From the beginning of season 2 of Andor, I was angry on behalf of Bix Caleen. Adria Arjona’s character on the show spent a lot of the season getting what fans of reality competition shows lovingly call “the loser edit,” where every time the series checked in with her, it found her at a new low — suffering a fresh humiliation, or struggling with the PTSD from the last batch of suffering. Her slow downward arc, and its clear effect on series protagonist Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), seemed to lead toward an exhausting, familiar story cliché — especially since this entire series is a prequel to the Star Wars movie Rogue One, and unlike many of the show’s characters, Bix is noticeably absent from Rogue One. For more than half the season, Bix felt like she on her way to getting fridged. And I just want to take a breath and personally thank series creator Tony Gilroy for pulling out of that narrative dive instead of taking the obvious crash-landing. [Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for Bix’s season 2 storyline, including how it ends.] Andor season 1 put Bix in the hands of Imperial interrogator (and ironic cupcake-enjoyer) Doctor Gorst (Joshua James), and season 2 arc focused on how she navigated the aftermath of torture. When we pick back up with Bix, she has screaming nightmares about Doctor Gorst, or debilitating insomnia as she avoids sleeping. She lives in terror of the Empire finding her again. She nearly gets raped by an Imperial officer. She takes dangerous drugs to repress her trauma. She haunts the Coruscant safehouse she and Cassian share like an increasingly wan ghost. Cassian sincerely wants to help, but she can’t let him in, so his worries for her keep compromising or complicating his work with the rebellion against the Empire. Once Cassian and Bix get to Coruscant, her scenes get repetitive and wearying. When she harries Cassian and his handler Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) to include her on rebel missions, it’s unclear who we’re meant to feel more sympathy for: Them, for having to manage this traumatized, erratic woman who keeps insisting she should be trusted with delicate undercover work she doesn’t seem capable of; or her, for being kept like a canary in a cage, with no clear purpose and nothing to do but wait for the next round of trying to convince her patronizing keepers to let her do something meaningful that would distract and focus her. But her arc takes a sharp upswing at the end of episode 6, “What a Festive Evening,” when Bix confronts Doctor Gorst, subjects him to his own horrific torture device, and blows the hell out of him, all with a cold, rational confidence that suggests Luthen and Cassian were wrong to handle her with kid gloves all along. When she and Cassian walk away from his office together, too cool to look back at Gorst’s exploding building, they’re finally confident, competent partners instead of caretaker and patient — or worse, the regressive “damsel in despair and valiant savior” pairing Andor has flirted with turning them into. Granted, that scene is Bix’s high point for season 2 — from that point forward, she’s mostly around to serve Cassian’s arc, by pushing him to accept a Force healer’s read on him instead of shrugging her off, and eventually, nobly breaking up with him so his concerns for her won’t hold him back in his fight against the rebellion. (Side note, “I’m dumping you in order to not hamper your great destiny” is a pretty baller tactic, and if I was still in the dating field, I’d definitely keep that one in my back pocket.) Bix was never on the top 10 list of Andor’s most developed, nuanced, or interesting characters, and apart from the Doctor Gorst payoff, she’s mostly in a pretty thankless role throughout the show. She’s the designated smallest-scale representative of the Empire’s predations, and the one most personal to Cassian. She’s the problem he can’t fix until the Empire is defeated, the person he needs to protect and can’t, needs to save and can’t, not without bringing down an entire fascist regime. She’s a focus for his heroism first, a sounding board for his angst second, and a character in her own right last. Which is why I was positive she was going to get killed in order to motivate him further, in order to deepen that angst and firm up his resolve. Having Bix instead basically say “You’re better off without me, and the best thing I can give the rebellion is all the time and energy you’re spending on me” is such a bold, strange move that I suspect Tony Gilroy is well aware of what fridging narratives look like, and how much it seemed like he was toying with one. The problem with that resolution, though, is that there’s so little drama in it. Bix is right — she is a drag on Cassian’s attention and resources, and they are better off without each other. Their separation doesn’t have the sting of a tragic love story where starcrossed lovers have to leave each other. To me, it just felt like a relief to have it over with. But it isn’t over. Andor’s very final shot has Bix back on the agricultural planet of Mina-Rau, smiling bravely toward the future in a post-Death Star world, holding Cassian Andor’s child. (In case there’s any debate there, Tony Gilroy has expressly confirmed that the child she’s holding is theirs, and that she knew she was already pregnant when she left Cassian.) It’s meant as a moment of hope and looking toward the future, an acknowledgement that Cassian is about to die (in the action of Rogue One), but that even if he doesn’t know it, his bloodline will live on. I’m not a fan of that ending — it plays into another huge cliché for female characters