Star Wars: Episode 9 was originally set to be directed by Jurassic World's Colin Trevorrow. However, Disney fired him over creative differences, and not long after, the company hired The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams to come in and finish the trilogy that he started years prior.In a new interview, Abrams recalled being pitched on coming back to direct Episode 9--and his initial response was no. He told Fast Company that he had some trepidation over returning because "it was almost, on a personal level, a dangerous thing to get too close to something that you care that much about."With The Force Awakens, Abrams was happy with creating new characters and building a new story as the foundation for the new trilogy. It felt like playing with fire to come back to direct another Star Wars film, Abrams recalled."Though of course I'm aware that there are critics of that movie, it felt to me like we dodged a bullet. Like we got in there, we got to do something," Abrams said. "And I left loving Star Wars as much as I did when I got there. Like, somehow, it was on a personal, selfish level something I was really happy to have done. Not just excited about doing but happy to have done. And to ask to have that happen again, I felt a little bit like I was playing with fire. Like, why go back? We managed to make it work. What the hell am I thinking?"Abrams literally said, "No," to Kennedy at one point, but his wife, Katie, convinced him."I think that she felt like it was an opportunity to bring to a close this story that we had begun and had continued, of course," he said. "And I could see that even though the last thing on my mind was going away and jumping back into that, especially with the time constraints that we were faced with."According to Abrams, there was no script for Episode 9 when he came aboard, which suggests the version Trevorrow was working on was thrown out. He had the challenging job of creating a script and getting the movie made in a two-year window to hit the December 2019 release window that Disney wanted."You've got two years from the decision to do it to release, and you have literally nothing ... You don't have the story, you don't have the cast, you don't have the designers, the sets," Abrams said. "There was a crew, and there were things that will be worked on for the version that preceded ours, but this was starting over."Because it was such a "mega job," Abrams said he knew he wanted to bring on a co-writer. He ended up hiring Chris Terrio, who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Ben Affleck's Best Picture winner Argo.One possible benefit of having less time to work on a project is that there is little time to overthink, Abrams said. He said he learned that working on Lost, which he and the team had just 12 weeks to write, cast, shoot, and cut for the pilot episode."Truly, finally--now that I'm back, the difference is I feel like we might've done it," Abrams said about Episode 9. "Like, I actually feel like this crazy challenge that could have been a wildly uncomfortable contortion of ideas, and a kind of shoving-in of answers and Band-Aids and bridges and things that would have felt messy. Strangely, we were sort of relentless and almost unbearably disciplined about the story and forcing ourselves to question and answer some fundamental things that at the beginning, I absolutely had no clue how we would begin to address."Now that it's done, Abrams said he thinks Episode 9 will be "something incredibly special.""I feel like we've gotten to a place--without jinxing anything or sounding more confident than I deserve to be--I feel like we're in a place where we might have something incredibly special. So I feel relief being home, and I feel gratitude that I got to do it. And more than anything, I'm excited about what I think we might have."The full Fast Company interview is incredibly in-depth and fascinating; read it here.Episode 9, or whatever the film ends up being officially titled, hits theatres in December. In other news, The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson recently said he wouldn't be bothered if Abrams decides to retcon Rey's parentage.And in Star Wars video game news, Apex Legends developer Respawn is planning to reveal its new Star Wars game, Jedi Fallen Order, at Star Wars Celebration this weekend.Info from Gamespot.com

