Although HBO recently abandoned plans to make The Batman's Arkham Asylum spin-off, director Matt Reeves has grand ambitions beyond the upcoming series starring Colin Farrell as The Penguin. Now, Reeves has revealed that his shared universe is called the Batman Epic Crime Saga, and he has more potential spin-offs in mind.

"As we were writing [The Batman], I was like, 'Hey, you know what? I think there are some cool shows that we could do,'" Reeves told EW. "It was actually why I wanted to make our deal at Warner Bros." He also recalled that HBO executives told him, "We like what you're doing, and we want to lean harder into the marquee characters."

One of the previous potential spin-off shows would have been centered on a corrupt cop in the Gotham City Police Department during Batman's first year as a vigilante. Reeves related to EW that some aspects of that former project were integrated into The Penguin's storyline. However, Reeves and his collaborators haven't decided which Batman-related character should get the spotlight in the next spin-off show.

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Team FOLON, the indie studio working on the highly anticipated Fallout London mod, has announced that players will finally be able to explore a post-apocalyptic London starting today, July 25.

Although the drop may seem a bit sudden, Team FOLON has been teasing it since last week. The studio announced (via Kotaku) in its Discord that GOG gave the mod the green light and was in its final stages. Then, on July 24, Team FOLON project manager Dean Carter released another statement to its Discord that read, "Stay safe and remember. Mind the gap.” The message was accompanied by a link to a song called "I Just Can't Wait (For Tomorrow)" that is featured in Fallout London. While speaking to Inverse, Carter confirmed Fallout London would be playable on July 25.

Fallout London was initially supposed to launch earlier this year on April 23. However, the date was pushed back due to the Fallout 4 current-gen update. As the name suggests, Fallout London takes place in London and is set 50 years before the events of Fallout 4. The mod has placed a significant emphasis on realism and melee combat and features voice acting from Neil Newborn (Baldur's Gate 3), Colin Baker (Doctor Who), and Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who).

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The Sims 4's new Lovestruck expansion brings some spice to Sims' love lives, but those lives may soon be turned upside down with the release of a death-based DLC that's currently rumored to be in the works.

It all started when popular Sims YouTuber Lilsimsie started a livestream showcasing the Lovestruck expansion, which includes a number of new furniture items. One of these new items is a poster featuring an elderly Sim taking a jog. "Why are you encouraging elder Sims to exercise? Shame!" she teased.

But SimsGuruNinja, an EA employee who works on the game, happened to be lurking in her chat, and his answer was as interesting as it was cryptic: "But don't worry. Elders will die better soon."

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Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters this weekend, and it's expected to be a smashing success commercially. According to tracking estimates, Deadpool & Wolverine is tracking to earn between $160 million-$170 million at the domestic box office for its opening weekend and between $180 million-$190 million from international markets for a global start of as much as $360 million.

Deadpool & Wolverine would become the biggest opening weekend for an R-rated movie, surpassing the current record-holder, which is the original Deadpool ($132.4 million).

For comparison, Inside Out 2--which is 2024's highest-grossing movie so far by leaps and bounds--made $154.2 million over its opening weekend in the US. Barbie, meanwhile, made $162 million for its opening weekend stateside in July 2023.

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With the beta over, Firewalk Studios is revealing what players can expect with the launch of Concord, along with what's coming after the game's release. Notably, one popular element seen in many online shooters will be missing on purpose: a battle pass.

Mark DeRidder, gameplay animation director at Firewalk, shared this decision on X by adding: "You own Concord, Concord doesn't own you." DeRidder, for his part, previously worked on one of the most popular games in the world with a battle pass as a developer at Raven Software on Call of Duty: Warzone, per LinkedIn.

No Battle Pass, folks. You own Concord, Concord doesn't own you. https://t.co/lZ3Zkv2THD

— Mark DeRidder (@markderidder) July 24, 2024

While there is no battle pass, Firewalk is promising "new Freegunners, maps, modes, and more" after Concord launches on August 23. Additionally, this will come with "no additional cost." Concord isn't free-to-play, but instead costs $40.

