Haga clic aquí para leer esta historia en español.SONORA, Mexico — This landscape didn’t seem like a place to find jaguars, the world’s most famous jungle cat. The ground was parched and rocky and mostly brown, other than the occasional cactus or palm tree. It was so hot and dry that even some of the prickly nopales were wilting.Yet there it was — in the playback screen of a motion-sensing camera, strapped to an oak tree near a dry stream bed. Less than a week earlier, a large jaguar had walked exactly where I was now standing. Even from the small camera display, the cat looked imposing, with its oversized paws and a wide, skull-crushing jaw. The Northern Jaguar Reserve is nestled in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. During our visit in April, the dry season, there was little green vegetation other than desert plants like organ pipe cactuses and agave. Ash Ponders for VoxIt was a blistering afternoon in April, and I was in the Northern Jaguar Reserve, a protected area in Sonora about 125 miles south of the US border in Arizona. The reserve and the region around it are home to the world’s northernmost population of jaguars, the largest cats in the Western Hemisphere, as well as three other species of wild felines: ocelots, bobcats, and mountain lions, or pumas.The cat on the screen was named El Guapo. He’s the largest of five or six resident jaguars in the reserve and has likely fathered a handful of kittens, Miguel Gómez Ramírez, the reserve manager, told me.El Guapo has a bold personality: While some of the park’s jaguars get spooked by the flash or sound of motion cameras scattered through the reserve, jumping in the air like surprised house cats, El Guapo doesn’t seem to care. It’s as if he knows he’s at the top of the food chain. 1/4El Guapo. Courtesy of the Northern Jaguar ProjectWhile jaguars are often associated with the tropics, they once ranged as far north as Southern California, the Grand Canyon, and possibly even Louisiana. The US had jaguars! Then they were gone. By the mid-1900s, ranchers and hunters had exterminated these felines, largely because they were seen — like many other wild predators — as a threat to cattle. Jaguars do occasionally kill cows, though few cases of livestock predation in the US have actually been verified. Over the last few decades, several male jaguars have been spotted in their historic territory in the American Southwest — most recently, in December 2023. The extraordinary sightings give environmental advocates hope that jaguars could one day return to the US, fixing a broken food chain and recovering an important missing piece of Indigenous culture in the southern borderlands.A jaguar pelt is on display at the Ecological Center of Sonora, a zoo in the state capital of Hermosillo. Ash Ponders for VoxThose cats all came from northern Mexico. They came from the region where I was now standing, slipping through some of the last remaining gaps in the border wall. That means any chance that jaguars now have of returning to the US depends on maintaining openings in the wall — and on an ample reserve of cats in northern Mexico. Jaguars can only reestablish in their northern range if they’re sufficiently abundant in Mexico, where they’re endangered. And like in the US, ranchers in Sonora have a long history of killing felines for their perceived, and occasionally real, threat to cattle. While the Northern Jaguar Reserve helps protect wild cats in Sonora, what had ultimately brought me to Mexico was a project to conserve jaguars that extends far beyond the park’s boundary. For many years, a small group of scientists and advocates have been working to cast Sonora’s jaguars in a different light — to turn them from beef-hungry villains to important features of the ecosystem that can bring ranchers financial reward. Those efforts appear to be paying off: The population of jaguars in the reserve and the ranching region around it is stable, if not growing, offering hope that people can live harmoniously with the predators they once loathed.The Northern Jaguar Reserve is, without exaggerating, in the middle of nowhere.I traveled there last month with Roberto Wolf, a veterinarian who leads the Northern Jaguar Project (NJP), an American nonprofit that oversees the refuge. After crossing the border south of Tucson, we drove another four hours or so to a charming ranch town called Sahuaripa, where the narrow streets were lined with brightly colored homes and full of stray dogs.Homes in the town of Sahuaripa are brightly painted and often have crosses mounted on their front doors. Ash Ponders for VoxA man named Don Francisco sells warm tortillas at dawn in Sahuaripa. Ash Ponders for VoxA one-armed statue of Jesus overlooks the town of Sahuaripa. The other arm, I was told, fell off in a lightning storm. Ash Ponders for VoxFrom there it was another few hours on to the reserve, largely on rugged dirt roads. (I felt like we were in one of those car commercials for all-terrain vehicles that are only useful in this exact scenario.)Some time after entering the reserve we stopped by a log on the side of the road. It was covered in scratch marks, like the arm of a couch in a home filled with cats. That was the work of a mountain lion marking its territory, said Gómez, who met us in the park. He pointed out a motion camera nearby that had previously captured the behavior. Right before arriving at our campsite, a skunk ran across the front of the car, did a handstand, and then disappeared into the scrub. The next morning, which was cloudless and crisp, we hiked to a place called La Hielería — the spot where the trail cam had recently spotted El Guapo. Large winged shadows crossed our paths, cast by vultures hunting for carcasses. On the drive from Arizona to Sahuaripa, we crossed the Yaqui River, just west of the Northern Jaguar Reserve. It cuts through the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Ash Ponders for VoxDozens of motion-detecting trail cameras are scattered throughout the reserve. Here, the display shows a mountain lion that walked by several days earlier. Ash Ponders for VoxLa Hielería, once part of a cattle ranch, has an important place in cat conservation. In the late 1990s, when jaguars were reappearing in the US, a team of researchers began exploring northern Mexico to find out where they were coming from. As part of that work, a biologist named Gustavo Pablo Lorenzana Piña set up a motion camera by a stream bed in La Hielería. The camera captured, as expected, cow after cow after cow. But then, as Lorenzana kept clicking through, he saw it: a jaguar, “the undisputed ruler of the neotropical forests, captured in a beautiful shot with shrubs and cacti in the background,” he said. The image, taken in early 2000, was the first ever photo of a live jaguar in Sonora. It was a female, later named Gus, in honor of Gustavo.The first ever photo taken of a live jaguar in Sonora. GP Lorenzana/CA López-GonzálezHer story ended — as most other jaguar tales do — at the hands of humans. The animal was pursued and killed for allegedly harming cattle, Lorenzana told me. Although it’s technically illegal to kill jaguars in Mexico, hunting them for real or perceived harm to livestock was once a common practice. And it’s still a threat today. In the late 20th century, at least five animals were killed on average per year in the state, according to the book Borderland Jaguars by David Brown and NJP co-founder Carlos López González.One man I met, in his 70s, told me he’d killed six jaguars on a ranch that is now part of the reserve. (He’d typically use dogs to track down the cats and chase them into a cave or a tree. Then he’d shoot them.) Ranch owners would pay around 5,000 Mexican pesos — worth around $260 in today’s US dollars, and nearly double that in the early 2000s — per slain jaguar. Heraclio “Laco” Duarte Robles killed several jaguars when he worked for a ranch in what is now the reserve. Now Laco is employed by the Northern Jaguar Project, where he helps keep the cats alive. Ash Ponders for VoxJaguars do occasionally kill calves, though they prefer to feed on wild prey, such as deer or javelina, a small, fierce peccary that looks like a pig. In Sonora, jaguars and pumas might each kill a few calves per year, which typically amounts to only a fraction of a rancher’s production.While Gus was on the losing side of encounters between ranchers and cats, she left a lasting conservation legacy. By showing up on a trail cam in La Hielería, she helped prove that Sonora was home to a breeding population of jaguars. That spurred an effort to buy up ranches — including the one comprising La Hielería — and turn them into a reserve. NJP purchased its first ranch in 2003, and has since added several more. Together they cover more than 56,000 acres. Today the Northern Jaguar Reserve has a small yet healthy population of five or six jaguars, according to Carmina Gutiérrez González, a biologist at NJP. Motion cameras have spotted another 10 or so jaguars passing through the region, said Gutiérrez, who identifies individuals by their unique patterns of spots. Our only in-person encounter with a jaguar was at the Ecological Center of Sonora, a zoo within a half-day’s drive from the reserve. Ash Ponders for VoxAfter seeing El Guapo on the camera in La Hielería I wandered down the dry stream bed, where I stumbled upon a pile of feces. Jaguar feces, Gómez suspected. I’ve never been so excited to find a pile of shit in my life. People like Gómez who have spent more than a decade in the reserve have never seen jaguars face to face. My chance was close to zero. So poop? I’ll take it.The reserve is essential though insufficient — it’s relatively small, covering less than 3 percent of the area of Yellowstone, for example. Jaguars in Sonora, meanwhile, have incredibly large home ranges, and can travel as much as 10 miles a day, Gómez said. Protecting them in one small area isn’t enough in a region where hunting still occurs. So the Northern Jaguar Project had came up with another solution.One morning, after a few nights in the reserve, we drove to a cattle ranch just beyond the boundary. We parked our dusty 4Runner next to a handful of cows and their calves, who froze and stared at us as if they had never seen humans before. Uriel Villarreal Peña on his ranch, Saucito, near the Northern Jaguar Reserve. Ash Ponders for VoxA rancher named Uriel Villarreal Peña, who owns the property, came out to greet us, trailed by two dogs. As we sat around his outdoor table, under the shade of a tin roof, he told us he owns a little more than 100 cattle — each worth several hundred dollars — that he sells in Sahuaripa to be exported to the US.For more than a decade, Villarreal, who wore a ball cap, jeans, and a button-down shirt, has been part of a program called Viviendo con Felinos. The program, launched by NJP in 2007, works with ranchers to place motion cameras on their land. When those cameras detect a wild cat — a jaguar, puma, ocelot, or bobcat — the nonprofit pays the rancher from a pool of funds they’ve raised from donors. The idea, Wolf told me, is “to make living wild animals more valuable than dead ones.”Photos of jaguars are worth 5,000 pesos each (~$260), which is similar to what hunters might make for killing them. Photos of ocelots earn 1,500 pesos (~$78), pumas 1,000 pesos (~$52), and bobcats 5,000 pesos (~$26). Each rancher can earn a max of 20,000 pesos (~$1,038) a month for their photos — more than double the minimum monthly wage in Mexico. By joining Viviendo con Felinos, ranchers also agree not to kill any wild animals on their ranch, including deer and javelina. Roberto Wolf rests for a moment on our hike in La Hielería. Ash Ponders for Vox(Mexico has another, unrelated program run by its national livestock confederation that partially reimburses ranchers for cattle killed by wild predators. Ranchers complain that these funds, which are similarly meant to reduce hunting, are hard to access and inadequate.)Villarreal told me he joined the NJP program partly for the money. Cat photos taken on his ranch earn him a few thousand dollars each year, he said, which amounts to about 10 to 15 percent of his annual income from the ranch. But he also just likes jaguars. “I’m interested in seeing animals, in preserving animals because they look pretty,” he said. It helps that jaguars haven’t caused him many problems. When he was young, Villarreal thought wild cats were bad because they ate cattle, a rancher’s livelihood. But over time he learned that predators will avoid calves as long as they have plenty of deer and javelina to eat. After sampling a bit of Villarreal’s homemade Bacanora — an agave-based liquor, similar to mezcal; my job is hard, I swear! — he took us to see one of his motion cameras. It was “nearby,” though getting there involved a short drive, a half-hour hike in the sun, and a run-in with a road runner, a manic-looking ground bird that always seems to be in a rush.Wolf and NJP field technician Heraclio “Laqui” Duarte López show us a map at an overlook on our way to the reserve. Ash Ponders for VoxHiking in the reserve takes you across volcanic rocks and scrubland, often in the blistering heat. Ash Ponders for VoxA cattle skull on the outskirts of Peña’s ranch. Ash Ponders for VoxA vermilion flycatcher takes wing across the bank of the Aros River in the reserve. Ash Ponders for VoxStrapped to a wooden post, the camera was plastic, colored in camo, and roughly the size of a brick. We opened it up and clicked through the recent photos. Me approaching. Rabbit. Deer. Fox. A raccoon-like creature called a ringtail. Coati. Ocelot. Javelina. Javelina. Javelina. Javelina. Javelina.And more javelina. I asked Villarreal what he thinks when he sees a wild cat on the camera. “1,500!” he joked, referring to the money in Mexican pesos he earns from each picture of an ocelot. He then added, more seriously: “It feels good to be able to say that they do exist.”To date, 21 ranchers near the reserve have joined Viviendo con Felinos. And together, their land comprises 126,000 acres — an area more than twice the size of the actual reserve. The program has in effect expanded the area across which jaguars and their prey are protected. What’s more, it’s so popular among ranchers that there’s actually an informal waitlist to join, Wolf said. NJP has been slowly growing the program, but adding more ranches — and all of the photos they may take — is expensive, Wolf noted. Between fall 2023 and fall 2024, NJP spent well over $100,000 on photo awards alone. That doesn’t include staff time or the cost of cameras, which run around $150 each. And those cameras often need to be replaced because, of all things, woodpeckers occasionally hammer out the lenses and sensors, Gómez told me.Viviendo con Felinos has given jaguars in Sonora more space to roam, and that alone is huge. But these iconic animals are also benefiting from a more fundamental shift in the region — a shift in its culture and customs. After our visit with Villarreal, we stopped at his neighbor’s property, a large ranch owned by Agustín Hurtado Aguayo. Hurtado, now in his 80s, is the former president of the state’s livestock association and a sizable figure in Sonora’s ranching community. Several years ago, “I hated felines,” he told me at his home in the city of Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, a few hours west of Sahuaripa. Cowboy hats and a pair of bull horns hung from the wall. “I had a very bad image of them,” Hurtado said. Agustín Hurtado Aguayo at his home in Hermosillo. Ash Ponders for VoxRanch-life photos and a longhorn bull mount line the wall of Hurtado’s home. Ash Ponders for VoxHunting wild cats was a practice that older generations passed on, he said, and it stemmed from the belief that cats hurt production. “That’s the training we had,” he told me. It was also normal for cowboys to hunt and eat deer, he said, which diminished an important food source for predators.After Villarreal joined Viviendo con Felinos, Hurtado grew curious about the program. He liked the cat photos from his neighbor’s ranch. “When I began to see photos from the cameras, I began to appreciate the animals,” he said, showing me his iPhone wallpaper of a mountain lion. “Little by little, my vision of wild cats began to change.”Hurtado, who later also joined the program, realized that by limiting the number of cattle on his ranch, his cows would be healthier and there’d be more grass left over for deer. If he had more deer — and his workers refrained from hunting them — wild cats would kill fewer of his animals. These ideas are becoming increasingly common among ranchers in Sonora who have joined the program.