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An NFT of Chadwick Boseman is available for auction now, with half of proceeds going to colon cancer research. Boseman rose to fame through his performances in films like 42 and Get on Up, but it was his role as T'Challa, aka Black Panther, in the MCU that truly made him a household name. For many, he was a cinematic hero unlike any other, and he was expected to continue his tenure in the MCU with Black Panther 2. Sadly, Boseman passed away last August after a 4-year battle with colon cancer, a struggle he kept private. Hollywood and fans everywhere were stunned by Boseman's death, and tributes continued to pour out for days afterward. His presence still looms large, particularly since he's been in the awards season conversation for his final onscreen performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Boseman is widely expected to be the winner of tonight's Best Actor award at the Oscars, having already picked up the Golden Globe, SAG, Critics' Choice, and several others. He also received great acclaim for his role in last year's Da 5 Bloods. 3D artist Andre Oshea was commissioned to create an NFT tribute to Boseman, which will be available for auction through Tuesday, April 27. Copies of the piece will be available in the gift bags for this year's Oscar nominees. Those who wish to can bid on the NFT on Rarible, and 50% of the proceeds will go to the Colon Cancer Foundation, an organization dedicated to colon cancer awareness, prevention, and research. According to Oshea, the buy price is a whopping $1.2 million. The way to immortalize an artist, is to honor them with art. I was tasked to create a tribute NFT for Chadwick Boseman for the Oscars! Bringing this piece to life has been one of my most challenging & rewarding experiences as an artist. Bidding on @rariblecom begins tomorrow pic.twitter.com/EYCJYWbtIZ — ●●● (@andreoshea) April 24, 2021 NFTs have been on the rise within the last few months, and it's no surprise one is now being used to honor Boseman. With a buy price as high as $1.2 million, though, it remains to be seen what heights the auction could reach within the next couple of days. Reactions to the NFT have been mixed on social media, with some questioning how genuine a tribute this really is. Nevertheless, the auction is officially open. With Black Panther 2 still moving forward at Marvel Studios, there will be a chance to honor his legacy as the MCU character. With the Oscars, though, Boseman can be remembered for his entire career, even beyond his Ma Rainey's Black Bottom performance. It's a small consolation prize, as Boseman himself deserved to be here for this moment. He was a special actor, and fans will be mourning and paying tribute to him for a long time. Boseman will certainly never be forgotten.

Director of the new Mortal Kombat movie, Simon McQuoid, has explained why the long-awaited adaptation doesn’t involve a martial arts tournament. For years the various early installments of the highly popular and ultra-violent fighting game involved a brutal martial arts tournament to the death, but even this changed as time went by. It’s been nearly 30 years since Mortal Kombat was first introduced to gamers. With its fast-paced fighting and unique concept of finishing moves, the game quickly grew in both demand and notoriety. Ultimately, the series moved from arcades to home consoles, and it was from this point onward that Mortal Kombat really began to expand its universe. Yet, despite the devoted fanbase the game has managed to build over the years, the franchise hasn’t been able to successfully expand its creative worlds and characters into a hit film. Two attempts in the late 90s proved forgettable for many, however, McQuoid’s new adaptation could very well end up changing that. The film has only just been released, but so far it seems that fans are far more happy with it than they were with either of the past two films. Arguably one of Mortal Kombat’s biggest strength is that it doesn’t simply start at the beginning of the franchise’s history and try to faithfully recreate that past. Instead, McQuoid eschewed the idea of a to-the-death martial arts tournament and instead focused on a different plot that serves to introduce and explore some of the games’ most beloved characters. While speaking with Variety recently, McQuoid was asked about the decision to abandon the martial arts tournament concept. Emphasizing that the goal wasn’t just to remake the first film, McQuoid said: "The story came out of this idea that we didn’t just want to redo the first film. If you look at “Mortal Kombat’s” evolution over the decades, that has evolved and grown beyond the idea of the tournament. That’s obviously essential within the DNA of “Mortal Kombat,” and it’s one of the fundamentals, if you look at where the story has gone. The idea of a tournament within a script informs a certain structure and rhythm. We didn’t really want to serve that. To serve a tournament idea, you have to build it a certain way. So it was a couple of reasons that came to it playing out in the way it did." The new film focuses on the threat imposed by Outworld Emperor Shang Tsung’s forces on the Earthrealm after he sends his best warrior, Sub-Zero to hunt down MMA fighter Cole Young (Lewis Tan). Soon Young is forced to find the best warriors the Earthrealm has to offer in order to defeat the Outworld’s encroaching villains. In this way, the film is able to offer audiences something more than a straightforward tournament. The need for Young to protect himself, his family and the universe from evil is arguably a sturdier basis for a film, allowing potential for future sequels and spin offs. At present, Mortal Kombat’s somewhat lukewarm critical response shouldn’t be used to gauge how likely (or unlikely) a sequel will be. The film was clearly made for fans after the game franchise’s previous two film adaptations failed to offer much excitement. It remains too early to tell how the fan reaction to Mortal Kombat will influence its future as a movie franchise, but so far, the lack of a tournament doesn’t appear to be cause for complaint.

