Black Adam will bring about a “new era” of DC movies according to Dwayne Johnson.
During an interview with Screen Rant, the 50-year-old actor explained how his upcoming Black Adam solo movie will change the future of the DC Universe.
“That footage is a reflection of our director’s vision, who wanted to create something that was different,” said Johnson about the new Black Adam trailer. “[Jaume Collet-Serra] wanted to create a movie that was disruptive, but he also wanted to create a movie that would start the pendulum swing in the DC universe… to usher in a new era of the DC universe.”
Black Adam is not your usual hero. Starting life as a comic book villain and nemesis of popular DC superhero Shazam! it looks as though Johnson’s portrayal of the classic DC character will veer more into antihero territory – and he says that brings DC into a new era.
“A new antihero era, a new era of tone, a new era of story, and also… It’s this incredible opportunity that we have… to just build out the DC Universe.”
Johnson's comments came just days after DC's Jim Lee suggested that the company had no plans to make more movies set in the the 'Snyderverse' – the series of Zack Snyder DC movies that culminated with Justice League. Given that Johnson has previously teased a Black Adam cinematic universe, it may be that he considers this the new continuity to follow for DC's movies.
“[We want] to build out the DC Universe with disruption, with respect, listening to the fans, because they’ll always guide you,” he added. “I was a DC kid right out of the gates. I’m still a DC kid because I’m a big ass kid – I don’t think I ever grow up. But if you look a little further past the obvious characters in the DC world, there is a cadre of so many cool characters that we look forward to highlighting and introducing to the world.”
Some of those less-obvious DC characters will debut in the upcoming Black Adam film as the DC antihero takes on the Justice Society of America, also known as the JSA.
“The JSA pre-dated the Justice League,” said Johnson. “So, there’s a lot of great characters and it feels like audiences have been really responding to our JSA and these great characters so fingers crossed.”
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
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A dedicated fan is creating a remaster mod for The Simpsons: Hit & Run – while also hand-drawing every cutscene for the game in the classic Simpsons style.
El Gato Del Tejado on YouTube uploaded a video showing their progress so far, which includes the complications that occur when remastering a near-two decade old game by yourself. One of these issues occurred as El Gato Del Tejado began work on Hit & Run's cutscenes, which are depicted in 3D in the original 2003 version.
"I would love to see the cutscenes of Hit & Run with current 3D technology like [the] Crash Bandicoot remake or Battle for Bikini Bottom," they said in the video. "I don't have much experience in 3D animation, so better to choose 2D."
El Gato Del Tejado explained that they tried using rotoscoping – where animators trace over footage frame by frame – but this only really worked for the backgrounds and not for the actual characters. The only alternative was to draw these by hand, and several pages of research of Simpsons creator Matt Groening's work was shown before the final result. Instead of being in 3D like the original game, the remaster mod will therefore have a cutscene style more akin to the Simpsons cartoon.
However, outside of cutscenes, El Gato Del Tejado is updating the original 3D look of the game. A previous video showed the modder's work recreating dozens of textures, and updating the Homer Simpson model to offer a more modern look at the character. It's clearly not going to be a quick process, with El Gato Del Tejado readily admitting the issues they've run into (including how Bart's nose disappeared in the new style and how Lisa turned into a monster), but the work so far is pretty astonishing.
El Gato Del Tejado hasn't offered a timescale for how long the work might take, but has opened a Patreon to help fund the project.
It's not the first remake of The Simpsons: Hit & Run, however, as several other modders have tried to recreate the beloved open world game.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
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As reported by PC Gamer, VRChat announced it would soon introduce Easy Anti-Cheat – a common PC counter-hacking and cheating service used in games including Elden Ring, Fortnite, and more. It's being introduced because, according to the developers, "malicious modified clients allow users to attack and harass others, causing a huge amount of moderation issues".
There were other reasons listed too, with developer VRChat Inc. saying that "even seemingly non-malicious modifications complicate the support and development of VRChat, and make it impossible for VRChat creators to work within the expected, documented bounds of VRChat."
A compilation of reactions to VRChat adding Easy Anti Cheat (to ban mods)
A passionate member of my discord put this together and I thought it was a great way to archive the moment (with their permission) pic.twitter.com/A4jJaIqdWI
Some mods add major features to VRChat and are otherwise a huge part of its appeal for the community. For some, those mods' features are more vital, such as adding closed captions for deaf and hard-of-hearing, which will be removed as a result of the anti-cheat implementation.
As you might expect, the announcement has sent the community into an uproar, with Twitter, Discord, and other social platforms exploding with complaints in response to the blog post. The game's Steam page shot from showing mostly positive reviews to overwhelmingly negative as a result of the announcement, as users with hundreds of hours of playtime slammed the developers behind the game they love.