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Call of Duty is bringing WWE content under its tent in a big way in Season 5, with a crossover event running during and after the company's SummerSlam event. It seems that COD's WWE bundles will even feature voice acting from WWE announcers like Michael Cole.

WWE bundles in Call of Duty will have finishing moves with WWE announcers as the VO pic.twitter.com/TuaFKDVZ4g

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) July 24, 2024

A recent leak posted on social media shows a player using a steel chair in a finishing move. At the end, you can hear Michael Cole call out, just as though it were happening in the squared circle. As usual, you should take this leak with a grain of salt, as it doesn't necessarily show what the release version will look like. However, given how well-known the voices of certain WWE announcers are, it's a nice touch.

Call of Duty's WWE crossover will include several operator bundles, featuring real-life WWE wrestlers Rhea Ripley, Cody Rhodes, and Rey Mysterio. Season 5 will also add four new weapons, including the Static-HV SMG, the STG assault rifle, the Torque 35 launcher, and a spear melee weapon. In addition, Rhea Ripley is an instant unlock with a purchase of the battle pass. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is now available on Xbox Game Pass.

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Apex Legends recently found itself in some hot water due to changes it was going to make to its battle pass. The studio had intended to break up the premium battle pass into two when Season 22 launched. This upset much of the game's fanbase and the outcry worsened as Respawn revealed that players would now have to pay real-world money to unlock both battle passes instead of the usual choice of real money or Apex Coins (Apex Legends premium currency). Apex Legends' battle passes have always awarded Apex Coins, allowing players to purchase new passes by completing previous ones--this change would have removed that perk, meaning individual players would be pouring more money into the game than before

Shortly after that was announced, a significant portion of the Apex Legends community began pushing back against this. On July 24, Apex Legends issued a statement on its official X/Twitter account claiming that the team will not proceed with its original battle pass plans.

An update on our new Battle Pass: pic.twitter.com/ga8NB8cwFB

— Apex Legends (@PlayApex) July 24, 2024

The statement explains that in Season 22, Apex Legends will continue to allow players to get the premium battle pass for 950 Apex Coins. "We recognize that we could have handled the battle pass changes better--that's on us," the Apex Legends team writes in the statement. When the season launches on August 6, players will have the chance to get the season's first premium battle pass by completing in-game challenges. When the second split occurs on September 17, players can purchase the season's second premium battle pass using the game's premium currency or real money with plans to run with this format going forward after that.

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Modern Warfare 2's sniper rifles are currently underpowered in Call of Duty: Warzone, but as revealed by the ModernWarzone news account, the developer has teased a game-changing buff to those sniper rifles.

With Modern Warfare 2's initial integration with Warzone, sniper rifles required two shots to take down opponents. A change was later made to offer one-shot capabilities for the snipers, but only if the player equipped an ammo attachment like explosive rounds. The need for an attachment makes the older sniper rifles like MW2's FJX Imperium much less viable when stacked against MW3's more-powerful snipers like the MORS and KATT-AMR.

In a creator call earlier this week, Call of Duty developers said that, following a future update, Modern Warfare II sniper rifles will NOT require certain attachments such as explosive rounds to one shot people in Warzone anymore.
No word on when this update will happen. pic.twitter.com/DDqoWwNo2G

— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) July 24, 2024

However, a future update will apparently allow the MW2 sniper rifles to offer one-shot kills in Warzone without needing any special attachments equipped. ModernWarzone says the news came from a creator call with Warzone's developer earlier this week, but a specific date wasn't provided for the update.

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Call of Duty's newest season, Season 5, is out now, and that means dedicated dataminers have dug through the update to discover what's coming next to the multiplayer shooter.

Among other things, players can look forward to some of the most elaborate and impressive new weapons that Call of Duty has ever seen. The CODFish Tracer Pack, which is coming sometime during Season 5, will add a fish-themed mastercraft weapon that has one heck of an impressive weapon-inspect animation. As you can see in the video below, there is a skeleton of a creepy-looking fish inside the gun that swims out and can be called back by shaking a piece of bait, a bullet in this case, to attract it. Check it out below.

