New Batman v Superman posters arrive to save the day

Holy Trinity

Featuring not one, not two, but three of DC's heaviest hitters, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is shaping up to be the superhero film to beat this summer.

A new trailer for the superhero slugfest surfaced a few weeks ago, and now a trio of character posters have emerged. In the spotlight are DC's very own holy trinity, Superman (looking disconcertingly like Pee Wee Herman), a heavy metal Batman, and Themysciran princess Wonder Woman.

There's no sign of the rest of the Justice League, who at last count included Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller's Flash, and Ray Fisher as techno-titan Cyborg. We're still not clear on how big a role they'll play in the final film, and the lack of character sheets could suggest they are more bit-part than big-time players.  Not that we mind, especially as from the looks of it BvS is already full to bursting, even without throwing another trio of characters into the mix.

While Supes' costume still looks a little too fussy and overcomplicated, Ben Affleck's Batman is looking very good indeed, even if he does comes across a bit more Robocop than Caped Crusader. Wonder Woman, who we feared wouldn't translate well to the realm of live action, actually looks the best of the bunch. As we can see, she's packing her lasso of truth, an iconic part of the character's arsenal that will be immediately recognisable to Wondy fans.

The finished film swoops into cinemas next March.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens review round-up

Is the new Star Wars film a Force to be reckoned with?

The biggest movie of the year, possibly even the decade, is so close now you can practically feel the excitement in the air. Before The Force Awakens is let loose upon the multiplexes, however, the critics have had a chance to weigh in with their thoughts on Star Wars' return to our screens.

As expected, the film has already been awarded a handful of perfect scores, with Total Film, USA Today, The Guardian and The Telegraph all giving J.J. Abrams' film top marks. Between them, they praised the film for its masterful storytelling, resonant mythology and boundless energy. Total Film did say the film wasn't perfect -despite, bizarrely, awarding it a perfect score- but claimed that for every minor niggle there are ten things the films gets completely right.

Surprisingly, Empire didn't give the film their highest score, opting to give the film four stars out of five. Despite this, they still heaped praise upon the picture, making it clear the latest entry in the Star Wars saga is a big step-up from the dry, joyless prequels. In terms of performances, they said that Daisy Ridley's Rey feels a little short-changed, but had nothing but good things to say about fellow lead John Boyega, and Kylo Ren, the mysterious villain of the piece played by Adam Driver.

Elsewhere the reviews are generally favourable, but one or two of them do take Abrams' vision of Star Wars to task for being too slavish to the original films. Variety knocked the film for its over reliance on fanservice, while The New York Post called it a shameless replay of the franchises greatest hits. A lot of these reviews seem to agree that the film is at its best when looking to the future instead of leaning on the past. Could we be looking at a film similar in structure to Abram's own Star Trek reboot here? One that pays homage to its roots, quietly tying up those loose ends while setting the stage for a whole new mythology?

In terms of negative reviews, there are very few so far. The LA Times called the picture 'erratic' and 'haphazard', but still found it to be an improvement on the prequels. The most scathing review comes courtesy of Roger Moore over at Movie Nation who found the movie too predictable and derivative for its own good.

So, there we have it, The Force Awakens is certainly a winner with the critics, even if their glowing recommendations do come with a few caveats. It'll be interesting to see how fans across the 'net react across the next few days, but for the moment it certainly looks like J.J. and his crew have succeeded in their mission to get the Star Wars franchise back on track.

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Review in progress

Fun-house Mira

If there's one piece of advice I have to offer anyone about to dive into the world of Xenoblade Chronicles X for the first time, it's this: make sure you read the in-game manual from digital cover to cover. This game is huge, not just in terms of world-size, but in the amount of mechanics and gameplay systems players are expected to learn. XCX does a good job of introducing players to some of these systems during the normal course of play, but it takes its sweet time to do so, and - if, like me, you enjoy going off the beaten path and exploring at your own pace - you'll bump up (and be perplexed by) a lot of these systems long before they are covered by in-game tutorials. Luckily, the menu is available directly from the pause menu, and it does an excellent job of explaining the nuts and bolts underpinning some of the game's more arcane subsystems.

Early on, the main thrust of the game is to chart the wilds of Mira. This vast, untrammelled land needs to be tamed if you and your fellow colonists hope to survive. With that in mind, it's up to the player to head out and forge a path through the wilderness. You do this by journeying to specific points on the map and planting beacons. These beacons then fill in details on your map - always available from the gamepad, handily - letting players know what secrets lurk in the surrounding territory. Sometimes completing a segment is as simple as finding a piece of treasure or defeating a Tyrant - a unique, high-level creature - other times you have to complete a specific mission, the criteria of which is not always immediately clear. Frustratingly, some missions will lead you directly to the objective, while others will only supply you with vague, maddeningly unhelpful instructions. This isn't so bad if it's a random gathering quest you can just ignore, but when it happens during an affinity mission it can stop you dead in your tracks. These quests can't be abandoned once you've accepted them, so I'd strongly advise players to save before they embarking on any, just so they can fall-back if they find themselves stumped.

Unlike most RPGs and open world titles, taking on one of XCX's main story missions isn't as simple as walking up to a point on the map and triggering a cutscene; most of the time, you will need to meet certain requirements before you can progress the plot. Sometimes this means taking on an specific side-mission, or one of the aforementioned affinity missions, or boogeying around the map until you have uncovered a certain percentage of the world's secrets.While I can see this causing headaches for players who want to just blitz through the game's campaign, I actually like it as it makes exploration feel meaningful; you aren't just rattling between waypoints for no reason like in some open world games.

Not that you'll need much of an excuse to go exploring; Mira, the planet upon which humankind finds itself stranded after an interstellar war reduces Earth to atoms, is a world that begs to be investigated. One of the first things gamers will notice is just how huge the game world is, so much so that your first tentative steps on terra firma can be a little overawing; huge, grassy plains sway into the distance, arches of rock claw the sky, massive, lumbering monsters prowl ceaselessly, and there's a towering robot on almost every street corner. The world may not be as dense and detailed as Fallout 4's, but in terms of raw scale nothing else -save perhaps the original Xenoblade Chronicles - comes close. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to explore an alien world, complete with all manner of mind-bending flora and fauna, this is probably as close as you can get without flinging yourself through a wormhole.

If you ever need a rest from exploring, you can head to the colony of New LA. Humanity's home away from home, this flat-packed cityscape is where you'll take on missions, chat to your fellow survivors, stock up on goodies, and begin to get to grips with some of the game's more unusual features, of which there are many. One of my favourites is the ability to upgrade your arsenal by investing in different weapons manufacturers. Pad their coffers with enough Miranium and they'll develop new weapons and armour for you to buy. Luckily, Miranium isn't too hard to come by, although you will have to do a bit of legwork to keep a steady supply trickling in. Every probe you place on the map can be subbed in with a mining or research probe. Mining probes yield Miranium, while research probes will bring in bucketfuls of credits. Deciding how to disseminate your probes is almost a game in itself, and tweaking your layouts to bring in the maximum amount of resources is surprisingly satisfying

And you'll want to bring home as much of that bacon as you can, especially if you want to take advantage of the giant robots, known as Skells, that become available later on in the game . These mechanised monsters can only be piloted once you've earned your license --an event that doesn't arrived until a couple of dozens of hours into the game. You get your first Skell for free, but upgrading to one of the better models is not cheap, especially if you want to outfit your whole team with robots of their own.