HBO's fantasy show Game of Thrones is ending. The six-episode eighth and final season premieres this Sunday, and fans are excited to see who lives and dies and how the story wraps up. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss spoke with Entertainment Weekly about ending the show and the pressure of delivering a good ending.Weiss said he and Benioff want people to enjoy the ending, but he's sure it won't please everyone. "There is no version where everybody says, 'I have to admit, I agree with every other person on the planet that this is the perfect way to do this'-- that's an impossible reality that doesn't exist," he said. "You hope you're doing the best job you can, the version that works better than any other version, but you know somebody is not going to like it. I've been that person with other things, where people are loving something and I'm going, 'Yeah, that's okay. I was hoping for more.'"As for Benioff, he said he and Weiss have discussed from the very beginning how they wanted Game of Thrones to end. It's been more than a decade in the making, and Benioff said he and Weiss worry about how it'll be received."A good story isn't a good story if you have a bad ending. Of course we worry," he said.At the same time, "part of the fun" with any show, and this would presumably include Game of Thrones, is seeing people debate and discuss the ending, Benioff said.He said he personally enjoyed the ending to HBO's The Sopranos--which surprised everyone and cut to black. That doesn't mean Game of Thrones will end in a similarly dramatic way, but Benioff said he enjoyed the fervour that the ending created among fans."I was one of those people who thought my TV had gone out. I got up and was checking the wires, unable to believe my cable had gone out in the most important moment of my favorite TV series," he said. "I think that was the best of all possible endings for that show. But a lot of people hated it."Benioff and Weiss are directing the Game of Thrones series finale. Weiss said he and Benioff trust the season's other directors, but they wanted to direct the finale because they didn't want to create a scenario where they micro-managed the director to make sure it was fitting their vision."When something has been sitting with you for so long, you have such a specific sense of the way each moment should play and feel," he said. "Not just in terms of 'this shot or that shot,' though sometimes it's that as well. So it's not really fair to ask somebody else to get that right. We'd be lurking over their shoulder every take driving them crazy, making it hard for them to do their job. If we're going to drive anybody crazy, it might as well be ourselves. At least if something goes wrong, he can yell at me and I can yell at him."Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres April 14 on HBO. There are six episodes in the final season, and one of them will showcase a massive battle that is reportedly the longest battle sequence ever committed to film.Info from Gamespot.com

This past weekend's episode of The Simpsons ended in a very strange and amazing way. The world's first Ned Flanders-themed metal band, Okilly Dokilly, aired a portion of the music video for their song "White Wine Spritzer" over the show's end-credits.This really happened. And it was incredible. Here's the video:Okilly Dokilly is a "Nedal" band from Phoenix whose members dress up like Ned Flanders. The lyrics are pulled from things Ned said on the show. White Wine Spritzer itself comes from the Season 10 episode where Ned throws caution to the wind and orders himself a white wine spritzer while in Vegas with Homer.Simpsons showrunner Al Jean told Rolling Stone that the team noticed the White Wine Spritzer video and "knew they had to be on the show.""We do not endorse their message of indiscriminate drinking of white wine spritzers," he said.Frontman Head Ned, which is his stage name, told Rolling Stone that he's "very much in disbelief" about his band appearing on The Simpsons in this way.Okilly Dokilly is currently in the midst of a huge US tour with stops all around the country. You can see a list of tour stops and get more information about the band here on their website. Info from Gamespot.com

It appears Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is adding a new stage-builder mode. A new commercial for the game released by Nintendo shows what appears to be the new Stage Builder mode from the main menu. You can see this for yourself at 0:02 in the video below.Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U also featured stage-builder modes, so it's not a big surprise that it could be added to Ultimate. What's more, the stage-builder mode was already leaked thanks to a data-mine. Another new mode, Home Run Contest, is also reportedly coming to Ultimate, according to Source Gaming.A Nintendo Direct briefing is reportedly coming on Thursday, April 11, so it might be there that Nintendo officially announces new modes for Ultimate. Nothing is confirmed at this stage, however, so for now consider this a rumour.Ultimate has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, making it the third best-selling Switch game of all. It's only behind Super Mario Odyssey (13.76 million) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (15.02 million).Info from Gamespot.com