DC movies and TV shows becoming a Multiverse has excited many, but Warner Bros. recent decisions on the DCEU are threatening to undo all of that. Warner Bros. is turning the DCEU's Multiverse from an exciting storytelling concept into a haphazard, needlessly convoluted plot gimmick. Since 2020, the idea of the Multiverse has been at the center of all things DC in both movies and television, first getting rolling with the Crisis On Infinite Earths miniseries on The CW before getting extra seasoning with the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League. This elated many fans with the possibilities of older DC properties being revived, modern ones going in unexpected directions, or the crossover potential that anything with the DC label now brought with it. Unfortunately, a number of recent decisions and comments made in the press by Warner Bros. executives have begun to erode that excitement, which threatens to undo the goodwill they've built up by introducing the Multiverse in the first place. That latter point is especially pertinent, given how much the concept of a Multiverse has bailed the DCEU out of a number of decisions (particularly on the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League) that came close to ending it. In comments made in advance of the release of the Snyder Cut and a recent interview with Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff, the studio's stance on the Multiverse has begun to devolve into vague generalities about a plan they have yet to provide any real clarity on. RELATED:Every Future Justice League Member Teased In The Snyder Cut With excitement for the future of the DCEU at an all-time high, the Multiverse was a key tool in unshackling filmmakers and getting DC films out of the rut they'd fallen into. With Warner Bros. latest decisions, the studio could end up killing that excitement by turning the Multiverse into little more than a plot device that simply cuts the legs out from under everything it was intended to build. The Multiverse Is A Reaction To Broken DCEU Continuity As with much of the DCEU's current state of affairs, the Multiverse is a byproduct of the disastrous theatrical release of Justice League. Arriving in theaters as a stitched together collage of reshoots with portions of Snyder's original footage, the fallout from the film's theatrical failure had a devasting impact on the entire franchise. Ben Affleck soon departed as Batman, numerous films were delayed or scrapped, and only Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa were spared the purgatory most of the film's cast fell into regarding their respective roles. Affleck had earlier stepped down from directing The Batman, with Matt Reeves subsequently stepping into the driver's seat, and from there, everything continued to change. Robert Pattinson will assume the title role for The Batman, with the film itself severing all connective ties with the DCEU continuity. Todd Phillips' Joker also stood on its own as a one-off story, and while post-Justice League movies like Aquaman, and Birds of Prey referenced events in past DCEU movies to varying degrees, none were taking the franchise into any sort of culminating direction. Despite the films themselves being well-received, with both Aquaman and Joker soaring past $1 billion worldwide, after Justice League, the DCEU was essentially drifting along with concerns over continuity or a storytelling roadmap being mostly ambiguous. It was only through the introduction of the Multiverse that it began to evolve into something new.

Anthony Mackie thanks fans for watching the Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale with an awesome picture of his new Captain America costume. Marvel's second Disney+ series has come to an end with Friday's finale, which introduced some major changes for the MCU. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier followed Sam Wilson (Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame as they both grappled with their places in a changed world and several new threats. Between the Flag-Smashers and a government-backed Captain America (Wyatt Russell's John Walker), they had a lot on their hands. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6, "One World, One People," brought everything to a head as the Flag-Smashers launched their final attack. The episode featured several major developments, such as Walker's new positioning as U.S. Agent and the reveal that Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) is in fact the Power Broker (as many had suspected). However, the best and most anticipated part of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's end was Sam's debut as Captain America, something audiences had been waiting for since the final moments of Avengers: Endgame. Sam spent all of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's run trying to decide if he wanted to be Captain America, and the finale saw him take on the mantle wholeheartedly. This, of course, featured a new comics-accurate costume, much to the delight of fans. On the day of the finale's premiere, Mackie took to social media to say, "thank you to everyone who’s seen The Falcon and The Winter Soldier!" He included an excellent black and white photo of himself in his full Captain America costume striking an action pose with the shield. It's enough to reignite fans' excitement all over again. Check it out below. What a Friday it has been... thank you to everyone who’s seen The Falcon and The Winter Soldier!#SamWilsonIsCaptainAmerica #FalconAndWinterSoldierFinale pic.twitter.com/wzSKZFnRUX — Anthony Mackie (@AnthonyMackie) April 24, 2021 To properly cap off Sam's journey, the series changed its name to Captain America and the Winter Soldier in the credits. This led many to believe a season 2 is on the way, but it looks like Marvel is taking things in another direction. Hours after the episode debuted on Disney+, Marvel announced Captain America 4 is in development with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman. Though the studio opted to not say who will star in the film, it' seems certain Mackie will be getting his own Captain America movie. Though the finale has received some mixed responses, there's no question that Sam becoming Captain America was the most celebrated moment. Time and time again, Sam has proven himself to be Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) perfect replacement, and it's amazing to finally see him step into the role. With Captain America 4, Sam can really settle into his new position now that the set-up and first mission has taken place. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a good start, and now both Mackie and Sam are ready for what's next.