Instead of just being a fancy new place holder for your player character, Skells really open up the game world, allowing you to reach previously unassailable peaks and stand toe-to-toe with some of the game's more mountainous monsters. I wouldn't go as far as to say Skells completely transform the feel of the game - you'll still be flinging yourself around the map fighting monsters - but they do change things up enough to keep the game feeling fresh as you pass the 40-hour mark.

Whether you're on foot or piloting a mech, combat in Xenoblade is pretty simple. The game uses an MMO-like system, your abilities, or Arts, available from a menu which pops onto the bottom of the screen whenever you cross blades with a hostile beastie. You can switch between blades and boomsticks by hitting the Y button, allowing you to take the fight directly to the enemy or dish out damage from a distance.

Combat works best with a balanced team whose arts complement one another - Elma, for example, can stagger enemies with her Shadowstrike, and if you follow this up with a swipe from your combat rifle you'll send enemies sprawling. Once they're 'toppled' it's time to bring out the big guns and do some serious damage. A lot of Arts rely on positioning, requiring players to constantly change their footing if they want to stay ahead of the enemy. In practice, Xenoblade's combat feels like a cross between an MMO and an action game, striking a nice balance between depth and accessibility. My one complaint would be that -outside of one or two tricky boss battles- the game isn't all that challenging, but if this is anything like the original Xenoblade the difficulty will ramp up significantly nearer the end of the game.

Xenoblade is truly massive, in every sense of the word. It offers players a breathtaking world to lose themselves in, and more gameplay mechanics, features and systems to master than nearly any other game I can think of. Early on, it does feels like might become a victim of its own ambition, creaking under the weight of so many different ideas, but the more you play the more you appreciate how good a job Monolithsoft has done of weaving all these disparate elements into a satisfying whole. There are problems, mainly to do with some occasionally dodgy quest design and fuzzy tutorials, but these are easy to ignore when weighed against everything the games gets right.

I'll carry on updating these impression the further I get into the game, so please make sure to check back regularly for updates.

Latest Hyrule Warriors trailer shows off 3DS version's new features

Usually when a game is ported onto a less powerful console we get a severely neutered game, one with missing features, content and characters. Koei Tecmo are bucking the trend with their 3DS port of Hyrule Warriors, though; not only have they managed to cram the entire Wii U game onto a tiny 3DS cart, they've also tossed in a bunch of new stuff, including new added chapters and stages, new characters to battle as, and a character changing mechanic that lets you switch combatants on the fly during battle.

Although the graphics and overall presentation of the game have taken a noticeable hit due to the hardware gap between the Wii U and the 3DS, with the masses of new content and gameplay tweaks the handheld Hyrule Warriors is shaping up to be the definitive version of the game. The original release was already an incredibly solid game (and for my rupees, the best of the many Warriors spin-offs), so if you're a Zelda fan who never played the original, this one's a complete no-brainer.

For a closer look at the game in action, as well as the roster of new characters, which include Skull Kid, Toon Link and Linkle (Link's new female counterpart), point your peepers at this new trailer:

Godzilla looks terrifying in this new Resurgence poster

The not-so-jolly green giant

This lightened version of the poster shows off  the new Godzilla in all his gruesome glory

Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, the filmmakers heading up Godzilla: Resurgence, promised that Godzilla's return to Japanese cinemas would recapture some of the dread and hopelessness of the original 1954 film, and if our first look at their take on the King of Monsters is any indication, it certainly looks like they're on the right track.

Looking like something that's stepped out of a nightmare, the new Godzilla is a far cry from the noble, bear-like beast glimpsed in Gareth Edward's recent US reboot. This Kaiju looks like he got up on the wrong side of nuclear explosion, coming across more mutant than lizard with its lumpy, misshapen profile, creepy staring eye and a maw studded with row upon row of wicked-looking chompers. In many ways it is very true to the creature's original design, just with lots of nightmare fuel poured on top. In short, we think the new design's a bit of a winner and can't wait to see what the suit looks like in action.

From what we can gather, the movie use a combination of traditional man-in-suit effects work and spiffy CGI effects to bring Godzilla to life. Only time will tell whether or not the film can live up to its billing as the "most terrifying" Godzilla ever, but after seeing this poster we're inclined to believe Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi might just be able to pull it off. Although, to be fair, they've got a lot of work to do if they want to make a movie scarier than Godzilla: Final Wars; just thinking about that movie is enough to make most Godzilla fans break out in a nervous sweat.

Final Fantasy VII remake to get episodic release

Grin and Barret

Square has revealed that the forthcoming remake of beloved PS1 roleplaying game Final Fantasy VII will be split into multiple, separate releases.

The developer finally gave eager fans a look at the remake this past weekend during the keynote at Son'y's Playstation Experience event. Comprised mostly of gameplay and in-engine cut-scenes, this brief, stunningly rendered snippet of footage suggested that Square was sparing no expense in bringing FFVII up to date for the current generation.

Sadly, it also means they can't squeeze the entire remake into one release.

"Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be told across a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience," the publisher said in a statement.

Apparently, releasing the game in chunks will allow Square to ensure every part of the game makes it from the PS1 to the PS4 intact. It also means they can add new scenarios, story elements and other content to the game. 

The main culprit is the density and detail in the environments; remaking the game with this level of fidelity, says producer Yoshinori Kitase, would be impossible on just one disc. 

Walking Dead developer Telltale set to tackle Batman

Robin will remember that. 

One of the more curious announcements to come out of last night's Video Game Awards was the news that Telltale are hard at work on the development of a new Batman game.

Accompanied by a brief, stylish teaser trailer, the announcement didn't showcase any in-game footage or give away any gameplay details, but given Telltale's track record, we think it is safe to assume this will be an episodic adventure. What we don't know is what kind of Batman we'll be getting; will this be an adaptation of the creepy and colourful comic books, or a grounded  realistic take on the character that's more in line with the Nolan movies? In our opinion a sprawling murder mystery, akin to Bat classic The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, would be perfect.

Given Batman's position as the World's Greatest Detective, here's also hoping Telltale see fit to include a few instances of actual puzzle solving, something that's been sorely lacking in their last few releases.

Telltale's Batman is due to his consoles, PC and mobile devices in 2016.