Inspired by the success of games like PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex Legends, a very rich person is looking to buy an island and bring 100 people to it for a real-life game of battle royale.IGN spotted a listing on the luxury marketplace Hush Hush from an anonymous person who is looking to hire someone to design an arena for a 100-person battle royale game.Contestants will compete with Airsoft guns, and shots will be detected by touch-sensitive armour. Under the current plan, competition will take place 12 hours per day over three days until only one person remains. Competitors can camp for the night, while food, camping gear, and all equipment will be provided to contestants.The untitled contest is still in the early stages of planning, so there is no word on yet on how to sign up or other key particulars like a prize for the winner or what island will be used or details on the safety measures and rules to be implemented. Whatever the case, the person who gets hired as gamemaker will get £1,500/day for six weeks to create the event."Battle royale games have become incredibly popular over the last few years ago and our customer is a huge fan who wants to make the game a reality in the safest way possible," Hush Hush founder Aaron Harpin said. "If the championship is a success this year, it's something he wants to make an annual event moving forward, which is very exciting!"IGN reports that the sponsor of the event is an anonymous millionaire; his identity is unknown.Rich peo Info from Gamespot.com

Game of Thrones returns for its eighth and final season in less than one week. The show's stars are making the press rounds, talking about the final season and what it means. John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly, told Collider that as the show ends, he sees that Game of Thrones has helped TV stand taller and rival cinema in some regards."A lot of the TV that comes after [Game of Thrones] is taking lessons from it and using it as a springboard in terms of what can be achieved through the medium of television and how, given the right set of people and the right circumstances, it can rival cinema," Bradley said. "And it's got a right to be ambitious. It's created a whole new sense of ambition in TV that wasn't really there before. There has never been anything on this visual scale before. And I think TV is no longer seen as a kind of poor cousin of cinema. I hope that TV going forward feels that we've empowered it to be as ambitious as we've been."The final season of Game of Thrones was a massive effort, according to Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth and is also featured in the Collider video."This season has really outdone all the others in all regards," she said. "The production values, and the way in which everyone was pushed is much further than anything they've ever done on the show before. The scale is so much bigger."In regards to special effects specifically, VFX producer Steve Kullback recalled that Seasons 2 and 3 had about 600-800 VFX shots in each season. Season 8, meanwhile, has "multiples of that" in a single episode, so it is no small undertaking.Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres on HBO April 14. Soon we'll know who lives and dies, and everything else there is to know. While the show is ending, a prequel series is on the way. Info from Gamespot.com

It's been quite a while since Sony has shared any details on The Last of Us: Part II. And with Sony not coming to E3 this year, some fans are wondering when they may hear more about the long-awaited PlayStation 4 game. It's still unknown when more details or footage may be released.Naughty Dog community manager Arne Meyer said on Twitter that he appreciates the enthusiasm from fans, but all there is to say for now is that Naughty Dog will share more details when the studio is ready. Meyer tweeted in response to an article from the satirical website The Onion that made a joke about The Last of Us: Part II launching 2019.Can't say much, but we'll put new things out when it and we are ready. Appreciate you and all of our fans' patience! — arne (@arnemeyer) April 6, 2019Sony showcased The Last of Us: Part II during its E3 2018 briefing where Naughty Dog premiered a brutal new gameplay trailer. We haven't seen much of the title since then.The Last of Us: Part II is directed by Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau, both of whom were lead game designers on Uncharted 4 and worked on the first Last of Us. The original Last of Us was directed by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley; Druckmann has since been promoted to Vice President of Naughty Dog, while Straley has left Naughty Dog.We've made it when @TheOnion has a comedy post about you, right??? (amazing! never thought something I worked on would end up here when I first started picking up The Onion in the midwest back in 94.) https://t.co/XThP7IXvkH — arne (@arnemeyer) April 5, 2019Druckmann has teased that "no one is safe" in The Last of Us: Part II. No release date has been announced for the PlayStation 4 game.Info from Gamespot.com

Rush Hour stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have yet again teased the next Rush Hour film. Tucker posted a picture of himself and Chan on Instagram, with each actor raising four fingers.This image itself doesn't confirm anything, but it appears to be a tease for the fourth film that both actors have been talking about for a while now. View this post on InstagramA post shared by Ctuckerworld (@christucker) on Apr 7, 2019 at 10:02am PDT In 2017, Chan said he had been turning down scripts for new Rush Hour films for seven years, but he finally read a script that was good enough. The plan, at least at one point, was for a second draft of the approved script to be finished in 2018. He said he was eager to make the fourth Rush Hour film with Tucker sooner rather than later before they get old.As for Tucker, he said on an ESPN podcast in 2018 that the fourth film will be the "rush of all rushes."Chan and Tucker play mismatched police officers in the Rush Hour series. The first movie came out in 1998, with sequels following in 2001 and 2007. Together, the movies have made around $850 million. Each film was directed by Brett Ratner, who in 2017 was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment or misconduct. In 2011, he was dropped as a producer of The Oscars after he made a gay slur. Info from Gamespot.com