Mortal Kombat, which debuted in theaters and on HBO Max this weekend, became the highest grossing R-rated film to release during the pandemic. BY GRAEME GUTTMANNPUBLISHED 12 HOURS AGO This weekend, Mortal Kombat became the highest grossing R-rated movie released during the pandemic. A live-action reboot of the iconic video game franchise, Mortal Kombat brought together some of the series' most iconic fighters for a battle over the fate of Earthrealm. Led by Tadanobu Asano's Lord Raiden, the warriors of Earthrealm include Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jax, and Cole Young. With the tenth and potentially final tournament looming, Outworld's forces are hoping to take out Earthrealm's fighters before they even have a chance to stand their ground. From Outworld, Chin Han's Shang Tsung leads Sub-Zero, Kano, Kabal, Mileena, Goro, and Nitara, hoping that Earthrealm's warriors don't stand a chance. What follows is an action epic that may be missing Mortal Kombat's iconic tournament format, but isn't short on the gruesome fights that fans have come to know and love from the game. The film also leaves room for a sequel and, after this weekend, a follow-up is looking even more likely. Producer Todd Garner revealed on Twitter that Mortal Kombat is the highest grossing R-rated film to release during the pandemic. Garner hints at a sequel, saying that if they move forward with another film they'll take what they've learned from this first one to make an even better film. Deadline reports that, in its opening weekend, Mortal Kombat grossed $22.5 million in theaters, earning the top spot of the weekend. Thank you so much to all the fans! I am eternally grateful for all the positive comments and “constructive” criticisms we’ve received this weekend! Know that we are listening, and if we are blessed enough to go forward, will keep getting better (and hopefully bigger)! pic.twitter.com/VzskOnp0Pf — Todd Garner (@Todd_Garner) April 25, 2021 Like Godzilla vs Kong before it, Mortal Kombat's box office success wasn't guaranteed thanks, in part, to Warner Bros. controversial plan to release their 2021 slate on HBO Max and in theaters on the same day. Godzilla vs Kong beat the odds and became one of the highest grossing films released during the pandemic and Mortal Kombat is following in its footsteps and proving formidable in theaters. Of the films released in 2020 and 2021, many rarely made a splash at the box office, but things have been looking up for theaters as of late. As vaccines continue to roll out across the country and theatrical markets in LA and New York reopen their doors, more screens are available now than they have been since March 2020. Audiences are also clamoring for big budget blockbusters and a return to the theatrical experience. The fact that Warner Bros. films are performing this well despite their simultaneous streaming release is one indicator that the controversial decision was a smart one and Mortal Kombat and the studio's other 2021 films will continue to reap the benefits without the worry of any further delays.