Werewolf Week II: Werewolf of London (1935) Review

If you want to see where Hollywood’s love affair with lycanthropy began, look no further than Werewolf of London. Although Universal’s precursor to the later, much more successful Wolf Man isn’t technically the first werewolf movie ever made - that honour belongs to a silent short produced in 1913 called simply The Werewolf! - it was the first feature length film to bring the shape shifting creature to the big screen.

The story revolves around hapless botanist Dr. Glendon, whose search for a rare moonflower leads him to the slopes of Tibet. In true horror movie fashion, Glendon fails to heed the warnings of the creaky old man who counsels against going into the mountains, and is attacked by a savage beast while securing his prize. Upon returning to London, he begins transforming into a werewolf during the full moon. His only salvation is the juice of the flower he sought in Tibet, a rare concoction that can temporarily halt the metamorphosis between man and wolf. Unfortunately for Glendon, the mysterious Dr. Yogami is also in pursuit of the cure and will stop at nothing to get his hands on it...

The original Wolf Man may be the best loved of Universal’s werewolf pictures, but for my money, Werewolf in London is its best. For a film knocking on eighty years old, it’s a surprisingly cynical film, with a somewhat antiheroic main character. Whereas Wolf Man’s Lawrence Talbot was selfless, picking up the curse in the act of trying to save another, Glendon is a victim of his own greed, ignoring the warnings of others to satisfy his own ambition. Despite this, it’s hard not to feel a pang of sympathy for the old boy as the curse begins to take hold and his life starts to unravel. To make matter even worse, one of his wife’s old beaus arrives on the scene and starts making passes at his wife.

 

Another surprising aspect of this movie is how its draws a line between the curse of werewolfery and drug addiction. During the film, we see that the moonflower containing the cure is like a kind of organic hypo, the juice administered by breaking the stem and popping it into the nearest vein. For a film from the fun-loving thirties this is quite a stark and arresting image. Yogami even behaves like an addict, stooping to deceit and trickery to get his fix, and screeching at his maid when she touches his stash. As far as I can tell, the idea of werewolves as a metaphor for drug addiction was something that would not crop up again until more than sixty years later in Ginger Snaps: Unleashed, making Werewolf of London -intentionally or not- a film ahead of its time.

Sadly, the film hasn’t aged as well in other areas, with some performances feeling entirely stiff and unnatural. It must be said, though, that the main players are mostly excellent, especially Warner Oland as Doctor Yogami, who gets to deliver many of the movie’s best lines in his inimitable nordic drawl. The plot, too, offers very few real surprises and the humorous interludes featuring a pair of gin-soaked old ladies are more miss than hit.

Still, the film is well paced with plenty of action and good, old fashioned melodrama. The look of the creature -which partly inspired the design of the werewolf in Penny Dreadful- is effective, too, with some excellent early transformation sequences that still look great today. It might not impress anyone raised on the FX-work of Rick Baker and Stan Winston, but I think the simple make-up looks great, those sinister eyebrows and widow's peak enriching, instead of overshadowing, Henry Hull’s tortured performance.

All in all, this is one of the better creature features from the thirties and a must-see for anyone with a taste for werewolf movies. It may not be as enduring or influential as The Wolf Man, but Werewolf of London stands on its own thanks to its unique spin on werewolf lore and some pioneering effects work.

Werewolf Week: Wolfcop Review

Confession time: although the title of this feature is 'Werewolf Week', it's probably going to be hanging around the front page for a little longer than seven days, eventually becoming a sort of 'Best and Worst Werewolf Movies' type of deal. This Halloween, you see, I rediscovered the joy of the werewolf flick after stumbling across Ginger Snaps on Netflix. After reacquainting myself with this old favourite, I went on a bit of a werewolf bender, watching every werewolf movie I could lay my paws on in the run up to All Hallow's Eve.

I thought my obsession with shapeshifters would disappear along with the Halloween decorations, but long after the last plastic pumpkin had been put away I found myself scouring IMDB and various horror blogs for any werewolf films I might have missed. As it turns out, there's quite a few of them out there, ranging from the good to the bad to the howlingly awful. This feature takes a closer look at the cinematic legacy of the werewolf, separating the alphas dogs from the runts of the litter. Initially, at least, I'm going to avoid the big hitters like The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, and focus some of the sub-genre's less well known entries.

First up...

Wolfcop (2014)

The best thing about Wolfcop, hands down, is the poster.  I mean, just look at that thing, it's like a paean to the great horror B-movies of the eighties. One look at that lurid one-sheet, and you know you're in for a gloriously goofy time. Sadly, Wolfcop isn't that movie; it's a muddled, poorly paced piece of filmmaking, one that frustratingly fails to deliver on what could have been a great concept.

Wolfcop is a film that feels like it was made with the best of intentions; those intentions being to create a quirky, eighties-style horror comedy that wouldn’t look out of place among cult classics such as Return of the Living Dead and Night of the Comet. Sadly, the end result is too uneven, working as neither a horror film nor a comedy. There are moments in which the film shines - a insalubrious transformation sequence, being chief amongst them - but, by and large, Wolfcop feels like a major missed opportunity.

Watching this low-budget creature feature, it’s hard to shake the feeling that there is a good film in here somewhere. Sadly, it’s buried under a leaden script, wooden acting and characters so ill-defined they barely rate as caricatures. The main problem is one of pacing: all the media leading up to the film's release gave the impression that this was going to be an out of control, lurid tale of law, order and lycanthropy. In reality, the film is surprisingly dry, limping through the first 50-minutes or so before things begin to get interesting. Once the fur does finally start to fly, Wolfcop does pick up steam, sadly, though, the damage has already been done and the film never quite recovers.

In the end, Wolfcop is a strange beast: a comedy horror film that aims for the moon but barely makes it off the launchpad. Still, despite all my misgivings, I’d like to see Wolfcop ride again; a tighter sequel, unburdened by having to tell the story how our cop came to be a lupine defender of law and order, could work. As for this film, I’d put it near the bottom of the werewolf pile, recommending it only to full-moon freaks who have already exhausted the best the genre has to offer.

Is Empire of the Dead about to infect AMC?

Zombie-walk Empire

We first got word that Empire of the Dead, based on the 15-issue Marvel comic book series by George A. Romero, was heading to television back in May. We haven't heard a whole lot since then, but at the recent Wizard World Comic Con in Louisville, artist Arthur Sudyam offered an update on the series. 

According to Sudyam, Empire of the Dead will join fellow zombie dramas The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead over at AMC. One has to wonder if there's really room for another zombie-centric drama over at AMC, but with The Walking Dead still pulling in millions of views every week the undead are clearly still very much in demand. 

AMC has yet confirm Sudyam's claims, so this could just be a big ole misunderstanding. Still, he was pretty adamant that this would be the network's 'new big' zombie series, so we're tempted to believe there could be some truth to what he's saying.