Its mastercraft, possibly the coolest one i've seen tbh https://t.co/xS4TiMflIO pic.twitter.com/mw86iScKzR

— Reality (@realityuk_) July 24, 2024

Another upcoming DLC bundle, Down From The Skies, includes a seriously impressive weapon inspection animation that appears to rip a hole in the space-time continuum. Take a look:

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GameSpot can exclusively reveal The Lego Company's next Sonic the Hedgehog collectible, just in time for San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Shadow the Hedgehog--Sonic's edgier reflection--will be available as a 720-piece Lego set and will be available starting October 1. Priced at $70, this set will let you construct the noggin of Dr. Robotnik's ultimate lifeform.

Lego Shadow the HedgehogGallery

Once fully constructed, you can check out some cool Easter eggs hidden in this plastic bust. For example, there's a Chaos Emerald inside of Shadow, his base contains several gold rings, and he comes with a nameplate to attach to his display. This version of Shadow is based on his very first appearance in Sonic Adventure 2, a 2001 game for the Sega Dreamcast.

Shadow has starred in several other video games over the decades--including that one 2005 game where he had a cool motorcycle and lots of guns--and he'll be appearing on the big screen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Making a switch from hitman to hedgehog, Keanu Reeves will voice Shadow in the threequel, and video game fans can also look forward to seeing Shadow pop up in Sonic X Generations on October 25.

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Disney has been churning out iconic movies for decades, but did you know the company is also responsible for a series of New York Times best-selling novels? The series, Villains by Serena Valentino, follows bad guys from the films to better flesh out their stories. You'll find 10 books in the series, and an eleventh, Kill the Beast, is scheduled to arrive on July 30. Preorders are currently discounted ahead of its release, so if you're interested in checking out the series, be sure to take a look.

Kill the Beast (Villains: Book 11) $17 ($19)

Kill the Beast is a bit more mature than your standard Disney flick, with an intended audience aged 12 and up. The book clocks in at 432 pages and follows the story of Gaston from his childhood all the way to his quest to slay the Beast. The hardcover volume features a stylish design, showing off Gaston's devilishly handsome smile on a black background.

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Your preorder comes with Amazon's preorder guarantee, so if the price drops between now and July 30, you're entitled to the lowest price. That means there's no downside to preordering, as there's little chance we'll see a better price than this after launch.

If you prefer to start from the beginning of the series, you'll find the Villains Box Set: Books 1-3 on sale for just $24 (down from $45). The collection includes hardcover versions of the first three Villains tales, making it a great entry point for Disney fans.

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Digital Extremes, the studio behind Warframe, recently announced that its upcoming 1999 expansion will include a romance system. It was inspired to do so after seeing Larian Studios's success with implementing one in Baldur's Gate 3.

While speaking with GamesRadar+ in an interview, Rebecca Ford, the creative director of Warframe, stated that the studio had always wanted to add a romance system to its game, but "there was never an appropriate scenario to do it."

"I think two things really gave us the courage to proceed," said Ford. "Of course, the success of Baldur's Gate and their romance system was like, 'Okay, like, people do want this fantasy.' It does help, there's no doubt, but we did have, I should say, ambitions of it, that fit the Warframe architecture, on and off. Baldur's Gate was the push over the cliff for sure, and I'm grateful for that. That was one of the best gaming experiences for me, ever."

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One of the longest-running web series, Red vs. Blue, came to a close earlier this year with its final full-length feature, Red vs. Blue: Restoration, which is now set to launch on Blu-ray on October 8. For fans who want to own a physical edition of the movie, you can preorder the Red vs. Blue: Restoration Blu-ray for $17 (was $20) at Amazon.

