Almost 25 years since it first released, you'd be hard-pressed to find a historical action movie better than Gladiator. With a sequel on the way, it's a fine time to revisit the hard-hitting movie, and right now, you can grab a 4K Blu-ray of it from Amazon for $30. This is a new reprint of Gladiator that comes with a sharp steelbook cover, and it'll be available to purchase starting November 12.

Gladiator See at Amazon

Released back in 2000, Gladiator starred Russell Crowe as Maximus: a man robbed of his name, honor, and dignity by the scheming son of the emperor, Commodus. Hellbent on having his vengeance against Commodus for the murder of his family--in this life or the next--Maximus is forced to fight in the gladiatorial arenas of ancient Rome as he seeks his freedom.

Like other 4K Blu-ray releases, you'll be getting a second copy of the film on a standard Blu-ray disc and a digital streaming code to redeem. It's worth noting that you can watch the film in either its original theatrical cut or the unrated version that includes several extra-gory scenes. For the special features, you're getting the following:

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Earlier this month, The Penguin became the first spin-off from The Batman, but it wasn't the only show that was originally under consideration by HBO and Max. An Arkham Asylum series and a show about the Gotham City PD were also in development before ultimately being dropped. Now, Terence Winter, the showrunner of the proposed GCPD series, has shed some light on his vision for the show.

"The idea was that we were going to do a 1970s cop show--something that felt like [Sidney Lumet's 1981 crime series] Prince of the City, but in the Gotham City Police Department," said Winter during his appearance on The Playlist's Bingeworthy podcast. "It was going to have that ['70s] feel. It was going to be a present-day cop who is like a third-generation Gotham City cop, you know, his grandfather, his dad... and Gotham City was largely corrupt. And this is the guy we meet in the present day who's realizing that he's kind of on the wrong side. The Batman was somebody that lived in that world, but you never really saw him. And it was really all about the police department and sort of this guy."

Winter went on to explain that he developed the show, but The Batman director Matt Reeves "wasn’t feeling it." Regardless, Winter doesn't harbor any bad feelings about the unrealized project.

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On Tuesday morning, the Pokemon Company International announced that Pokemon Sleep will now be compatible with major smartwatch brands. This feature allows players to easily track their sleep and study Pokemon sleep styles.

While trainers paired with your smartwatch, the game continues, allowing users to conduct research using sleep data that's automatically tracked. Supported smartwatches include the Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch, and the Fitbit series.

Players with an Apple Watch can sync their sleep data through the Apple Health app on iOS. If you have a Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch, or Fitbit, you will need to go through the Health Connect app on Android.

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Assassin's Creed Shadows looks set to cater to people who have an appetite for inflicting blunt-force trauma and lethal stab wounds on digital enemies, but it looks like the Ubisoft-developed game will also appeal to budding architects. One of the new features in the game will be a base-building mode, allowing players to construct their very own headquarters and customize it to their needs.

In a video that was uploaded by IGN China (via Eurogamer) and has since been removed, Ubisoft described how players will have an acre of land to establish their base on. The mode doesn't look too complex, as you can easily place buildings and paths on it, rotating and customizing them for when the game's protagonists Yasuke and Naoe need a moment of respite.

Several Assassin's Creed games have had hideaways for players to regularly visit, and the previous game in the mainline series, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, featured a settlement in England called Ravensthorpe. Players could invest in their base of operations, building on it and expanding their options to purchase better gear from the various merchants there.

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Remasters of the two Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver games have been leaked via PlayStation Network, along with an accompanying trailer, and they will be released on December 10. The remaster is being handled by both Crystal Dynamics and Aspyr.

According to the trailer and description, the two games are bundled together as Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered. The release of this bundle coincides with the franchise's 25th anniversary, and it includes the option to experience the games in their original visuals or remastered graphics.

Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered trailer via PSN, releasing December 10th (Aspyr)
Celebrate Soul Reaver's 25th Anniversary.
Experience the epic conflict of Kain and Raziel in original form or with remastered graphics.
Included Game Titles
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver… pic.twitter.com/jQVsWbYWJq

— Wario64 (@Wario64) September 24, 2024

The end of the trailer only mentions that the remaster is available for PS4 and PS5, indicating that it will likely be shown during the September 2024 State of Play Presentation. It's possible that the remaster is a multiplatform release and could also be available on PC, Switch, and Xbox.