Interestingly, Empire doesn't depict a straight-up zombie apocalypse, shaking up the formula by throwing vamps into the mix. Whether or not this will be enough to set the series apart from the glut of zombie media currently saturating film, TV and comics remains to be seen. Still, it'd be nice to see George Romero grab a slice of the action; he was, after all, doing this whole zombie thing decades before it became cool.

Meet the showrunners behind Scream season 2

Scream of the crop

Satirical slasher Scream's jump to TV may not have been everyone's cup of tea, but we thought MTV's take on the series was a solid enough stab at bringing Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's classic creation to the small screen. A second season has already been given the go-ahead, meaning fans of the first series will get another chance to see a batch of bland but beautiful teens navigate the pitfalls of adolescence while fending off masked maniacs. Here's hoping we get a little more horror and much less soapy teen melodrama this time around.

Taking over the reins for season 2 will be new showrunners Richard Register and Michael Gans, whose previous credits include SG, Make It Or Break It, and Celebrity Deathmatch. Clearly these guys are getting the gig based on their ties with MTV, as there's nothing in their CVs to suggest either has an affinity for horror. We can't help but wish the network had cast the new a little wider and snagged some showrunners who at least have some experience with the genre.

In the meantime, Scream fans would be better served by checking out the rather excellent Scream Queens, which - so far, at least -  is lot closer in tone and spirit to the original Scream films than MTV's own take on the material.

Explore the worlds of Star Wars: Battlefront with new interactive videos

While the Force Awakens continues to hog the limelight, there's another big Star Wars-themed release right around the corner. Star Wars: Battlefront, developed by the team behind the mega-selling Battlefield series, is a competitive shooter that lets players relive some of the films' most flamboyant fracas.

Aside from series favourites like the Battle of Hoth, players will be able to take part in the Battle of Jakku, an event which will be referenced in the upcoming film. In short, if you've ever wanted to shoot things in a galaxy far, far away, this is the game for you.

For the most part, players will scurry around maps, pew-pewing at their opponents as either a Rebel or Imperial soldier, but there will be opportunities to take control of iconic characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader for short periods. If vehicular cloneslaughter is more your speed, you can also stomp around the battlefield at the helm of an AT-AT, among other iconic vehicles.

Before the game drops on the 17th of November, players can get a closer look at some of the worlds they'll be warring on via a new series of interactive videos. Aside from giving players a feel for the game's various environments, these interactive fly-bys are packed with behind-the-scenes videos, trivia and descriptions of some of the gadgets, gizmos and guns available in the final game.

New Star Wars character posters awaken

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens right around the corner, marketing for the film has steadily been ramping up. With all the trailers out of the way, you'd think there was nothing left to get excited for, but Disney are fighting to keep The Force Awakens foremost in film fans' minds with the release of some snazzy character sheets.

Most of the main cast is present and accounted for, with lightsabers, blasters and - in Leia's case - some kind of hologram, at the ready. There's still no sign of Luke Skywalker, which is only making rabid Star Wars fans even more curious about what role the one-time saviour of the galaxy will play in the new film. Could we be getting a disillusioned, darker Luke? Will he be a full blown villain? Time will tell. The other notable omission is Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), who seems to have been sidelined in recent marketing materials in favour of his younger co-stars. A shame, he's one of the character's we're most looking forward to seeing in action.

Director J.J. Abrams and his merry band of film-makers are currently hard at work knocking the film into shape ahead of its December release. If you don't want to wait that long for your next Force Awakens fix, be sure to have a gander at our Star Wars character guide, which will tell you everything you need to know about the film's main movers and shakers.

Star Trek boldly going back to TV

Despite burning up the box office, Star Trek is finally headed back to the small screen. The Star Trek website is reporting that a new chapter in the space-faring science fiction series is currently in development and will air January 2017 on US channel CBS.

The return of Trek will bring with it new characters, imaginative new worlds and never-before-seen alien races and civilisations. Presumably, there will also be snazzy uniforms, transporter beams and swivel chairs.

The long-running franchise celebrates it's 50th anniversary next year, and according to CBS chief David Stapf, there's never been a better time to give Star Trek fans a brand new series.

Detail are a little thin on the ground, but we do know that the coming series will be helmed by Alex Kurtzman (Fringe, Sleepy Hollow) who will best best known to Star Trek fans for his contributions to the 2009 reboot and its sequel Into Darkness.

StarTrek.com is trumpeting the fact that the franchise receives in excess of a billion social media impressions every month. This sounds impressive, but we're willing to bet most of these come from Picard memes than from people actually talking Trek. Still, if Kurtzman and co. can tempt even a fraction of that number into checking out the new series, CBS could have a real winner on their hands.

Interestingly, the series will kick-off with a special preview broadcast on CBS proper before heading to its new home on the VoD and streaming service CBS All Access.

Early word suggests the series will have no ties to the upcoming Star Trek Beyond movie, which seems like something of a missed opportunity; we think a Star Trek universe that spans both big and small screens could be quite interesting.

Warcraft: The Beginning poster and still images uncovered

Orc-inspiring

We were sceptical when we first heard that World of Warcraft was getting the movie treatment, but with every leak, image, and interview that's found its way into the wild our confidence in the movie has steadily grown. A lot of that confidence has to do with director Duncan Jones, whose impressive CV includes insta-classic Moon. If his first stab at the world of fantasy is half as good as his forays into sci-fi, Warcraft could well be one to remember.

Although it has picked up plenty of buzz on the convention circuit thanks to exclusive footage and trailers, very little of the film has been seen outside of closed doors. That's all set to change this coming Friday when the first official trailer for the movie descends on the internet like a horde of rabid orcs. To whet our appetites for the coming clip, Empire has posted a new poster for the film on their site. As you can see, the movie has gained a subtitle and now goes by the name Warcraft: The Beginning. It's an interesting, if slightly unimaginative choice, and pretty much confirms that Universal have their eye on creating a potential new franchise should the film score big loot at the box office. 

If that wasn't enough to add +1 to your Anticipation stat, BuzzHubNews also posted some images from the film on their site. These give us an even better look at those baleful, beastly looking orcs, who - in true WoW fashion - make Conan the Barbarian look like Tyrion Lannister. Intimidating as they appear, the orcs aren't actually the bad guys this time 'round. Like the recent Planet of the Apes, the movie will show how each side reacts to the looming conflict. 

We'll report back this Friday with our reaction to the trailer. Till then, sit tight and let us know what you think of the images below.

AMC spread the word in new Preacher trailer

Sunday best

We got a brief teaser last week, but here's our first proper look at AMC's adaptation of Preacher. The short clip gives us a chance to see Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) in action, as well as glimpses of Joseph Gilgun as hard-living Irish vamp Cassidy, and Ruth Negga as Jesse's no-nonsense girlfriend Tulip.

