Revised Angry Birds Film Adaptation Première Date Announced

Source: World of Smash Bros Wikia

The birds are back in town, the birds are back in town...and so on and so forth.
Columbia Pictures have today revealed a new official release date for their upcoming motion picture adaptation of Rovio's hit physics-orientated puzzle video game Angry Birds (as well as its various successors, the Rio and Star Wars spin-offs not withstanding). Previously scheduled to take flight in cinemas on July 1st, 2016, the first instalment in what's doubtless intended to be a franchise kick-starter stars Paul's Jason Sudeikis, This is the End's Danny McBride and even Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage, albeit in a vocal capacity in all three cases as a result of the project taking the form of the latest addition to the animated film genre.

Few would have blamed the production team for flapping their metaphorical feathers vigorously enough to enable them to shift Angry Birds out of 2016, particularly since it'll share the stage with The Divergent Series: Allegiant - Part 1, Kung Fu Panda 3, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Goosebumps, Captain America: Civil War, The Huntsman, Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass, X-Men: Apocalypse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Uncharted, Finding Dory, Independence Day Forever, The Mummy, Transformers 5, The BFG, Star Trek 3, The Bourne Betrayal, Ice Age 5, Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, Mighty-Morphin Power Rangers, Planet of the Apes, Tarzan, Suicide Squad, LEGO Ninjago, A Monster Calls, Inferno, Doctor Strange, The Sinister Six, Moana, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first in a series of standalone Star Wars blockbusters and (quite possibly) Avatar 2 as a direct result of staying put, yet if they've accumulated sufficient confidence so as to convince them to hold firm based on their initial animation work, then we say more power to them at this juncture. We'll have more details on Angry Birds' launch schedule, its competition as well as its resultant commercial prospects in the coming months, so stay tuned...

Angry Birds will now catapult itself into cinemas worldwide on May 20th, 2016.

New A.K.A. Jessica Jones Supporting Cast Member Announced

Source: Forces of Geek

Marvelites, rejoice - Luke Cage has entered the building!
Marvel Studios have this week announced a new supporting cast member set to star in their upcoming superhero drama TV series A.K.A. Jessica Jones. Based primarily on the comic-book heroine of the same name, this 13-episode, Netflix-exclusive production sees Breaking Bad's Krysten Ritter portray a despondent ex-crime fighter who vows to aid aspiring upholders of law and sanctity in their quest to match the Avengers' efforts on a somewhat less global level by making a difference on the streets of New York.

Amongst those soon-to-be iconic newcomers will be Luke Cage, a long-running Marvel Comics character (likely better known to some of our older readers as Power-Man, though that epithet's long gone along with corny titles such as Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos, with the latter band of powerless protagonists only surviving through appearances in the Captain America film franchise) who'll soon be played by Halo: Nightfall's Mike Colter. Since we've only experienced Colter's work fleetingly in the form of his performance as Agent Jay's father in Men in Black 3, it'd be perhaps be somewhat presumptuous of us to lay down a verdict on his actorial potency at this precise moment, but that producer Ridley Scott saw fit to cast him in the Nightfall spin-off saga earlier this year at least seems to speak wonders for the confidence that the film and TV industries alike have in this now-prominent thespian, presumably indicating that in a few months' time, we'll be wholly inclined to echo those reassuring statistical sentiments on a critical level. Keep it locked at On-Screen for more details on A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Netflix's take on Luke Cage (the official title of which has yet to be revealed) and the remainder of the on-demand service's Defenders adaptations in weeks to come.

A.K.A. Jessica Jones will première exclusively on Netflix in 2015.

CVG Closure Announced

Source: CINEMABLEND

First SFX, then Official Nintendo Magazine, now this - will any entertainment news outlets be left standing by the end of 2015?
Future plc have today announced the closure of their online video games news outlet ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Originally established as a UK-based magazine in 1981, the publication transformed into a website in the early 2000s and has since provided coverage on an all-manner of breaking stories, triple-A products and a host of other industry-related issues over the course of a eventful decade which has all but revolutionised (in a beneficial manner, for the most part) the imminent trajectory of the industry as well as of the websites and magazines that have dedicated their lifespans to keeping the mainstream gaming community abreast of each and every watershed moment.

