Yesterday, Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games and its community were the victims of an extremely asinine hoax. In a thread on the Legal Advice subreddit, a disabled person said they were banned from Path of Exile for using a macro to help them play. That post sparked discussion and outrage that quickly spread throughout Reddit and social media. "I can't use one hand and some fingers on the other after an industrial accident," a redditor named poelegalthrowaway00 wrote in their now-deleted post. Here's a link to an image of that thread. They go on to explain that they can't play Path of Exile because the game requires players to frequently use potions to survive, which are bound to number keys and need to be pressed every few seconds (though that changes depending on your specific character build). "I physically can't press 4 keys every few seconds so I use a macro that automatically does it for me." The issue apparently at play here was that using these kinds of automated programs is against Path of Exile's—and most multiplayer games'—terms of service. Macros that automate certain tasks, like when to trigger a healing potion, can be used to undermine the game and gain a competitive edge. In more elaborate cases, macros can be used to play a game without any human input, like in World of Warcraft's infamous gold-farming bots. But using a macro to assist with a disability is a very different territory. Like a lot of ARPGs, there's a lot of clicking and button pressing in Path of Exile, and the game moves at an extremely fast pace with a lot of action on screen. Aside from a few basics like being able to rebind keys, there aren't a ton of built-in options that help make Path of Exile more accessible to a bigger audience. Some players even go out of their way to theorycraft specific character builds designed for disabled players. In the thread, poelegalthrowaway00 explained they were banned for using the macro and was curious to know if they had any legal recourse against Grinding Gear since they supposedly had spent "hundreds of dollars" on the game's microtransactions. Naturally, the post quickly drew the sympathies of other redditors who upvoted the thread to r/legaladvice's front page. It then spilled over onto Twitter and other social media platforms. Players were upset. An innocent player had gotten caught up in the machinery of some automated system and was unjustly banned for it, and people wanted to see a happy ending.

If you've played any amount of Call of Duty: Warzone recently, you might've noticed that every other player is wearing the same exact skin-tight black suit. That's the Roze "Near Dark" skin, the most hated face in the game that players can't seem to get enough of. Using the Roze skin doesn't grant any special statistical buff, but her dark attire is essentially the perfect camouflage on a map as dark as Verdansk. Roze has become one of the most volatile subjects in the Warzone community since the skin gained popularity late last year. Players have been calling for something to be done about it with no communication from Raven or Infinity Ward, but help is finally on the way. Raven Software has finally acknowledged the issue and will make an "adjustment" to the skin in an upcoming update. What exactly does that mean? Raven didn't specify, but we can assume that her outfit will somehow be brightened or changed so that she's more visible. As you can see below, her current ability to fade into the shadows makes even a basic firefight a sudden struggle to keep track of her movements. Using the Near Dark skin has become synonymous in the Warzone community with being an especially "sweaty" player. Some have taken to Reddit to protest the skin's prominence while others have taken it upon themselves to hunt down Roze users like some sort of holy bounty hunter. I get it—I've been killed by corner-camping Rozes more times than I care to count. It's definitely a little therapeutic watching them get crushed. The issue of readability and "pay-to-win" cosmetics has only become more prominent as competitive shooters have built their business around premium cosmetics. This whole Roze affair probably sounds very familiar to Rainbow Six Siege's struggle with its tan/green Ember Rise uniforms that disappear in front of the game's many beige walls. Back in June 2020, Valve added an optional CS:GO setting that boosts player contrast against the environment around them to ensure you always know what you're looking at. Games less concerned with realism like Overwatch ensure that skins never affect readability by slapping a big red outline around enemies and teammates alike. I think Warzone could benefit from something similar to CS:GO's contrast option or Siege's updated lighting pass from 2017 that brightened its darkest maps. Roze represents the worst-case scenario for giving players so many dark corners to hide in, but basically any dark-colored uniform has the same problem. Maybe Warzone's rumored new map will be a second chance to bring a little light to Verdansk and make Roze a lot less popular.

Mission: Impossible 7 star Simon Pegg shares a funny video on Instagram that details his pre-filming routine for the Tom Cruise action sequel. Simon Pegg shares a funny video of his pre-filming routine for Mission: Impossible 7. Pegg joined the Mission: Impossible franchise as Benji Dunn in Mission: Impossible III and has become a staple of the series since then. He's returned to assist Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the three sequels that followed, with his most recent appearance coming in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Once it was announced that Christopher McQuarrie was returning to write and direct two more movies, it was expected that Pegg would return again along with the rest of the core cast. Mission: Impossible 7 will see Pegg reprise his role as Benji and the actor is one of many involved with the film who has continued to share updates on the status of production throughout filming. McQuarrie has shared several mysterious teases of different locations that will be visited and offered some first looks at returning stars like Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby's White Widow. He has revealed a plethora of new cast members like Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Cary Elwes, and more. Pegg has joined in on the fun by sharing behind-the-scenes images from Mission: Impossible 7 and past installments, but now he's giving fans a look at his filming routine. Pegg has been very active on Instagram since joining in late 2020 and has now shared a funny Mission: Impossible 7 video. It features Pegg's routine to get ready for filming each day and is set to the franchise's recognizable theme song. Pegg takes fans on a journey from him waking up, traveling to set, sitting in the hair and makeup chair (with a quick Rebecca Ferguson cameo), and then exiting his trailer in the day's costume. It is great to see Pegg having fun with filming Mission: Impossible 7, especially since it has been a longer and more difficult production than anyone could've imagined. Filming was paused due to COVID-19 and only resumed under strict safety guidelines. Those rules led to the now infamous Tom Cruise rant about taking the protocols seriously so Mission: Impossible 7 could continue and finish filming safely. This could get tiring at some point, especially with the original plan for Mission: Impossible 8 to begin production immediately after Mission: Impossible 7, but it appears Pegg is still in good spirits. This fun look at Mission: Impossible 7's production is likely all fans will get to see for some time now. Mission: Impossible 7 was recently pushed back to summer 2022, meaning the first trailer might not arrive until late 2021. However, there's always the chance Cruise could push for an earlier start to the marketing campaign to give fans a taste of the film. The plot is still largely a mystery too, so it isn't even clear what threat Ethan Hunt has to face next or how Benji factors in. Hopefully more information on the movie arrives before too long. If not, then fans will have to keep counting on behind-the-scenes looks like this for updates on Mission: Impossible 7.

