UltimateOtaku

Sunday, 12 February 2017

Gotham City Sirens Movie: Everything You Need To Know

With directors leaving The Flash every couple of weeks, early rumblings suggesting disappointment from Wonder Woman, and Ben Affleck departing The Batman's director's chair, things at DC and Warner Bros look very chaotic right now.

Harley Quinn has always been known to thrive in chaos, though, and the Joker's deranged other half seems to be doing just that at the moment. While other characters' films are struggling to get off the ground, Harley's prominence in the DC plans has risen exponentially.

Margot Robbie's clown-obsessed criminal will team up with iconic female baddies in Gotham City Sirens, a film that's on the fast track while other DC projects gestate in development hell. It's a testament to Robbie's performance in Suicide Squad that she's branching into her own vehicle here, whereas the future plans for Jared Leto's Joker are far less clear.

Some talent from Suicide Squad will return, with a few fresh faces added to the mix, suggesting that this (like the major tonal shift of Justice League) is another attempt from DC to correct course and get their universe on track.

Here's everything you need to know...

8. David Ayer Is Back…

Despite the divisive nature of Suicide Squad, its writer-director David Ayer hasn't been thrown out by Warners and DC. The helmsman of Fury and End Of Watch will return to the DCEU to direct Gotham City Sirens, re-teaming with Robbie after shooting her big screen Harley Quinn debut.

Many loathed Suicide Squad, Ayer himself on Twitter recently, posted a very reflective monologue about the lessons he's learned from his first DC movie. If he could make Suicide Squad again, Ayer says he'd "engineer a more grounded story" and "give the characters the stories and plots they deserve next time. Real talk."

With any luck, Ayer will take these lessons on board and take care to deliver the best movie he can with Gotham City Sirens. But it seems the studio doesn't have infinite faith in him..

7. … But He's Not Writing The Script

Warners are willing to let Ayer behind the camera on another DC film, but they don't want him writing the script this time.

Instead of Ayer, Geneva Robertson-Dworet has been tasked with hashing out the script for Gotham City Sirens. She's a hot talent in Hollywood at the moment, who's also been tasked with writing the Tomb Raider reboot and Robert Downey Jnr's Sherlock Holmes 3. This is an unprecedented number of blockbusters for a writer to have on their plate at once; especially a writer who hasn't had a film in cinemas yet.

But that's what Robertson-Dworet is: a brand new writer on the scene that all the studios are fighting over. Hopefully that means she's got epic skills to bring to the table, and some fresh ideas to liven up the DCEU.

6. Margot Robbie Is Stepping Up To Exec Producer

Following a recent trend (Daniel Craig did it with Spectre and Ben Affleck is doing it now on The Batman), Margot Robbie won't just be the star of Gotham City Sirens - she'll also be involved behind the scenes as an executive producer.

Even though Ayer's Suicide Squad script was all over the place, it was clear in the finished film that Robbie really understood the character of Harley Quinn. As pre-transformation Harleen she was nervous and shy, and as the fully-fledged supervillain Harley she darted between comedic charm, outright nuttiness and pure, crazy love for Mr J.

It's hard to imagine anyone else playing the character on screen after witnessing Robbie's take. And her eye for Harley's idiosyncrasies will surely come in handy during production: part of her job could be ensuring that everyone stays on the same page, sticking to one vision for the character. That kind of focus was missing last time around, and could make all the different here.

5. It's Not The First Harley Script They've Worked On

Before settling on the Gotham City Sirens branding, DC had Christina Hodson (another up-and-coming female writer) working on a script entitled Birds Of Prey. According to The Wrap, it would've featured Harley alongside "multiple female heroes." Rumours inspired by comics suggested that Batgirl, Black Canary, Huntress and Katana could've all appeared.

It remains to be seen whether any ideas from Birds Of Prey will bleed into Gotham City Sirens. It would certainly be cool to see rival female factions on the big screen - iconic DC heroes and villains, with a conflicted Harley caught the middle. After saving the world in Suicide Squad, is there part of her that would rather help people than hurt them?

For now, the plot of the movie is a mystery, but it's probably wise to expect a female hero or two among the baddies...

4. The Joker And Batman Aren’t Confirmed

As it stands, the only actor listed on Gotham City Sirens' IMDb page is Margot Robbie herself.

Jared Leto's Joker has not been confirmed yet, but seems likely to show up in some capacity, even if it's just to explain why Harley is branching out on her own rather than hanging out with him after Suicide Squad. Some fans wanted more Leto last time, and others would've been happy if he was removed altogether - it'll be interesting to see how the powers-that-be respond to that.

Ben Affleck's Batman isn't attached yet, either. It would be odd for a film with Gotham in the title not to feature the city's most famous resident, but Batfleck is busy writing, starring in and producing his own DC film at the moment. Would he even have time to shoot a cameo?