“If we as ranchers or as owners of property preserve the normal food chain, we have no problem,” said Jose de la Cruz Coronado Aguayo, another rancher in Viviendo con Felinos. There are other ways, too, to protect cattle from predators, such as by making sure calves don’t roam the mountains alone. In other regions of the world, installing predator deterrents, such as electric fences, alarms, and flashing lights, is also effective in preventing predation. “Cats can really coexist with livestock,” Hurtado told me.The reserve is surrounded by cattle ranches that mostly sell calves for meat. Ash Ponders for VoxWhile it’s clear how photos of jaguars might make someone fall in love with wild cats, that doesn’t explain how ranchers like Hurtado learned how to farm in such a way that protects both felines and cattle. Wolf, of NJP, says it often comes down to individual experiences. Ranchers learn over time that by leaving deer alone or creating new water sources for animals, fewer livestock go missing. What’s also crucial, he said, is that by earning money for photos of cats, people in the program become more tolerant of their presence — and more open to compromise and finding ways to live with them. Before we left his home, Hurtado took out his laptop and showed us photos from the motion cameras on his ranch. They were spectacular: a mountain lion, close to the camera and wearing a look of surprise. An ocelot with what looks like a mouse in its mouth. And several jaguars, including the image below, taken in 2023 — which he had set as his desktop background. 1/3Photos from motion cameras on Hurtado’s ranch. Courtesy of the Northern Jaguar ProjectNot everyone in Sonora suddenly loves cats. Ranchers still blame jaguars when their calves disappear or turn up dead. And some jaguars are still killed discreetly. One rancher who’s not part of Viviendo con Felinos told me that since November he’s lost more than a dozen of his calves, and he suspects that wild cats are behind the damage. He says the reserve should be fenced in for the benefit of ranchers. (There’s no evidence that mountain lions or jaguars killed his calves, Wolf said.)Tension in the region boiled over earlier this year, when a mountain lion apparently entered the house where a ranch worker was staying and attacked his dog. The worker, a man named Ricardo Vazquez Paredes, says he hit the cat with a pipe and the lion ran away, but not before injuring his dog, Blaki. While Wolf and some of the other ranchers I spoke to suspect his account might be exaggerated — it’s rare for mountain lions to go near human dwellings — the story raised concerns around Sahuaripa about jaguars and efforts to protect them. Climate change might also worsen conflict in the region. Ranchers I spoke to say Sonora is getting drier, meaning there will be less and less grass for cattle — and for animals like deer that wild cats eat. That could make cows weaker and more likely to starve and jaguars hungrier and more likely to attack. Research suggests that jaguars kill more calves when it’s dry. In 2023, a rancher in Viviendo con Felinos named Diego Ezrre Romero lost a calf to a jaguar. “The most critical thing on my ranch is water,” Ezrre told me. “There are few deer because of the conditions.”Diego Ezrre Romero, a rancher in the Viviendo con Felinos program, in the verdant courtyard of his home in Sahuaripa. Ash Ponders for VoxThis is to say: Conflict in Sonora isn’t about to disappear altogether. Yet Viviendo con Felinos appears to be helping. Along with NJP’s other efforts to engage the community — education programs, for example, and painting murals that depict the iconic cats in Sahuaripa and other towns — the group is making ranchers in jaguar territory more tolerant to cats. And thanks to payments, more tolerant to losses that they may cause. “Without them [NJP] there wouldn’t even be a jaguar here right now,” said Fausto Lorenzo, a rancher near Sahuaripa who’s not affiliated with the reserve. “All the ranchers would have killed them because that was the custom.”From Hurtado’s home in Hermosillo, we drove back toward Arizona. The highway cut through fields of saguaro cactuses. Dust devils spun in the distance, moving like flying whirlpools across the scrubland.The sun sets behind the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains near the reserve. Ash Ponders for VoxThe success that NJP has had in Mexico ultimately bodes well for efforts to restore jaguars to the US. The number of jaguars in the reserve is stable, Gutiérrez says, but motion cameras suggest that year-over-year more individuals are passing through the region. That’s more individuals that could potentially spill into the US.One big problem, however, remains. As we neared the US border, the wall came into focus. It was metal and brown and rose 18 feet above the desert. Now stretching hundreds of miles across the Southwest, the wall has made the border largely impassive to wildlife — including jaguars. And it’s still expanding. The Trump administration is now planning to complete one of the last unwalled sections of the border, a 25-mile stretch in the San Rafael Valley, about 150 miles northwest of the refuge, where jaguars have crossed into the US. The future for Sonora’s jaguars appears promising regardless of whether Trump finishes his wall. NJP and other organizations have given these animals more space to live and helped lessen the threats they face. The real loss will be felt in the US. And not just among environmentalists and other wildcat advocates. Jaguars have lived in the US long before any of us. They’re part of the country’s nature heritage — of the ecosystems that are truly American — and their absence leaves our landscapes impaired. Ranchers in Sonora teach us that we can live alongside the continent’s great predators. We just have to choose to. Update, May 20, 11:25 am ET: This piece was originally published on May 20 and updated to include both peso and dollar amounts where applicable.See More:

According to Thales, AI and quantum threats have catapulted to the top of the worry list for organisations wrestling with data security. That’s the key takeaway from the cybersecurity giant’s 2025 Data Threat Report, an annual deep dive into the latest data security threats, emerging trends, and hot topics.This year’s findings are stark: almost seven out of ten organisations now see the sheer speed of AI development – especially where generative AI is concerned – as the number one security headache related to its adoption. This anxiety isn’t just about pace; it’s also fed by concerns over a fundamental lack of integrity in AI systems (flagged by 64% of those surveyed) and a troubling deficit in trustworthiness (a worry for 57%).Generative AI is a data-hungry beast, relying heavily on high-quality, often sensitive, information for core functions like training models, making inferences, and, of course, generating content.As we make rapid advancements in “agentic AI” – systems that can act more autonomously – the pressure to ensure data quality is high calibre becomes even more critical. After all, sound decisionmaking and reliable actions from AI systems depend entirely on the data they’re fed.Many organisations are already diving in, with a third of respondents indicating generative AI is either being actively integrated or is already a force for transformation within their operations.Security threats increase as organisations embrace generative AIAs generative AI throws up a complex web of data security challenges while simultaneously offering strategic avenues to bolster defences, its growing integration signals a distinct shift. Businesses are moving beyond just dipping their toes in the AI water; they’re now looking at more mature, operational deployments.Interestingly, while most respondents tabbed the swift uptake of GenAI as their biggest security concern, those further along the AI adoption curve aren’t hitting the pause button to completely lock down their systems or fine-tune their tech stacks before forging ahead. This dash for rapid transformation – often overshadowing efforts to ensure organisational readiness – could mean these companies are, perhaps unwittingly, creating their own most serious security weak spots.Eric Hanselman, Chief Analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research, said: “The fast-evolving GenAI landscape is pressuring enterprises to move quickly, sometimes at the cost of caution, as they race to stay ahead of the adoption curve.“Many enterprises are deploying GenAI faster than they can fully understand their application architectures, compounded by the rapid spread of SaaS tools embedding GenAI capabilities, adding layers of complexity and risk.”On a more positive note, 73% of respondents report they are putting money into AI-specific security tools to counter threats, either through fresh budgets or by reshuffling existing resources. Those making AI security a priority are also diversifying their approaches: over two-thirds have sourced tools from their cloud providers, three in five are turning to established security vendors, and almost half are looking to new or emerging startups for solutions.What’s particularly telling is how quickly security for generative AI has climbed the spending charts, nabbing the second spot in ranked-choice voting, just pipped to the post by the perennial concern of cloud security. This shift powerfully underscores the growing recognition of AI-driven risks and the urgent need for specialised defences to counter them.Data breaches show modest decline, though threats remain elevatedWhile the nightmare of a data breach still looms large for many, their reported frequency has actually dipped slightly over the past few years.Back in 2021, 56% of enterprises surveyed said they’d experienced a breach at some point; that figure has eased to 45% in the 2025 report. Delving deeper, the percentage of respondents reporting a breach within the last 12 months has dropped from 23% in 2021 to a more encouraging 14% in 2025.When it comes to the persistent villains of the threat landscape, malware continues to lead the pack, holding onto its top spot since 2021. Phishing has craftily climbed into second place, nudging ransomware down to third.As for who’s causing the most concern, external actors dominate: hacktivists are currently seen as the primary menace, followed by nation-state actors. Human error, whilst still a significant factor, has slipped to third, down one position from the previous year.Vendors pressed on readiness for quantum threatsThe 2025 Thales Data Threat Report also casts a revealing light on the growing unease within most organisations about quantum-related security risks.The top threat here, cited by a hefty 63% of respondents, is the looming danger of “future encryption compromise.” This is the unsettling prospect that powerful quantum computers could one day shatter current or even future encryption algorithms, exposing data previously thought to be securely locked away. Hot on its heels, 61% identified key distribution vulnerabilities, where quantum breakthroughs could undermine the methods we use to securely exchange encryption keys. Furthermore, 58% highlighted the “harvest now, decrypt later” (HNDL) threat – a chilling scenario where encrypted data, scooped up today, could be decrypted by powerful quantum machines in the future.In response to these gathering clouds, half of the organisations surveyed are taking a hard look at their current encryption strategies with 60% already prototyping or evaluating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) solutions. However, it seems trust is a scarce commodity, as only a third are pinning their hopes on telecom or cloud providers to navigate this complex transition for them.Todd Moore, Global VP of Data Security Products at Thales, commented: “The clock is ticking on post-quantum readiness. It’s encouraging that three out of five organisations are already prototyping new ciphers, but deployment timelines are tight and falling behind could leave critical data exposed.“Even with clear timelines for transitioning to PQC algorithms, the pace of encryption change has been slower than expected due to a mix of legacy systems, complexity, and the challenge of balancing innovation with security.”There’s clearly a lot more work to be done to get operational data security truly up to speed, not just to support the advanced capabilities of emerging technologies like generative AI, but also to lay down a secure foundation for whatever threats are just around the corner.(Image by Pete Linforth)Want to learn more about cybersecurity and the cloud from industry leaders? Check out Cyber Security & Cloud Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Digital Transformation Week, IoT Tech Expo, Blockchain Expo, and AI & Big Data Expo.Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

Passing through a green warp pipe, I see a colorful mushroom kingdom spreading out in front of me. Almost.  Headset pressed to my face, volume up, I'm actually watching the Super Mario Bros. movie in Apple's Vision Pro from a room in my house, the screen stretched out in 3D.  But I'm feeling a little emotional, sort of a visceral thrill, like a memory. That's because the film's blending with my memories of being at Universal Studios' Epic Universe theme park a few weeks ago, when I was walking around an actual physical Mushroom Kingdom, passing through a real and very large green warp pipe — but in Orlando, Florida.  In the park, it's all walls I can touch, blocks I can tap. Coming back to watch the movie again, in 3D, it now feels a little bit like coming home. Imaginary worlds are expanding… both in my brain, and in the virtual and physical realms. It's happening in movies, in games, in VR and in places like Epic Universe, the biggest new theme park in the US in 20 years, which opens to the public on May 22.  All these immersive worlds are tapping into universes we already have somewhat mapped out in our minds, and by mapping them out even further, creators are laying emotional groundwork for staying more deeply connected in the future.  I'm obsessed with immersive technologies and write extensively about them at CNET; I've been reviewing VR and AR headsets and games for over a decade now. But I'm finding that physical places — like theme parks — can fuel our memories, too, and they begin to blend in strange ways. And that's very much by design. We're living in a hyper-connected state of entertainment, and Epic Universe just feels like the latest, biggest step. "The thirst for things that are live, things that are unpredictable, has only increased now that we're getting all of these franchise-based experiences out there," says Kathryn Yu, co-founder of the Immersive Experience Institute in Los Angeles. "Otherwise, that IP is just a thing that you stream that happens to other people in a little box. The next logical conclusion is, well, I would love to go there." The vast new world of Epic Universe is a lot to take in, even without the crowds there. I visited ahead of its opening, intensely curious about the experiences and the technology and what it would all add up to. I saw the future, and also the past. And what I experienced through a frenzied day was that the details, and surprises, were everywhere.  