Helen McCrory, known for playing Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders and Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, has died from cancer at 52. An acclaimed veteran of both the stage and screen, McCrory leaves behind a proud legacy and an extensive body of work. She is survived by her husband, actor Damian Lewis, and their two children. Born in Paddington, England, McCrory studied acting at London’s prestigious Drama Centre and went on to make a name for herself on the stage in the 1990s. She continued performing in live plays throughout her career, playing major roles in some of London’s biggest theaters, including the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe. McCrory also had a long and acclaimed career in film and television, appearing in movies like Skyfall, Hugo, and Loving Vincent. She was originally set to play Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but she left the role due to her first pregnancy, later returning to the franchise as Bellatrix’s sister Narcissa. McCrory played gangster Polly Gray in Peaky Blinders since its first season in 2014. McCrory’s husband Damian Lewis announced the news of her death on Twitter. “I’m heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family,” Lewis wrote. “She died as she lived. Fearless. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly.” Respected by those who knew her and loved by those who watched her, McCrory will be remembered as a titan of the industry that she dedicated her life to. Her role as Polly in Peaky Blinders may be the crowning performance of her career – a performance that delivered some of the most powerful moments in recent TV history, and which broke molds for female characters in the crime drama genre. Her presence on screen was superseded only by her immense talent. Our thoughts are with McCrory’s family and those who were closest to her during this time. Her loss will also be felt by fans around the world who were captivated and inspired by the fire she brought to every one of her roles. From Lady Macbeth and Polly Gray to Cherie Blair and Narcissa Malfoy, Helen McCrory never failed to deliver her absolute best every time she took the stage.

Jim and John Thomas, the writers of the 1987 film Predator, are suing Disney for the movie rights. The science fiction action film has become a classic in the decades since its release. Predator features Arnold Schwarzenegger as Major Alan "Dutch" Schafer, the leader of a specialized team that works to save hostages in a rainforest. However, along the way, Dutch and his comrades face the Predator, a terrifying alien who tracks them throughout their mission. Predator wound up spawning a full-fledged franchise, which includes sequels, novels, video games, and a crossover series in Alien vs. Predator. The Thomas brothers returned for Predator's first follow up movie, Predator 2, which came out in 1990. However, they weren't a part of the more recent third and fourth installments in the franchise, Predators (2010) and The Predator (2018). A Predator reboot has been in the works for some time, with 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg leading the project. However, that movie now faces a potential Roadblock. Per THR, the Thomas brothers have filed a lawsuit against Disney, who acquired the Predator franchise through its purchase of 20th Century Fox. The Thomas brothers are now looking to take advantage of copyright law's termination provision, which may let them cancel the transfer. This is coming up now because authors are required to wait a certain period of time, likely 35 years in the case of Predator. In response, Disney's 20th Century has filed a suit of its own in hopes of holding onto the rights to the franchise. Considering Disney is hoping to make Predator 5 and likely future installments in the franchise as well, it makes sense it's looking to hang on to the rights. Predator is a hugely recognizable property and was a big success for Fox. Due to the timing of the acquisition, Disney hasn't yet benefited too much from the franchise, and now the company is looking to rectify that. Of course, it's understandable the Thomas brothers are interested in reclaiming the rights. They're the masterminds behind Predator, so it's only logical they still have a vested interest in the property and its future. Though a massive company like Disney may have more power behind it and thus be more likely to win the rights, copyright cases aren't always so cut and dry. The screenwriters may very well stand a chance. However, with the Predator reboot on the line, it seems likely Disney will do everything it can to come out victorious.

Andy Samberg is apologizing for the song "Everything Is Awesome" from The LEGO Movie. Samberg is known for comedic hits such as Hot Rod and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well as The Lonely Island's shorts for Saturday Night Live. He more recently starred in Hulu's surprising summer hit Palm Springs. The time-loop comedy follows Samberg's Nyles and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) as they are both stuck repeating the same day of her sister's wedding. Though the time loop narrative is a familiar convention that has seen a resurgence of late in Happy Death Day, Russian Doll, and Boss Level, the comedy produced by The Lonely Island was lauded for its originality and fresh spin on the genre. Samberg's recent credits also include The LEGO Movie's soundtrack, for which he and The Lonely Island provided a few rap verses on the track “Everything Is Awesome,” sung by the duo Tegan and Sara. The song even went on to receive an Oscar Nomination for Best Original Song. Released in 2014, The LEGO Movie features a talented and charming cast of voice actors, including Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman. The film premiered to prolific praise for its lush animation, hilarious gags, and surprisingly thoughtful story. Now, more than seven years after the release of The LEGO Movie, Samberg is apologizing for his contribution to the song “Everything Is Awesome." In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Samberg was asked jokingly if he wanted to apologize for the song's "extreme catchiness" and surprisingly, he did: Yes, I do apologize for that. Especially to everyone out there with kids. That’s a hard row to hoe. But we didn’t write the hook, you know? We inherited it, and we just added some dumb raps. Samberg's note that he and the rest of The Lonely Island did not write the song's hook does alleviate some of his responsibility, as that's the line that most gets stuck in people's heads. Those who have seen The LEGO Movie know that the song is intended to be a repetitive earworm, since it scores a scene where Pratt’s character feels stuck in a conformist society. In that way, "Everything Is Awesome" absolutely does its job. Samberg has many exciting projects either ongoing or in the works. He recently discussed the possibility of a sequel to Palm Springs with a WandaVision-like twist. Samberg is also currently filming the eighth season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which was canceled for a second time but will still air a 10-episode final season. Despite his many career moves, though, it's clear Samberg still enjoys discussing his work on The LEGO Movie's "Everything Is Awesome," even if it's just to apologize for it.

