Free book for boys and reluctant readers
Flynn’s Log is free on the following devices
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US$8.99 Paperback
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Reading is important
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him. –Maya Angelou
Most adults would agree that reading is important, but many kids detest reading. Video games, devices, and TV are preferred entertainment and escape. They provide instant gratification. Reading takes time. For some kids, reading isn’t engaging.
I had this same problem with my son, so I solved the problem.
The classic stories I remember enjoying as a kid don’t interest my son and his immediate attention span. If he doesn’t enjoy the story from page one, he will not read further.
So how did I get my son to read?
I showed him how much fun it is to get sucked into a story.
Your book is amazing I can’t stop reading it – Joseph Young via twitter
Contemporary and Classic titles alike don’t interest many kids. Don’t worry, the love of reading is learned. We need a starting point. We need that one book that is just as engaging on the first read as the fifth, just like a really great movie that kids want to see again and again. A positive association with reading will make kids want to read more.
A love of reading is cited as the number one indicator of future success. My son didn’t have the desire to read. He didn’t care about the books I chose to read to him, and was overwhelmed with the selection at the library. I want my son to succeed, so I had to do something. Since we struggled to find books he cared to read, I wrote one. An epic saga about the things he loves. I put it in a world he loves and addressed the issues he faces in his life.
I just love your books I’ve been reading them over and over again. -Carson via twitter
But it’s a video game book
Don’t worry; it’s not a book about video games, nor is it a game strategy book. Flynn’s Log is a hero’s journey that takes place inside the Minecraft world that today’s kids know and love. The protagonist, Flynn, naturally flows through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (builds shelter and tools, learns what to eat and discovers a digital friend) and faces questions about his destiny. He learns important life lessons about friendship, integrity, and trust. Flynn’s Log is good for kids without being boring.
Thank you so so much for the free ebook. My son loves Minecraft now with this book I can get him to read to me. – Jennifer Wilkins
Start your son or daughter on journey today, reading Flynn’s Log 1: Rescue Island. Free on available these devices and apps.
Flynn’s Log is free on the following devices
Choose your device
KindleiPad/iPod/iPhoneGoogle Play (Android Tablets)nookkoboRead Online
US$8.99 Paperback
Why is Flynn’s Log 1 Free?
My son loves reading — finally. If you have experience with a reluctant reader then I know your pain and I want to help. I’ve seen thousands of kids transform with this book. My readers, who don’t usually read books during the summer, couldn’t put Flynn’s Log 1 down.
Good book I thought I would never read a book on my summer but I feel I’m gonna finish it soon – Multigamer 47 via twitter
Let this book change your kid’s life too. You have nothing to lose and an avid reader to gain.
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.
–Frederick Douglas
I am giving away Flynn’s Log 1 free because I want to give you a risk-free way to hook your reluctant reader.
Please and I mean PLEASE, WRITE MORE! I absolutely love it! They’re outstanding books.
-Devon123321 via twitter
What are Books for Boys?
I spend lots of time with teachers and parents. I hear parents ask, “How do I get my son to read? Do you have books for boys?”
I wrote the Flynn’s Log series for my son, and this book is interesting for boys. However, the series is a non-stop read for both boys and girls, especially those who are interested in Minecraft.
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
—Dr. Seuss
What are you waiting for?
You have nothing to lose!
Flynn’s Log is free on the following devices
Choose your device
KindleiPad/iPod/iPhoneGoogle Play (Android Tablets)nookkoboRead Online
US$8.99 Paperback
News for Parents of Reluctant Readers
Get Reluctant Reader Book News from Stone Marshall
Gotta Catch Em’ All – 12 Of The Strangest Pokémon Conspiracies Unwrapped!
Pokémon Go may have already overtaken Tinder and be creeping up on Twitter, but look up from catching that Dratini for just a second and pay attention! If you think finding a dead body during a stroll is bad, here are 12 Pokémon conspiracies that might just ruin your childhood – from mass genocide to possessed PokéBalls, the Pokémon fans sure have a warped mind when it comes to the cute pocket monsters. Whilst we patiently await Pokémon Sun & Moon, here is a run down of some of the craziest theories to come out of the long grass in the past 20 years…tin foil hats at the ready!
1. War Of The Worlds
Wow, there sure are a lot of children wandering around here, maybe it is because adults playing with anthropomorphic monsters is a bit weird, or maybe it is something all together more sinister! There is a theory that our heroes are left to potter around unsupervised because there simply aren’t enough adults around following a ‘Great War’. In fact, this one is so widely accepted, the theory has theories about the theory! It all comes from what Lt. Surge says to you way back when:
Hey kid! What do you think you’re doing here? You won’t live long in combat!
