Rebooted Batman to Debut in Justice League Movie?

Rumor has it that the live-action Justice League of America movie will also ostensibly serve as the reboot of Batman on the big screen.

Batman-on-Film reports that a "solid as they come" source tells them the Batman "reboot will come after the JL film, not before. Therefore, the new cinematic Batman will be introduced in the JL film as opposed to a solo film. This would ... assure the new Batman film series will be part of a 'DC Cinematic Universe.'"

The site cautions, however, that while their source is legit, they still advise readers to take the rumor "with a grain of salt" for now.

Next summer's Man of Steel is expected to be the final DC Comics movie until at least 2015, when scuttlebutt suggests the JLA film will be released.

JLA is being scripted by Will Beall. No director is currently involved, although recent reports claims the Wachowskis are high up on Warner Bros.' wish list to helm it.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Wachowskis Rumored as Justice League Director Contenders

Warner Bros. is actively looking for a director to finally bring their live-action Justice League of America movie to life. Ben Affleck recently shot down reports that he might do the film, and now there's a rumor that the studio is looking at not one but two filmmakers to direct JLA: Lana Wachowski and Andy Wachowski.

According to Moviehole, the sibling directors behind the Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer and the upcoming sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas are on the studio's list of possible contenders to helm JLA, which was scripted by Gangster Squad's Will Beall. The site claims the studio is "apparently jazzed with Cloud Atlas, and love that it’s as much a spectacle as it is a showcase for the immense ensemble involved, so it makes sense the W’s are under consideration. Justice League needs to be as big on character, as it does bells & whistles, and the Wachowski’s could probably offer that."

Moviehole cautions, however, that  the Wachowskis "definitely like to work at their own speed, and definitely like to do their ‘own’ thing as opposed to being merely one ‘cog’ in a venture, so I can’t see them jumping through hoops to pull the strings on a ‘we want it done now’ large corporate statement like this. Still, exciting possibility nonetheless."

The Wachowskis are no strangers to adapting DC Comics for the big screen. They produced the feature film version of V for Vendetta and once tried to turn Plastic Man into a movie, but to no avail.

Mad Max's George Miller came closest to making JLA a few years ago, casting Armie Hammer as Batman, Common as Green Lantern, and Adam Brody as Flash.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

New Looper Posters

Check out the latest one-sheets from the upcoming Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis sci-fi action thriller Looper:

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Chuck Norris: No Expendables 3 for Me

Action icon Chuck Norris says he has no intention on returning for The Expendables 3.

Norris made the declaration during a red carpet interview with Access Hollywood at the premiere of The Expendables 2. Scrub forward to about 1:15 in the video below for Chuck's full response (thanks to Latino-Review for the head's-up):

Now check out the video below for our Expendables 3 dream cast!

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Blood Knights: A New Vampire Action-RPG

DTP Entertainment has announced Blood Knights, a new vampire action-RPG headed to consoles and PC. Blood Knights follows the story of Jeremy, a vampire hunter who is bound by blood to a sexy, mysterious vampiress named Alysa. “The former arch-enemies have to work together to rid themselves of the binding,” DTP Entertainment says.

Blood Knights is developed by German studio Deck 13, who previously worked on Venetica and Ankh. DTP says the game features “intense combat, tons of weapons, items as well as vampiric abilities that put players in total control over their enemies and let them feel the powers that vampires wield in the Blood Knights universe.”

Blood Knights will hit Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC on October 31st for $14.99 (1200 Microsoft Points). Check back to IGN for our hands-on impressions later this week. Until then, you can find more info on Blood Knights’ official site.

Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

All The World’s A Stage In Puppeteer

If you watched Sony’s Gamescom press conference, you’ll have briefly seen Puppeteer in action. It looks mental. An unashamedly theatrical 2D puzzle-platformer with flamboyant artistic direction and voice acting straight out of a pantomime, it’s the brainchild of director Gavin Moore and SCE’s Japan Studio. It’s a beautifully imaginative game that plays with the form and conventions of theatre and puppetry to distinguish itself in gameplay terms as well as stylistically, born of Moore’s desire to create something that could capture the mind of his own son.

It’s a dark fairy tale story, beginning with the abduction of a boy’s soul by a malevolent bear-king who lives on the moon. Young Kutaro, the protagonist, finds himself transported into the body of a wooden puppet. The presentation of this puppet play is luxuriantly over-the-top, with red velvet curtains that flutter and billow with the action on the stage and an unseen audience that gasps and laughs at key junctures. “Kuuuutaro! KUUUUUTARO! Will you be my friend?” bellows the imposing, red-eyed Moon Bear King, in a stage voice that booms from the speakers, before biting Kutaro’s head off and discarding his body. From there, you have to find different heads for Kutaro to wear, each of which can be put to use in different situations.

At this point, near the beginning of the first act, Puppeteer looks like quite a simple 2D puzzle platformer – but the longer you watch it for, the more nuance it reveals. Towards the end of the first act, after Kutaro has escaped through the basement and kitchens of the Moon Bear King’s tower and climbed back up to the top, he finds himself in possession of a magical pair of scissors that lets you cleave through the fabric of the sets, cutting shapes out of cloth puppets or props. We’re shown only the most basic application for these magic shears, as Kutaro cuts through patterns of cloth to create a door for himself through to the King’s throne room.