Brad Pitt will have a cameo in the upcoming Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum starrer The Lost City of D. Directed by Aaron and Adam Nee, The Lost City of D is a romantic screwball comedy that will tell the story of a reclusive romance novelist (Bullock) and the cover model of her book (Tatum) landing in a jungle adventure after a kidnap attempt gone wrong. The film will also feature comedian Patti Harrison and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who has signed on to play the villain. Now, the project has 2020 Oscar winner Pitt joining the all-star cast. According to THR, Pitt will be joining The Lost City of D for a cameo, in a move that is “actually a friendly quid pro quo as it follows Bullock making a cameo appearance in Pitt’s action movie Bullet Train.” Bullock, who also serves as a producer on The Lost City of D, “saw an opportunity for a fun casting” and reached out to Pitt, who agreed to join the film. The long-time Hollywood star’s role in the film is a mystery as of now. Although Pitt will have a small part to play in The Lost City of D, his star power will certainly add to the appeal of the film, as he is joining an already impressive cast. One would also assume Pitt’s role will be bigger than his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Deadpool 2, though it's hard to know for sure. The appearance is a nice gesture from both Pitt and Bullock, as they are supporting their respective projects. Pitt’s next starring role will be in the aforementioned Bullet Train, directed by David Leitch. However, if audiences want more of Pitt and Bullock in one film, they’ll now have the The Lost City of D as well.

Universal sets a late May release date for Fast & Furious 9 in China, which is a full month earlier than the movie's U.S. release. The Fast & Furious franchise started from humble beginnings but has transformed into one of the biggest movie franchises on the planet. The increase in popularity and financial gains started with Fast Five, which nearly doubled the previous highest-grossing entry. The franchise then saw Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious become $1 billion earners, with Furious 7's $1.5B gross making it the ninth biggest film ever. This has put F9 in a position where there are lofty expectations for its box office return. That is why Universal was so quick to delay the movie from 2020 to 2021 once the COVID-19 pandemic started. The full-year delay wasn't enough, though, as Fast & Furious 9 was recently pushed back to the end of June. This decision came as theaters are still opening up in the United States, which has brought some life back to the box office. While those domestically will experience F9 in the heat of the summer, some international audiences will be treated to the film much sooner. As shared by Deadline, Universal announced a May 21, 2021, release date for Fast & Furious 9 in China. The early rollout for F9 will put the highly anticipated blockbuster in theaters overseas more than a month before the U.S. and broader June 25, 2021 release date. China will be one of many international territories to receive Fast & Furious 9 early, with Russia, Korea, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam also expected to have the movie by the end of May. Korea will reportedly be the earliest launch with a May 19 release date. Fast & Furious 9 launching early in China and other international countries isn't too surprising. The Fast & Furious franchise has grown to the point where its performance overseas is much more important than domestic. The series has made over $4 billion at the international box office compared to roughly $2 billion coming domestically. This success has often been attributed to the franchise's diverse cast and willingness to lean into more ridiculous elements to ensure an entertaining and action-packed blockbuster. All signs point to F9 sticking to this formula. The decision to push Fast & Furious 9 into Chinese theaters early also comes at a time when the Middle Kingdom's box office is firing on all cylinders. China's original blockbuster Detective Chinatown 3 recently broke Avengers: Endgame's record for the biggest single-territory opening after making over $400 million in its opening weekend. The movie has grossed over $685M in China alone, but that isn't even the biggest hit of the year. The time-traveling film Hi, Mom made over $820M in China after its release in February. Both Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious made nearly $400M in China, so expectations will be high for Fast & Furious 9's box office performance once it arrives in May

Black Panther 2 will still film in Georgia this summer despite the state's recent controversial voter laws, as director Ryan Coogler hopes the film's presence can aid in overturning the bill. Georgia has become the center of the conversation about voting rights in recent weeks after passing Senate Bill 202. The new bill signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp at the end of March will reduce the number of ballot drop boxes, ban the supply of food and water to voters in line, and add multiple extra steps to the registration and absentee voting process. The impacts of Georgia's voting bill will have other impacts on the state and its citizens, as multiple celebrities vowed to not work in the state unless it was overturned. Major League Baseball moved its All-Star game out of Atlanta, but some in Hollywood have also stepped up to speak out against the bill. This included Star Wars legend Mark Hamill and Logan director James Mangold announcing personal boycotts over working there. Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua's slave drama Emancipation also decided to move its production out of the state and go to Louisiana instead. Many have been wondering what other major films and studios will do, especially since Atlanta is one of the biggest homes to movie and TV show productions. One film that will not leave Georgia behind is Black Panther 2. Director Ryan Coogler shared a statement with Deadline explaining the decision to keep production in Georgia despite this law. Coogler explained that he is vehemently against SB202 but believes pulling Black Panther 2 out of the state will only hurt the citizens even more. He pledges to raise awareness for the harmful bill and will encourage those working on the movie to fight to overturn SB202. Below is a segment from his full statement where Coogler outlines why he isn't boycotting Georgia and will spend many months there soon to begin work on Black Panther 2. Having now spoken with voting rights activists in the state, I have come to understand that many of the people employed by my film, including all the local vendors and businesses we engage, are the very same people who will bear the brunt of SB202. For those reasons, I will not be engaging in a boycott of Georgia. What I will be doing is using my voice to emphasize the effects of SB202, it’s shameful roots in Jim Crow, and doing all I can to support organizations fighting voter suppression here in the state. Coogler and Marvel Studios will now officially call Georgia the home of Black Panther 2's production, just as they did with the original film. Marvel Studios has made a habit of filming at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta and only recently finished work on Spider-Man: No Way Home. The state should continue to be the location for many other Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and Disney+ shows. She-Hulk is potentially already filming there and Hawkeye is still finishing up too. Black Panther 2 is the only upcoming MCU movie confirmed to film in Georgia though, with Thor: Love and Thunder filming in Australia and Captain Marvel 2 moving to London. With Black Panther 2 slated to begin filming in July in Atlanta, it might not be long before Coogler travels to the state to begin prepping for the long shoot. He will have a lot on his plate with directing the movie, guiding the film forward without Chadwick Boseman around, and now giving support to efforts to overturn SB202. Not everyone will agree with his decision to keep Black Panther 2 in Georgia, but Coogler's reasoning for sticking around and helping the citizens already affected by the bill is understandable and admirable.

