An Iconic Horror Movie Is Being Rebooted – Report

Get ready for a very scary 2021. The Exorcist, the film that has traumatized countless moviegoers since the 1970s is reportedly being rebooted by Morgan Creek Entertainment, according to Deadline. The information was casually dropped in a report about Dead Ringers, a TV show reboot of the production company’s original 1988 film.

This won’t be the first crack at a modern Exorcist revival. The franchise was spun into a TV show on Fox that lasted for two seasons back in 2016. Before that, the original film had two sequels, The Exorcist II: The Heretic in 1977 and The Exorcist III in 1990, and one prequel in Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist in 2005.

The franchise owes its existence to the novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, published in 1971. The novel was adapted into a stage play in 2012 and toured through the UK as recently as 2019.

There are no concrete details about Morgan Creek’s planned reboot, meaning it’s far too soon to tell whether or not it will simply be a second pass at the first film or if it will be something completely new. Casting, production timelines, and a release date beyond the planned 2021 year, remain entirely unknown.

How To Play Madden NFL 21 A Full Week Early

Madden NFL 21 officially hits the field on August 28 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, but you can play the professional football game an entire week early–if you’re willing to pay for it.

EA Sports has confirmed that Madden NFL 21’s early access period begins on August 21. On that date, you can begin playing the full game through EA Play, which is EA’s new name for all of its subscription services. If history is any indication, while you can play the full game early, total play time is expected to be limited to no more than 10 hours.

Subscribing to EA Play, which costs $5/month or $30/year, is not the only way to play Madden NFL 21 early. The game’s $80 Deluxe edition unlocks on August 25, and there are no time limits.

All of your progress from the EA Play trial is likely to carry forward if you choose to buy the game outright. EA Play members save 10 percent on all EA digital content, which knocks down the price of Madden NFL 21’s standard version from $60 to $54.

Madden NFL 21 introduces a number of updates and improvements over last year’s game, while it also adds a brand-new, arcade-style backyard football mode with trick plays. For more on Madden NFL 21, check out GameSpot’s video above where we speak with producer Seann Graddy and run down everything that’s new.

Now Playing: Madden 21 – Upcoming Changes And Features

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Sacha Baron Cohen Was Almost A Marvel Superhero

If you thought the long and winding story of New Mutants couldn’t get any stranger, think again. Though the majorly delayed film is looking at an actual, real, definitely-going-to-stick-this-time release on August 28, new information about the (probably cursed) production keeps trickling in–this time, with what might be the most bonkers superhero casting of all time.

Nerdist reports that director Josh Boone seriously considered bringing comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on board to play Warlock, a character who played a major role in the New Mutants comics but sadly did not end up making the cut in the live action adaptation–though, apparently, Warlock made it through several versions of the script before a final draft was cooked up.

For the uninitiated, Warlock–not to be confused with Adam Warlock, no relation–was a giant robotic alien creature who came from a race called the Technarchy that traveled around the galaxy infecting populations with the techno-organic virus. If you’re a fan of characters like Cable, there’s a good chance you’ve heard the term “techno-organic virus” before–it refers to a virus that infects and then drains the life energy out of organic organisms. The Technarchy made their way in the universe by infecting and then sustaining themselves with the virus’s energy but Warlock was different–he actually possessed empathy and compassion and was thus regarded as a “mutant” for his race. Long story short, he ended up on Earth and joined up as a core member of the New Mutants.

Had Warlock actually made it to the big screen, Baron Cohen would not have been put on stilts and strapped into a crazy Borg-like costume, however. Boone explained that his ideal take would have made Baron Cohen the “Andy Serkis of Warlock,” meaning he would have performed the character to be CGI’d in later, like Serkis’s iconic performance of Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies.

We can’t tell if this is the biggest missed opportunity in a superhero movie or a dodged bullet. Maybe it’s both.

New Mutants will be coming to theaters on August 28.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Release Date, Deathloop Delay, & Another Batman Tease | Save State

In today’s Save State, Chastity talks about how Baldur’s Gate 3 was initially planned for August, but will now release in early access on PC and Stadia in late September. The release date was confirmed during the Panel from Hell stream during Summer Games Fest, in which we got a new CGI trailer and details on five origin characters at launch.

Adjusting to working from home during COVID-19 has been a challenge for numerous game developers, including Arkane Studios. Their game Deathloop has officially been delayed to 2021.

In Batman news, yesterday we talked about the Batman teaser site, for a game rumored to be called Gotham Knights. The countdown on the official site ended, and it resulted in…another teaser.The game will most likely be revealed during the WB Montreal panel at DC Fandome this Saturday, August 22. We will also be covering all the biggest DC movies from DC Fandome over on https://www.youtube.com/gamespotuniverse.

While you’re here, check out GameSpot’s merch store! Until the end of August, all the proceeds will go to charity, split between Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 direct relief. Check it out here: https://store.gamespot.com/

This 8-Part X-Men Animated Theme Performed By One Cellist Is Phenomenal

The X-Men animated series, which ran for five seasons from 1992 until 1997, had an iconic theme song. It’s an earworm, capable of being stuck in your head all day if you so much as think about it. But this extremely classy, wonderfully arranged cello version is so good, you’ll want to risk the headspace it’s going to take up.

Cellist Samara Ginsberg has recreated this theme on cello, but performing eight distinctive parts and then putting together an overlapping video. It’s extremely impressive, and more importantly, it sounds fantastic, emphasizing just how good the original piece was while also adding to it.

You can watch and listen in the video below.