“

The 2D perspective allows Japan Studio to be especially lavish with the sets

The 2D perspective allows Japan Studio to be especially lavish with the sets, realising the animation, characters and backdrops with exceptional detail. “I hate 3D cameras,” says Moore. “It takes a really, really good coder to get a very good camera working in a game. Here, it’s fixed – and it meant that suddenly we had all this CPU power we could use to create other things, like full theatrical lighting and real-time shadows.” In the absence of a camera, the right stick controls Yin Yang, a flying witch’s cat with headlamps for eyes who accompanies Kutaro for this early part of the game, mewing advice in Cheshire-cat-style honeyed tones.

But the two-dimensional viewpoint isn’t restrictive – Kutaro isn’t always walking from right to left or left to right across the stage. Some sets rotate, like the tall spiral tower that Kutaro must climb to find the magic scissors. Others will be top-down. The sets are constantly changing around the player, with new furniture and props clunking into place and the stage lights following and spotlighting the action. There’s an impressive physicality to it all; it looks and sounds like a play, a window into a stage, rather than a digital creation. The audience gasps, bombastic orchestral score and sound effects, and ostentatious voice-acting all draw you in to the theatrical conceit, as does the detail in the sets, from those gently undulating stage curtains to the smoke effects – even the clop of Kutaro’s puppet feet on the stage floor.

If Kutaro gets hit by anything malicious, he loses whichever head he has on at that moment, giving you three seconds to scramble around and pick it up again. Each head has contextual actions – the first one that you find, a useless skull, comes with a little puppet skeleton dance. A spider head, found later, lets him interact with giant spider webs around the world. At another point, he was wearing a hamburger for a head, whilst navigating a basement kitchen full of dancing crockery and fiery hazards, and staffed by other headless unfortunates whom the Moon Bear King has eaten.

“

Unlike many artistically inventive 2D platformers of our time, Puppeteer isn’t a digital-only release

Unlike many artistically inventive 2D platformers of our time, Puppeteer isn’t a digital-only release. “It’s a full-release blu-ray disc, so expect the amount of content that you’d expect from that. It’s more than you would imagine, I will say that,” Moore confirms. “Puppeteer is huge. It’s absolutely huge. It’s full of wild and wonderful situations, with variation in changing sets and gameplay and enemies. People will be shocked by the amount of stuff that we throw at you… If you’re going to ask people to pay for a game [on disc], you want to give them a new experience.”

Puppeteer is certainly that – I’ve never seen anything like it, and comparisons to things like Paper Mario and LittleBigPlanet feel shallow and superficial after you’ve seen more than a few screen shots. Most interestingly, when Gavin Moore was asked whether it’s a happy game or a sad game, he seemed to find himself unable to answer. There’s European fairy-tale darkness in this story, a touch of Grimm, where bad things sometimes happen to good children. The presentation might be flamboyant, but it’s not primary-coloured or childish; if I were seven years old, I’d probably find it compellingly scary.

Puppeteer has been in the making for almost three years already, and will be out next year. Hopefully we’ll see more of it at Tokyo Game Show next month.

Keza MacDonald is in charge of IGN's games team in the UK, and finds herself continually impressed with Sony's talent for attracting and supporting some of the industry's most unusual and creative games. You can follow her on Twitter and IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

The Expendables 2 Tops the Box Office

The star-studded action sequel The Expendables 2 opened atop the weekend box office, bumping last weekend's champ The Bourne Legacy to second place. The Bourne Legacy fell 55% from its opening last weekend for a current domestic cume of $69.6 million. Newcomers ParaNorman and Sparkle, the latter featuring the final screen performance of the late Whitney Houston, both debuted in the Top 5.

Here are the weekend estimates via Rentrak:

1. The Expendables 2 $28.8 million

2. The Bourne Legacy $17 million

3. ParaNorman $14 million

4. The Campaign $13.4 million

5. Sparkle $12 million

6. The Dark Knight Rises $11.1 million

7. The Odd Life of Timothy Green $10.9 million

8. Hope Springs $9.1 million

9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days $3.9 million

10. Total Recall $3.5 million

Listen to Keepin' It Reel to find out how we did with our box office predictions!

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Darksiders II Review

Darksiders II represents the latest offering from developer Vigil Games, a direct follow-up to the 2010 original. Much like its predecessor, Darksiders II provides some solid action, albeit nestled amid a somewhat flawed experience. It’s also possibly the most derivative game ever made - borrowing adventure and puzzle elements from The Legend of Zelda, action from God of War, platforming from Prince of Persia, and tone from some hellfire version of Lord of the Rings. That’s not necessarily a bad thing - an amalgamation of such incredible franchises could have resulted in the game to end all games. The thing is, if you’re going to so blatantly derive material from such well-known properties, you better nail it. While Darksiders II provides a lengthy and entertaining experience for action adventure fans to sink their teeth into, in the end it never comes close to reaching the heights of the various franchises it so freely borrows from.