Manhattan star, Mariel Hemingway, says the Woody Allen film “100% couldn’t come out” today due to its depiction of an underage romance. Released in 1979, Manhattan is one of the earlier films written and directed by Allen after his Best Picture-winning breakout Annie Hall in 1977. Mariel Hemingway, the granddaughter of Ernest, starred in Manhattan as Tracy, a 17-year-old girl attending the Dalton School who begins dating a twice-divorced, 42-year-old television comedy writer named Issac (played by Allen). However, the film did not receive much criticism at the time of its release for its portrayal of an underage relationship. Instead, it was mainly praised for its beautiful black-and-white cinematography, romance, humor, and as a glamorous tribute to the city of New York. In fact, when adjusted for inflation, Manhattan is Allen's second-highest-grossing film in a massive filmography that includes at least 70 films. The romantic comedy also starred Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep, and Anne Byrne. Now, on the podcast Better Together with Anne & Heather, Hemingway spoke at length with hosts Anne Heche and Heather Duffy about Allen's Manhattan and the current controversy surrounding Allen v. Farrow. Hemingway says the film “100% couldn’t come out” today due to the now-infamous underage relationship at the heart of the film, according to Variety. “I’m not condoning any behavior, but that movie probably couldn’t come out today,” she added. Hemingway says she has not seen Allen v. Farrow, HBO's four-part docuseries which chronicles the events that led to then 7-year-old Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, to accuse her father of sexual abuse in 1992. Hemingway says it is very difficult for her to discuss the Woody Allen controversy since she is very fond of him and had a wonderful experience working with him on Manhattan, “It’s a bit touchy for me because he wasn’t disrespectful of me or unpleasant.” Hemingway claims she does not know Mia or Dylan Farrow and concluded by saying it is not her "story to tell.” Allen has been the center of much controversy before the HBO docuseries, Allen v. Farrow. Before its release, Amazon abandoned a four-year deal with the director that included the release of his 2019 film, A Rainy Day In New York over Allen's comments regarding disgraced movie mogul, Harvey Weinstein. Though Manhattan was wholly embraced by audiences in 1979, this is just the latest example of allegations of abuse changing the lens through which an alleged perpetrator's works of art are viewed.

Mortal Kombat’s Mehcad Brooks compared the film's star, Joe Taslim, to Bruce Lee. A martial artist and former member of the Indonesia Judo national team, Taslim was the first actor cast in the live-action adaptation of the popular video game franchise, which releases a week from now on April 23rd. The film adaptation is expected to embrace the brutality the classic video games have become known for with “personal" and "visceral” fight scenes. Taslim, who plays Sub-Zero, has appeared in a few of the most popular action movies in recent years, including The Raid, Fast & Furious 6, and The Night Comes for Us. Bruce Lee, who was also a martial artist, put together an equally impressive filmography over his career which began in the 1950s and lasted until his untimely death in 1973. Today, Lee is mostly regarded for his performances in five feature-length martial arts films from the 1970s, including The Game of Death, which was released posthumously in 1978. Now, in a new featurette from Warner Bros. providing a behind-the-scenes look at Mortal Kombat's fight scenes, Mehcad Brooks (who plays Jax) compared Taslim to the iconic martial arts figure, Bruce Lee. “Joe was so fast, they had to ask him to slow it down for the camera,” Brooks says. “There’s like two guys that’s ever happened to: Joe Taslim and Bruce Lee.” Though Brooks' claim about Lee having to slow down for the camera is not entirely accurate, according to Uproxx, Taslim likely does not mind the comparison. Watch the new Mortal Kombat featurette below: In the featurette, Mortal Kombat director, Simon McQuoid, echoes Brooks' claim about Taslim being too fast for the camera, saying "Joe was faster than everyone" when filming the movie's fight scenes. Along with Brooks comparing Taslim to Lee, the featurette provides a glimpse of the fight between Kabal and Liu Kang. Other than Taslim and Brooks, Mortal Kombat stars Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade, Hiroyuki Sanada as Scorpion, and Lewis Tan as the film's main protagonist and newcomer to the franchise, Cole Young. Taslim is just one of many talented martial artists who will portray Mortal Kombat's iconic cast of characters. Tan was taught martial arts at a young age by his father, who was also a martial artist and a stunt coordinator on Chinese movies. Today, Tan is considered an expert in several forms of martial arts, including Kung Fu and Ju-Jitsu. Therefore, Taslim may not be the only Mortal Kombat actor who draws comparisons to Bruce Lee.

