old James Bond movies--Moonraker in this specific case--and contemplating dying her hair. We know she ultimately goes through with this, thanks to her blonde look in Infinity War.

6. Budapest

The frequently referenced Budapest incident is a focal point in this movie--at least we finally know what Natasha and Clint have been offhandedly quipping about since Avengers.

7. Dreykov

Dreykov isn't actually a character in Marvel comics, but he was mentioned in the MCU prior to this movie--by Loki, in fact, back in The Avengers. Attempting to intimidate Natasha, Loki brings up, specifically, "Dreykov's daughter," who we learn more about here.

8. Taskmaster

The aforementioned Dreykov's daughter is, of course, Taskmaster--though this origin story for the villain is completely new and invented for the MCU. In the comics, Taskmaster is a man named Tony Masters (seriously) who is a super learner able to mimic the fighting style of anyone he observes. Despite being wildly powerful, Masters is frequently a hired gun for bigger, badder villains and occasionally even a chaotic neutral force who uses his abilities to train and side with heroes.

9. The hair whip

Apparently the absurdity of Natasha's action poses have become a meme even within the MCU--Yelena certainly seems to think so. The first time we saw Natasha do her own version of the superhero landing was back in her introduction in Iron Man 2.

10. Red Guardian

Of the new characters introduced in this movie, Alexei most closely resembles his comic book counterpart--sort of. Red Guardian was indeed a Captain America analog produced by the Soviet Union. A whole bunch of them, in fact--there were a total of seven different people assigned that codename over time with Alexei being the second of the bunch, introduced in 1967. He wasn't a feel-good father figure for Natasha, though--he was actually her husband for a time.

11. Ursa

The man Alexei arm wrestles is called "the big bear" and "Ursa" at different points, nods to Ursa Major--a literal bear in the comics and one of Russia's superheroes.

12. Melina Vostokoff

Melina is also a Marvel Comics character, though the version played by Rachel Weiss bears little to no resemblance to the one published in the books. In the comics, Melina was a super villain with the codename Iron Maiden and a member of a villain team called--and this isn't a joke--the "Femizons." This all happened in the 1980s, and since then Comics Melina has pretty much become your average C or D list villain. All of which is to say it's completely up in the air what will happen to her in the MCU, since the source material holds little to no clues.

13. Red Guardian vs Cap

In the context of the movie and the MCU's timeline, it's obvious that Red Guardian's stories about fighting against Steve Rogers are totally made up--Steve was still frozen in the 80s and missed the entirety of the Cold War. This isn't the case in the comics, however. Red Guardian fought (and lost to) Captain America during Avengers comics published in the late 1960s, shortly after Steve was thawed out and made part of the team.

14. The Gulag

While Red Guardian's dramatic Gulag escape never happened to him in the comics, it did happen to another Marvel character in a similar fashion--Bucky Barnes was sent to a Gulag not long after his stint as Captain America, after it was publicly revealed that he was the Winter Soldier. Natasha also had a hand in rescuing him--though Yelena wasn't there to assist.

15. The Winter Soldier project

Speaking of Bucky Barnes, while he's not mentioned by name in this movie the Winter Soldier project is--and it bears a striking resemblance to the Taskmaster project here in the MCU. In Marvel comics, Bucky was actually initially brainwashed and trained by the Red Room before he fell into the hands of HYDRA. That was changed for the movies, however, and HYDRA was the one to work on Bucky's transformation from the start.

16. Crimson Dynamo

Yelena teases Red Guardian by calling him Crimson Dynamo, which isn't just a random name she made up. The real Crimson Dynamo was a different Soviet villain-slash-anti-hero who typically squared off against Iron Man back in the '60s. Crimson Dynamo has never officially appeared in the MCU, but he did appear in the Iron Man 2 video game adaptation.

17. Those face masks

Forget the hair whip and the pose, those super high tech face masks might be Black Widow's favorite thing in the MCU. First seen in The Winter Soldier and then used time and time again for bits of fancy espionage, it's only fitting to let Natasha get one more big disguise in before the end of her solo movie. Honestly at this point she may as well be an honorary Skrull.

18. The vest

It turns out Natasha's Infinity War costume was actually given to her by Yelena--a vest with a lot of handy pockets.