Vin Diesel shares his support for movie theaters in a new video with AMC Theatres, where he makes a case for audiences to see F9 on the big screen. Vin Diesel and Fast & Furious 9 show their support for movie theaters in a new AMC exclusive trailer. Diesel will return once more as Dominic Toretto for Fast & Furious 9, the latest installment in the high-octane car franchise. Properly titled F9, this film will find Dom's perfect domestic life disturbed by the appearance of his long-lost brother Jakob (John Cena), a mercenary with less than noble intentions behind reuniting with his family. In between all the customary heart-pounding action scenes, Fast & Furious 9 will also see the long-awaited return of Han (Sung Kang) for the first time since his apparent death in Fast & Furious 6. Fast & Furious 9 is highly anticipated among fans, but it has unfortunately been slow to arrive due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of debuting in 2020 as planned, Universal pushed the Justin Lin-directed movie back to this year. Currently, Fast & Furious 9 is scheduled for release on June 25 with the hopes that moviegoing will be back to relative normal. While several blockbuster movies have made the decision to go for dual streaming/theatrical releases, Fast & Furious 9 is one of the notable exceptions to remain completely dedicated to being available in theaters only. That commitment to the theatrical experience is on full display in a new Fast & Furious 9 video from AMC Theatres. The clip, which is part-trailer, part-theater PSA, features Diesel speaking to the special feeling that comes from seeing a movie in a theater. "There's nothing like that moment when the lights go down, the projector ignites, and we believe," Diesel says. The trailer spotlights several action sequences from Fast & Furious 9, as if to emphasize how much audiences are going to want to see them on a big screen. You can watch the trailer down below. For 100 years we have come together to be entertained at the movies. @vindiesel is ready to make you believe in the power of the movies again with the newest installment of the #TheFastSaga. #F9 opens June 25th at #AMCTheatres, set your reminder now: https://t.co/2m1XVLiTP0 pic.twitter.com/Lejir6UeNv — AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) April 25, 2021 Movie theaters have taken an immense hit over the past year due to the pandemic. For example, AMC has been on the brink of bankruptcy, and California's ArcLight theaters will close for good. Exhibitors have been looking for major movies to help usher audiences back through their doors, and luckily there have been some signs of improvement in recent weeks. A pair of Warner Bros. movies, Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat have helped post some pandemic-best numbers at the box office, and the hope is that increased vaccine rollout will only continue to aid theaters' recovery. In another positive sign, this video also hints at the improving relations between Universal and AMC after their public feud over shortening release windows last summer. Fast & Furious 9 is definitely the kind of movie that is best seen on a big screen with its out-of-this-world stunts. Literally, this time, as Fast & Furious 9 looks to be finally heading to space. Cena has previously said this movie is a reason for fans to go to theaters, and the above video pushes that case even further. June is still over a month away, so it's hard to say just what the state of moviegoing will be like then. However, if things continue their upward swing, Diesel's hope for a major return to theaters might not be so far out of the question.

Jurassic World: Dominion composer, Michael Giacchino, teases new musical theme for iconic character Alan Grant, portrayed by Sam Neill. Everyone's favorite paleontologist, Alan Grant, will be given a brand new musical theme in the Jurassic World: Dominion. Set to premiere in 2022, Dominion will be the third installment of the Jurassic World series and the sixth film within the Jurassic universe. Alan Grant, portrayed by Sam Neill, featured as the protagonist in the first Jurassic Park and has gone on to serve as one of the main characters in the franchise. Despite Grant's significance to the story, John Williams (who scored the original Jurassic Park films) never "granted" him with his own musical theme or leitmotif. Michael Giacchino has since taken the reigns as the franchise's composer and has scored both Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. With Neill making his grand return to the character for the upcoming film, it seems only fitting that Giacchino finally allocates him his own piece of music. On Instagram, Giacchino shared a picture of a seemingly empty score with the title "2m19a: Alan For Granted". The former half of the title simply states when in the film the music will appear, in this case (depending on Giacchino's reel division) it looks like the theme will feature relatively early on. But it's the latter half of the title that fans are getting excited about as it reinforces Neill's revival his iconic Alan Grant and hints at the paleontologist finally receiving his own musical theme. The caption of the post states "Happening Now...". Check out the post below: Giacchino is certainly known for his ability to create a beautiful musical theme that becomes attached to a character like its shadow; it's impossible to see/hear one without thinking of the other. His unique talent has won him Academy Awards for films such as Up, which features the devastatingly heartbreaking theme for Carl and Ellie, and Ratatouille. In the Jurassic franchise, there have been multiple themes created for the dinosaurs, the first being Williams' "Raptor Theme", which provided a warning call for the terrifying beasts. Giacchino followed in Williams' footsteps with a theme for the Indominus Rex, first featured in a piece called "Bury the Hatchling" in Jurassic World. While these themes serve to create a sense of tension and fear, Giacchino could be returning to his roots of bittersweet nostalgia with a new theme for Grant. It's worth mentioning that there's no guarantee this piece of music, seemingly for Grant, will reappear throughout the duration of the film, but until Jurassic World: Dominion hits theaters in 2022, the prospect is definitely something to look forward to.