A trailer has arrived for the Danish action-thriller, Riders of Justice. Written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen, the film stars recent Indiana Jones's inductee Mads Mikkelsen as a soldier returning home to take care of his daughter after his wife dies in an accidental train explosion. Originally released in Denmark in 2020, the twisty drama has already earned plenty of accolades in Scandinavia to go along with its pre-stateside 88% Rotten Tomatoes score. Now, Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing has dropped a new trailer for Riders of Justice. After two bookish investigators inform Markus (Mikkelsen) that the train accident that killed his wife was not an accident at all, they seek revenge on the group responsible, the Riders of Justice. Packed with comedic elements as well, the film balances its skull-smashing fistfights and blistering gunplay with awkward car rides and the culture clash between two very different types of crimefighters. Check out the full trailer for Riders of Justice below: Though a genre-blending thriller in its own right, the film also marks another intriguing chapter in Mikkelsen's remarkable rise from fringe Hollywood figure to mainstream-adjacent star. After a string of Danish art films, the steely-eyed actor made waves as memorable villain, Le Chiffre in Daniel Craig's James Bond debut Casino Royale. Since then, Mikkelsen has starred in NBC's Hannibal as the titular cannibal, attempted to gain eternal life in Doctor Strange, and replaced Johnny Depp as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3. For Americans just getting familiar with the Scandinavian thespian, Riders of Justice should be a perfect opportunity to watch Mikkelsen channel his inner Liam Neeson when it finally arrives this May.

Alfred Molina confirms he plays the same version of Doc Ock from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Marvel Studios and Sony's partnership on a new Spider-Man franchise set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a major surprise when it was announced in 2015. Fast-forward a few years and Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy is already wrapped filming and has massive expectations. Not only are fans excited to see how it builds on Spider-Man: Far From Home's shocking ending, but there are multiple rumors about actors from past Spider-Man franchises appearing. These reports started with news of Jamie Foxx playing Electro again after The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but fans were surprised to learn later on that Alfred Molina will appear as Doctor Octopus too. Molina played the brilliant scientist and top-tier Spider-Man villain in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. His return sparked questions about how it will happen though. The franchise already brought J.K. Simmons back as J. Jonah Jameson, but he is a different take on the character than the Raimi version. Some wondered if Molina's Doc Ock could be a similar situation where Marvel Studios is using a great casting choice of the past to play the MCU's version of the same character. Alfred Molina's involvement in Spider-Man: No Way Home was not confirmed by Marvel or Sony during production, but the actor is now sharing all the details about his involvement. He confirmed in an interview with Variety that he's playing Doc Ock again in the upcoming MCU Spider-Man movie. But, Molina went a step further and confirmed that the Doc Ock featured in Spider-Man: No Way Home is the same one fans last saw in Spider-Man 2. He said that director Jon Watts told him Doc Ock's story picks up after his presumed death during Spider-Man 2's finale. This revelation by Molina has multiple ramifications on Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU, and even past Spider-Man films. For starters, this all but confirms the expectations that the movie involves the multiverse in some fashion. This seemed likely after Benedict Cumberbatch was announced to return as Doctor Strange. Now we know that the multiverse, time-travel, broken timelines, or something else will bring Spider-Man 2's Doc Ock to cross paths with the MCU's Spider-Man. Assuming that this is done through the multiverse, rumored cast members like Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, and Charlie Cox's Daredevil seem much more likely to be true. As exciting as it is to know Molina is playing Doc Ock again nearly two decades later, it is a bit surprising to learn that it will come through retconning Spider-Man 2's ending in some fashion. Not only was Doc Ock believed to be dead, but he had a redemptive conclusion to his story. Otto Octavius sacrificed his life to save Spider-Man and the rest of New York from the fusion core he created. Spider-Man: No Way Home using the same version of Doc Ock means that he survived this moment somehow, but it also risks going against his redemption unless Doc Ock isn't a villain in the movie. In any case, it will be fascinating to see how Spider-Man: No Way Home pulls off Doc Ock's return.

Stan Lee was going to have a very different cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy, but director James Gunn decided to change it. Having created some of the most beloved Marvel characters, the prolific comic book writer is well regarded in the industry. But aside from his day job, he also immensely enjoyed making his signature cameos. Since its inception in 2008, Lee appeared in every MCU film until his death in 2018. Released in 2014 as part of Phase 2, Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy was a big risk for Marvel Studios. It was the first new property to debut outside of the original six Avengers. It was also very different from the typical Earth-bound stories in the franchise at that point, except for the Thor films. Finally, it has some of the most bizarre characters with Groot and Rocket Raccoon. Fortunately, everything paid off; Guardians of the Galaxy is regarded as one of the best movies from the franchise, and its heroes continue to be fan favorites. Despite its relatively new setting and players, one thing remained constant — it still had a Stan Lee cameo. But as Gunn recently talked about on his Twitter, it was supposed to be different. As it turned out, he was going to be one of the boxed trophies owned by the Collector, who gives Groot the middle finger. The filmmaker decided to change it because it felt like there was too much going on in that Guardians of the Galaxy scene. Check out his full reply below: This is inaccurate. This was the original cameo, yes, but I chose to change it, not Disney, because we cut the scene it was in way down & it felt like too many beats. Also why is Disney in quotes? https://t.co/ATu51qKNgy — James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 16, 2021 Gunn's comment came after he was tagged in a supposed trivia about that scene. It claimed that Lee's cameo was changed because of a mandate by Disney, which the director effectively debunked. That said, it's also not outside the realm of possibility that the House of Mouse would be opposed to the idea in Guardians of the Galaxy considering that it's been adamant about sticking to their family-friendly approach to projects. However, things are changing as it seems like they're starting to be more flexible with this regard — at least when it comes to the MCU. Deadpool 3 is confirmed to be Rated R when it officially releases under Marvel Studios. Aside from that, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier which streams on Disney+ has some gruesome fight scenes which aren't PG material. The change doesn't really have any narrative impact on the Guardians of the Galaxy, which is what's important. For the most part, Lee's cameos have been fun and quirky. While the MCU is known for preserving its continuity, it's clear that his appearances do not have any rhyme or reason; instead, it's more about what can be the most memorable and how it can work logistically.

