Thor: The Dark World Loki Details Arrive

What will the follow-up to 2011's hit flick hold for its villain?
We already know that Tom Hiddleston's Loki will play a secondary villain role in superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World, sitting on the sidelines while Hemsworth's Thor dukes it out with the evil Malkeith The Dark Elf (played by Christopher Eccleston). This week, though, Hiddleston has offered a snippet of info on how he has moved his role forward for the second instalment in the solo-Avenger series.

Here's what the actor had to say: "Everyone upstairs in space is going to have an opinion on what happened over the course of Avengers Assemble. Thor and Loki were gone from Asgard for a time, and to all intents and purposes hell broke loose and they were both responsible! Within one moment, within one scene, within one hour, within one day, Loki can do these huge 180 degree turns, where he can be enjoying himself, and completely in control, and then the next moment he's completely lost control, and the truth of his broken heart is plain for all to see."

It's still hard to tell, then, how much screen-time Hiddleston will rack up here, but we probably shouldn't be surprised if Thor's main foe makes a proper comeback in The Avengers 2 when it rolls around in 2015! Thor: The Dark World hammers into cinemas worldwide on November 8th, 2013.

Doctor Who Christmas Special Prequel/Trailer Unveiled

The build-up to Episode Six begins...
Children In Need 2012's Appeal show proved to be a real televisual highlight for this year, featuring plentiful great acts and brilliant looks ahead to things still to come. One such preview? Well, two- we got a brand new prequel for the Doctor Who Christmas Special and a full trailer for it too. The special forms the seventh episode of the fifteen that make up Series Seven, spanning from The Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe to Steven Moffat's upcoming season finale. The prequel is titled The Great Detective, focusing on Vastra, Jenny and Strax's attempts to convince the Doctor to leave retirement after the deaths of the Ponds. It's an intriguing set-up for the new adventure, which we can confirm will be titled The Snowmen. As with the past two Christmas Specials, that title is a play on a classic Christmas tale- The Snowman, in case you were wondering- but once again it's likely to be just a minor detail in a bigger overarching epic festive yarn. Check out both videos below. Doctor Who returns on Christmas Day, and then Series Seven Part Two (Episodes 8-15) transmits in Spring 2013.

New Oz: The Great And Powerful Trailer Debuts

A brand new glimpse into an exciting new filmic world for 2013...
Walt Disney Pictures have this week released a brand new trailer for their upcoming fantasy film Oz: The Great And Powerful. This new instalment is a prequel to the classic tales of Oz, with James Franco taking the titular role as a man who travels from Kansas to a mysterious new land, where he is tasked with battling the Wicked Witch Of The West and overthrowing her rule. As you'll see from the new video below, Oz is looking mighty pretty, capable of reviving the likes of Star Wars and Avatar for visual spectacle. Mila Kunis, Zach Braff and a host of other stars are on board for the project too, so you should be in pretty damn safe hands when Disney unveil the fully-fledged movie in four months time! Oz: The Great And Powerful is set for release in cinemas on March 8th, 2013.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Synopsis Unveiled

2014's biggest sequel is handed its first plot details!
20th Century Fox have today released the initial narrative brief for the follow-up to 2011's hit action thriller Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Titled Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (yep, it's no less of a mouthful!), the sequel is confirmed to once again star Andy Serkis as intelligent ape leader Caesar with Matt Reeves directing the project.

Here's the synopsis as it currently stands: "Dawn continues the story of how ultra-intelligent simian Caesar presides over the fall of human civilization. After the apes break out of their facility, a virus break-out causes the collapse of human society. The new project is taking the story to the next level, with the apes on the path to emerge as society's new rulers."

There's no mention of James Franco here, but no doubt we'll have more star talent to replace the accomplished actor if he can't make it this time around. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes will hit cinemas on May 23rd, 2014.

Mass Effect 4 Gameplay Details Revealed

See the first hints for the future of everyone's favourite science-fiction saga...
We've had some exciting news tidbits these past few weeks, but this one pretty much tops the lot- Mass Effect 4 has been confirmed to be in development at BioWare's Montreal studio. The new instalment in the science-fiction video gaming franchise will take place after the events of this year's brilliant trilogy finale, but it seems the studio are just recruiting right now. Sadly, that means a 2013 release is off the cards, but on the plus side with the confirmed help of DICE's Frostbite Engine, it seems more and more likely that this'll be an early next-generation title for the Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4. Expect more details on this ambitious project next year! Mass Effect 4 will ship on consoles worldwide in 2014.

Grand Theft Auto V Second Trailer Released

Get another full look at the most exciting game of 2013 right here!
Rockstar Games have today revealed the second full trailer for their big new project Grand Theft Auto V. The title's been in production since the culmination of development on GTA IV back in 2008, and thus rightly it's looking absolutely stunning so far. This time around, the storyline places a focus on three central protagonists, all of whom seem both diverse and in a positive light a lot more comedic than those we saw in Rockstar's last fantastic effort. You can check out the trailer below, and share your thoughts on the usual social networking ports as always! Grand Theft Auto V hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in Spring 2013, with a PC release window yet to be confirmed for the sequel.

Who News: News Roundup (November 7th-14th)

The Doctor is back this Friday- prepare with exciting new teasers!
Friday's Children In Need 2012 live show will bring with it two exciting new Doctor Who offerings. First up, there's a prequel for the Christmas Special starring Matt Smith and a new familiar faces and written by showrunner Steven Moffat. After that? Well, there's a fully-fledged promotional trailer for the episode, featuring our first proper look at Jenna-Louise Coleman's companion character Clara Oswin in action in the upcoming adventure. Before that, though, we've got a few news snippets of interest...

• CHRISTMAS IS COMING: To the left, you'll see the first teasing image of the CIN Christmas Special prequel revealed. Here, we've got what looks to be a more melancholic Eleventh Doctor, clearly suffering after the events of The Angels Take Manhattan, so perhaps the old faces who are back will be on the recieving end of his anger?
• A JOURNEY TO DIE FOR: We've got an exciting announcement fresh from the pages of DWM this week. Stephen Thompson wrote the pirate episode The Curse Of The Black Spot in Series Six, and now he's confirmed the title of his anniversary-year episode (set to air in Spring 2013)...it's Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS!
• GAIMAN GOES CYBER-CRAZY: Hot on the heels of the BBC's official announcement of his Cybermen episode for the 2013 run, Neil Gaiman has been revealing why he's back for more. Initially, Gaiman apparently deemed himself too busy to help out in the anniversary run, but when the Moff asked him to "make the Cybermen scary again", he came on board. The episode is currently titled The Last Cybermen, and will feature a redesigned version of the famous enemies of the Time Lord. It's a sleek redesign of the 2006 incarnation of the foes with more than a hint of Tomb Of The Cybermen about it- see what you think below...

The prequel and trailer for the Doctor Who Christmas Special will air as part of Children In Need on Friday from 7pm, while the episode itself broadcasts on Christmas Day on BBC1.