Darksiders II further fleshes out the story of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse introduced in the first title - this time with War’s brother, Death, at the helm. Death believes that War has been wrongfully convicted of destroying mankind, and seeks to restore humanity to clear his brother’s name. The narrative is pretty entertaining, if not severely overdramatic. Though it should please anyone solely in the market for ‘epic,’ it lacks any trace of subtlety and often comes off as sophomoric. Given that the end result of any plot advancement is inevitably that Death needs to gather three of something and thrash some skeletons, hearing the characters go on about the old ways and soul judgement just feels a bit silly. However, if a healthy dose of ridiculous doesn’t faze you, the contrived reasons for Death’s various escapades through heaven, hell and everywhere in between do provide an amusing backdrop for his quest.

The majority of the adventure comprises rather standard action fare - Death wields both a fast primary weapon and a slow but powerful secondary weapon, and you chain together moves to slash your way through the various enemies.  There are also a few special abilities you gain along the way - like the ability to summon demon lords to do your bidding or to split your soul in two to solve dungeon puzzles. The game plays fine with a mouse and keyboard, but it’s best if you have a controller - this is clearly how the game was meant to be played, and in any case tracking down the menu to remap keys is a huge pain. The game also doesn’t allow for hot-swapping between controller and keyboard/mouse controls, so you’ll have to reboot if you want to switch.

The action segments are enjoyable enough - inasmuch as it’s hard to make slicing up undead baddies unenjoyable. Still, it’s disappointing that most of the enemies require next to no strategy to overcome. When you do come across an enemy that requires strategy to best, the joy of slaying it is truly satisfying - but these occurrences are few and far between. Most of the time, the answer is just to wait for the enemy to make their move, dodge, then attack. It’s still fun, because dodging and attacking are fun things to do in an action game, but it does get irritatingly repetitive after several hours of the same old song and dance.

One of the touted selling points of Darksiders II is that it’s far bigger than its predecessor - with a map that’s more than twice as big and a campaign that’s about three times longer than the original adventure. Unfortunately, in this case, bigger definitely isn’t better. The freedom Darksiders II offers is something to behold - you’re able to journey around huge areas as you please, slashing enemies and seeking out treasure and loot drops to your heart’s content. But the bloated environments are simply too barren and often devoid of anything interesting to do or see. Since so little is done to vary up the gameplay, the pacing drags and the length of the adventure feels more like a chore than a bonus.

The main problem is that the bulk of the adventure is repetitive. While it’s completely possible to reuse game mechanics throughout a campaign and still keep it feeling fresh, Darksiders II doesn’t achieve this. You’ll find yourself climbing wooden ledges and pegs, setting off bombs, and rolling balls over and over again in exactly same way, instilling a gnawing sense of deja vu. If these mechanics were employed in varied and clever ways, that would be one thing - but they’re not. I found myself rarely challenged by any puzzle I came across, and was often astonished that I was once again expected to repeat the same menial task I had just completed in the previous dungeon, or even in the previous room.

This is no place for a horse.

On the bright side, Darksiders II does offer up some truly epic boss fights to vary up the repetition, ones that will put your skills to the test and are truly exciting to overcome. You’ll fight all kinds of epic demons - ones that can regenerate, ones that are about 100 times your size, and ones that are just plain brutal in their assault patterns. The bosses are one of the highlights of the experience, offering a glimpse of what Darksiders II could have been had the entire quest been as varied and balanced as these memorable battles. 

As for gamers who don’t like fetch quests - this game is not for you. Seriously, the entire game is a fetch quest. All you do is run from area to area, fetching three of these, then three of these, then two of these, then three more of these with combat in between. As someone who honestly doesn’t mind a healthy dose of fetching in their games, Darksiders II still pushed my limits. You end up fetching so much and for so long that the majority of the game feels pretty pointless by the end. Can’t anyone in these various realms do their own errands, for crying out loud?

In truth, the game would have benefitted from being a skosh smaller and a lot more focused. In this way, the original game beats its sequel, as a more linear adventure that keeps the action coming befits this franchise’s intense style of gameplay. After all, there is a limit to how long you can run through similar environments and solve similar puzzles in order to appease your bloodlust for smashing things with cool weapons.

One of the game’s stronger elements is its art design and voice direction. It’s incredible that you can grow so fond of a main character who literally never emotes, as he’s wearing a skull mask for the entirety of the adventure. Death’s awesome voicework doesn't hurt either - hearing him growl at the Makers or deliver lines like, “This is no place for a Horse,” or “You find something for a change,” is inexplicably enjoyable. Even though he’s pretty impossible to relate to - being the embodiment of death and all - his design and presentation still do a great job of making him someone you want to see to his journey’s end.