Pat Gelsinger is a supremely confident individual who, after replacing Bob Swan at the helm of Intel, is saying all the right things. When Intel announced his hiring as CEO in February, Gelsinger said of the company, "Our best days are in front of us," as Intel aims for CPU dominance. But that was before Nvidia, a stalwart in the GPU space, unveiled its first-ever data center CPU called Grace. Gelsinger had some things to say about that as well. Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the rest "Clearly, I'd say the idea of CPUs is Intel's provenance. We're now building AI [artificial intelligence] into that and we expect this to be an area where we are on the offense, not the defense going forward," Gelsinger told Fortune following a virtual White House summit meeting with President Biden and various CEOs. Indeed, though the browser was once Microsoft's provenance with Internet Explorer, and though usage of its modern Edge browser is growing at a speedy clip, the field is now dominated by Google. It's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but you get the point. Should Gelsinger and the gang be worried, though? Grace has some interesting things working for it, like up to 900GB/s of memory bandwidth between the CPU and GPU, via NVLink, to help facilitate highly advanced workloads with more than 1 trillion parameters. Nvidia believes Grace has the ability to "re-architect the data center" to advance giant-scale AI and HPC (high performance computing). But at least outwardly, Nvidia also acknowledges Grace "will serve a niche segment of computing." To that end, in a separate Q&A, Nvidia answered a question about whether Grace is built to compete head-to-head with Intel's Xeon CPUs and AMD's Epyc lineup. "No. Nvidia continues to provide full support to all CPUs—x86, Arm and Power. The Nvidia Grace CPU is designed to be tightly coupled with an Nvidia GPU to remove bottlenecks for the most complex giant model AI and HPC applications," Nvidia said. Intel, meanwhile, recently launched its 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable Ice Lake-SP lineup for the data center, which qualifies as the company's first 10nm server silicon, and will follow that up with Sapphire Rapids. Both lineups feature integrated AI acceleration. "In Ice Lake, we have extraordinary expansions in the AI capabilities. [Nvidia is] responding to us. It's not us responding to them. Clearly this idea of CPUs that are AI-enhanced is the domain where Intel is a dramatic leader," Gelsinger said. So at least on the surface, Intel does not seem phased by Nvidia's move into data center CPUs. Give it a few years and we'll see if that changes.

Last weekend's Diablo 2: Resurrected alpha might've ostensibly limited players to three classes. But it seems crafty modders were able to use years-old tricks to access other classes in the dungeon-crawler's line-up. As spotted by PCGamesN, players quickly spotted that much of Resurrected's underlying code is shared with the 2000 original. That means that it wasn't too much trouble to grab old Hero Editor mods and start swapping in classes Blizzard never meant to make public. The Diablo 2 subreddit was pretty quickly populated by videos showing off some of these hidden classes, including the Paladin, Druid, and the Necromancer shown below. Bear in mind that, as they weren't included in the public alpha, treat these classes as being even more "work-in-progress". Resurrected is intentionally sticking close to the original game's code, to the extent that your 20-year-old save files will still work with the remaster. Considering the limited nature of the alpha, mind, I wouldn't be shocked to see later technical tests try and lock things down a little more. Tyler took a shot at Resurrected ahead of the weekend's test, finding a loving (if inconsistent) recreation—largely faithful to the original, but highlighting just how far the genre has come in 20 years by doing so. Diablo 2: Resurrected will arrive by the end of the year, with Blizzard planning to run a technical multiplayer alpha and eventual beta ahead of release.

The big Minecraft Caves & Cliffs update that was expected to be out this summer has been delayed—partially, at least. Given the scale of the project, which Mojang said is "the most ambitious" update for Minecraft it has ever developed, it's decided to split the update into two parts, and hold the second part back until the holidays. Mojang said there are "significant technical challenges" to implementing the update, which among other things overhauls world generation in a way that impacts all of Minecraft's caves and mountains—which, as the studio said, means it could potentially “wreak havoc on your meticulously crafted worlds” if things go seriously wrong. "With this feature, we are completely reshaping the Overworld, including the build height," the studio explained. "Not only do we have to consider every effect this can have on the world but also how it will affect performance. Basically, having more stuff in the game also slows it down and we want to avoid that." The state of the development team itself is also a consideration: The studio would have to crunch pretty hard to have a shot at getting the full update out this summer, and even then there's no guarantee it would happen. Working from home because of the Covid-19 pandemic has made hitting release targets even more challenging: "Because our workflow is so complex and collaborative, not having the option to walk up to someone and ask for help makes everything take longer," the update says. Specifics of the split weren't shared, but Mojang said that the summer update as it’s now envisioned "will focus on some cute and fun mobs, cool items, and new blocks.” Deeper dives into what it will include will be shared over the coming weeks. "This was not an easy decision, and we’re also disappointed that some really exciting features are only coming later," Mojang said. "Still, it’s the best possible choice to keep our team healthy, happy, and able to deliver awesome updates for many years to come."