If CVG were the only members of the entertainment industry unlucky enough to have been affected by Future's financial issues in recent months, then we'd be only too happy to brand its demise as a necessary sacrifice, yet that SFX and the Official Nintendo Magazine (ONM) - publications which were both owned by Future plc - met the same fates earlier this year speaks wonders for the problems facing video games-orientated journalists at the moment, most of which don't look set to fade anytime soon. Like SFX, many of CVG's workers will find themselves integrated into the GamesRadar team to write further news, reviews and the like under a broader umbrella than ever before, but redundancies are all but guaranteed in this case, meaning that the site's team will arguably never be what it once was come the early stages of next year. If and when further details of this valiant, long-running proponent of quality entertainment journalism's gradual destruction come to light, we'll be sure to bring them to you, dear reader, in the most accessible and comprehensive manner possible. Until then, though, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this disheartening turn of events, particularly those members of staff who'll soon be resultantly seeking gainful employment elsewhere.

ComputerAndVideoGames.com's backlog of news and reviews will be uploaded onto GamesRadar (or GamesRadar+, as it's set to be called from this point onwards) in February 2015 prior to the website's full-scale closure, after which the remainder of the former's team will purportedly jump ship to the latter publication.

New Daredevil Promotional Images Released

Source: ComicBookMovie.com

Street-level superheroism comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
Marvel Studios have today released a pair of new promotional images for their upcoming superhero drama TV series Daredevil via Entertainment Weekly. Scheduled to launch on Netflix in a few months' time (quite possibly May 2015, although that rumoured broadcast window has yet to be confirmed by official sources), the series centres on young Matt Murdock's rise from aspiring vigilante to the accomplished martial arts expert who fans of his comic-book exploits have come to know as the Man Without Fear.

That said, if these somewhat unambitious pictures - both of which bear a near-uncanny resemblance to those which the two studios behind the project launched at this year's San Diego Comic-Con - are intended to offer even a glimpse of what's to come, then it seems that the road to the realms of superheroics will be long and arduous in Daredevil's case, no doubt in part due to his human alter-ego's necessary decision to undergo a taxing campaign of recuperation and regeneration during the aftermath of a frankly terrifying chemical accident which leaves him blinded on a seemingly permanent basis. As was revealed at SDCC, the long-established protagonist's initial attire will resemble that of a ninja rather than the pseudo-Satanic gear that his contemporary readership have come to know and love, but even so, don't count out the possibility that before Season One reaches its conclusion - a process that could occur within the space of a weekend or a month depending on whether Netflix users elect to partake in a marathon or drag out their viewing experience so as to adequately cherish these much-awaited gritty (for want of an adjective which doesn't find its way into the discourse of just about any non-fantastical TV project these days) hi-jinks - we'll have the opportunity to bear witness to Murdock adopting the true mantle of his near-iconic other self.

Daredevil will première on Netflix in 2015.

Grand Theft Auto Online "Festive Surprise" DLC Released

Source: Rockstar Games

'Tis the season to be jolly...and wreak unrelenting havoc on the streets of Los Santos.
Rockstar Games have just confirmed the release of a title update for the online campaign of their open-world third-person-shooter video game Grand Theft Auto V (now universally known as Grand Theft Auto Online). Dubbed "Festive Surprise", the seasonal DLC package contains no shortage of extra weapons, aesthetic modification options and gadgets for players to exploit to their heart's content as our latest visit from Father Christmas (who, now that we think about it, looks remarkably similar to Nick Frost!) beckons.

Compared to the (rightly) esteemed developer's recent announcement that GTA Online's long-awaited "Heists" DLC expansion is on the horizon, of course, the news that Rockstar are once again updating the Online experience in anticipation of the aforementioned season of yuletide and goodwill can't help but seem somewhat less ground-breaking. Even so, however, there's little doubt in our mind that fans will flock back to perhaps the most hotly discussed Grand Theft Auto experience in the franchise's illustrious history when "Festive Surprise" is made available for download later on today, if only to test their skills for the umpteenth time against countless other competitors whilst donning an all manner of winter-themed attire in the process. Here's a full list of the content that newcomers and GTA V veterans alike can expect to find when they next insert the multiplayer disc of one of 2013's most critically acclaimed video game experiences:

