When it comes to fantasy series that can capture both adult and child attention, there is possibly none better than How to Train Your Dragon. The first was writ??ten by Cressida Cowell back in 2004, and the world she created has?? since spawned an entire franchise. 

So far, there are:

• 12 mainline books
• 3 related companion books
• 1 children's picture book
• 12 graphic novels
• 3 animated movies
• 5 animated TV series
• 6 animated shorts

And all of that is without counting the upcoming live action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon that’s coming in June 2025. I know, it's a lot.

If you’re just getting into the world of Hiccup and Toothless, and are struggling to figure out where to begin, here’s how to? both read and watch their story. 

How to read How to Train Your Dragon

When first diving into Hiccup’s world, the best place to start is with Cressida Cowell’s original novel series. They are, technically, children’s? books, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable for a? more mature audience. They’re well written, and offer a lot of insight into the Viking world that she worked to fictionalize and build as her setting. 

Thankfully, the recommended reading order of the 12 novel series is the same as the order ?in which they were released:

• How to Train Your Dragon (2004)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Be a Pirate (2005)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Speak Dragonese (2006)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse (2007)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale (2008)
• How to Train Your Dragon: A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons (2009)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm (2010)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Break a Dragon’s Heart (2011)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword (2012)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel (2013)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero (2013)
• How to Train Your Dragon: How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury (2015)

While the novels?? were being published, Cowell also worked on three companion books to go alongside the se??ries:

• How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon (2006)
• The Day of the Dreader (2012)
• The Complete Book of Dragons: A Guide to Dragon Species (2014)

There is also a standalone children's book about Hiccup’s early years and his struggle to fit in, called �?em>How to Be a Viking�? Although it was released late in the timeline in 2014, it is confirmed by Cowell to be the first book in t?he c??anonical timeline. 

After the release of the first How to Train Your Dragon movie and it’s immediate success, Dreamworks authorized the release of 12 graphic novels through Titan Comics and Dark Horse Comics. These add additional story elements for Hiccup, Toothless, and the rest of the charact??ers.&nb??sp;

If you’re interested in how these fit into the canonical timeline, graphic novels released by Titan Comics feature stories that take place during the same time period as those shown in The Riders of Berk series. Those released by Dark Horse Comics give additional stories occurring just after the events of the second How to Train Your Dragon movie. 

Titan Comics

Dragons: Riders of Berk

• Dragon Down (2014)
• Dangers of the Deep (2014)
• The Ice Castle (2015)
• The Stowaway (2015)
• The Legend of Ragnarok (2015)
• Underworld (2015)

Dragons: Defenders of Berk

• The Endless Night (2016)
• Snowmageddon (2016)

Dark Horse Comics

• The Serpent’s Heir (2017)
• Dragonvine (2018)

How to watch How to Train Your Dragon

At first glance, the watch order of How to Train Your Dragon seems like a fairly easy thing to figure out. The three films are in timeline order, so watching them is a pretty safe way to get a lot of the story pinned down?. 

However, there are also six shor??ts and five entire multi-season series to take into account, so fig?uring out the timeline actually gets pretty complicated. 

If you want to watch from start to finish in chronological order, here’s how you should watch all of the animated How to Train Your Dragon content:

1. How to Train Your Dragon (Movie, 2010)
2. Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (15 minute short, 2010)
3. Gift of the Night Fury (20 minute festive short, 2011)
4. Book of Dragons (15 minute short, 2011)
5. Riders of Berk (Single season series, 2011 - 2012)
6. Defenders of Berk (Single season series, 2012 - 2013)
7. Dawn of the Dragon Racers (Short, 2014)
8. Race to the Edge (Multi season series, 2015 - 2018)
9. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Movie, 2014)
10. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Movie, 2019)
11. Homecoming (Short, 2019)
12. Snoggletog Log (Short, 2019)

If you want to r??ound off the col?lection with both spin-off series, then they’re as follows:

• Rescue Riders (Spin-off series, 2020 - 2022)
• The Nine Realms (Spin-off series, 2021 - 2023)

However, bear in mind that these do not feature Hiccup, Toothless, or anyone else familiar from ?the main series. Rescue Riders focuses on an entirely new cast, while The Nine Realms is set 1,300 years later in the modern world, so they do lose a lot of the charm of the original story. 

The post How to Tr??ain ??Your Dragon: Definitive read and watch order appeared first on Destructoid.

The recent critical and commercial success of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has cemented this collection of live action films based on Sega's iconic mascot as one of the best video game adaptations (and best movie trilogies?) in the industry. As a result of their huge cultural impact, fans all around the world have fallen in love with ??its colorful cast of characters.

Whether they're humans portrayed by famous actors or anthropomorphic animals voiced by talented voice actors; whether they are new incarnations of iconic figures from the original video games or they were specifically created for the movies, the characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trilogy are as likable as they're well-written. The only question is: Who are the absolute best ones in the series? (so far...)

10) Wade Whipple

• Portrayed by: Adam Pally
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

On paper, Wade Whipple is supposed to be a minor comic relief character. He's Tom's police officer friend who appeared in a few brief but hilarious scenes in both Sonic 1 and Sonic 3. However, his most prominent cinematic appearance was in Sonic 2, where he has an entire subplot with Agent Stone t??hat perfectly displayed the comedic chops of both ??characters (and actors).

But Wade became way bigger than expected due to the Knuckles TV show, where he felt more of a protagonist than the red echidna himself. As a result, Wade now is quite a polarizing character among Sonic the Hedgehog fans, but he's overall a very funny comic relief whose his presence is always appreciated because he never overstays his welcome. After all, ?who can hate the man responsible for the "Flames of Disaster!" meme?

9) Maria Robotnik

• Portrayed by: Alyla Browne
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Longtime Sonic the Hedgehog fans were hoping that Paramount Pictures and Sonic 3 director Jeff Fowler would faithfully adapt Shadow the Hedgehog's tragic backstory from Sonic Adventure 2 into the big-screen and, much to their delight, they delivered on that promise. While ther??e are some obvious differences, Shadow's past was mostly left intact, as it's still centered on his heartwarming friendship with Maria Robotnik.

The movie version of Maria is as friendly, kind and lovely as the one from the game, but she also feels a little bit more realistic, since she acts more like an actual girl her age. While we only saw her in a few flashbacks, the movie expanded on her relationship with Shadow in really adorable ways, which made her inevitable death all the more heartbreaking. This version of Maria worked so well that it helped make Shadow and Gerald Robotnik's revenge plan all the more understandable (even though it still was cruel and u??nfair).

8) Gerald Robotnik

• Portrayed by: Jim Carrey
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Jim Carrey stood out in these movies since day one, thanks to his portrayal of Dr. Eggman. However, he returned for Sonic 3 in a dual role, not only as Ivo Robotnik, but also as his long-lost grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. These two evil geniuses ended up becoming the comedic highlights of an otherwise dark movie, an?d their chemistry was palpable. This is quite surprising when we remember that Carrey was acting with himself all the time.

But what makes Gerald Robotnik a really fascinating antagonist is his abrupt and shocking evil turn in the movie's third act, where he reveals that he's actually planning to destroy the entire world due to his resentment towards all of humanity which was born after G.U.N. killed his granddaughter, Maria. This sudden shift made what once w??as a goofy non-serious villain into an intimidating threat, a?nd his final showdown with Ivo was both funny and emotional. This Gerald is obviously very different from his game counterpart, but this didn't take from the fact that he was a surprisingly solid villain.

7) Tom and Maddie Wachowski

• Portrayed by: James Marsden (Tom) Tika Sumpter (Maddie)
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) focus?ed mainly on the titular character and his relationship with Tom Wachowski, a completely new human character that Paramount sp??ecifically created for this film. This honestly seemed like an uninspired choice at first, since Tom was a relatively generic character, but it ended up working quite well, since his story was simple yet effective, and he had some solid chemistry with the blue blur.

Tom's wife, Maddie, didn't get much to do in that first movie, but she became a much more prominent character in the sequel. Fortunately, in Sonic 3, they form a dynamic duo who can work together so perfectly that they managed to infiltrate G.U.N.'s headquarters in a brief but hilarious sequence. Granted, both Tom and Maddie have taken a bit of a backseat during the sequels in order to make space for all the anthropomorphic animals and evil scientists, but they still took on the important role ??of Sonic's parental figures who are always there to take care of him and h?elp him grow. Their adorable relationship with the hedgehog is enough to make Tom and Maddie into two equally compelling characters that should keep making appearances in future installments.

6) Agent Stone

• Portrayed by: Lee Majdoub
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Eggman has had many henchmen throughout the years, like Scratch and Grounder from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog or Orbot and Cubot from the recent video games. Nevertheless, when it came to giving Jim Carrey's Robotnik a new henchman for the very first Sonic movie, the writers at Paramount came up with none other than Agent Stone, Eggman's a??ssistant and best friend.

Lee Majdoub's performance is both hilarious and endearing, as he (and the writers) managed to turn Stone from a generic evil henchman into a lovely friend to Robotnik, who's always ready to help him with his evil plans and/or to prepare some lattes with steamed Austrian goat milk for him. It's not common for fans of a game franchise to fall in love with a movie-only character, but Agent Stone has gotten so popular among Sonic fans that many of them are practically begging Sega to introduce him to the ??games as Eggman's new henchman. If they make them have as much chemistry as i?n the movies, this could end up working extremely well for the video game series.

5) Miles “Tails�?Prower

• Voiced by: Colleen O'Shaughnessey
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Tails sadly didn't get much screen time to shine in his introductory movie, seeing as it focused more on Knuckles and his rivalry with Sonic. Fortunately, however, in just a few short scenes, the film managed to make their brand-new friendship with all the more believable and adorable. In pretty much every single Sonic the Hedgehog media, Tails acts as Sonic's younger br??other, and this movie series is no exception.

As its tradition, Tails is a lovable and intelligent young fox that brings some much-needed youthful energy to these films, not to mention that all of his gadgets, weapons and vehicles have been so useful that I don't think Sonic T??eam would have ever been able to succeed in either of the two sequels without him. This is yet another perfect adaptation of this classic character, but he just needs a bit more screen time, so I seriously hope he either gets his own spin-off TV show or a more prominent role in the upcoming fourth movie.

4) Knuckles the Echidna

• Voiced by: Idris Elba
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Knuckles the Echidna has been quite inconsistently portrayed throughout the years. Sometimes he's strong and serious, but others he's just dumb and goofy. Sonic fans were understandably worried of how Paramount was going to make him act and sound in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 but, thankfully, this tu?rned out to be one of the best and most beloved interpretations of the character.

Movie Knuckles is everything he needed to be (and more): He's serious and is always looking for a fight, but he's also a bit naive and arrogant. These two sides of his personality perfectly complement each other, making him a really fun character that always shines in every scene he appears in. Knuckles' relationship with Sonic and his personal character development were two of the best elements of Sonic 2, and he even went to have another excellent (albeit a bit more minor) role in the third film. He also got the chance to shine a bit more in the Knuckles TV series, but, as I mentioned previousl??y, that show focused more on Wade Whipple.

3) Shadow the Hedgehog

• Voiced by: Keanu Reeves
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Shadow the Hedgehog is, without a doubt, one of the most iconic anti-heroes in gaming and one of the most popular characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The success of Sonic 3 ?greatly depended on whether the director and writers could pull off this adaptation of the "Ultimate Life Form". Needless to say (and thankfully for Paramount Pictures) the movie version of Shadow ended up being as edgy, cool and tragic as everybody was expecting, and it resulted in the film?? becoming a major critical success.

It's all about balance, because Shadow is a cool-looking and sounding character who excels in every scene he appears, while still maintaining an important element of emotion and tragedy, which are crucial for the character. As a result of this impeccable characterization, his interactions with Sonic - both their heartwarming conversations and their amazing battles - are the absolute best parts of the entire movie. Despite the fact that he only appeared in one movie so far, this is such a perfect portrayal of Shadow that he could easily star in his very own feature film or TV sh??ow.

2) Sonic the Hedgehog

• Voiced by: Ben Schwartz
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

The formula to make a video game character?? as iconic and beloved as Sonic the Hedgehog work in a movie was ??quite simple, yet effective: Write him as an aspiring superhero, who begins his journey as a cocky and immature kid who doesn't know what to do with his amazing superpowers and, slowly and throughout the course of 3 films, learns that he wants to use them to protect both his loved ones and the entire world.

Sonic's development already make him a compelling protagonist, but his characterizaton is also absolutely perfect (which Ben Schwartz helped elevate with his impeccable voice performance) as movie Sonic is funny, lighthearted, arrogant and strong. He does love making constant pop culture references a little too often, but that's not enough to ruin what is otherwise an incredible and iconic protagonist. Paramount has a great char??acter in its hands, and Sonic is definetely going to keep shining in every future movie he appears.

1) Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Eggman)

• Portrayed by: Jim Carrey
• First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Let's be real: Jim Carrey's excellent performance as Dr. Ivo Robotnik AKA Eggman is the best part of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. Yes, this may have started off as yet another goofy and over-?the-top Carrey character but he gradually transformed into the Dr. Eggman we all know and love, in both terms of appearance and personality. This legendary?? comedic actor brought his a-game in order to transform Eggman into one of the most hilarious and lovable movie villains ever made.

Granted, this incarnation of Dr. Robotnik can lean way too much into the comedy side of the character, but he still can be extremely intimidating (like at the end of Sonic 2) and heroically inspiring (like at the end of Sonic 3). This character is so amazing that he even encouraged his actor? to come out?? of retirement just to portray once again for the third movie. While it's impossible to know what future holds for this version of Eggman, Carrey has already?? stated that he will return for a fourth time if he's interested in the script. I seriously hope Paramount Pictures will be able to get him to join one more time, because the live action Sonic the Hedgehog films wouldn't be the same without Eggman.

The post Top 10 best characters?? in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trilogy appeared first on Destructoid.

With millions of people playi?ng video games every day, falling in love with the worlds, stories, and characters they encounter, it should come as no surprise that directors are chomping at the bit to adapt them onto the silver screen. 