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Earlier this month, Annapurna Interactive lost the entirety of its staff after all 25 members collectively resigned and walked out. The news came as a shock to some, as Annapurna has published a number of highly praised games (including Stray, Outer Wilds and The Artful Escape) and is currently in the process of developing a Blade Runner game. So what happened?

A recent report from IGN sheds some light on the issue. According to the report, changes in leadership played a major role, but the tale leading up to the mass walkout is a complicated one that requires a quick history lesson on the company's past to truly understand.

Annapurna Interactive was founded by Annapurna Pictures owner (and daughter of billionaire Larry Ellison) Megan Ellison in 2016. At the time, Annapurna Pictures was struggling financially, and Ellison handpicked ​Nathan Gary, Deborah Mars, and Hector Sanchez--who had all previously worked for Sony--to help guide the new gaming studio's path forward. Sanchez left the team in 2019, and Capybara Games co-founder Nathan Vella joined the team shortly thereafter. 2019 also saw Ellison effectively disappear, effectively leaving Annapurna Interactive to its own devices, but the billionare movie mogul returned to a more hands-on role in 2021.

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Preorder Minecraft: Out of Order Volume 1

$11

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2025 is going to be a big year for Minecraft fans. Not only does the Minecraft movie finally premiere on April 4, 2025, but Dark Horse Comics just announced a new Minecraft graphic novel, Minecraft: Out of Order, which will also launch in early 2025. Minecraft: Out of Order is an original story written and illustrated by cartoonish Josh Hicks, whose previous works include other graphic novels like Glorious Wrestling Alliance and Hotelitor: Luxury-Class Defense, as well as the animated short Spectre of the Bear. While it's not directly tied to the Minecraft movie, the first volume of Minecraft: Out of Order launches a few weeks ahead of the film on March 18, 2025, and fans can preorder the graphic novel now.

Preorder Minecraft: Out of Order Volume 1 $11

Minecraft: Out of Order follows Riley, a farmer who lives a quiet life in the countryside until their town is demolished and turned into building materials by the Province of Perfect Sameness--an evil kingdom led by identical twins Paula and Prentice who seek to impose "perfect sameness" on the whole world. Riley teams up with their friend Charlie to infiltrate the Province's fortress and reclaim the town's stolen materials. Volume 1 is an 88-page graphic novel that kicks off the adventure. Preorders are available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Preorder at Amazon Preorder at Barnes & Noble More Minecraft graphics novel deals

Minecraft: Out of Order is still a few months out, but fans looking for more comics to read in the meantime can grab the Minecraft Graphic Novel Box Set and Minecraft: Wither Without You Box Set, both of which happen to be on sale at Amazon right now.

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God of War Ragnarok finally made the leap from PlayStation 5 to PC earlier this month. And while fans love the game itself, they're much less enthusiastic about Sony's edict that forces PC users to connect to PlayStation Network just to experience the title. That's already led Ragnarok's PC release to get review-bombed on Steam by unhappy gamers. And now, a modder has already come up with a way to sidestep Sony's restriction.

As reported by IGN, a modder who goes by iArtorias has released the NoPSSDK mod that removes the PSN linking restriction and essentially gives God of War Ragnarok an offline mode. Additionally, iArtorias left a promise on their Nexus Mods page to "try to maintain the tool even if something changes, but hopefully nothing crucial happens."

Given Sony's refusal to bend on the subject, it's almost inevitable that the company will counter iArtorias' mod and any others that remove the PSN requirement. But it's unclear why Sony put that in Ragnarok in the first place since the game is only a single-player title. It makes more sense to utilize PSN for multiplayer games that actually need to be online. There's no apparent reason why Ragnarok has to be subject to the same restrictions.

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Oscar-winning actor Richard Harris played Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films prior to his death in 2002, and now his son, actor Jared Harris, has weighed in on if he could step up to play Dumbledore in HBO's upcoming reboot TV series. He told The Independent that not only is he not interested--he wonders why HBO is even making a new Harry Potter project in the first place.

"I mean, why do it? I don't understand. The films were fantastic--leave them alone," he said (via Variety). He did, however, say the TV series, which will reportedly be seven seasons--one each for all the books--has the opportunity to cover "a lot of storytelling" that didn't make it into the movies.

Anyone who has read the books understands that the movies left lots of material out. And it's not just fans who think that. For example, Sirius Black actor Gary Oldman believes the films didn't utilize his character enough, while Ginny actor Bonnie Wright said her character's lack of screentime was "disappointing."