In March, Ubisoft announced that Assassin's Creed Valhalla's first major expansion, Wrath of the Druids, would be out on April 29. Today, however, Ubisoft pushed the launch back by two weeks so it can "deliver a more refined experience." "Wrath of the Druids will now release on May 13," Ubisoft tweeted. "We’re working on an article to provide transparency and share insights on our dev process. Thanks for your patience. Keep an eye on our social channels for future news!" To deliver a more refined experience, we’re sharing that: Wrath of the Druids will now release on May 13We’re working on an article to provide transparency and share insights on our dev process Thanks for your patience. Keep an eye on our social channels for future news! pic.twitter.com/aQUPR8cWNVApril 14, 2021 See more In Wrath of the Druids, players will investigate the secrets of a mysterious ancient cult in Ireland, an island replete with "occult forests," haunted landscapes, and regional kings you'll probably want to make nice with. (Some of them, anyway.) The expansion is included with the two-part Valhalla season pass, and will also be available for standalone purchase. Details on the cause for the delay weren't shared, but the buildup to the Wrath of the Druids release hasn't been going entirely smoothly: In March, Ubisoft had to remove parts of the Ostara Festival seasonal event (specifically, the festival decorations added to Ravensthorpe) that were causing the game to crash.

Resident Evil Village has animals you can slaughter, which is a first for the series. In the video above, courtesy of Game Informer, you can see Ethan Winters shooting fish, pigs, a billy goat and chickens with a pistol. In a horror game where ammunition is scarce you’d think Ethan would, I dunno, pick the chickens up and twist their necks, or at least melee punch them to death. But no, he pumps that poultry full of lead. As the video explains, once you’ve slain the beasts and extracted their meat you can take it to The Duke’s Kitchen, where the duke himself will prepare meals offering permanent buffs and perks. For example, if you gather the right ingredients for the Bird and Beast Pilaf, and then eat it, you’ll get a permanent reduction in damage when guarding. The Duke also has an Emporium, god love him, and that’s where you’ll upgrade weapons, craft ammo and buy stuff. The game’s currency can be found on fallen enemies (the undead still use cash, you know) or by selling precious items found throughout the game. One upgrade example is reducing the sway on a sniper rifle, or increasing the damage of a pistol—all the better for killing fish. The Resident Evil Village release date is May 7.

A blade that had remained hidden in the original Guild Wars for eight years was finally discovered by sleuthing fans earlier this week. Silver Edge, a blade named after one of the game's more prolific Wiki contributors, would have likely remained undiscovered if not for a tease from former ArenaNet developer Matthew Moore. Last week, Moore responded to ex-Vlambeer developer JW Nijman's call for interesting easter eggs by sharing one of his own—along with a crumb of a clue to give players a long-overdue starting point. There's a weapon hidden in the original Guild Wars that I don't think anyone's found yet. We hid some clues in the dialogues of some wiki editor tribute NPCs who only show up during the Wayfarer's Reverie, but...I think we hid it too well. Too poorly? Could have done it betta. April 11, 2021 See more The seeds of this secret were sown a little earlier, with an anonymous wiki poster claiming last August that they'd "heard from an ex-dev" about a riddle related to the Xunlai Archivist NPCs. More confirmed that they were indeed onto something, and with the first sign down, players immediately got to work trying to hunt down this secret. Much of their progress is logged on a Reddit thread—and while trying not to spoil the surprise too much, Moore does chip in now and again to try and point the MMO detectives in the right direction (no, frogs aren't involved). But even as he contacted fellow former devs to try and weigh in on the puzzle, there was a strong chance the item was flat-out broken after nearly a decade of updates. "It's eight-years-old, unmonitored, unmaintained content", Moore admitted in a wiki post. "Will it work? Probably. But even if you can cobble together the proper steps to perform this magic trick, it also may not." Thankfully, the easter egg still works—and was eventually discovered yesterday by redditor Evaziel. Activating several requirements (Fortune Of The Gods and Lucky Aura), Evaziel ate a cupcake (tasty!) in front of an NPC named Kilroy in Lake Drakkar, before using an ability named Light Of Deldrimor. That effect summons a Silver Vaettir who, when killed, drops the long-hidden blade. The sword itself isn't particularly special. It shares an appearance with blades that are far easier to obtain, and its stats aren't earth-shattering. But it stands as a trophy to the community's investigative prowess, and effectively immortalises one wiki contributor's name in the game. All said, it took just under three days for the community to acquire the sword after discovering its existence. That's some remarkably fast sleuthing. But Moore admits that, "knowing what [he does] about puzzle design now", he could've made the puzzle a little better—or at least, not have left it lying in silence for nearly a decade.

Both are stylish action roguelikes. Both have "Dead" in the name. So why not slam Curse Of The Dead Gods and Dead Cells together, developer Passtech Game asks with the appropriately named (and free) Curse Of The Dead Cells update. The latest update to Curse Of The Dead Gods brings a big of Dead Cells flair to the game with a new curse that, err, removes your main characters head. In it's place is a flaming noggin styled after Dead Cells' lead character, The Prisoner. This curse ramps up your move speed, at the expense of taking more damage from hits. But a Dead Cells-inspired hero needs Dead Cells-inspired tools. As such, three new weapons have been added echoing that game's sword, broadsword and explosive crossbow. New "Vault" rooms have also been added, drawing from Dead Cells' Cursed Chests. Clear the room without getting hit for a powerful (and cursed) reward. The update also comes with a healthy dose of non-Dead Cells related additions, including new relics, rooms, the ability to sort and banish weapons and a lovely new Assist Mode. There are also plenty of balance tweaks and bug fixes listed in the update's official patch notes. As part of the update, Curse Of The Dead Gods is currently 20% off on Steam. Dead Cells itself is 30% off until the end of April, in case you decide to take a deeper dive into the headless hack n' slasher.