User FrostClaw wrote: "Horrible devs. Entirely disconnected from the community and what they want." Another, Zullfix, wrote that Easy Anti-Cheat will "lower framerates, increase instability, stop 'wholesome' mods, accessibility modes, and quality of life mods" among other things.
@VRChat "VRC-CC" is a mod that adds closed captions to movie worlds so deaf/HH people can watch movies with their friends. VRChat is killing that today by banning all mods. They've done absolutely nothing to address serious accessibility gaps on their platform. Please RT pic.twitter.com/DuJSUJCb4n
VRChat Inc. has issued a response to the community, updating its initial blog post to say that it has heard and understood the complaints but it will not cancel the implementation of Easy Anti-Cheat.
"However, we hear you and see you saying that many of the modified client features that are being lost due to this are extremely important to you, or in some cases allow you to use VRChat at all, when in regards to modifications that added accessibility features that VRChat currently lacks," it said.
"Addressing these concerns and feedback is our highest priority. We are changing our internal development roadmap and priorities to focus on the features and additions that you want. Currently ongoing projects are being paused, rescheduled, or re-prioritized, and resources are being re-allocated to account for this change."
The first changes being made pertain to accessibility issues such as the removal of closed captions, with VRChat Inc. saying it is fast-tracking several similar features through production. It promised that more information will follow soon, and that these initial updates will be first of many, also thanking fans for their patience as they work through the list of concerns.
Whether fans will show that patience remains to be seen.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
As the heading no doubt already explained, Meta has announced it will be jacking up the RRP on VR. If you've been umming and ahing over a purchase, now's the time to pull the trigger (on a Touch controller…that you just bought). Another deal worth noting: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is going for pitful amounts. Why is that important? Because the remake has been put on hiatus indefinitely. So many of you need to play this game before you become a Force ghost.
Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch
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Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He's@grizwords and games onYouTube.
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2023 is going to be another busy year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among the many new movies and Disney+ shows in the pipeline, Secret Invasion is poised to shine a light on Nick Fury's mysterious corner of the MCU. Samuel L. Jackson's hero is finally taking center stage as Nick Fury fights to stop an alien invasion happening in plain sight.
Secret Invasion was one of many upcoming MCU projects teased at Comic-Con 2022, where a Spring 2023 release date was confirmed. Unfortunately, the trailer from that panel isn't being released online, but it did confirm that Don Cheadle's War Machine and Martin Freeman's Everett K. Ross will appear in the series.
What is Secret Invasion exactly, and how is this series drawing from the Marvel Comics crossover? We're going to break down everything you need to know to prepare for Nick Fury's most important mission. These are the topics we cover here:
What Is Secret Invasion?
Nick Fury and Secret Invasion in the Comics
Secret Invasion's Impact on the Marvel Universe
How Will Secret Invasion Be Adapted for the MCU?
Will Secret Invasion Reboot the Secret Warriors?
What Is Secret Invasion?
Secret Invasion is a 2008 comic book crossover centered around a Skrull invasion of Earth. But as the title suggests, humanity isn't even aware of this invasion until it's too late. As readers learned in the long buildup to Secret Invasion, the shape-shifting Skrulls have spent years kidnapping and replacing powerful heroes and politicians, all to help pave the way for a global takeover. With their own world having been destroyed by Galactus, the Skrulls see Earth as their rightful new home.
When that takeover finally happens, Earth's heroes are ill-prepared to fight back. SHIELD is immediately taken down and the Avengers are left scrambling to figure out who among them is human and who is a Skrull impostor.
Eventually, the Avengers (and more than a few villains) are able to repel the Skrull invasion, but not without a heavy cost. Much like Civil War before it, the fallout of Secret Invasion wound up shaping the course of the Marvel Universe for years to come.
The shape-shifting Skrulls have spent years kidnapping and replacing powerful heroes and politicians, all to help pave the way for a global takeover.
Nick Fury and Secret Invasion in the Comics
Nick Fury may only have one good eye, but he alone sees the Skrull invasion coming and is in a position to do something about it. Secret Invasion pays off on an ongoing Nick Fury storyline that began back in 2004's Secret War (not to be confused with the 1984 crossover Secret Wars and its accompanying toy line). Secret War shows Fury enlisting a group of heroes on a clandestine and completely unsanctioned mission in Latveria. When Fury's actions are exposed, he loses his command of SHIELD and goes underground. That paves the way for Iron Man to become Director of SHIELD in 2006's Civil War.
Fury spends months preparing and watching devastating conflicts like Civil War and World War Hulk play out in the Marvel Universe. He assembles a new team of teenage metahumans known as "Caterpillars" – super-powered children of known heroes and villains who aren't on the radar of the Avengers or the U.S. government. That lineup includes Phobos, son of the Greek god Ares, the speedster Yo-Yo Rodriguez and Fury's righthand woman Daisy "Quake" Johnson.