While too many of the environments in Darksiders II are shockingly similar, some of them are well thought out and epic to behold, as are many of the characters and enemies found within. The visual presentation in this version of Darksiders II also fares better than its console counterparts, though the graphics options are bare minimum compared to other PC games. They get the job done, but don’t allow for the minor tweaks and alterations that PC gamers love. The good news is that the game runs much smoother as a result - gone are the framerate issues of the other versions, replaced by a silky smooth experience. The downside is that while the graphics are good, they’re not great. Things could look crisper, and there are still some shockingly bad textures underscoring the inspired art design. Considering the lack of customization and clumsy menus, this PC version comes off as a somewhat lazy port - but hey, at least it’s far less choppy.

I bet his shoulders are freezing.

A frustrating detractor to Darksiders II is the sheer amount of random glitches you’ll encounter along the way - ones that can’t be accounted for and appear and disappear for seemingly no reason at all. Seeing Death floating above the ground or over thin air is not uncommon, nor is pressing B to perform an action command only for nothing to happen until a few button presses later. Other random glitches I encountered include the inability to discard boots, ally AI that just stands in the corner staring at the wall, a Primary Quest icon that leads you in the wrong direction (then shift positions when you check the in-menu map), and an absence of music and sound effects until the game was reset - and that’s just to name a few. Most of these glitches only last for a short while, then disappear never to surface again. Others, like a targeting system that rarely seems to target the closest enemy or a camera that is often pointing in an inopportune direction, are quite persistent. Sadly, they’re things you’ll just have to learn to cope with if you hope to see Death’s journey to its conclusion. 

The funny thing is, despite its lengthy list of flaws and failures, Darksiders II still manages to offer an enjoyable experience. Despite its lack of variety, the combat is still satisfying to engage in, especially when you run across a behemoth of a boss. And even though there’s not enough to do in them, running around such huge environments is still incredible. Certain abilities you amass along the way - like the Deathgrip or the summoning ability - are terribly fun to play with, and make for some really cool dungeon moments (like dashing across a wall and Deathgripping at the last moment to reach the other side). It’s also worth noting that the game picks up considerably towards the end, finally finding its stride for the last few dungeons. The puzzles get more creative, the enemies and environments more varied - it’s just a shame it takes about 30 or so hours to get to this point.

Possibly the best part of the adventure, something that all action RPG games could learn from, is its implementation of RPG elements such as equipment and customization. Weapons found on the field can be instantly equipped or sent to your inventory with a single button press. Furthermore, each piece of equipment’s stats are displayed when you walk near it, as well as how it will raise or lower your own stats should you equip it. This makes fast decision making a breeze, and greatly increases the joy of seeking out the best armor to equip Death with. Every weapon or bit of armor you equip also changes Death’s appearance, which is a cool touch in making character customization feel more personal. The concept of cursed artillery, which you can ‘feed’ other items to, is also a great way to make the underpowered loot you come across feel like less of a waste. The way equipment is handled in Darksiders II is a true revolution in RPG gameplay, and one of the most solid parts of the experience.

Calling on Death’s bird, Dust, to show you the general direction you should go, and the deeply engrained Fast Travel system (which lets you instantly warp back to certain areas on the fly) are also great innovations for the genre. It’s a true shame the game’s impressive contributions are so severely undermined by its sheer amount of flaws and glitches.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Taken Director Takes The Hitman's Bodyguard

Pierre Morrel (Taken) is currently in negotiations to direct The Hitman's Bodyguard, a new action film from David Ellison's Skydance Productions.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, financing is expected to go through Paramount. Tom O'Connor (Fire with Fire) has written the screenplay, which centers on "a protection agent who is forced to escort to the Hague a hitman awaiting his chance to testify against a war criminal and ex-head of state of an Eastern European country."

Morrel was previously attached to helm Bastille Day for Vendome Pictures and Anonymous Content, but the director has since passed on the project.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger: Battle of the Trailers

With cinema’s greatest action heroes going toe-to-toe in The Expendables 2 this week, the powers that be decided it would be a good time to launch the trailers of two action movies starring the two biggest stars of them all last night.

Bullet to the Head is an ‘80s action throwback that stars Sylvester Stallone, while The Last Stand is an '80s action throwback that stars Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So with these two long-time rivals going head-to-head, we thought we’d pit their trailers against each other in a winner-takes-all deathmatch. So read on to find out if Sly or Arnie comes out the other side victorious.

THE PLOT

Bullet to the Head

Sylvester Stallone stars as a New Orleans hit-man who teams up with a New York City cop to bring down the killers of their respective partners.

The Last Stand

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a small-town sheriff who is forced to put his life on the line when a drug-lord enters his jurisdiction while making a break for the border.

THE ACTION

Bullet to the Head

The trailer kicks off with a near-naked Stallone – save for a pair of boxer shorts – kicking the proverbial out of someone poor unfortunate soul in what looks like a bath-house. There follows several montages of quick-fire punch-ups and bodies falling from tall buildings alongside shots of cars blowing up. Lots of shots of cars blowing up.

The Last Stand

Arnie’s film kicks off with a spectacular car stunt involving lots of guns and bullets and continues in this vein, with The Last Stand clearly featuring more than its fair share of car chases, including one involving a school bus. Schwarzenegger himself gets thrown through a door before putting the beat down on one of the baddies, and it concludes with the money shot – Arnie firing a shotgun with purpose, Terminator-style.