Kung Lao actor Max Huang reveals that Mortal Kombat's most shockingly gruesome fatality was made more with practical effects than CGI. Mortal Kombat's wild and bloody Kung Lao fatality was surprisingly done more with practical effects than CGI. With $22.5 million at the box office this weekend, the newest adaptation of the hugely popular Midway fighting game is a bigger hit than experts predicted. The first adaptation of Mortal Kombat was of course released back in 1995 and took in $23 million its opening weekend. Directed by a pre-Resident Evil Paul W.S. Anderson, the earlier movie famously toned down the insane violence of the game to achieve a PG-13 rating. 2021’s Mortal Kombat does not tone down the violence however, and in fact features a level of gore that is unusual even for today’s most extreme R-rated movies. Among the many shockingly gruesome moments in the deservedly R-rated new Mortal Kombat is a memorable fatality (a finishing move in Mortal Kombat parlance) dealt by the character Kung Lao (Max Huang) against the character Nitara (Mel Jarnson). In the scene in question, Kung Lao ends his brief battle with the winged Nitara by leaping on her back while she's in flight and riding her into his spinning razor-rimmed hat, slicing her neatly in half. Surprisingly for a movie released in 2021, the incredibly bloody moment was actually created using more practical movie magic than CGI. Speaking to CinemaBlend, Kung Lao actor Huang himself talked about shooting the scene, which indeed turned out to be very messy: It was a blend of the both. But it was actually more practical than CGI, I have to say because all the blood you see, that is all real. I can't give away too much, but, when we shot that fatality, it was coming at me and it was a mess. Of course CGI work was added in post-production to make the already brutal kill look even more horrifying. But even with that being the case there was still enough on-set blood to make the experience all-too-real for Huang and others involved in the shooting. “I think a lot of people felt sick on set watching it,” Huang revealed. Audiences certainly seem to be responding positively to

Aquaman star Amber Heard confirms she has started training to return as Mera in Aquaman 2 ahead of the DC sequel's summer production. Amber Heard confirms the start of her training to play Mera again in Aquaman 2. Warner Bros. gave director James Wan the keys to the Aquaman franchise a few years ago and built on Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry introduced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. After the more serious take on Aquaman under Zack Snyder's direction, Wan switched up the tone for his solo movie and made Aquaman a big, vibrant, and fun blockbuster. Audiences responded incredibly well to the movie, as it made over $1.1 billion worldwide, and WB quickly moved to get a sequel in development. James Wan and writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick have been working on Aquaman 2 for almost two years now, and the sequel is finally picking up steam. Filming is scheduled to begin this summer in London, with most of the original movie's cast returning. There has also been the announcement that Game of Thrones star Pilou Asbaek is joining the DC Extended Universe. Plot details remain a mystery, but those who are involved have been teasing their preparation for Aquaman 2's production. This includes Heard, who is now among the many cast members to confirm she's started training to return as Mera. Heard posted a photo of her working out on Instagram and confirmed it is for Aquaman 2 prep in the caption. The image itself isn't too revealing about what Heard will be up to as Mera in the sequel. She is in a unique position with her fellow cast members though, as she is the one who most recently played her DC character. Heard returned as Mera for brief additional photography for Zack Snyder's Justice League, but that didn't require any significant physical training ahead of time. With Heard set to have a prominent role in a long production, she's taking the necessary steps to be in great shape for Aquaman 2. This photo officially allows Heard to follow in the footsteps of several of her Aquaman 2 co-stars in sharing their workouts. Patrick Wilson recently showed off this training to return as Ocean Master in the sequel, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has been preparing for Black Manta's return since January. It's possible Heard has been training nearly as long but has only just now decided to share that information with fans. So far, Momoa hasn't teased his fitness routine to prepare for Aquaman 2, but that shouldn't be much of a concern since he's practically always in superhero shape. Now that Heard is training to return as Mera, it further solidifies that she will not be replaced for the sequel. Some fans wanted WB to recast Mera due to Heard's ongoing legal battle with Johnny Depp, especially after WB asked him to step away from his role in Fantastic Beasts 3. This was debunked before and certainly isn't happening now that Heard is preparing for the summer shoot. It will be fascinating to see what Mera's role is in Aquaman 2 though. Her relationship with Aquaman could continue to develop, and hopefully more of her powers will be explored too when the sequel arrives in 2022.

Mortal Kombat teased the introduction of another fighter for a potential sequel and the cast reveals who they'd like to play Johnny Cage in the film. The Mortal Kombat cast revealed who they would like to see play Johnny Cage in a potential sequel. The 2021 reboot hit HBO Max and theaters this weekend, bringing the popular video game franchise to the big screen for the first time since 1997's failed Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema production brought some of the series' most famous fighters to life, including Sub-Zero, Jax, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kano, and Kung Lao in a fight for Earthrealm against the evil forces of Outworld. Although there is no tournament in Mortal Kombat, the film still found a way to pit the fighters against one another, but one iconic character was missing. Johnny Cage was notably absent from the film, but the ending seemed to hint at his existence in the film's universe. Lewis Tan's Cole Young announces at the end of Mortal Kombat that he is off to Hollywood in search of someone, and fans knew immediately who that someone could be. Unfortunately, Johnny Cage was not seen in any capacity in the film, but the cast has shared who they'd like to play him in a sequel. Speaking to CinemaBlend, the cast of Mortal Kombat offered up their picks of who should take on the role of Johnny Cage. Kano actor Josh Lawson suggested James Marsden, whom he shares a personal relationship with: Look, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The one person I kept thinking about, and he's a buddy of mine, James Marsden. I just, I dunno, he's got a Johnny Cage vibe to me. Maybe I'm wrong, but yeah, something about it. He's got that Hollywood look, you know, and I think he could, I think he could pull it off. Jessica McNamee, who plays Sonya Blade, didn't give a specific name, but insisted that whoever does take on the role should go through an audition process like the rest of the actors: I'm not sure. It's really tough. I don't know. I'm of the mind that I'd like to make them audition. Like we had to audition, make them go through the hard storms like we had to. No, but I would love to see it. You what would be a great for me? I would love if I got to go in on the auditions and audition against people. I've always wanted to do that. So I'm going to have to just leave it up to see who puts their hat in the ring.