Preorder Red vs. Blue: Restoration $17 (was $20)

Red vs. Blue: Restoration is the first Red vs. Blue content since Red vs. Blue: Zero (which comprises seasons 18 and 19 of the show) premiered in late 2020. The film serves as season 20 of the series and offers an "alternate universe" ending that follows up the original 13 "main series" seasons.

For those who don't know, Red vs. Blue is a long-running machinima fan-series set in the Halo universe and largely uses in-game footage from various Halo games. The series starts as a humorous, in-universe spoof on Halo multiplayer and evolves into a sci-fi epic with long-running story arcs and surprisingly moving character moments. It was the first video series created by the now-shuttered Rooster Teeth.

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If you don't want to wait for the Red vs. Blue: Restoration Blu-ray release, you can buy or rent the digital version on Prime Video. And if you haven't caught up on all the previous seasons--which stretch all the way back to the original episodes from 2003--you can also stream the entire Red vs. Blue series leading up to Restoration on Prime Video.

Obviously, Red vs. Blue owes its existence to the Halo franchise. While the official Halo TV series was recently cancelled (though there's a chance it may continue), season two is now available on Blu-ray, including a limited-edition 4K steelbook edition. Fans can grab it for $38.41 (was $60) at Amazon, along with various other Halo TV series Blu-rays.

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If you find it uncomfortable to play Switch in handheld mode with the standard Joy-Con, it might be time to upgrade your setup. There are plenty of great options to choose from, but right now few are as enticing as the NexiGo Hall Effect Gripcon. Amazon is currently discounting the handheld grip to its lowest price ever, giving you a chance to score the gadget for just $42 (down from $70).

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The big selling point of the NexiGo Gripcon is its Hall Effect sticks. These are drift-resistant components that won't succumb to the dreaded drift like the standard Joy-Con. It also features haptic-feedback motors, a six-axis gyroscope, and the ability to pick from three different joystick heights. Toss in four configurable back buttons, and this is a surprisingly well-rounded handheld controller for $42.

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Harley Quinn may not be the only iconic Batman villain joining the Clown Prince of Crime in Joker: Folie à Deux. Closed captioning for the upcoming DC film points to Harvey Dent, also known as Two-Face, appearing in the sequel, as well.

On X, DiscussingFilm shared an image of Dent's name showing up in the closed captioning for Joker 2's official trailer. This option has now been disabled on YouTube, so it seems Warner Bros. is attempting to keep this under wraps for now. Early on in the video, Dent apparently says: "They believe Arthur Fleck to be some kind of martyr. Well, he's not. He's a monster."

Harvey Dent will appear in ‘JOKER 2’, according to the trailer’s closed captions. pic.twitter.com/U62A7Fma5r

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 23, 2024

The new Joker 2 trailer promises a mad-love musical and highlights that Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is being put on trial. So it's possible that Dent could be the district attorney looking to lock him up. Additionally, in 2022, Joker 2 added Harry Lawtey to the cast in reportedly a notable role. No other details on Lawtey's character were shared at the time.

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Art the Clown has never been afraid to paint the town red in the first two Terrifier films, but he's taking things to the next level in Terrifier 3. This time, Art is playing Santa Claus for the people of Miles County, and his idea of holiday cheer involves murder, mayhem, and making blood angels in the new trailer.

On some level, Art is a showman, and dressing up as Santa is his way of adding some holiday flare to his murder spree. The trailer also features the return of Vicky Heyes, Art's victim from the first film who may now be his partner in crime. Vicky survived her initial encounter with Art after he disfigured her, and she went insane before she apparently played a role in his rebirth at the end of Terrifier 2. Hopefully the new film will explain their bizarre connection.

The only one who is equipped to fight these killers is Sienna Shaw, the young woman whom Art killed in Terrifier 2. Sienna was resurrected and given the chance to defeat Art once before. She'll have another chance in Terrifier 3, if she can withstand the combined might of Art and Vicky.

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Ahead of its release on August 9, a Comic-Con trailer for Borderlands has dropped from orbit and is full of brand-new footage. This glimpse at the film also shows off several Easter eggs, and Borderlands fans can check it out below to catch glimpses of Pandora's hostile wildlife, fancy Atlas guns, and a quick cameo by Mushy Snugglebites near the end.