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When Dragon Age: The Veilguard is released next month, players will be able to raise their characters up to level 50, which is almost twice the limit of previous games in the franchise. BioWare, the developer behind the Dragon Age series, has already figured out most of the possible ways that gamers can level up their characters. And according to game director Corinne Busche, BioWare is eager to see if players manage to surprise them by coming up with builds that can break its leveling system.

"We want players to find emergent builds," Busche told Windows Central. "We want them to feel like they can outsmart us. Maybe not obliterate the game, so when we find those, we try and roll them in. But, my goodness, nothing would make me happier than somebody outsmarting our best tuners."

During the interview, Busche explained that the difficulty in The Veilguard is meant to match the level that the players have achieved. For example, gamers who make it to level 50 will still have a challenging experience when playing the game. But it's possible that crafty players will figure out how to level up their characters in ways that leave them much more powerful than the enemies.

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Courtney Cox is the only actress who has been in every Scream movie since 1996. But despite reports that Cox had signed on to Scream 7 back in March, she's not actually locked down to reprise her role as Gale Weathers for the next sequel. And she doesn't seem to be in a hurry about it.

"I'm not officially signed on," Cox told Variety. "I'm not, but there will be a Scream 7." Cox also mentioned that she doesn't have a timeframe to make her decision, but she is being kept in the loop about the script. "They're rewriting all the time," said Cox. "It's not like I don't know what's going on."

Cox also expressed her enthusiasm for director Kevin Williamson--the original screenwriter of the franchise--who has been signed to bring Scream 7 to the big screen. "You can't get better than that choice," noted Cox. "It's going to be fun."

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You probably haven't heard of Tomomi Sano before, but the Nintendo employee just broke a big barrier for The Legend of Zelda series. She is now the first female director for the franchise after helping to helm The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which comes out in mere days.

Nintendo revealed the milestone for Sano in a new Ask the Developer volume focusing on Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. She is part of the company's Entertainment Planning and Development Department with Production Group 3 and previously collaborated with Grezzo on a handful of Zelda remakes: Ocarina of Time 3D, Majora's Mask 3D, and Link's Awakening. (Yes, Nintendo is finally confirming Grezzo's involvement as the developer behind the new Switch exclusive.)

Additionally, Nintendo and Grezzo revealed the origins of how Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom came to be. In fact, the project almost sounds like it started as a Zelda Maker title--similar to the Super Mario Maker series--but this time focused on dungeons to create and share. Grezzo's Satoshi Terada, who co-directed the game with Sano, discussed his team's opportunity to create a new game in the Zelda series and their different ideas.

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For several years, The Pokemon Company has held an annual illustration contest for the Pokemon Trading Card Game. The grand prize for this year's competition was $5,000 and the opportunity for the winner to have their art featured as an official Pokemon TCG card, but the 2024 event was mired by allegations of an entrant submitting AI-generated images and using multiple identities.

In a statement in June, The Pokemon Company acknowledged that it had disqualified "entrants in violation of the rules" and that it would fill those spaces with deserving artists. The top 300 finalists in the Pokemon Illustration Contest have been announced, with the grand prize going to first-time entrant Kazuki Minami for their Pikachu illustration.

"I wasn't sure what to draw and how to draw it. That's when my dog came into my sight being cute--I was inspired to draw Pikachu in such a way that reminds me of my dog," Minami said on the Pokemon TCG website. "So the prize belongs to my dog as much as it does to me, and we're both extremely happy and honored."

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HBO's Green Lantern series may have found one of its stars. After reports that Josh Brolin turned down the leading role in Lanterns, Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler is reportedly the top choice to play one of Earth's veteran Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan.

According to Deadline, Chandler is currently in negotiations to star in Lanterns, but his deal hasn't been closed yet. The series was announced last year as part of the new DC Universe reboot overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran. Lanterns has been likened to a superhero story mixed with True Detective, with Jordan and rookie Green Lantern John Stewart investigating a series of murders in the American midwest. The decision to cast a 59-year-old actor as Hal Jordan also suggests that his character has been active for decades. So far, John Stewart has not yet been cast.

Since Friday Night Lights ended in 2011, Chandler has primarily appeared in films including Super 8, Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, The Wolf of Wall Street, Game Night, and Godzilla vs. Kong. If Chandler does sign on for Lanterns, the series will mark his first major superhero role.

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