A new Marvel movie will film in Sydney, though it's unclear at this stage what production it is. A news release from Mitch Fifield, Australia's Minister for Communications and the Arts, and New South Wales Minister for the Arts Don Harwin, confirmed that the "Untitled Marvel Studios Feature Film" will begin production at some point in 2019 in and around Sydney.The Australian Federal Government put in $24 million from the "Made in NSW fund" to help entice Marvel and owner Disney to film in Australia. Filming will take place at Fox Studios Australia and "other locations" in the country. Disney claimed ownership of Fox Studios Australia as part of its acquisition of Fox.It's not the first Marvel movie to film in Australia, as Thor: Ragnarok also filmed in the country.According to Fifield, the new Marvel movie filming in Australia will create 4,700 new jobs and utilise the services of around 1,200 local businesses. In total, Australia is expecting to see "over $150 million of new international investment" related to this decision.The production of the movie is expected to spend in excess of $100 million in New South Wales and establish as many as 770 jobs for local screen professionals specifically."The film needs a large workforce of highly specialised special effects technicians and will also require sophisticated stunts, all of which NSW's incredibly skilled and experienced screen industry can deliver," Harwin said in a statement."Marvel Studios thanks the Australian and NSW Governments and is thrilled to be returning to Australia to work with the talented and highly skilled Australian crew, stunt performers, and actors together with the thousands of small businesses across Australia that supply world class equipment, goods, facilities, and services to large budget productions," Marvel Studios vice president David Grant said.According to Sydney Morning Herald, the Marvel movie shooting in Sydney is Shang-Chi, which would be Marvel's first superhero film starring an Asian protagonist.The next Marvel movie is the much-anticipated Avengers: Endgame, which will wrap up 10 years worth of MCU storytelling. Info from Gamespot.com

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are splitting up. The producing partners who worked together on a number of comedy films such as Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Talladega Nights, are ending the lengthy partnership at production company Gary Sanchez in a move that sounds amicable.Ferrell and McKay said in a joint statement that the past 13 years working together "could not have been more enjoyable and satisfying," according to The Hollywood Reporter. "The two of us will always work together creatively and always be friends. And we recognize we are lucky as hell to end this venture as such."Ferrell and McKay have a number of films still in the works under their previous arrangement, including the Hustlers movie starring Jennifer Lopez. All of the in-production movies will go forward. THR points out that the specific details of how Gary Sanchez and Gloria Sanchez (the female-fronted label) will operate going forward are unknown.McKay has pushed more into the drama genre lately with his Oscar-nominated movies like The Big Short and more recently the Dick Cheney movie Vice. At the same time, he's continued to produce Will Ferrell comedies such as the recent flop Holmes & Watson.McKay and Ferrell's Sanchez Production also owns the comedy website Funny or Die."Thank you to everyone who collaborated with us for 13 years. Proud of the stuff we got to work on and most of all, the amazing people we worked with. Also excited for new stuff to come..." McKay said on Twitter.Info from Gamespot.com

The Division 2 is back at the top of the UK physical sales chart for the first time in three weeks. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Yoshi's Crafted World have filled that spot for the past two weeks, respectively, but Ubisoft's PS4, Xbox One, and PC shooter returns to No.1 for the week ending April 6.Immediately below The Division 2 this week is FIFA 19, according to sales monitor Chart-Track, while Yoshi's latest Switch adventure is down to No.3. Another Nintendo title, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, occupies the No.4 spot, while Sekiro drops two places to No.5.The remainder of the chart paints a familiar picture, with only one new game in the top 40 this week. That game is Nintendo Switch's Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, which debuts at No.26.You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.The Division 2FIFA 19Yoshi's Crafted WorldMario Kart 8 DeluxeSekiro: Shadows Die TwiceRed Dead Redemption 2The Lego Movie 2 Video GameGrand Theft Auto VNew Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeSuper Smash Bros. UltimateInfo from Gamespot.com