This was my journey there, in the moment itself and remembered from a distance, filtered through the nostalgia that movies, games and immersive tech fill me with now as I look back. I'm going to walk you through what I encountered and put it all into perspective. In this article: A past full of portals Theme parks have been imagining other worlds for years. Disneyland, which dreamed of a series of worlds visited via connected pathways starting from a central hub — a "hub and spokes" model that's mirrored in most major theme parks now — opened way back in 1955. But in the last couple of decades, the ante has been upped, and upped again. CNET/Zooey LiaoParks have gotten more theme-immersive over time: Universal opened Islands of Adventure in Orlando in 1999, where it created mini lands based on franchises like Jurassic Park, Marvel, Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter.  Disney's Animal Kingdom, also in Florida, started with a theme around animals from various continents. It added Pandora in 2017, a section made to feel like you're walking around the alien world from James Cameron's Avatar movies. Disney also has a Toy Story land at Hollywood Studios, opened in 2018, Star Wars-themed lands in both its California and Florida parks that opened in 2019 and Avengers Campus, which opened at Disneyland in 2021.  In a sense, Epic Universe in Orlando is a park full of these extreme-themed locations, connected like magic portals. Four big places, four familiar and deep wells of movie memories to draw from: Nintendo, How to Train Your Dragon, Harry Potter and classic Universal monsters. Of course, these particular themes are in areas where new movies, games and shows are emerging constantly. A live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie arrives this summer; the Nintendo Switch 2 launches in June; there's a new Harry Potter series for HBO Max that's in the works. These are no accidents. On the other hand, if you have no connection to those intellectual properties, then you might not feel the need to visit. "It becomes kind of a double-edged sword, because you have folks who really love a franchise and will definitely buy a ticket if you're featuring that franchise," says Yu of the Immersive Experience Institute. "And then you have folks who may not be so hot on that, and you still need to appeal to them." Franchises are now made to bleed between film, TV, game and theme park. It's a cross-media world, and our physical presence in a park, playing a role in experiencing something first-hand, can end up making all the other pieces feel more emotionally important. Is there a limit to the immersive theming? Disney hit a wall with Galactic Starcruiser, a multiday self-contained hotel experience that opened in 2022 but closed a year later, something that was aiming high but was way too expensive and too immersive to appeal to many people, not to mention badly timed during a pandemic.Bridget Carey, CNET editor at large and theme park expert, who visited Epic Universe with me last month, experienced the ill-fated Galactic Starcruiser firsthand and felt it was a blend of theme park and video game, but it was an experience that locked you into a commitment — both of time and price.  Large-scale immersive theater experiences aren't always successful, either: Life and Trust, a massive multilevel New York theater event designed to be a spiritual follow-up to the decade-plus run of Sleep No More, closed after only nine months. Yet these types of projects show where immersiveness in parks could expand. "The Starcruiser experience didn't just lean into sci-fi tech for a Star Wars vibe. What made it impressive was the improvisational actors that made the sets and effects more transportive," Carey says. "Universal also is weaving that ingredient into Epic, and I was surprised by the number of human character actors we saw in each land — helping make those robotic dragons and magical creatures have emotional connections with guests."  What's different with Epic compared to how theme parks have already been evolving? In some ways, not as much as you'd think. But it's the more intense focus on immersion, combined with the portals that become the entry gates, that feel new. Universal's marketing is all about wanting you to feel like you're teleporting into these places. (Also, the new rides are a whole lot of fun.) The portal gates are made to feel like they're constructed intentionally, waiting for you to make the leap. And I've felt that portal feeling many times before, at home: in VR, where jumping to other worlds almost feels like a ritual — laying out a play space, opening an app, stepping through. All right. Here we go. Into the portals Celestial Park The entrance to Epic Universe begins with a portal. And it has portals all the way through, to the individual subworlds, and even to worlds within those worlds. It's the theme to the whole park. The entrance is the biggest portal of all, called the "Chronos," and it looks sort of like a stargate. It's also just a familiar entrance gate, adorned with symbols to the worlds that await inside,  something of a steampunk galactic theme. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETInside, things are strangely sedate. The first "hub world," Celestial Park, is lovely, beautifully landscaped and chill. So chill that you might wonder where the park excitement is hiding. The gardens and vaguely retrofuture architecture feels a bit like the Star Wars planet Naboo, or even the front part of Epcot that used to be called Future World. There are some rides, but just a few. There's an ornate domed carousel, and an interactive water fountain. There's also the park's best roller coaster, a massive twin beast called Stardust Racers, where two trains appear to race as they barrel roll over each other.  The dual coaster has a design that feels both inspired by the lore of an Atlantis lost world and fantasies of Jules Verne. Look closely and you can find an Easter egg: the flux capacitor from Back to the Future — a Universal property that used to have its own ride — flickers on the back of each coaster car. There's no promise of time travel, but the ride accelerates to speeds that feel as intense as Velocicoaster, Universal's notorious Jurassic World-themed ride. Celestial Park feels like a world between worlds. It's the place where the portals to every other world live. Celestial Park's got a lot of good food, relaxing restaurants and calming fountains. I could see this being the place where Universal has future festivals, pop-up experiences. It's also a centering space, a reset point, a rest stop between dives into other worlds. It clears your mind before you head into the next hyper-immersive place.  "The future of the attractions industry isn't one-size-fits-all. It's about creating moments that feel personal, unforgettable and emotionally resonant, regardless of the scale." Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of IAAPA Are centering places like this key to the future of more intense immersive experiences? In my early days of going to VR installations, there was a big focus on the onboarding process, as well as a decompression space where you'd be able to rest and be in your own thoughts for a while. The more stimulation we have, the more we need a way to remove ourselves from it. "For an immersive spectacle to work, it's really got to be all encompassing, but that also means what's on the outside needs to be thought through, too," says Noah Nelson, founder of the immersive entertainment site No Proscenium. "There's a whole art to path making, and while I'm not sure if we need to go the full 'chill room at the rave' route, there is something to be said for an 'ontological crossfade' from one 'reality' into another." All around the edges of Celestial Park, golden gates beckon with statues stacked on top. These are the other worlds, and entering them, you definitely feel the strong crossfade. Super Nintendo World Coin fountains and castle decorations surround Nintendo's portal, and the moment you head in, you ride an escalator. It's a warp pipe, with light beams shooting off to the sides. Then you're inside a familiar castle, Mushroom Kingdom portraits on the walls. Exiting it, you're looking out at a multilevel vista of moving blocks, Yoshis and bouncing creatures: It looks just like a level map from a Super Mario game.  It's made to overwhelm and dazzle you. The paths seem to go everywhere: down, up, to the sides and who knows where else. You descend into it, sinking into the immersion. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETSuper Nintendo World already exists in Universal's Tokyo park and in Universal Studios Hollywood, but Orlando's layout is larger and extends through an additional portal tunnel into a subworld of Donkey Kong that's full of palm trees, banana piles and a mine cart coaster that runs in and out of an ancient temple. That moment in the Super Mario Bros. movie where Mario and Peach go to Donkey Kong's kingdom and see all the looping paths everywhere? It's sort of that feeling, but smaller. If you buy a Power-Up Band ($40) from Universal, you can pair it with your phone and bop it against blocks and surfaces everywhere in the land, unlocking scores in mini games you can track on the Universal app. The bands also work as tappable NFC-enabled Amiibo for the Nintendo Switch, giving unlockable extras. I keep thinking that Nintendo could expand that park-to-Switch relationship further, maybe even with the Switch 2.  There aren't that many rides here, but they are memorable. A calmer Yoshi ride moves slowly around the Mushroom Kingdom's edges, more of a young kid's ride or even a way to take in the vistas without walking. And Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge is also surprisingly slow moving for a racing ride, but it's because you wear augmented reality head visors, tethered to your car, that float images of video game opponents all around you. The goal is to shoot flying turtle shells at opponents by turning your wheel and pressing buttons. The best parts feel like you're almost living inside the game itself — a dark tunnel where Rainbow Road floats.  The tech feels old now compared to home headsets like the Apple Vision Pro or Meta's Quest 3 — it is, since it was made for similar rides back in 2021 — but it's also the only AR ride in this park, or nearly anywhere else. And I think future rides could go a lot further. It reminds me instantly of the remote-control Mario Kart toys that Nintendo made to work with an AR-enabled Switch game called Mario Kart Live, which I drove around my home during the pandemic in 2020. Switch 2 games and connected toys could in the future further expand these rides. The Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness ride is the best of the bunch: The coaster's hidden ride mechanism makes it seem like you're on cartoonishly broken tracks, but you're not. The cart flies off them, jumping gaps, leaping into space, making what seem like impossible turns, and it's full of surprises. It's not loaded with visible tech: Its magic tricks are subtler.  "The thirst for things that are live, things that are unpredictable, has only increased now that we're getting all of these franchise-based experiences."  Kathryn Yu, co-founder of the Immersive Experience Institute While there are little corners to explore around Super Nintendo World, like extra Power-Up Band challenges and little Nintendo Easter eggs, I want more. I want the Power-Up Band minigames to feel even more game-like. I want crazy levels of extra things to find. Maybe that can still come. Nintendo's rumored to make an expansion to Super Nintendo World, possibly adding a Zelda-themed Hyrule area to time with a future Zelda movie Universal is releasing in 2027. Pokemon is also a rumored expansion focus.  The possibilities seem endless, but the cost and planning of building areas that feel timeless and popular enough to work is a whole other challenge. This space filled with Mario and Donkey Kong echoes lots of existing games, and probably games to come. When I played Donkey Kong Bananza and Mario Kart World on the Switch 2, I couldn't help thinking about Super Nintendo World all over again. And that's clearly the point: They reflect each other. A Photo Tour Inside Epic Universe See all photos Franchises are now made to bleed between film, TV, game and theme park. It's a cross-media world, and our physical presence in a park, playing a role in experiencing something first-hand, can end up making all the other pieces feel more emotionally important. The same way I watch movies about the UK nostalgically after I've traveled there, I watch the Super Mario Bros. movie and play Super Mario games after I visited Epic Universe. "Epic Universe is a powerful example of how immersive storytelling, cutting-edge technology, and bold vision are shaping the future of themed entertainment," says Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of IAAPA, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry. "It reflects a growing demand from guests for deeply integrated, multisensory experiences that transport them into entirely new worlds with characters from some of the world's most popular movies and video games." How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk Entering the portal into the world of How to Train Your Dragon, you're greeted with an expanse of water, massive carved statues and bridges beyond. Wide skies, flying rides: This is the Isle of Berk, and it's full of dragons, water and people roleplaying as characters from the films. It's the most wide-open feeling world in the park, inviting you to seemingly wander in any direction. It's the biggest, and has the most rides and shows, too. Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETI didn't grow up with these movies, but I could see the crowds who did, and waited in line for a chance to pet a robotic Toothless dragon in a stable. Chances to meet dragons are everywhere: One, puppeted by somebody inside, proudly struts around, guided by Viking handlers.  In one corner, if you're patient, a baby dragon emerges for photo opps: This is Dart, a self-powered robot that's so convincingly animated that it hypnotized me in my tracks — it has a feel similar to Boston Dynamics' robot dogs, but turned into cartoon form. Disney isn't putting free-roaming robots into its parks yet, although it's test-driving Nvidia-powered BD-0 droids that should be making more appearances in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge eventually.  "The BDX droids are just the beginning," Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president at Walt Disney Imagineering, said when the droids were shown off at an Nvidia conference in March, referring to AI advances to come via Google DeepMind and Nvidia. "This collaboration will allow us to create a new generation of robotic characters that are more expressive and engaging than ever before."  Meanwhile, Universal is already doing that with its little Dart appearances. Dart shows the future: animated and free-walking, and acting alongside real human actors that make it feel like the world has come alive.  Drone dragons wheel overhead, too — not during my initial visit, but they'll be there on park opening. Other robotic dragon tails poke out of nests. One ice-breathing dragon pokes its head out from behind a wall.  The dragon moments continue in a lavish show called The Untrainable Dragon, which blends screens and actors and dragons that look like a combination of puppeting and robotics. Toothless wheels overhead during the show, and the emotional scale of it all made me cry.  "For an immersive spectacle to work, it's really got to be all encompassing ... there's a whole art to path making." Noah Nelson, founder of the immersive entertainment site No Proscenium In this land, the rides almost feel secondary. A wheeling, tame sky ride called Dragon Racer's Rally was fine for kids, maybe not worth it for adults. A water-blasting boat ride called Fyre Drill was fun, but similar to a ride I've tried at New York's Legoland. But the family coaster here, called Hiccup's Wing Gliders, is the best thing to try: It's fast, zips over water and around the island, and has other dragons to see. It's a story experience as much as a thrill ride, like Hagrid's Magical Creatures coaster at Universal's Islands of Adventure.Berk doesn't have interactive features like Power-Up Bands or wands, but it has plenty of other merch. It's also, I think, about just feeling happy and free. It feels loose, like a festival. And maybe more of a Disney-type place than any other part of Universal. "The sheer number of dragon animatronics exposed to the outdoors was impressive — both in the ride and peppered across the landscape. But what really amps up the emotion and whimsy is the music from John Powell's soundtrack, which got me bawling happy tears on the coaster," says Carey. "Universal leans hard into movie scores throughout each portal to activate your emotions quickly — which stands out from Disney's choice to use more subtle, natural-sounding background tracks. But I think that's where Epic got it right. People want the music to have that connection." What I remember most from this world, as I portaled back out, was the dragons, whether they were drones, robots or puppets. All of the dragons.  Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic The Harry Potter portal gate leads into a subway exit, with a wall full of French posters. Around a corner, there's a massive arch. And through that arch is a wide city street, shops everywhere, hints of a skyline in the distance. The Ministry of Magic's recreation of 1920s Paris hits me on a grander, more detailed scale than any of the other worlds.  Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETThe buildings loom high. The city's farther-off attractions poke above rooftops. It feels like we've teleported. Take the previous Wizarding World areas at Universal and imagine them even bigger, and you have this. Windows in storefronts are interactive, if you have a wand you've purchased from a shop. Wave it in a certain pattern to make magical things happen. Finding the windows is a little game in itself. Some windows have interactive paintings that speak to you, too. In the middle of the city square is a circus tent, hosting Cirque Arcanus, a live theater spectacle that looks like it's impossibly tucked into this tent, with an immersive show blending magic tricks and screens. Deeper inside, the main show seems to take place inside the suitcase of Newt Scamander from the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies. Different creatures emerge from shadows and dimensional windows, made of a mix of high-res displays, puppets, robotics and stage magic.  Down one end of the Paris streets is the only ride: a showstopping experience called the Battle for the Ministry of Magic. We pass through a MetroFloo station, entering yet another portal that flashes green smoke as we end up on the other side in a massive recreation of the Ministry of Magic from the Harry Potter movies, but now in modern-day London. I don't realize until I get home days later and rewatch the movies how spot-on this recreation is: Much like Disney's Rise of the Resistance ride, it feels like you've been beamed right into a film.  The Ministry of Magic ride itself, down endless corridors of talking portraits and interactive details you might linger on during what could be seriously long waits, is an elevator you sit in as it leaps and glides through a journey involving Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dolores Umbridge and things that seem real and virtual at the same time.  "Universal leans hard into movie scores throughout each portal to activate your emotions quickly ... People want the music to have that connection." Bridget Carey, CNET editor at large Universal says this ride has a whole new mechanism technology — it reminds me of both the Gringotts and Forbidden Journey rides at Universal's other parks, but more like you're watching a magical theater experience unfold. It's the most eye-popping ride in the park. I wished I could floo-hop over to the other Wizarding World sections at Universal's other parks. You can't: This park is miles from the others, and misses out on the magic train connection. Dark Universe Through another portal that looks embedded in a gnarled mountain of rocks and roots, we pass into a cemetery, tombstones everywhere, leading to a haunted-looking European village. In some ways the most intimate of the four worlds, this lurking gothic zone, themed to house Universal's classic monsters, feels like a permanent version of Universal's Halloween Horror-themed events.  Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETThe path snakes around a series of rides and taverns, with details like menacing statues and a cart full of body parts in bottles. You'll see actors here that play various roles: a mad violinist plays a tune and spins through the square. The Invisible Man peers through bandages and insults your intelligence. At The Burning Blade Tavern, a pub at the end of the path that has a burning windmill above it, actors play the roles of monster hunters. The biggest draw here is a decaying mansion that houses Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a ride that throws all of Universal's monsters into animatronic form. The ride's built on the same arm structure as Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey: You feel like you're being propelled through rooms where werewolves, the Creature From the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein's monster and Dracula battle each other. The vibe is more video game and comic-infused than something truly scary. Still, it's the most animatronics-filled experience in the park — Frankenstein's monster towers above me in the preshow room, stepping forward as if he's about to walk right toward us.  One other roller coaster, Curse of the Werewolf, is weirdly lacking in any actual werewolves, and felt tamer than I expected. And my visit, during the day, didn't seem to fit the horror style of the surroundings.  At night, and with plenty of role-playing actors around, Dark Universe could take on whole new dimensions. This part of the park feels like the biggest leap into an unknown, and could use even more building out to add in extra thrills. But what I felt the most in this subdued, ominous-feeling part of the park was the promise of roleplay. What if I stayed longer and tried to follow the violinist? What if the Invisible Man tried to recruit me for a mission? What does Ygor have to tell me if I seek him out? If I go to the pubs and lurking corners, will I find more mysteries to unravel? As a doorway to the oldest part of Universal's history, could Dark Universe be a permanent way to explore the weird horrors of Halloween all year long? I'd like to stick around here for dinner after dark and see what happens. The future beyond Epic On my way home again, thinking ahead to my next visit around the time of the park's opening day, I wondered about what Epic Universe represents for the future of where amusement parks and immersive entertainment are heading, and what it could also mean for all the games, movies, shows and toys that connect to them. Theme parks are conceived years ahead of time, slowly emerging into completion. Epic Universe is here in 2025, but its ideas were birthed back in 2019 and intended for 2023, delayed because of the pandemic. What we're seeing now is the bleeding edge of large-scale theme parks, but not necessarily a sign of what the future holds.  It's hard to keep large-scale things in business, so I often think about the future of immersive entertainment as coming from smaller productions. There have been a ton of contained immersive ticketed attractions in the last decade that give the I've-been-to-a-park experience, often at a lower cost.  My mind turns to Meow Wolf, a growing collective that makes hallucinatory installations that have mysteries and parts that unlock extras on a phone app. One of Meow Wolf's next locations, in New York, looks to add even more mixed reality and interaction (it's themed like an interdimensional arcade).  Meow Wolf's founders say that smaller indoor spaces can build out higher levels of next-level interaction beyond what Universal or Disney can do.  "We see them as sort of scratching the surface," Meow Wolf's Vince Kladubek tells me, speaking about parks like Epic Universe. "When you have a dedicated indoor space, you have far more possibilities than when you're in an outdoor theme park land. We're really honing in on the capabilities that are now possible when you have a fixed indoor space in bringing this mixed-reality experience forward." "Epic Universe is a powerful example of how immersive storytelling, cutting-edge technology and bold vision are shaping the future of themed entertainment." Jakob Wahl, president and CEO of IAAPA And while these smaller interactive experiences emerge, it's rare to see a completely new theme park open in the US — the last one was Disney's California Adventure in 2001. Disney and Universal have been locked in a back-and-forth competition for decades, one-upping each other with new immersive ideas, licensing deals and park upgrades, but Disney has no new US park planned. Instead, Disney is focused on specific park upgrades — a Monsters, Inc. area for Hollywood Studios, new Cars and Villains lands for Magic Kingdom, an Encanto and Indiana Jones expansion to Animal Kingdom, more Avengers rides at California Adventure. New parks are opening overseas, though: Universal has a UK park in development, and Disney just announced a deal to open a theme park in Abu Dhabi. Universal's next steps beyond Epic are already in the works, but in lots of smaller pieces. A horror-themed permanent Universal attraction, called Universal Horror Unleashed, opens in Las Vegas this August. Its four haunted houses should feel like the ones in Universal's seasonal horror night fests, but year-round. Universal also has a kid-focused, smaller park that's opening in Frisco, Texas next year. "We're seeing

This list contains spoilers for the Mission: Impossible franchise.A new Mission: Impossible film is hitting theaters this month – the final one in the franchise, if we’re to believe Tom Cruise and the suits at Paramount – and if you’re like us, you’re probably knee deep in a series rewatch right now.The focus of the films, spectacular action set pieces aside, has been Cruise’s lead spy, Ethan Hunt. Fellow team agents have often come and gone, and supposedly impossible missions have varied time after time, but Ethan has remained. The only other constant has been a steady supply of villains – men and women with big plans fueled by greed and/or malice, who think they’ll be the one to outwit, outsmart, and outrun Hunt. Fools.It might seem counterintuitive ranking the Mission: Impossible villains under the banner of “best,” but every great hero needs an equally great villain. Numerous elements come into play when determining the best villain, but we’re zeroing in on the scale of their threat, the weight of the violence (both physical and emotional) they commit against Hunt and his team, and the palpable degree of villainous charisma they exhibit.So cue up that classic Lalo Schifrin theme, here are the 10 Best Mission: Impossible Villains, Ranked!Top 10 Mission Impossible Villains10. A.I. The Entity (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 12, 2023 | Runtime: 163 mins“A self-aware, self-learning, truth-eating digital parasite infesting all of cyberspace” sounds like a pretty cool threat in any other high-octane thriller, but in the Mission: Impossible franchise it’s only good enough to land at number ten. It underwhelms compared to its human counterparts, because let’s be real – zeroes and ones ain’t got shit and madness and guns – but its power and immense reach are undeniable. The Entity began “life” as a digital weapon designed by the U.S. government before going rogue and hopping through cyberspace with the giddiness of a puppy experiencing its first snowfall.Most villainous act of villainy: While toying with and killing a submarine filled with Russian sailors is an act of murderous cruelty, it’s the Entity’s bigger, broader acts of deception that mark it as a true villain. Its early days of online manipulation saw it shifting public opinion and behavior through social media, and it’s a brutal reminder of events in the real world. We live in a present where people with nefarious agendas are influencing easily shaped minds, and with the increased use of A.I. in our online dealings, it’s not hard to imagine something like the Entity stepping in and really turning our daily lives into a nightmare.Where to WatchPowered by9. John Musgrave (Mission: Impossible III)Director: J.J. Abrams | Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, and J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan | Release Date: May 5, 2006 | Runtime: 126 minsNot every villain has direct blood on his hands, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less dangerous. Musgrave is Hunt’s Operations Manager at the IMF, and it’s suggested they may even be minor friends – understandable as he’s played by Billy Crudup, and who wouldn’t want to be friends with Billy Crudup. He brings Hunt in on a mission to rescue one of his proteges, Lindsey Farris, and when that goes wrong and Hunt is blamed for the fallout, it’s Musgrave who helps the agent escape to pursue justice. See? A friend.Surprise! It’s all a ruse, and Musgrave is actually a traitor working with a man named Owen Davian on some elaborate plan to retrieve a piece of tech nicknamed “the rabbit’s foot.” Musgrave’s a hero in his own mind, though, as he’s hoping to use this as motivation for first strikes against enemy forces. He wants the U.S. and the IMF to play a more aggressive role in the fight against terrorism, and if that means supporting terrorists along the way, well, he’s all for it.Most villainous act of villainy: Musgrave might think his heart is in the right place here, but in addition to enabling a murderous terrorist in Davian, he crosses an equally big line by pulling Ethan’s wife, Julia, into danger. Worse, he lets Davian shoot Julia in the head right in front of Hunt. Sure, she’s revealed to have been a minor henchwoman in a mask, but the emotional damage is real.Mission: Impossible IIIParamount PicturesMay 5, 2006PG-13Where to WatchPowered by8. Kurt Hendricks (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol)Director: Brad Bird | Writer: Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec | Stars: Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Michael Nyqvist | Release Date: December 21, 2011 | Runtime: 132 minsWhile some villains act out of greed and others cause misery simply for the fun of it, Kurt Hendricks is a man who only wants the best for humanity. What is the best, you ask? Well, in Hendricks’ mind, our species would benefit from something of a cleanse. From the great biblical flood to the atomic bombing of Japanese cities during World War II, immense disasters lead to rebuilding, recovery, and real improvement… apparently.Sounds logical, so Hendricks sets out to trigger just such a global debacle starting with a massive attack on the Kremlin in Moscow and leading to the acquisition of nuclear codes. He proves himself to be one of the greatest threats Ethan Hunt has faced to that point.Except, and this is where casting comes into serious play, the film wants us to see him as a physical threat to Hunt – but that’s nearly impossible. Michael Nyqvist was a fantastic actor, and he makes for a compelling villain through dialogue and intent. But a serious contender in a fight with Cruise? It’s difficult to buy, but that doesn’t stop director Brad Bird from letting him go toe to toe with the film’s star for a weirdly long fight. (To be fair, Chad Stahelski started it by letting Nyqvist seemingly hold his own for a bit with Keanu Reeves in John Wick.) So, while Hendricks is a grand threat on the world stage, he tumbles some in the ranking here as an unserious brawler against the highly trained and in far better shape Hunt. Most villainous act of villainy: Like Musgrave above, Hendricks seriously thinks he’s doing the world a favor by causing harm. His final act results in a nuclear missile being fired towards San Francisco, something that would have killed tens of thousands of people immediately before triggering the death of millions more. That’s no small thing, and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling IMF agents.Where to WatchPowered by7. August Walker (Mission: Impossible - Fallout)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 27, 2018 | Runtime: 147 minsHunt and his IMF team have been betrayed by double agents and traitors on numerous occasions, but most of them are greedy middle-aged men in suits who don’t pose an immediate physical threat to our intrepid hero. August Walker is something different entirely. He towers over Hunt and is jacked from his mustache on down. Henry Cavill’s portrayal ensures that he’s already menacing even while pretending to be on Hunt’s side, but once the truth comes out, the gloves come off.Walker is revealed to be working in cahoots with the brilliant Solomon Lane, and together they frame Hunt and once again pull the love of his life, Julia, into harm’s way. His motivation for it all is a bit over the top and dramatic – he wants the old world to implode and give rise to something better – but what else would you expect from a man who seems to cock his arms like guns during fist fights.Most villainous act of villainy: Walker and Lane are planning to detonate nuclear bombs, and while the latter stays behind to die in his greatest act of terror, Walker is on a chopper heading to safety. Hunt, of course, catches up to him in pursuit of the detonator that’s needed to stop the countdown. While Walker could have easily escaped by giving up the detonator, his desire to cause suffering – especially Hunt’s suffering if Julia were to die – leads him to a one-on-one fight to the death with the agent. It’s a decision built on rage and self-righteous justification, and it rightfully ends in his painful demise.Mission: Impossible - FalloutParamount PicturesJul 27, 2018Where to WatchPowered by6. Paris (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 12, 2023 | Runtime: 163 minsWhen it comes to villains in the Mission: Impossible universe, few can touch Pom Klementieff’s Paris on style and charisma points. A henchwoman to Gabriel, she lets her gleefully murderous skillset do most of her talking, and it’s a refreshing change of pace from baddies who seem compelled to share their life stories before pulling a trigger.Her costume and face makeup see her stand apart from the crowd, but don’t let her doll-like appearance fool you. Paris is a merciless fighter who refuses to quit despite the odds, as evidenced by a shootout and car chase in Rome that sees her literally plowing through obstacles both human and otherwise in her pursuit of Hunt. Most villainous act of villainy: While Paris makes mincemeat out of numerous threats, she ultimately succumbs to Hunt during an alleyway brawl. He spares her life, though, and after being punished by Gabriel – he basically tries to kill her – she chooses to betray both him and her villainous tendencies by saving Hunt’s life. Maybe I’m stretching the definition here, but it takes a real badass to turn your back on villainy with the discovery of unexpected morals and a change of heart.Where to WatchPowered by5. Gabriel (Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | Stars: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson | Release Date: July 12, 2023 & May 23, 2025 | Runtime: 163 mins & 169 minsThe mysterious Gabriel arrives in the penultimate entry of the franchise, and he’s a man with deadly skills and an alliance with the Entity. He also comes with a backstory suggesting an integral role in Ethan Hunt’s life. It seems Gabriel killed a woman named Marie thirty years ago, someone Hunt was apparently fond of, and it’s that murder that landed Hunt at the IMF – where he went on to save thousands of lives. Hundreds of thousands, even. So maybe Gabriel is a hero? I kid, I kid.He’s obviously a villain, and he may even be something of a seer (?), but while his late-to-the-party franchise arrival unavoidably undercuts his dramatic weight, the character’s casting lifts Gabriel right back up again. Esai Morales brings real charm and a calm menace to the character, and it’s immediately made clear that he’s not someone to be trifled with. You believe both his physical abilities and deadly intentions, and Morales’ added dramatic weight makes him a real threat to Hunt. He also earns a bump in the rankings by gifting viewers with the best, most unforgettable villain death in the entire franchise.Most villainous act of villainy: Gabriel’s killed a lot of people, and he even destroyed a rolling Agatha Christie landmark, so it’s clear he’s a bad guy. His most vicious act, though, comes as a bookend to having “fridged” Marie three decades earlier. Gabriel threatens to do it again by killing either Ilsa or Grace – Hunt’s current love interest or the woman who just landed in his lap mere hours ago – and while the film wants to trick viewers into thinking it’s going to be the latter, it’s Ilsa who dies by Gabriel’s blade instead. McQuarrie and Cruise are obviously the real villains here for introducing this tired trope of a woman’s death being responsible for a man’s life, but it’s ultimately Gabriel who thrusts the knife into Ilsa’s gut. It could have been Grace who died. Hell, it should have been Benji. Instead, Gabriel extinguishes the franchise’s brightest flame this side of Hunt himself. J’accuse!Where to WatchPowered byNot yet available for streaming.4. Jim Phelps (Mission: Impossible)Director: Brian De Palma | Writer: David KoeppSteven Zaillian, and Robert Towne | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno | Release Date: May 22, 1996 | Runtime: 110 minsJim Phelps wasn’t the only friend/fellow agent to betray Hunt over the years, but he was the first – and arguably the most shocking. The character, as played by Peter Graves, was the IMF’s lead agent for the bulk of the television series’ seven-season run from 1966 to 1973. He was unquestionably a good guy, so there was no reason to suspect that his presence in the first Mission: Impossible film would be anything different – well, Jon Voight in the role was probably a clue.Audiences expected Phelps to essentially hand the reins over to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, but while he did just that, he did so with a major act of betrayal. As he tells Hunt once his ruse is discovered, the end of the Cold War threatens to end the need for the IMF – this is as naive a statement as ever uttered in the entirety of the franchise – and he was worried about becoming a relic barely scraping by on sixty-two thousand dollars a year.Most villainous act of villainy: The betrayal itself is already brutal as Phelps turns his back on friends and agents who’ve risked their lives together over the years, but it’s the specifics of his traitorous act that hits hardest. In his effort to frame someone else for his crime, Phelps kills off three members of his team during an operation and then fakes his own death. What could have been a simple theft, instead becomes an act of cruelty making his betrayal sting even more.Where to WatchPowered by3. Sean Ambrose (Mission: Impossible II)Director: John Woo | Writer: Robert Towne | Stars: Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Ving Rhames | Release Date: May 24, 2000 | Runtime: 123 mins“That was always the hardest part of having to portray you,” says ex-IMF agent Sean Ambrose to a beaten and angered Ethan Hunt, “grinning like an idiot every fifteen minutes.” That line alone makes Ambrose a top villain as it’s a terrific zing at both Hunt and Cruise himself. He’s equally dismissive of women as evidenced by his comment that they’re like monkeys when it comes to the men in their lives, that they “won’t let go of one branch until they get a grip on the next.” Say what you will about his greedy desires, but Ambrose (Dougray Scott) understands the assignment when it comes to being a charismatic villain.That greed has led him to steal a deadly plague with plans to unleash it on whole populations if his demands aren’t met. While cash money is his primary motivator, though, Ambrose also seems fueled by a splash of jealousy towards Hunt. That makes their faceoffs all the more entertaining whether they’re jousting on motorcycles or sharing beatdowns in the sand as only the great John Woo can capture it.Most villainous act of villainy: The film opens with Ambrose masquerading as Hunt in order to acquire the Chimera plague, but rather than just kill one man, Ambrose and his team crash an entire passenger jet filled with innocent civilians. Acts of terror would claim higher body counts in later films, but this puts faces to the dead in a far more direct way making it more personal and affecting.Mission: Impossible IIParamount PicturesMay 24, 2000PG-13Where to WatchPowered by2. Solomon Lane (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation)Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Writer: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris | Release Date: July 31, 2015 & July 27, 2018 | Runtime: 131 mins & 147 minsWhether due to low pay or poor benefits, the world is seemingly overflowing with ex-government employees ready and willing to betray their nations and jump on the train to villain town. Solomon Lane is one such agent, but he goes a step or three further by helping create an organization called The Syndicate that’s built entirely on those bitter, trigger happy ex-agents. They want to sow chaos and reap financial rewards, and they’ve been doing it for years.Lane is introduced killing a young, unarmed female agent right in front of Hunt, and it’s soon revealed that he’s responsible for thousands of deaths over the years through events made to look like accidents or the work of wholly unrelated perpetrators. Lane’s history of manipulating trust and the world’s various systems makes him one of the most dangerous villains in the franchise. He’s ahead of Hunt at every step, and his mantra – “The greater the suffering, the greater the peace.” – marks him as a man willing to do anything to accomplish his goals.While many actors go big playing villains, Sean Harris takes the opposite approach and makes Lane a weasel of a man who you just want to see get beaten senseless. It’s an unusually bold choice that leaves him without a darkly appealing persona or personality – he’s just a very bad man who couldn’t care less about you or your loved ones.Most villainous act of villainy: As the rare villain to be an active threat across more than one film, Lane inflicts plenty of pain, suffering, and stress on Hunt and his team. The bulk of his evil acts were committed before Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation even begins, but his cruelest and most personal action unfolds during the followup, Fallout. Along with August Walker, Lane manages to activate two nuclear bombs threatening not only the water supply for billions of people, but also the life of Hunt’s greatest love, Julia. Seeing her in harm’s way is the kind of gut punch that Hunt felt only once before, and it’s clear just how sorry he is that his choices have once again brought her so close to dying.Where to WatchPowered by1. Owen Davian (Mission: Impossible III)Director: J.J. Abrams | Writer: Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci, and J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan | Release Date: May 5, 2006 | Runtime: 126 minsThere’s a lot of competition when it comes to selecting the best villain in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but there was never any doubt who’d land at the top of the heap. Davian doesn’t care about much beyond his own wants and needs, and the film reflects that by never revealing exactly what his end goal is – we know he wants the so-called rabbit’s foot, but what it is and what it does are never made clear. We just know that Davian will cut through anyone and anything to get it, and that makes him an exceptionally dangerous man.J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible III is unfairly maligned, but even those underwhelmed by the film itself can’t help but applaud Philip Seymour Hall’s frighteningly effective and highly entertaining portrayal of Davian. His blistering stares, his lightning quick shifts from dead silence to raging outbursts, and his deceptively calm way of threatening everything that Hunt holds dear all work to make him a villain who commands the screen and even steals every scene from Cruise himself.There may not be a big, global threat at play here, but Davian is the man who arguably gets closer than any other villain to actually killing Hunt. He injects the agent’s head with an explosive device that gets within seconds of churning Hunt’s brain tissue into ground beef, and he even gets some serious licks in while brawling. You wouldn’t think a Cruise versus Hoffman fight would convince, but the latter’s pure ferocity paired with Hunt’s incapacitation due to the pain in his head makes for a viciously compelling bout.Most villainous act of villainy: Davian is a mean bastard who, while still in restraints, coldly threatens to murder Hunt’s fiance Julia. “I’m gonna make her bleed and cry and call out your name”, he says, and it’s one of the few times where Hunt’s legendary control tips into real fear and emotion. Davian later comes close to doing just that after abducting Julia, tying her up, and appearing to shoot her in the head. Hunt’s pain is palpable, and it’s enough to damage his heart to the point that he’d go on to never let someone that close again. Davian has literally halted Hunt’s ability to connect with someone on a deeply personal level, and it’s the kind of attack that bullets and bombs just can’t compete with.Mission: Impossible IIIParamount PicturesMay 5, 2006PG-13Where to WatchPowered by

Fortnite is in the middle of a Star Wars season, which has boasted a rapidly growing roster of heroes and villains from the sci-fi classic. However, one of the newest outfits is notably weird even by Fortnite standards: You can now play as Darth Jar Jar, but you'll need to grind a lot of XP to be able to buy the skin.In a recent blog post, developer Epic Games announced a number of accessories for evil Jar Jar that are now available to purchase. These include a wrap, a pickaxe, a back bling, and the full outfit. However, these specific items are locked behind XP benchmarks, which players can earn in any Fortnite mode. To unlock the ability to buy all of the items, you'll need to amass 1,280,000 XP. Depending on how committed to grinding out XP you are and the modes you play, this will likely take at least several hours of gameplay to earn.In addition, once you hit these XP benchmarks, you'll still have to shell out V-Bucks. In total, the Darth Jar Jar item set costs 3,200 V-Bucks (roughly $26); if you just want the outfit, that costs 1,500 V-Bucks (roughly $13).Continue Reading at GameSpot

