Archival Disc Announced

Were you hoping for yet another iteration of the Blu-Ray format? No, nor us.
The Sony Corporation have today announced the development of a new format of optical disc to début later this year. Branded as the 'Archival Disc', this format will eventually allow for a data capacity of up to 500GB or 1TB, and even at the time of its première, its storage will amount to 300GB, which in itself is six times more than the current Blu-Ray format will allow.

In all honesty, though, to us it feels as if the Blu-Ray format has barely had its time to shine in the spotlight, since many late adopters (us included) have only owned players for a few months or so now. There's nothing wrong with technological development within the entertainment industry from time to time, certainly, yet Sony may be pushing this particular advancement forward a little too quickly for the market's liking, and as such may well find themselves regretting it in a few months' time. Stay tuned for On-Screen in the weeks ahead for all the latest details on the 'Archival Disc' format and its implications for the wider industry...

'Archival Disc' players will launch alongside Panasonic TV sets in Summer 2015.

Game of Thrones Season Four 'Secrets' TV Trailer Released

Another week, another trailer to make the wait until April 7th less bearable than ever...
HBO Studios have today unveiled a third television spot (below) for the upcoming fourth season of their acclaimed fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the series stars X-Men: Days of Future Past's Peter Dinklage, 300: Rise of an Empire's Lena Headey, Doctor Who's Liam Cunningham and Terminator: Genesis' Emilia Clarke at the head of its all-star cast.

For most contemporary TV dramas, a promotional campaign which updates itself with such alarming regularity would seem unnecessary and superlative, yet in Game of Thrones' case, its marketing team's ambition is merely representative of the audacious nature of the show's production overall. It's tough to name many programmes out there right now which have gathered such a rapid cult following (beyond Who and Breaking Bad, of course), and tougher still to provide examples of dramas which have sustained their narrative momentum for such a prolonged period as this one. Pride can come before a fall, but unless HBO truly drop the ball this year, we'd be utterly shocked if that particular proverb applies here- once again, Thrones is set to make its voice heard for its candidacy in our Best TV Show of 2014 awards from the get-go!

Game of Thrones returns to Sky Atlantic for a fourth season of ten action-packed instalments on April 7th.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Jackdaw Edition Announced

Edward Kenway returns for a final voyage on the high seas.
Ubisoft Montreal have today announced the development of a Game of the Year edition of their hit 2013 action-adventure title Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag for release later this month. Titled Jackdaw Edition, the upgraded retail package will feature all of the downloadable content which has launched since Black Flag's début last November.

In case you haven't been following Edward Kenway and his crew's post-campaign exploits over the last four months, here's a round-up of all of the DLC content you can expect to play alongside the main game this time around:

• Assassin's Creed: Freedom Cry- a condensed single-player campaign which casts Edward's shipmate Adewale as its central protagonist, Freedom Cry can also be purchased as a separate product in its own right on PlayStation Network today.
• Blackbeard's Wrath- a pack of three new playable characters for Black Flag's online multiplayer component, including the Jaguar, the Orchid and (you guessed it) Blackbeard himself. 
• Guild of Rogues- in the same vein as Wrath, Guild of Rogues adds to the multiplayer character roster with the Stowaway, the Shaman and the Siren (sadly, though, the latter does not take on the form of Lily Cole as was the case in Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black Spot- maybe next time, eh?).
• The Illustrious Pirates Pack- this one serves as a combination of the various single-player side missions and multi-player tools which were exclusive to certain retailers and Black Flag's Limited Edition package, the titles of which were/are as follows: "Black Island"; "The Black Ship"; "Captain Morgan's Outfit, Picture and Title" and "Captain Morgan's Silver Flintlock Pistols"; "Mystery Island"; "Stede Bonnet's Ship"; "Stede Bonnet's Outfits"; "Other Multiplayer Items"; "Sacrifice Island"; "Captain Drake's Picture, Title and Relics"; "Captain Drake's Swords and Pistols"; "Ivory Wheel"; "Iron Wheel"; "Discoverer Title and Picture"; "Astrolab Relic"; "Compass Relic"; "Cartographer Picture and Titler"; "German Rapier Swords"; "Spyglass Relic" and (kudos if you've made it all the way through this list, incidentally) "Watch Title and Picture".
• Finally, a number of minor customisation packs such as the Death Vessel Pack, Kraken Ship Pack and Crusader & Florentine Pack will round out this considerably meaty box-set.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Jackdaw Edition sets sail on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC this March 28th (and is available to pre-order now exclusively at Amazon.co.uk).

Coming Up This Week: March 10th-16th

The Xbox One's biggest exclusive of 2014 lands this week, plus there's a blast from the past for Agent Coulson!
It may not be as packed as its predecessor, yet this week still has a couple of great treats on the way for entertainment fans the world over. Better yet, from now on, the industry's offerings only continue to increase in frequency, so our 'Coming Up This Week' feature series will only become more valuable in the weeks ahead.