Check out the list of winners at the 93rd annual Academy Awards and find out which movies, actors, and creatives won at the 2021 Oscars ceremony. The 2021 Oscar winners have been officially announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This past year was obviously quite unprecedented for everyone, including the film industry. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 movie release calendar was thrown into a state of flux as a majority of theaters spent most of the year closed. Several highly anticipated titles were delayed, and even though there are optimistic signs (more theaters reopening and expanding capacity, the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, etc.), there's still a long way to go to get back to the pre-pandemic normal. Despite the tumultuous year, Hollywood was still able to deliver a number of critically acclaimed films that left an impression on audiences. Unsurprisingly, given the state of traditional moviegoing in 2020, a number of this year's Oscar nominees were streaming films, giving premier services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu the inside track at Academy Awards glory. Even though these movies were widely available to the general public during awards season, audiences were still unaware about most of the nominees - raising concern about the Oscar broadcast ratings. This year's presumptive Best Picture favorite, Nomadland, had only a 35% awareness score. RELATED:How Many Oscar Nominations & Wins MCU Movies Have Had The full list of 2021 Oscar winners was unveiled during the ceremony tonight, April 25. Check out the list below: Best Picture The Father Judas and the Black Messiah Mank Minari WINNER: Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 Best Director Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round David Fincher, Mank Lee Isaac Chung, Minari WINNER: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman Best Actor Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom WINNER: Anthony Hopkins, The Father Gary Oldman, Mank Steven Yeun, Minari Best Actress Viola Davis, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman WINNER: Frances McDormand, Nomadland Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman Best Adapted Screenplay Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Nina Pedrad, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Swimer WINNER: The Father, Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller Nomadland, Chloé Zhao One Night in Miami, Kemp Powers The White Tiger, Ramin Bahrani Best Original Screenplay Judas and the Black Messiah, Will Berson, Shaka King, Keith Lucas, Kenneth Lucas Minari, Lee Isaac Chung WINNER: Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennell Sound of Metal, Abraham Marder, Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance The Trial of the Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin Best Supporting Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7 WINNER: Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami Paul Raci, Sound of Metal Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah Best Supporting Actress Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Glenn Glose, Hillbilly Elegy Olivia Colman, The Father Amanda Seyfried, Mank WINNER: Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari Best Original Song WINNER: "Fight for You," Judas and the Black Messiah "Hear My Voice," The Trial of the Chicago 7 "Husavik," Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of the Fire Saga "Io Si (Seen)," The Life Ahead "Speak Now," One Night in Miami Best Animated Feature Onward Over the Moon A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon WINNER: Soul Wolfwalkers Best Original Score Da 5 Bloods Mank Minari News of the World WINNER: Soul Best International Feature Film WINNER: Another Round Better Days Collective The Man Who Sold His Skin Quo Vadis, Aida Best Cinematography Judas and the Black Messiah WINNER: Mank News of the World Nomadland The Trial of the Chicago 7 Best Costume Design Emma WINNER: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Mank Mulan Pinocchio Best Sound Greyhound Mank News of the World Soul WINNER: Sound of Metal Best Makeup and Hairstyling Emma Hillbilly Elegy WINNER: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Mank Pinocchio Best Live-Action Short Feeling Through The Letter Room The Present WINNER: Two Distant Strangers White Eye Best Animated Short Burrow Genius Loci WINNER: If Anything Happens I Love You Opera Yes People Best Visual Effects Love and Monsters The Midnight Sky Mulan The One and Only Ivan WINNER: Tenet Best Film Editing The Father Nomadland Promising Young Woman WINNER: Sound of Metal The Trial of the Chicago 7 Best Production Design The Father Ma Rainey's Black Bottom WINNER: Mank News of the World Tenet Best Documentary Short WINNER: Colette A Concerto is a Conversation Do Not Split Hunger Ward A Love Song for Latasha Best Documentary Feature Collective Crip Camp The Mole Agent WINNER: My Octopus Teacher Time

