Yesterday, Netflix released a teaser video and a new visual for the highly anticipated anime series based on Shigeru Mizuki’s Akuma Kun manga. The teaser unveils four more cast members and additional staff members involved in the project. The newly announced cast members include:
Ryoko Shiraishi as Sanae Kazama (Akuma Kun’s mother)
Yumiri Hanamori as Mio Kazama (Sanae’s daughter)
Fairouz Ai as Gremory (a demon)
Yukiyo Fujii as Hina Asanagi (a college student who seeks help from Akuma Kun)
Damon Lindelof, the creator of popular TV series like The Leftovers and Watchmen, was once part of the team of writers working on the screenplay for the upcoming Star Wars movie, focusing on Rey’s Jedi academy after the events of the new trilogy. However, he revealed in an interview with Esquire that he was asked to leave the Star Wars universe. Despite the setback, Lindelof holds no grudges and even expressed interest in working on a Star Wars project in the future.
The Rey movie, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy from a screenplay by Steven Knight, is still in development. Lindelof, who once wrote a screenplay for the movie with Justin Britt-Gibson, referred to it as a “labor of love.” He also expressed his admiration for the franchise and its storytelling, saying that Star Wars was the first movie he ever saw in a theater.
While Lindelof may not be involved in the project anymore, he has no hard feelings and wishes the team the best of luck. Despite being asked to leave, he remains interested in future opportunities to work on a Star Wars project.
Bungie, the developer behind the popular game Destiny 2, has emerged victorious in its battle against Romanian cheat seller Mihai Claudiu-Florentin and won a $12 million lawsuit. Claudiu-Florentin’s VeteranCheats sold cheat software that gave users an unfair advantage over others by allowing them to tweak their aim and see through walls. Bungie claimed that such software was harmful to Destiny 2’s competitive and cooperative modes. Bungie argued the case on the grounds of copyright infringement, violation of the DMCA, breach of contract, intentional interference with contractual relations, and violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act.
Bungie’s lawsuit demanded $12,059,912.98 in total damages, with $11,696,000 going toward violations of the DMCA, $146,662.28 for violations of the Copyright Act, and $217,250.70 accounting for the studio’s attorney expense. Stripe, a payment processing service, provided Bungie with information that revealed at least 5848 separate transactions took place through the service that included Destiny 2 cheating software from November 2020 to July 2022.
Bungie has invested around $2 million in anti-cheating efforts, including staffing and software, as per the lawsuit. In addition, Bungie has banned cheating devices in both competitive and PvE modes. Despite the verdict, VeteranCheats’ website is still offering cheating software for other games such as Overwatch and Call of Duty. However, Destiny 2 no longer appears on the site’s home page or search results.
The recent win comes at a time when Destiny 2 has also been dealing with other controversies. One such incident was a major leak that led to the banning of a prominent content creator in the game’s community.
The highly anticipated sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, is set to release soon and promises to take players on a thrilling adventure into the unknown. With new abilities to harness and a captivating storyline, players will be encouraged to let their curiosity lead the way as they embark on an epic journey. The game is set to feature an epic score that will transport players to another world, making the experience even more immersive. Fans of the franchise are eagerly awaiting the release, which is just a few weeks away. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to be a must-play game for fans of the series and newcomers alike.
Marvel Studios has added Nic Pizzolatto, the creator of True Detective, as a writer for the upcoming MCU film Blade. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that Pizzolatto will be joining the project to work on the script, reuniting him with Blade star Mahershala Ali, as they previously collaborated on season three of True Detective. Pizzolatto will be joining Michael Starrbury, who is also writing the script and has received an Emmy nomination for his work on When They See Us.
The Blade reboot, which is being directed by Yann Demange, has faced some setbacks during pre-production, including the departure of Bassam Tariq in September 2022 due to creative differences. The movie is currently set to begin production in Atlanta in late May and will be released on September 6, 2024. The cast includes Mahershala Ali, Mia Goth, and Delroy Lindo. Blade is a half-mortal, half-immortal being who avenges his mother’s death by hunting vampires. The character was previously portrayed by Wesley Snipes in the original Blade trilogy from New Line Cinema.