That’s for sure! I tell you what kid, electric Pokèmon saved me during the war!
Are Surge’s words just a coincidence? Well, let’s look at the facts. In the original games you play Red (you have no father), and your rival is an orphan. Most of the adults you meet are either very old, gym leaders, or have a military background. At this point, you realise there was the Great Kanto War, where the majority of adults were killed off! This would also explain the alarming amount of nurses and hospitals, plus why everyone is constantly battle-ready.
2. Bones
No, this isn’t a case for David Boreanaz, this is the rather grim tale of Cubone and its rather unusual headwear. When a mother Kangaskhan dies, the poor orphan is left to fend for itself. The orphan wears its mothers skull and becomes Cubone – when Cubone evolves into Marowak, the skull fuses with the head. Female (and only female) Marowaks can later evolve into Kangaskhans and the cycle starts again. The morbid theory hypothesises that as Pokémon is a kid’s game, this story was too much to take and so Kangaskhan was separated into its own form. You can go on to back up the theory with the fact that Kangaskhan relates to the word ‘kangaroo’ and Cubone knows the move ‘boomerang’…struth Sheila! There in a nine -minute video here for those who want to go into greater depth!
3. Koff It Up
Team Rocket’s Pokémon choices were never going to be the best of the bunch, but a big purple ballooon…really?!? Both Koffing/Weezing can only be found in the Pokémon Mansion – an abandoned lab from the original games, so what was T.R. up to in there? Reddit tells us that evil Team rocket were trying to recreate a ghost-type Pokémon by cloning their gaseous forms. Whatever they were cooking up in there, it looks like they ballsed it up, ending up with two gaseous fart bags instead of the intended ghost-type. Also, if you look at the skull and cross-bones on the Pokémon’s chests, it would suggest man-made. The symbol is the universal mark for toxic, so unless Koffing/Weezing have some pretty clever birth marks, it looks like someone made them this way!
4. Million Dollar Bill
Think before you heal! Ever wonder how the Poké-Center will heal your Pokémon and let you go on your way without so much as a dime? Sure, we have Obamacare, but what pays to keep the lights running and the Nurse Joys joyful? You may just be a child, so you aren’t going to foot the bill, but someone has to! Enter mommy dearest. As you trot around having the adventure of your life, your mom waits at home as the bills pile up. Now not only a widow, but in over her head with hospital bills!
5. Ground Zero
Whilst Pokémon Go is currently getting itself into hot water for people collecting at the 9/11 memorial, this isn’t first time the games have caused controversy at Ground Zero. If great wars and bankrupting your mother weren’t bad enough, how about a Poké-world where 9/11 still happened, thanks to the twisted theory sets the Black and white games in a post-9/11 aftermath. The theory is so controversial, Cracked did an article including it in ‘The 9 Most Offensive 9/11 References in Pop Culture’. Director Junichi Masuda even revealed that the Unova was based on New York City, but was the mistake intentional? You can clearly see Unova’s pond match up to Central Park, but what about that desolate wasteland in the middle…is this Ground Zero?
6. Mew Gotta Be Kidding Me?
What would you rather be, a wobbly blob of jelly, or the rarest Pokémon of them all? Sure, Ditto can mimic the other 721 Pokémon, but by all accounts this little sludge monster is a failed clone of Mew. Mew contains the DNA of all other Pokémon and can reproduce asexually…you know who else can do that?!? Ditto! If you still aren’t convinced, both share nearly identical colour palettes, have a common weight of 8.8.lbs and are the only two Pokémon who can learn the transform move naturally. The difference is that Mew in incredibly rare, whilst Ditto is in abundance on Cinnabar island, could the experiments have escaped the lab? Ditto isn’t exactly a positive case for cloning – it is Dolly the Sheep all over again.
7. Clefable The Friendly Ghost
The ghost Pokémon have always provided us with more questions than answers, like are they just other Pokémon in dead form? There are some pretty great theories, like that Voltorb is simply a possessed Poké-ball after a Haunter became trapped inside, however, our favourite ghost theory is Clefable and Gengar. Ever noticed how Gengar and Clefable look oddly similar? Well Creepypasta has cracked the mystery – your angry Gengar is just a Clefable shadow! Known as the shadow Pokémon has lead people to ask, “Just what is Gengar the shadow of?” Not quite as simple as Peter Pan and his shadow, but Gengar bears more than a slight resemblance to the giant Kirby wannabe. To put the icing on the cake, before the release of Pokémon X and Y, both Gengar and Clefable were unable to hit each other with STAB attack…have you ever tried to stab your shadow?