The first trailer for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake is here. West Side Story began as a musical created by Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, and Leonard Bernstein as a new take on William Shakespeare's classic story Romeo and Juliet. Set in a 1950s New York, West Side Story follows the rivalry between two gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The Broadway musical was adapted for the big screen in 1961 by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, and the original movie became a classic after winning 10 Academy Awards. 50 years after West Side Story's success, legendary director Steven Spielberg is bringing the beloved story back to theaters in a new way. The movie is his first musical and features a young and diverse cast, led by Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort as Tony and newcomer Rachel Zegler as Maria. They are at the center of West Side Story's love story, but it also includes Ariana DeBose as Anita, David Alvarez as Bernardo, Mike Faist as Riff, Corey Stoll and Brian D'Arcy as police officers, and original West Side Story movie star Rita Moreno as Valentina. Now, after Disney was forced to push the movie back a full year due to COVID-19, the first trailer has officially arrived. After previous reports that the first trailer for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake would air during the 93rd Academy Awards, the debut footage has officially been released. The trailer highlights Spielberg's take on the classic musical ahead of its December 10, 2021 release exclusively in theaters. The first trailer for West Side Story provides an intriguing tease of Steven Spielberg's latest directorial effort. What might surprise most fans of the musical or original movie is the lack of emphasis on the music. There are hints of West Side Story's songs and Moreno singing "Somewhere," but the first trailer holds back on fully revealing how Spielberg is staging and shooting the dance sequences. This could just be for the teaser trailer, and future marketing materials may highlight the full scope of this new West Side Story. It is intriguing to see how Disney and Fox are already marketing West Side Story. The trailer makes it look and feel more like a traditional Spielberg movie instead of a musical. This footage leans heavily into the Jets vs Sharks rivalry and only teases the romance that emerges between Tony and Maria. Spielberg potentially leaning more into the drama would certainly help differentiate his West Side Story from the original, but fans of the musical shouldn't expect the remake to be totally devoid of the expected musical elements. Instead, Disney and Fox might just be trying to position West Side Story as more of a drama so it can have a major presence at next year's Oscars.

Lewis Tan, who plays Cole Young in the 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot, loved our April Fool's joke about Keanu Reeves playing Johnny Cage. Mortal Kombat's Lewis Tan loved our April Fool's Day joke that Keanu Reeves would be playing Johnny Cage in the film's sequel. The 2021 reboot introduced six of the seven original playable characters from the video game franchise, including Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Kano, Raiden, and Scorpion, but Johnny Cage was absent from the roster. Producers explained why Johnny Cage isn't in Mortal Kombat, but the end of the film signaled the introduction of the iconic character in a potential sequel. After the defenders of Earthrealm defeat the forces of Outerworld, there's still another Mortal Kombat tournament to deal with in the future and the introduction of the Hollywood star. Tan's Cole Young sets out at the end of the film in search of Cage, who will be featured prominently in Mortal Kombat 2. First, though, producers will have to cast the character, and the cast of Mortal Kombat had some suggestions. Speaking to CinemaBlend, Tan suggested some names he would like to see play Johnny Cage. One of those was Scott Atkins, but the actor goes on to talk about an April Fool's Joke that suggested Reeves would be playing Johnny Cage. Tan says that Reeves as Cage would be a very interesting casting choice but stops short of fully endorsing Reeves in the role. I think that Johnny is such an iconic character and I think that we were building a new energy for this movie. We're building something that is respectful of the franchise from before, but we're also bringing a new era, like the trailer said, you know what I mean? That's how we really feel about it. So there's many ways that it can go in my mind. There was an April fool's joke on Twitter that I saw where it was like Keanu Reeves is going to play Johnny Cage, and I was like, that's a pretty interesting casting. Reeves is a formidable action star, carrying franchises like The Matrix and John Wick to massive box office success. In the role of Cage, Reeves could be even more boisterous and flamboyant, as the Hollywood star is known for his cockiness in the Mortal Kombat games. Unfortunately, Reeves is pretty busy and it seems unlikely that he would attach himself to another major franchise while continuing to work on others. Sub-Zero actor Joe Taslim signed a five-movie contract so if Mortal Kombat continues to be successful, the franchise could be in theaters for years to come. Even if Reeves' casting is a long shot, one thing is sure: Johnny Cage is no small role to fill and producers must find the perfect person to fill the larger-than-life shoes. Johnny Cage's appearance in a potential sequel will also give fans something to look forward to in another Mortal Kombat installment. Despite the film being overloaded with fighters as it is, there is plenty of room for the franchise to grow and adding Johnny Cage will be the first step in taking a potential sequel to the next level.