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, though. Without further ado, here's our round-up of what's to come during the next seven days:

• MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: YES MEN- If the first appearance of a member of the Asgardian race in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. back in Episode 8 left fans wanting, then their fully-fledged return this week should be the perfect antidote. Lady Sif herself is landing on Earth this time around in order to hunt down and capture a world-conquering trickstress named Lorelei (and if her resume reminds you of a certain beloved foe played by Tom Hiddleston, it's no coincidence, since Loki and Lorelei regularly team up in the comics to take down Thor!), a premise which should finally enable ABC and Marvel Studios to bring their show up to scratch with the glorious special effects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. Make no mistake, this is an episode which Marvelites will not want to miss under any circumstances, and will no doubt have them proclaiming "Another!" come its closing credits. (Tuesday 11th- ABC)
• TITANFALL (XBOX ONE & PC)- With Halo 5 currently rumoured to have been delayed until Spring 2015 or beyond, it looks as if Titanfall is set to be the Xbox One's main exclusive title of 2014. Don't fret, however, since Respawn's franchise début is showing all the signs of a game with the right to ascend to the throne of Best Multiplayer Title of the year, not least thanks to its unparalleled man-vs.-machine gameplay and the total lack of a single-player campaign allowing the ex-COD development team to focus their efforts exclusively on the much-discussed/-complemented online experience. For Xbox 360 fans waiting in the wings for Bluepoint Games' current-generation port, there's not too long to go now, with the ported version in question scheduled to launch in two weeks' time...(Friday 14th- Xbox One, PC)
• AND THERE'S MORE- The Michael McIntyre Chat Show premières on BBC One tomorrow, March 10th, plus The Butler, Death In Paradise Series 3, Outnumbered Series 5, Ender's Game, Fleming- The Man Who Would Be Bond and Beauty and the Beast Season 1 all land at DVD and Blu-Ray retailers everywhere tomorrow too.
• AND NEXT WEEK...Prepare for the entertainment release roster to pick up once again with an almighty bang, as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire débuts on DVD and Blu-Ray, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues with the team closing down on the Clairvoyant in The End of the Beginning, Diggle comes face-to-face with an iconic team of DC villains in Arrow: Suicide Squad, Konami launch their full prologue to Metal Gear Solid V in the form of Ground Zeroes (on Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PC) and Sony's biggest PS4 exclusive of 2014, Infamous: Second Son, launches!

For all the latest news, reviews, previews and features on the entertainment industry's upcoming offerings, stay tuned to On-Screen in the days ahead.

Zorro Reboot Writer Announced

Antonio Banderas' Zorro is no more, as the first details on Sony's series reboot emerge.
Sony Pictures have today announced the writer attached to pen the screenplay of their upcoming reboot of the Zorro film franchise. The move to revive and reset the series comes after Columbia lost the rights to the 'Zorro' brand as a result of their commercial failures with The Mask of Zorro (1998) and The Legend of Zorro (2005), both of which starred Antonio Banderas as the titular swashbuckling defender of justice.

Chris Boal (a little-known American playwright, though we're sure that that won't be the case in a few years' time!) will be taking over writing duties on the motion picture as of today, with a previous draft of the screenplay seemingly not having gone down well enough to warrant the green light from Sony as of yet. Like virtually every other reboot in recent times, the tone is intended to be darker and grittier than the franchise's previous instalments, though we'll have to reserve judgement until the first production shots and on-set photos emerge onto the interwebs. There's no release date set in stone currently, but if and when we hear more on the matter, you'll be the first to know right here.

For all the latest news on Zorro and other developments in the film industry, keep it On-Screen in the weeks ahead.

New Tales From The Borderlands Trailer Released

As if The Walking Dead wasn't enough for Telltale fans this year, the studio have another major project on the way...
Telltale Games and Gearbox Software have this weekend released a new trailer (below) for their upcoming episodic point-and-click video game Tales from the Borderlands. Set in the aftermath of 2012's Borderlands 2, the multi-part DLC campaign introduces two original Vault Hunters- Fiona and Rhys- as its central protagonists, combining the much-loved FPS gameplay of the first two games with Telltale's equally acclaimed stylistic approach.

It has to be said, though, that to be a part of Telltale Games is a fairly unenviable position at present. As was revealed at the Spike VGX Awards 2013 presentation, the developers are hard at work on 'episodes' based on the The Walking Dead, Borderlands and Game of Thrones franchises, and although we remain wholly confident of their potential, one thing's for certain- the next twelve months are going to be an immeasurably intense period for the studio. With any luck, their efforts will come to fruition as 2014 progresses, and even if some of their upcoming projects fail to hit the mark, chances are that we can expect at least a few superb Game of the Year contenders along the way!

Tales from the Borderlands will retail on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC marketplaces this Autumn.

Call The Midwife Lead Star Departure Revealed

An Adventure in Space and Time and Line of Duty's Jessica Raine leaves the period drama tomorrow.
The Mirror and other sources have reported today that lead star Jessica Raine will depart the BBC's period drama Call the Midwife in the final episode of its third season. Raine has played the character of Jenny since the show's inception (marvellously, we might add), but in recent months has signed on to a number of other projects including the BBC Two Doctor Who 50th Anniversary docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time (which aired last November) and the BBC Two police drama Line of Duty (currently in the midst of its second season).

As the old saying goes, though, the show must go on, and that idiom remains largely true in this instance. Call The Midwife was commissioned for a fourth season of eight instalments last month, but that the actress' name was not amongst the list of confirmed returnees should have already set the alarm bells ringing for regular followers of one of the most popular period productions of recent times. We wish Jessica all the best of luck in her future endeavours both in the TV and film industry, and look forward to seeing her name inevitably adorn the cast listings of countless high-brow projects in the not too distant future. For now, at least there's still an hour left to be spent in the company of Jenny (and indeed, the notion of how the programme itself will deal with the lack of the character whose older persona has traditionally narrated events will be fascinating come Christmas 2014).

Call The Midwife concludes its third season on BBC One tomorrow, March 9th at 8pm.