New Regency is set to produce a new film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s 1985 novel Blood Meridian, which is considered his magnum opus but notoriously difficult to bring to the screen. John Hillcoat, who directed another McCarthy adaptation in 2009’s The Road, is set to direct the project. Blood Meridian is based on the events of westward American expansion in the 1850s and follows “the kid” as he gets involved with a gang of rangers who scalp Native Americans.
The novel is known for its violence and themes, making it challenging to adapt. Several attempts have been made to adapt it to film, including one by Tommy Lee Jones in the late 1990s and another by Ridley Scott in the 2000s, but none have been successful. James Franco also gave it a try a few years ago, but the project fell apart due to issues with the book rights. However, with New Regency behind the project, Blood Meridian may finally make it to the big screen.
British inventor Colin Furze, known for his wild and creative inventions, has partnered with the popular video game Warframe to create a one-of-a-kind flying machine that enables him to perform parkour and fly just like the characters in the game. The weightless machine is an impressive feat of engineering and can be seen in action in a video showcasing Furze’s daring stunts. If you’re curious about how he built the machine, you can also watch a video documenting the building process. The collaboration between Furze and Warframe has generated a lot of buzz, and fans of the game and Furze’s inventive creations are eagerly watching and sharing the videos. Here is a peak into the process.
Danny and Michael Philippou, the Australian brothers behind the Sundance horror movie Talk to Me and the YouTube channel RackaRacka, are in the final stages of negotiations to direct Legendary’s new Street Fighter movie. This comes after Legendary Entertainment announced earlier this month that they have acquired the rights for live-action film and TV adaptations of Capcom’s famous fighting game franchise. All upcoming Street Fighter projects will be developed in partnership with Capcom.
However, reps for Legendary have not officially confirmed the news. The Philippous are best known for their YouTube channel, which has gained notoriety for their homemade slasher videos and comedy sketches, and has amassed 6.7 million subscribers since its launch in 2013. Their feature debut, Talk to Me, received positive reviews and was acquired by A24 for distribution.
There is little information about the new Street Fighter movie, including the plot and stars, but it is expected to bring a fresh take on the franchise. Street Fighter has previously been adapted into live-action films, with the most popular being the 1994 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, the franchise has been absent from live-action adaptations since the release of 2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.
Kirby and Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed the original design documents for Kirby and other secrets of Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy in his 100th episode of “Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games” on YouTube. In the video, Sakurai shared how he came up with the concept for Kirby’s Dream Land around May 1990 at the age of 19 and made the game simple enough to invite people who are new to video games and showing them how fun they can be.
Sakurai revealed how he worked around the strict memory limitations the small game presented and designed Kirby’s Dream Land to meet the ROM size of 512 kilobits but it was released in 2 megabits. He designed the characters to make them fit while retaining their true size, creating Waddle Dee and Waddle Doo by reusing the back half of one of them, and stuck three dots on a tree in one of the backgrounds to create the boss Whispy Woods. Despite the limitations that came about during the making of Kirby’s Dream Land, the game went on to sell five million copies worldwide, topping the Game Boy’s best-sellers charts for several months straight.
The video also demonstrated how multipurpose the Twin Famicom was, as it allowed Sakurai and his fellow developers to draw the pixel art, combine the art to create the characters, conducted animation tests for them, and even create the backgrounds and title screen. Although the documents aren’t new, Sakurai decided to give the same secret dev presentation in a way that is new to Kirby fans outside of Japan.
Kirby has come a long way from side-scrolling to open-world games with the recent release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which was made without Sakurai’s involvement. He hasn’t developed a Kirby game since Kirby and the Amazing Mirror in 2004, as he was focused on the Super Smash Bros. series. Nonetheless, fans of the iconic pink puffball will enjoy Sakurai’s insightful presentation on Kirby’s early development and the secrets behind the making of the classic Game Boy game.