Konami has released a new Data Pack update for PES 2019. The patch, which is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC now, makes a number of graphical changes and adds a bunch of player faces to the sports sim.Among the new player faces are Radja Nainggolan, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Ilkay Gundogan. Multiple other players--including Samuel Umtiti, Jack Grealish, Samir Handanovic, and Ethan Ampadu--have received "revised faces," Konami says, while more still receive "minor graphical improvements." Finally, Data Pack 5 updates "several" kits, including those of Schalke and of the Argentina and Colombia national teams. Konami's sports game launched in August to a positive critical reception, including a 9/10 in GameSpot's PES 2019 review. "For as long as EA continues to develop FIFA and hold a monopoly over official licences, PES will be the scrappy underdog just hoping for a surprise upset, even when it's fielding the likes of London Blue and PV White Red," wrote Richard Wakeling. "The lack of licences for top-tier leagues remains a disheartening sticking point, but PES continues to make brilliant strides on the pitch, building on what was already an incredibly satisfying game of football to produce one of the greatest playing football games of all time. It might be lacking off the pitch, but put it on the field against the competition and a famous giant killing wouldn't be all that surprising."Konami has continued to improve the game since launch with the release of multiple data pack updates. In addition, there's now a free-to-play version of PES 2019.Info from Gamespot.com

The British Academy Game Awards is one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the games industry, and the 2019 event brought a number of wins for Sony's PS4 exclusive God of War. The epic game was up for 10 awards and won four of them, including Best Game.God of War also won the awards for Audio Achievement, Music, and Narrative. Other big winners at this year's event were Return of the Obra Dinn--which won the Artistic Achievement and Game Design categories--and Nintendo Labo, which swept up the Game Innovation and Family awards.Surprisingly, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Celeste--which were each nominated for six and five awards, respectively--didn't win a single category between them. The full list of winners is filled with some outstanding games, however, and you can see that list below with the winners highlighted in bold.The BAFTA Game awards are voted on by members of the British Academy. Only one category, Mobile Game of the Year, is decided by the public, and that went to Old School Runescape.BAFTA Game Awards Nominations 2019Artistic AchievementDetroit: Become HumanGrisGod of WarSpider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Return of the Obra DinnAudio AchievementBattlefield VDetroit: Become HumanGod of WarSpider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Tetris EffectBest GameAssassin's Creed OdysseyAstro Bot: Rescue MissionCelesteGod of WarRed Dead Redemption 2Return of the Obra DinnBritish Game11-11: Memories RetoldForza Horizon 4Red Dead Redemption 2The Room: Old SinsOvercooked 2Two Point HospitalDebut GameBeat SaberCultist SimulatorDonut CountyFlorenceGrisYoku's Island ExpressEvolving GameDestiny 2Elite DangerousFortniteOverwatchSea of ThievesRainbow Six SiegeFamilyLego The IncrediblesNintendo LaboOvercooked 2Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu / EeveeSuper Mario PartyYoku's Island ExpressGame Beyond Entertainment11: Memories RetoldCelesteFlorenceLife is Strange 2My Child LebensbornNintendo LaboGame DesignAstro Bot: Rescue MissionCelesteGod of WarInto the BreachMinitReturn of the Obra DinnGame InnovationAstro Bot: Rescue MissionCelesteCultist SimulatorMossNintendo LaboReturn of the Obra DinnMobile GameAlto's OdysseyBrawl StarsDonut CountyFlorenceReigns: Game of ThronesThe Room: Old SinsMultiplayerA Way OutBattlefield VOvercooked 2Sea of ThievesSuper Mario PartySuper Smash Bros. UltimateMusicCelesteFar Cry 5FlorenceGod of WarGrisTetris EffectNarrativeFlorenceFrostpunkGod of WarSpider-ManRed Dead Redemption 2Return of the Obra DinnOriginal PropertyDead CellsFlorenceInto the BreachMossReturn of the Obra DinnSubnauticaPerformerChristopher Judge as Kratos in God of WarDanielle Bisutti as Freya in God of WarJeremy Davies as The Stranger in God of WarMelissanthi Mahut as Kassandra in Assassin's Creed OdysseyRoger Clark as Arthur Morgan in Read Dead Redemption 2Sunny Suljic as Atreus in God of WarMobile Game Of The Year (Public Award)Brawl StarsClash RoyaleFortniteOld School RunescapePokemon GoRobloxInfo from Gamespot.com

