Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2076

This 8-Bit History of TEKKEN is an Engaging and Retro Look at the Series’ Plot

The modern fighting game landscape is essentially a three-pronged institution (although feel free to chew me out in the comments if you think that’s totally wrong): There’s Super Smash Bros., there’s Street Fighter, and there’s Tekken. What helps set Tekken apart from its competitors, though, is that it was one of the first fighting games that was made in 3D. To this day, the series has remained consistently groundbreaking.

Plot has also always been an important part of the series, if the multiple films based on the franchise are any indication. To honor that storytelling history, Bandai Namco has started a “Tekken Retro Recap” series that regales the tale all in the classic 8-bit style that, funnily enough, the games broke from.

It begins with a five-year-old Kazuya, who was taken to the top of a mountain and dropped off the edge of a cliff by his father Heihachi. He survived the fall, and after the traumatic event, he was filled with great power and desire for revenge. Heihachi announces a $1 billion prize tournament, which Kazuya enters and eventually faces his father in the final round. He defeats his dad, and to return the favor, throws him off a cliff. And you thought these games were all just kicking and punching.

The Tekken story is probably more intense and involved than you realized, so check out the first video of the series above, and let us know in the comments below how badly you want to play an 8-bit Tekken game now.

Featured image: Bandai Namco Entertainment America/YouTube

Does this conspiracy hint at a Pokémon Switch?

Fan Made GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Pop Combines Yondu and You Know Who

Warning: Minor spoilers follow for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

It’s hard to single out laugh out loud moments in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 because there were so many of them, I felt like I laughed at the majority of the film. But one of the best bits is towards the end of the movie, when Yondu floated down from above after an intense battle and Peter Quill told him that he looked like Mary Poppins. Yep. I can’t tell you how many times the phrase, “I’m Mary Poppins, y’all” has popped into my head and caused a fit of laughter since I saw the movie. I’m giggling right now.

I’ve already seen an enthusiastic reaction to the line. It’s inspired fan art already. Case in point, ComicBook.com shared this awesome custom Pop! by Funkoboss. Behold:

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Dafne Keen’s LOGAN Audition is a Crazy-Intense Must-Watch

Hugh Jackman’s final ride as Wolverine in Logan has been pretty much universally hailed as the best X-Men movie to date, and the perfect final chapter to Jackman’s run as the adamantium-enhanced mutant. And while Jackman absolutely kicked ass in the film, there was another breakout performance that had us all talking well after the credits rolled. That was, of course, the performance of ten year-old Dafne Keen who plays X-23, or Laura. And by the looks of her audition video, she was born to play the baby badass.

Logan was an intense film, so they needed someone who could not only physically keep up with film, but also portray Laura in a way that delivered both power and emotion. Turns out that Dafne was able to do both with a startling amount of ease. Check out this video Entertainment Weekly posted of a screen test she did with Hugh Jackman (just be warned, the language is NSFW).

Not only is Keen’s performance riveting, but it’s extra impressive to know she improvised a great deal of it. Of course, with her performance in Logan being such a scene-stealer, it’s not a huge surprise that she’s got good instincts all on her own.

Keen also is highly skilled in martial arts and gymnastics, which helped her land the physically intense role. And according to Jackman, she may be small in stature, but she can pack a punch. Keen’s audition wasn’t only brilliant acting-wise, but it won her the title of being the first and only screen test partner of Jackman’s to leave bruises on his arm from where she punched him. Bruises or not, it seems like the two hit it off from the very start.

While it’s sad to bid farewell to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Dafne Keen has given us another claw-bearing mutant to fall in love with, and X-23 may very well carry the mantle of Wolverine in future films. While we don’t know what’s next for the character or the franchise yet, Keen obviously has an incredibly bright future ahead of her. It will be exciting to see where she goes next, both in the X-Men world and films in general.

What did you think of Keen’s screen test? Would you like to see her reprise her role as Laura/X-23 in future X-Men movies? Tell us what you think in the comments!