8. The Missingno-Link
An abbreviation of ‘missing number’, Missingno was the more than helpful glitch in the original games. Aside from the joy of getting one over on the game and giving you unlimited Master Balls or Rare Candy, Nintendo actually acknowledged the existence of the mystery Pokémon. It is believed that Missingno was an underdeveloped Pokémon that creators tried to remove from the game, but ultimately got stuck in the code. A more disturbing theory is that a Missingo is what happens to a Pokémon when it spends an extended amount of time trapped in its Pokéball, which would also explain why Pikachu is so reluctant to go inside.
9. Fly Me To The Moon
Of all the places to visit in the Pokémon world, Mt. Moon is one of the strangest, but also most rewarding locations in the Kanto region. Who can pass up on finding a Helix Fossil, or grabbing a Moon Stone, but where did it all come from? Some people hold that Mt. Moon was once an active volcano, hence all the Pompeii style fossils. However, I always prefer the theory that Clefairies came from space and populated the mountain. The Clefairies landed in their spaceship and brought their precious Moon Stones with them to feel more like home.
10. You Rock My World
So, in Reddit’s warped world, gym leader/travelling companion Brock is in fact Pokémon’s very own Medusa – cursed with the mystic eyes of a Gorgon. If you have ever wondered why Brock’s eyes always appear closed, it is because he has the ability to turn you to stone. The wacky doesn’t stop there – ‘Medusa Brock’ also explains why he is the owner of the rock gym and would imply that Onix was never actually a rock-type.
The theory does tend to lose traction though, as on several occasions you see Brock open his eyes. Just like above, Officer Jenny manages to escape rock free. Another joker says that maybe Brock’s eyes always look closed because he is constantly being maced for his advances on women!
11. R.I.P Raticate
Finally, these last two take the conspiracies to an all together darker area of the Poké-world (you have been warned). Back to the original games and oh, this guy again! Blue/Gary Oak was a pain in the backside of the Pokémon games, always popping up with a Bulbasaur to whip your Squirtle just when you least expected it. With some cunning tactics and a well stocked Poké-army, Blue wasn’t that hard to defeat. Blue’s Ratatta is at the forefront of his battle team all the way up until your fight on the S.S. Anne, where it becomes a Lv.16, newly evolved, Raticate – think of the pride on your rival’s face with his sparkly new Raticate.
You (obviously) kick his ass and carry on with your luxury cruise. The next time Blue pops up, where is Raticate? When you meet after the S.S. Anne it is in Lavender Town, the last resting place for dead Pokémon – in the madness of the cruise and overcrowding, Blue/Gary couldn’t get Raticate to a Pokémon Center in time and he passed away. Why the S.S. Anne wouldn’t have somewhere to heal on board is beyond me, but if it didn’t, and Raticate really did die, are you the game’s ultimate douchebag?!? Redditor WideEyedEspurr has since gone on to debunk the popular theory, mainly pointing out a kids game is unlikely to paint the main hero as a rat-squashing killer!
12. Grey’s Ashatomy
The first rule of storytelling is that it is never just a dream. Finally, for the biggest mindf**k of all theories and one that is pulled straight from the pages of some St. Elsewhere storyline – the whole series is taking place in Ash’s coma. After Ash is attacked by a group of Spearows, then struck by lightning during Ep. 1, he is rushed to the nearest hospital, but never wakes up. All those he meets on his travels represent a part of his life. Brock is his repressed sexuality, Pikachu his humanity and Team Rocket the parts of himself that he doesn’t like. Like the constants from LOST, Jenny and Joy were two women he knew before his accident, helping him remain grounded as he travels further into his own coma psyche.
Mewtwo, everyone’s favourite psychic cat, is an electronic impulse that the doctors apply to Ash’s brain to help bring him from the coma – this is how Mewtwo is able to ‘talk’. Coma theory also nicely explains why all the Jenny and Joy’s are all the same, as well as why Ash never ages, or accomplishes becoming a Pokémon master. Probably the most easily debunked of all the theories, but the one which ties up the lose ends that the other theories leave as question marks Maybe all of Pokémon takes place inside a young boy’s snow globe?
Aside from the may ghosts and goblins, the world of Pokémon can be a pretty scary place – it appears you can’t go for a cycle without ending up locked in a coma, or fighting a great war. Why can’t everyone just go back to swapping shiny Charizards and trying to train an unruly Pikachu. Ok, article over, back to discovering Dugtrios in the maternity ward and Sandshrews down your pants in Pokémon Go.