The iconoclastic funny book written by Garth Ennis originally ran for 65 issues and is one of the most well regarded properties in all of comicdom. It was sardonic, heartfelt and extremely controversial, skewering everything from religion and politics to the war in Vietnam during its lengthy run. Despite its satirical tone, the comic went to some pretty dark places, and it'll be interesting to see just how far showrunners Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are willing to go in their efforts to bring Preacher to the screen.

From the trailer, it's hard to tell; this snippet seems to be more concerned with establishing tone than cluing viewers in on the plot. The spotlight's firmly on the conflicted Custer, talking about the ramifications of violence against a backdrop of scorched desert and seedy bars.

It's very hard to get a feel for a series from a few minutes of random footage, but it certainly looks like AMC are on the right track. Rogen said this would be a rather loose adaptation, and from the looks of things he wasn't lying - there is very little here that will be familiar to fans of the Ennis' original creation. Far as we can tell, it looks as though Rogen and co. may have reworked the beginning of the story to give us more time to get to know Custer before all hell breaks loose. This footage only hints at some of the wilder and weirder themes that crop up in the comic, but hopefully we'll get another trailer that delves into the more otherworldly aspects of the show closer to release.

The show's expected to arrive some time next year, hopefully we'll have a better idea of what to expect from the show by then.

TV show inspired by real-life Silent Hill picked up by NBC

Dread Centralia

Silent Hill, the setting for Konami's nerve-numbing series of survival horror games, is one of the most famous virtual towns ever created, but what a lot of people don't know is that there's an actual honest-to-goodness town out there that bears an uncanny resemblance to video gaming's spookiest suburb. Known as Centralia, this Pennsylvania town was abandoned after a fire broke out in a local coal mine. That blaze has been raging underneath Centralia's streets for over half a century, fracturing roads and blanketing the town in soupy smog. Amazingly, a handful of people still haunt Centralia's streets, refusing to relocate despite the unsettling conditions.

Fittingly, Centralia inspired the look of the '06 Silent Hill film, and now its tragic tale is fuelling another live action endeavour. As reported by Deadline, Centralia will be a dark, character-led paranormal drama that's part genre show, part soap opera. It will focus on the town's few remaining inhabitants as well as an encroaching evil bubbling away beneath Centralia's buckled streets.

The show is being spearheaded by producer Meredith Averill and will be produced by NBC. More spooky drama is always a good thing and Centralia certainly has a more intriguing premise than most.

Joe Dante enters the Labirintus

Paging David Bowie...

Joe Dante, best known for Gremlins, has signed on to direct supernatural chiller Labirintus. Although casting has yet to begin, production on the film is due to get underway early next year.

The film revolves around a paranormal investigator - hopefully one who's more Van Helsing than Derek Acorah - who teams up with a psychiatric researcher in order to chart the ruins of a shady old Soviet research facility. Lying underneath Budapest in Hungary, this subterranean labyrinth is riddled with all manner of malevolent spirits, and our dynamic duo soon find themselves questioning their very sanity.

Dante is no stranger to horror, and although Labirintus sounds like a different strain of fright flick for the veteran director, we're very curious to see how this one pans out. In the meantime, you can see Dante in action in the horror anthology Tales of Halloween, currently available on VOD.

Dragon Quest Heroes (PS4) Impressions

It's about slime...

It may have taken a while, but the West is finally getting a new Dragon Quest game. Co-developed by Tecmo Koei and Square Enix, Dragon Quest Heroes takes the series in an interesting new direction, combining elements of action RPGs, musou and, oddly enough, tower defence games. It may sound strange on paper, but after spending around a dozen hours battling beasties, spending skill points and capturing creatures, we're happy to report that DQH is a worthy spin-off, not to mention, an excellent game in its own right.

First things first, despite what you may have heard, DQH is not a musou game. Unlike the Warriors series upon which Tecmo Koei built their name, DQH isn't all about vanquishing huge armies and capturing enemy territory. While there are missions that call upon you to cut down waves of monsters, the bulk of the game is spent protecting key items/people/locations from swarms of enemies. Sometimes this will mean escorting an NPC around the map, at others defending a fixed location.

In the early stages, defending these targets is pretty straightforward, requiring players to squash portals and stem the tide of enemy forces. As the game wears on, though, things begin to get a lot more hectic. Enemies begin pouring in from all sides and it's very easy to find yourself overwhelmed. This is where the monster medal mechanic comes into play. Sometimes killing creatures will yield a monster medal which, when picked up, allows players to call a creature to their side. These monsters act like friendly towers, or traps, and can be used to bottleneck enemies or slow their progress. 

Some monsters can be used as sentries, patrolling a fixed area until their HP dries up, whereas others are a one-time thing, popping into the fray to blast enemies or buff your characters before disappearing for good. A Golem, for example, is great for protecting a small area as he'll stomp around squashing foes until he dies or is dismissed. Throw out an Imp, though, and he'll only hang around long enough to singe a path through the enemies ranks. Judicious use of monster medals is the key to winning many of the later stages, so if you want to be victorious get out there and catch 'em all.

It isn't the most in-depth system, but it does add a welcome layer of strategy and puts to bed any concerns we had that DQH would be too similar to recent Koei spinoffs like One Piece and Hyrule Warriors. The monster meta-game gives it a flavour that's all its own and ends up reminding me of Orcs Must Die, another game which asked players to mix brains with brawn in order to succeed.

Success, however, doesn't rest solely on the shoulders of your creature companions. Players have direct control over four party members at (almost) all times, and you're free to zip all over the battlefield hacking and slashing your way to victory. Combat is robust and satisfyingly chunky, with plenty of flashy effects accompanying every sword swing and spell. The actual combos at your disposal are quite limited, but nearly every string can be cancelled into a spell for a little extra oomph.

What's more, you can switch between characters on the fly, giving you a lot of added flexibility on the battlefield. Some characters, like Isla and Luceus, have lots of damaging AOE spells, making them great for mopping up large pockets of resistance, whereas bruisers like Alena, who can create clones of herself that allow her to hit three times as hard three times as fast, and stocky strongman Yangus, are adept at quickly bringing stronger foes to their knees.

So far, DQH is shaping up to be one of the year's most pleasant surprises. It may not be Dragon Quest as we know it, but it is a fun, fast-paced action RPG, packed with quests to conquer and monsters to mangle. 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Character Guide

"There's been an awakening."

As the hype train for Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to pick up steam, more and more information on the movie is finding its way out into the big wide world. Much of what makes the film tick is still being kept tightly under wraps, but between all the leaks, speculation, and official press releases, we’re beginning to build a up a better picture of the film’s main movers and shakers, as well as how they fit into the wider Star Wars universe.

If you’ve been living on a moisture farm on Tatooine for the last twelve months, don’t fear, we’ve assembled this handy character guide that brings together everything we know about each of the film’s main characters, before condensing all that info into a single article of easily-digestible, Star Wars-y goodness.