NetherRealm Studios’ brand is bloody fighting games, though in 2013, it toned down the violence a tad for Injustice: Gods Among Us. Based on the title, it may not have been even totally clear to Mortal Kombat fans that it was a fighting game starring DC Comics heroes and villains, like Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Joker. But Injustice was a hit for the studio, and spawned a sequel in 2017 that expanded the weird and wild world while offering the same knuckle-busting gameplay. Unfortunately, outside of a tie-in comic and an animated film adaptation, the series has been dormant ever since. Despite the series’ strong sales and high review scores, NetherRealm hasn’t delivered a sequel, instead focusing on its Mortal Kombat franchise. While we can certainly hope the studio’s next game is Injustice 3, and there are murmurs that it might be, NetherRealm hasn’t given any indication as to what it’s developing next. If an Injustice 3 were to be announced, there are some key changes and additions, in my humble opinion, that NetherRealm could make to elevate the franchise.​​​​​​​ For your (and NetherRealm’s) consideration: Make sure Injustice 3’s DLC characters aren’t one-offs The first two Injustice games had expansive rosters, but there are plenty more heroes and villains from the DC universe NetherRealm could bring in for a potential threequel. First, however, some of the DLC fighters need to be brought back — and be used for storytelling purposes. Characters like Batgirl, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna were great additions in the first game, but were nowhere to be found in the second. Similarly, Black Manta, Starfire, and Enchantress offered great character variety in the second game, and we can only hope they return if the series continues. Injustice: Gods Among Us had two dozen characters for its base roster while Injustice 2 had 28, and the DLC additions pushed its roster to almost 40. NetherRealm has demonstrated time and again it can deliver plenty of unique heroes for each of its games, so I have no doubt that if Injustice 3’s base roster were to include 30-plus heroes, they’d all feel unique and justified. Personally, I’m hoping for more Teen Titans. “Add these characters to Injustice 3” lightning round Batman Beyond Batman: Because a little nostalgia for ’00s cartoons never hurts. Batwoman: Just about everyone else in the Batfamily has made it. Why not Kate Kane? Beast Boy: Fans have long wanted Beast Boy in the series, and for good reason — his shape-shifting powers have the potential for the most unique move set of any fighter. John Constantine: Plays a huge role in the original Injustice comics, but has yet to be playable in the games. Kilowog: The more Green Lanterns, the better. King Shark: Scene stealer in everything he appears in, whether we’re talking The Suicide Squad or Harley Quinn. Mister Miracle: Everyone’s favorite depressed hero before Bob from Thunderbolts came along. Naomi: Probably Brian Michael Bendis’ best addition to the DC universe, it’s time Naomi got to kick some butt in a game. Ra’s al Ghul: Batman’s father-in-law deserves to duel his son-in-law shirtless, just like in the animated show. Peacemaker: He’s already in Mortal Kombat 1, so just bring his peace-loving ass over. Static: How did Static join the mobile game before the real game??? Terra: One of the most influential Teen Titans can be Injustice’s version of Mortal Kombat’s Tremor. Go back to comic-accurate suits Injustice 2 swapped out alternate costumes for gear. Instead of adorning Batman in his Red Son costume or Nightwing in his New 52 digs, you’d instead equip various pieces of gear to each character. You could also add different shaders, giving each character wildly different color schemes than they were traditionally known for, like a purple Superman or gold Green Lantern. Each character ultimately ended up with a similar, armored-up aesthetic. Gone were the unique, comic-accurate skins. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Injustice 2’s gear system. Even aside from the aesthetics, it introduced a tedious item-management system to the game, full of stats, transmog options, and, of course, microtransactions. Instead, I’d prefer Injustice 3 to go back to a focus on alternate costumes inspired by comics, movies, and everything else. There have been plenty of new costumes for each hero introduced since the games dropped, meaning the possibilities for alternate skins in a new game would be quite substantial. Add premium skins for more character variety Premium skins from both games need to return, and I’d love for even more to be included. Premium skins would change the appearance and voice of a character while retaining its move set. For example, equipping the Reverse-Flash costume for Flash would turn the character into his archnemesis but play the same as the hero you know and love. Characters like the Flash and Green Lantern are ripe for premium skins so players could fight as Wally West or Simon Baz without entirely new characters needing to be made. And could you imagine playing as 2022’s The Batman’s version of the character with voice work by Robert Pattinson or as David Corenswet’s Superman? Let’s speak it into existence. Take advantage of DC Comics’ multiversal characters and stories The first Injustice game was a light multiverse story. It had heroes from only two worlds interacting, but most of the plot concerned heroes from the main DC universe fighting evil, alternate versions in a parallel universe where Superman broke bad. Injustice 2 stuck to the parallel world and explored how it developed in the years after the first game, telling a story of how its heroes and villains had to unite to stop Brainiac. In the years since, multiverse stories, especially with superheroes, have exploded in popularity — and characters. I’m not asking NetherRealm to create hundreds of versions of its characters, but it would be fun to see the studio create even more new takes on the existing heroes. The story could take inspiration from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Dark Knights: Metal event, where DC’s heroes contend with twisted versions of Batman. Or it could go with a classic trope of villains meeting variants of each other; perhaps Darkseid could team up with his multiversal counterparts in an attempt to rule the multiverse. I know this one’s a longshot, but maybe there’s crossover potential with bringing Watchmen characters into the multiverse shenanigans. DC has been open to doing new things with the characters in recent years, like in the Doomsday Clock miniseries and HBO show. I’d love to see how NetherRealm interprets Rorschach, Ozymandias, and Doctor Manhattan, both from a gameplay and a storytelling perspective. DC’s newest comic initiative would work well in a game, too One particular universe that Injustice 3 could draw inspiration from is DC’s Absolute comics line. One of the core tenants of the Absolute Universe is stripping DC’s heroes of key characteristics while keeping the core idea of who they are intact. For example, Absolute Superman grew up on Krypton and arrived on Earth as an adult, removing his Kansas family ties. Absolute Wonder Woman was raised in Hell, giving her a new outlook on the world — and new powers. Absolute Batman is perhaps the most altered of DC’s heroes. Gone is the rich playboy and in comes a bulked-up engineer. Batman’s appearance is dramatically different; he’s taller and his muscled frame rivals that of Bane’s. The Bat symbol on his chest can be detached and used as an axehead, meaning an Absolute version would play extremely differently in Injustice 3 than the Batman we’re used to. Or maybe just Mortal Kombat vs. Injustice? Back in 2008, Midway Games released an ambitious crossover fighting game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. It found the heroes and enemies of both franchises at odds with one another before coming together to fight Dark Khan, a fusion of Shao Kahn and Darkseid, and save their universes. It was a fun crossover that would influence storytelling in fighting games, but unfortunately it was one of Midway’s last titles. The studio eventually shuttered and from it was born NetherRealm, which hit the ground running with a Mortal Kombat reboot and then the first Injustice game. If an Injustice 3 isn’t going to happen, maybe DC fans could be appeased in a different way — a followup to Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The title is sitting right there: Mortal Kombat vs. Injustice. It could pick up threads from the ending of Injustice 2 and pit its evil Superman and Wonder Woman against Mortal Kombat stalwarts Liu Kang, Scorpion, and Raiden. A crossover could serve fans of both franchises while exploring the characters in new ways, both in terms of story and gameplay. Is there hope for an Injustice 3 release? Between 2011 and 2019, NetherRealm released a game every two years, alternating between Mortal Kombat games and the Injustice series. Since then it’s only released Mortal Kombat 1 in 2023 and hasn’t yet divulged what its next game will be. It could be a new Mortal Kombat, something new entirely, or, ideally for DC fans, a third Injustice game. Injustice director Ed Boon gave fans some hope in 2024, telling The Direct, “[W]e love the Injustice games. You know, I would be surprised if we never did one again.” James Gunn and Peter Safran became the architects of their DC Universe in 2022, looking to usher in new films and build a cohesive storytelling universe across films, TV series, and games. Earlier in 2025, they met with the heads of NetherRealm and Rocksteady, the makers of the Batman: Arkham games. “It’s really the first time it’s ever been this way at Warner Bros.,” Safran said (via EuroGamer). “We sit with [the studio heads] and we talk about characters and stories that we’re interested in and that they’re interested in.” Gunn detailed how the film plan may influence the games, saying, “We see designs for the projects in their very earliest stages. We talk about those, we talk about what the story might be and we’ll say ‘Well, maybe you want to go this way because we’re planning on maybe doing something with this character.’” Gunn and Safran meeting with NetherRealm Studios can be looked at positively. To assume it means NetherRealm has something DC cooking would be too much of a stretch, but it at least gives Injustice fans hope that a third entry isn’t dead in the water.

NetherRealm Studios’ brand is bloody fighting games, though in 2013, it toned down the violence a tad for Injustice: Gods Among Us. Based on the title, it may not have been even totally clear to Mortal Kombat fans that it was a fighting game starring DC Comics heroes and villains, like Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Joker. But Injustice was a hit for the studio, and spawned a sequel in 2017 that expanded the weird and wild world while offering the same knuckle-busting gameplay.Unfortunately, outside of a tie-in comic and an animated film adaptation, the series has been dormant ever since. Despite the series’ strong sales and high review scores, NetherRealm hasn’t delivered a sequel, instead focusing on its Mortal Kombat franchise. While we can certainly hope the studio’s next game is Injustice 3, and there are murmurs that it might be, NetherRealm hasn’t given any indication as to what it’s developing next.If an Injustice 3 were to be announced, there are some key changes and additions, in my humble opinion, that NetherRealm could make to elevate the franchise.​​​​​​​ For your (and NetherRealm’s) consideration:Make sure Injustice 3’s DLC characters aren’t one-offsNetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive EntertainmentThe first two Injustice games had expansive rosters, but there are plenty more heroes and villains from the DC universe NetherRealm could bring in for a potential threequel. First, however, some of the DLC fighters need to be brought back — and be used for storytelling purposes. Characters like Batgirl, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna were great additions in the first game, but were nowhere to be found in the second. Similarly, Black Manta, Starfire, and Enchantress offered great character variety in the second game, and we can only hope they return if the series continues.Injustice: Gods Among Us had two dozen characters for its base roster while Injustice 2 had 28, and the DLC additions pushed its roster to almost 40. NetherRealm has demonstrated time and again it can deliver plenty of unique heroes for each of its games, so I have no doubt that if Injustice 3’s base roster were to include 30-plus heroes, they’d all feel unique and justified. Personally, I’m hoping for more Teen Titans.“Add these characters to Injustice 3” lightning roundBatman Beyond Batman: Because a little nostalgia for ’00s cartoons never hurts.Batwoman: Just about everyone else in the Batfamily has made it. Why not Kate Kane?Beast Boy: Fans have long wanted Beast Boy in the series, and for good reason — his shape-shifting powers have the potential for the most unique move set of any fighter.John Constantine: Plays a huge role in the original Injustice comics, but has yet to be playable in the games.Kilowog: The more Green Lanterns, the better.King Shark: Scene stealer in everything he appears in, whether we’re talking The Suicide Squad or Harley Quinn.Mister Miracle: Everyone’s favorite depressed hero before Bob from Thunderbolts came along.Naomi: Probably Brian Michael Bendis’ best addition to the DC universe, it’s time Naomi got to kick some butt in a game.Ra’s al Ghul: Batman’s father-in-law deserves to duel his son-in-law shirtless, just like in the animated show.Peacemaker: He’s already in Mortal Kombat 1, so just bring his peace-loving ass over.Static: How did Static join the mobile game before the real game???Terra: One of the most influential Teen Titans can be Injustice’s version of Mortal Kombat’s Tremor.Go back to comic-accurate suitsInjustice 2 swapped out alternate costumes for gear. Instead of adorning Batman in his Red Son costume or Nightwing in his New 52 digs, you’d instead equip various pieces of gear to each character. You could also add different shaders, giving each character wildly different color schemes than they were traditionally known for, like a purple Superman or gold Green Lantern. Each character ultimately ended up with a similar, armored-up aesthetic. Gone were the unique, comic-accurate skins.Personally, I wasn’t a fan of Injustice 2’s gear system. Even aside from the aesthetics, it introduced a tedious item-management system to the game, full of stats, transmog options, and, of course, microtransactions. Instead, I’d prefer Injustice 3 to go back to a focus on alternate costumes inspired by comics, movies, and everything else. There have been plenty of new costumes for each hero introduced since the games dropped, meaning the possibilities for alternate skins in a new game would be quite substantial.Add premium skins for more character varietyImage: NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive EntertainmentPremium skins from both games need to return, and I’d love for even more to be included. Premium skins would change the appearance and voice of a character while retaining its move set. For example, equipping the Reverse-Flash costume for Flash would turn the character into his archnemesis but play the same as the hero you know and love. Characters like the Flash and Green Lantern are ripe for premium skins so players could fight as Wally West or Simon Baz without entirely new characters needing to be made. And could you imagine playing as 2022’s The Batman’s version of the character with voice work by Robert Pattinson or as David Corenswet’s Superman? Let’s speak it into existence.Take advantage of DC Comics’ multiversal characters and storiesThe first Injustice game was a light multiverse story. It had heroes from only two worlds interacting, but most of the plot concerned heroes from the main DC universe fighting evil, alternate versions in a parallel universe where Superman broke bad. Injustice 2 stuck to the parallel world and explored how it developed in the years after the first game, telling a story of how its heroes and villains had to unite to stop Brainiac.In the years since, multiverse stories, especially with superheroes, have exploded in popularity — and characters. I’m not asking NetherRealm to create hundreds of versions of its characters, but it would be fun to see the studio create even more new takes on the existing heroes.Image: DC ComicsThe story could take inspiration from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Dark Knights: Metal event, where DC’s heroes contend with twisted versions of Batman. Or it could go with a classic trope of villains meeting variants of each other; perhaps Darkseid could team up with his multiversal counterparts in an attempt to rule the multiverse.I know this one’s a longshot, but maybe there’s crossover potential with bringing Watchmen characters into