3. Megan Fox Is Rumoured For Poison Ivy...

Shortly after Gotham City Sirens was announced, Bleeding Cool posted a rumour: Megan Fox, they reckon, is circling the role of Poison Ivy. They had reasons to back it up, too. Apparently, Fox is a long-time comic book fan, which is why she previously signed on for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jonah Hex and Robot Chicken (in which she voices Lois Lane) and that the website had "been shown hard evidence that [Fox] has ordered pre-52 Harley Quinn comics that feature Poison Ivy, sent to her Warner Studios address."

Nobody at Warners responded to the rumour, though, so it remains just that for the time being.

There's no denying that Fox looks the part. And she's even played evil characters before, giving one of her best performances in the murderous lead role in Jennifer's Body. Red hair and green clothes is all she needs at this point.

2. … And Haley Bennett Could Be Catwoman

2016 was a big year of Haley Bennett - she sizzled in The Girl On The Train and provided the emotional core to The Magnificent Seven. But 2017 could be even bigger for her, with rumours persisting that her casting as Catwoman is soon to be confirmed.

Bennett has been teasing something along these lines on her Instagram account. She literally posted a picture of Catwoman, followed by evidence that she's had her hair cut short. Then she snapped a seafood dinner, and added the caption "Meow". And after that came a selfie, showing Bennett in a slinky all-black outfit. She's toying with DC fans at this point.

Margot Robbie, Megan Fox and Haley Bennett would make for a star-studded ensemble, that's for sure. Of course, it's worth reiterating that neither Fox or Bennett's casting is officially confirmed yet... but still, these are exciting times.

1. It Could Get Hot And Heavy

A romance between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy was brewing in the comics for ages (they lived together for a time, and the hints at a sexual relationship were fairly blatant), before DC's Twitter account confirmed in 2015 that "they are girlfriends without the jealousy or monogamy."

A year later, the comics acted on the innuendo and actually showed them being intimate. Finally, the iconic female villains locked lips in Bombshells issue #46.

"There are better things to do in the moonlight than dance", Harley said before the snog, riffing on Jack Nicholson's famous line from the 1989 Batman film. But will the moviemakers return the favour now, and refer to this relationship on the big screen? Could Harley and Ivy by the DCEU's first non-straight couple?

Gotham City Sirens would be the prime opportunity to explore this, given its focus on female characters and Harley branching out. Also, it's impossible to deny that some romance between sexy super-villains would get some bums on seats...

What do you want to see in Gotham City Sirens? Let us know in the comments below...

Mass Effect Andromeda World Design and Quests Takes Cues From The Witcher 3

A whole heap of new gameplay details have emerged on Mass Effect Andromeda, along with a bunch of stunning screenshots. BioWare has been gradually peeling back the layers on its next sci-fi space opera ahead of next month’s launch, revealing that a lot of inspiration has been taken from The Witcher 3, for quest content in particular.

“We are approaching the completionist aspect very differently, because we've done and learned a lot from Inquisition," said Mass Effect producer, Fabrice Condominas. "But we've also observed what other games have been doing, like The Witcher.”

Which is all great to hear because if Dragon Age: Inquisition had one major downfall it was the surplus if below par side-content. It truly was the epitome of quantity over quality and the experience was made heaps better by just skipping as much of it as possible.

And now for some juicy game info on Mass Effect Andromeda. Spoiler warning obviously, although nothing here is particularly plot-heavy.

In total there will be a dozen hub areas in MEA. This includes the Citadel-like Nexus space station, and Kadara, a cyberpunk Wild West town on the galaxy’s frontier.

The tone of Mass Effect Andromeda’s plot will be much more like. There is no overarching evil force, this is more a tale of adventures in space and feeling of discovery. Each of Andromeda’s planets will have its own back story, a questline, enemy bases to clear out and puzzle-based vaults to work through for exclusive loot.

The galaxy map will be presented in full 3D and players will have full agency over where they travel to. Littered throughout it will be story missions which will be much more linear than the side-content. Players will be funneled through “arena-like” areas rather than open-world for mainline quests.

Still nothing on Mass Effect Andromeda’s PC system requirements, however BioWare has previously said we can expect to see them in February. With just two weeks left to go that means we haven’t got long to wait.

Mass Effect Andromeda is out on March 21st for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Ex-Techland COO launches new development studio Strange New Things

Konami’s going full anime with new Bomberman spinoff Bombergirl

Super Bomberman R for Nintendo Switch isn’t the only Bomberman game in the works at Konami. This week, at the annual Japan Amusement Expo, the publisher revealed a new game in the franchise with a decidedly different take. It’s called Bombergirl, and it’s like regular Bomberman, but with a twist: What if Bomberman was ... horny?