Spoiler warning: The following text may contain slight spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Captain Phasma

How do you make the iconic Stormtrooper look even cooler? By slathering their plastoid shells with a coat of shiny, reflective chrome, of course. Thanks to this eye-catching ensemble, Captain Phasma, or the Chrome Trooper as she was dubbed back when she first appeared, has become one of the Force Awaken’s most talked about new characters.

As with all the coolest-looking members of the Star Wars universe (c’mon, just look at that sweet cape!), Phasma bats for the Dark Side of the Force, and operates out of the Starkiller base alongside fellow neerdowells Kylo Ren and General Hux. Just in case the name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Phasma’s a Captain in the First Order - a military faction who are picking up where the Empire left off and fighting against the Rebels Forces for control of the galaxy. She is reportedly in command of Finn, the character played by Attack the Block’s John Boyega, and spends the film running him down after he has a change of heart and abandons The First Order.

At this point, it’s unclear just how big a role Phasma will play in The Force Awakens, but rumours indicate that the silvery Stormtrooper will be present in all three films, with a character arc that spans the entire trilogy. The actor filling Phasma’s shiny chrome boots is none other than Gwendoline Christie, who is well versed in the ways of badassery thanks to her time spent playing fan-favourite character Brienne in Game of Thrones.

Although we’ve only been able to snatch glimpses of the character in action, she already has a legion of loyal of fans, not least among them Force Awakens’ director JJ Abrams. During a recent interview, he admitted that Phasma was his favourite new addition to the film, praising Christie's performance as well as the ‘trooper’s ‘undeniable’ visual design. As for that name, fans of the horror flick Phantasm will be delighted to learn that Abrams chose it because Phasma’s design immediately put him in mind of the murderous, mirrorlike sphere featured in Don Coscarelli’s cult film series.

Finn

Having played the lead role in cult Brit-flick Attack the Block, John Boyega is no stranger to the world of science fiction. Still, it’s safe to say his role in The Force Awakens will be the young actor’s biggest yet.

His character in The Force Awakens, who goes by the name Finn, begins his adventure on the side of evil - not to say his character is evil - and can be seen in the trailers tooling around the desert in Stormtrooper armour. That’s right, Finn begins the film as a member of The First Order. For reasons unknown - other than that Finn is stranded on the planet Jakku after his unit desert him - the ex-Stormtrooper teams up with Rey and turns on his former masters.

Official descriptions peg Finn as a conflicted character, one struggling to distance himself from his past. So far, only his first name has been revealed, a move which JJ Abrams says is completely deliberate. This has lead to speculation that the character is tied in some way to a past Star Wars character. Of course, this could just be an attempt by Abrams to throw us off the scent and start making connections where there are none - a tactic the director hasn’t been shy about employing in the past.

Much to the envy of everyone’s inner twelve-year-old, Finn will get to wield a lightsaber - Luke’s lightsaber, in fact - at some point in the movie. A recent promo video shows the young warrior confronting Kylo Ren with the iconic ‘saber in hand. This would seem to confirm the rumours that Finn’s a Jedi, or at least has the potential to become a full, robe-wearing, platitude-spewing wielder of The Force.

Kylo Ren

You can't have a Star Wars movie without a man in black menacing people with a red lightsaber; the original trilogy had Darth Vader, the prequels had Darth Maul, and The Force Awakens has Kylo Ren.

Since his reveal, it’s been confirmed that this mysterious malfeasant isn’t actually a Sith - hence the lack of Darth in his name - but a member of the Knights of Ren. This shadowy sect is affiliated with The First Order and are attempting to take control of the galaxy “using the same power of the Force once used by the Galactic Empire.” It’s also where the Ren part of Kylo’s name comes from.

As you’d expect, the character’s real name remains a closely guarded secret, leading many to speculate that Kylo is related to someone from the original trilogy. Han and Leia’s wayward son? Chewbacca’s secret lovechild? Place your bets now.

Like any good student of the Force, Kylo looks to past masters for instruction, modelling his look and mannerisms on those of the dastardly Darth Vader, who the Knights of Ren hold up as a kind of “martyr” figure. Unlike Vader, however, Kylo Ren is a little rougher around the edges, less fully formed, an idea reinforced by his slightly ragged appearance and unrefined lightsaber. In stark contrast to the traditional glow sticks of doom sported by other Force users, Ren’s ‘saber spits and crackles like the flame from a blowtorch and has two extra blades, which form a sort of lightsaber crossguard.

Lawrence Kasdan, the legendary screenwriter responsible for The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and now Force Awakens, says Ren’s character (played by Adam Driver) brings his own unique flavour to the saga, claiming that “there’s never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays.”

Poe Dameron 

Played by Oscar Isaac, Poe Dameron is one of The Force Awakens three main leads, sharing top billing with John Boyega’s Finn and Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

Just in case the trailer, which showed the character rocking a Rebel-like uniform whilst crammed into an X-Wing fighter, wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Poe is a pilot for the Resistance. Like most pilots in pop fiction, Poe’s a bit of of a hot-shot; brash, confident and a little bit reckless. He gets the chance to test his mettle after a certain princess charges him with the completion of a mission that could change the fate of the galaxy.

Poe has strong ties to the Resistance movement having grown up on Yavin IV, a place Star Wars aficionados will recognise as the home of the Alliance base which launched the attack on the original Death Star. Unlike his fellow cast members, Isaac hasn’t shied away from talking about his character’s background and motivations. During a Lucasfilm panel, the actor floated the idea that Poe was present during the medal ceremony on Yavin IV glimpsed in the closing moments of the original Star Wars. In Isaac’s view, this event inspired in Poe a desire to get into the hero business and take up the mantle previously held by Luke, Leia and Han.

Poe flies under the alias Black Leader and mans the controls of a sleek, modernised X-Wing starfighter, one that sports a slick orange and black paint job. His co-pilot is the adorable, snowman-shaped astro-droid BB-8, who - if the rumours are true - is holding onto the Skywalker family lightsaber for safekeeping. Is Poe’s mission to get the lightsaber into the hands of Finn or Rey? After seeing the latest footage which shows off Finn brandishing the iconic ‘saber, it certainly looks that way.

Rey

Another character whose origins are shrouded in secrecy, Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) has been described as resourceful, resilient, and not much else. We know that she calls the desert planet Jakku home and - according to a recently discovered blurb for a Rey Halloween costume - lives within the cosy confines of a decommissioned AT-AT. Although a description from the back of a costume box isn’t the most trustworthy of sources, we’re tempted to believe this, especially as it fits with what we already know about the character, namely that she’s a scavenger and has lived on Jakku all her life.

She may have strange taste in home décor, but Rey is one tough gal, a life spent amongst the cutthroats that call Jakku home preparing her for the worst the galaxy has to offer. Are these fighting skills augmented by the Force? The truth is, we don’t know, although another tidbit from that Halloween costume description certainly suggests there’s more to Rey than meets the eye. The blurb describes a sequence that sees Rey facing off against a room of ‘troopers and ‘saber-toting Ren Knights. Although she sounds hopelessly outgunned, the blurb goes on to hint that Rey’s enemies should be more scared of her than she is of them, saying: “It’s not about the strength of the weapon, but the strength of the warrior that wields it.”