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has spent quite a while in development. The Kickstarter concluded nearly four years ago, and several platform changes later it's finally slated for release this summer. So the demo at PAX East was almost certainly the game in a near-finalized state, and—for the most part—it was promising as a Castlevania homage.Though the game has always been pitched as a modernized Symphony of the Night rendered in 3D, this session was the first time I'd grappled with the implications that such a change would have on gameplay. Bloodstained manages to render the physicality and weight of the classics it's inspired by with remarkable accuracy. For better and worse, the demo included a creature flying in a wave-like pattern through a platforming area just like the series' infamous Medusa Head enemies, and colliding with them even had the same knockback effect. It was a singularly frustrating and yet familiar moment.The rendering manifested in the environment itself, as I climbed a large rounded tower. While it may have been technically possible to pull this off with traditional 2D art, it wouldn't have been as convincing. The 3D gave it a sense of space and depth, so that weaving in-between the inside and outside of the massive tower seemed believable.At the same time, I missed the pixel-precise definition of sprites, especially in the boss fight against a dual-headed dragon. Its attacks hit fast and hard, and it was sometimes difficult to tell just how close was too close. This was less an issue with smaller enemies, so it wasn't universal, but as a longtime Castlevania fan I found the adjustment to be slightly jarring.On the whole, though, the classic sensation of quick, piston-tight platforming and combat has made the transition. It's difficult for a retro revival, much less one rendered in an entirely new way, to capture the essence of what made the originals stand out. Miriam's variety of weapons feel alternately light and swift or heavy and thumping. The level design pitched a good balance of graceful platforming, tough combat, and occasionally a blend of both.The Kickstarter boom of the mid-2010s led to a lot of retro revivals. By taking longer to release than many of its contemporaries, Bloodstained is launching into an environment that has had some fizzles and failures to recapture the magic with a new franchise. But perhaps because it took that extra time, this one feels a little more complete than many of the others. If it maintains the demo's level of quality throughout, it could be something special.Info from Gamespot.com

The reveal of Borderlands 3 didn't go without its share of controversy. As part of the announcement, developer Gearbox and publisher 2K revealed that it would be exclusive to the Epic Games Store until April 2020. This led to a backlash in the form of review bombing older Borderlands games on Steam. Now Gearbox head Randy Pitchford has stepped in to let offenders know they may actually be making things worse for themselves."Ironically, that this misuse is possible and that Steam has no interest in correcting this misuse makes me kind of happy about 2K’s decision and makes me want to reconsider Gearbox Publishing’s current posture on the platform," he said on Twitter.The threat may have gotten Steam's attention, as the platform is discounting reviews, for the first time ever, on Borderlands 2. Steam implemented a recently added tool that flags "Off-Topic Review Activity" within a certain date range. The reviews are still present in the system, but aren't included in the aggregate user score. They're also accompanied by a note warning readers that the user review section includes "an abnormal set of reviews that we believe are largely unrelated to the likelihood that you would enjoy the product."The same policy has since gone into effect for the original Borderlands and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Each of them had undergone heavy review bombing--intentionally leaving low review scores to disrupt an aggregate user score--with many of the comments referencing the Epic exclusivity for the upcoming sequel. Steam's response has shown that it is able to take action in these cases, but Epic is still making inroads with its digital storefront so we likely haven't heard the last of these controversies.Info from Gamespot.com