THE DIALOGUE

Bullet to the Head

Stallone does tough: “You know who I am? A problem solver. I take out the trash.”

Stallone does racist: “What are you going to do – bring out some kung fu from the homeland?”

Stallone makes a threat: “I swear to you when I get this guy, it’s going to be bad.”

Stallone does funny: “Are we gonna fight, or are you planning on boring me to death?”

The Last Stand

Schwarzenegger gets it wrong: “It’s my day off – should be a quiet weekend.”

Schwarzenegger does serious: “I’ve seen enough blood and death – I know what’s coming.”

Schwarzenegger makes a threat: I’m not going to let that guy come through our town without a fight.”

Schwarzenegger does funny: “How are you sheriff?” “Old!”

THE CO-STARS

Bullet to the Head

Christian Slater, looking like he’s about to get a bullet to the head.

The Last Stand

Johnny Knoxville, looking like he’s channelling his character from The Ringer.

THE STARS

Bullet to the Head

Stallone is looking as tough as he’s ever been in Bullet to the Head, cracking bones and gags with the effortlessness of an experienced pro. Judging from the top-less brawl he’s still in good shape, while the tag-line reads ‘Revenge never gets old,' and from this trailer it appears that neither does Sly.

The Last Stand

Schwarzenegger is looking a little creaky in this one, although that might be because the trailer plays upon his aging sheriff enjoying the quiet life in a small town. That said, once he gets that murderous look in his eye and starts shooting the place up to protect his patch, it’s a bullet-ridden joy to behold.

THE WINNER

Got to be Bullet to the Head, with Sly’s vengeful hit-man narrowly defeating Arnie’s aging law-man on the anticipation front. But that’s just our opinion - let us know in the poll below which trailer you like best, and look out for The Last Stand in cinemas next January and Bullet in Feb.

Chris Tilly is the Entertainment Editor for IGN and hopes Arnie doesn't read. His idle chit-chat can be found on both Twitter and MyIGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Monster Slaying in Van Helsing

Neocore’s The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is an action-RPG that lets you use magic, swords and guns in a Diablo-style action role-playing game. The mechanics in this game should be familiar to genre fans, where the action is presented from an overhead view and you run around maps wiping out packs of enemies then scoop up the loot they drop.

Making kills earns you experience to level up and accumulate points. Some of these points can be used to boost Van Helsing’s primary attributes, and others go into a skill tree that’s split into three main branches: swords, guns and magic.

In addition to using points to power up individual skills, you’re able to learn individual modifiers that can be activated during a fight. Van Helsing builds a resource while he battles that can be used to trigger these multipliers, which then come into play the next time the skill they’re attached to is used. For example, Van Helsing can burn enemies with a fire carpet spell that spreads flame across the ground. If you have enough of the modifier resource available, you can activate a booster that dramatically expands the fire’s area of effect the next time it is cast.

Three modifiers can be activated at a time, adding a little bit more depth to the system as you consider whether you should activate three different multipliers or instead stack the same one three times to greatly enhance its effects. If Neocore adds a lot of useful variety with the modifiers, this could lead to some more interesting battles.

The item system allows for more customization, offering options to combine and break down certain items so you can enhance whatever statistics happen to support your build. In case even after all your skill and item tinkering you’re not powerful enough to cut past enemies, others can join your game, as there’s support for four-player cooperative play.

Whether or not The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing really catches on when its ready depends a lot of factors that aren’t really possible to assess in a short play session, but the basics certainly seem to be there. Enemy types also seem to have varied characteristics, as some will explode into poison clouds when killed and some are resistant to incoming damage from the front, forcing you to move around, stay active, and switch around weapon types. Neocore’s action-RPG is scheduled to be released sometime in the fourth quarter of 2012 for PC and Xbox Live Arcade.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Gangster Squad Reshoot Details Emerge

The re-filming of a key action set-piece in Warner Bros.' delayed Gangster Squad will take place later this month in Los Angeles. The original film featured a sequence where mob gunmen opened fire inside the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, killing several patrons (a completely fictional crime), but Warners delayed the film and scrapped the scene following July's Aurora theater massacre.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio will film a whole new set-piece in L.A.'s Chinatown starting August 20 and lasting at least 3-7 nights. Cast members Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Robert Patrick, Troy Garity and Michael Pena will all be back for the reshoots.

Gangster Squad is now slated to open January 11.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Gambit #1 Review

Remy LeBeau is back in action in a new ongoing solo series, much to the delight (or, in some cases, disdain) of many fans. Gambit #1 by James Asmus and Clay Mann aims to return the character to his thieving roots, which results in what is essentially a superhero heist comic. It’s a lot of fun, but convenient plot points , a lack of convincing motivation, and lackluster art production hold this debut back from being all that it could be.