19. The jet

It also turns out that Steve and company's quinjet, used during Infinity War while they were still wanted convicts, came from one of Natasha's contacts.

20. Valentina Allegra De La Fontaine

Julia Louis Dreyfus reprises her role in the post-credits as Val, the person who saw to recruiting John Walker back in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Apparently she and Yelena have been working together in some capacity and now she's got another mission--one to kill Clint Barton, who Val claims is "responsible for Natasha's death."

Spoilers follow for The Suicide Squad on HBO Max.

The Suicide Squad, Warner Bros’ latest DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie, has arrived on HBO Max – and there’s a fair bit to unpack from James Gunn’s R-rated superhero (or should that be supervillain?) film.

Now that the credits have rolled, we imagine you have questions, including who lived and died, and what went down in the movie's post-credits scene. 

Below, we’ll break down how The Suicide Squad ends, as well as cover how its final few scenes will affect at least one DCEU project. It’s obvious to say, but we’re about to dive into major spoiler territory for The Suicide Squad, so turn back now if you haven’t watched it in its entirety.

• Check out our review of The Suicide Squad
• How to stream The Suicide Squad online
• Here's how much an HBO Max subscription costs

The Suicide Squad ending explained: who died during the Corto Maltese mission? 

It would be easier to list those who actually survived. Ahead of the film’s release, director James Gunn continually stated that there would be major casualties among the movie’s sizable cast – and he wasn’t joking.

The majority of the film’s ensemble cast didn’t make it past the Saving Private Ryan-inspired beach assault in the first act. Of that number, the demise of Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney) was the most shocking, given that he had featured prominently in the 2016 movie adaptation of Suicide Squad.

Of those who made it into the heart of Corto Maltese, though, two characters' journeys wouldn’t progress much further.

Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is murdered by Peacemaker (John Cena) after the pair fought over a vital piece of evidence. The item in question – a hard drive – contained evidence of the US government’s involvement in funding experiments surrounding Starro, with Flag and Peacemaker divided over what to do with it.

Feeling betrayed by the very people he conducted these missions for, Flag wants to upload the drive to the internet and reveal the US government’s secret to the world. As a loyal patriot, however, Peacemaker has other ideas. He wants to give the evidence to Task Force X’s leader Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to ensure that the footage never sees the light of day.

After a brutal, hand-to-hand battle, it’s Peacemaker who comes out on top. As Flag tries to suffocates him with a lead pipe, Peacemaker grabs a nearby piece of broken porcelain and stabs Flag in the heart, thereby killing him.

Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) is the other major casualty of the movie’s third act. Helping his fellow supervillains to halt Starro’s rampage across the island, he’s crushed by one of the starfish kaiju’s five limbs – but not before he heroically shouts “I’m finally a superhero!” for doing something good with his life. It’s a semi-honorable death and one that, ironically, he’d asked for earlier in the film.

So, who did survive to the very end? Of the 15 supervillains who made up this version of Task Force X, only six lived to tell the tale.

Bloodsport (Idris Elba), Harley Quinn (Margo Robbie), Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), King Shark (Steve Agee/Sylvester Stallone), Weasel (Sean Gunn) and, surprisingly, Peacemaker are the sextet who make it out alive.

It’s the latter two of that group, though, who have the biggest questions surrounding them, and this is where The Suicide Squad’s post-credits scenes come into play.

The Suicide Squad ending explained: is there an end credits scene? 

Yes. In fact, there are two – one immediately after The Suicide Squad’s title card appears, and one once the credits have rolled.

The first concerns Weasel. Presumed dead after it seemingly drowned before the beach assault, Weasel coughs up some sea water and awakens to find itself alone on the shore. Unaware of the events that have just played out, and with no way of getting off the island, Weasel heads into the nearby jungle – presumably to live out its days as a Corto Maltese urban myth.

If The Suicide Squad’s first end credits scene is meant to be slightly humorous, its second could set up an intriguing future for one DCEU production. 

John Economos (Steve Agee) and Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), two of Waller’s aides, arrive at an unknown hospital and are led to a particular patient’s room by a doctor. The camera pans around to show who is in the room’s hospital bed – and it’s none other than Peacemaker.