Feature Image: 20th Century Fox

New Details About 5 Potential GAME OF THRONES Spin-Offs Emerge

Back in 2011, no one was quite sure how Game of Thrones would be received on HBO. There were no guarantees it would become the wildly popular fantasy series it has—and they don’t usually pick up back-to-back Emmy Awards for best drama. But Game of Thrones has been phenomenally successful on all levels, so it’s no wonder HBO isn’t about to let its signature franchise slip away with its imminent end in season 8.  So today’s Nerdist News is coming to you straight outta Westeros with an update on the potential spin-off series, as told by George R.R. Martin himself.

Join host and the fist of the First Men, Jessica Chobot, as she breaks down the attempt to expand Game of Thrones into five potential spin-offs. That’s right, five. Presumably the network only wants one spin-off at a time. If HBO went the full Law & Order and ordered them all, then we really would need a Dick Direwolf to step up and run the shows.

According to Martin, all of the possible spin-offs will be prequels, and none of them will feature characters from the current show. So you can forget about your dreams of a Robert’s Rebellion show. (Apparently, Martin has plans for that within his final novels in the A Song of Ice and Fire series). Even the adventures of Dunk and Egg remain off limits, because Martin wants to tell those stories before television gets a crack at them first.

But what’s left to explore? Quite a bit, actually! Martin’s universe is so densely mapped out that there are a variety of possibilities. We’d certainly love to see a series explore the doom of Valyria, or the rise of the Seven as the Old Gods fell from grace. The Dance of Dragons could also be quite promising as a chance to witness the Targaryen civil war.

Which Game of Thrones prequels would you like to see? By the Old Gods and the New, share your thoughts in the comment section below!

How Many Sci-Fi Movie Styles Can You Spot in the KILL SWITCH Trailer?

Kill Switch is the brainchild of VFX Supervisor-turned-director Tim Smit, whose first-person POV short film What’s in the Box? took the internet by storm to the tune of 2.6 million views back in 2009. Now it’s been expanded into a feature starring Dan Stevens, Skyfall‘s Berenice Marlohe, and a host of sci-fi tropes and styles—and man, does it look good.

Stevens plays a pilot who has to save his family (and the world) after the launch of machine that creates unlimited energy goes horribly awry. For some reason, Steven Seagal is nowhere to be found.

It would be unfair to say Kill Switch is cribbing Hardcore Henry‘s POV style because Smit’s short film came first, but we’re definitely put into the driver’s seat while blowing things up and making sure things don’t get blown up.

There’s also a giant beam of light shooting into the sky, a portal to another dimension, the you’re-our-best-hope midnight military escort last seen in Arrival, a dash of Edge of Tomorrow‘s time travel video game sensibility, and a gloss of Skyline‘s low budget vision of the future.

The original short film (and this trailer) was all action, so the real test for Kill Switch will be whether it can build beyond all of this familiarity to create a fun, compelling story. Stevens and Marlohe’s charm should go a long way, although it will be fascinating to see how the movie shifts us between perspectives.

Of course the real star of the trailer is the visuals. Trains falling out of the sky, future cops flying in drones, and neighborhood battles that take down entire buildings. At the very least, it looks like an exhilarating ride.

Image: Saban Films

PREACHER Season 2 Teaser Unleashes the Saint of Killers

Last season on Preacher, fans who were unfamiliar with the original comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon may have been confused by the focus on the Cowboy, as played by Graham McTavish. Through flashbacks, we witnessed the Cowboy suffer after a rare moment of altruism led him to lose his wife and daughter. Near the end of the season, the Cowboy was released from his torment with a mission to kill Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper). But not before the Cowboy killed an angel on his way out of Hell.

Comic fans know the Cowboy by another name: the Saint of Killers. In AMC’s newest teaser for Preacher‘s second season, even Jesse and Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun) have reason to fear the Saint, because he’s one of the few individuals in Heaven and Hell who can’t simply be dismissed by Jesse’s “word of God.”

While the TV series has taken some liberties with the Saint’s origins, he’s already demonstrated that his guns can kill any celestial being. Within the comic—spoiler alert for those who don’t want to know!—the Saint’s outrage over the injustice of his death literally caused Hell to freeze over. It was the Angel of Death that gave the Saint his signature weapons, and the Saint’s first victim was none other than Satan himself. On top of everything else, the Saint can not be killed or commanded—he’s the ultimate wild card, and he’s coming for the Preacher!

The teaser also hints at other problems facing Jesse, Cassidy, and Tulip (Ruth Negga), including the organization known as the Grail and a legion of law enforcement officers. But that’s only the beginning of the insanity to come.

Preacher season 2 will premiere on Sunday, June 25.

Are you excited to see the Saint of Killers unleashed? Take aim in the comment section below!

Image: AMC

Need more Preacher? Here’s the cast talking about the craziest S1 moments:

AMERICAN GODS History Primer: The Jinn

The Old Gods in American Gods have roots in the past and in mythology. While we might know the ins and outs of the New Gods, like Media and Technical Boy, there’s probably a lot we can still learn about their predecessors. For those of you hoping to get a better understanding of these characters before you continue on with American Gods, we have you covered. Get to know the history that inspires the characters in our American Gods History Primer series.

Who

The Jinn, a.k.a. ifrit, afreet, or Djinn

In the Series

The Jinn appears as part of the “Somewhere in America” interludes as a taxi driver in New York. We saw him for a moment in the second episode; he met Mr. Wednesday at the diner.

Like the other Old Gods we’ve encounter thus far, he’s ragged around the edges. He’s not driving a cab out of a passion for being behind the wheel; the Jinn is doing what he must to get by in a world that no longer pays him tribute. He works long hours, he’s treated like crap, and he has to wear sunglasses all the time because he has flames for eyes. Driving with sunglasses at night has to be a pain—even if your eyes are literally fire.

Things turn around for the Jinn when he encounters Salim, someone who is struggling just as much as him. They connect spiritually and sexually. The Jinn offered complete acceptance to Salim and commiserated with him. Then he walked away after transferring his burden/gift to Salim. Was it a trick so the Jinn could get out of dodge? Or knowing Salim’s unhappiness and family issues, did the Jinn give Salim a chance to reinvent himself?

In Mythology

The inspiration for the Jinn is about as obvious as it gets in American Gods. The ifrits are a class of jinn in Middle Eastern mythology and noted for being among the most powerful kind of Jinn; they are not genies. They’re known for being strong and impervious to mundane items like weapons. Ifrits are usually evil beings.

Fisherman and the Jinni by H. J. Ford, 1898

For example, in “The Fisherman and the Jinni,” a tale from Arabian Nights, a fisherman finds an ifrit in a bottle. When the ifrit appears, he is not about granting wishes. Instead, he asks the fisherman how he would like to die: “Ask of me only what mode of death thou wilt die, and by what manner of slaughter shall I slay thee.” So, that’s the kind of attitude we’re working with here.

Let’s talk about the jinn in a broader sense. They’re supernatural beings, connected to demons. The Qur’an references jinn in its text; in 15:27, it specifically mentions the jinn being created from a smokeless, scorching fire. That origin gives them a certain kind of temperament. They’re not reliable, accused of being mischievous and misleading. They can also take any form they wish, be it an animal, human, or a stone.

In their natural state, ifrits appear as winged creatures of smoke. Like other jinn, they can assume whatever look they wish and could choose to live alongside other desert tribes. Salim told the Jinn his grandmother had sworn she’d seen an ifrit on the edge of the desert and that its eyes were burning flames. With the jinn’s connection to fire and smoke, fiery eyes make sense.

And we’ll wrap with something of note: one ifrit has a tie to the Queen of Sheba, a.k.a. Bilquis. The Qur’an cites King Solomon asking for someone to bring the Queen of Sheba’s throne to him, and an ifrit answers. Translated, verses 38-39 look like this:

38. “(Solomon) said: ‘O chiefs!) which of you can bring to me her throne before they come to me in submission?’”

39. “One audacious among the jinn said: ‘I will bring it to you before you rise up from your place; I have strength for it and I am trusty’.”

Images: Starz, Tumblr/Blake

THE GIFTED Trailer Introduces Lost X-Men and a Family on the Run

Next season on Fox, the live-action X-Men universe is coming to TV in The Gifted. Earlier tonight, the first full trailer for the series not only called out the X-Men and the Brotherhood by name, it also showcased a few X-Men who didn’t make it into movie theaters while introducing fans to the Strucker family and their two mutant children.

Unlike the teaser that premiered last week, this trailer added some much needed context for The Gifted. Apparently, Stephen Moyer’s Reed Strucker hunts mutants for the government, and that’s going to complicate things when his son, Andy (Percy Hynes), and daughter, Lauren (Natalie Alyn) are exposed as mutants. Amy Acker is playing Reed’s wife, Caitlin, and she appears to recognize that their children’s powers are both a curse and a blessing. The trailer also hints at the incident that puts the Struckers in the uncomfortable spotlight and sends Coby Bell’s character after them.

The opening seconds of this trailer also introduce Polaris, a.k.a. Lorna Dane (Emma Dumont). In the X-Men comics, Polaris the daughter of Magneto, and she also has powers of magnetism. Blink  (Jamie Chung) and Thunderbird (Blair Redford) also appear in the new footage, as we witness Reed cutting a deal with the mutant underground for his family’s safety. This video seems to define Lauren’s powers as telekinesis and it also implies that her abilities manifested before those of her brother. However, Andy’s power appears to be much more destructive in nature.

X-Men director Bryan Singer helmed the pilot episode of The Gifted, which was created and written by Matt Nix. Fox is expected to announce its premiere plans for the series later this week.

What did you think about the first trailer for The Gifted? Unleash your mutant powers in the comment section below!

 

Image: Fox/Marvel TV

PARAPPA THE RAPPER Creator Teases New Rhythm Game PROJECT RAP RABBIT

Last month, Sony celebrated two decades of PaRappa the Rapper with a remastered edition of the game for the Playstation 4. On the original Playstation, PaRappa was the first modern rhythm game and one of the most influential titles of the era. Now, PaRappa fans have something new to look forward to, as the creator of the series, Masaya Matsuura, has teased NanaOn-Sha’s newest rhythm game, Project Rap Rabbit.

Via Bleeding Cool, NanaOn-Sha has launched the official site for Project Rap Rabbit, a collaboration between Masaya Matsuura and Keiichi Yano, the creator of another classic rhythm game, Gitaroo Man. The company describes the game as a “new rhythm-action adventure,” but beyond that, we don’t know too much about it. The first piece of artwork from the game introduces the main character, and the setting appears to be a mishmash of modern and feudal Japan, with a random flying saucer as well.

On the project’s Facebook page, NanaOn-Sha said that new information about Project Rap Rabbit will be released very soon. “You won’t need to wait long: We’ll share much, much more about the project – including planned formats and the key gameplay mechanics – in less than 24 hours.” We’re certainly hoping that this title can recapture some of that PaRappa the Rapper magic and usher in a new era for rhythm games. It definitely appears to have a lot of potential!

Are you looking forward to Project Rap Rabbit? Kick! Punch! It’s all in the mind, if you wanna leave a comment, we’re sure you’ll find…space below for that!

Image: NanaOn-Sha

Genies Don’t Grant Wishes, And 4 Other AMERICAN GODS Moments Explained

Spoilers for episode 3 of American Gods follow! You have been warned.

No Bilquis and no New Gods of technology this week, but there was still plenty of reality-warping magic on American Gods even without them around. And this time, some of it might have been Shadow’s doing –even though he doesn’t quite believe it yet. Let’s break it down all the best moments (including one of the most daring and well-done sex scenes I’ve ever seen on television, but we’ll get to that):

Anubis

First, it’s time to meet another Old God: Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead who guides souls to the afterlife. Here we see him doing just that, weighing the heart of a woman against a feather to determine if she’s worthy of getting into heaven. (It’s okay. It’s a heavy feather.)

There’s an interesting catch here: the woman is Muslim and doesn’t worship the gods of Egypt. Her belief in the old stories her grandmother told her is something completely separate from her religion, and Anubis has come to her as a way of thanking her for that belief–and the duat, or underworld, has many different worlds within it, so she gets to choose where she goes at the end of her trials.

While we’re on the subject of Egyptian gods, it’s also strongly implied that the woman’s hairless cat is one of them, specifically Bastet. Either that, or all cats are inherently capable of travelling to the underworld. Both feel completely believable.

The Midnight Star

Remember last week when I told you that Neil Gaiman made up a Zorya sister? In this episode, we finally meet her: Zorya Polunochnaya, the midnight star. When Shadow finds her on the roof (in his dreams, of course), she’s keeping a close eye on Ursa Major, and tells him that “a bad thing” is up there. In Slavic mythology, the Zoryas stand guard over a doomsday hound who’s chained to the North Star, and if he ever gets out the world will end. However, if you’ll allow me to channel Neil DeGrasse Tyson for a second, technically the North Star is actually part of Ursa Minor, not Ursa Major. I think maybe Neil Gaiman just wanted us all to know about the constellation’s other name: Odin’s Wain.

After bestowing some wisdom on Shadow, Polunochnaya tells Shadow to take the Moon and gives it to him as a silver dollar, telling him that he already gave up protection from the Sun. She’s referring to the gold coin Shadow left on Laura’s grave, which Shadow got from Mad Sweeney. Turns out, he accidentally gave Shadow the wrong coin, and now his luck has officially run out without its magic to protect him. Also, fun cameo time:  the driver who gets Final Destination’d after picking Mad Sweeney up is Scott Thompson from Kids In The Hall, who also appeared in the first few seasons of Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal. Bad luck, eh guy?

Coming To America

Surprise! This week’s Coming To America story wasn’t the Anubis cold open; in fact, it’s not really about a God, although it does feature one. Instead we’re introduced to Salim, a businessman from Oman who’s only been in America for a week and is already desperate to escape his dreary life. By chance he happens to step into the cab of the djinn that Wednesday met last week, and recognizes him for what he is, having been told of the Ifrit by his grandmother as a child (seeing a pattern?).

The encounter becomes something more when the Ifrit follows Salim back to his hotel room, and although he tells Salim he doesn’t grant wishes like everyone in America thinks genies do, the next day the two have swapped identities–at least, that’s what happens in the book, so I think the guy who gets into the cab at the end of the scene is still Salim.

Bilquis’ ritual might be the most memorable sex scene in American Gods, sure, but this is certainly the best love scene in the entire book, and it’s invigorating once again to see that the show isn’t afraid to go all in on a sexual encounter between two men. Then again, what else would you expect from Bryan Fuller, who managed to make a heartwarming love story from Hannibal, of all things?

Snow

Finally, we get to see Wednesday in his element: conning people. Together he and Shadow rob a bank by pretending the ATM and night deposit slots are out during a snowstorm and tricking customers into giving him their money instead. To do that, though, a snowstorm is needed, so Wednesday tells Shadow to think about “hard, driving, irritating snow.” Any third grader desperate for a snow day could tell you that doesn’t work, but they all live in the real world–here, in American Gods, Shadow might actually be able to control the weather.

We also get a fascinating revelation from Wednesday: because gods are created from the minds of people who believe in them, there is a different Jesus for pretty much every single ethnic group. In the book, that holds true for other gods, too; the American version of Odin is much different person than the version who lives in Norway, for example.

Speaking of which–after the heist, Shadow and Wednesday encounter a lone wolf on the road. This wolf could be a symbol of any number of things, but the two strongest options are that it’s something to do with one of Odin’s mythological companions Freki and Geri, or it’s inspired by some kind of Native American myth like the Buffalo in Shadow’s dreams. Either way, to my knowledge it’s all new to the show, so feel free to tease your book-reading friends about the fact that they don’t know something.

Laura

Finally, the stinger for the episode: Laura’s not in her grave anymore. She’s in Shadow’s hotel room, and she’s very much not a dream this time. But how did she come back to life—and is she alive? Guess we’ll just have to watch next week to find out. Let us know what you thought of this week’s episode in the comments!