Coupled with the apparent?? lack of originality going on in Hollywood, video games of a??ll types are very much in the firing line to be turned into the latest hit (or is sadly more often the case, flop) to grace cinemas around the world. 

Video game adaptations are absolutely not a new thing in Hollywood. Way back in 1993, Nintendo tried to take the Mario Bros. and turn them into silver screen stars. The movie did okay. It’s not good by a long shot, but it does have a cult fandom and is considered a somewhat classic adaptation. Before that, there was "Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach" in 1986, which... Well it wasn't great.

On the plus side,? those early attempts did kick off a whole new genre of video game movies that is still going today?. For better or for worse.

What makes a good video? game adaptation is subjective, to a degree. There are lots of things?? to take into consideration: How true is the adaptation to the source material? Does it live up to the individual experience while playing, or does it create a sole focus for the viewers attention? Does it bring back the joy of experiencing the story of a game first-hand, or does it add a new level of enjoyment? 

Movies ??of all types, including game adaptation movies, are judged by two groups of people �?the public and the critics. These two groups aren’t always in agreement, and it can be hard to figure out who to trust. With that in mind, here are my top 10 video game movies ranked from worst to best, with back-up from critic and public reviews and box office stats. 

10. Werewolves Within (2021)

• Budget: $6.5 million
• Box office: $991,898
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 86%

Werewolves Within was released in 2021 with??out much fanfare and has largely gone unnoticed ever since, which is reflected i?n the frankly embarrassing loss that the movie made at the box office. However, to give it credit where it’s due, it did only get a limited release and there is a particular cult following for this horror-comedy. Critics seem to love it, and those who have discovered it more recently through streaming platforms have praised the performances and story, so there is some merit to it ?being on this list. 

If you’re wondering why on earth this movie is on a list of the best video game adaptations, you’re likely not alone. The original Werewolves Within game was a pretty niche “multiplayer social-deduction VR�?game released on Windows and PlayStation 4 back in 2016. The story in both t?he movie and the game are the same, with a town being attacked by a werewolf? and the main players having to guess which member of the community is the offending lycanthrope. 

9. Silent Hill (2006)

• Budget: $50 million
• Box office: $100.6 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6.5/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 32%

Although Silent Hill only managed to rake in just over double its budget, it’s gone on to be considered a classic in the very specific horror game movie adaptation genre for many. It took five years for director Christophe Gans to even be allowed the rights to make the movie, and thanks to his decision to use professional dancers for most of the monsters, the effects haven’t ??aged too horribly, and the watching experience is still enjoyable to this day. 

At the time, reception from critics wasn’t exactly favorable, but in the 18 years since the movie was released, reviews have been much more appreciative ??of the story and setting. It’s definitely something of a cult classic at this point, and even though it runs a little long at just over two hours, it stands the test of time for horror fans.&nbs??p;

8. Uncharted (2022)

• Budget: $120 million
• Box office: $407.1 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6.3/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 41%

Uncharted is one of the more recent entries on this list, and it might be a bit of a controversial one. With Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg as the stars, the movie follows the story of Sam and Nathan Drake as they s??earch for treasure. It makes?? the list for a couple of reasons outside of my soft spot for Tom Holland. 

When it comes to being true to the source material, Uncharted changes a host of things, admittedly. Outside?? of the fact that the main characters are indeed present, there are a lot of things that will stand out to anyone who played the games. However, the story is still enjoyable, and it’s an action-packed couple of hours that won’t let you feel bored, so you won’t regret watching it. 

7. The Angry Birds Movie (2016)

• Budget: $73 million
• Box office: $352.3 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6.3/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 44%

Now listen, I know that when it comes to video game adaptations, Angry Birds might not be at the top of the list. However, somehow, Hollywood managed to take a mobile game filled with birds who hate pigs and give each of them unique and genuinely enjoyable backstories and personalities. That’s no mean feat, and that’s why The Angry Birds Movie deserves to be on this list. 

Not to mention the fact that the movie grossed a huge amount compared to its budget and was successful enough to spawn sequels that are equally as enjoyable as the first movie and a huge amount of merchandise; plus, this one is somet?hing that you can drag the kids to watch, which is a useful excuse if you don’t wa??nt to be seen willingly heading to the theater solo. 

6. Pokémon: The First Movie (1999)

• Budget: $5 million
• Box office: $172.7 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6.3/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 16%

The critics might not agree with my love for Pokémon: The First Movie, with Rotten Tomatoes only giving it a devastating 16%, but I have my reasons for its inclusion on this list. Firstly, it was the first movie (ha) I ever went to the cinema to see, so it’s hugely nos?talgic for me, but secondly, it’s the first time that most people got to see Pokémon on anything other than a tiny Game Boy screen or an equally tiny TV screen. 

The First Movie brought Pokémon to the big screen and is the k?icking-off point for obsessions in 30-somethings around the world. While it’s old, and the animation has definitely aged, it has aged in the best possible way. Sitting down to watch The First Movie even today brings back the same feeling as ??sitting down on a Saturday morning, three feet away from the screen with a bowl of cereal, ready to kick off the weekend with some cartoons. 

5. Tetris (2023)

• Budget: $80 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 7.4/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 81%

Technically, Tetris isn’t an adaptation of the universally recognized game. I’m not sure how that would be possible outside of giving each block a face and personality, and I don’t think that would do very well. No, Tetris is a Docudrama about the creation and licensing of Tetris from Russia ??during the Cold?? War. 

While it’s not technically an adaptation, it is one of my favorite films of all time, and not onl?y is it enjoyable to watch, but it’s also an education on how life was for people at the time, and it's heartwarming to boot. 

Tetris is exclusive to Apple TV+, so I can’t give you any box office stats on it. However, according to a research panel that tracks smart TV usage in homes, Tetri?s had over 88,000 viewers within the first two days of it being available to watch. 

4. Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)

• Budget: $20 million
• Box office: $297.1 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 5.4/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 32%

There’s no denying it, Five Nights at Freddy’s is a millennial phenomenon. Streamers and YouTubers have had huge success playing the game for viewers, with a Twitch all-time peak of 209,861 viewers, and it’s still beloved by those in a certain age bracket to this day. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone that it was eventually turned into a movie,?? but what surprised people was just how well it d??id. 

Raking in more than ten times its budget, Five Nights at Freddy’s has proven that it can survive on the big screen, as well as in-game format. While critics might not rate?? it as highly as it deserves, the movie is enjoyable even for those who avoided the game like the plague (I speak from experience) and it’s genuinely fun to watch, although probably not one for a younger audience. 

3. Detective Pikachu

• Budget: $150 million
• Box office: $450.1 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6.5/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 68%

Now we’re getting to what I would consider to be the obvious choices, the first of which is Detective Pikachu. While 30-somethings had The First Movie to bring the Pokémon world to life, the younger generations were given this glorious CGI gem with Ryan Reynolds as the voice of an actua??lly talking, coffee-obsessed Pikachu. Sort of.

Detective Pikachu did incredibly well at the box office, there were promo Pokémon Cards available, McDonalds did a whole line of toys t??o run alongside the movie, and even the critics viewed the movie in a glowing light. It’s funny, heartwarming, filled with beauty, and even nerve-wracking at times. Definitely worth a watch, especially for those who have grown up surrounded by Pokémon since the 90s. 

2. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

• Budget: $90 million
• Box office: $320 million
• Public opinion (IMDb): 6.5/10
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 64%

I’m sure I don’t need to remind people about the catastrophic initial design of Sonic prior to this movie being released. It was huge news at the time, and you couldn’t escape the memes when viewers got their first glimpse of doomed Sonic. Thankfully, the public reaction sparked a redesign, and thank God it did because there’s no way Sonic the Hedgehog would have done as well as it did otherwise. 

As a side note, if you want to see what could have been, go and watch Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers, where “Ugly Sonic�?has a bit part ??that pays homage ?to this weird moment in internet history. 

Sonic the Hedgehog tripled its budget at the box office, and there have been multiple sequels and spin-offs in the time since, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 due to be released in December 2024, with Jim Carrey reprising his role (and a?dding another one), and Keanu Reeves playing the part of Shadow. 

1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

• Budget: $100 million
• Box office: $1.36 billion
• Public opinion (IMDb): 7/10 
• Critic opinion (Rotten Tomatoes): 59%

If you didn’t see this coming, then I don’t know what to tell you. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the only logical choice for the top spot of this list, thanks to its staggering billion-dollar box office record, but also because it’s just so fun to watch. And I would know because I have a four-year-old who demands to watch it at least once a day, and I’m still not bored of it, although I can qu??ote the entire script at you without too much?? effort. 

The plot is strange, but what do you expect for a movie based on a platforming plumber who is perpetually rescuing a princess who can’t seem to keep out of trouble for more than five minutes? The Super Mario Bros. Movie has introduced an entirely new generation of children to Mario, which is never a bad thing, and t??he characters are all so familiar that it warms the heart to see children falling in love with th??e Italian adventurer all over again. 

The post Top 10 Best Movies Based on Games appeared first on Destructoid.

For the past few years, video game adaptations have had a pretty solid run. The Last of Us made waves on television, The Super Mario Bros. Movie redeemed itself decades after its abysmal 1993 predecessor, and the Sonic the Hedgehog series has thrived on screens big and small. Unfortunately, not all of these attempts can be success stories, and it seems like the upcoming Minecraft movie, simply called A Minecraft Movie, will take movie goers back to a time not so long ago. A time when adapting gamin??g favorites to the big screen was something that Hollywood just couldn't quite figure out.

At the time of this writing, the Minecraft trailer has been out for a minute, allowing those on the internet to c??ollect themselves, take a deep breath, and let the minds behind it know just how much they dislike it. From the live-action elements to the dialogue to the bizarre casting of Jack Black as Steve, there have been loads of critiques levied against this film that won't even hit the cinema until next year. For as much of a misfire as it might seem, at ??least some surface level attempts were made to resemble the iconic source material. By that, I mean the trailer is full of mobs.

Strange live-action characters aside, the inaugural Minecraft trailer showcases a few hyper-real??istic animals, monsters, and creatures that have roamed to the games landscapes for ages. Here are all the ones included in some form or another throughout.

Sheep

As our human cast enters the world of Minecraft, they have a lot to take in. Everything is suddenly blocky, vibrant in color, and very much resembles a warped version of the world they know. Of course, that's just talking about the angular clouds and brick-??like ground. Then they come across their first living creature in this odd new world, tha??t being a pink sheep, which bleats in their direction with its opposite-facing eyes, uncanny body proportions, and enlarged teeth.

If you've played Minecraft at virtually any point since its 2009 introduction, odds are you've stumbled across the odd sheep. These docile farm animals have been an integral part of the game's DNA nearly since the day it launched. They come in a variety of colors, supply wool to help make vital items like beds, and they can be used as a food source, commonly dropping raw mutton when killed. Hopefully, for the sake of the kids in the audience, A Minecraft Movie won't depict such a scene.

Piglin

Stepping into the world of Minecraft is daunting for the movie's human characters. Though we don't know the circumstances of their arrival yet, the??ir bewilderment and the twinge of fear in their eyes once they arrive indicates they have no reason nor desire to be there. Making the situation worse, they're quickly shown how hostile this place can be as a group of Piglin arrive with likely evil inten?tions in their minds, armor on their bodies, and weapons of all kinds in hand.

Not to be confuse?d with pigs or Zombie Pigmen, Piglin are bipedal, human-like pig cre?atures found in the Nether. Though they're typically pretty neutral in-game, they're often found holding weapons, and they're not afraid to use them if provoked. They can also be found in another variety, the Piglin Brute. Not only are these Piglin far stronger than their contemporaries, but they're considerably more hostile. Based on the trailer, it seems that the filmmakers are electing to make all Piglin generic evil henchmen.

Ghast

Not only do the Piglin feature pretty prevalently in the first Minecraft trailer, but there are some anomalies about them that fans couldn't help but notice. As mentioned, all varieties seem equally disgruntled and dangerous, but going a bit further, they're shown to be traveling outside the ??Nether for an unknown reason. What's more, they're shown attacking by air via makeshift hot air balloons. On?ly, there aren't any balloons involved, but rather Ghasts.

Much like the Piglin, Ghasts are residents of the Nether, and like most things there, these creatures are not very nice. They have no qualms about attacking with fireballs, and the fact that they fly can make them a difficult enemy to retaliate against. Strangely, in the film, they seem to be depicted as large, fleshy, jellyfish-like creatures, where in the game, it has been established that they are actually a form of ghost. This change was likely made so they could be used to carry the Piglin around, which is also something not present in Minecraft without mods.

Wolf

It's no shock that the Minecraft trailer doesn't shy away from showing off the game's arguable most beloved neutral mob. In a brief clip, a rectangular dog creature is shown from a side profile howling at the moon. As anyone could likely guess, this is a wolf. They have been a part of the game since 2011, and in that time, they have become adored by Minecraft players everywhere. Why? It's simple, because who doesn't want a dog at their side as they explore ??the unexp??lored?

Sadly, for those hoping to see more out of wolves in the Minecraft trailer, all we receive is the small snippet confirming that they are in fact in the film. One has to imagine that the feature will include them prominently, possibly with one of the live-action characters domesticating one during their perilous journey. We can only hope that the movie version of the Minecraft wolf doesn't turn out as uncanny as the Sheep appear??s to have.

Creeper

When you think of Minecraft, a few associated mental images likely spring to mind. Steve, of course, maybe a pickaxe of some kind, or, if you're of a certain age and have spent a certain amount of time on the Internet, some problematic YouTube stars. In truth, I think we all know that there is one singular image that has come to define Minecraft more so than any other. That is the green frowning face of the games most f??amous enemy, the Creeper.

There's truly no denying the Creeper's place in Minecraft lore. The explosive mob has been the bane of gamers' existence since the game's first year, ruining homes, farms, mines, and so much more with a brief hiss and a boom. The Minecraft trailer simply wouldn't have been complete ?without the appearance of one, and it delivered. For a brief moment, we see a very fuzzy-looking Creeper, well, creep up behind Jason Momoa's character in the middle of the night, likely intending to do what it does best b??ased on Momoa's terrified expression.