Gotta Catch Em’ All – 12 Of The Strangest Pokémon Conspiracies Unwrapped!
Where are the kids from Jurassic Park now?
Steven Spielberg changed the game 22 years ago when he released the dinosaur epic Jurassic Park, which remains one of the most successful and popular movies Hollywood has ever seen. Among those featured in the movie were kid actors Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards, who played the forever-traumatized grandchildren of Richard Attenborough. In the two decades since becoming famous for running from velociraptors, where are they now? We dug up some pretty interesting facts to catch you up to (carbon) date.
Now, here’s something that’ll make you feel super-old: Richards, now 36 (!) tied the knot with her hubby, Mark Bolton, in 2013, and is currently expecting her first child, due in November 2015. “My husband and I are thrilled,” Richards told PEOPLE in June. “This is really a wonderful moment for us. It’s super exciting.”
According to PEOPLE, over the years Richards shifted from acting to painting, which is now her main professional focus. “I love to work with people in the art and express their story on canvas and my impression of them and what they want to express and use oils, brushes, canvas to create something that will last the generation,” she revealed. Now reportedly in South America for her art tour, Richards says she’s living a “much quieter” but “still very rich” life compared to her days in the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. “My life story these days, I still experience the red carpet as an artist,” she said. “But on a day-to-day basis I live kind of a country life.”
According to a 2011 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Richards sent Spielberg a watercolor self portrait of herself that was inspired by one of the scenes in Jurassic Park, which now hangs in Spielberg’s office. For his part, Spielberg is a pretty good gift-giver, too. “He never fails to send me something around Christmas,” Richards said. “When he finds people he likes, he’s really good at keeping in touch.” And here we thought we couldn’t love Spielberg more than we do already.
Richards’ movie career pretty much began and ended with the Jurassic Park franchise. She last appeared in a movie in the 1997 sequel, The Lost World. Subsequent acting gigs were on an incredibly smaller scale; TV movies like Broken Silence: A Moment of Truth Movie (1998) and Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (2001) are among the titles. No, we’ve never heard of them either.
Also in her interview with The Wall Street Journal, Richards—who graduated from Skidmore college in 2011—admitted she hasn’t altogether ruled out a return to acting. “Sometimes I’m on the the pulse of what’s happening in Hollywood,” she said, “but other times, I’m just totally absorbed by what I’m creating on the easel.” Adding to PEOPLE, she said: “If some great role or project finds me, absolutely that could be a nice thing to do, for sure.” Here’s hoping she paid attention to Jurassic World’s record-breaking box office returns…
Minecraft’s Discovery Update On The Way, Here’s What It Adds
Mojang has announced the next update for Minecraft‘s Windows 10 and mobile versions. Update 1.1, which is also known as The Discovery Update, is focused around things to uncover.
“There are many mysterious and wondrous things to uncover,” Mojang said in a blog post. “Barter with a cartographer for a treasure map, sling your supplies into a llama’s pack (or into a shulker box) and embark on an epic quest to locate the dank and dangerous forest mansion.”
The Discovery Update also introduces new Enchantments, including Frostwalking (lets you walk on water) and Mending (keeps your sword sharp). Mojang also confirmed that if you defeat the monsters within the mansion mentioned above, you’ll receive the “Totem of Undying” that keeps you alive when you should otherwise have perished.
Additionally, the update adds new features such as the ability to dye your bed a new color or build with new glazed terracotta and concrete blocks. The update also lets you change the movement properties of mobs, if that’s what you want to do.
Finally, Mojang teased that this is “just the start” for new features in The Discovery Update. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Discovery Update will be available on Android for testers “in the near future.” It’s also coming to iOS and Windows 10, though there is no word yet on consoles.
At the end of February, Microsoft, which owns Mojang and Minecraft, announced that the game had sold 121 million copies, with 55 million people playing everything month.
Minecraft’s Discovery Update On The Way, Here’s What It Adds
The Discovery Update: on Pocket and Win 10 soon
Llamas, shulkers and more! Android beta coming soon!
What could follow The End? The Epilogue Update? The Appendix Update? The Bit Where We Thank Our Cat Update? No! These things would imply that our work on Minecraft is coming to a close. It couldn’t be farther from the truth! (Although we are eternally thankful to our cat. You complete me, Mr. Mittens.)
In fact, there’s loads and loads more coming in 1.1, aka The Discovery Update! Android users can get a taste of what’s on its way with the beta that we are opening up for testing in the near future. We’re not ready to open the beta up quite yet, but as soon as we are we’ll let you know! Promise!