It’s a surprise to see Peacemaker alive. Having killed Flag, Peacemaker realizes that Ratcatcher 2 watched him murder their former teammate in cold blood. The hard drive, meanwhile, was tossed to the ground in the ensuing melee – and Ratcatcher 2 now has it in her possession.

A chase ensues as Peacemaker tries to retrieve the evidence and he eventually corners his prey. Despite her pleas not to shoot, Peacemaker draws his weapon to kill Ratcatcher 2, but Bloodsport shows up in the nick of time.

The duo exchange fire, but it’s Bloodsport that lands a telling long-range blow and seemingly kills Peacemaker. Fast-forward to the after credits scene, however, and Peacemaker clearly isn’t dead.

So how does this set up the DCEU’s future? For one, it’s likely that The Suicide Squad’s post-credits scene is setting up events for Peacemaker’s forthcoming TV show, which is due to launch on HBO Max in January 2022.

Billed as a series that will “explore the origins” of Peacemaker, many fans had been led to believe that the show will be a prequel to The Suicide Squad. While that may still be the case – we may get flashbacks to how Cena’s character becomes Peacemaker in the first place – it’s also possible that the TV series will be set after The Suicide Squad.

Given that Agee’s Economos and Holland’s Harcourt will be supporting characters in the show, The Suicide Squad’s post-credits scene is clearly a setup for Peacemaker’s TV show.

The eight-part series has been written and directed by Gunn, too, so it’ll be closely tied to The Suicide Squad regardless of whether it’s a prequel, sequel or a combination of the two. 

If Peacemaker survives his next ordeal, we may see him appear in future DCEU movies – especially any that may star Bloodsport. He’ll want revenge, after all, and that could even set up events for a Suicide Squad sequel. Here’s hoping we get one.

• How to watch the DC movies in order

Star Wars: The Bad Batch will be coming back for Season 2 in 2022, according to a release. This news arrives before the series's Season 1 two-part finale airs on Disney+ on August 6+.

"Fans have enthusiastically embraced the action and drama of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, and we are excited to see the Star Wars animated universe continue to expand on Disney+," said Michael Paull, president of Disney+ and ESPN+. "As the dedicated streaming home of the Star Wars franchise, we can't wait for the second season of this fan-favorite animated series."

The animated Star Wars series is a spinoff of The Clone Wars. The Bad Batch follows "elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War." Each member of the Bad Batch has their own specific skill, and together, they make a formidable crew in a galaxy far, far away.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Netflix just dropped a first-look video for Cobra Kai Season 4, revealing the next showdown will take place this December.

The 30-second promo hit our feeds faster than a roundhouse kick when it was posted to the official Cobra Kai Twitter account on Thursday. "It's not just a tournament," read the tweet leading into the announcement of the premiere date. "It's the battle for the soul of the Valley. Cobra Kai Season 4, coming this December to Netflix." Check out the first footage below:

It’s not just a tournament. It’s the battle for the soul of the Valley.
Cobra Kai Season 4, coming this December to Netflix. pic.twitter.com/4O242IP96t

— Cobra Kai (@CobraKaiSeries) August 5, 2021

Opening like a commercial, the teaser promises the return of the iconic All-Valley Karate Tournament that was previously featured in the original Karate Kid and the first season of Cobra Kai. It also delivers a few quick punches of footage from the new season, offering fans some very brief glimpses of all the main characters who are making a comeback.

Netflix acquired Cobra Kai last year, becoming the exclusive streaming platform for the third season and beyond. The show was officially renewed for a fourth season last October ahead of its Season 3 premiere at the beginning of this year. The third season focused on the aftermath of the brawl between the two dojos that left Miguel in a critical condition.

IGN's review of Cobra Kai Season 3 commended the show for continuing to be "a wonderfully dosed-out follow up to the old franchise" that delivers "hard hits, cool kicks, and an absolute mastery of tone" to balance "valiant drama with (sometimes) utter ridiculousness" while still managing to explore deeper "themes of anger, forgiveness, and redemption."

For more on the series, check out our reviews of Cobra Kai Season 1 and Cobra Kai Season 2.

Adele Ankers is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.