The X-Men theme–which, by the way, I’ve always suspected inspired the Deus Ex menu music–was originally composed by Ron Wasserman, who also wrote Go Go Power Rangers, the main theme for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

Ginsberg has a Ko-fi account, if you loved the performance and want to thank her for it. The X-Men animated series is available on Disney Plus.

19 Years Later, Harry Potter Passes $1 Billion At The Box Office Thanks To Re-Release

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the original film in the fantasy series, has passed $1 billion at the global box office 19 years after it was originally released in 2001.

Following a re-release of the film in 4K 3D in China over the weekend, the movie has now reached $1,001,260,000 at the global box office. The entire franchise, meanwhile, has passed $7.74 billion worldwide, according to numbers crunched by Deadline.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone made $13.6 million over the weekend in China across 16,000 screens.

“We are thrilled to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone delight a new generation of audiences,” Warner Bros. executive Andrew Cripps said in a statement. “The popularity of the film with moviegoers in China, who are discovering it for the first time, proves that the appeal of these stories is truly timeless and universal.”

The Sorcerer’s Stone is just the second mainline Harry Potter movie to reach $1 billion worldwide, joining Deathly Hallows Part II ($1.4 billion). The least commercially successful Harry Potter film was The Prisoner of Azkaban, which made $796.8 million worldwide, and this gives you an idea about just how enormously popular the series was.

The main Harry Potter movie series ended in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. Another Harry Potter universe series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, debuted in 2016 and it was followed up with a 2018 sequel subtitled The Crimes of Grindelwald.

Now Playing: 8 Best Shows And Movies To Stream For August 2020 – Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video

No Straight Roads Shows Switch-Exclusive Features In New Trailer

When No Straight Roads launches on August 25, Switch owners will get a few extra features in their version of the musical adventure game. These include expanded co-op and control options, as shown off in the new trailer below.

While the game will have two-player couch co-op on the other systems, a third player can get involved on Switch. Thanks to the Switch-exclusive Assist Mode, which lets a player control Elliegator (an alligator assistant who can pick up items and assist in battle), up to three players can play together on the same system.

The Switch will also support touchscreen controls, as well as playing with a single Joy-Con or the Pro Controller. If you prefer playing on touch screens, it’s a nice bonus.

The trailer, below, is our first look at how the game runs on Switch, so it’s worth a look if you’re curious about this version.

While the digital version of No Straight Roads will arrive on Switch at the same time as the other versions, its physical release is delayed slightly–you’ll have to wait until September 15 if you want the game in a box.

For more on the game, check out these 20 minutes of gameplay footage.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Microsoft Flight Simulator: Top Issues And How To Fix Them

Microsoft’s newest game, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, is off to a strong start with very positive review scores that make it one of the most highly rated titles of the year. There has been some turbulence, however, as players have notified Microsoft about bugs and other issues.

Microsoft has now launched an official bug-tracking website for Flight Simulator that houses the top reported issues and provides temporary workarounds. As of August 18, some of the top issues that don’t have fixes yet include the game getting stuck on the loading screen, slow download times, and the game failing to launch on some versions of Windows.

You can see the temporary workarounds for these issues below, as posted on the site.

Stuck Loading on Blue Bar

  • Exit out of Microsoft Flight Simulator (alt+F4) and relaunch the title one or two times
  • Try running the sim as an Administrator

Unable to Launch Sim on Insider/Pre-release Version of Windows

Try installing the Xbox App to launch the sim instead.

  1. In the Windows Search Bar, type in Microsoft Store and click to open the Microsoft Store App
  2. Search ‘Xbox’ in the search bar of the store and click on the Xbox (Beta) App.
  3. Install this app, sign in, and try to launch Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Slow Download Times

Microsoft Flight Simulator uses data pulled from Bing Maps that is streamed into the game using Azure cloud technology, and this allows you to fly to basically anywhere in the world. The game is currently only available on PC, but it’s coming to the Xbox family of devices later on.

GameSpot’s own review for Microsoft Flight Simulator is in progress and will be published soon.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

E3 Apologizes For Linking To Strange, Sexist Article On Twitter

One of the first heralds that the world of gaming was going to be severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic was the cancellation of E3 2020, making this the first year without an E3 since the trade show began in 1995. With numerous online replacements and the bad taste left behind by an enormous data breach following the 2019 show, not to mention companies like Sony pulling away from the event, there’s been plenty of reasons to question E3’s future.

And now, E3 has become embroiled in another controversy, with an ill-conceived tweet linking to a sexist article going up on the E3 Twitter account. The since-deleted tweet contained a link along with the text “Great list of games women gamers are playing–any of your favorites make the cut?”

The article it linked to was called 25 Online Games That Women Enjoy on Parade, and it was an SEO-optimized list of games that “women play,” peppered with quotes from user reviews and market research. Games included Kim Kardashian’s Hollywood, Solitaire, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

The issue here is not that these are lesser or inferior games–the article was extremely prescriptive about the sorts of games that are “for” women, and was clearly produced to produce key word clicks rather than actually presenting recommendations, and included many sterotypes (“Diamond’s are a girl’s best friend,” the Bejeweled Classic entry reads).

The list seems to have been taken down, too, but we would not link to it regardless.

After an outcry, the E3 Twitter account removed the tweet and posted a brief apology.

E3 2021 is scheduled for June 15 to 17 next year. It’ll likely look very different from previous E3s, though.

Now Playing: E3 2020 Canceled – How Sony, Microsoft, & Nintendo Have Responded