It’s not called The Discovery Update for no reason: there are many mysterious and wondrous things to uncover. Barter with a cartographer for a treasure map, sling your supplies into a llama’s pack (or into a shulker box) and embark on an epic quest to locate the dank and dangerous forest mansion! Does your route take you across an impassable river? The Enchantment of Frostwalking will solve that problem! Meanwhile, the Enchantment of Mending will keep your swordblade sharp no matter how many mobs you slay along the way. Defeat the sinister illagers who lurk within the mansion and make off with their precious loot – the Totem of Undying – and cheat death as you throw yourself into further peril!
Crafters looking for a more sedate pace of discovery will be pleased to hear you can now dye beds, smelt ingots, and build with the fancypants new blocks: glazed terracotta and concrete. And those with an even more experimental inclination, will find the expansion of Add-Ons to their liking: you’ll now be able to remix mobs’ movement properties!
And these things are just the start – we’ll be revealing even more of the Discovery Update’s secrets in the coming weeks!
Exciting times ahead!
Power Rangers come to Console, Pocket and Windows 10!
Assemble these superpowered skins today!
Mighty Morphing Power Rangers? How about… Miney Morphing Power Rangers? Hmmm, maybe not.
What’s got us so excited we’re throwing out puns this awful so early in the week? A new skin pack in Minecraft of course! The Power Rangers pack launches today on Console, Pocket and Windows 10 Edition. Go go, MINEY Morphing Power Rangers! (Hey, it’s catching on!)
You won’t just find the brightly-coloured buddies in the pack either. Every good superhero team needs an equally bad rogues gallery of cackling villains, so you’ll find skins for wrong un’s like Rita Repulsa, Bulk and Skull terrorizing the pack too. Initiate Megazord sequence!
“As a teen I remember getting out of school, grabbing a snack and settling into the cartoon line-up,” explains Mike Fielder, one of the artists who worked on the skin pack. “Part of that routine was watching Power Rangers. When I found out we would be working on a Minecraft version of some of the character line-up I was pretty excited and even more so when I found out Bulk and Skull would be included since they were my favourite characters. I had a blast creating Minecraft versions of these characters. I hope everyone who uses these skins has as much fun playing them as I did creating them.”
So next time your parents hassle you for watching too much TV after school, kindly remind them that Mike now gets to make skins in Minecraft for a living. Or respect your elders and just try some of these Power Rangers skins for free right now!
Glide Mini Game on Consoles Tomorrow
Woosh! Test your elytra skills in tomorrow’s free update
We’ve got a pretty swish update soaring onto consoles tomorrow, bringing with it a free, all new Mini Game. It’s called Glide and it’s designed to test your aeronautical skills to the very limit. Strap on a pair of elytra and hone your swooping skills on an exhilarating aerial track – the first in a series of free tracks to be released.
Beat the clock in the Time Attack mode, using thermal drafts and speed boosters to your advantage, or go for points in Score Attack by hitting all the hoops. Careful study may reveal sneaky shortcuts to refine your runs, so keep your eyes peeled! You can choose to beat your personal best in solo play, pit your wing-skills against other players online, or – on Xbox One and PS4 – take a swing at the all new Glide leaderboards. This update also boosts the number of PS4 and Xbox One players possible in both Glide and Battle up to 16, and all platforms get a more spacious lobby, too!
You can watch us livestream the game mode TODAY at 4pm BST (8am PDT). Check out our channels on Beam or Twitch.
I had a chat with 4J’s art director David Keningale and level lead Michael Hansen about the mode and launch track. How did it all come about?
“Putting the Elytra in for the Console Edition Christmas update was the big driving force,” says David. “The cogs were already turning while we were building the elytra tutorial level. That said, we assumed it would be a ring-based flight course, like PilotWings. It was only as we were building the tracks that we realised just how much fun Time Trial was – and that inspired us to add more shortcuts in order to make it even more fun.”
While the team explored a few different ideas for the launch track (some of which survive as forthcoming challenges) it was the track inspired by their Battle map, Cavern, which got the best reception in testing.
“We put Battle’s Cavern map into the track – it took less than three seconds to fly through! We quickly realised that Glide’s maps would have to be huge.”
“We wanted to create a track which was almost like a journey to finding the Cavern Battle map,” explains Michael. “The whole theme of the map is based on the architecture of that Battle map, so they linked together really nicely.”