the multiverse shenanigans. DC has been open to doing new things with the characters in recent years, like in the Doomsday Clock miniseries and HBO show. I’d love to see how NetherRealm interprets Rorschach, Ozymandias, and Doctor Manhattan, both from a gameplay and a storytelling perspective.DC’s newest comic initiative would work well in a game, tooImage: DC ComicsOne particular universe that Injustice 3 could draw inspiration from is DC’s Absolute comics line. One of the core tenants of the Absolute Universe is stripping DC’s heroes of key characteristics while keeping the core idea of who they are intact. For example, Absolute Superman grew up on Krypton and arrived on Earth as an adult, removing his Kansas family ties. Absolute Wonder Woman was raised in Hell, giving her a new outlook on the world — and new powers.Absolute Batman is perhaps the most altered of DC’s heroes. Gone is the rich playboy and in comes a bulked-up engineer. Batman’s appearance is dramatically different; he’s taller and his muscled frame rivals that of Bane’s. The Bat symbol on his chest can be detached and used as an axehead, meaning an Absolute version would play extremely differently in Injustice 3 than the Batman we’re used to.Or maybe just Mortal Kombat vs. Injustice?Back in 2008, Midway Games released an ambitious crossover fighting game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. It found the heroes and enemies of both franchises at odds with one another before coming together to fight Dark Khan, a fusion of Shao Kahn and Darkseid, and save their universes. It was a fun crossover that would influence storytelling in fighting games, but unfortunately it was one of Midway’s last titles. The studio eventually shuttered and from it was born NetherRealm, which hit the ground running with a Mortal Kombat reboot and then the first Injustice game.If an Injustice 3 isn’t going to happen, maybe DC fans could be appeased in a different way — a followup to Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The title is sitting right there: Mortal Kombat vs. Injustice. It could pick up threads from the ending of Injustice 2 and pit its evil Superman and Wonder Woman against Mortal Kombat stalwarts Liu Kang, Scorpion, and Raiden. A crossover could serve fans of both franchises while exploring the characters in new ways, both in terms of story and gameplay.Is there hope for an Injustice 3 release?Between 2011 and 2019, NetherRealm released a game every two years, alternating between Mortal Kombat games and the Injustice series. Since then it’s only released Mortal Kombat 1 in 2023 and hasn’t yet divulged what its next game will be. It could be a new Mortal Kombat, something new entirely, or, ideally for DC fans, a third Injustice game. Injustice director Ed Boon gave fans some hope in 2024, telling The Direct, “[W]e love the Injustice games. You know, I would be surprised if we never did one again.”James Gunn and Peter Safran became the architects of their DC Universe in 2022, looking to usher in new films and build a cohesive storytelling universe across films, TV series, and games. Earlier in 2025, they met with the heads of NetherRealm and Rocksteady, the makers of the Batman: Arkham games. “It’s really the first time it’s ever been this way at Warner Bros.,” Safran said (via EuroGamer). “We sit with [the studio heads] and we talk about characters and stories that we’re interested in and that they’re interested in.”Gunn detailed how the film plan may influence the games, saying, “We see designs for the projects in their very earliest stages. We talk about those, we talk about what the story might be and we’ll say ‘Well, maybe you want to go this way because we’re planning on maybe doing something with this character.’” Gunn and Safran meeting with NetherRealm Studios can be looked at positively. To assume it means NetherRealm has something DC cooking would be too much of a stretch, but it at least gives Injustice fans hope that a third entry isn’t dead in the water.See More:

David Fernandez Remesal took the job of CEO of Sandsoft in 2020 and moved to Saudi Arabia, where his mobile game company is based. He set up a studio in Riyadh and also hired mobile game developers in places like his native Spain, Finland and China. Fernandez Remesal focused on esports at first, but pivoted to mobile games as a more viable business approach. The summers are a lot hotter for sure, but Fernandez has sweated out the hard work of establishing a new studio in a place where game development skills are only just being fostered now for the new generations of game developers. While Brazil is a bigger and more established market, Fernandez Remesal, who worked on games like Candy Crush Saga and Bubble Witch Saga before leading Sandsoft. We talked about mobile game trends at our fireside chat at Gamescom Latam in a talk entitled, “The Mobile Frontier: Big Trends and Smarter Moves for 2025.” We covered a lot of ground in our fireside chat at Gamescom Latam in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We hit topics like Apple’s move to emphasize user privacy over targeted ads as it deprecated the Identifier for Advertises (IDFA). We also covered the antitrust ruling that could bust the floodgates open when it comes to developers being able to advertise their own web shops (where they can charge lower prices and don’t have to pay a 30% commission to Apple and Google) inside their mobile games on the Apple and Google app stores. We explored the consequences if game developers are also able to use their own payment systems — which take around 3% commissions rather than 30% — in mobile game transactions. Sandsoft is focused on taking advantage of these trends by focusing on midcore gamers, which is becoming a bigger part of the overall mobile games market. And Sandsoft is also busy working on AI tools that can help developers work more efficiently. And we looked at other opportunities for mobile to grow as the mobile-first generation grows up and becomes a bigger part of the population of gamers. We also assessed when it’s the right time for local talent to take on local stories and spread them to the global stage with authentic triple-A development. Here’s an edited transcript of our on-stage interview. Sandsoft CEO David Fernandez Remesal GamesBeat: I’m here with David Fernandez Remesal, the CEO of Sandsoft. I’ll have him introduce himself, his career in games, and the origins of Sandsoft. David Fernandez Remesal: I’m pleased to be in Brazil. It’s my first time. I’d like to thank everyone here. You’re doing an incredible show. I’m kind of what I could call mobile native when it comes to game development. I started my career working on mobile games almost 20 years ago. Those of you that were around, that means before smartphone games. I worked at a company called THQ that you may remember. They were one of the pioneers, as a triple-A games company, in doing mobile games as well. I started my career at THQ Juarez, their mobile game division. After that I had the privilege of working with two industry titans at a company called Digital Chocolate. That was Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts, and Ilkka Paananen, who happens to be the CEO and founder of Supercell as well. I spent part of my career working on an app store with Nokia. I also worked on the N-Gage handheld device. In that particular case I made the wrong choice. I went for the loser in the smartphone era. But eventually I learned quite a bit about how you need merchandise, games, and apps on an e-commerce platform. After doing something in the mobile advertising space, I also had the honor of joining King, where I worked for almost five years on a couple of franchises. One was Bubble Witch Saga, and then Candy Crush Saga. I was at the King London studio when I left to run Sandsoft five years ago. GamesBeat: Sandsoft is interesting to this market in part because you’re also in an emerging market, albeit a very different part of the world. The company is headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Can you talk about how that happened to come about? Fernandez Remesal: We’re slightly earlier in terms of the game industry in Saudi compared to what we see here in Brazil, particularly toward game development capabilities. But we have a nice consumer market. It’s not as big as Brazil. But let me get started with how Sandsoft was created. For those of you who are not familiar with Saudi Arabia, they have a plan called Saudi Vision 2030. The main proposal is to diversify the economy away from oil and gas. As part of that program, they’re trying to build what we call a knowledge economy. Gaming is a pivotal part of that transition. We’re part of a large Saudi corporation that was founded to support that plan. They decided to diversify their group. Gaming was one of the things they wanted to do. Sandsoft was born in 2019, originally as an esports company. The first thing we did as a company was the PUBG Mobile event in Saudi Arabia. But [we] realized esports was not a business. It was maybe more of a show, rather than proper commercial ongoing activities you can run in a sustainable way. They decided to venture into mobile game development and publishing, which is what we do today. We’re developing games in our own studios, and we’re a global games publisher. We’re supporting game development studios in the mobile space to commercialize their games. Iza’s Supermarket GamesBeat: What are you working on? What is your focus? How big is the team, and where are they? Fernandez Remesal: We now have roughly 100 people. We’re split into four different markets. We have people in Saudi Arabia, where we’re headquartered. We also host a game development studio there. We have satellite offices in Spain, where we also have a development studio. Then we have a couple of publishing operations in China and Finland. We also have a small studio in France. That’s where we have our operations. In terms of focus, as I mentioned to you, we’re focused on mobile platforms. We have a few games with aspirations to become cross-platform, but we’re mobile first. GamesBeat: You moved to Saudi Arabia. Can you talk about what that was like for you? Fernandez Remesal: Yes, I did. I’ve been there for four years now. The weather aside – the summer is really hot – it was a big cultural change for a European to come over to a country that was maybe more conservative, that was more closed than other countries I’ve lived in. But I felt that if you are respectful, if you try to understand the things that are changing, and if you adapt to the pace of change, it’s quite livable. The people are very passionate about games specifically. There’s a young, savvy population. They consider themselves gamers. When you tell them you work in games, they respect you. It’s different from other countries, where people think you play games all day. They don’t realize that this is an art form, that this is something that goes beyond just play. GamesBeat: A reminder that it’s a global industry. Gaming is not what it used to be. It used to be from Japan, the U.S., and Europe. Now it’s a very different world. Fernandez Remesal: Correct. It’s becoming very global. Like we see here. It’s not just about all the people attending to play games, but also all the game companies showcasing their games, which is really exciting. GamesBeat: How far along are your games? Fernandez Remesal: In terms of our game development studios, we’re just starting our first prototypes. Both studios started in 2023, but it took us some time to get the initial core teams that we could trust to develop their game ideas into commercially viable games. We have been in a kind of boot camp at both the studios for a year. Now they’re starting to prototype what we can see as more commercial games. As a publisher we have a few games already in the market. Maybe the first we released was in partnership with Jam City, DC Heroes and Villains. We’re also raising a few other games that–mobile free-to-play games, you don’t have a red button where you hit it and the game is live. It’s more about ongoing progress. You’re keeping them in development and improving the games. Then you try to find ways to scale. In this case through user acquisition. In that sense we’ve had games available in the market for more than three years. We have six games in our portfolio. Two of them are more mature. We expect to scale them in the first half of the year. GamesBeat: Let’s get into some of the trends in the mobile industry. What do you see? What matters to you? What is important to pay attention to in mobile? Fernandez Remesal: Let me start with something that is in many cases not looked into enough. We’re seeing a change in the audience itself. We need to acknowledge that Generation Z is coming in. They bring a completely new way of consuming content. They’re less attracted to deep, engaging experiences. If I could call them, in a way, the digital generation, they’re focused on short-term or short-form entertainment, where they can get their dopamine and adrenaline and then engage further. They’re a generation that doesn’t pay a lot of attention until they get really hooked on the things they’re doing. From that perspective, we see a shift in consumer behavior. We see different session lengths, different ways of engaging with games. The industry is growing by double digits in regions like South America and the Middle East and southeast Asia, while the more western markets aren’t growing as much. That’s linked to the average age in these regions. They have much younger populations in these emerging markets, where they consume games as a native entertainment form. There’s a new consumer coming in from Generation Z, bringing new consumption patterns in their session habits and rates of play. At the same time, there’s an opportunity to propose different kinds of content. Epic Games is still tangling with Google and Apple on antitrust. GamesBeat: One of the interesting trends that’s emerged in mobile is the importance of the relationship between developers and platforms. We saw Apple’s decision a few years ago to prioritize user privacy over targeted advertising. It made targeted advertising much harder. Game companies lost the ability to very precisely target people who favored certain kinds of games. They had to go back to more of a guessing game around how to zero in on which users they wanted to target. This had an impact over years. Do you think we’ve learned how to deal with this change in the market and still be able to find the users that you need? Fernandez Remesal: IDFA is not going to go away. Privacy is going to be with us. It’s going to be something that everyone has to pay attention to. That’s been critical in the mobile space, because of the merchandising problems we see in the app stores. We see a lot of problems in content discoverability. That means most of the growth we’ve seen in these games has been through performance marketing user acquisition. One thing that we’re seeing more and more is game developers trying to build communities everywhere. Trying to expose their games. Trying to create communities through influencers, through Discord and content creation. But eventually IDFA is here to stay. GamesBeat: Speaking of the developer-platform relationship, we’ve had an antitrust case going on for a long time, four and a half years now, between Epic Games and Apple. Yesterday we got a ruling from the judge that held Apple in contempt of court. This has a lot of significance for whether or not mobile game companies can go outside of Apple’s store and advertise lower prices on their web shops or other sites. They can sell the same things at lower prices than the app store because Apple takes a 30% cut. Apple appealed this and had been able to dodge the effects of it, even in Europe, where they had a 27% core technology fee they introduced. Now the judge has said, “No more of that. You can’t evade this ruling anymore. You have to allow game companies to tell their users that there are lower prices elsewhere.” This is a fundamental