Asmus frames this issue with Gambit’s sometimes excessive narration, which does little to offer up much insight on his character for newcomers. Instead, the narration serves the purpose of exposition, leaving a character that should be undeniably charming with his words falling flat. Thankfully, Remy’s dialogue doesn’t suffer from the same problem, and his interactions with the other characters – romantic interests and enemies alike – are bouncy enough to keep this book moving along at an enjoyable pace. It was strange, however, that Gambit’s typical dialect and slang only begins to appear about midway through the issue.

While the dialogue is mostly solid, Gambit’s motivation for returning to a life of heists is rather thin. Perhaps there will be more revealed in issues to come, but at this point, the only true motivation for Gambit’s actions in this issue – crashing a fundraiser held by a mutant-hating socialite – is apparent boredom and a desire for thrills. Even though mutant-prejudice is present in the issue, it’s importance is merely inferred instead of being used as a primary motivating factor for the character, giving his plight less weight to the reader. Additionally, the methods in which Gambit gains access to the target of his heist is rather convenient. Basically, the aforementioned socialite has a bizarre and complicated name, which Remy purposefully mispronounces when speaking to him in order to tape the man repeating it, later using the recording in a voice authentication system.

The other major drawback of this issue falls in the lap of the art team. Mann’s layouts are generally impressive with his storytelling succinct and creative. However, the pencil thin inks of Seth Mann suggests an attempt at a photorealistic style of art, which isn’t corroborated by the colors of Rachelle Rosenberg. She gives the book an almost watercolor-esque feel for a majority of the foregrounds, but all of the styles just culminate in a look that bleeds together and becomes muddied. Individually, the artists deliver some appealing work, but when it all comes together it just doesn’t click. That said, there are select wide shots and extreme close-ups that work incredibly well.

Though I’m not typically a huge Gambit fan, last week’s Hawkeye #1 proved once again that any character can anchor a book for any kind of reader as long as the writing is solid and the storytelling is sound. Sadly, Gambit #1 is a fundamentally flawed book that doesn’t live up to its concept. Hopefully, things can turn around in future issues with more cohesive art and consistent characterization.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. He loves superhero pets so hard.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Making a He-Man Movie Work

Given how massively successful Michael Bay's Transformers movies have been, it's no surprise that various studios are pursuing big-budget, live-action revivals of classic 1980s toy lines. G.I. Joe is another recent success, though its sequel has perplexingly been delayed until next year. Despite this delay, it's clear that Sony sees something in G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon Chu. Earlier this week we learned that Chu has been tapped to direct Sony's live-action He-Man film.

Can He-Man find the same big screen success the Autobots and Joes have? As popular as the Masters of the Universe franchise was in the '80s, the previous live-action movie didn't do He-Man any favors. Is it possible to do right by the character in live action? We say yes, and we have a few suggestions for how Chu can dust off the most powerful man in the universe for a new generation.

Blend Fantasy and Science Fiction

You want to know what the problem was with the first He-Man movie? Well, it's hard to narrow it down to just one, but one of its more significant missteps was that it tried so very hard to be Star Wars. Suddenly He-Man, Teela, and Man-at-Arms were freedom-fighting rebels seeking to free Eternia from the clutches of a scary dude in a black cape. All that kooky technology and architecture from the animated series and comics degenerated into generic sci-fi scenery. He-Man fought most of his battles with a blaster, not his sword or rippling biceps.

Yes, the He-Man franchise is more than a little inspired by the likes of Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, and Jack Kirby's Fourth World comics, but that blend of influences results in something more unique and memorable than what unfolded on screen in 1987. Eternia is a strange place that mixes science fiction and fantasy in equal measure. Its residents wield advanced gadgets and soar through the clouds on hovercraft, yet they also dress like they're attending the local Renaissance fair. Most of them wear fur underwear outside their tights, as if they were prehistoric superheroes. The planet is crawling with dragons, monsters, and ancient demons. In short, there's no reason for a He-Man movie to feel so familiar and redundant.

This time around, we want the movie to celebrate the unique visual trappings and style of the source material. It shouldn't fall too far on either side of the sci-fi/fantasy spectrum. Nor should the movie attempt to be a gritty, realistic take on the mythos. There's plenty of room for violence and darkness in Eternia, but Eternia is also a bombastic place full of colorful characters. There's nothing realistic or plausible about any of it. The film shouldn't descend into Flash Gordon levels of camp, but nor should it pretend to be something it isn't.

The Most Powerful Man in the Universe

1987's Masters of the Universe featured Dolph Lundgren as He-Man. Physically, he fit the part well enough. But Lundgren was poorly suited to play the dual role of the burly He-Man and the bumbling Prince Adam. Perhaps it was for the best that the movie didn't even attempt to work that dynamic into the mix.

This time around, we want to see the filmmakers cast an actor who can convincingly play both Adam and He-Man. Digital effects have progressed to the point where it wouldn't be any great challenge to enhance the actor's physique for the He-Man scenes, a la Xerxes in 300. Perhaps even the reverse approach for the Adam scenes, a la Captain America. This time around, charisma and screen presence are more important than muscle mass. As with Superman's Clark Kent persona, Prince Adam is a way for viewers to identify with He-Man and provide him with more personal ties.