Llama

Toward the end of the Minecraft trailer, we get the big reveal that Jack Black is indeed Steve, blue t-shirt and all. While this may? seem like a good point to end the trailer on, those who put it together opted for a different stinger. It focuses on a llama chewing on some grass when an arrow flies out of the sky and sticks into the ground next to it, with a crowd of Piglin then running past. The animal stands there in sho??ck and stops chewing before going back to its meal.

Similarly to sheep, llamas don't really do a whole lot in Minecraft. They stand around, chew on grass, and are occasionally found on leashes alongside Wandering Traders or grazing freely with a handful of other llamas. If you're interested, and feel particularly motivated to do so, you can actually domesticate llamas. All you have to do is continually attempt to ride them and be bucked off until they let you stay on. Surely this mechanic won't be a source of comedy in t??he movie.

Enderman...maybe?

For the most part, we get a decent look at all of the aforementioned mobs in the Minecraft trailer. Some of them don't get a lot of time to shine, nor are their designs fully revealed, but they still get even the briefest spotlight. Meanwhile, there's potentially one more iconic mob hiding in the Minecraft teaser. At the center of the frame, way in the background of the shot with all of the Piglin together in the ??Nether, there's a foreboding set of what could be purple eyes.

While this could be a trick of the lights and it's merely just another Piglin, it could be an Enderman. These unsettling mobs are defined by their long, slender silhouette, magical aura, and purple eyes. They've been a part of Minecraft for years, walking around ominously picking up blocks, and viciously attacking those who provoke them by hitting them or staring them directly in the face. They are known to appear in the Nether, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that one does appear in the Minecraft trailer way in the background.

Odds are we've only seen but a small sampling of the mobs A Minecraft Movie has to offer so far. We'll have to see which others made the cut, and ??if the whole production is as rough as the trailer ma??kes it seem, when the movie arrives on April 4, 2025.

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The script for Constantine 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2005 supernatural/superhero cult-classic Constantine, is finally done, bringing the film one step closer to an official release. And one of the film's producers is too scared to even read it. As the titular detective wou?ld say, "Bloody hell."

Constantine 2's producer has the script... but he's too scared to open it

Constantine 2 has been through every circle of production h-e-double-hockey-sticks in the years that've passed since the original film's release. Earlier this year, at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, ComicBook.com landed an exclusive with Constantine 2's producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura. In it, Bonaventura claimed that the film's script was being written as he spoke and that f??ans of DC's ever-suffering occult de??tective would get a more concrete update soon.

Said update came when ComicBook.com talked to Bonaventure to promote the impending release of Transformers One. The second Constantine 2 and the promise he'd made in their earlier interview came up in the conversation, Bonaventure revealed he'd gotten his hands on a copy of the film's script. However, he hasn't r??ead it yet because he fears what he'll see on the pages.

"You know it's in my inbox right now. Funny enough, I'm too scared to read it, though. I want it to be good so bad. I'll probably read it in the next f??ew days. When I get on an airplane."

Quote from ComicBook.com

Constantine 2 is coming in time to join James Gunn's DCEU reboot

While it is disheartening to hear that Bonaventure isn't jumping at the chance to read Constantine 2's script, I understand his trepidation. The first Constantine isn't a fantastic movie, barring an exceptional leading performance from Keanu Reeves. Still, there's an earnestness to its production, a low-budget "first season of Supernatural" genuineness that's become scarce in our current age of cinematic universes. Seeing that innate, authentic charm swapped for mediocrity or desperation for mainstream ??appeal would be a shame.

It doesn't help that the hype around Constantine 2 has heated considerably since DC handed their rebooted Extended Universe over to James Gunn. Warner's kicking off this new incarnation of the DCEU with a healthy slate of new movies and shows, and a new Constantine-themed project would allow them to explore the magical side of the DC Universe. The existence of projects like The Batman's The Penguin spin-off proves that Gunn's willing to get experimental, so Constantine 2 would fit into thi?s new, multi-faceted DCEU nicely.

It's hard to say whether a direct sequel to a film that was released over a decade ago will do well with audiences. That said, Keanu Reeves is a huge name now, and I'd be curious to see what kind of energy he'd bring as an older Constantine, especially one who got a new l??ease on life after having terminal lung cancer ripped out of his lungs by?? the devil.

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The newest trailer for Venom: The Last Dance gave us our fi??rst look at the film's villain, and it's not another of Venom's chil??dren. In the final chapter of his titular trilogy, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) faces off against Knull, Lord of the Abyss and creator of all symbiotes.

If you're a Marvel Comics? fan, you already know why the sound of his name was enough to make the Venom Symbiote want to peel themselves off Eddie's skin. If you don't know who Knull is, worry not! I'm here to tell you everything you need to know about Marvel's most terrifying deity and what his introduction could mean for Sony's Spider-Man universe.

The tale of Marvel's Knull

Knull is a relatively recent addition to the Marvel universe, fully debuting in 2018 within the pages of Donny Cates' Venom. This is ironic, since Knull is one of the oldest beings in the Marvel Universe. Born from the primordial darkness sandwiched between each iteration of the cosmos (Marvel lore is wild), Knull is the embodiment of the void, and in classic dark god fashion, all he wants is to bask forever in the infinite blac??kness he spawned from.

Unfortunately for Knull, his eternal slumber ended abruptly when the deific Celestials began laying down the framework of the universe. As the god of nothing, Knull looked at things like color, warmth, and dreams, and said, "Yeah, I'm not about this." So he did what any rational eldritch horror would do: create a living sword from his shadow and declare war on everything.

With the newly-forged All-Black, the Necrosword, Knull decapitated th??e first Celestial he saw, becoming the universe's first murderer. Armed with the raw, cosmic power of the Celestial's head, Knull brought an army of dark dragons to life, linked to him through an intricate hive mind. These dragons would become the first generation of Symbiotes, and Knull used them to drown galaxies in darkness and bring entire pantheons of gods to their knees.

After untold eons, Knull's ??campaign came to a screeching halt when one ??of his dragons made its way to Earth in the Middle Ages. This dragon, Grendel by name, crossed paths with a young Thor and got a face full of Mjolnir for its troubles. The electricity from Thor's blow rippled up the Symbiote hive mind, hitting Knull head-on and knocking the Lord of the Abyss into a coma.

Free from their tyrannical progenitor's influence, the Symbiotes sealed Knull away within the core of his throne world, which they would name "Klyntar." Despite the Symbiotes' best attempts?? to erase any lingering trace of Knull from the universe, their efforts would ultimately be in vain.

S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually unearthed Grendel's remains and used them to create a platoon of Symbiote-bonded super-soldiers. Grendel's return kicked off a series of Symbiote-related events, culminating with Knull's resurrection at the hands of Cletus Kasady. Knull launched an all-out symbiote invasion of Earth in the 2020/2021 King in Black crossover event, ??in which the Lord of the Abyss finally met his end at the hands? of a divinely powered Eddie Brock.

Knull's debut in Venom: The Last Dance could save Sony's Spider-Verse... or destroy it

Knull is one of the most potent threats ever to menace the Marvel universe, and I'm honestly surprised he's showing up in Venom 3. Hardy's spent most of his tenure as Venom fighting other Symbiote hosts, and Venom 3's first few trailers made it look like that pattern could continue. ?If my earlier summation didn't clarify it enough, ??Knull's anything but "another Symbiote villain."

With deific strength, a healing factor, and command over a legion of Symbiotes, Knull's easily the most powerful villain to appear in Sony's Spider-Verse. He fought gods and won countless times,? and his ability to control Symbiote in the universe means he always has an intergalactic army at his beck and call. With that much power at his command, Knull could become the Big Bad the Sony Spider-Verse has nee??ded for a while.

However, while I am excited to see what Kelly Marcel does with Knull in Venom 3, I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little worried. Knull was a slow-burn villain in the comics, giving readers plenty of time to stew in dread and morbid curiosity before the foretold "God of the Symbiotes" finally appeared. If there's one thing a villain of Knull's scale deserves, it's a good amount of build-up, and the previous two Venom movies didn't mention? him at all. It'd be a shame to see the? mystique and morbid majesty of Knull restricted to a single film, even if it is a series-ending threequel.

A tweet from Alec Perez of My Cosmic Circus implied Sony has big plans for Knull, so Venom 3 may not be the last ?time we see the God of the Symbiotes. We'll have to wait until the movie comes out on October 25th to find out.

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I never imagined Sonic the Hedgehog would become the star of a cinematic universe, but here we are. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is whipping out the big guns, pitting Sonic against his greatest rival in a big-budget adaptation of the storyline that forever changed the Blue Blur's video game series.

Hot off the heels of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (and the Paramount+ meme-fest that is Knuckles), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 sees Shadow the Hedgehog (Keanu Reeves) emerge from the, well, shadows, to menace the world. As the film's surprisingly epic trailer explains via voiceover, Shadow was born out of Project Shadow, a sinister government operation with shockin??g ties to Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) archenemy, Dr. Robotni??k (Jim Carrey).

Project Shadow is a pivotal moment in the Sonic series' deceptively expansive lore, weaving plot threads the franchise still follows today. Whether you're a Sonic veteran looking for a refresher or a newer fan wondering what the actual heck's happening in Sonic 3, I've got the answers you seek.

Project Shadow's video game history

Introduced as the inciting incident of Sonic Adventure 2, Pro??ject Shadow is the stuff of conspiracy theorists' wildest dreams. Started by the United Federation, Project Shadow was a research program created with the outbound goal of achieving immortality. Of course, being a top-secret study funded by multiple superpowers, Project Shadow had a secret aim: creating the u??ltimate lifeform.

Knowing they’d need the finest mind in the world to pull off this ambitious scientific endeavor, the United Federation sought none other than Robotnik’s grandfather, Gerald. Gerald had a personal reason to accept the U.F.’s proposal: his granddaughter, Maria, suffered from a fata?l genetic condition that only something as radical as Project Shadow could hope to cure.

Gerald’s research, conducted inside an orbital medical center named Space Colony ARK, didn’t go well initially. His early experiments birthed a runty reptile known as the Biolizard, who mutated into a volatile monstrosity Gerald and his colleagues couldn’t control. With his su?periors threatening to slash the program, it looked like Gerald’s efforts would come up to nothing. Then aliens happened. Really.

Somehow, Gerald came into contact with Black Doom, the leader of a violent race of extraterrestrial conquerors known as the Black Arms. Desperate to?? save Maria, Gerald wrote up a devilish pact with Black Doom, offering to give the interstellar warlord control of Project Shadow’s final product if he agreed to lend Gerald some of his blood so he could complete his research. Being a complete monster bent on galactic domination, Black Doom agreed, unaware (or unconcerned) that Gerald never planned to fulfill his end of the bargain.

Using Black Doom’s DNA, Gerald finally created the ultimate lifeform: Shadow the Hedgehog, who formed a deep bond with Maria. Unfortunately, the U.F. caught wind of Shadow’s sheer destructive potential and started having second thoughts on the whole “unkillable bioweapon�?thing. The U.F.’s military, the Guardian Units ?of Nations, ended up taking matters into their o??wn hands, launching an all-out assault on the ARK. In the ensuing chaos, a G.U.N. soldier fires a fatal shot into Maria, setting Gerald and Shadow on the path of vengeance.

Project Shadow opens up exciting opportunities for the Sonic film series

Project Shadow is one of the grimmest plot points in Sonic canon, and it looks like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will adapt it faithfully. While Gerald will appear alive and well (physically, at least) in Sonic 3, one of the final shots confirms Maria will suffer a similar fate to her game counterpart. These developments leav??e a Sonic fan like me to wonder what other bits of Project Shadow lore w?ill make it onto the big screen.

The Biolizard, Shadow’s surrogate brother, didn’t appear in Sonic 3’s trailer. However, Sonic and Shadow’s last fight against it in Sonic Adventure 2 is one of the most iconic boss battles in the series, so I’m willing to bet Sonic 3’s climax will end up using it as a template. Since Shadow gets cold feet about Gerald’s plan to (spoilers) crash the ARK into Earth, Gerald could call in his first “child�?to fin??ish the job Shadow won’t, forcing Sonic and Shadow to work together to save the world.

The Black Arms' involvement in Shadow’s creation also goes unmentioned in the trailer, which is odd since Sonic X Shadow Generations looks like it's picking this plot beat back up after almost two decades. However, that might be because Paramount wants to save that revelation for a later Sonic project. The Knuckles proved that a Sonic side-series can be successful, and I doubt the company will pass up the ch??ance to give Reeves�?Shadow a spin-off where he goes up against the Blac??k Arms, fully completing his transition from villain to hero.

I’m very interested to see what Sonic 3 does with Project Shadow once the movie hits theaters on December 20, 2024. And now maybe you are too, if you weren’t? already.

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Video game-based movie adaptations often prove disastrous, but Sonic the Hedgehog managed to avoid joining that club. The rathe??r unsightly first looks at the titular Blue Blur broke the In?ternet, but Sonic (Ben Schwartz) was redesigned, his live-action blockbuster debut turned out to be a massive hit, and now, his beloved video game series has become the basis for an entire franchise.

Following up both Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the Paramount+ streaming series Knuckles is Sonic the Hedgehog 3. This time around, Shadow the Hedgehog (Ke?anu Reeves) stands as the central antagonist, giving Sonic, Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey), and Knuckles (Idris Elba) a run for their money. Thus, they're left little choice but to form an uneasy alliance with their longtime enemy, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who's also set to go on quite a journey of his own.

As revealed in the Sonic 3 trailer, Robotnik will come face to face with his equally scientifically-inclined grandfather, Gerald Robotnik (Carrey). If you're not too familiar with the extensive and sometimes complicated lore of the Sonic video game franchise, but want to learn a bit about Gerald ahead of Sonic 3, you've come to the right place.

Gerald's video game history

Though his brief appearance in the inaugural Sonic 3 trailer may indicate that Gerald Robotnik is a bit of a goof, much like his grandson, that's not quite the case. Since making his debut in the 2001 platformer Sonic Adventure 2, it has consistently been shown that Gerald is a brilliant scientific mind. He was specifically sought out to lead the secretive research program Project Shadow under the direction of the United Federation. He accepts, ultimately doing so to unlo?ck the secret to immortality. With trial and error, ?he eventually creates Shadow the Hedgehog himself.