When the Skrulls finally launch their invasion, Fury and his newly minted Secret Warriors are ready to fight back. They prove instrumental in repelling the Skrulls and eventually regaining control of the planet. Although as far as the general public is concerned, Nick Fury was never even there.
Secret Invasion's Impact on the Marvel Universe
Secret Invasion introduces some major plot twists as popular heroes are revealed to be Skrull impostors. For example, the Avengers only become aware of the impending invasion after Echo kills Elektra and Elektra's body reverts to Skrull form. The Avengers are then betrayed when "Spider-Woman" reveals herself to be the Skrull Queen Veranke.
However, Secret Invasion's real importance is in how it sets the stage for the next several years of Marvel storylines. Secret Invasion is immediately followed by Dark Reign, an extended story in which Norman Osborn (who happily hogs most of the glory for repelling the Skrulls) takes control of SHIELD and transforms it into a more militaristic agency called HAMMER. Osborn also forms his own Dark Avengers, a team where villains like Bullseye, Venom, Moonstone and Osborn himself masquerade as heroes. In this bleak new reality, the bad guys are in charge and the real heroes have become fugitives from the law.
Even though Osborn and his Dark Avengers are eventually discredited, the effects of Secret Invasion are felt in the Marvel Universe for a long time. This conflict represents one of the Avengers' greatest failures, even if it also happens to be exactly the challenge Nick Fury was born to confront.
How Will Secret Invasion Be Adapted for the MCU?
When it comes to Nick Fury himself, the state of the MCU is very reminiscent of the buildup to Secret Invasion in the comics. Once again, Fury is at a point in his life where he's left SHIELD behind and is quietly pursuing his own agenda. Thanks to the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, SHIELD has been officially dismantled and most of the world believes Fury is dead.
It stands to reason that the Secret Invasion TV series will follow the same basic premise as the comic, with Fury coming out of the shadows to deal with a clandestine alien invasion. The series sees Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders once again reprising their roles as Fury and Maria Hill, respectively, while Ben Mendelsohn's Talos also plays a key role in the series. Zachary Quinto is also rumored to be making an appearance. Other returning MCU favorites include Don Cheadle as War Machine and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross.
That being said, fans shouldn't necessarily expect a close adaptation of the comic. We don't even know for sure the Skrulls are the ones invading Earth this time. Don't forget that 2019's Captain Marvel revealed Fury has been working alongside Talos and other Skrulls since the '90s. The post-credits scene in Spider-Man: Far From Home hints at Fury's ambitious plans, which may involve spearheading SHIELD's space-focused sister agency SWORD.
The Skrulls have thus far been painted in a much more heroic light in the MCU, whereas their longtime rivals the Kree are the imperialistic aggressors. Given that some Kree can pass for human (such as Annette Bening's Mar-Vell and Jude Law's Yon-Rogg), they may be the ones infiltrating Earth's governments. Or perhaps Fury and Talos are working against a rival faction of Skrulls who have a less favorable opinion of Earth.
It was revealed at Comic-Con 2022 that Secret Invasion will debut in early 2023 with a six-episodes season as part of Marvel's Phase 5.
Secret Invasion Cast
The full cast of Secret Invasion has yet to be revealed, but we know the following actors will appear in the Disney+ series:
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Ben Mendelsohn as Talos
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross
Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Kingsley Ben-Adir
Olivia Colman
Emilia Clarke
Killian Scott
Christopher McDonald
Carmen Ejogo
Dermot Mulroney
Will Secret Invasion Reboot the Secret Warriors?
Many Marvel fans are wondering what role, if any, Fury's Secret Warriors team will play in the Secret Invasion series. That question is complicated by the fact that we've already seen a version of this team in an MCU-adjacent series.
The Secret Warriors factor heavily into Agents of SHIELD: Season 3, and Chloe Bennett's Daisy Johnson (nicknamed "Skye" in the series) is a main character throughout the show's seven seasons. However, Agents of SHIELD became increasingly disconnected from the larger MCU over time, and Marvel Studios' film and streaming projects still have yet to openly acknowledge the events of the series. As far as the Avengers are concerned, Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson has been dead since 2012.
There's also the fact that Skye doesn't have a close relationship with Fury in the MCU. Agents of SHIELD instead positions the resurrected Coulson as her mentor/father figure. That, coupled with Bennett's denial that she'll be appearing in Secret Invasion, has led some fans to assume the Secret Warriors will be rebooted in the MCU proper. Still, with Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk both making the jump to the main MCU, there's always a chance the cast of Agents of SHIELD will return.
Note: This story was originally published in February 2022 and updated on July 26, 2022 with the latest info about Secret Invasion.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
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