That said, it is possible to ditch Adam entirely depending what direction Chu and Sony want to take the film. Before the first animated series defined the He-Man mythos, the early mini-comics packed in with the figures presented He-Man as the leader of a barbarian tribe who possessed one half of the mythical Sword of Power (Skeletor being the owner of the other). Here is where the Conan inspiration was most apparent. That's another possible angle to pursue, but the result would probably be less mass market-friendly than Sony is aiming for.

We also want to see He-Man live up to his reputation as “the most powerful man in the universe” for once. The original animated series was pretty limited in what it could depict as far as violent action, but at least He-Man was prone to juggling boulders and smashing robots with his bare hands. The film, on the other hand, barely conveyed the sense that He-Man was any stronger and more powerful than your average action hero. When he finally held aloft his magic sword, there was no awesome transformation sequence, just a brief fight with Skeletor. The new movie needs to present He-Man as a Hulk or Superman-level hero and deliver action sequences that take advantage of his abilities. At the end of the day, He-Man is really just a superhero in an unusual setting, and the recent slate of superhero movies should serve as direct inspiration.

A real human being and a real hero? Works for us.

And who should play Adam/He-Man? We've felt for a while now that Ryan Gosling is overdue for some sort of major superhero role. No doubt the thought of Gosling decked out in fur underwear will help bring in a heavier female crowd than the average superhero film. But given that Chu is directing, we suspect that G.I. Joe star Channing Tatum may emerge as a front-runner. A He-Man movie with a slightly more comedic tone would probably suit him well given his recent successes in 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike.

Stick to Eternia

While the previous He-Man movie felt too similar to Star Wars in many respects, it also took an unnecessary cue from Star Trek IV. Just as that movie sent the Enterprise crew hurtling back to 20th Century San Francisco, Masters of the Universe plucked He-Man and friends away from Eternia and dropped them onto Earth for a significant chunk of the film. It's one thing to resort to that sort of plot twist in your third sequel, but for a would-be franchise that was just getting its start, ignoring the Eternia setting was unforgivable.

The only reason to showcase Earth at all is to explore Queen Marlena's past as an Earthling astronaut and her unexpected crash-landing on Eternia. The previous film was intended to acknowledge this plot point. Early script drafts even featured the reveal of a NASA space probe and American flag in the bowels of Castle Grayskull, suggesting that Eternians actually hailed from Earth originally. All of this adds an interesting wrinkle to He-Man's origins, but it may be superfluous for a debut film. As mentioned already, Eternia is an interesting, diverse planet. There are more than enough locales to keep the plot humming along without having to venture off-world.

Caste Grayskull certainly needs to be a focal point of the film. In pretty much any incarnation of the franchise, Castle Grayskull is a source of many secrets and powers, and He-Man is the hero called upon to defend those secrets from villains like Skeletor. What exact power Grayskull contains and how its origins and its guardian, the Sorceress, tie into He-Man's story tends to vary. But regardless, it's a crucial piece of the mythology.

Grayskull did appear in the last movie, though it wasn't quite the wondrous spectacle it might have been. What we didn't see were the actual kingdom of Eternia, its royal family, or Skeletor's domain in Snake Mountain. This movie needs to do a better job of establishing the scope and feel of He-Man's world and the people he's trying to defend. Meanwhile, Snake Mountain can serve as a dark counterpoint to Grayskull and the tranquility of Randor's kingdom.

No doubt the omission of all these familiar locations and elements in the 1987 film was heavily motivated by a lack of budget. He-Man is too colorful and bombastic a franchise to tackle in half-measures. This time around, Sony needs to put enough financial support behind the project for it to truly thrive.

A Larger Cast

If you've ever tried to be a serious collector of Master of the Universe action figures, you know that the franchise is home to dozens and dozens of characters aside from just He-Man and Skeletor. Sadly, only a small handful of these supporting players made it into the previous film. He-Man was joined by Man-at-Arms and Teela, but not even Orko or Battle Cat were deemed worthy enough to buddy up with Dolph. Instead, these faithful sidekicks were replaced by Gwildor. Wait, who?

Exactly.

As far as we're concerned, there's no reason this time for He-Man not to ride into battle atop a ferocious, green tiger and accompanied by a spell-casting, floating dwarf. The trick is in capturing the cooler qualities of these sidekicks and ditching some of the 1980's-era goofiness associated with them. For instance, we don't particularly need Battle Cat to talk, and we can certainly do without his bumbling alter ego, Cringer. The 2002 animated series set the right example by rendering Cringer mute and toning down his cowardly side. Similarly, we want to see less slapstick from Orko and more magical prowess.

Ideally, Teela and her father will have more central roles this time. If the He-Man/Adam dynamic is akin to Superman/Clark Kent, then Teela is the Lois Lane. Her simultaneous disgust at Adam's foppish behavior and attraction to the brawny, heroic He-Man could lend a nice touch of romantic tension to the plot.