Directed by Eli Roth, Borderlands is a live-action adaptation of the video game franchise of the same name. This won't be a direct adaptation, as Roth's film remixes characters and elements from the game to tell a unique story, with Tiny Tina being central to the story.

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The use of AI in video game development has become a hot-button issue in recent months, especially at the very top of the industry. Now, a wide-ranging report claims that Call of Duty publisher Activision sold cosmetics that were partially made with AI.

The piece, which comes via Wired, describes a climate of fear and anxiety surrounding the use of AI in the gaming industry, especially for 2D artists. It opens with a quote from an alleged email from former Activision chief technology officer Michael Vance, stating that artificial intelligence was "top of mind" for the publisher, and that the systems "hold a ton of promise."

An internal memo cited later in the piece apparently approved the use of generative AI tools like GPT-3.5 to create concept art and marketing materials. A cosmetic created by AI was then reportedly released Modern Warfare 3 through the in-game store. The Wired report links to the Yokai's Wrath bundle, which includes a skin, loading screen, sticker, and more, though it's unclear exactly what was generated by AI.

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If you find yourself traveling with a bundle of electronics, consider picking up the Anker 735 Charger to keep them all juiced up. The popular three-port charger is ideal for everything from iPhones to Steam Deck, making it a versatile companion for all your adventures. Now is an especially good time to check it out, as a limited-time deal at Amazon lets you snag it for just $30 (down from $56).

Anker 735 Charger (3-Port) $30 (was $56)

While the Anker 735 Charger might be best for travelers (thanks to its compact, folding design), it's still a great choice for a home office or nightstand, allowing you to charge multiple gadgets without clogging up all your electrical outlets. Connecting a single device will get you a 65W max charge, while adding additional devices will disperse the charge accordingly. The Anker charger is equipped with two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, giving you the option to charge your smartphone, earbuds, and laptop all in one place.

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Best of all, the Anker 735 Charger comes with an 18-month warranty to ensure it works as intended. This deal matches the lowest price ever for the charger, making this the best time to add it to your travel bag or home office.

If you're not sold on the Anker 735, there are a few other great charging bricks for you to consider. The Anker 100W Charger is a good option if you need a bit more juice, and it's an easy recommendation now that it's just $50 (down from $75). And for folks with lots of electronics, you can pick up the Anker 60W 6-Port Charger for $20 (down from $30).

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Bad Boys: Ride or Die--the fourth movie in the nearly-30-year-old buddy-action series starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence--is still playing in movie theaters, but you can already preorder the Blu-ray release at Amazon.

Preorder Bad Boys: Ride or Die Steelbook edition

Details about the release are still sparse--the release date has not been revealed, nor any details about special features, but we at least know set includes both 4K and standard Blu-ray versions of the film, as well as a Movies Anywhere digital copy, and comes in a limited-edition steelbook case.

If you don't want the steelbook edition or are looking for a non-4K option, you can also preorder Bad Boys: Ride or Die on standard Blu-ray and DVD.

The 4K version is listed for $35, which is cheaper than the Blu-ray and DVD releases. Obviously, that probably means prices will change once we get nearer to the release date. The good news is that when you preorder something on Amazon, you're only charged the lowest price between when the item is ordered and when it releases. So, if the price comes down on any of these versions, your preorder price will be automatically adjusted to the lowest price.

Preorder 4K Steelbook edition at Amazon Preorder Blu-ray edition at Amazon Preorder DVD edition at Amazon

When their late boss Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is linked with drug cartels, Miami police detective Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett (Will Smith and Martin Lawrence) have to protect the captain's legacy. And that's going to require a lot of fast driving and shooting guns, and maybe even a little help from Mike's secret adult son Armando--who's looking for redemption since he just so happens to be the one who murdered the captain in the last movie. It's directed once again by Adil El Arbi and Billal Fallah, who also handled the delightful Bad Boys for Life.

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