Unfortunately, his time as one of the leading minds of Project Shadow comes to a swift end. As he completes Shadow, the government gets cold feet and deems his work a danger to humanity. This eventually leads to him being sequestered on Prison Island, where he's left with no choice but to continue his research under the government's close watchful eye. Shadow, now completed, initially escapes custody but is soon brought?? to Prison Island and kept in suspended animation. Dr Robotnik later releases him from this imprisonment long after Gerald loses his mind and is executed.

Maria Robotnik and the future of the Sonic film franchise

Seeing as the movies don't follow the exact canon of the games, Gerald Robotnik could be up to all sorts of things in in Sonic 3. Surprisingly, there's a good chance that his story in the film could be similar to that of his video? game counterpart.

In addition to potentially aiding in the cre?ation of Shadow the Hedgehog, the plot may hint at the tragic fate of another character: his granddaughter Maria Robotnik (Alyla Browne), who has been confirmed to appear in the threequel in some capacity. She's the main motivating factor behind Gerald's decision to join Project Shadow and, unintentionally, his descent into madness.

When he signs up, she's terminally ill, and he wants to use his research to save her life. Sadly, his involvement in the program? leads to the exact opposite. With Project Shadow crumbling, troops from the Guardian Units of Nations, or G.U.N., are sent to the Space Colony ARK, where Gerald is conducting his research. With armed personnel swarming, Maria and her friend Shadow are forced to flee.

Shadow makes it out, but Maria is shot and killed by an ARK soldier, which sends Gerald into a tailspin and manifests in his plan to destroy the world using Shadow. It's entirely possible he could seek revenge for her death in the film and use Shadow as the means to do so, or she has yet to be killed a??nd will be over the course of the film, setting up?? a fourth movie.

All in all, Gerald Robotnik, despite not being the most well-known character in the Sonic canon, remains one of its most vital. It will be interesting to see how he's used on the big screen when Sonic the Hedgehog 3 premieres on December 20, 2024.

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It was over 35 years ago that Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice first terrorized cinemas across the globe. Now all these years later, the Ghost with the Most is back on the big screen. Director Tim Burton's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is nearly here, and even as many grow tired of the seemingly endless stream of legacy sequels that no one asked for, among many in the general audience and, naturally, longtime fans of the 1988 original, anticipation is high for this pre??-Halloween spooky theatrical endeavor. Based on promotional material, there seems to be a great amount of new in this long-awaited continuation of the horror comedy classic.

Now decades beyond the events of the first Beetlejuice film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice focuses on a grown-up Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), who now has a daughter of her own, Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Within the walls of the Deetz family home, the two are pulled into a paranormal adventure full of frights, Sandworms, and blasts from the past, chiefly The Juice himself. Unfortunately, for those hoping for an overload of Beetlejuice nostalgia in the? form of ??returning main characters, to some extent, your needs may not be entirely met.

For Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, there are several key characters from its predecessor that will not feature in its narrative. H??ere's what we know about t?heir absences.

Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin as Barbara and Adam Maitland

Even though their names aren't in the title, the Maitlands, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis), are situated squarely at the center of Beetlejuice. The loving couple dies in a car accident, and the two are forced to live eternally in their house as specters, watching as the Deetz family moves In and turns their happily ever after into a nightmare. The two are responsible for the presence of Beetlejuice in the story as they try to scare off the Deetzs and reclaim the house that was all theirs before their untimely passing. All of that is to say the Maitlands are incredibly important to the story of Beetlejuice, so why,?? as far as we know, are? they not in the long-awaited sequel?

As it happens, Geena Davis has spoken on the potential reason for Barbara's exclusion from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. She told Entertainment Tonight her theory that ghosts don't age, so it would be hard to bring the Maitlands back as she and Baldwin have aged as humans do since the first film. Since Davis brought her hypothesis forward, Burton himself has given his reasoning for leaving the Maitlands out this time around. "I didn't want to just tick any boxes. So even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else,�?he told People, explaining that ?it was a deliberate creative decision.

Glenn Shadix as Otho Fenlock

She's brash, abrasive, and set in her ways, not to mention has quite the unique (for lack of a better term) sense of interior design. Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara) is the perfect foil for the Maitlands, but she doesn't play secondary antagonist alone. Alongside her throughout the film is her judgmental and arrogant friend and one-time paranormal researcher, Otho Fenlock (Glenn Shadix), who not only helps her decorate her new home but aids in her attempt to turn the ghosts living within it into an attraction. This all makes him quite the important presence throughout Beetlejuice, at least up until his fear sends him packing.

By the end of the 1988 favorite, Otho's dark dreary outfit is transformed into a bright and cheery one by Beetlejuice, leaving him to embarrassedly run and scream all the way home. Sadly, this is the last moviegoers will ever get to see of Glenn Shadix's Otho. The character actor passed away on September 7, 2010, at age 58, having fallen while at home and sustained fatal blunt trauma to the head. His final live-action role was that of Monsieur Vollard in the 2010 movie Finding Gauguin. Seeing as Shadix and Burton were frequent collaborators, cha??nces are the director did not elect to r??ecast the Otho role for the upcoming movie.

Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz

As his wife Delia tears apart their dwelling, setting up her art projects and running around ghost? hunting with Otho, Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones) takes a vastly different approach to settling in. He spends time in his study, which he's very adamant is to remain untouched by his wife and her friend, ??bird watching, and doing everything to enjoy the serenity of their rural abode. Unfortunately, he does get caught up in Beetlejuice-related shenanigans, but by the time the credits roll, he's once again able to kick back and relax, comfortable in the knowledge that only kind ghosts populate his residence.

Throughout advertising for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, fans have seen clips of a funeral, with Lydia and Delia wearing black as a coffin is lowered into a burial plot. One can assume that this is Charles being lowered into his final resting place. If this is the case, it's likely a response to the real-life legal issues of Jeffrey Jones. Not only was he arrested for the possession and solicitation of sexual?ly explicit pho?tographs of a minor, but he was later arrested twice for failing to update his sex offender status. Considering the heinous nature of these crimes, it's no surprise that Jones was not asked to return as Charles for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Sylvia Sidney as Juno

Once the Maitlands come to terms with the fact that they are indeed dead, they have to come up with a plan to get their house back from the Deetzs. They study up on The Handbook for the Recently Deceased and reach out to those with a bit more experience in the whole afterlife thing for help. On one end, ther??e's the malicious and scheming Beetlejuice, and on the other is his former boss, the afterlife ca?seworker Juno (Sylvia Sidney). She does her best to guide the couple along and dissuade them from working with the supposed "Leading Bio-Exorcist," all while working on other high-stress cases.

With the Deetz family once again having to traverse the paranormal world, Juno seems like the kind of presence they could use on their side. She's knowledgeable, and she has first-hand experience with Beetlejuice. Based on its marketing, however, it doesn't appear that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will feature Juno in any capacit??y. The actor behind her, Sylvia Sidney, passed away on July 1, 1999, at the age of 88, with her cause of death listed as esophageal cancer. Though there's a slim chance that Juno could be recast, considering the snappiness and attitu??de Sidney expertly brought to the role, it just wouldn't be right to bring the character back without her.

With its stacked cast of a few returning favorites and newcomers to the franchise in tow, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits the silver screen on September 6.

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August 16 marked the return of the Alien saga to the big screen after a seven-year absence. Director Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus sprung into theaters everywhere and has since made waves in both ways good and bad. While it has drawn critique for its perceived over-reliance on franchise hallmarks and callbacks, others have showered the film with praise. Numerous critics and moviegoers alike were intrigued by the story, satisfied with the frights and overall content to call it a solid entry in the Alien canon.

Despite plenty of people out there believing it to be one of the film's greatest weaknesses, countless Alien die-hards were happy to see so many references and allusions to previous installments. After all, Romulus is an indirect sequel to director Ridley ?Sco??tt's 1979 classic, Alien, which started it all. In fact, the USCSS Nostromo, where Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her companions are ambushed by the Xenomorph in said film, is a principal location in Romulus. At the same time, Alien isn't the only project in the series that informed Álvar?ez's terrifyi?ng feature.

According to the director himself, the horror video game favorite Alien: Isolation played a pivotal role in the crafting of Romulus in more ways than one.

Isolation kickstarted Álvarez's interest in making an Alien movie

Released on October 7, 2014, and set 15 years after the events of Alien, Alien: Isolation follows the daughter of Ellen Ripley, Amanda (Andrea Deck), who is trying to pinpoint her mother's whereabouts following her disappearance. She doesn't get very far, however, before she encounters Xenomorphs, facehuggers, and more dangers. All in all, Isolation is an excellent survival horror title that has grown especially adored by Alien fans and gamers who are up for a spooky challenge. Evidently, Fede Álvarez is quite a fan as well, hence why he put so much of it into the DNA of Alien: Romulus.

Álvarez revealed as much during a conversation on the Inside Total Film podcast (via Games Radar), where he explained that the entire foundation of his film was created thanks to Isolation. �?em>Alien: Isolation was kind of what made me see that Alien could truly be terrifying and done well [today],�?he explained, noting that he first picked Isolation up around the time his 2016 film Don't Breathe was coming together. As he played, he began yearning to tell an Alien story at the movies. Thankfully for him, it didn't take long for such an opportunity to arise. Once it did, he not only made it a priority to capture the tense, chilling tone of Isolation, reigniting the horror that made Alien such a hit 45 years ago, but to ??honor the game in the form? of a fun yet meaningful Easter egg.

Continuing, Álvarez explained that emergency phones, which act as checkpoints in Isolation to save your game, are prevalent throughout Romulus. As it turns out, though, he didn't merely want to toss them in as a fun nod to the almost decade-old game. “The movie is set up in a way [that] every time something bad is about to happen, you will see a phone,�?he said, warning those that haven't seen Romulus that they should "brace for impact" every time a phone appears on screen, just as they would while using one in the game. In Isolation, they take time to use, leaving Amanda vulnerable to Xenomorph attac??ks as the save completes.

Isolation took inspiration from Alien

For the most part, much like Alien: Romulus, Alien: Isolation does try to blaze its own trail. It takes the established lore of the Alien series and builds on it while simultaneously honoring what came before. Interestingly, the folks behind the game did the inverse of what Fede Álvarez did by looking to an existing movie to create a video game. Speaking to PC Gamer in January 2015, a few months after the game was released, Isolation creative lead Alistair Hope revealed that he and the team pulled heavily from the original Alien movie, emulating what mad??e it and continues to make it such a pop culture sensation.

�?em>Alien is unmistakably Fox’s property, but from the moment we pitched the original concept to them, they’ve been completely behind us. I think because we were trying to stay true in spirit to the original, they felt like it was in safe hands," Hope told the publication, touching on the relationship between Isolation's development house, Creative Assembly, and the now-Walt Disney Company-owned 20th Century Fox. This positive collaboration led Fox to share key assets, from costumes to props to miscellaneous production material, with Creative Assembly to make Isolation as tr??ue to the trend-setting science fiction? feature as possible.

Romulus is effectively a movie inspired by movies and a video game, which is also inspired by a movie. Perhaps the chain will continue, and we'll someday get a new Alien ga??me with elements attributed to Álvarez's emergency phone-laden cr??eation.

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Paramount has released the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and not only does it provide insight into the plot of the third installment, but it also serves as the fir??st glimpse of the newest and long-rumored member of the cast �?Shadow. Oh, and Keanu Reeves? speaks in this as Shadow, too.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 arrives in movie theaters on December 20, and sees the return of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, following their efforts to defeat Shadow, who seems to have escaped confinement. Amid the ensuing chaos, Sonic decides that teaming up ??with a depressed Doc??tor Robotnik is the best way to reach their goal. 

This is, of course, the return of Jim Carrey as Doctor Robotnik, who at one point in the trailer says “if I can’t rule the world, I might as well ??save it�? But let’s be honest, the big excitement here is Keanu Reeves. 

Rumors of Reeves�?role in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 began right back with the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which featured a short clip of Shadow at the very end. Many names ?were thrown into the ring as Shadow’s possible voice actor, but Reeves quickly became the go-to guess for many peo??ple.

Reeves' involvement was confirmed back in April, but it’s nice to finally see Shadow get some moments to shine during the trailer. We’re going to get a lot of information about Shado?w’s backstory, and many action-packed battles between not only good and evil on the streets of London, but also inner battles as well. 

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The epic conclusion of Attack on Titan is set to rumble through theaters later this year with a newly announced finale compilation film titled Attack on Titan The Movie: THE LAST ATTACK. This cinematic event will combine the two parts of the Attack on Titan Final Season THE FINAL CHAPTERS into one colossal 145-minute film, offering f?ans the chance to experience the story's breathtaking conclusion in a single sitting.

Alongside the announcement of THE LAST ATTACK, a teaser trailer was rele?ased, providing a glimpse of what fans can expect. A visual for the film has also been revealed, which sets the stage for ??its November 8 release in Japan.

Directed by Yuichiro Hayashi, the mastermind behind the final season, THE LAST ATTACK is more than just a simple re-edit. According to Crunchyroll, Hayashi shared that the original storyboards for THE FINAL CHAPTERS were conceived with a movie format in mind, making this theatrical release a ??"dream come true" for him. The visuals have been updated from the original television broadcast to ??take full advantage of the big screen, ensuring that viewers will experience the series' climax in the best possible way.

Attack on Titan follows the story of humanity's desperate struggle for survival in a world where giant humanoid creatures known as Titans have decimated civilization. The series ce?nters around Eren Jaeger and his friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert as they join the military to fight back against the Titans and uncover the dark secrets behind their existence.

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It has been 45 years since director Ridley Scott's Alien first blew moviegoers away, and its cultural impact doesn't seem to have diminished in the slightest. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is still an icon, the Xenomorp??hs are still terrifying, and the franchise it has launched is still going strong.

Having taken a few years off after some disappointing and confusing entries, the Alien franchise has finally returned with director Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus, a film that certainly has its ups and downs and has even generated some division among Alien enthusiasts since debuting on August 16.