“We actually thought, hey, this will save us some work!” says David. “But then we put Battle’s Cavern map into the track as a test. It took less than three seconds to fly through! We quickly realised that Glide’s maps would have to be huge.”
And so they are! The launch track is a giant descending spiral, that moves from open areas, to tight bore-holes, before opening up again, the path regularly split by columns and other highly face-plant-able hazards.
“You start off in the Overworld, in a great canyon,” says David. “From there we wanted to introduce familiar terrain with little elements from Cavern, just to sort of hint as to the region you’re in, and as you descend the architecture gets more elaborate and less ruined. It’s almost like an archaeologist’s journey. We started off the build by digging tunnels, and trying to get interesting flight paths, and then we looked at where we could open up the map more. There’s a large atrium with some really tall architecture that works really well from that aspect, creating a crossroads between lots of a little shortcuts and different routes.”
“The thermals give you that roller-coaster feeling. You’re flying down, and it’s getting frantic and tight and then all of a sudden you get this lift up.”
The use of thermals to give the player lift allows for an interesting variety in the terrain, rather than a continual angular plunge.
“The thermals basically give you that roller-coaster feeling, you know?” says David. “You’re flying down, and it’s getting frantic and tight and then all of a sudden you get this lift up and then you sort of pause and then you dive down again. It gives you both adrenaline boosts and little breaks in the downward trajectory, giving you a chance to look around a little and see what’s going on.”
You’ll need to keep an eye out for those shortcuts – some aren’t obvious at all, and may take a fair bit of practice to master.
“We put the map into test with the Microsoft Test Team,” recalls David, “and though the test team loved it straight away, we had some of the senior members at Microsoft complain that some of the shortcuts were actually impossible. So we sent over a video of how to do those shortcuts – that’s when the competition really ensued. We ended up leapfrogging each other with our best times!”
In the Score Attack mode, you get to choose between different routes marked by rings – the level of difficulty and point value indicated by their colour and decreasing size: green for easy, yellow for middling, blue for hard.
“These routes all overlap, so you can get scores by switching between routes,” says David. “But, if you want the challenge, you can also just go for the yellow or blue rings. They’re much harder to get. You’ve got to be much more skilled in order to get them all.”
Glide has pretty much taken over the Mojang office – if you’re anything like us, you’ll be quickly fixated on taking down your friends scores, eking out every precious second from the course. Look out for more tracks in the near future – some free, some as part of a Season Pass. You can get a glimpse of these at the end of the trailer.
“The first DLC pack going out will be themed around beasts,” says David. “We have a kraken-themed level which takes inspiration from Battle’s Cove map. You burst out into a huge open area with two battling ships and a giant, giant kraken that you fly right up and over. It’s a really great experience. Then we have an exciting glacial track that uses the Ice Spikes biome as inspiration. We have lots of yetis running through the map and giant fossils for you to avoid and to fly through. And the final one uses the Chinese Mythology pack – you’ll be flying alongside dragons and around the fantastic, epic terrain of China!”
Keep your eyes on the skies for free maps, too – like the forthcoming Temple-inspired track, which sweeps through jungle canyons, mines and archaeological dig-sites!
We hope you enjoy the new mode! Just don’t beat my score.
Girl In the Spider’s Web Director Explains Reason For Recasting
Yesterday, fans of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy were treated to some news — not only is a fifth book being written for the series, but the Hollywood adaptation of the book series is finally getting a continuation. The new book is untitled, and will be written by David Lagercrantz, the same man who penned the fourth book, The Girl In The Spider’s Web, after Larsson’s passing. The new movie, meanwhile, will be a sequel and reboot, based on the most recent novel, and passing over the events of the second and third books in the series. The film will be directed by Fede Álvarez, and is going to begin production this fall for an October 2018 release date.
As a reboot, rather than a direct sequel, there will be changes to the franchise, including a new cast — which the director has now confirmed, along with an explanation for his decision to re-cast. Álvarez tweeted about his reasons in response to a question from a fan, who tweeted “Awesome news! But I’m a little disappointed that Mara & Craig won’t be returning, what’s your reason?”. Álvarez’s response was simple:
The first adaptation of the series (in English), was The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, in 2009. It starred Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, and Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist — the two key players in the series. An earlier Swedish adaptation of the trilogy saw Lisbeth played by Noomi Rapace and Blomkvist played by Michael Nyqvist. While Mara and Craig would still be potentially available to reprise their starring roles in a new movie, the confirmation of a re-cast puts the emphasis on rebooting the franchise, rather than creating a more direct sequel.
