British actor David Warner, who starred in Star Trek and Tron among many other projects, has died, aged 80.

The BBC reports that Warner died of a “cancer-related illness.” His family shared the news “with an overwhelmingly heavy heart.”

“Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity,” said an official statement. “He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous, and compassionate man, partner, and father, whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years. We are heartbroken.”

Warner began his career on the stage in 1962, making his debut as Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Court Theatre. However, he went on to a long and celebrated career in film and television – appearing on Doctor Who and landing several Star Trek roles.

These included St. John Talbot in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Warner’s career spanned decades, appearing in numerous popular sci-fi properties – notably as the characters Sark, Dillinger, and the Master Control Program in the cult Disney sci-fi flick, Tron.

According to The Guardian, Warner developed stage fright after a disastrous stage production of I, Claudius in 1973, and began to focus on his film work even more. He soon racked up an impressive filmography, often playing villains. These included performances in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, and several collaborations with Sam Peckinpah such as The Ballad of Cable Hogue, Straw Dogs, and Cross of Iron.

Throughout his career, Warner has worked with some of the biggest filmmakers in the business, landing a role in James Cameron’s Titanic, as well as the David Lynch classic, Twin Peaks. He even starred as photographer Keith Jennings in the horror classic, The Omen.

The Rada-trained actor eventually returned to Stratford in 2007 for the first time in more than 40 years to play Sir John Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 at the Courtyard Theatre.

Already, tributes to the British actor have begun pouring in, with fans and filmmakers alike paying their respects to the beloved actor.

Very sad to hear of David Warner's passing, an actor with a huge legacy on stage & screen and unforgettable roles in; Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment, Straw Dogs, From Beyond The Grave, The Omen, Time After Time, Time Bandits, Tron, Titanic and much more. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/sBh4VVvEfH

— edgarwright (@edgarwright) July 25, 2022

“David Warner. Immaculate and singular in every part he played,” said Reece Shearsmith via Twitter. “Such fun working together, (always patient with me when I discussed his head coming off in “The Omen”). An honor to have worked with him and got to see him at his absolute funniest. A sad day.”

IGN sends its condolences to Warner's family and friends.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn isn’t worrying about the superhero team’s next lineup.

During an interview with IGN, the 55-year-old filmmaker confirmed once more that this current version of the Guardians of the Galaxy won’t be together for much longer.

“This iteration of the team is done after this [movie],” he said. But it looks as though he’s too bothered about who comes next right now.

“I never said there was a new team,” he explained. “I don’t care about the new team. All I care about is what this team is and being really true to the story of these characters, and finishing the story in an honorable way, and telling Rocket’s story fully, and telling Nebula’s story fully, and telling Quill’s story fully, and really getting into what this is now.”

It’s no surprise that the Guardians of the Galaxy could shift their line-up. After all, heroes come and go throughout comic book history, so a new roster for the MCU’s version of the Guardians of the Galaxy would be an interesting change.

But Gunn isn’t thinking that far ahead. And it seems he’s not really as into the interconnectedness of working within a cinematic universe as he is telling his own stories within it.

“I’m not into everything going off here, and this is to set up this, and this is to set up… I don’t care,” he said. “I never have cared about any of that. All I care about is the story here and now, moving an audience, sharing our love for the material and our love for each other, with the audience. That’s what matters.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 wrapped filming just a few months ago and will debut early next year as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s upcoming Phase 5.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, and Vin Diesel as Groot. They’re joined by Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Debicki, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Will Poulter.

James Gunn both wrote and directed the movie based on characters created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.

Want to find out more about Marvel’s upcoming slate? Check out everything that was announced at Marvel’s SDCC panel, and find out why the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer still isn’t online.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Microsoft will soon implement an Xbox Series X and S update that makes the console boot up faster.

As reported by The Verge, Xbox's director of integrated marketing confirmed on Twitter (below) that the new feature being tested in Xbox Insider builds cuts the console's boot time in half.

Xbox has created a new animation that, while it doesn't seem too different, cuts the original boot time of nine seconds down to a much quicker four, meaning Xbox users can now get into their consoles and games even faster. As it's currently just in a beta testing phase the update isn't available for all Xbox users but will likely be released fully soon.

Can confirm – worked with @harrisonhoffman and @jakerose27 to create a shorter boot up animation (~4s) from the original boot up animation (~9s), helping to reduce the overall startup time.

— Josh Munsee (@joshmunsee) July 23, 2022

The faster time will only be available those who set their consoles to Energy Saver mode – which results in slightly slower start-up overall but is better for the planet and energy bills – as those on Standby mode typically skip the start-up screen altogether.

Microsoft has implemented a number of changes to make its Energy Saver mode more appealing, including an update in March that allowed updates to be downloaded while switched to this setting.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

The Reef: Stalked is in theaters, VOD/digital, and Shudder on July 29, 2022.

Andrew Traucki’s The Reef: Stalked is the writer/director’s fourth wade back into aquatic horror waters, albeit with inconsistent results. I wasn’t taken by his first shark attack flick, The Reef, which was a concern that proved detrimental coming into his 2022 sequel. Both films implement a style of using wildlife B-roll that doesn’t match character-focused cinematography, but The Reef: Stalked also falls victim to another sin of indie-budgeted shark cinema — poorly computer-animated beasts. It’s never as bad as Alicia Silverstone’s battle against a pixelated atrocity in The Requin earlier this year, but still woefully underwhelming in terms of fin flick thrills.