Judging by the beat-up, jury rigged speeder we see Rey chugging through the desert on in the teaser trailer, she could also be a gifted mechanic, able to cobble together the junk she finds into working gadgets and gizmos. If this is the case, we fully expect her to MacGuyver her way out of a sticky situation at least once in the movie.

One of the most persistent rumours surrounding Rey is that she is the daughter of Han and Leia. Aside from a few vague hints from Ridley and Abrams, though, this remains unconfirmed. The character has also been referred to as Kira in various press materials, leading many to speculate that Rey is operating under an alias in order to hide her true origins.

Will The Incredible Hulk steal the spotlight in Thor: Ragnarok?

Puny god

Thor's world may be ending, but the Asgardian thunder-flinger isn't going down without a fight. To help him combat Loki's evil schemes (the trickster god was last seen doing a pretty mean Odin impersonation at the end of Thor: Dark World) the Odinson is forming an alliance with fellow Avenger The Incredible Hulk.

The bipolar bruiser is set to appear thanks to a deal between actor Mark Ruffalo and the good folks over at Marvel. While this is a far cry from the Planet Hulk announcement many of us have been clamouring for, we're all for seeing Bruce Banner's alter-ego get his smash on outside of the mainline Avengers movies. Plus, there are rumours that Ragnarok will feature some kind of mysterious alien planet, leading to speculation that this could be Marvel's way of prepping the pieces for a potential Planet Hulk spin-off.

Thor and Hulk have always had a great - if somewhat violent - on-screen chemistry, and seeing the two of them banding together to bring down Tom Hiddleston's Loki is sure to be fun. Could this be Marvel's stab at a buddy comedy? We know how much the studio loves to dabble with different genre tropes - Winter Soldier as a seventies style thriller, and Ant-Man as a superhero-cum-heist pic, for example - and Thor's movies have always had a rich vein of humour running alongside all the larger-than-life superheroics.

Then there's the fact Marvel are courting Taika Waititi to direct, no stranger to the world of comedy thanks to his work on Flight of the Conchords and macabre mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows.

Ragnarok will be upon us in roughly two years time.

31 Days of Halloween: Dog Soldiers

Bark at the moon

No Guts No Glory

Looking for some film recommendations for Halloween? 31 Days of Halloween exhumes some of our favourite horror films, giving all you film-hungry ghouls a brief run-down of some of the most frightful film classics to shamble onto our screens. So grab some treats, fire up your cauldron, and join us as we celebrate some of the best fright flicks of all-time this Halloween.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Yesterday we looked at one of the best zombie movies to ever grace the silver screen, today, though, we're taking a break from zombies to indulge our wild sides and get freaky under the full moon with Neil Marshal's wild werewolf film Dog Soldiers.

A boisterous mix of Predator and Night of the Living Dead, with a little bit of The Howling thrown in for good measure, Dog Soldiers takes a lot of familiar horror tropes and turns them on their heads. First off, our heroes aren't a bunch of promiscuous co-eds, but a battalion of embattled soldiers. Granted, in the end they seem to pose as little of a threat to the werewolves as your average teenybopper does to Jason Vorhees in the Friday the 13th movies, but the squaddies' presence does give the film a unique flavour that's all its own.

Their bickering and good-natured banter imbues the cast of rough and ready commandos with plenty of character, and Sean Pertwee's Sgt. Wells - who at one point seals up his ruptured guts with a tube of superglue - is a particular highlight.

While horror comedies are dime a dozen nowadays, Dog Soldiers is one of the few films in the sub-genre that completely nails the balance between scabrous humour and gruesome chills. The humour doesn't feel forced, and Marshal maintains a good balance throughout, nimbly switching gears as the werewolves come out to play and the tension begins to mount.

The way the film handles werewolves is unusual, too, with Marshal opting to keep the hulking beasts in the shadows for much of the film's runtime. Here they're much more of an external force, used in a similar way to the zombies in Night of the Living Dead. Anyone hoping for a full-on creature-feature will be disappointed, as Dog Soldiers is more about the characters, and their reaction to this bizarre situation, than the beasts themselves. That's not to say the movie skimps on the action, though, as there's plenty of blood-letting, and inventive set-pieces to keep horror-hounds happy. The films also earns a few bonus points for its old-school practical effects, as well as for giving the world the phrase "glam rock werewolves".

Just be warned, after watching Dog Soldiers there's a good chance you'll never look at sausages in the same way ever again.

Zelda: Twilight Princess HD headed to Wii U?

An enterprising fan poking around Nintendo's eShop recently uncovered an icon for Twilight Princess kicking around the store's back-end.  Cue rampant speculation the Big N is busy beavering away on a HD port of the classic Gamecube adventure.

At first, many of us believed the icon pointed towards a simple emulated job - akin to the Wii U Virtual Console releases of Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime. But that was before a listing for "THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Twilight Princess HD" was found nestled in Nintendo's eShop servers. If that isn't proof that TP HD is on the way, we don't know what is.

This isn't the first time the possibility of a re-release of Twilight Princess has come up - before Wind Waker HD sailed onto shelves, series director Eiji Aonuma revealed that his dev team ran some tests on TP to see how it performed on the Wii U hardware. Perhaps they felt that Wind Waker's vibrant, toon-like art style better lent itself to a snazzy HD makeover and shelved Twilight Princess for a rainy day.

Well, with Zelda Wii U off the board this holiday, Nintendo will be looking to give hungry Zelda fans something to sink their teeth into, and a shiny new HD remaster of Twilight Princess would certainly get fans' Triforces tingling.

The title, one of the most divisive in the franchise's long history, had an earthier, darker tone than its predecessor, trading the sweetness and light of Wind Waker for a hard-bitten, high-fantasy aesthetic. A lot of gamers were turned off by the game's lengthy opening hours, which is a shame, because once TP gets going it really gets going, containing some of the series' best dungeons.

WW HD featured a few judicious nips and tucks, so it's possible Nintendo will use this HD update to address some of TP's shortcomings. In our opinion, a pacier prologue would do wonders and help TP find the audience it's always deserved.

Nintendo has yet to respond to the rumour, so we'll just have to sit tight and see what the next Nintendo Direct has in store for us.

31 Days of Halloween: Dawn of the Dead

Shop 'til you drop

Looking for some film recommendations for Halloween? 31 Days of Halloween exhumes some of our favourite horror films, giving all you film-hungry ghouls a brief run-down of some of the most frightful film classics to shamble into cinemas. So grab some treats, fire up your cauldron, and join us as we celebrate some of the best fright flicks of all-time this Halloween.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Dawn of the Dead, George Romero's epic follow-up to Night of the Living Dead, is rightly considered to be one of -if not the- best zombie movies ever made. Mixing satire and social commentary with plenty of tense set pieces and ingenious gore (courtesy of SFX guru and part-time Sex Machine Tom Savini), it is a true horror epic. 