For the most part, Romulus brings the Alien series ba?ck to basics. It introduces a new crew of? space colonist characters, led by Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny), who take it upon themselves to scavenge the wreckage of a nearby abandoned ship, the USCSS Nostromo. Little do they realize once they board the ship that it's not entirely empty. Before they know it, they're set upon by alien hordes, forced to fight for their lives and do everything in their power to escape before it's too late.

Is it the most lore-heavy or game-changing installment in the Alien saga? Not quite, but there's still plenty to enjoy and plenty to study up on before seeing it. If you want to get the most out of Alien: Romulus, these are the films?? in the franchise you should check out first.

Prometheus comes first

Compared to most other Alien movies, 2012's Alien: Prometheus is quite ambitious. It's not so much a straight-up science fiction horror movie as much as it is a massive, epic lore dump explaining where the Xenomorphs came from, how and by who they were created, and what their earliest interactions with h?umanity were like. While there are plenty of moviegoers and critics out there who find the film to be a bit of a drag, the film isn't a total swing-and-miss.

Prometheus does an excellent job providing an origin story for the Xenomorphs in all of their biomechanical horror and offers some truly compelling performances. Most notable is Michael Fassbender as the android David. Additionally, Prometheus is a visual spectacle with grand yet spine-chilling settings, excellent camera work, and breathtaking costumes. To top it all off, the plot, while a bit messy at times, is fascinating and sure to Intrigue those new to the Alien series.

At the end of the day, Prometheus doesn't have many deep-cut connections to Romulus as it is set a while before it in the year 2093, but it does lay the groundwork for both it and the other Alien films.

Alien: Covenant is worth checking out, but not overly-essential

Moving ahead roughly 11 years after the events of Prometheus, we get 2017's Alien: Covenant. While still maintaining some of the grandeur of its predecessor, Covenant leans more into the hallmarks of the Alien saga.

A group of colonists land on a remote planet that seems to be nothing short of perfect. Of cou?rse, having seen Prometheus, we, as audience me??mbers, know that the presence of Fassbender's David is not a good sign. In short order, the colonists have to defend themselves from far more Xenomorph-looking Xenomorphs than those present in the 2012 film.

Even though in tone and style, Covenant angles into what made the Alien films so beloved and recognizable. It very much maintains the narrative thread of the somewhat tonally distant Prometheus while revealing more about the evolution of the Xenomorphs. This may be fascinating for some, especially those who found Prometheus engaging, but to others, this could make Covenant entirely skippable.

Much like Prometheus, Covenant isn't too closely tied to Romulus outside of its larger lore connections. So, if you're into the lore of the franchise, it's definitely worth checking out before Romulus. If not, you could watch it f??or entertainment value, but it's not quite essential.

Alien is a must before Romulus

With Prometheus and Covenant behind us, we now move on to what is either the best or the second-best film in the entire Alien saga, depending on your personal taste.

1979's Alien started it all, with the crew of the USCSS Nostromo be?ing picked off one by one by a mysterious and frightening alien entity. In the end, Ripley is? the one brave enough to stand toe-to-toe with the Xenomorph, defeating it once and for all...or so she thought.

As has been said for decades, Alien is a masterclass in horror, science fiction, and the intersection of the two, but those aren't the only reasons why you should check it out before giving Romulus a try. It's quite literally a prequel to the new film, set 20 years before Romulus in the year 2122.

As you've likely pieced together already, the USCSS Nostromo Rain and her companions investigation in Romulus is the exact wreckage left behind by Ripley, her fellow crew members, and the Xenomorph in Alien. It doesn't get much more direct than that, but in all honesty, even if they weren't connected, no Alien series rewatch of any kin??d is complete without t??his film.

What about the Alien vs. Predator duology?

On paper, a crossover between the Xenomorph of the Alien franchise and the Yautja from the Predator franchise should be a match made movie heaven. In truth, these legendary silver screen creatures??' two meetings on the big sc??reen have left much to be desired.

Sure, seeing them come to blows in Alien vs. Predator and its sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, is a fun ??novelty, but as far as full movies go, they miss the mark in multiple ways. The human characters are forgettable, the plots are uninspired, and for the most part, they don't do much to push either franchise forward.

The only reason the AVP duology is even being discussed here is because they supposedly take place in the year 2004, nearly a full century before Prometheus. Thus, one might imagine that they're needed to understand all of the films that have been mentioned on this list. In reality, the existence of Prometheus effectively erases them from the Alien franchise canon. If you want to watch them anyway for one reason or another, feel free, but just because they're set before Romulus does not mean that watching or not watching them will impact your?? understanding of the new movie.

With that, your pre-Romulus viewing guide is complete. Once you've watched it, you'll be in a good spot to give Romulus a go. The feature is now playing exclusiv??ely in theater?s.

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The first Borderlands game burst onto the scene in 2009. It brought fast-paced action, comedy, and intrigue as players navigate Pandora and all of its dangers in pursuit of sweet, sweet loot. In time, Borderlands became the starting point for an entire gaming franchise, of numerous beloved and not-so-beloved? games,

Now, at long last, the long-running series has made the jump to live-action, following in the footsteps of other recent video game adaptations such as Twisted Metal, The Last of Us, and Fallout, to name a few. Early critic impressions of the Borderlands movie are in, and well, they're not ??very positive.

Borderlands misses the mark for the majority of critics

To say that critics haven't held back on Borderlands and its supposed cacophony of missteps would be an understatement. The film has been widely panned before it even hit t?heaters.

"Eli Roth’s fiasco is so drearily routine and slapdash that even an A.I. would deem it too plagiaristic," wrote The Daily Beast's Nick Schager of the film's uninspired and rushed writing. Over at The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney expanded on this, specifically discussing the feature'?s lack of emotional resonance: "Since the characters remain one-dimensional �?not much more than cartoonish gamer avatars �?we’re nev??er terribly invested in their survival, or their quest to get to the vault first."

Highlighting the film's overabundance of needle-drops and sci-fi action, Empire's Dan Jolin notes, "Borderlands so wants to be Guardians Of The Galaxy...but it doesn’t come close to capturing the same Guardians space-magic." Vicky Jessop of the London Evening Standard even put it in contention for worst movie of 2024, claiming that it calls back to a bygone era of absolutely atrocious video game adaptations. Alistair Ryder over on AwardsWatch doesn't even think it has the makings of a future cult cla?ssic with its lack of originality and style.

What does Borderlands have going for it?

Seems like a lot of critics find Borderlands to be a derivative, style-less, action flick that's impossible to emotionally invest in and harkens back to the dark ages of video game adaptations. That's a pretty bleak description, but is there any silver lining here? Is there anything that gives Borderlands even the slightest bit of merit in the eyes of critics? As it turns out, yes. Miraculously, some feel there are some bright spots in what appears to be o??ne of the bigg??est cinematic misfires of 2024.

Well, so far, pretty? much the only positive is the portrayal of Lilith by the historically excellent in just about everything Blanchett.

Though she finds the character's writing a bit lacking, Beyond the Trailer's Grace Randolph likes what Blanchett does with the Lilith role: "I got a kick out of Blanchett starring in a movie like this - and doing a great job!" Danny Leigh agreed in his Financial Times review, calling Blanchett's charisma one of the few "faint, stubborn signs of something more interesting" in the movie. "Sadly, Borderlands is an unworthy vehicle for [Blanchett's] swaggering performance," added Screen Daily's Tim Grierson.

A long road to the Borderlands

Borderlands' road from the gaming world to Hollywood is a long one. Talks of the games being adapted date back to 2011, though, evidently, progress on such a creative endeavor was slow. Leigh Whannell was initially said to be handling writing and directing duties, Aaron Berg and Oren Uziel took a crack at the script, and at one point the film was envisioned as R-rated. Eventually, Eli Roth was selected as director, casting began in 2020, and after over a decade in development limbo and weeks of reshoots under director Tim Miller, Borderlands has become a viewable reality.

On paper, Borderlands seems poised to become a hit. Roth and Miller are seasoned directors, and they led a stacked cast consisting of such A-listers as Cate Blanchet?t, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black. Once trailers and promotional images arrived, however, not even the presence of game staples like Lilith (Blanchett), Krieg (Florian Munteanu), and Claptrap (Black) and some of Pandora's signature imagery could dispel the notion that the adaptation looked underwhelming and uninspired. All early impressions have done little to counter those feelings.

At the end of the day, these critic reactions only comprise a small portion of folks who have seen and will see Borderlands. Time will tell if their critiques of the movie are widely-held, or if it will find its footing with general audiences as it kicks off its theatrical run. Sadly, Borderlands has severely struggled when it comes t?o selling tickets so far, so we'll have to see if people even bother ??going to see the movie to ?form an opinion on it.

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HBO has published a new trailer for Dune: Prophecy, a prequel to the Dune movies. While the first teaser featured broader strokes about the Bene Gesserit, this new teaser shows the ??internal politics, scheming for power, and the early days of the Sisterhood.

The Dune: Prophecy trailer revealed glimpses of how the Bene Gesserit train, and shows the Sisterhood in its fragile stages. Set 10,000 years before the birth of Pa??ul Atreides from the movies, this series extensively focuses on the journey of the Bene Gesserit to become the revered Sisterhood that we have seen in the movies.

Director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies featured the Bene Gesserit at a time when their position in the Imperium is firm. The Bene Gesserit essentially act as advisors and counselors to rulers by the time we see the storyline of Paul Atreides unfolding. However, the new teaser reveals that the upcoming series is set in a time when their existence and rising power ??were being questioned.

Emily Watson will be in the lead role, portraying Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen. Mark Strong will play the role of Emperor Javicco Corrino, who seems to be a central part of the story. Popular Indian actress Tabu is also set to be a part of the series and will portray Sister Francesca, and the Dune: Prophecy teaser offered a first look at the act??ress in her new role.

Part of the plot also involves the Sisterhood’s attempts at putting one of the Bene Gesserit on a throne in the Imperium, and it remains to be seen how that attempt pans out. Dune: Prophecy will be released in Nov??ember 2024 on Max, HBO’s streaming service.

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Beetlejuice became a pop culture icon from the moment he appeared in his self-titled 1988 movie. Sure, he's crass, crafty, and a sight for sore eyes, but the afterlife's leading bio-exorcist is undeniably charming and hilarious. Now he's finally returning to the movies with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, along with a host of beloved characters from the previous fi?lm.

While this is great for his fans, it shouldn't be the only return he's making in the 21st century. As animated and over-the-top as he is, it's surprising that the colorful and macabre world of Beetlejuice hasn't gotten its own modern video game. After all, not only is anticipation high for his next big screen outing, but the closest thing he's gotten to a modern gaming spotlight, a 2017 LEGO Dimensions expansi?on pack, proved that there's plenty of fun for the character to have in such a format.

Beetlejuice's previous games are incredibly dated

LEGO Dimensions add-on aside, Beetlejuice's gaming appearances are entirely confined to the 1990s. He made his gaming debut in 1990 via Adventures of Beetlejuice: Skeletons in the Closet, a DOS game based on the animated Beetlejuice series. Taking place on a giant checkerboard, you play as Beetlejuice as he defeats various monsters with loogies while Lydia Deetz cleans up their remains. It's a good time-killer and very much evokes the look of the show, but it's hardly a definitive Beetlejuice gaming adventure.

The following year came Beetlejuice for the Nintendo Entertainment System, largely based on the 1988 movie. This title puts Beetlejuice in a platforming environment, where he runs from one fantastical stage to the next, squashing bugs and planning to cause mischief for the Deetz family. This is a pretty standard platformer from the era with little to write home about. With the likes of Super Mario World o??n the market at the time, ??this one was pretty easy to pass over, and its fortune hasn't improved with age.

1992's Beetlejuice: Horrific Hijinx from the Neitherworld! is a Nintendo Game Boy offering based on the Beetlejuice cartoon, and, unsurprisingly, it woefully misses the mark. It's sluggish, and the limitations of the hardware prevent it from capturing the look and feel of the show. Lik?e its contemporaries, it's entirely unremarkable—another big miss.

For such a popular character, one would think that Beetlejuice would have at least one solid game to his credit already, but no such title has made it to consumers yet??. All the more reason for a modern Beetlejuice game to come along, giving the character his gaming due and rectifying his past blunder??s.

Classic horror-comedy properties have worked as modern video games before

One of the great things about gaming as a medium is that there's a little bit of everything out there. Want a serious, character-driven story? How about something light and comedic? Atmospheric? It's all out there, and more often than not, these games find their audience and thrive. One has to imagine that a horror-comedy game adaptation of Beetlejuice would find th?e same success, especially since s??imilarly-toned properties from decades past have performed well when brought to the format.

A prime example is 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game from Atari Interactive. The game has players join the original movie's Ghostbusters as the new recruit, embarking on an adventure between the first two films. It's funny, action-packed, and visually impressive for the time, striking just the right chords with Ghostbusters fans. In fact, with the legacy cast at the forefront, many out there long considered it the true Ghostbusters 3 before Ghostbusters: Afterlife came along in 2021, despite its place in the timeline. Dan Aykroyd even referred to it as such in a 2009 interview with SciFiNow.

If Ghostbusters can get a video game continuation long after a series entry last graced the big screen, and hit a home run with franchise fans, gamers, and critics alike in doing so, surely Beetlejuice could do the same.

A new Beetlejuice game could be all kinds of crazy fun

When it comes to Beetlejuice, the name of the game is fun. T??he film and the cartoon are full of rich colors, wacky environments, and other-worldly characters that fans can't forget. These elements are perfectly suited for a modern video game, with hardware finally available that can render such visuals in stunning detail.

Unlike previous Beetlejuice games, voice acting is now very much a thing in video games, too. It's now possible for? Beetlejuice and his companions to craft and sell a compelling narrative, build on existing lore, and crack all kinds of jokes while you ?play.

Of course, what are stories and visual elements without solid gameplay? Given the character's off-the-wall nature, Beetlejuice can fit into virtually any gaming environment. A goofy platformer could allow for colorful, inventively-designed levels in both the netherworld and the land of th??e living.