The open beta for Naraka: Bladepoint that went live this week racked up 120,000 concurrent players earlier today during test, a pretty promising start for the character-driven battle royale game all about leaping, climbing, stabbing, and transforming into a six-armed god. Literally a six-armed god, I was not joking. The beta test is available via the Naraka: Bladepoint Steam page, where anyone with a Steam account can request access. Naraka: Bladepoint is a 60-player battle royale built around parkour-esque grappling hook traversal between vertical objects and third-person melee combat based around combos and counterattacks. Though the game has lots of ranged weapons as well, it's very clearly a melee-focused battle system. There are five characters, each with their own unique abilities. Currently, players are complaining on the Steam forums pretty extensively about bot matches in the first few game rounds, as well as about three-player all-healer teams.

PC Gamer is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Home News Respawn is definitely working on a new game and world "from scratch" By Jonathan Bolding a day ago A job posting says that the Apex Legends developer is making something wholly new. Looking for an exciting new opportunity? New Respawn project, super exciting stuff. Get in early! https://t.co/48UOhXhq7eApril 23, 2021 See more A new job posting confirms that Respawn Entertainment, creators of Titanfall and Apex Legends, are working on a "new IP from scratch," in a small incubation team. The news was confirmed by a tweet from developer Steven Kah Hien Wong and amplified by Respawn boss Vince Zampella. This news confirms the rumors that started circulating after a similar job posting was made and deleted earlier this year. The posting, for an Incubation Team Software Engineer, has very little information on what the game might be. The new game world might have something to do with the expanding universe of Titanfall and Apex Legends, but that seems unlikely given that the posting calls it "a brand new IP." Perhaps the only hint in the post is that the new post will "Pioneer new ways to enable 'adventuring until the heat death of the universe'." The position also requires an understanding of both Vector Math and Linear Algebra, fundamental skills for some pretty advanced software engineering—like most 3D rendering engines. Given that, it sounds like the game will probably involve some kind of procedural generation to make enough content to last you the something like 10¹⁰⁰ years until existence theoretically comes to a halt.

Looks like a new glitch lets players get beneath Call of Duty: Warzone's brand new Verdansk '84 map, killing opponents who can't see them or fight back. A clip posted to Reddit yesterday shows how easy it is to get underneath the map near the airport location. It's a sad thing to see players exploiting this already, especially with game director Amos Hodge saying that Warzone cheaters are ruining "some of the best work I've done in my life" in a recent interview. Nonetheless, widespread reports of under-the-map glitches are being posted on the Warzone Reddit as well as across social media. Locations affected include the airport and stadium, which are widely reported as being problems. Scattered reports also indicate under-the-map activity at the train station, TV station, and downtown areas. It also appears that players underneath the map can simply zipline out to get away, so players who abuse the exploit to score easy kills can get out should the closing circle come for them. The Verdansk '84 map is just a few days old, so it's a bit inevitable that some bugs would be discovered. It's not inevitable that people have to exploit those bugs, rather than simply pass them on to Activision's QA team.

While the PC version of Nier Replicant may not be as disappointing as Nier Automata's port, it still has some problems. As Julie Muncy said in her review, "The technical aspects are much improved over the original, which struggled to maintain 30 fps, but they're not quite up to contemporary standards." She experienced technical problems including "serious frame drops when I accidentally unplugged my controller, or a persistent issue where my mouse point kept reappearing on my screen during cutscenes, which was not great for the game's sense of gravitas." Additionally, players with monitors that have refresh rates over 60hz are finding certain animations are tied to framerate, and when they exceed 60 fps the protagonist zips around so fast he's tricky to control when precision becomes necessary. Meanwhile, other players are finding that thanks to poor GPU and CPU utilization they're getting poor performance on PCs that should be able to run it much better. Thankfully, the modding and tweaking community has already stepped in and begun repairing Replicant. First there's the Special K injectable by old mate Kaldaien, which will let you get rid of the mouse cursor showing up when you're playing with gamepad, cut down on stuttering by disabling the PS4 HID input, set your own framerate limit, and turn off the internal v-sync. Then there's the Nier Replicant High FPS Fix, one of the first things for the game available on its brand new Nexusmods section. It'll let you run Nier Replicant over 60 fps without borking the animations—except for when you're slow-walking, which might leave you facing the wrong way. Of course, you could just wait for publisher Square Enix to patch Nier Replicant. After all, it only took a measly four years for an upgrade patch for Nier Automata to be announced.