Are you a Final Fantasy fan and own an iOS device? Then you’re in for a treat: Square Enix has just released Final Fantasy VII to the App Store.
We knew it was coming: Back at E3, Square Enix announced that the title – arguably its most iconic game – would be coming to iOS devices this summer. It may not be the full remake Square announced at the same event, but we’re sure it’ll make some fans happy while they wait for that to arrive.
There’s little info on any new features – it appears to be the same as the PC adaptation released on Steam in 2013. If you’re not familiar with that version, it includes a few extras over the original, including achievements, cloud saves (as in, saving Cloud on multiple devices), and slightly optimized graphics. There’s also an option to boost your character’s stats if you find yourself stuck in a difficult part of the game.
The iOS version will of course feature touch controls, as well as the new option to turn off random encounters – something even some hardcore Final Fantasy fans will appreciate if trying to speed through the title.
Keep in mind it may not yet be available in your region yet. When I tried to access the game via the link on the launch YouTube video, iTunes said the app is not currently not available in the US. It has already launched in New Zealand and other places on the other side of the world though, so it should roll out westwards over the next 24 hours.
‘Doctor Strange’ was recently announced by Marvel Studio’s President Kevin Feige at Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim last August 14-16, 2015. Benedict Cumberbatch sent out a message from overseas about his title character as well what to expect from the second film in the MCU’s Phase Three.
According to Mirror.co.uk, Cumberbatch was announced by Feige as the titular neurosurgeon-turned-sorcerer for Marvel and Disney’s collaboration. The live-action adaptation’s plot follows the transformation of comic book character Stephen Strange into Doctor Strange.
After a car accident that renders his hands useless ruins his medical career, he sets out to a journey in the Himalayas for the purpose of getting healed. He then encounters the Ancient One who trains him to become the Sorcerer Supreme to fight against supernatural enemies from parallel worlds. The Ancient One will be portrayed by actress Tilda Swinton.
The actor of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ fame seemed thrilled on his latest role as he talked about the film in a video message. “I’m very excited and very lucky to be taking on Doctor Strange… He’s an extraordinary character and brings in a whole ‘nother dimension – multiple dimensions – to the Marvel Universe.”
Cumberbatch was unable to attend the recent convention due to his ‘Hamlet’ commitments in London, according to another article by Vanity Fair. Together with Feige, they emphasized how different – how weird – the new film will be in comparison to other Marvel productions. The latest concept art that showed Doctor Strange “standing on planets and gazing into galaxies” was also revealed at the expo.
According to Cinema Blend, the unusual Marvel film hasn’t begun on production yet and kept developments in high secrecy. However, Feige revealed the latest artwork for the movie as well as the first look at Cumberbatch’s character. Doctor Strange’s costume was darker than in the comic books but retained the original color palette.
Cumberbatch was also said to wear the powerful sorcerer’s signature goatee. A featurette shown during D23 also gave audiences a short look at the film’s villain Baron Mordo, to be played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, as well as various scenes of levitating cars and astral projection visuals.
‘Doctor Strange’ is the 14th independent installment in the Marvel’s cinematic universe and will be featured in its Phase Three. The live-action adaptation is set to be released on November 4, 2016 under the direction of Scott Derrickson.
Behind the scenes from ‘Jungle Book’Instagram/Jon Favreau
Last week’s D23 Expo 2015 brought scoops from many big names of Hollywood, including Disney Animation, Pixas, Lucasfilm and Disney. The presentations teased us with what can be expected from some of the most anticipated films in the coming months.
We have compiled some of the greatest reveals from D23 Expo 2012:
“Star Wars”
Along with new cast member announcements, everything you need to know about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” before its December release was revealed last week. A new poster of the film by veteran poster artist Drew Struzan was released, while director JJ Abrams revealed how long the movie currently runs.
While it was announced that “Jurassic World” director Colin Trevorrow will direct “Star Wars Episode 9”, a cast photo — which confirmed many casting rumours — of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was also displayed at the event.
“Doctor Strange”
Although titular star of Marvel’s upcoming movie Benedict Cumberbatch could not make it to the convention, he did send a video message wherein he said that he is “very lucky and very excited to take on Doctor Strange,” calling the superhero an “extraordinary character who brings in a whole other dimension, multiple dimensions to the Marvel Universe.”
Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, said that the plans for “Doctor Strange” began to take shape even before the inception of Marvel Cinematic Universe, saying that movies like this are basically a means to consistently expand the concept of what a comic book film is, and what an MCU film is.
“Captain America: Civil War”
The final instalment of “Captain America” is currently being shot in Germany will introduce the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), as expected, and proof of this was given to fans with the new footage from the movie, which was released at D23 Expo. At the event, which was attended by both Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and the Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the video that also featured Black Widow, Crossbones, Falcon, Captain America, Bucky, Ant Man, Scarlett Witch, Vision and Hawkeye was played.
The video also showed Martin Freeman — whose character has still been kept a secret — seemingly tracking down superheroes.
Disney Animation and Live-Action
Latin singer Shakira has been signed on as the voice actor for upcoming “Zootopia”, while it was announced that a new take on “Jack and the Beanstalk” will be created by Disney with the title, “Gigantic”.
Jon Favreau’s “Jungle Book” was also premiered at D23 Expo with a great footage that left the fans in awe, everyone is especially impressed with the CGI. In the clip that was shared, we hear the voice some of the most pivotal characters, including Kaa (Scarlett Johanson), Bagheera (Ben kinglsey), Shere Khan (Idris Elba) and Baloo (Bill Murray).