• FIREARMS & OTHER ASSORTED WEAPONS - Homing Missile Launcher; Proximity Mines; Snowballs
• CLOTHING - 'Ugly' Christmas Sweaters; Hats; Masks; Scarves; Holiday PJ's & More TBC
• MODES OF TRANSPORTATION - Slam Van; Massacro; Jester Sports Cars; Hot Rod Christmas Ratloader

"Festive Surprise" is - unless something's occurred since this article was penned to prevent its appearance on Xbox Live and other digital marketplaces - ready to be downloaded now on PSN (PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3), Xbox Live (Xbox One and Xbox 360) and Windows Store (PC) for use with Grand Theft Auto V's multiplayer component.

Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Games Series Announced

Source: Gamespot

Will any video games developer other than Telltale get chance to release new products in 2015? At this rate, we'd sincerely doubt it...
Mojang have today announced the development of Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Game Series. As its intriguing title suggests, this downloadable point-and-click video game product is currently in the works not only at the studio where the ludicrously lucrative Minecraft brand - which is now formally owned by Microsoft, of course - was conceived but moreover at Telltale Games, better known as the development team who've recently given us high-calibre interactive adaptations of every beloved franchise from The Walking Dead to Back to the Future to Borderlands.

In any other case, that Telltale are assisting with development here would be more than enough to pique most hardcore industry fanatics' interest, yet that Minecraft has never sported a fully-fledged, narrative-driven campaign before makes the proposition of this so-called Story Mode all the more inspired and therefore tantalising. According to IGN, despite the fact that players will once again take control of Minecraft's primary controllable avatar, Steve, and be able to shape the multi-part storyline based on the morally-eschewed choices they make along the way, Mojang are unlikely to brand the narrative that's being conveyed here as canon, primarily because the central principle of the original game's universe is that we as fans define the trajectory, background and ramifications of its 'plot' - if such a linear structure can even be argued as existing in this instance - rather than these elements being pre-determined as is the case with the majority of titles currently on the market. Between their work on additional episodes of Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones and now this project, Telltale in particular are likely to have their hands full next year, but rest assured that as and when further gameplay details, release schedule tidbits or the like come to light, we'll have the fastest and most comprehensive coverage of said information right here.

Minecraft: Story Mode - A Telltale Games Series will première on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Android, Mac and iOS in 2015.

Doctor Who Season Nine Episode 1 Title Announced

Source: The Guardian

Everyone's favourite Time Lord wasn't lying when he likened himself to a magical conjurer!
Executive producer Steven Moffat has today announced the official title of the opening instalment of Doctor Who's ninth season since its 2005 revival. Tentatively scheduled to broadcast during the latter half of 2015, the latest series of the BBC's long-running science-fiction drama will star Peter Capaldi in the titular role of Theta Sigma for the second consecutive year, but Moffat and his intrepid band of semi-propagandists have yet to reveal whether it'll additionally feature Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald once more.

All will be revealed on that front when "Last Christmas" airs in a week's time, it seems. Before then, however, the programme's ever-extensive fanbase will have much to debate thanks to the revelation that next year's run will open with an instalment entitled "The Magician's Apprentice". Just as Season Eight's début outing boasted an infuriatingly vague name in the form of "Deep Breath", so too does Moffat appear intent on keeping the exact nature of his next contribution to Who's ongoing story arc a closely-guarded secret until such a time when Season Nine's première is within arm's reach. Whilst these three words adorned the cover of Trudi Canavan's fantasy novel of the same name, though, odds are that this'll be anything but a direct adaptation - quite to the contrary, that the resident showrunner and Stephen Thompson had Capaldi's Doctor compare his attire to that of a wizard despite "hoping for minimalism" in "Time Heist" suggests that the former screenwriter is intending to allude to his predecessor's script, although quite whether the use of the word "Apprentice" is coincidental or intended to imply that Coleman's beloved character will depart the TARDIS in just under seven days is most certainly a matter that's open for discussion. Let the speculation commence...

Doctor Who returns to our screens with its 2014 Christmas Special, "Last Christmas", next Thursday, December 25th (better known as Christmas Day, for those who haven't already heard) at 6.15pm on BBC One.