Meanwhile, a more open-world angle can do the same with an emphasis on exploring such fascinating environments and getting acquainted with their residents. Even a linear game could prove en?joyable, putting the main narrative and the characters within it front-and-center. Naturally, any and all of these options could allow Beetlejuice himself to shine wi?th his undead abilities weaved into traversal, puzzle-solving, combat, and more.

All in all, Beetlejuice deserves the modern video game treatment. He and his world are tailor-made for it, and if anything, so long as it's done right, such a title would go a long way in washing the taste of his previous games out of game?rs' mouths. The only ?question is, which, if any, developer will step up to once again let the Juice loose on the gaming landscape?

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The Thursday Murder Club, the massively successful ??novel by Richard Osmon, is getting a movie adaptation. The film doesn't have a release date just yet, but it's got its cast all set, ready to take th??e story from page to screen in style. 

The Thursday Murder Club is the first book in the so-far four-book Thursday Murder Club series and revolves around a group of crime-fighting old-age pensioners who all reside in the same luxury retirement complex. As such, it should come as no surprise that the majority of the currently known stars are on th?e older side, staying true to its source material.

On his Podcast, The Rest is Entertainment, Osmon detailed that Elizabeth Banks will be played by fan favorite Helen Mir??ren, someone who many fans have shouted at Osmon in the streets as their casting choice, as he went on to say in the episode of the Podcast. 

Alongside Mirren, the following incredible line-up of stars are joining the cast of The Thursday Murder Club:

• Pierce Brosnan as Ron Ritchie
• Sir Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim Arif
• Celia Imrie as Joyce Meadowcroft
• Naomi Ackie as Donna de Freitas
• Jonathan Pryce as Stephen Best
• David Tennant 
• Daniel Mays
• Henry Lloyd-Hughes

While it hasn’t been confirmed as of yet which roles the final three names on this list will play, there’s no arguing that this is a very exciting line-up. On the latest episode of The Rest is Entertainmant, Osmon said that this might be the “greatest British cast since the Harry Potter movies�? and I have to admit I can’t find any reason?? to disagre??e. 

Away from the cast themselves, the power behind The Thursday Murder Club is also pretty impressive. The Netflix movie will be written and directed by Christopher Columbus, of previous Harry Potter and Home Alone fame, ??while the movie rights belon?g to Amblin Entertainment, led by Stephen Spielberg.

Filming is set to begin this summer, with a hopeful release date at some point in 2025. As a fan of the books, I’m really impressed by this line-up and hopeful that the screen adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club will do the books justice.

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I read the first Harry Potter book when I was eight years old and they quickly became a favorite of mine, remaining so to this day. As such, I’m very excited about the Harry Potter series and the possibilities it brings. 

If you’ve only ever watched the Harry Potter movies, I’m sorry to tell you that you’re missing out on the details which make the wizarding world so popular. There are so many features and subplots in the books that are either altered or entirely?? omitted from the movies. However, the series does offer a chance for these things to get the spotli?ght they truly deserve. Hopefully.

Peeves

?Peeves is the resident Poltergeist of Hogwarts and, as a Poltergeist, he gets into all manner of mischief. He’s a comic relief character who has a complete disregard for authority in all forms, helps to spread gossip among students, but is absolutely l?oyal to Hogwarts itself. 

He fears the Bloody Baron (another character entirely excluded from the movies), respects Albus Dumbledore (but doesn’t listen to him), and shares a bond with the Weasley twins due to their shared love of pranks and chaos. When Fred and George leave Hogwarts during The Half-Blood Prince, Peeves? follows their instructions to caus?e problems for Delores Umbridge and actually salutes them in front of the entire school as they leave.

The Weasleys visiting the Dursleys

During The Goblet of Fire, in order to collect Harry and take him to the Quidditch World Cup (which also?? suffered during the movie adaptation), the Weasleys attempt to arrive at the Dursley’s house via Floo Powder. However, the Dursley’s have blocked up their fireplace, leavi??ng the Weasley’s trapped behind a stud wall. 

What follows is a glorious scene where the Dursley’s break through the wall, destroy the pristine living room in 4 Privet Drive, and the twins give Dudley a Ton-Tongue Toffee which makes his tongue swell to i??nsane proportions, terrifying the Dursleys. 

S.P.E.W.

The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare was Hermione’s ill-thought attempt to help the House Elves escape servitude. In The Goblet of Fire, Hermione starts her very own club, with the acronym name of S.P.E.W., makes badges, and? tries to recruit members to her cause. 

What she failed to take into account, however, was that House Elves actually enjoy serving their wizarding folk, for the most part, and there was even an entire army happily working away in the Hogwarts kitchens??. 

Harry and Cho’s disastrous date

Although we do see a small glimpse of Harry’s ill-fated relationship with Cho Chang during the?? movies, the best part of the terrible coupling is omitted. 

During The Half-Blood Prince, Harry and Cho have a romantic date at Madam Puddifoot’s i??n Hogsmeade on Valentine’s Day. Sadly, it’s a disaster and after Harry mentions that he plans to meet up with Hermione afterward, Cho flies off the handle and cries before storming off. 

Honestly, this who?le pairing is just cringewor?thy, but that doesn’t come across in the movies the same way it does in the books. 

St. Mungos

St. Mungos is a magical hospital based in London and has four floors dedicated to the treatment of magical maladies and injuries, plus another which houses a tea room and gift shop. Sa?dly, the entire building is removed from the films, despite the fact that we actually visit the hospital during The Order of the Phoenix, after Arthur Weasley gets attacke?d by Nagini in the Department of Mysteries. 

It’s also known that both of Neville’s ??parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom, are long-term residents at St. Mungos?? due to their extended exposure to the Cruciatus Curse at the hands of Bellatrix LeStrange. 

However, perhaps the best thing missed in the movies is the fact that Professor Lockhart becomes a long time resident after the events of The Chamber of Secrets, when a memory wiping charm aimed at Ron back??fired and he took the hit hi?mself. 

The Gaunt memories

During The Half-Blood Prince movie, a huge part of the backstory is lost due to the omission of the memories of the Gaunts, which are viewed through the pensieve in the book. The Gaunts are the ance?stors of Tom Riddle, and the memories tell the story of how Tom ??Riddle came to be born. 

I?n short, his mother was a poor woman named Merope Gaunt who used a love spell to trap and marry a wealthy muggle named Tom Riddle. After becoming pregnant, she lifts the spell and Tom Riddle Sr. abandons her, only for her to die shortly after giving birth to the child who would go on to become?? Lord Voldemort. 

Winky and the rest of the Hogwarts House Elves

There is?? a whole section of Hogwarts that is never visited during the Harry Potter movies �?the kitchens. They’re filled with House Elves who work night and day ??to prepare the huge amount of food needed to feed all the students and staff at Hogwarts. 

One notable House Elf is Winky, who came to Hogwarts after being dismissed by Ludo Bagman during The Goblet of Fire. Feeling depressed at being dismissed, she t??urns to drinking and we end up with what is esse?ntially an alcoholic yet incredibly lovable House Elf. 

Ginny Weasley’s feisty personality

After seeing her portrayal in the Harry Potter movies, fans of the franchise were enraged by how badly Ginny Weasley came across. Her entire personality is lost, with her fading very much into the background despite being a huge part of t??he books. 

Sh??e’s supposed to be feisty and very much a miniature version of her mother, Molly. She comes armed with a well refined Bat Bogey Hex, which we never see in the movies, and is loyal to a fault. They really did her dirty in the movies, so I hope we see more of her actual personality in the series. 

Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party

I’ve always been angry that Nearly Headless Nick’s entire deathday party is removed from the movies, and I’m hoping that we actually g?et to see it in the series. 

The deathday party?? is entirely popula??ted by ghosts (except for Harry, Ron and Hermione), with rotten food being available for them to enjoy, an explanation as to why Nearly Headless Nick isn’t named Entirely Headless Nick, and also the whole Headless Hunt fiasco. Nick deserved so much better, on all fronts.

Interactions with the Muggle Prime Minister

Maybe I’m biased, but I can’t help but find it hilarious to imagine the Prime Minister being accosted by a wizard to discuss the relations between worlds. Imagine the President, sitting in ??the oval office as a Wizard tries to explain why muggles need to be careful because a murderer has escaped wizarding prison. 

While it isn’t a huge part of the story, it does build a bridge between the m??uggle and wizarding worlds, something which helps to build the world and establish where everything fits.

Percy and his redemption arc

While Percy’s treachery towards his family is touched on in the movies, it’s very much glossed over with him suddenly being gone a??nd then reappearing?? later. 

However, in the books, his behaviour is deplorable and he easily becomes a hated character for how he treats his family. He completely blanks them in pub??lic, humiliates them, and sides with Cornelius Fudge to call them crazy when they back Harry’s announcement that Voldemort is back. 

When he fina?lly does come ba??ck, during the Battle of Hogwarts, the family are celebrating when Fred is killed by an explosion, never seeing Percy return to the family.

Firenze teaching Divination

In the movies, the most we see of the Centaurs is the strange repeated sentence “Mars looks bright tonight�? However, at least one Centaur plays a mu??ch bigger role in the books. 

During The Half-Blood Prince, after the dismissal of Professor Trelawney by Umbridge, Firenze becomes Divination teacher at Hogwarts and remains in the position for two years, teaching students about fortune telling. I’m not sure what else to say a?bout this, except I desperately want more for the Centaurs than the small role they have in the movies.

Charlie Weasley

The We??asleys have seven children, though if you’ve only watched the movies, you could be forgiven for think??ing one of them doesn’t exist. 

Charlie Weasley is the oldest of those seven children and he works in Romania with Dragons. This is touched upon in the movies, with Ron saying as such, but he never appears in person. He’s glimps??ed in the holiday photo from Egypt, but?? despite the fact that he was supposed to come pick up Norberta, he never shows his face.

The backstory of the Vanishing Cabinet 

Remember the Vanishing Cabinet which is used by the Death Eaters to gain e?ntry to Hogwarts during the final battle? That piece of furniture has an entire backstory interwoven through previous books. 

It first appears in The Chamber of Secrets, when Harry is accosted by Filch for leaving muddy footprints in the freshly cleaned halls. Nearly Headless Nick convinces Peeves to create a di??straction, and he breaks the cabinet. ;

Then, in The Goblet of Fire,?? Fred and George Weasley shove a Slytherin called Montague into the Cabinet and he gets stuck between Hogwarts an??d Borgin and Burke’s. When he escapes, he tells Draco Malfoy what happened, providing Draco with the idea to repair the Cabinet and get the Death Eaters into the castle.

However, none of this features in the movies, and this entire?? subplot is lost.

Harry funding Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes

In return for winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament during The Goblet of Fire, Harry receives 1,000 Galleons. ?However, Harry has an entire vault filled with Galleons in Gringotts and has no use for the money. Instead, he hands it over to Fred and George Weasley.

They, in turn, use this money to purchase a shop in Diagon Alley and build their wizarding joke empire, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Wit??hout Harry, they would not hav?e been able to start their shop and live out their prankster dreams, albeit for a short time in Fred’s case.

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If you’re a Hunger Games fan, it’s time to rejoice - we’re getting another dive into the dystopian world of Panem, creat?ed by Suzanne Collins, in the shape of Sunrise on the Reaping. Interestingly, we know not only the book release date, but the movie release date too. 

Sunrise on the Reaping will be set 40 years after the events of the last title, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, during the Second Quarter Quell (otherwise known as the 50th anniversary of the first Hunger Games). W?e already know that Haymitch Abernathy won the 50th Hunger Games, so the book will likely focus on him and his experience during the years' games. 

On June 6, it was revealed that the Sunrise on the Reaping book is set to release on March 18, 2025 and with all of the previous books receiving epic movie adaptations, it will come as no surprise that the fifth instalment will also be getting one too. Also on June 6, Lionsgate revealed that Sunrise on the Reaping already has a release date, coming 18 months later than the book on November 20, 2026, around the same time of year that all of th?e movies were released aside from the fir??st. 

It’s unusual for a book and its movie adaptation to ??be announced simultaneously, but it should come as no surprise given the huge b?ox office success of the previous movies:

Thanks to the popularity of Haymitch during the original trilogy, where he became Katniss Everdean’s mentor during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, it’s likely that Sunrise on the Reaping will outshine The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, providing the focus is actually on his character’s hardships as expect??ed. 

While we know that Francis Lawrence will be returning as Director for Sunrise on the Reaping, no casting choices have been made for the movie as of yet. It’s also worth noting that with such a long time? to go before the currently expected release date, there may be some changes to thi??s originally planned date.

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Steve Carell, the voice of Gru in the Despicable Me movies, has unveiled the "Megaverse". The newly released Despicable Me 4 trailer features Carell introducing the Mega Minions in a planned universe where many movies and shows will expand the lore around the Mega Minions. Through the trailer, Illumination and Carell took a cheeky dig at the superhero franchise model from Marvel Cinematic Universe, which features loads of movies and shows that are interconnected and part of a main storyline that ??goes on for many years.

Illumination took the joke a step further by revealing an official website where the planned timeline of movie releases and an official synopsis are listed. While the joke began with superhero movies and Marvel in particular, the quips expand to other movies as well, with clever nods to Star Wars, Jerry Maguire, James Bond, Mad Max, and more.

The official movie titles include Mega Minions Legacy, where the movie's plot states that the heroes must return “after the Anti-Villain League’s quarterly earnings dramatically miss estimates.�?/p>

Another hilarious movie is simply slated as an Untitled Mega Minion Spin-off and its outlined plot suggests that the story will be "determined based on rigorous market te?sting and ad hoc decision-making."

?The movie names and the Megaverse announcement are clearly a parody, but it would ?be interesting to see some of these many movie ideas come to fruition.

Despicable Me 4 will have the super-powered Mega Minions at least, and the mov?ie is slated for a release on July 3, 2??024.

The post Steve Carel?l and Illumination troll Marvel Cinematic Universe with a parody Despicable Me 4 trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Jeremy Renner, who played William Brandt in the Mission: Impossible movies, has now revealed why he turned down the opportunity to return to the franchise. Renner was offered a role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout but bowed out b?ecause he did not agree with the direction his character in the fi?lm was heading towards.