We also hope to see He-Man's parents. King Randor and Queen Marlena. Again, Eternia was far too generic and lifeless a setting last time around. We need to see more of its residents and more of He-Man's civilian life as Prince Adam. Whether the movie brings in the more colorful He-Man allies – Ram-Man, Fisto, Zodac, etc. - is up to the filmmakers, but whatever the case, we hope to see the vast supporting cast put to better use.

Fearsome Villains

Perhaps the only thing the 1987 movie did right was casting Frank Langella as Skeletor. In both the original animated series and The New Adventures of He-Man, Skeletor was little more than a bumbling antagonist. He'd hatch a plan, and He-Man would foil it, call him “Bone-brain” or something similarly cheesy, and send him packing until the following Saturday. For a guy with dark magic powers and a skull for a face, Skeletor was about as far from scary as possible.

Conversely, Langella's Skeletor was actually fairly creepy and menacing. He had something of an Emperor Palpatine quality to him, which is one case where the Star Wars similarities paid off. Those are qualities we need to see from the villain in this new movie. We're tempted to say that Langella should reprise his role, if only so he can fulfill the promise he made in the post-credits scene, but that's probably not going to happen. Still, we want a version of Skeletor that inspires fear and dread, not laughter. We want a villain who offers a convincing threat to a guy who can shatter mountains with his fists. No matter how silly or serious the general tone of the movie, Skeletor himself should be dark and imposing.

Looking to the 2002 animated series for inspiration again, it may help the movie to build the ties between Skeletor and King Randor. Right off the bat, that series provided a full origin for Skeletor. He was revealed to be Keldor – a skilled fighter, sorcerer, and revolutionary who was driven insane after his face was scorched by acid. The original animated series also suggested that Keldor was Randor's brother. That plot twist could pave the way for a Hamlet-style showdown between family members. It also lends a more personal touch to the conflict beyond Skeletor's typical desire for power.

Any attempt to explore Skeletor's origin should also lay the groundwork for his onetime mentor and master – Hordak. Hordak's presence is best saved for a sequel, but there's no reason the first movie can't get the ball rolling. Another good choice for future villains is King Hiss and the Snake Men. This group of villains were recurring foes throughout the final season of the 2002 animated series. That series never had the chance to properly wrap up that conflict, so seeing a live-action He-Man film tackle the Snake Men would be a nice consolation prize.

To reiterate our main point, the He-Man franchise is an inherently goofy one. We think it's possible for He-Man to find the same sort of success in Hollywood that other '80s mainstays like Transformers and G.I. Joe have. But success isn't going to come by taking an overly dark and serious approach to the source material and ignoring the fun elements. He-Man offers a challenging blend of fantasy, science fiction, and adventure that's waiting for the proper director to do right by the franchise. We can only hope Jon Chu is that director.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels and a lifelong fan of He-Man. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

Nikita Influenced The Dark Knight Rises

The look of The Dark Knight Rises' Catwoman was influenced more so by a classic foreign action film than by her comic book counterpart.

Clothes on Film interviewed TDKR costume designer Lindy Hemming who said, "Selina Kyle we decided was a kind of female version of Bruce Wayne, she is a cat burglar and an opportunist, so must, rather like James Bond, be able to ‘pass’ or be ‘hidden in plain sight’. My influences were La Femme Nikita, and Audrey Hepburn, with a medium dose of Thierry Mugler thrown in for theatricality. All her clothes were designed by me, and made by / in our workshops, including all her underwear which needed to be worn under the cat suit. Whatever event she decided to be at, she could invent a look that would work, from Maid at Wayne Manor, to Woman Going to a Funeral at the airport."

And for the film's climactic scene (SPOILER!) featuring Selina and Bruce at a European cafe, Hemming said the character's blue dress was a symbolic choice: "She is now, like Bruce Wayne, living in the ‘normal’ world, and should look like any other holidaymaker in Italy. To her (Anne Hathaway) and myself, that kind of blue signifies happiness and has good connotations. Wish we had seen more of it, but it’s a mysterious scene."

Hemming also said the "trickiest character to nail down was Marion [Cotillard] as Miranda Tate [aka Talia Al Ghul], who must not be given away during the course of the film, but who needed to look ethnic in some way that might relate her to Ra’s A Ghul by the end quarter of the story. Very Difficult."

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com

G.I. Joe 2 Director to Helm He-Man Movie

Sony is moving forward with their plans to make a new live-action Masters of the Universe movie by tapping G.I. Joe: Retaliation helmer Jon M. Chu to direct it.

The Hollywood Reporter says Chu's reps confirmed the filmmaker is in talks to direct the second attempt at a He-Man movie. (The 1987 feature Masters of the Universe, starring Dolph Lundgren, was the first.) Alex Litvak and Mike Finch penned the script, entitled Grayskull, for Sony and production company Escape Artists.

You may recall that Chu's G.I. Joe sequel was pushed from its June release date to March 2013.

Chu has also worked with Justin Bieber on his concert documentary so let the rumors begin to fly that this obviously means Bieber and Dwayne Johnson, who plays Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, will star in Masters of the Universe. Or maybe even Channing Tatum as Prince Adam.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com