Fans have already started to speculate about who might pick up the titular role for the upcoming thriller, with both Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman rumored to be in the running. There is no news yet about who might be picking up the mantle of Blomkvist, although there is bound to be plenty of speculation on that front as well, at least until Sony makes some official casting announcements.
It’s exciting to see the Millenium series return to the big screen, especially as many wondered if it would ever happen. If the upcoming film makes its planned release date, there will have been almost 10 years between the first movie and its sequel — a huge gap, but one that the popularity of the series will no doubt overcome. It makes a lot of sense to make the sequel a reboot, as well, rather than attempting to pick up where the first left off, as this will give Álvarez a chance to put his own stamp on the series.
However, some will remain disappointed that the cast who made the original film so great will not be returning, especially as both Mara and Craig have expressed their willingness to return for a sequel in the past. Readers are also less than thrilled to hear that the film will skip two entire books to focus on the fourth installment, and it’s worth questioning how difficult it will be to include the salient plot details from those novels in addition to the plot of the fourth. For now, however, we’ll just be keeping an eye out for news of the new cast for The Girl In The Spider’s Web.
Girl In the Spider’s Web Director Explains Reason For Recasting
James Gunn: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a ‘Self-Enclosed Story’
At this stage in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is somewhat difficult to look at any of their films as single movies. In almost every instance, these films do tell their own individual stories, but also spend a great deal of time setting up what is to come. This has worked well in the past, with Captain America: Civil War for example having a great standalone story while also setting the stage for Phase 3. However, it has also seen movies like Iron Man 2 or Avengers: Age of Ultron spend a great deal of timing just setting up what else is coming.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the best example so far of a movie that exists largely on its own, but even then, an appearance by Thanos and the presence of Infinity Stones bridges the cosmic adventure to the core MCU storyline. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will have neither Thanos nor the Infinity Stones, it was still thought that it would set up what else is to come, like the team’s next appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, in some regard. But, director James Gunn says that will be far from the case.
Gunn spoke to The Daily Beast about a variety of topics, but was specifically asked about how connected the sequel would be to the MCU at large. In a somewhat surprising response, he states that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 does not service the larger universe in any way, but also that he’s never been asked to do so:
There is not a single thing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 which was ever dictated by the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are things that I did in the movie that they’re going to have to deal with, now, in Infinity War. But it was pretty much understood that the Guardians are my guys, so they’d have to deal with whatever came from that. So there was nothing. It’s a 100 percent self-enclosed story about the Guardians of the Galaxy, very much like Dr. Strange was.
Never has [Feige] told me that anything has to be in my film. I mean, I know what their plans are. But there’s just nothing I do to service that within Vol. 2’s story; all that’s important is Vol. 2. Everything about Vol. 2 is what’s important. He’s never told me anything hasn’t fit in on the second movie. On the first movie, there were some more technical weird things that we had to deal with, and I was a bit more bashful about getting my way. But now, it’s not part of the conversation.
It would not have come as a surprise to many if he simply said this is a standalone movie, but Gunn makes it clear that people expecting heavy handed setups to these characters’ futures in Infinity War and beyond will be disappointed. However, this lack of connectivity is not coming at the expense of the MCU. As he says, he knows what Marvel Studios is planning, especially since he will serve as an executive producer on Infinity War and the Untitled Avengers followup, so any worry that he will surprise the creative team in charge is unwarranted.
Surely there will be some that wish some small nods to the larger universe could be included, but that may not have been best for this story. Guardians of the Galaxy was a massive hit because it was self-contained, so Gunn doubling down on this concept for the sequel should not be surprising. Plus, audiences have recently responded extremely positively to superhero adventures like Logan and Deadpool, not just because they are R-rated, but because they are single stories that don’t require a universe to support them.
That all said, while the film itself may not spend time teasing the future for these characters or introducing characters/locations just for them to be used in Infinity War, that does not necessarily mean that the mid- and post-credits scenes could not provide this service. Gunn recently confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will include a post-credits scene, and with Infinity War being just a year away upon this film’s release, while also being the Guardians’ next appearance, a subtle tease of their larger future could be in play and still prove these statements to be true.
James Gunn: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a ‘Self-Enclosed Story’
The Batman: Production Won’t Start Until 2018; Casting May Begin This Year
Warner Bros. is currently working on bringing back a solo Batman franchise to the big screen. Ben Affleck has already made his debut as the Dark Knight in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and his performance was one of the standouts from an otherwise divisive film. This brought about much excitement for his solo film, The Batman, but after being bombarded with questions about the state of the film and dealing with a number of personal issues, he decided to walk away from directing duties.