Renner was recently on the Happy, Sad, Confused Podcast where he was asked to explain why Brandt was missing in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, which came out back in 2018. He said that he declined to return because his chara?cter was going to be killed off i??n the movie.

“If you’re going to do this, and you’re going to use my character, you’re going to do it right,�?he sai??d.

The actor further explained, “I remember they tried to bring me over[seas] for a week so they could kill my character, and I was like, ‘No, you don’t get to do that. You’re not going to drag me over there and just kill my character,�?like get out of here!�?/p>

Renner said he yelled at the director, telling him, “Dude, you’re not going to do this to me like that; you’re not going to do me wrong.�?/p>

The actor also reveale?d that he had left the franchise because he wanted to focus on his responsibilities as a father, and it was hard to spend time with the family since the filming took place overseas. 

While this sounds like Renner is not going to make? a return to the franchise, all hope is not lost. He said during the podcast that he is open to returning as William Brandt. However, it is clea??r that the role must have significance for Renner to consider it.

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Sony and Columbia Pictures have revealed the first trailer for the upcoming Venom movie, giving us a look at the final Venom film in the trilogy. Tom Ha??rdy’s Venom appears all set for another round of mayhem, and the action-packed trail?er teases the fight ahead.

The first trailer does hint towards what fans can mostly expect from the movie, as the alien Venom symbiote warns Eddie Brock about an invasion of Earth by the beings from its world. The beings are none other than Klyntar, the alien r?ace created by Knull, one of the oldest villains in the Marvel comics.

The final movie’s official synopsis has also been revealed, explaining that “Eddie and Venom are on the run...�?and that both o??f them are being hunted by humans as well as the Klyntar, forcing them “into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie'??s last dance."

While the trailer does not dig into why exactly the Klyntar have shown up on Earth and are hunting down Eddie Brock and Venom, it looks like it's an uphill battle ??for the duo against the Klyntar. The final Venom movie has yet to divulge its big, bad villain yet, and it remains to be seen if Venom will only be taking the fight up against the Klyntar.

Interestingly, Sony’s Shared Spider-Ma??n Universe does not seem to be introducing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and finally have him face to face with Venom. The idea was certainly teased in the post-credit scene from the previous Venom movie, but the trailer’s plot looks miles away from that reality. Even if we somehow do see Spider-Man, it’s likely going to be a small cameo to introduce him in this Universe rather than seein??g him play a crucial part in the final movie.

Anyway, it is all spe??culation at best at the moment. Venom: The Last Dance will be hitting theatres on October 25, 2024.

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Since 1979, George Miller's Mad Max series has transformed from a schlo?cky B-rate post-apocalypse story to one of the most beloved action franchises of all time. 

Mad Max is set in Australia sometime after the world has been desolated by plagues, economic collapse, and ecological die out. The dregs of humanity hang onto life and go to war over the remaining food, fuel, and shelter. The humans in Mad Max also spend a good chunk of their?? time creating spike-covered vehicles that can patrol the wastes and duke it out in high speed battles. It’s a goofy premise that takes itself entirely too seriously, but that’s part of the appeal. 

The Mad Max movies are beloved for good reason, but even super fans like myself have to admit that some of them are quite a bit better than other??s. They might not all be worth a rewatch, but they’re definitely worth ranking??. 

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Beyond Thunderdome is arguably the most iconic Mad Max movie thanks to the titular combat arena and a truly memorable performance from Tina Turner. At the same time, this movie is a lot worse than your memory might lead you to believe. There’s less time spent watching post-apocalyptic gladiators duke it out than there is watching Max interact with a group of semi-feral children. Digging into various factions and the plight of kids in the wasteland definitely gives Beyond Thunderdome a different feel than the other movie?s, but that’s not really to its benefit. 

Mad Max

The original Mad Max still holds up, but I’d be lying if I said that nostalgia had nothing to do with this ranking. Truly an example of low-budget filmmaking at its finest, Mad Max is about as stripped down as you can get. We learn about Max’s origins as a sort of police officer in an apocalypse-lite society (the world doesn’t become completely desolate until the sequel). The gang leader Toecutter is still the most memorable villain of the series, and the stunt performers who absolutely risked their lives while filming deserve much of the credit for making Mad Max so good.  

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

In some ways, Furiosa is more like Beyond Thunderdome than any other Mad Max movie. Furiosa tells a grandiose story set over more than a decade, and it spends lots of time building up various factions and locations in the wasteland, which is why you should probably catch up on the series before watching it.

That said, the stories it weaves together are much more interesting than the ones presented in Beyond Thunderdome, and the action scenes that link all the brooding and worldbuilding moments together are top-notch. Furiosa doesn’t provide quite the same thrill ride as other movies in the series, but it definitely tells the most cohesive story and gives us a?? clear vision of the wasteland that the other movies ??don’t really explore. 

Mad Max: The Road Warrior

It almost doesn’t get better than The Road Warrior. The sequel to the original Mad Max opens up the world and brings the apocalypse to the forefront of the story. There aren’t cops any more, just roving bands of car-obsessed raiders and the people who desperately try to avoid them. The Road Warrior ups the ante on all the action shown off in the first film and truly sets the tone for the rest of the series. Some of the storytelling is a bit clumsy, and there’s the Mel Gibson of it all to get past, but The Road Warrior still stands out as the best of the original Mad Max trilogy.

Mad Max: Fury Road

It feels a little weird to put a legacy sequel at the top of this list, but it’s also hard to deny that Fury Road is a masterpiece. The movie basically functions as one giant chase scene, and it manages to capture everything that makes the Mad Max franchise great. From beginning to end, it’s packed with clever world building details, breathtaking shots, and some of the most well-choreographed action scenes ever put to film. Everything the earlier movies did well, Fury Road do??es better, so if someone was only ever going to watch a single entry in the series, this is the one I’d recommend.

The post All the Mad Max movies, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

With the long-awaited release of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, the overall Mad Max franchise has once again been thrust into the mainstream spotlight. The series started its engine way back in 1979 with director George Miller's Mad Max. Since then, it has become a multimedia juggernaut recognized the world over and beloved for its unique look and many weird and wild characters.

At the same time, just because it has a colorful cast and a sprawling world doesn't mean the Mad Max franchise is perfect. The lore and overall timeline is a bit confusing, and there's a lot of ground to cover with ancillary media like novels, video games, and comi??cs. Therefore, it can appear daunting for those new to Miller's po?st-apocalyptic creation.

If you're one of those newcomers who was beckoned by the chaotic, action-packed Furiosa but doesn't want to watch every single Mad Max movie in order to?? prepare, here's what you sh??ould watch at the very least before checking out Miller's latest creation.

Mad Max: Fury Road makes for a good starting point

Released in 2015, Mad Max: Fury Road is a hard-hitting, visually-stunning watch. It centers on Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), who gets swept up in a feud between the vile ruler of the Citadel, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), and Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). This marks her first appearance in the Mad Max series, and between the action, drama, and worldbuilding the film brings, it's quite an impressive one. After all, it got Hideo Kojima to go see it four times.

In terms of the Mad Max timeline, Fury Road takes place years after Furiosa, so there's an argument to be made that it should be saved for after a Furiosa screening. However, giving it a watch first can make Furiosa a more interesting viewing. Knowing the title character and who she ultimately becomes ahead of time adds a layer of intrigue to her origin story. It can be rewarding to know her final form and watch what she goes through to reach it. Think witnessing Anakin Skywalker's journey to become Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequels decades after ??the completion of the original trilogy?.

Not to mention, if you're a bit unsure if what you're getting into stylistically with Furiosa is for you, Fury Road is similar in aesthetic and tone. It can act as a good primer in that regard as well. If you like what Fury Road has to offer and want more, then you can go scratch that itch with Furiosa afterward.

The original Mad Max trilogy is optional

There's no denying the pop culture influence and overall science fiction awesomeness of the original Mad Max trilogy. Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome are all worth a watch decades after their premieres, and Mel Gibson's rendition of Max Rockatansky remains iconic. With that said, these movies aren't all that essential to one's viewing of Furiosa.

The main reason why you can watch Furiosa without having seen the Mad Max trilogy is time. Furiosa and Fury Road are set in the mid-21st century, with the original trilogy spanning the mid-1980s to somewhere between the late 1990s to the early 2000s. These sets of films are so far apart chronologically and their casts are so radically different that, in terms of the core narrative, passing on the trilogy won't impact your understanding of Furiosa much at all.

The original trilogy may not be related to Furiosa at all

Then again, what if you simply want to learn as much about the lore of this universe as possible? Well, you might still be better off skipping the trilogy, or looking at it as its own entity. Whether the first three Mad Max movies truly are in the same continuity as Furiosa and Fury Road remains a hot topic. Miller hasn't shared a concrete verdict, and fans continue to debate if Gibson an?d Hardy are the same Max, if they're related, or if the name is more of a mantle passed from person to person.

All of that is to say that ahead of Furiosa, you could watch all of the existing Mad Max movies to prepare if you so desire. If you're seeking narrative cohesion and nothing more, though, your best bet is to stick with Fury Road alone. It ties in the closest to Furiosa, forming a highly entertaining duology with it.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now playing exclusively in theaters.

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Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga from director George Miller has finally premiered on the big screen, with emphasis on finally. The latest entry in the weird and wild Mad Max universe, starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, has been in development for some time, but the project wasn't initially? planned as a movie. Rather, Miller envisioned it as an anime series almost a decade ago, only for this idea to crumble.

The story of Furiosa dates back to the creation of Mad Max: Fury Road, which itself was worked on for decades. Per Miller during a chat with Time Out, Mel Gibson, the star of the original Mad Max trilogy??, was even c??onsidered to return as Max Rockatansky at one point.

Come the mid-2010s, however, Miller's first Mad Max title since 1985's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome became a reality with Tom Hardy as the lead. The film also received a tie-in comic, a Mad Max video game, and a tale starring one of the feature's new characters, Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa, was being l??aid out.

Miller revealed to Polygon that Furiosa's story was actually completed before Fury Road even started shooting, recalling, “So we wrote a story about Furiosa from the time she was taken as a child, as she refers to in Fury Road, until she became the Imperator Furiosa. That ended up?? as a full screenplay, with concept art and so on."

With that, he decided the anime route was the best option to bring Furiosa's origin to life. Fury Road concept artist Maeda was then enlisted to create the show's aesthetic. Unfortunately, with the delay of Fury Road, the Furiosa anime was put on the back burner and eventually scrapped entir??ely.

Miller told Polygon he felt "there was no point in making an anime" due to Fury Road's halt. In time, some of Maeda's artwork made it onli??ne, giving fans an idea of what could've ??been. Meanwhile, Miller maintained that a Furiosa-centric story should come to fruition, and come to fruition it did.

After a dispute regarding unpaid salaries on Fury Road was resolved, Miller began developing the ill-fated Furiosa anime as a m?ovie. He overhauled the plot entirely, recast Taylor-Joy for the lead instead of de-aging Theron, and assembled a supporting cast of franchise veterans and newcomers alike. It was a long, winding road to get here, but at last, Furiosa has a gritty, post-apocalyptic spotlight all her own.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is now playing exclusively in theaters.

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Unless you were living under a rock in 2018, you wouldn’t have been able to miss the phenomenon that was Bird Box on Netflix. The movie, starring Sandra Bullock as the wishes-she-were-blind main protagonist, was based on a book of the same name by author Josh Malerman. 

Here’s the TLDR; the world suddenly becomes host t??o some form of Creature, one which remains unseen by the audience, which drives people insane, suicidal, and homicidal when sighted. Malorie, having given birth and also all but adopted another child on the same day (hats off to her, honestly) during this crisis, raises the two children and ??then takes a blindfolded trip down a river to what she hopes is safety. 

The movie doesn’t actually tell us much about the Creatures, leaving it all up to the imagination, which is arguably part of the reason that the movie became as huge as it did. However, as I said, the movie is based on a book (Bird Box, 2014) by Josh Malerman. There’s also a direct sequel novel, Malorie, wh?ich was published in 2019 (?and is absolutely not based in Barcelona). 

So, like the ever-diligent researcher I am, I watched the movie (twice), ordered bo?th books and read them in the space of a single weekend to try and figure out some facts about the Creatures. This information is mostly from the books, and there’s some interesting discoveries. 

A word of warning, this will feature a lot of spoilers, particularly from Malorie. There’s some parts of the movie which were heavily changed from th??e source material, too, so if anything here doesn’t quite make sense in relation to the movie - that’s why.

They’re described as infinity

This is alluded to in the first book, when Tom is describing what the previous owner of the house, George, saw before he took his own life after seeing one. However, the theme returns much more heavily in Malorie. Withou?t going into too much detail, the concept is that they are something we are i??ncapable of comprehending, and that itself drives us insane. 

As Gary says in the second book, imagine growing up with no knowledge of the?? existence of Whales. Seeing one, so huge and daunting, would be enough to cause a crack in anyone's idea of reality.

Some people are immune to them

In the second book, Malorie, it’s revealed that Olympia (the child)? is immune to the effect?s of the Creatures, likely due to Olympia (the mother) seeing one while the baby was still attached to her by the umbilical cord. 

This means that, for ??her entire life, Olympia (the child) has been able to traverse without a blindfold, looking directly at the Creatures without any form of madness taking over. This explains t??he very bizarre moments in the movie which are never explained, and also alludes to a genetic component, which gives hope for the future of humanity in the story's universe.

Some people are also immune based on their level of co??mprehension. This would explain why people with mental illnesses who have a hallucination symptoms can view them without being driven insane - they’re already used to seeing things that they can’t explain, so why would this be any different?

They’re capable of growth and reproduction

Perhaps ‘reproduction�?is the wrong word. There are multiple instances in the second book where the Creatures are described as “not necessarily taller than they were before, but wider�? and we’re informed as readers that there are three times as many of them as there were during Bird Box. 

With Malorie being set approximately 12 years after Bird Box, this seems to mean th??at the Creatures are either multiplying, or more of them are arriving from whence they came. 