Bombergirl is currently an arcade-only game in which players can control — for the time being — one of four characters: Shiro, the bomber; Momoko, the blocker; Oren, the high-speed attacker; and Emera, the long-range shooter. Each character has their own skills and as they level up during a match, will get special attacks like a beam weapon or a flaming sword. Based on footage of the game, it appears Konami has around 15 characters planned.

Matches are 4v4, and losing a match causes your Bombergirl’s clothes to shred, naturally, meaning the losing team can take solace in seeing some anime boob.

Konami has previously experimented with horny takes on its classic franchises with Otomedius, a side-scrolling shooter in the vein of Gradius, but the ships are anime girls.

Bombergirl does not currently have a release date for Japan.

Saturday, 11 February 2017

Never Fear: Next Episode in TellTale's ‘Walking Dead’ Series Due in March

WHY IT MATTERS TO YOU

Fans of Telltale's games, in particular its Walking Dead series, are always eager for the next episode. Fortunately, they will only have to wait till next month.

The next episode of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, the popular adventure game series based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels and the AMC show of the same name, will arrive in March, the developer announced Thursday.

Telltale’s The Walking Dead is currently in its third season, subtitled “A New Frontier.” The third episode is called “Above the Law” and will arrive some time after March 3, the date for the physical retail launch of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier.

More: The Walking Dead: A New Frontier: Our first take

The Walking Dead Season 3 picks up the story of Clementine, who’s been a main character since Telltale’s original Walking Dead game, plus one other main protagonist, Javier “Javi” Garcia. The third episode’s official description reads thus: “The group is faced with a shocking revelation after arriving in Richmond. Developments will further agitate tension from Javier’s past.”

Any other story details would likely be considered spoilers, but suffice it to say that the zombie apocalypse still sucks. “Above the Law” will be followed by two more season 3 episodes, to be released at unknown dates.

The Walking Dead put Telltale on the map, and is likely still the studio’s most well-regarded series. But the developer, made up largely of former LucasArts devs who worked on some of its most beloved PC adventure games, has been perfecting its story-driven formula since its formation in 2004. After creating a variety of other licensed games for properties like CSI, Sam & Max, Wallace & Gromit, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park, Telltale struck the right balance with The Walking Dead, and has since moved on to successful games in the worlds of Batman, Game of Thrones, Fables, Borderlands, and Minecraft. A Guardians of the Galaxy Telltale game, announced in 2016, is expected out this year as well.

The first two episodes of The Walking Dead Season 3 are available now, with the physical retail version arriving March 3. Only the first two episodes will included on the game’s disc release, with subsequent episodes, including episode 3, becoming available as DLC when they’re ready

Magazine Spread Looks Ahead To New Season of "Berserk" Anime

Berserk is preparing to return this year. A second season of the anime is back this April and the Kentaro Miura manga is likewise preparing to resume this year. The new Young Animal issue 4, home of the manga, is offering a look at the upcoming anime and the manga's chapter 348.

via YonkouProd

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Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

The Division Movie Is "Well On The Way," Ubisoft Says

Ubisoft has provided an update on how its upcoming movie based on The Division is coming along. During the company's latest earnings briefing, CEO Yves Guillemot said the film is "well on the way," though he stressed that you shouldn't expect it anytime soon, as it still has a number of hurdles to clear before it comes to theaters.

"This movie is well on the way," Guillemot said at first, later clarifying that the movie is "well on the way in its first phases."

Ubisoft has yet to select a Hollywood studio to partner with, while the script is only in the initial stages of being written. Regarding a potential studio partner, Guillemot said "lots of people are interested [in] that movie," though he did not name any companies. Ubisoft partnered with Fox for its first video game movie, Assassin's Creed.

Guillemot also called out the fact that Ubisoft recently hired Stephen Gaghan to write and direct the upcoming Division movie. He is a Hollywood veteran, and won an Oscar for Traffic. You may also recall that Gaghan wrote the script for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

As announced previously, the movie will star Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Chastain, both of whom have received Oscar nominations.

"The game has been an enormous success, in large part due to the visual landscape they created, their vision of a mid-apocalyptic Manhattan," Gaghan said about The Division. "It's immersive, wonderfully strange, and yet familiar, filled with possibilities. It's also remarkable to be able to collaborate with Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal early in the process. We all feel the story Ubisoft created is more relevant than ever."

There is no word yet on the story for The Division movie, when it will start filming, or when it will come out. Ubisoft's latest video game movie was Assassin's Creed, which starred Michael Fassbender and opened in December 2016. It made more than $210 million at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo; a sequel is reportedly on the way.

Ubisoft is also making movies based on Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry.