Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 426

HADES Will Soon Arrive on Netflix Games

Most mobile games are fun time wasters but lack the true appeal of a real video game. But now, Netflix is looking to change all of that with its Netflix Games offering. Netflix Games takes the concept of the Netflix we know, hosting content on its streaming platform so it can be watched more widely, and applies it to video games. Additionally, Netflix promises no ads, no extra fees, and no in-app purchases in its mobile games. And we can all agree those are the worst parts of the mobile game genre. Soon, it seems like we’ll even be able to play Netflix Games on our TV screens and PCs. Netflix has shared it wants the games to be “playable on every Netflix device that you have.” And apparently, code from the Netflix app seems to confirm.

Basically, for those who need a more convenient way to play some familiar titles, Netflix has you covered. Let’s take a look at which real video games get the mobile treatment via Netflix Games.

Hades

Fan favorite video game Hades (also known as the Hades game) is heading to Netflix Games next year. At least, the rogue-like game will be available on iOS. Unfortunately, Hades will not come to Netflix Games users on Android. Still, this is a pretty exciting piece of news. Its arrival on Netflix Games will open up Hades to a whole new audience of players.

A release shares:

In this action role-playing game, you have one mission: get out of Hell alive. You’ll play as Zagreus, the son of Hades, as you attempt to escape the Underworld with the help of various Olympic deities. In Hades, you’ll fight to escape the regions of Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and the Temple of Styx before facing the God of the Underworld himself in a final battle. Can you hack and slash your way out of the depths of Hell, or will you be doomed to the dungeons forever? From Supergiant Games, the hugely successful Hades will be available exclusively on iOS via Netflix starting next year. 

Slayaway Camp 2: Netflix & Kill

Netflix and kill? That sounds like a horror movie in the making. But it’s actually the latest entry into Netflix Game’s catalog.

This puzzle game is actually a sequel to a 2016 game called Slayaway Camp which was released on Steam, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Both games see you play as Skullface, a kind of adorable but deranged slasher. The official description shares, “In this sequel, you’re Skullface, a killer stuck inside a retro horror movie catalog — solve puzzles, stalk victims and get stabby.”

TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge recently released as a full-blown video game that paid homage to the retro Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games of the late ’80s and early ’90s. But for those who’d rather play on their phone, Netflix has converted Shredder’s Revenge into a mobile game you can play on the move. All the fun callbacks, retro goodness, and Ninja Turtle-ness stay intact, but no console is required. Cowabunga!

Tomb Raider Reloaded

Although this game isn’t a direct Netflix recreation of an existing video game, it does share some similarities to the games Tomb Raider and Tomb Raider: Anniversary. In it, you play as Lara Croft, who encounters the mysterious Natla and gets tempted by adventure. This entry into Netflix Games promises “a wide variety of puzzles and face off against different enemies and bosses — both new and familiar to the Tomb Raider series — including bloodthirsty wolves, poisonous snakes, fearsome golems and magical elemental creatures!” Sounds like some good adventure on the horizon.

Valiant Hearts: Coming Home

Valiant Hearts: The Great War is a puzzle adventure game developed for consoles. This popular World War I set game can now be played on mobile courtesy of Netflix Games. Happy the Valient Hearts: Coming Home mobile game retains the graphic novel style of the original and the characters at the heart of its story. The mobile version promises a story every bit as compelling and beautiful as the first.

Twelve Minutes

Twelve Minutes is originally a Steam game with a seriously loaded cast. James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley, and Willem Dafoe lend their voices to this interactive thriller. The game revolves around a man trapped in a terrifying time loop that is fated to go on and on unless he/you uses his foreknowledge to break the cycle. Netflix’s rendition of Twelve Minutes replaces the click-and-drag gameplay of the desktop version with a similar “tap and drag” system, and it retains all of the voice talents to boot. Not to mention, the trailer for this mobile version definitely has us at the edges of our seats.

Dust & Neon

Dust & Neon, a Nintendo Switch game also on Steam, has arrived on Netflix Games. This game takes place in “a futuristic Wild West, where robots have rejected their life of servitude, and taken over the planet, turning it into a not-so-enjoyable place for humans.” And it’s up to you to fight robot oppression… Which you can now do on your phone. Netflix Games promises that this mobile game will have every bit as much futuristic, gunslinging, cyborg vs. robot shooter action as its Switch predecessor.

How to Download and Play Netflix GamesNetflix

Ready to explore these mobile versions of real video games for yourself? If you have Netflix, you’re almost there. To access the games, first, download the Netflix mobile app itself. Then, in the app store, you can look up all these different games. Once you download them, as you would any app, they’ll appear in the “Netflix Games” section in the overall Netflix app. You can also start in the Netflix app itself, go to the games sections, and look up different games from there.

In addition to versions of full games, Netflix has other original mobile games; a few are even based on its different properties, like Stranger Things and Wednesday. As far as mobile gaming goes, Netflix seems like a pretty good bet. So go forth and crush some small-screen challenges.

Originally published on February 22, 2023.

The post HADES Will Soon Arrive on Netflix Games appeared first on Nerdist.

Did Loki Just Give Us A Secret Series Finale?

Welcome back to the TVA, Marvel fans! In the final episode of the season, the God of Mischief finally found his glorious purpose in a supremely satisfying climax, but was this epic ending also secretly a series finale? Dan Casey hops through a time door to find out whether this could be the last we see of Loki on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

More Loki News: https://nerdist.com/tags/marvel/
Watch more Nerdist News: http://bit.ly/1qvVVhV

Follow Us:
Facebook https://facebook.com/nerdist
Twitter https://twitter.com/Nerdist
Instagram https://instagram.com/nerdist/
TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@nerdist

Image: Marvel

#Nerdist #Loki #Marvel #MCU

The post Did Loki Just Give Us A Secret Series Finale? appeared first on Nerdist.

Here’s a Stunning Look at the Making of TOMB RAIDER: THE LEGEND OF LARA CROFT

Netflix’s Drop 01 event gave fans a slate of incredible animation news. From a virtual viewing of Castlevania: Nocturne to the very intriguing teaser for a Devil May Cry anime series, there’s a lot for subscribers to look forward to in the near future. Another Netflix announcement that has us buzzing is Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and its gorgeous teaser trailer. Recently, during Geeked Week, we also got a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at this new adventure. It’s been a long time since we have seen this famous adventurer swing into action, and it looks like we are in for quite the quest.

The clip reveals exactly what it should to viewers. In this Tomb Raider trailer, We get a glimpse of Lara Croft as she dives into a mysterious abyss and shoots an arrow at the camera. There’s also some intrigue as she looks at a photo of herself with a group of people, presumably friends. It would have been nice to hear Hayley Atwell as the titular tomb raider. But perhaps Netflix is leaving a little something for us to look forward to when it comes to this Tomb Raider series. Lara Croft’s video game and film history gives her a few different backstories, including everything from being an aristocrat who chooses a life of adventure following an accident to a daughter seeking answers about her mother’s disappearance.

Of course, many fans are familiar with Angelina Jolie’s take on the character. She discovers the truth behind her father’s demise while also being a total badass. It remains to be seen what Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft will do with her story, but the Netflix trailer does show how aesthetically pleasing this show will be. 

The Making of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

This Tomb Raider series is produced by Legendary Television and video game development company Crystal Dynamics, with animation by Powerhouse Animation Studios. Powerhouse is the same studio behind the 2017 Castlevania TV series as well as video games like Mortal Kombat X. 

As part of its Geeked Week, Netflix showcased the creation of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and offered us a behind-the-scenes look at how the look of the character and series came together. Joy Hua, a character design supervisor on the series, shared that one of the main aims of the series is to bridge the Lara Croft fans know from the newer Survivor games and have her grow into the Lara Craft we fans know from the classic games. Hua also promises there will be many video game Easter eggs in the outfits and props fans see on screen, but that the series will also go to new and unexplored places.

Jump into this behind-the-scenes look at the making of 'Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft' starring Hayley Atwell. Coming 2024, only on @netflix !#GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/j7RhPZ8dlZ

— Legendary (@Legendary) November 10, 2023

Sounds like it will be an excellent adventure to us.

What Is Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’s Release Date? Netflix

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft will hit Netflix sometime in 2024. We will likely get a firmer date/release window when a full trailer for the Tomb Raider series drops.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

Originally published on September 27, 2023.

The post Here’s a Stunning Look at the Making of TOMB RAIDER: THE LEGEND OF LARA CROFT appeared first on Nerdist.

Is THE MARVELS’ Carol Danvers the MCU’s CAPTAIN MARVEL Anomaly?

[image error]

“It should have been you.” – Carol Danvers in The Marvels.

Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan wore Skrull memory probes together in The Marvels to find Dar-Benn’s coordinates, but the three saw more than just a star map. They also unintentionally shared private memories with one another. That included a moment Monica didn’t know about. While she remained blipped out of existence by Thanos, “Auntie Carol” visited Monica’s dying mother, Maria Rambeau. During their encounter Carol tried to explain why she had stayed away from Earth for so long. Carol also told her best friend she should have been the one who gained cosmic powers.

Marvel Studios

In the moment it felt like Carol’s way of owning up to and apologizing for her failures, both as a friend and a superhero. She wasn’t good enough at being either, not the way her friend would have been. But after the film’s shocking post-credits scene, that previous moment took on a whole new meaning. Carol Danvers might have been right, at least about the hero part. Maybe it should have been Maria Rambeau who became Earth-616’s Captain Marvel. Her Variants in parallel worlds became Captain Marvel instead. The MCU’s Carol Danvers might be an anomaly.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness introduced the Illuminati of Earth-838. One of the powerful group’s members was that dimensions’ Captain Marvel. She wasn’t a Variant of Carol Danvers but a version of Maria Rambeau.

Marvel Studios

That reveal was a fun, clever “what if,” the kind of alternate reality inevitable in an infinite multiverse. It wasn’t even hard to imagine why that universe’s Captain Marvel was different. On Earth-616 Carol and Maria were both pilots for P.E.G.A.S.U.S., a government project run by secret Kree scientist Dr. Wendy Lawson (a.k.a Mar-Vell). Carol was in the cockpit for Mar-Vell’s escape attempt. It resulted in Carol gaining immense powers from the Tesseract. But Carol was only flying because she’d taken a shortcut while racing Maria to the program’s hangar. Had Maria beat her there instead Maria would have been the one to become Captain Marvel in Earth-616.

Now the Illuminati Maria, who presumably died during her encounter with the Scarlet Witch, seems far more important than ever. The Marvels‘ only post-credits scene introduced another super Maria Variant. She lives in a world with the X-Men, a dimension that didn’t know about the multiverse before. There she is Binary, an even more powerful superhero persona Carol Danvers took on in Marvel Comics after losing her original powers.

Marvel Studios

Both Maria Rambeau Variants in the MCU are versions of Captain Marvel. On its own, that is more interesting than telling. But combined with the complete absence of any Variants for her MCU best friend, it stands out like a giant tear in space. We have yet to meet another version of Carol Danvers in any other reality—let alone another super one—even though “Captain Marvel” is proving to be a significant figure across the multiverse. As of now, Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers is a major anomaly.

What exactly does that mean? We don’t yet know. Marvel Comics once introduced a cosmic entity known as Anomaly, but despite its connections to Quasar (and therefore Quantum Bands) it’s not relevant to the MCU’s Carol Danvers. The franchise’s America Chavez is also not a great one-for-one comparison, because there is literally no one else like her in the Quantum Realm. Meanwhile we’ve now met three versions of a Captain Marvel character in three different worlds. And while Miles’ status as an anomaly in Across the Spider-Verse seems most pertinent, that’s a Sony story and it’s never clear what (if anything) it tells us about the MCU.

Marvel Studios

We do know one important thing: the universe doesn’t make mistakes with its greatest heroes. It gives great power to those it will one day ask to carry a great responsibility. Twice someone spared Tony Stark’s life, and he eventually saved every living being everywhere. The Hulk was seemingly created in an accident that should have killed Bruce Banner so he could use the gamma-ray powered Infinity Stones to bring back everyone Thanos snapped. And a Loki Variant just found the glorious purpose he believed himself born with to be saving every branch of reality to ever exist.

If Carol Danvers of Earth-616 is the Captain Marvel anomaly it’s not because the universe made a mistake. Her friend was not the one who should have been the one to gain those powers. It should have been Carol—along with all her flaws—for a reason we don’t yet know but one we can anticipate. Someday the universe will need that Carol Danvers to do something great, something her whole life will build to. And in that moment she and she alone will be the one, in any universe, who can do it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Is THE MARVELS’ Carol Danvers the MCU’s CAPTAIN MARVEL Anomaly? appeared first on Nerdist.

Who Is THE MARVELS’ Binary, and What Are Her Ties to X-MEN Lore?

[image error]

One of the most jaw-dropping reveals in any MCU post-credits scene happened at the end of The Marvels. We learned that Monica Rambeau, after fixing a tear in the fabric of spacetime, gets trapped in a parallel universe. She awakens to find what she thinks is her deceased mother, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), at her bedside in a medical facility. But it’s not just any medical facility. It’s what appears to be the lower levels of the Xavier’s School mansion from the Fox X-Men films. Her attending doctor is none other than Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, once again played by Kelsey Grammer.

But then, Maria Rambeau reveals that in this universe, she gained the power of Captain Marvel, but goes by the codename Binary. She also revealed that she had no child named Monica in this universe. And she wears a totally different costume than Carol Danvers does. Or even that the other Maria Rambeau from Earth-838 (seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) wore. That one also looked like a modified Kree uniform. But the Binary codename and costume have direct ties to Carol Danvers in the comics, and also, to X-Men lore. In explaining that, we first have to explain a dark chapter in the history of Carol Danvers.

TW: Discussion of kidnapping, gaslighting, and sexual assault.

Marvel Comics’ Mishandling of Carol Danvers, the First Ms. MarvelMarvel Comics

In Marvel Comics, Carol Danvers was one of the first female heroes to receive her own ongoing series. A spin-off of the male Captain Marvel character, back then she went by Ms. Marvel. Her ongoing Ms. Marvel series ran for 23 issues, from 1977 to 1979. Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont wrote most of those stories. When Marvel canceled her series, Carol found a new home in the pages of Avengers. But that wasn’t meant to last, as Avengers writer Jim Shooter, also Marvel EIC at the time, wasn’t a big fan of the character. What he did to her next was pretty darn awful.

In Avengers #197, Carol discovers she’s pregnant, with no father. This immaculate conception is at hyperspeed, and she gives birth mere days after she finds out. Once the baby is born, it grows at an accelerated rate to adulthood, and reveals that he is Marcus, son of Immortus (a.k.a. Kang). Trapped in his own Limbo dimension, he could only emerge in our world if he was physically born into it. So he kidnapped Carol, impregnated her, mind-wiped her and sent her back to Earth so she could give birth to his new body. If this sounds like kidnapping and sexual assault, that’s because it is.

Marvel Comics

If all that wasn’t bad enough, his mind-control powers forced her to fall in love with him, or at least make her think that she loved him. After realizing he couldn’t stay on Earth-616, he whisked her away, back to his home dimension…with the full blessing of the Avengers, who didn’t even try to stop him. They just seemed happy Carol had a new man in her life, as if that’s all that mattered. With that, they wrote Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel out of the Marvel Universe for two full years.

Carol Danvers Finds a Home with the X-MenMarvel Comics

This did not sit well with her former series writer, Chris Claremont, who happened to be writing the biggest superteam in comics, the X-Men. So in 1981, in Avengers Annual #10, he addressed the situation. He revealed that Carol had returned home. This was after Marcus, who ages rapidly, died in his own dimension. But as soon as she returned to Earth, she was attacked by the power-absorbing mutant Rogue, under orders from her mother, Mystique. She held on to Carol too long, siphoning her super strength and flight powers permanently, leaving Carol in a coma.

Marvel Comics

When Carol regains consciousness, most of her memories are gone. She goes to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, where she hopes the telepathic Charles Xavier will help her restore her memories. While he restores the basic facts about her life, the emotional connection to those memories goes away. When the Avengers come to visit the returned Carol at the X-Mansion, she is rightfully enraged with her teammates, who allowed Marcus to manipulate and kidnap her. She vows to remain with the X-Men over the Avengers, despite now being powerless.

Carol Danvers Goes from Ms. Marvel to BinaryMarvel Comics

For a brief time, a now powerless Carol Danvers was an unofficial member of the X-Men, using her military training and top-secret clearance to help them on missions. She forms a bond with Wolverine, who also had his memories tampered with. On an outer space adventure with the X-Men, the alien race called the Brood kidnapped and experimented on her, discovering that although she was technically human, she had latent mutant genes. Those genes probably allowed her to survive the accident that made her Ms. Marvel in the first place. These latent mutant genes would unlock her true potential, when exposed to the power of a “white hole” in space.

Carol Danvers Becomes Binary, an Unofficial X-ManMarvel Comics

As a result of those experiments, Carol got her powers back, and then some. She transformed into a cosmic being, calling herself Binary. More powerful than ever before thanks to Brood experiments, and wearing a new red and white costume. She remained an associate of the X-Men, in a way filling in for the now-deceased Phoenix. But when Professor X took in Rogue as a new X-Man, Carol couldn’t abide to live in the same house with the woman who stole her life and memories, and departed for the stars. Years later, her godlike powers decreased, and she became Ms. Marvel again, and eventually, Captain Marvel.

MCU Binary is Maria Rambeau, a Member of the X-MenMarvel Comics

So what does this mean for the MCU Binary? Well, it likely means that in the X-Men universe, Carol Danvers didn’t pilot the experimental jet that fateful day. So her best friend and fellow pilot Maria Rambeau received superpowers from the Tesseract instead. Did she become Captain Marvel in this X-Men universe, only to later lose her powers and become Binary? Something very similar to what happened to Carol in the comics could have happened to Maria in the X-Men universe. We just don’t know yet.

Maria might have become Captain Marvel, lost her powers (possibly even to Rogue), and then regained them tenfold and become Binary. And much like the Carol Danvers Binary in the comics, she might have become something of an unofficial X-Man. This explains why she was at the X-Mansion in the post-credits for The Marvels. In the post-credits scene, we notice she is wearing both Quantum Bands. Is that what unleashed her Binary potential in the X-Men universe? It’s quite possible. Hopefully, Marvel Studios will reveal what happens next very soon.

The post Who Is THE MARVELS’ Binary, and What Are Her Ties to X-MEN Lore? appeared first on Nerdist.

The SAG-AFTRA Strike Is Over! Actors Can Return to Work

It is a historic time in Hollywood! After Writers Guild of America (WGA) members fought to receive an incredible deal for their union, many hoped it would not be long until Hollywood’s actors were also offered a fair deal from the studios. This SAG-AFTRA strike is a historic one; it is the longest strike that actors have ever participated in, and it lasted 118 days. But finally, the AMPTP offered SAG-AFTRA a deal that it could accept. As of 12:01 am on November 9, 2023, actors are free to return to work. Of course, we are excited to see some of our favorite productions begin to live again, but the most important part is that those creating them will be working under fair and respectful terms.

Here’s what the SAG-AFTRA contract looks like.

SAG-AFTRA Strike Ending Deal Is “of Extraordinary Scope”

Dear #SagAftraMembers:

This morning our negotiators formally responded to the AMPTP’s “Last, Best & Final” offer.

Please know every member of our TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee is determined to secure the right deal and thereby bring this strike to an end responsibly. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/1PwqaoNXAJ

— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) November 6, 2023

A release from SAG-AFTRA further shared:

In a contract valued at over one billion dollars, we have achieved a deal of extraordinary scope that includes “above-pattern” minimum compensation increases, unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI, and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. Our Pension & Health caps have been substantially raised, which will bring much needed value to our plans. In addition, the deal includes numerous improvements for multiple categories including outsize compensation increases for background performers, and critical contract provisions protecting diverse communities.

Most importantly, SAG notes, “We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.” Truly, this marks a historic achievement for the actors and one we feel very glad to see come to pass.

As the strike draws to a close, the full details of SAG-AFTRA’s agreement with the studios are now available. Of course, no deal is ever perfect, and areas of concern over aspects such as the threat of AI to the industry remain.

If a “digital double” is made of you during a film, they must get your consent and inform you of their intentions for its use, EXCEPT "when the photography or sound track remains substantially as scripted, performed and/or recorded.”2/

— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 12, 2023

However, SAG-AFTRA’s leadership stresses the gains won in areas such as wage increases, pension and health caps, protections for the casting process, and more.

The new SAG-AFTRA contract includes:

– 7% raise in most minimums
– new $40 million participation bonus for performers who work on streaming shows that reach a certain benchmark of success
– more than $1 billion in new wages and benefit plan funding
– guardrails against the use… pic.twitter.com/yJo38DY98Q

— Variety (@Variety) November 10, 2023

It also views the AI agreements as “the most progressive AI protections ever written.” You can take a look at the specific AI regulations in the current contract below.

SAG-AFTRASAG-AFTRA

The entertainment industry offers joy and relief to so many with its offerings. It is only fair that those working to make our favorite series and movies also be allowed to have sustainable and safe existence. We are glad to see the SAG-AFTRA strike culminate in exactly these results.

The Actors’ Strike Is Over, What’s Next?SAG-AFTRA

While the SAG-AFTRA strike is over and a tentative agreement has been reached with the AMPTP, there are still steps that must be taken to finalize the deal. The agreement went to SAG-AFTRA’s national board for approval and passed with 86% of the vote. Now, SAG-AFTRA has released details of the contract, and all union members will get to vote on the agreement. And then, if members ratify the deal, then SAG-AFTRA will have a new contract for the next three years.

We look forward to learning more about the deal itself and seeing the final resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike. But for now, wish only to offer SAG-AFTRA members and supporters a hearty congratulations on this achievement!

The post The SAG-AFTRA Strike Is Over! Actors Can Return to Work appeared first on Nerdist.

Netflix Unveils First DEAD BOY DETECTIVES Teaser

Even ghosts need a day job. That’s where we find the pair of British boy spirits at the heart of Netflix’s new series, Dead Boy Detectives. Comic book characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner in the pages of The Sandman, the duo eventually appeared in several DC and Vertigo titles before headlining their own 12-issue series plus a number of other short spurts. As part of Geeked Week, the streaming giant has released the first trailer for Dead Boy Detectives, which finds ghost gumshoes Charles and Edwin up against loads of supernatural problems, and death itself.

Steve Yockey, creator of Max’s The Flight Attendant, developed Dead Boy Detectives for Max originally. Given that streaming service’s rampant offloading, we’re lucky Netflix decided to pick it up. This also means this series can officially exist within Netflix’s Sandman universe. Good news for you, Gaimanites out there. The two dead boys had previously appeared on Doom Patrol, but those were different versions of the characters and won’t related to this show.

The official synopsis for the Dead Boy Detectives series is as follows:

Do you have a pesky ghost haunting you? Has a demon stolen your core memories? You may want to ring the Dead Boy Detectives. Meet Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), “the brains” and “the brawn” behind the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Teenagers born decades apart who find each other only in death, Edwin and Charles are best friends and ghosts… who solve mysteries. They will do anything to stick together – including escaping evil witches, Hell and Death herself. With the help of a clairvoyant named Crystal (Kassius Nelson) and her friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), they are able to crack some of the mortal realm’s most mystifying paranormal cases.

Netflix

No release date as yet for the Dead Boy Detectives, but the trailer looks fun, and we’re hoping that translates to the full series.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

The post Netflix Unveils First DEAD BOY DETECTIVES Teaser appeared first on Nerdist.

Netflix’s YU YU HAKUSHO Live-Action Adaptation Shares First Trailer

It’s been a busy time for Netflix’s live-action anime adaptations. The platform is working on its highly-anticipated live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, it brought to life a live-action One Piece series, and it gave us an, unfortunately canceled, live-action Cowboy Bebop show. We even recently heard that Netflix is teaming with Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, for a live-action series adapting the anime Death Note. On top of this impressive list, Netflix has also revealed more exciting news about its adaptation of the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. Here’s what we know about Netlfix’s live-action Yu Yu Hakusho adaptation so far.

Netflix’s Live-Action Yu Yu Hakusho Releases Teaser Trailer

It’s our best look yet at all the excitement of Netflix’s live-action Yu Yu Hakusho—a teaser trailer. Check out the epic tease below.

Honestly, it looks like a lot of fun and well-worth waiting for. It’s not always easy bringing anime to life, but this series is really selling it and us on what’s in store. It definitely has the distinct feeling of an anime. And that’s a good thing in our book.

The Cast of Netflix’s Live-Action Yu Yu Hakusho and First-Look Photos From the Series

That trailer looked great and the characters really drive it. Here’s a closer look at the cast of Yu Yu Hakusho. Yu Yu Hakusho centers on Yusuke Urameshi, Takumi Kitamura will play this lead role. Netflix has also shared the casting for fan-favorite character Kurama. Jun Shison will play the fox demon. Finally, Kanata Hongo will play the character of Hiei.

Netflix

Additionally, Netflix has revealed that Shuhei Uesugi will play Kazuma Kuwabara.

Kazuma Kuwabara will be played by Shuhei Uesugi #yuyuhakusho pic.twitter.com/iqgrWzOTrc

— Netflix Anime (@NetflixAnime) July 19, 2022

More About the Netflix Series

As fans of the series know, Yu Yu Hakusho tells the story of Yusuke Urameshi. Yusuke Urameshi begins the tale as a troubled high school student who dies performing a good deed. He then finds himself with neither a place in heaven nor hell. After being revived and passing a test, he transforms into an “Underworld Detective” who investigates cases involving demons. According to Netflix, Yusuke Urameshi “becomes entwined in a mystery that envelopes the human, demon and spirit worlds.” All elements we can expect to see in the upcoming live-action series adaptation of the anime.

In a release, Yu Yu Hakusho‘s director Sho Tsukikawa further shares, “When I first heard about Yu Yu Hakusho receiving a live-action adaptation, I honestly wondered if it would even be possible—but after being presented with the producer’s vision and possibilities with Netflix, my expectations grew, and I found myself burning with passion to make this project come to life.” That certainly sounds promising for fans of the anime.

Live-Action Yu Yu Hakusho‘s Release Date

More than three decades after Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi first captured the imagination of readers, the beloved manga gets a live-action adaptation.

Yu Yu Hakusho premieres December 14! pic.twitter.com/KUpeSuLXPB

— Netflix (@netflix) October 11, 2023

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho will premiere on December 14, 2023. We can’t wait to see Yusuke Urameshi take on demons in this anime adaptation whenever it arrives.

Originally published on July 19, 2022.

The post Netflix’s YU YU HAKUSHO Live-Action Adaptation Shares First Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Netflix Announces THE WITCHER: SIRENS OF THE DEEP Prequel Anime Series with Two Teaser Trailers

You can stab Geralt of Rivia. You can destroy his home and kill most of his brothers. And you can even replace him with a totally different actor. But what you can’t do is stop his story from being told. The ever-growing universe of Netflix’s The Witcher is expanding yet again. It will soon head below the Continent’s waves, to an earlier time in the White Wolf’s life. As part of the latest Geeked Week event, the streamer announced a new anime spinoff series, The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. Netflix also shared two intense teaser trailers that feature Geralt and a race of beings not yet seen on any Witcher show or film before. Sirens of the Deep will follow a young Geralt as he tries to avoid getting caught up in an old and deadly feud between humans and merpeople.

Like The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf film before it, Netflix is going to explore Geralt’s early years with an anime spinoff. This time the site is doing so with a series that will introduce a group not yet seen on screen. It’s one fans of author Andrzej Sapkowski’s world know all about. Here’s the show’s official synopsis:

Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, is hired to investigate a series of attacks in a seaside village and finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople. He must count on friends — old and new — to solve the mystery before the hostilities between the two kingdoms escalate into all-out war.

See! No need to worry. The show will feature a shirtless Geralt in water. (I think it legally has to. At least in Europe.) Just as important, though, is that Sirens of the Deep seems poised to bring the bard Essi Daven to life.

Netflix

Considering her connections to Jaskier in the books, we expect ties between Netflix’s versions even if time separates them.

Time will also keep us away from the show. It won’t premiere until “late 2024.” Turns out you can’t stop Geralt’s story from being told. But you can make us wait for it.

The post Netflix Announces THE WITCHER: SIRENS OF THE DEEP Prequel Anime Series with Two Teaser Trailers appeared first on Nerdist.

Who Is THE MARVELS’ Villain Dar-Benn? Zawe Ashton’s Marvel Character, Explained

For Marvel Studios’ upcoming film The Marvels, they did not lean into some of the more well-known villains from the pages of Marvel Comics. In fact, the film’s “big bad” is a fairly obscure character. One that even the most die-hard Marvel fans have likely forgotten about. Here’s what we know about Marvel’s Kree leader Dar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton in The Marvels, their comic book origins, and how they factor into the overall MCU.

Who Is Marvel Comics’ Dar-Benn?Marvel Comics

So just who is The Marvels‘ upcoming villain Dar-Benn in Marvel’s comics? Dar-Benn is a very minor Marvel Comics villain in the grand scheme of things, making only two appearances in the early ‘90s comics. The comics introduced Dar-Benn in the cosmic Marvel crossover Operation: Galactic Storm, in 1991’s issue #53 of Silver Surfer. A general in the great Kree Empire, Dar-Benn, along with Kree general Ael-Dann, coordinated a plot to assassinate a Kree leader named Clumsy Foulup. (Yes, that was his name. The ‘90s comics were not subtle). Aliens known as Cotati put Foulup in a leadership position. The generals later assassinated Foulup using an imposter robot Silver Surfer, leaving Dar-Benn and Ael-Dann as co-rulers of Marvel’s Kree Empire. However, this was a brief reign.

Marvel Comics

A brutal tyrant, Dar-Benn considered himself superior to the previous Kree leader. He saw that ruler as weak and believed they should eliminate him. Even the infamous Kree villain Ronan the Accuser was viewed as weak by Marvel Comics’ Dar-Benn. But he met his match when the Shi’ar leader Deathbird, often a foe of the X-Men and Carol Danvers, killed his right-hand man Ael-Dann in front of him. It wasn’t long after that Deathbird killed Dar-Benn too, and she became the new leader of the Kree Empire, now calling herself Viceroy Cal’syee Neramani. The minds of Dar-Benn and Ael-Dann were ultimately absorbed into the Kree Supreme Intelligence, and that was the end of Dar-Benn in Marvel Comics, at least for now. Often MCU appearances can bring comic book resurrections.

The MCU’s Dar-Benn Is the Villain in The MarvelsMarvel Studios

In the MCU, Marvel gender-swapped Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) is now a former Accuser of the Kree Empire and the villain in The Marvels. This is much like Ronan’s title in Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy. We learn in The Marvels that Dar-Benn was part of the Kree military when Carol Danvers, in an early act as Captain Marvel, destroyed the Supreme Intelligence on Hala, which controlled life on that planet. She actually witnessed Carol doing this, and nearly lost her life.

This act plunged Hala into a decades-long civil war that devastated the planet, and caused the Kree to name Carol “The Annihilator.” In The Marvels, Dar-Benn blames Carol for the fracturing of her planet, and its plunge into environmental disaster. Dar-Been begins siphoning natural resources from worlds Carol has a connection to in order to restore Hala, and also get revenge on her in the process.

Dar-Benn’s BangleMarvel Studios

Another deviation from Marvel Comics is that the MCU version of Dar-Benn wears a bangle identical to the one worn by Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan. We learn in the film that the bangle she discovered buried on a moon is one-half of the Quantum Bands, powerful artifacts that helped map the galaxy eons ago. She uses the band to open jump points in places they don’t belong, hurting the fabric of spacetime. When she steals the other Quantum Band from Kamala Khan, she attempts to use it to siphon the power of Earth’s sun to save Hala’s own dying star. The effort proves too much for Dar-Benn in The Marvels and ultimately kills her.

What Are Dar-Benn’s Powers in The Marvels?

As a very skilled Kree warrior, Dar-Benn is an expert in armed and unarmed combat. Usually, they wield either a gun or a staff that dispels a very deadly energy beam. In The Marvels, it seems Dar-Benn holds the Warhammer, or “cosmi-rod,” of a Kree Accuser. Combined with the power of one of the Quantum Bands, Dar-Benn renames it “the Universal Weapon.” This makes The Marvel‘s villain nearly as powerful as Carol, even though the power is not innate to Dar-Benn, and she needs the weapon to wield it.

Who Plays Dar-Benn in The Marvels?Marvel Studios

Actress and filmmaker Zawe Ashton plays Dar-Benn in The Marvels. She’s famous for her roles in Not Safe for Work and the Netflix horror thriller film Velvet Buzzsaw. She has one other rather big MCU connection, though. She and Tom Hiddleston, a.k.a. Loki, are a couple.

The Marvels, starring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris, is in theaters now.

Originally published on October 16, 2023.

The post Who Is THE MARVELS’ Villain Dar-Benn? Zawe Ashton’s Marvel Character, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.