Despite the effect they have on humans, they’re not violent

The only cases of purposeful attacks on humans are recorded as having happened in densely populated areas that already had an abnormally high prevalence of violent crime, which says to me that the Creatures were either trying to defend themselves, or they were a scapegoat for other violent acts. As stated in Malorie, “There are no verifiable accounts of a Creature forci??ng a pers??on to look at it�?

No, rather than attacking humans, the Creatures seem to be on Earth more as observers. In the second book, after it’s revealed that Olympia can view them safely, it’s also revealed that multiple creatures have been living alongside Malorie and the kids in the lodge which became their home. Never attacking, never harming, simply watching. Often, the Creatures seem ?to shy away ??from human contact as much as we avoid contact with them. 

They congregate in densely populated areas, such as Indian River

The eventual destination of the second book, Indian River, is densely populated b??y a group of people who are trying to find a method to safely look at the creatures while ?avoiding madness in the hopes of returning to some form of pre-creature normalcy. While traveling on the Blind Train (yes, that’s a thing), the owner tells Malorie that there are far more Creatures surrounding Indian River than in any other location in the length of Michigan. 

Perhaps this goes hand in hand with the previous fact, that the Creatures are here to observe and are drawn to bigger populations, which would also explain?? why cities were affected first in the first place. 

You don’t hear them move, you hear the world move around them

In the second book, Malorie, there is a list o??f things that? are known about the Creatures. Here’s what it says:

“They make noise, though not traditional sound. There is no flat-footed creak u??????????????????????????pon floorboards. Rather, it’s as if the floorboards themselves momentarily morph before returning to their natural state�?

This suggests that rather than hearing the movement of the Cr??eatures, you hear the world around them adapt to their presence. The grass crunches under their feet, if they have any, rather than the sound of that foot stepping down onto ??the grass. 

They aren’t evolving, though people once thought they were

The second book begins with Malorie and the children at the School for the Blind for two years, and all hell has broken loose after a Creature has managed to get inside. But how could a Creature drive blind people insane? Well, the theory that spread was that? the Creatures evolved to ‘infect�?by touch.

However, this isn’t the case. It turns out that people were simply pretending to be blind in order to fit in with the actually blind people around them and not be judged or feared. This, in turn, led to hundreds of fake-blind peopl??e at the school being driven insane, killing those around them and then themselves. 

Malorie, though, believed they could infect by touch and went on to wear full body coverings any time she was outside for the next ten years. She isn’t happy when Olympia (the child) finally reveals she knew it was unnec?essary the entire time.

Blindness is the best protection outside of immunity

This is pretty obvious, but if you can’t see at all, then you can’t see the Creatures. This isn’t a fact that isn’t revealed in the movie, however, there is on??e moment in the first book that I just have to talk about. 

Malorie, trying to save the children when they’re babies, actually considers and almost carries out the voluntary blinding of two babies by pouring paint stripper i??nto their eyes. This is possibly the clearest display of the fear instilled in people by the presence of the Creatures.

Animals can sense them better than humans

While we already know that birds can sense them, thanks to their use as an alarm s??ystem (which, in the books, only happens while at?? the house and aren’t taken down the river with them), they’re not the only animals who can sense them. 

In the first book, not only does Jules have his own dog c??alled Victor, but he and Tom (the adult) head out in search of more dogs to act as guide dogs. Dogs, as it turns out, are much more able to sense the presence of Creatures and can help protect humans by altering them if they venture outside with blindfolds on. 

They can be viewed through two way mirrors

Quite how it took 16 years for someone to figure this out, I’m not sure, but in Malorie it’s revealed that Tom (the child) has invented a visor made from a two way mirror which was once in the lodge they stayed in for 10 years. At the end of Malorie, he tests the visor and, as luc??k would hav??e it, it works. 

The concept behind this revelation is that by forcing the Creatures to do something we can comprehend and relate to, viewing themselves in a mirror and looking within, we can ?therefore view them without being driven insane from the other side of said mirror. They’re not beyond comprehension, and therefore we can begin to understand them. 

The post 10 facts about the Bird Box Creatures that the movies don’t tell you appeared first on Destructoid.

Though this might predict that dire times are right around the corner, there's no d?enying th?at we're living in a good time for Science Fiction.

If you already love Sci-Fi, or if the Fallout TV series has awakened in you a love for Sci-Fi so deep that not even a list of the best Fallout-like Sci-Fi movies w??ill keep you full, then it's time to share a list of the m??ost hype-worthy Sci-Fi films that'll come out this year.

Alien: Romulus (Aug 16)

Alien sequels are hit-and-miss... and miss. Still, if there's a person for the job, that's likely Fede Álvarez of the Evil Dead remake and Don't Breathe fame. The man can do intimate horror, tension, and claustrophobia �?much more than we've had in the past like five Alien movies if you count the AVP ones and Prometheus. Cailee Spaeny of Civil War leads a cast of little-known names. This casting route is akin to the one taken by the original Alien, which is great as I believe it's likely to get us to believe in and empathize with these characters �?even though they're likely all ab?out to die in horrible ways.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 8)

After a solid and successful reboot trilogy, the Nu Apes saga will continue with Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes, starring Freya Allan of The Witcher TV series fame. Maze Runner series helmer Wes Ball is directing, and the studio has already boasted about having shot the movie almost entirely on location. That's a breath of fresh air in the green screen and "The volume"-saturated movie landsc?ape of today, and also just plain cool that they took the entire cast and crew to shoot on a planet that's not ?Earth �?right?

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24)

Okay, here's one that'll likely be a hit among Fallout fans. The legendary George Miller is back in the director's chair to follow up on the glorious Mad Max: Fury Road and tell the early days of Fur??iosa, Immortan Joe'??s coolest general.

This is a prequel, so instead of Charlize Theron, we're getting the younger Anya Taylor-Joy in the main role as we likely learn how she got her metal arm. The film will also star Chris Hemsworth as a seemingly show-stealing villain, and the trailer makes it look as promising as the trailers for Fury Road did ten years ago.

Megalopolis (TBA)

While it's true that Francis Ford Coppola hasn't made a widely-beloved movie in a while, he's the guy behind Apocalypse Now, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Conversation, and the Godfather duology, so I think we should at least keep an ear out for the movie he's spent 40 years of his life trying to get made. Though we still don't have a confirmed release date, Coppola states that his Sci-Fi epic starring Adam ?Driver as an architect trying to rebuild New York City after a cataclysmic event will come ou??t sometime this year.

Atlas (May 24)

If the mix of Sci-Fi and Jennifer Lopez strikes you as weird, you should consider adding The Cell from 2000 to your watchlist ASAP. Though she's mostly remembered for her romantic films, J Lo can absolutely carry a Sci-Fi film, so I can easily say I'm hyped to see what she'll bring to the genre nearly twenty-five years after her first outing. Atlas revolves around an AI hellbent on ending humanity, and is helmed by Rampage and San Andreas director Brad Peyton. At the very least, this should be a fun time in your Netflix ho??me theater.

Borderlands (August 4)

I'm the first to admit I didn't much care for the Borderlands movie adaptation when I first saw the trailer, but I also thought the Fallout TV series would bomb hard and we all know how that tu?rned out.

Director Eli Roth has had far from a spotless career, but he enjoyed quite the resurgence with the gruesomely fun Thanksgiving, so he might really be the one to pull this off. On-screen, we have Cate Blanchett and the voice of Jack Black, who are entertaining to watch even in the crappiest movie imaginabl?e, so I have to say my hopes fo??r this one are fully renewed.

Mars Express (May 3)

Mars Express is a French Sci-Fi detective story set in the relatively close 23rd century. Its director, Jérémie Périn, is mostly unknown in the US �?for now �?but he made the Internet airwaves some years ago with one of the most puzzlingly wicked music videos of all time. Unlike most other movies on this list, there's no longer the need to wonder if Mars Express is good, as it has already come out in France where it met an overwhelmingly posit?ive reception.

The Electric State (TBA)

Can the Russo brothers return to the heights of the Endgame and Winter Soldier days after the tumble that was The Gray Man? The Electric State, the duo's first foray into the genre, might prove the comeback they need. This adaptation of the graphic novel of the sa??me name tells the story of a boy and a robot friend who must venture through the evil robot-infested US West Coast in search of the boy's brother. It features names such as Ke Huy Quan, Chris Pratt, Stanley Tucci, and Millie Bobby Brown in the main cast.

Kalki 2898 AD (May 9)

Kalki is an upcoming Sci-Fi blockbuster from India set in a post-apocalyptic world based on Hindu mythology. The Nag Ashwin-directed movie was shot in 2022, but the pandemic got it postponed to early 2024, and the need for extra post-production work further delayed it to May 9. The trailer looks cool, so there's no way I'll risk missing out on telling our readers about what could turn out to be the next RRR.

Star Wars Episode 1

I'm sorry to tell you that no, you didn't just wake up from a coma and have been in 1999 all along. It's just that Star Wars Episode 1 is coming back to theaters on May 3 to celebrate its 25th anniversary. It's on the list because this is a multi-generational mom?ent of truth waiting to happen.

For nearly two decades, Star Wars fans have loath??ed this film. Then, in what I assume was a knee-jerk reaction to the sequel trilogy, many began talking about how the prequels were good, actually. I don't know about that, but there's probably no better way to learn the tru?th than by counting the number of happy faces and comparing it to the number of sobbing ones as they leave the theater.

The post The 10 upcoming Sci-Fi?? movies of 2024 we can’t wait t??o watch appeared first on Destructoid.

The Sonic ??movie franchise has been on a tear over the past four years, earning over $700 million in global box office earnings and adding a couple more titles to the list of successful video game movie adaptations.

They've done so by collecting a cast of stellar actors to play and voice their characters, from Jim Carrey's manic Dr. Robotnik to Idris Elba's indomitable Knuckles. With Sonic 3 on the way and a huge cast of characters still to fill, fan?s knew there would be more amazing casti??ng announcements in the future.

Still, I don't know if anyon??e expected Mr. John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, to join the fun.

Shadow the Hedgehog's film series voice actor has been revealed

As stated by the Hollywood Reporter, Keanu Reeves is set to star in Sonic 3 as Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic's dark, edgy opposite. Given Keanu's recent success as John Wick, we see how the casting may make sense. Shadow is a motorcycle-riding, gun-wielding (sometimes) antihero, turned towards chaos by the death of his longtime companion, Maria Robotnik. Mourning her?? loss, he originally turns to evil before finding his way back to the good side, though with a 'through any means necessary' moral compass. John Wick toes the same line, originally seeking revenge before turning to dismantle the High Table. The parallels are numerous, and it seems obvious that Keanu should be a perfect fit for the role.

While we don't have access to a Sonic 3 trailer yet, one was shown privately at Cinemacon in Las Vegas, and rumors seem to point to Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and maybe even Robotnik, j??oining forces to stop Shadow's ra?mpage.

Personally,?? I hadn't been very hyped for this movie. Now? I'm through the roof. I'm so ready to hear Keanu Reeves voice Shadow the Hedgehog as he wreaks havoc and causes mayhem in his quest to attain the Chaos Emeralds, jumping over buildings on a souped-up motorcycle.

And maybe, i?f my prayers are answe??red, they'll give him a gun too.

The post Keanu Reeves Cast as Shadow in Sonic 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

This morning brought us our first Sonic the Hedgehog 3 teaser trailer, and with it, indi?cations that Jim Carrey will return as the ??nefarious Dr. Robotnik.

Paramount Pictures dropped the twenty-second tease this morning which showcased the Sonic 3 logo alongside confirmation of the movie's December 2024 release date. In the backg?round audio of the clip, you can hear Jim Carrey's?? distinct laughter as the iconic Sonic villain.

You don't have to merely go on Carrey's Doctor Eggman laugh as proof of his return. Variety also confirmed the news this morning.

Carrey, one of the most prolific comedic actors of all time, revealed in 2022 that he would be retiring from acting. Speaking to Access Hollywood, Carrey ?stated "I’m retiring.?? Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious."

He went on to note that he likes "my quiet life." Carrey said, "If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.�?/p>

Carrey's quote came out shortly before Sonic the Hedgehog 2 went on to be wildly successful at the box office. So while the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 script likely isn't "written in gold ink??," Carrey's paycheck to return as Dr. Robotnik just may be.

You won't have to wait until December to get your Sonic movie universe fix, though. Knuckles, a six-episode live-action series is planned for early 2024 on Paramount Plus. The series will feature Idris Elba returning to voice the warrior Echidna. It will take place between the events of the Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 movies.

The post Jim Carrey returns for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Fans excited for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 got a nice little tease today. Jeff Fowler, director of both 2020's Sonic the Hedgehog and 2022's Sonic the Hedgehog 2, published a tweet today teasing the emergence of one of the blue blur's most iconic villains, Shadow the Hedgehog in next year's Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

The point of the tweet was twofold. Fowler shared an image teasing the lower half of Sonic's genetically engineered rival, but also confirmed that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was "off and running" with development.

Shadow the Hedgehog was revealed as a tease during the conclusion of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. While his team was searching for Dr. Robotnik, G.U.N. Commander Walters was informed that a 50-year-old file was found ??that contained coordinates to a secret site hosting something called "Project: Sh??adow". We then see the black hedgehog open his angry eyes within a containment cell. The background of the image Fowler posted today looks to be that very same site.

Shadow the Hedgehog originally debuted as a foil to Sonic in the Sega Dreamcast's Sonic Adventure 2. Due to the ??character's popularity, he became a series mainstay, acting as an anti-hero of sorts who strives to do good but by any means necessary.

Fowler also confirmed today that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is on track for release in December of 2024. However, that won't be the next time you're able to jump back into this live-action Sonic world. Paramount confirmed in February 2022 that a live-action Knuckles series was in the works with Iris Elba returning. The studio also teased that they were planning to expand the Sonic live-action univers?e with several other projects as well.

The Knuckles live-action series is slated to arrive on Paramount+ early next year. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 races to theaters on December 20.

The post Sonic 3 movie director offers a glimpse of Shadow the Hedgehog as f?ilming beg?ins appeared first on Destructoid.