Though we’re still a long way off from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 even beginning production, as it’ll have to wait until director James Gunn is finished with The Suicide Squad, one of its stars recently said some very exciting and encouraging things about the screenplay.
Talking to THR, the MCU’s Karen Gillan, who’s played Nebula in the two Guardians movies and the last two Avengers films, shared about what she knows regarding Vol. 3’s production, and her thoughts about the script.
Starz’ adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods has had its share of troubles in the two short seasons its been on air, with showrunners changing hands many times and facing multiple delays. Now, in the lead-up to Season 3, actor Orlando Jones has been fired from the cast.
Jones, who played Mr. Nancy on the show, posted on Twitter recently as reported by TVLine, and delivered a video message to fans of the show in which he expressed his frustrations. Jones states that the new Season 3 showrunner, Charles “Chic” Eglee made the decision due to his character sending “the wrong message” to “black America.”
Black Friday had some fantastic VR deals, and with Half-Life: Alyx releasing next year, interest in virtual reality has spiked. Thankfully, the deals haven’t stopped with Black Friday, as several headsets have received some pretty awesome discounts and special bundles. If you didn’t get a chance to jump on a headset during Black Friday, then these VR deals are your best bet.
One of the marquee VR deals going on right now is for the all-in-one Oculus Quest, which proved so popular during Black Friday that it’s sold out nearly everywhere. However, if you can find an Oculus Quest before January 31, you’ll get all three episodes of Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series as long as you activate your headset within 30 days of purchasing it. Thankfully, Amazon will have more stock on December 26.
Oculus Quest (64GB/128GB) with Vader Immortal | $400/$500
Available for backorder; compatible with Half-Life: Alyx
The Oculus Quest doesn’t need to connect to a PC, which gives you full freedom to move within your designated space. However, if you’re interested in plugging it into a PC, Oculus recently introduced Oculus Link, which lets you connect your Quest to a PC with a high-quality USB 3.0 cable. And yes, that means it’s compatible with Half-Life: Alyx.
You can see all of the best VR deals below. We know there’s interest in Half-Life: Alyx, so we’ve made a note of pointing out which ones will be ready to go for its March release date.
VR deals and discounts
Samsung HMD Odyssey+ | $229 ($500)
Compatible with Half-Life: Alyx
The Samsung HMD Odyssey+ is a great headset, especially at this price. As far as Windows Mixed Reality headsets go, this is the best one. You get two free months of Viveport Infinity, a VR game subscription service, with your purchase, and there’s also a huge library of compatible games on Steam, including the upcoming Half-Life: Alyx. Amazon has it discounted to $229.
HTC Cosmos with 6-months of Viveport Infinity | $599 ($700)
Compatible with Half-Life: Alyx
HTC debuted its first headset with inside-out tracking earlier this year, and Walmart has the headset for $100 off. It’s not as great as GameStop’s Black Friday deal, but it’s a deal worth considering if you want an HTC headset but don’t want to deal with sensors. Unlike the all-in-one Quest, however, the Cosmos needs to be connected to a PC.
Oculus Rift S + free game | $399
Compatible with Half-Life: Alyx
The Rift S isn’t discounted at the moment, but Oculus recently announced that if you purchase a Rift S prior to December 15, you’ll get the excellent Asgard’s Wrath. If you want to jump in before Half-Life: Alyx, the Rift S is compatible. It’s also compatible with all of GameSpot’s best VR games of 2019. It features inside-out tracking, but unlike the Quest, it needs to be plugged into a PC.
Oculus Go (32GB/64GB) | $130/$200 ($199/$249)
The Oculus Go headset’s focus is more on media viewing. It’s a great headset for watching movies, shows, and other videos, but you won’t be able to play any of the games on Steam. Amazon has the headset discounted to $130 for the 32 GB version and $199 for the 64 GB option.
32 GB:
64 GB:
PlayStation VR with five-game mega pack | $300
This PlayStation VR combo was discounted to $200 during Black Friday, but if you didn’t get a chance to grab it then, you can still get it from Walmart from a third-party seller at its regular price. This is an excellent starter pack for PlayStation VR with five great games: Skyrim VR, Resident Evil 7, Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, Everybody’s Golf VR, and PlayStation VR Worlds.
A fresh Power Rangers movie reboot is in the works at Paramount Pictures. Director Jonathan Entwistle, best known for Netflix’s End of the F—ing World, is currently in early negotiations to direct the new Power Rangers movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 2017 Power Rangers movie underperformed at the box office and received mixed-to-negative reviews, causing plans for a sequel to be scrapped. The rights to Power Rangers have since been taken over by Hasbro where this new effort is underway via Allspark Pictures.
You’ve done it: you’ve taken the plunge and decided to make your house smarter. Welcome. The smart home used to be a place most wouldn’t dare enter, but with the likes of Amazon, Google and Apple now playing in the space, along with the rise of voice assistants and smart speakers, it’s never been easier – or cheaper – to build yourself a smart home.
Smart light bulbs, smart speakers, smart smoke alarms – if you can think of it, somebody’s probably stuck a chip in it. There’s a lot out there, and it can be a little daunting if you’re just dipping your toe in the water.
The good news is that building a smart home doesn’t need to be a headache. The smart home should be about convenience; being able to turn off your lights with a simple voice command, or having your thermostat heat up the apartment as soon as you walk through the door.