Traucki’s setup du jour for The Reef: Stalked is four women paddling kayaks towards a Pacific island when Mr. Hungry Shark appears. I’ve seen protagonists adrift on jet skis this year, also floating on a detached coastal hotel bungalow (The Requin is wild, y’all) but Traucki finds sensibility in a getaway excursion on open waters – at least after central protagonist Nic (Teressa Liane) discovers her sister and diving buddy Cath (Bridget Burt) drowned in a bathtub by abusive partner Greg (Tim Ross) during an introductory tragedy, and Nic disappears from other sister Annie’s (Saskia Archer) existence until now. This backstory is how Traucki attempts to empower emotional stakes beyond hunter-prey animal attacks, as Nic frequently hallucinates Cath’s gurgling face gasping for air when gazing into the sea’s churning wakes.

Two narratives fight for dominance throughout The Reef: Stalked. One analyzes Nic’s growth as someone who flees from confrontation and depressive realities after her sister dies — the shark stalking Nic represents her traumas, get it? The other is an actual creature feature where Nic, Annie, Jodie (Ann Truong), and Lisa (Kate Lister) must defend themselves on single-rider kayaks against a massive fishy foe. Unfortunately, there’s never a fluid marriage between Nic and Annie’s reevaluations of PTSD, heavy-handed metaphors, and excitable shark horrors. Traucki aims to chart new waters since he can’t just recreate the capsized nightmare of The Reef, but fails by disconnectedly overcomplicating what surrounds sporadic shark attacks from beneath.

Even worse, and most regrettably, The Reef: Stalked continues a streak of dodgily inserted or animated sharks that never feel like they belong in their cinematic environment. In this case, it appears video footage of real sharks is superimposed into scenes which still give a digital feel. Actors react to invisible lungers that emerge from (sometimes digital) cover-all splashes that surge topside with the ferocity of clunky video game graphics. These are your sea monsters, your fearsome predators, and they don’t even blend into islander backgrounds. Traucki’s dilemma is not uncommon and very well might be a recurring talking point come my review of fellow shark flick Maneater next month. Scared swimmers flail away from meh-at-best sharks (aside from wildlife inserts) for 90 minutes like you’ve seen over and over from underfunded aquatic horror films — when will we learn our lesson?

Admittedly, The Reef: Stalked doesn’t sink until the shark appears, after Traucki’s foursome establish their chemistry and motivations. While the sisterhood angle may wear thin after an hour, it’s initially something intriguing to bite into, and the scenic shoreline landscapes all look lovely. As a casual kayaking adventure across crystal blue waters, we sense the oncoming storm before a dorsal fin slices through waves — the film just cannot sustain that feeling of dread. Once the chomping begins and waterlogged survivors cling to bobbing surfaces for safety, excitement merely doggy-paddles with unmemorable strokes. Nic’s reclamation of self, the ensuing fight for salvation on sandy beaches, an outside interaction with children swimming in danger zones? It’s underplayed as terrifying shark attack cinema, whether post-production additives lack or undercut momentum.

The Gray Man star Ryan Gosling reportedly wants to enter the superhero genre as the new Ghost Rider – and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is equally eager to cast him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

MTV News's Josh Horowitz tweeted earlier in June (below) that Gosling denied rumours he'd be playing Nova in the upcoming MCU project but said he would like to play Ghost Rider. When Feige was asked about it at San Diego Comic-Con, he didn't mention Ghost Rider specifically but said he'd love to cast the Drive actor in some way.

"Ryan's amazing. I'd love to find a place for him in the MCU," Feige told MTV News. "He's dressed up as Ken on Venice Beach [and] he gets more press than giant movies coming out that weekend. It's amazing."

Will @RyanGosling be #GhostRider and what does the future hold for #HarryStyles in the #MCU? #KevinFeige give @joshhorowitz the scoop at #SDCC2022. pic.twitter.com/KEVBWEJr5d

— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) July 24, 2022

Ghost Rider wasn't one of the several new Marvel films or TV shows announced during Comic-Con and Marvel hasn't explicitly mentioned the character appearing in the MCU before, but seeing how far and wide the universe is expanding it wouldn't really be a surprise to see it eventually. However, previously we've seen The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus seemingly pitch for the role.

Feige himself explained that the MCU is now open enough to encompass the character – who, if you don't know, began as a stunt biker who sells his soul and becomes a skeletal spirit of vengeance. "You talk about Ghost Rider," said Feige. "We've got Blade, we've got Doctor Strange, we've got the supernatural angles."

Ghost Rider previously appeared in Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, but there's some debate over whether that show could be considered MCU canon.

Gosling has a fairly busy schedule at the moment anyway, having just released The Gray Man (with MCU royalty Chris Evans and The Russo brothers directing), recently wrapped filming on Barbie, and he's also involved with a number of upcoming projects including Wolfman, The Fall Guy, The Actor, and Project Hail Mary.

Ghost Rider last made a film appearance with 2012's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance starring Nicolas Cage. In our 8/10 review, we said: "The film bears little relation to the original 2007 adventure of Cage's cursed Johnny Blaze, which surely was seen as a blessing."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.