“Pixar”
Jay of “Modern Family”, Ed O’Neill will be part of upcoming “Finding Dory” and it was also confirmed that “Toy Story 4” will depict the romance between Bo Peep and Woody.
So even though we have three more years until Guillermo del Toro‘sPacific Rim 2 is released, Legendary Pictures has released a teaser poster for it on their Pacific Rim Facebook feed. It features several warships about be sucked into a vortex in the ocean. It leaves a lot to the imagination, especially since there are no Kaiju and Jaegars in it. It also looks like it may take place in different location.
Del Toro also recently did an interview with Collider, and during that sit down the director talked a little big about the second film and revealed that it would pave the way for a third film. This is what he said about it:
“Some of your favorite characters come back, some others don’t because we have decided that we’re going to shoot ambitiously and say ‘Let’s hope we have three movies,’ so some characters come in at the end of the second, hoping that it will ramp up on the third one.”
I would love to see a couple more Pacific Rim movies! That first film made me feel like I was 10-years-old again, and it’s nice feeling like that sometimes. There are no confirmed details on what the story of Pacific Rim 2 will be, but we know that it will involve more giant robots fighting giant monsters. It’s set to hit theaters on April 7th, 2017.
Yesterday we learned that Avengers: Age of Ultron would have a big impact on where the story goes for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We don’t know in what way it will affect the series, but it’s going to happen. It looks like there’s a lot of stuff going on in S.H.I.E.L.D., and apparently it’s all leading up to what happens in Phase 3 of Marvel’s cinematic universe.
Executive producers Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen recently did an interview with Marvel.com. During the interview they talked about the Inhumans element being included, which will lead to Phase 3.
(SPOILERS directly below for anyone who did not watch the mid-season finale last night)
It was revealed that Skye (Chloe Bennet) is actually Daisy Johnson, also known as a character named Quake from the comics. It was also revealed that her father (Kyle MacLachlan) is really Calvin Zabo, who you might know as Mister Hyde.
Now on to what Whedon and Tancharoen had to say. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:
Jed Whedon: There are parts of [The Origin of Quake and Hyde] that move away from the story in the comics, but partially that’s because we’d invented our own way [of getting there]. We also wanted it to be a surprise to the people who are familiar with the comics, but [it’s] also because we’re tying it to a larger world. [It’s] not just her origin story, it’s the origin story of a bigger, other world.
Marvel.com: And that is a somewhat “inhuman” world, you could say?
Whedon: It’s safe to say that.
Marvel.com: When did you hit upon the idea of introducing that Inhuman element into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time?
Maurissa Tancharoen: It’s been a property in the Marvel Universe that we’ve been interested in since the beginning. Our tagline when we began the show was “not all heroes are super,” and we wanted to focus on that and highlight that for the first season. Now as we move forward we’re diving deeper into the Marvel Universe, and it’s our way of exploring a whole new world that may be comprised of people who have special abilities. We think that’s going to open everything up for us.
So it seems that Skye is the first Inhuman that has been introduced into Marvel’s cinematic world. I guess that means there’s a chance she could end up in the Inhumans film set to be released in 2018. Who knows if the TV show will even still be around by then, though. So it’s too early to tell. On top of that, so much craziness will happen between now and then. Anything can happen. One thing that is solid is that we now have humans with special genetically modified abilities.
There are two other characters that are set to be introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron that also could be described as having these special modified abilities: Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). It’s fun looking for and finding the connections in this universe! This is obviously all part of the big picture story arcs that are coming. It’s all leading to Phase 3, and it’s going to be awesome seeing how all of these stories play out and seeing the connections that are made.
As you know, Fantastic Four is being ripped apart by critics, fans, and audiences. I was really hoping this movie would be good, but it obviously isn’t. Director Josh Trank really screwed the pooch with this movie, but he’s not taking any of the blame. After the negative reviews started to roll in he sent out a tweet distancing himself from the final version of the film:
“A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve received great reviews. You’ll probably never see it. That’s the reality, though.”
That tweet has since been deleted, but it didn’t stop the internet from getting ahold of it. There’s no stopping this snowball as it rolls from site to site. It seems to me like he’s blaming the studio for not letting him make his “fantastic version” of the film, that would have “received great reviews.” Of course we’ll never see it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we never see another movie made by Trank again after this mess.
He really dug himself into a hole with that tweet. No wonder things didn’t work out with Lucasfilm! No fan in their right mind would ever want to see this guy direct a Star Wars movie. I imagine the executives at Lucasfilm watched Fantastic Four, and after they saw it they were like, nope!
It seems like maybe all of those rumors about the drama on the set of Fantastic Four could be true. It’s a shame that the movie sucks so bad. Fantastic Four is one of those properties that has the potential to be great. It’s sad that no one can seem to get it right, and I feel sorry for the next director to take a crack at it.
At this point, the only way I think anyone would be remotely interested in seeing another Fantastic Four movie is if Marvel were heavily involved with its development like they are with Spider-Man. I’m not even 100% sure they could save the franchise after this! Fox sure as hell isn’t going to save it!
In the end, everyone involved with the development of this film is to blame. That includes Josh Trank, Simon Kinberg, the writers, the producers, and the studio executives who actually signed off on this film and allowed it to get made.
Are you a Final Fantasy fan and own an iOS device? Then you’re in for a treat: Square Enix has just released Final Fantasy VII to the App Store.