in media, the “lost my love but still have his baby” circle-of-life schtick that’s meant to make the death of a beloved character feel OK because their lineage lives on. To me, that particular trope has always felt more cynical and manipulative than heartfelt: People aren’t like Kleenex, with another new one popping up whenever the last one goes off to its reward, and all of them essentially fulfilling the same purpose. Having someone’s genetics in the world isn’t a replacement for having them around. (Not even in a galaxy where Force talent and destiny seem to be passed down in the bloodline.) It’s nice to learn at the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that T’Challa had a secret kid, I guess, but it doesn’t make me miss Chadwick Boseman any less, or soften the blow of losing a talented actor with a bright future so early. I’ve argued a lot about this one with less-cynical people at Polygon and elsewhere, though, and they’ve rightly pointed out that Cassian having a child that he’ll never know about is a pointed answer to Luthen’s incandescent “burning my life to make a sunrise I know I’ll never see” speech from season 1. Cassian and Luthen and all the others who did die while fighting the good fight throughout Andor were fighting on behalf of people like this nameless child, who will get to see the sunrise they made possible. It’s meant as a reminder that all this suffering had a purpose beyond the immediate moment. That purpose includes Bix as well: Her safety and security in the show’s final moments is meant to pay off all the pain Cassian endured. He’s finally fixed the problem she posed, I guess, to put it in the bitterest terms. But in spite of all my dubiousness over her Andor plotline — especially in the shadow of the show’s far more nuanced, complicated, and especially interesting female characters — I’m just so grateful she didn’t have to die to make that happen.

TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and InformaTechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities.MIT Sloan CIO Symposium to Showcase 10 Startups Focused on CIO NeedsMIT Sloan CIO Symposium to Showcase 10 Startups Focused on CIO NeedsThe annual CIO conference, which InformationWeek will be attending live, will highlight early-stage companies focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data needs for enterprise IT.Shane Snider, Senior Writer, InformationWeekMay 15, 20251 Min ReadPanther Media GmbH via Alamy StockThe annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium taking place May 19-20 in Cambridge, Mass. will feature 10 startup businesses that offer innovative solutions for IT executives during its 2025 Innovation Showcase.The Innovation Showcase offers CIOs and other IT leaders a chance to explore early-stage US-based businesses. Aperio, Arundo Analytics, Bluumly, DataTrails, DBOS, FenixPyre, iCustomer, Narratize, Silverthread, and Skyline Nav were named finalists for the showcase.“It’s an honor to continue to support emerging enterprises as they connect with industry leaders, fostering collaborations that consistently drive meaningful innovation and mutual success,” Anton Teodorescu, chair of the Innovation Showcase, said in a statement.MIT Sloan said the businesses were chosen based on several criteria, including having an enterprise IT solution commercially available, less than $10 million in annual revenue, selling solutions to CIOs or corporate IT departments, and showing innovation and strategic value with potential bottom-line impact.Symposium Celebrates 22nd YearNext week’s two-day symposium will feature dozens of speakers and panelists, including Oracle’s Roger Barga, senior vice president for artificial intelligence and machine learning, Bill Pappas, executive vice president and head of global technology operations for MetLife, Monica Caldas, global chief information officer for Liberty Mutual Insurance, and many other top IT leaders.Related:InformationWeek’s Senior Editor Joao-Pierre S. Ruth and Senior Executive Editor Ben Cole will provide live coverage from the event next week.About the AuthorShane SniderSenior Writer, InformationWeekShane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. He started his career as a general assignment reporter and has covered government, business, education, technology and much more. He was a reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh News and Observer and most recently a tech reporter for CRN. He was also a top wedding photographer for many years, traveling across the country and around the world. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.See more from Shane SniderWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and InformaTechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities.MIT Sloan CIO Symposium to Showcase 10 Startups Focused on CIO NeedsMIT Sloan CIO Symposium to Showcase 10 Startups Focused on CIO NeedsThe annual CIO conference, which InformationWeek will be attending live, will highlight early-stage companies focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data needs for enterprise IT.Shane Snider, Senior Writer, InformationWeekMay 15, 20251 Min ReadPanther Media GmbH via Alamy StockThe annual MIT Sloan CIO Symposium taking place May 19-20 in Cambridge, Mass. will feature 10 startup businesses that offer innovative solutions for IT executives during its 2025 Innovation Showcase.The Innovation Showcase offers CIOs and other IT leaders a chance to explore early-stage US-based businesses. Aperio, Arundo Analytics, Bluumly, DataTrails, DBOS, FenixPyre, iCustomer, Narratize, Silverthread, and Skyline Nav were named finalists for the showcase.“It’s an honor to continue to support emerging enterprises as they connect with industry leaders, fostering collaborations that consistently drive meaningful innovation and mutual success,” Anton Teodorescu, chair of the Innovation Showcase, said in a statement.MIT Sloan said the businesses were chosen based on several criteria, including having an enterprise IT solution commercially available, less than $10 million in annual revenue, selling solutions to CIOs or corporate IT departments, and showing innovation and strategic value with potential bottom-line impact.Symposium Celebrates 22nd YearNext week’s two-day symposium will feature dozens of speakers and panelists, including Oracle’s Roger Barga, senior vice president for artificial intelligence and machine learning, Bill Pappas, executive vice president and head of global technology operations for MetLife, Monica Caldas, global chief information officer for Liberty Mutual Insurance, and many other top IT leaders.Related:InformationWeek’s Senior Editor Joao-Pierre S. Ruth and Senior Executive Editor Ben Cole will provide live coverage from the event next week.About the AuthorShane SniderSenior Writer, InformationWeekShane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. He started his career as a general assignment reporter and has covered government, business, education, technology and much more. He was a reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh News and Observer and most recently a tech reporter for CRN. He was also a top wedding photographer for many years, traveling across the country and around the world. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.See more from Shane SniderWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like

Iron Man was a resounding success when it opened in 2008, earning more than half a billion dollars and declaring in no uncertain terms that Marvel Studios—and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it later came to be known—had arrived. Although Marvel was also developing movies about Thor, Captain America, and Ant-Man at the time, Iron Man 2 was pushed to the front of the line and set for release in May 2010, just two years after the first film. The idea was to cash in on the surprise success of Iron Man and give the other movies a little more time to breathe and develop, with the ultimate goal of teaming all the characters up in The Avengers. But perhaps due to its rushed production schedule, studio growing pains, and the need to lay down breadcrumbs for the stories to come, Iron Man 2 was a shaky affair when it eventually came out. Not that this hurt its box office potential. It grossed more than the first film. Still, it did not escape the notice of critics and hardcore fans, resulting in a film that still regularly lands near the bottom of MCU movie rankings. Strangely, however, Marvel Studios has repeated many of the same mistakes it made on Iron Man 2 in later films while also taking some of the wrong lessons from the troubled production of the MCU’s first sequel. A Rushed Development With Iron Man 2 announced days after the release of Iron Man (even before the relative failure of The Incredible Hulk that same year), Marvel had to scramble to come up with a story and lock down its principal players. Robert Downey Jr., of course, was signed to reprise the role of Tony Stark at a much higher salary. Gwyneth Paltrow was also confirmed to return, as was director Jon Favreau (who would also once again play Stark security chief Happy Hogan). Also returning were Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg as Nick Fury and Agent Phil Coulson, respectively, expanding the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D. that was briefly established in the first film. Downey and Favreau tapped writer/actor Justin Theroux to pen the screenplay, which would introduce villains Justin Hammer and Whiplash (actually a sort of hybrid of that character and the Crimson Dynamo) into the story after comic book arch-nemesis The Mandarin was nixed as both too fantastical and potentially racist. Also slated to make her debut in the movie: Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), a nod to the impending creation of the Avengers but one of the many elements of a movie that was potentially piling up too many plot threads. Although initial reports suggested that at least part of the film would adapt the famous “Demon in a Bottle” storyline, in which Tony Stark becomes a full-blown alcoholic, that aspect of the narrative was toned down due to concerns over toy sales and younger viewers’ perception of Iron Man. The movie reportedly began filming without a finished script, something that would hamper future Marvel movies and lead the studio to make reshoots a permanent part of every film’s production schedule. This necessitated Theroux having to do daily rewrites on the set with Favreau and Downey, with the latter’s ad-libbing and improvisatory style of acting further muddying what was already a confusing and tonally uneven plot. New Faces, New Problems As mentioned, Downey, Paltrow, Favreau, Gregg, and Jackson (the latter after some torturous negotiations) all returned to their roles in Iron Man 2, but Terence Howard, who co-starred in Iron Man as Tony Stark’s best friend, Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes, did not. Depending on who you ask, Howard was either too difficult or too expensive—or both—to keep around for the sequel. He was replaced by Don Cheadle, who’s played Rhodey (and become a fan favorite, at least until Secret Invasion retconned him as a Skrull) ever since. Ironically Marvel should have learned from this and the recasting of Bruce Banner (from Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo) that it was okay to recast a major role once in a while. But the biggest mistake Marvel made in this regard was arguably announcing that T’Challa/Black Panther would not be recast after the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, which left the MCU without one of its most potentially important superheroes (Marvel has since seemingly eased up on this, with Harrison Ford replacing the late William Hurt as “Thunderbolt” Ross and rumors circulating that a new T’Challa from a different universe will soon appear). Still, the casting of Iron Man 2’s villains, Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, set some precedents that would later haunt the MCU in a different way. Hammer was played by Sam Rockwell (an early candidate for Iron Man himself) and acquitted himself well, but his role was in some ways superfluous to a story already packed with new characters and themes and his function in the movie was not always clear (he’s also yet to reappear in the MCU). But it was Mickey Rourke being courted to play Whiplash that perhaps caused the most angst. With Rourke coming in hot off his Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning comeback performance in The Wrestler, Marvel wanted to seize a prestige casting coup—a move similar to its hiring of recent Oscar winner Brie Larson years later to play Captain Marvel. It could be argued that neither Rourke nor Larson was ultimately the right fit for their roles, but luring award winners to a comic book universe was too tempting for Marvel to pass up. In retrospect, they might have even dodged a bullet when Joaquin Phoenix passed on playing Doctor Strange given the actor’s reportedly mercurial methods. Rourke allegedly made bizarre demands to Marvel on Iron Man 2. This included that Vanko have a pet bird and wear his hair in a bun. He also reportedly clashed with Favreau during filming. Later he would say publicly he was unhappy with the final product, claiming that a lot of his performance was left on the cutting room floor. Whiplash in the finished film is certainly a strange character and the first of many undercooked Marvel villains to come. But that didn’t stop the studio from pursuing other actors and filmmakers basking in the glow of a high-profile awards run. Too Much of Everything Whereas the first Iron Man was a sleek, crisply told origin story, Iron Man 2 was, narratively speaking, a mess. The film dealt with Tony Stark’s inability to reconcile his personal identity with his new public persona as Iron Man, his lingering issues with his father, Howard Stark (John Slattery), his burgeoning drinking problem (less visible in the finished film, but still there), and his discovery that the core element in his arc reactor was slowly poisoning him. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! And that was just Tony; the rest of the film introduced Black Widow and the beginnings of the Avengers, put Rhodey in his War Machine armor for the first time, expanded the role of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., set out easter eggs for Thor and Captain America, and tried to balance the roles of two villains whose motivations and tones were not at all well-defined or complementary. It was, in short, a hodgepodge of ideas, plot points, and hints at future movies that all but dragged itself over the finish line without a coherent structure—a problem that would crop up again in the MCU. The franchise’s obsession with world-building at the expense of focus and logic reared its head in Avengers: Age of Ultron, which brought four new characters into an already crowded ensemble (Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, and the title villain) while also planting seeds about Asgard, Wakanda, and the Infinity Stones (some of which, to be fair, did pay off later). Even the underrated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, released years later, acted partly as a commercial for the still-unaired Ironheart TV series (ironically The Marvels worked in reverse, requiring audiences to watch two TV shows to understand some of what was happening). Part of the charm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, of course, is watching out for those many easter eggs, post-credit scenes, and surprise cameos that remind us that it is indeed a universe, one that’s constantly evolving and expanding. But some of those universe-building elements have worked better than others over the years, and with Iron Man 2, it felt like sensory overload—not that that stopped Marvel from doing it again and again in the years since. Iron Man 2: The Gift That Keeps on Giving? Iron Man 2 was an even bigger success at the box office ($624 million) that its predecessor ($585 million), but it also cost more ($200 million as opposed to $140 million) and was less enthusiastically received by critics. It was a troubled, patchwork project from the start, but even as Marvel Studios went on to hit heights of success no one could have possibly imagined for a filmed comic book universe, the studio continually made the same mistakes that dogged the production of Iron Man 2 and kept it from being the sequel it could have been. In some cases those mistakes may have temporarily dinged the brand (Age of Ultron), but in the long run, their impact has not done permanent damage to the MCU or the vast majority of its output. Still, with the last few years being particularly rocky ones for the MCU in terms of quality and coherence, it might not hurt Kevin Feige and company to fire up Iron Man 2 once in a while and remember it as a cautionary tale of what not to do.

At least Ghost Of Yōtei is out this year (Sony Interactive Entertainment) The Thursday letters page worries what will happen if the new Marvel games are flops, as one reader laments the slow death of physical games. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk Summer schedule I really hope that Sony is planning to make more first party games but I have a feeling there’s no going back to how things were. It’s been too long and too much has changed, including Sony still selling tons of PlayStation 5s even without any proper exclusives and Xbox going multiformat.I think it’s reasonable to hope they will do more though. We can’t stop them making any more live service games but they do seem to at least be slowing down a bit. The problem is that slowing up doesn’t mean they’ll speed up with single-player games instead. They could just end up making less overall, like they have over the last few years. We’ve got Ghost Of Yōtei this year, which I’m not super excited about (I’d had enough of the last one by halfway through) but I am very interested in seeing Returnal follow-up Saros next year, so hopefully things are slowly turning around. I want to be optimistic, but the problem is there’s no sign of Sony having a not-E3 State of Play showcase this summer. The past two years they’ve had it at the end of May and I think we’ve probably gone past the point they were going to announce it if it was happening. I hope I’m wrong, or maybe it’s later in June for some reason, but it doesn’t look good.RaeBonn Your story is another castle I see the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel has had its name leaked as Super Mario World. I’m not sure your average Joe is going to get that reference, but would they actually bother doing an adaptation of the game’s story? Does the game even have a story? I’ve beaten it twice and I honestly can’t remember.Looking at Wikipedia, apparently it was all in the manual and basically Bowser kidnapped Peach and some dinosaur eggs. There’s so little to work with I really have no idea what direction any of these films could do to justify themselves as anything other than a cash-in. The Paper Mario games are the only ones with an actual plot, but even then that’s not what’s good about them.Austin Risky business I’ve got a bad feeling about these upcoming Marvel games. I imagine Wolverine will be fine, but that Iron Man game will be almost two decades too late by the time it comes out. And I can’t believe many people are interested in a Captain America and Black Panther team-up set in World War 2.Normally I’d just shrug my shoulders and write it off as an incoming flop but nowadays that means the whole studio could go down and how many hundreds of people are working on these two games? I’m not exaggerating either. Consider what happened to Firaxis after the (excellent) Midnight Suns flopped. All the lead developers left, the studio was fractured (I don’t think it was a coincidence that Civilization 7 was a rare dud), and now we’ll never get an XCOM 3. I don’t know these developers behind Iron Man and the other one as well, but I do know that lots of jobs are now in danger, just because EA was late jumping on a bandwagon.Cerates Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk Reliable reputation Glad to hear GC got Power Stone back and I like the sound of all the effort Capcom put into the collection and the reasonable price. I’ve never really been into fighting games, so it’s not really of interest to me. But it Does make me think better of Capcom, for when something else I am interested in comes up.I wish this was something other publishers thought of, especially as Capcom is doing so well, financially speaking, at the moment. But unfortunately EA and Activision, and even Ubisoft to a degree, just rely on their big franchises and don’t really put out much else anyway. Sony is another example of doing this well, because their reputation for first party games really wasn’t that great until the PlayStation 4. They just built it up and became someone to rely on. Them throwing that all away now is so strange.Griefer Money issue I’ve been thinking for a while now about this, but Sony could take Xbox out the console market with just one sentence. You can put Game Pass on PlayStation. There wouldn’t be any need for an Xbox and we know Phil wants it on there.Why Sony won’t do that I’ll never know. It’s a win/win for Sony. You never know, Sony might allow them sooner or later and Xbox can go the way of Sega, just with a hell of a lot more money and just to make games.David GC: They won’t do it because they make more money selling games on their store. Although they may change their mind in time, because they’ve begun to make more selling microtransactions than actual games. And another thing You know, I have been witnessing quite a bit of clamour over the last few days. More or less a lot of complaining and quite a stir of negativity. I’ve seen GTA 6 fall surprisingly prey to this. Either people have issues with the inevitably violent content, the sex or the aged fable of controversy. My take is my bond and I say that I gladly welcome the gratuitous violence, the sex, and the glory glitz of Leonida.Because I’ve waited over 12 years for an evolution and no echoes of bemusement will deter me from my course of securing the collector’s edition as soon as possible. If that includes a statue or early access I will be immensely satisfied. My second point is the Nintendo Switch 2. I’ve already mentioned that I secured the Mario Kart World bundle from Amazon and I acknowledge the bricking controversy. But modding isn’t my cup of tea, so Nintendo has nothing to worry about. I’d rather emulate PlayStation 2 games anyway. Thirdly, the PlayStation 6. It matters not the price, storage, exclusives or specs. I’m buying this system, as I did the PlayStation 5. Day one. If it arrives in 2027, the merrier it is for me. I will very much take great stride in playing Horizon Zero Dawn 3 and many other titles.Shahzaib Sadiq Mum’s the word I was wondering when we might get some concrete thoughts about the Switch 2 launch games?Is there an embargo about when Switch 2 games are able to be reviewed? Or perhaps there is an embargo on when you can talk about an embargo, nothing from Nintendo would surprise me.Mark GC: There’s always an embargo on when we can talk about an embargo, but especially when it involves Nintendo. Facing defeat I know the war was lost long ago (shops stopping second-hand games was the end, as far as I see it) but it is so tragic to see how small a part of gaming physical copies are now. I don’t know anyone, amongst my friends or family, that buys physical copies anymore and what would be the point anyway, when they’re not even stored on the disc?.Perhaps it was inevitable, since even if the initial game is on the disc it gets distorted and expanded by updates the second you put it in a console but it’s the fact that there’s literally no benefit to digital. People talk about convenience but what convenience? Not having to change discs is just silly and lazy. And it takes time to buy a physical copy? I could drive to the shops and back quicker that it takes me to download a modern game. Not that I’m in the habit of paying out £60 on a whim, that I suddenly decide I have to have a new game right then and there. Gaming got infinitely more expensive as soon as it became more difficult to sell on your games, especially with eBay’s new payment rules. But apparently nobody cares. Maybe everyone else is a millionaire all of a sudden, and I didn’t get the memo, but the death of physical is just handing more control to publishers and taking more cash out of the wallets of ordinary people.Rufus Inbox also-rans Just watched the Borderlands movie on Amazon. It’s no Fallout or The Last Of Us but it’s not that bad. I particularly liked Jack Black as the annoying android Claptrap. They should make a Brütal Legend movie – it would have a great soundtrack. Think I will check out the Like A Dragon movie next.Johnny Alpha SDCurrently playing: Doom Eternal and Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6Thanks for the heads-up on Very, I managed to get my bundle with a camera so I’m very excited now. I went back and checked and it’s still live though, which seems weird given no one else has any stock at all.Boysie More Trending Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk The small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content. You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot. You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter. Arrow MORE: Games Inbox: Is it weird to not like GTA games? GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

While EA Motive has been quiet about its ongoing development of a game based on the Iron Man franchise, a new job listing has been spotted on EA’s jobs website that indicates that single-player will be a major component of the game. The job listing is for a Level Designer that would be in charge of designing “major singleplayer levels”. Along with designing levels, the responsibilities for the job posting include bringing the levels through every phase of development, from concept all the way up to polishing. The level designer will also need to incorporate feedback from research and playtest data, while also communicating with the rest of the team when it comes to feedback on the levels they design. According to the posting, the position requires a potential level designer to have experience with single-player action RPG titles, as well as creative skills when it comes to conceptualising and designing environments. The posting also requires familiarity with Epic’s Unreal Engine. The last time EA Motive spoke about Iron Man was with general manager Patrick Klaus revealing that the team in the studio working on the game had hit a major internal milestone. In his update, Klaus mentioned that the project, led by Olivier Proulx and Ian Frazier, has laid “a robust foundation for the journey ahead.” The major internal milestone would likely have to do with the pre-production phase of the development of Iron Man. Back in October 2023, Klaus had revealed that EA Motive was still in the early stages of the game’s development, having started work on the title after wrapping up the Dead Space remake earlier that year. “Since [Dead Space’s launch], our focus has switched to the Iron Man project, giving us the opportunity to work (and play!) with another extraordinary property,” Klaus wrote back then. “We’re still early in pre-production and taking our time to make sure we set the best possible foundation for development. But already, we’re finding so many opportunities to explore story, design and gameplay with Iron Man, and it’s exciting to see the fantasy start coming alive.” While we don’t yet know too much about the Iron Man project, back in 2023, author Ryan North had announced that he was joining the writing team for the game. Nolan, who has worked on a host of comic books (Jughead, Adventure Time, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) as well as 2022 video game Lost in Random, said that “You are not ready for how amazing this game is going to be.” Owing to the general silence regarding the game, EA had confirmed that development on Iron Man, along with another project based on superhero Black Panther, hadn’t been cancelled. The statement came in light of lay-offs at the time affecting 670 employees throughout the company. Currently, no further details about EA Motive’s Iron Man game have been revealed, including what platforms it would be coming to, or even a potential launch window. Going by EA’s general multiplatform release strategy, however, the title is likely being made for PC and consoles.

Iron Man is still yet to be shown (EA) A major Marvel title has been delayed to next year, as details emerge around EA’s upcoming Iron Man game via a job listing. It’s easy to forget about the huge number of Marvel games in development, as there are so few tangible details about any of them. Beyond Insomniac’s Wolverine, we have a standalone Black Panther game from Cliffhanger Games, an Iron Man title from EA Motive, Arkane Lyon’s Blade, throwback brawler Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra from Uncharted director Amy Hennig. While the latter was due to be released later this year, developer Skydance New Media has announced it has now been delayed to early 2026. ‘Taking this additional time will allow us to add more polish, and make sure we give you the best possible experience, and one that lives up to our vision,’ read the brief statement from Skydance Games. ‘We have some exciting things in store and look forward to sharing more soon!’ A trailer for Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra was released last year. The action game will revolve around four heroes, namely Captain America, Black Panther, Howling Commandos member Gabriel Jones, and Wakandan leader Nanali, in an original story. Considering we haven’t seen any gameplay from the project yet, the delay isn’t exactly surprising. A 2026 launch could benefit the game timing wise too, as it might get a bump from the release of crossover film Avengers: Doomsday in May next year. However, that does start to stray perilously close to the release date of GTA 6, which is currently set for May 26. Beyond Marvel: 1943: Rise Of Hydra, a job listing for EA Motive’s Iron Man has outed new details about the single-player action game. As noted in the level designer advert, EA Motive is looking for someone who can ‘design and build major single-player levels, within the project’s creative constraints’. More Trending While it isn’t stated explicitly, this description suggests the game could be level-based. However, a prior job listing on the same game described it as an ‘open world action adventure AAA title’, so it’s unclear if plans have changed, or if it’s simply referring to levels within the open world. The listing also calls for ‘experience in single-player action RPG games’, which is the first mention we’ve had of any role-playing mechanics (even if it will likely just mean some sort of skill tree. Development on Iron Man is being led by Olivier Proulx, who previously worked on the acclaimed Guardians Of The Galaxy game for Square Enix. No footage has been shown, yet but the studio apparently hit a ‘major internal milestone’ on the project last year. With so many unknowns, we could hear more about both projects at Summer Game Fest on June 6, 2025. However, EA Motive is also working on the next Battlefield, which is set to launch before March 2026, so any news about Iron Man might be held back till after that. The Rise Of Hydra will have to wait (Skydance) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Marvel’s next genius is Riri Williams, who sets out to build something iconic in the first trailer forIronheart. After first appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, MIT student Riri (Dominique Thorne) returns to Chicago with plans to build an armor suit similar to the one worn by Tony Stark. Riri’s quest leads her to Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), aka The Hood, a mysterious figure who offers the young heroine a chance to complete her vision. However, Robbins is willing to bend the law and do some “questionable things” to get the job done. Riri’s loved ones warn her about Robbins’ intentions, fearing it will send her down a dark path. Ultimately, it will be Riri’s decision as to how she wants to achieve greatness. Related Ironheart’s cast includes Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam, and Anji White. Marvel Televison/Disney+ Chinaka Hodge is the creator and head writer of Ironheart. Executive producers include Zoie Nagelhout and Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler. The series balances elements of magic with science, resulting in a “crazy combination.” “Riri is definitely in conversation with a street-level show like Daredevil,” Coogler explained to Marvel.com. “You’ve got characters trying — both heroes and villains — to make do with what they have. Then you combine that with cosmic Marvel, characters who would be at home in Doctor Strange or WandaVision. That [mix] of street-level Marvel and magical Marvel is a pretty crazy combination.” Ironheart will conclude Phase Five of the MCU. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will kick off Phase Six in July. Ironheart will consist of six episodes that stream on Disney+. The first three episodes will premiere at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on June 24.

Suit up! The first trailer for Ironheart is here. Set after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the new Marvel series brings high-tech genius to the streets of Chicago—where science meets sorcery! The VFX are made by:Base FXCantina CreativeFrame By FrameILM (VFX Supervisor: Vincent Papaix)Luma PicturesRISE (VFX Supervisor: Sebastian Lauer)SDFX StudiosTippett Studio (VFX Supervisor: Chris Morley) The Production VFX Supervisor is Greg Steele.The Additional VFX Supervisor is Fernando Zorrilla.The Production VFX Producer is David Masure-Bosco. Directors: Samantha Bailey, Angela BarnesRelease Date: June 24, 2025 (Disney+) © Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2025 The post Ironheart appeared first on The Art of VFX.

Most of the first trailer for Ironheart reminds viewers of what we learned in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: that Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) is a genius. Under pressure and threat of danger, she figures out a way to escape an elevator death trap, establishing her credibility as the greatest engineering mind since Tony Stark. But there’s one thing that Riri Williams has in common with most people, including those watching the trailer at home. As her friend puts it, “You know nothing about this man.” The man in question is Parker Robbins, played by Anthony Ramos. He appears in the trailer as a sort of morally dubious benefactor to Riri, but the most notable part of him is his unique style of dress. In most scenes, Robbins wears a leather cloak, which appears to have mystical powers. Marvel Comics readers (and Marvel Snap players) recognize Robbins as “The Hood,” a relative newcomer to the world of comics but a character with the power to shake up the MCU. Robbins made his debut in 2002’s The Hood, written by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Saga) and penciled by Kyle Hotz. As part of Marvel’s mature-readers MAX line, The Hood took a sideways glance at the Peter Parker archetype, giving us a likable everyman who operated in the world of Marvel’s criminals. When Parker took a burglary job to pay for his sick mother’s treatment, he discovered a mystical cape and pair of boots, clothing that granted him the powers of flight and invisibility. While that initial story made Parker more of a normal guy who makes bad choices in difficult situations, subsequent tales have leaned into soap opera, transforming him into more of an unrepentant supervillain. In Daredevil, he sought to become the new Kingpin of Crime and he regularly butted heads with the New Avengers. During the Secret Invasion and Secret Wars storylines, Parker became a member of the Cabal, a sort of evil Illuminati, alongside villains such as Norman Osborn and Doctor Doom. Later, he joined the Thunderbolts and clashed with Hawkeye, then the team’s leader. More recently, stories about the Hood have emphasized his mystical powers, tying him to Ghost Rider and Doctor Strange’s arch-enemy Dormammu. And that’s where Parker has real potential to change the MCU. Magic has always been a key part of the MCU, ever since Thor and the first scene of Captain America: The First Avenger. More recently, movies such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and shows such as Agatha All Along have explored the magical side of the universe, indicating how it underpins everything the characters do. As seen briefly in the Ironheart trailer, the MCU version of the Hood has those same mystical powers and, if the brief shot of Parker writhing as runes form on his back is any indication, the powers may overwhelm him. Clearly, the abilities are greater than even he realizes. Furthermore, rumors have once again suggested that Mephisto, the Marvel Universe’s equivalent to Satan and a character tied to the comic book version of the Hood, will finally appear in Ironheart, played by Sacha Baron Cohen. Yes, people have been saying that since WandaVision but, given the recent Mephisto name drop in Agatha All Along, it now seems more likely. All of which raises a question: Why all this magic in Ironheart, a show about a technical genius who uses her science skills? The answer is that this clash between technology and magic has long been a theme in the Marvel Universe, going back to Iron Man‘s battles with the Mandarin, a far more magical (and far more racist) character in the comics. The bigger question involves the show’s depiction of Parker Robbins. A veteran of Hamilton and, more recently, Twisters, Ramos knows how to play a fresh-faced and likable character. Will he be able to keep audiences on his side, even as he goes deeper into the dark arts? Or will he quickly become an unrepentant villain, like his comic book counterpart. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Ironheart comes to Disney+ on June 24, 2025