Fresh off the back of Nvidia announcing its first CPU for super-special supercomputers, there are now noises coming out of GTC 2021 suggesting that the green team is working with MediaTek to create an ARM gaming laptop spec. Yeah, a GeForce-powered gaming laptop platform that doesn't use either Intel or AMD x86 processors… a brave new world indeed. Nvidia's purchase of Arm has still yet to be completed, but this is potentially more evidence of the company looking to get elbow deep into the ARM ecosystem from both the server and now the gaming sides of its business. Its ARM-based Grace processor will be making things uncomfortable for Intel and AMD when it comes to x86 datacentre dominance, but few would have expected ARM to start to have any impact on gaming laptops. It's worth prefacing all this with the point that we are just talking about potential preliminary work by MediaTek and Nvidia on a reference laptop spec for development, and not about any confirmed commitment to create genuine gaming notebooks for release. Still, the fact that Nvidia is working with one of the biggest creators of ARM silicon in the world does lend a little more credence to such a device seeing the light of day. "MediaTek is the world’s largest supplier of ARM chips, used to power everything from smartphones, Chromebooks, and smart TVs," says MediaTek CEO, Rick Tsai, in a statement on Engadget. "We look forward to using our technology and working with NVIDIA to bring the power of GPUs to the ARM PC platform for gaming, content creation and much more. GPU acceleration will be a huge boost for the entire ARM ecosystem." There has been growing proof that ARM's x86 emulation is a viable alternative to native silicon, especially with Apple's new M1 chip going into its new MacBooks. That makes for a potentially exciting future where GeForce-powered gaming laptops, running on ARM CPUs, can actually run your Steam library. Nvidia's long been referencing the gaming laptop market like a platform unto itself, talking it up like a new console generation, but with ARM CPUs and GeForce GPUs going hand-in-hand you could easily see a solely Nvidia-branded GeForce ShieldBook hitting the shelves. And that's kinda exciting. We've reached out to Nvidia for comment, and will update should we hear anything more.

Shadow Man was originally released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and PC. I didn't play it back then, and the excited reaction to last year's PC Gaming Show announcement that Nightdive is bringing it back caught me a little by surprise. But after watching today's Shadow Man: Remastered launch trailer, I am intrigued. Shadow Man—the man, not the game—is Michael LeRoi, the latest in a long line of possessed voodoo warriors who protect the world of the living from threats crossing over from the land of the dead. That means exploring crime scenes in Louisiana swamplands, a New York tenement building, a prison in Texas, and other locations in the worlds of the living and the dead, using both guns and supernatural powers to send evil back to the darkness from whence it came. Of course, it won’t be quite that simple—especially after a voodoo priestess shares a prophetic dream of the apocalypse, driven by the five Dark Souls (no, not that one) and a man named Legion. The remastered edition includes technological updates such as support for 4K resolution, improved lighting, anti-aliasing and ambient occlusion options, and improved AI. It will also feature content cut from the original release, along with bonus material including free digital comic books, the soundtrack, a map, and a 162-page digital strategy guide. But my favorite thing about it is that it's so damn weird. "As a god, I step forth upon the writhing, suppurating surface of the Deadside Serpent," our narrator, the titular Shadow Man, intones. "What sleep is here, what dreams there are in the unctuous coilings of the snake's mortal shuffling. Weapon in my hand—my hand, the arcing deathblow at the end of all things. The horror. The horror. I embrace it." OK, what? "Shadow Man is the perfect franchise for the remaster team at Nightdive Studios," Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick said. "It has a dark, unique setting and is a cult-classic with a significant fan base. We’re extremely pleased with how the remaster turned out and can’t wait for players to jump back into the world of Michael LeRoi, joining his fight to keep Deadside at bay—this time in glorious 4K." Shadow Man: Remastered is available now on Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store at a launch-week discount of 25 percent off its regular $20 price.

By default, the Sykov looks and feels like any other pistol in Warzone, but it has a handful of attachments that could make it an overpowered beast. Once leveled, the Sykov can be configured to fire full-auto, equip 80-round drum magazines, and be dual-wielded to double up firepower. If you're keeping count, that's 160 bullets at an extremely high fire rate without having to reload. As you can see below in a clip from BennyCentral, the Sykov makes quick work of bots set up with roughly the same health as players have in Warzone. Its impressive time-to-kill at short range is something to behold. Via BennyCentral on YouTube Despite initial reports from players having trouble unlocking and leveling up the Sykov, its release today was apparently intentional. Raven announced in a tweet today that progression should now be tracked on the gun "as intended," so I guess it's the real deal. Warzone players might recognize the akimbo pistol strategy from the Diamatti pistols that were very popular earlier this year. The rapid-fire pistols were similarly destructive at close range until Activision eventually nerfed their hipfire accuracy. With 80-round drum mags and seemingly no problem hitting their mark, a pair of Sykov pistols could prove even better than the Diamattis at their peak. Call of Duty Youtuber TheXclusiveAce has already released an initial dive into the Sykov's stats. Ace is among the most levelheaded and analytical voices in the CoD community, and even he is worried that the pistol will be overpowered once it's fully unleashed. "At this point, it does have me concerned." Me too.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War and Warzone season 3 is set to kick off on April 22, following a long-rumored "nuke event" that will take place the day before. But before any of that can happen, the events of Season 2 must be drawn to a close, a tale set up by a new "outro cinematic" released today by Treyarch. "Naga’s diversion worked as intended, throwing Woods and his squad off the scent long enough for Stitch to continue his master plan," the studio teased. "Armed with fresh intel gathered from the cartel operation in Laos, they urgently deploy to Verdansk. Adler’s time is running out..." Naga is a former warlord and cartel boss who was given the job of throwing Frank Woods and his team off the scent of Vikhor "Stitch" Kuzmin, a Warsaw Pact operator who's holding CIA agent Russell Adler hostage. It's all very complicated, but the important bit is that "intel points to Verdansk," and Woods is now headed there to "bring our boy home." The arrival of the Cold War gang is presumably what will usher in the 1980s-style changes to Verdansk, which we got a glimpse at in a leak a couple of weeks ago, but we'll have to tune in for the details. The end begins at 12 pm PT/3 pm ET on April 21—here's everything we know about it.