As with most of Romero's Dead flicks, it's the humans that take centre stage, their descent into mindless consumerism a perfect mirror for the hordes of mindless ghouls who see the mall our survivors conquer as some kind of undead Mecca. For the most part the zombies provide a sense of gnawing dread; an ever present threat that slowly undermines our survivors' new found sense of safety and security. At the end of the day, a prison, no matter how big and well-stocked, is still a prison, and the true horror horror of the film comes from our heroes' realisation that they will never truly be free while the zombies roam.

For those of you uninterested in allegory, don't fear, Dawn of the Dead still has plenty of moments of outrageous gore and fantastic action. A tense trawl through an apartment block, which soon erupts into barely controlled chaos, kicks off the film and does an excellent job of establishing this frightening new world. Then there's the finale, a furious three-way rumble between our heroes, the zombies and a mob of marauding bikers that is goofy, gory and epic all at the same time. 

In the end, the film's greatest strength lies in the fact it can be enjoyed on so many levels: whether you want a searing socio-political satire, a piece of pure escapism, or just a raw and bloody horror film, Dawn of the Dead has you covered. 

The Punisher drops by for a visit in new Daredevil Season 2 teaser

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

The follow-up to Netflix's wildly successful first season of Daredevil is drawing near, and to celebrate, the streaming service has released a tantalising new teaser.

The new footage, which begins at around a minute and a half into the clip, sees the return of many familiar faces, as well as a few new ones. Of special interest to comics fans will be the snatched glimpses of Elektra (Elodie Yung) gearing up for war, and Jon Bernthal's Punisher, the back of whose head we get a good look at. Speaking of Frank Castle, there's another cool moment early on in the tease showing an x-ray that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Punisher's iconic skull motif.

Despite the switch in showrunners, from the looks of this footage, the second season of Daredevil is shaping up nicely. It'll interesting to see how the creative team handle Matt Murdock's transformation from shadowy vigilante into full-time superhero, as well as the absence of the Kingpin. Presumably, Punisher and Elektra will be sharing villain duties early on, with an unknown-as-yet party stepping in to make Matt Murdock's life even more miserable later on.

Expect the new series to go live sometime next April. In the meantime, Marvel fans can check in on Daredevil's fellow Defender Jessica Jones when her series releases on November 20.

Games of Thrones author joins the Skin Trade

Full Moon Door

George R.R. Martin is a very busy man, juggling writing duties on the Song of Ice and Fire series of books, HBO's sterling telly-adaptation of said books, Game of Thrones, and about a billion other projects. Anyone hoping George would take some time out of his TV projects to finish up work on the final books in the Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, will be disappointed to learn that the prolific penman is planning to tackle yet another TV project. Relax, fellas, I'm sure we'll get the books eventually. Right? RIGHT?!

The new project will be an adaptation of Martin's award-winning short, Skin Trade, a story about a collections agent - who also happens to be a werewolf on the side - that joins forces with a private detective in order to catch the perpetrator behind a series of grisly murders.

“I have always thought there was a TV series (or maybe a feature film) in Willie Flambeaux and Randi Wade,” said Martin. “Those of you who know the story of Doorways, my ill-fated ABC pilot from the early 90s, may even recall that it was Skin Trade that I was actually trying to sell back in 1991, when I flew out to LA for a round of pitch meetings. So we’re a few decades late…”

Martin, alongside co-producer Kalinda Vasquez (Once Upon a Time), will work on this tale of lycanthropic law and order for Cinemax.

Walking Dead creator trades zombie for demons in new Outcast trailer

Assume the possession

With NYCC '15 just wrapping up, one things we've got no shortage of this week is trailers. First up, we're taking a gander at Outcast, a creepy new series from the folks over at Fox International, Robert Kirkman and Adam Wingard. All of those names should be familiar to horror fans, especially Robert Kirkman's, the man behind ratings monster The Walking Dead, as well as Fear the Walking Dead, which - regardless of quality - recently became the single most-watched TV series in cable history.

What can we say? People just can't get enough of zombies. With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see how Outcast is received, especially as it dabbles in a more abstract, intangible corner of the occult: possession. The main thrust of the show will revolve around Barnes (Gone Girl's Patrick Fugit,) a man battling with figurative and literal demons, who returns home to get some answers and find salvation.

Judging by the trailer, what he finds instead is more demonic hoodoo, this time in the form of Joshua Austin, an eight-year-old with a very serious demon infestation. The trailer is plenty foreboding, with shadowy hints, doomy pronouncements and a lot of small-town paranoia.

Like The Walking Dead, Outcast is an adaptation of one of Kirkman's own comic books. It'll be interesting to see if this is a straight up adaptation, or if - like TWD - the TV series riffs on the material, acting more as an alternate take than a faithful retelling. I'm leaning more towards the former, especially as this was conceived as a TV show from the off, with the comic being developed in tandem with the live-action series. Still, I daresay Kirkman and co. will throw in a few twists just to keep us comic readers on our toes.

We'll know for sure when the series beams out worldwide in 2016.

31 Days of Halloween: You're Next

House party

Looking for some film recommendations for Halloween? 31 Days of Halloween exhumes some of our favourite horror films, giving all you film-hungry ghouls a brief run-down of some of the most frightful film classics to shamble into cinemas. So grab some treats, fire up your cauldron, and join us as we celebrate some of the best fright flicks of all-time this Halloween.

You're Next

Yesterday we revved up our chainsaws and dissected classic gore flick Evil Dead II, today we're fast-forwarding a few decades and placing one of favourite slasher films of recent times under the microscope, home invasion horror You're Next from director Adam Wingard.

A decidedly modern twist on a classic formula, You're Next takes the idea of the slasher film (a group of unwitting men and women being picked off from the shadows by some unscrupulous blade-wielding bogeyman), adds a heap of dysfunctional family drama and rounds the whole thing off with moments of bleak, black comedy. The main thrust of the plot revolves around the family Davison who, reunited for a family together, find themselves fighting for their lives when a pack of masked marauders descend on the family home.

So far, so stalk and slash; what sets You're Next apart from the competition is its characters, whose skeletons start peeking out of the closet as the bodies begin to pile up. There's backbiting, arguing and worse, as the family's façade of affluence begins to crumble under the masked men's gory onslaught. Wingard has a steady hand, letting the family drama simmer away in the background before letting the blood flow. His characters, too, display a surprising amount of resilience, with main character Erin discovering an unexpected talent for home defence that begins to transform the film as it enters its second-half.

Savvy, suspenseful and with plenty of surprises, You're Next is a meta-horror movie with bite, and proof that there's still some life left in the tired slasher genre.