Upon this revelation, it became less and less likely that The Batman could meet a previously “confirmed” 2018 release date. But, some still held out hope it could be possible after Warner Bros officially set Matt Reeves as the director. However, with his work on War for the Planet of the Apes taking precedence right now, The Batman won’t get off the ground until next year at the earliest.
Variety reporter Justin Kroll gave some insight to the production status of the highly anticipated blockbuster on Twitter today. According to what he has heard, Reeves will not be able to turn his attention to the film until after his current blockbuster is finished. Not only will this delay the supposed start of filming, but also withhold any casting announcements until later this year.
Dating back to last year (when Affleck was still attached to direct), plans were in motion for The Batman to begin filming this spring or summer, depending on which cast member was to be believed. This new report does come directly on the heels of Joe Manganiello saying production could still begin this summer. With so much changing recently behind-the-scenes, it is possible that he was not up to date on the latest developments, as Kroll’s report directly contradicts Manganiello’s statements.
This latest report is hardly surprising however. Even if Reeves spent part of his remaining time on War for the Planet of the Apes working on The Batman, he would not be able to give his full attention until after the press tour anyway. If he is in fact contracted to remain solely focused on his current film, then there is no chance any Batman news comes out in the coming months. This is something to keep in mind throughout the summer as there will undoubtedly be rumors about different actors possibly joining the film.
With production potentially starting in 2018, this should give Reeves and crew plenty of time to hit a 2019 release date. WB has also previously announced a June 14, 2019 date for an unannounced DC film. If Batman starts filming at the beginning of 2018, this very well could be the film’s ultimate landing spot – or at the very least a targeted date that could shift by a few weeks down the road. Regardless, it will be some time before a release date or any other concrete news will come out for The Batman, as long as everything runs smoothly from here on out.
The Batman: Production Won’t Start Until 2018; Casting May Begin This Year
Supergirl/Flash Musical Crossover Video Offers New Story Details
It has not escaped notice for many fans of the Arrowverse that a number of the actors cast in the various shows have a history with musicals. Colin Donnell, John Barrowman, Jesse L. Martin, Carlos Valdes, Victor Garber, Arthur Darvill, Ciara Renee, and Jeremy Jordan have all starred in Broadway musicals. Supergirl and The Flash actors Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin both were on the musical show Glee, and Jeremy Jordan and Jesse L. Martin were also on a musical series, Smash – along with Broadway star Andy Mientus who has appeared on The Flash as The Pied Piper. It seemed like only a matter of time before a musical episode happened – and now the wait is almost over.
On the March 20th episode of Supergirl, ‘Star-Crossed’, the crossover will kick off, and then most of the story will be told in The Flash episode ‘Duet’. It also is technically a bit of a crossover with Legends of Tomorrow, with Victor Garber returning to The Flash to participate. As will John Barrowman, who signed one of several contracts which lets him move between all the Arrowverse shows though he has mostly been seen on Legends of Tomorrow.
DC All Access has now released a video from the set of ‘Duet’ where they talked to several of the participating actors and learned a few things about the musical. Possibly the most telling hint came from Darren Criss, who is playing the episode’s guest villain, the Music Meister. It’s quite the reunion for Criss – also a Broadway alum – who was on Glee with Benoist and Gustin and went to college with Valdes, and he revealed a bit of what his character is up to:
“So the Music Meister has plans for them, he’s kind of stringing all of the main character along. Particularly the couples, to maybe teach them a lesson? That’s what he says.”
Speaking of couples, Candice Patton spoke about how she will be involved, as the daughter of a gangster and not Iris. That fits in well with what was already revealed, the Music Meister traps Barry and Kara in a fantasy world where the people they know are there, but not as themselves. Since Martin is playing a gangster, it sounds like Patton is still his onscreen daughter in this fantasy, even if they are not specifically Joe and Iris West.
Gustin and Benoist also spoke a bit about the duet they are singing in ‘Duet’. While they did not use the song’s name, it has previously been announced that they are singing a song called “Superfriends” which is co-written by Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Rachel Bloom. Gustin called it “a fun, comedy song” and mentioned that there was a lot of space within it to improvise.
With the sheer amount of singing and dancing talent in the cast, ‘Duet’ is poised to be an amazing treat for fans of Supergirl and The Flash.
Supergirl continues Monday, March 20 with ‘Star-Crossed’ at 8pm on The CW. The Flash Tuesday, March 14 with ‘Into the Speed Force’ at 8pm on The CW, with ‘Duet’ at the same time on March 21.
Supergirl/Flash Musical Crossover Video Offers New Story Details