antitrust protection for consumers. The ruling should affect the whole industry. What’s your view? Fernandez Remesal: We were talking last week, early this week. Eventually, we’ll see some form of platform disruption, especially when you look at mobile platforms. Mobile has been mostly governed by two platform companies, Google and Apple. There have been other app stores in the Android ecosystem, but in the end there are few opportunities for you to get content, and particularly games, on your mobile device. That’s a situation set for disruption. Eventually, particularly in countries that are more protective toward consumers–they’re upset about these oligopolies. They’d like to offer consumers more opportunities to discover content and do so in a way that’s fair for both consumers and game developers. The Digital Markets Act, in the United Kingdom, was one of the first changes we saw trying to open the mobile gaming ecosystem a bit more, trying to ensure that developers have some choice and consumers have some choice. But as you mentioned, that was a segue way for Apple to introduce a new tax, a new fee for game developers if they wanted to go that route. What we saw a few hours ago–it looks really recent. But game developers now have the opportunity to have a direct relationship with consumers. They can build that relationship in a way where they can offer consumers more alternatives and choices. First of all, price points. You can offer different price points compared to what’s available in the app stores. For those of you who are game developers, in the app stores you cannot select any price point you want. They’re fixed. They have ranges you can pick from, but you can’t just select any price point at all. The second factor, as you mentioned, is discounts. Trying to ensure that if you’re proposing this direct to consumer offering, you can adjust your margins and provide more value to consumers. Eventually that ensures that you as a game developer can get a broader part of the value share you’re creating with the consumer, but at the same time give some back as well to the consumer in a way where they can pay less when they’re using a web shop. The thing that we’ll hopefully start to see soon is that it’s not just about you informing consumers that they can have other ways to consume your content and buy content outside of your app, going to the web to buy it. Eventually it will open up the actual app to more real payment methods in games, as you see in other apps in the app stores. GamesBeat: We’re not quite sure what the line will be. Will Apple allow people to use their own payment systems as an alternative to Apple Pay? Fernandez Remesal: Right. But from that perspective, games have been punished compared to other apps. Why are we not able to build that kind of relationship with consumers? Why can’t we propose a specific payment or subscription mechanic that other entertainment options can do in the app stores? Sandsoft’s Potions & Spells. GamesBeat: Assuming that payments are not going to change, the next best thing is web shops. Set up your own store on the web. In the past companies could not advertise that web shop’s existence inside the app, but now they can. They can say that you can get something for cheaper prices elsewhere. Xsolla has been opening a lot of these web shops and operating them for companies. They have more than 500 of them now. But nobody knew about them. They do say that consumers are using them. They’re going back at a 30-40% rate and creating a 10-16% lift in revenues for developers, or in some cases higher. Those sound like fairly promising results relatively early for alternative web shops. Fernandez Remesal: That’s correct. Particularly, if you’re a consumer that pays in mobile free-to-play games, you’re trying to get the best value for money. Eventually this kind of core, engaged audience that makes up the payers in your game, they already know they can go to the shop to get a better offering. For the greater mass of consumers that don’t pay, they’re not really aware they can go to the web shop to buy content and get better deals than going through the app stores, the in-app shops. There are two issues here. One is about consumers getting more value for money here. The second is about developers getting more value from the value chain and delivering more of it back to consumers as well. GamesBeat: The net result is that it’s more money going to the bottom line for developers to reinvest in their business. That’s been sorely needed, especially in the last two and a half years. We’ve seen a real painful downturn in the global game industry. Every penny counts these days. Fernandez Remesal: It’s a better distribution of value in this case, considering what everyone puts on the table. Maybe in the early days of the app stores there were more merchandising options for developers, ways to get value from the app stores. There was less content. Your content could reach more users. There was value in the promotional activity the app store would run for you. Now that’s heavily driven by UA. In that context, the app stores really just become a payment method. From that perspective, developers capturing more value and giving more value back to consumers is good, because that’s reinvested in the game industry. Game developers capture more value and that helps them create better content and engage better with consumers. GamesBeat: We’ve talked about some of these trends. How are you most closely aligning your company to some of these trends, to take advantage of them? Iza’s Supermarket is a game from Sandsoft. Fernandez Remesal: There are a couple of trends we didn’t discuss much. One is about how mobile games in particular are becoming more complex. Three years ago we were talking about hypercasual games, games mostly monetized through in-game advertising. Because of the challenges around privacy, games are becoming more deep now. They have microtransactions. Even casual games are becoming more complex. They have metagames on top. They have deeper economies. Casual games are becoming more mid-core. Mid-core games are going this way as well, to more core game mechanics. You see plenty of games with battle passes, with more core engagement loops that you didn’t see before. And then when you go to really core games, they’re becoming more like casual games. They’re trying to simplify at the core, trying to make themselves more accessible. There are some shifts on the way. Game developers are making games that are in a way more complex, but they’re trying to simplify the core game mechanics to be more accessible. As a company we’re trying to follow these trends. We’re working on a few casual games that we’re releasing with our exterior partners. We’re trying to observe how we can propose these deeper economies in games that feel very accessible, that are easy to play, that are easy to grasp and explain through a simple ad, but that can eventually retain and engage people for a long time. The second trend we didn’t discuss much was generative AI. That’s transforming not just game development, but many industries. It’s a new tool for everyone to use and leverage. Any game company, or any company at all, in the long term needs to have a proper AI strategy. In our case we’re leveraging AI mostly for content creation, mostly for ads at this moment. We’re enriching our NPCs through AI. But I presume that we’ll be adding efficiencies in most of the things we do, like game programming. We’re doing code reviews with AI now. We’re doing some small level designs with AI. That’s one of the tools that’s going to provide superpowers to game developers. David Fernandez Remesal moved to Saudi Arabia to run Sandsoft. Teams that, a few years ago, were considering building an engine of their own, they don’t do that any more. They use Unity or Godot or Unreal. Now there are pipelines for game development that will be transformed by the use of AI. Things that need 10 people to do them nowadays, one developer might be able to do them more efficiently a year from now. GamesBeat: Would you consider bringing mobile ads into the company because of AI advances? Mobile ad optimization now can be done quite well by AI. Fewer people can get much more work done in terms of creating variations on ads to test them in the market and see which particular ad does well. That optimization process was often handled by outsiders. Could that change? Fernandez Remesal: On the go-to-market you’re precisely right. For mobile games, what we call creative optimization is part of the way that you can optimize your growth strategy. But it’s broader than that. When you think about how, particularly in this case, artists work, they work on content production. You create some illustrations of characters and environments, and this is transformed by AI. With one artist you can get 100 different concepts with just a couple of prompts. Before, in the manual world, you’d need to spend probably half a day to just create one. This is about being more open for creativity, to get more options for exploring characters, environments, and art styles. It’s not just on the advertising side, too. It’s on game creation, too, to explore new concepts in a broader way. GamesBeat: In Saudi Arabia you have some parallels to Brazil in some ways, in terms of what you do with the team that you have. The team is relatively new to games. You’re growing a local staff. We saw some very interesting trends in the past year around Black Myth: Wukong. It was a Chinese-made game made for Chinese consumers, the Chinese market. It did spectacularly well on the global stage as well, 25 million copies sold right off the bat. It validated the notion that a country’s local content could be appealing on a global scale. A lot more games are being greenlit in China now with hopes that they’ll reach a global market. Sandosoft’s PocketNecro For you, in Saudi Arabia, do you have a choice to make around whether to make local content or global content? Fernandez Remesal: As a game developer, we’re creating content for global markets. We’re not doing content to be consumed locally. But that doesn’t mean–as in any part of the world, you have local stories, local myths, local themes that you can expose and eventually create connections with consumers and players everywhere in the world. When I think about our talent pool, I won’t deny that we’re quite an international company. We have 100 people on the team who come from 30 different nationalities. We’re still a nascent state in terms of local Saudi talent. We don’t have enough capability to create these local stories in a way where they feel authentic, where they’re told by the right people. But that will come eventually. I think there’s a good analogy when you think about movies and television. There are plenty of stories from this part of the world that have been told. We talked about Aladdin, about Prince of Egypt. There are plenty of stories that resonate with global audiences. But we need to have the real people, the local talent that can tell these stories in a way that eventually attracts a global audience and can become a mass market opportunity, rather than a niche thing for the local market. GamesBeat: A lot of this is maybe a stepping-stone process. You have to level up your team. You have to make sure that they can grow to be veterans of the industry. Then at that point the opportunities change. You can use them to be the central creators of the content. Fernandez Remesal: Correct. When you’re creating games, when you’re creating many kinds of content, it comes from your own passion. There’s some sense of the market involved, understanding whether there’s a commercial opportunity, but it comes from people’s passion. The passion is there, but the skills and capabilities are not there yet to think about a global game opportunity. We’ve seen that in other games. Assassin’s Creed is a good example of that, where they’ve taken worlds and themes that resonate in the region, but not to the extent that it feels like a proper story from that part of the world. But you’re precisely right. We need to wait a few years to have this capability in place so we have a credible story to tell in a commercial way and can meet the quality expectations that global audiences have. GamesBeat: From what you’ve seen, what is your assessment of where talent is? Whether in your region or other regions of the world as well. Where is the best mobile gaming talent now? Sandsoft’s Wizario Fernandez Remesal: The answer for me is quite easy. You just need to look at the games that make the top of the charts. China has definitely become the world leader in game development talent for mobile games. It’s not just about Tencent or Netease or MiHoYo. Plenty of game developers are creating games that are consumed globally. That’s the larger talent pool for mobile games. It’s true as well that the pool is expanding quite broadly. Creating mobile games is more accessible than going for triple-A console games. There are plenty of pockets of excellence in Europe, in the U.S., in Latin America. I’m really impressed by people here in Brazil, in Argentina, in Uruguay, in Chile. That’s becoming more accessible. Talent is developing in many parts of the world. In my region, in Saudi Arabia, it’s very new. I think that’s resonating with people here in Brazil. Maybe we’re Brazil five years ago. There were some pockets of talent that were trying to get their first companies into the market. We’re on the route where we’re importing talent to support game development, but also building local talent, so we can develop the whole industry. Another topic that’s not so much a trend as a reality now, it’s about going cross-platform. There are plenty of mobile first games that are thinking about moving to different platforms. When you think about how you can go to market, how you can prototype, mobile is usually the cheaper platform to do that. We see more and more teams getting their IP into PC and console coming from mobile. We’re observing that more and more. Another trend we see is transmedia. Maybe that was a buzzword at one point, people thinking about migrating IP from games into other art forms, but we definitely see it quite a bit now, particularly the series we’ve seen from Netflix and Amazon and so forth. Rovio is doing movies. Transmedia is becoming a trend for companies with deep pockets and deep budgets. GamesBeat: The biggest thing to watch right now, I would agree, is AI and where it’s going to change things. I believe that mobile gaming is one of the areas where it’s going to have the biggest impact. AI can’t create triple-A games yet, but there are a lot of things related to the business of mobile games that can be automated. We’ll see where that takes hold and gets traction. Fernandez Remesal: Something that we’re seeing quite a bit here in Brazil is the renaissance of web gaming. WebGL has really improved lately. We see amazing experiences on the mobile web. Mobile web will be an opportunity for game developers. It links to what we mentioned before with web shops and how you can monetize. GamesBeat: We have the Nintendo Switch 2 launching very shortly. The interesting thing about now versus years ago is that Nintendo is no longer the first device that kids get their hands on as a gamer. It’s smartphones and tablets now, mobile games. That’s how they learn to play games, which represents a sea change for companies like Nintendo. They have to follow this trend. The youngest gamers are only going to know the brands that they see on mobile. Fernandez Remesal: That’s precisely right. Mobile is the first gaming device for many, many people, particularly kids. That’s where they discover content. It’s not just games. It’s how they find all forms of entertainment – streaming media, music, and games as well. Disclosure: Gamescom Latam paid my way to Brazil. GB Daily Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

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.

Last year, Italian games studio Two Little Mice struck a deal to have Swedish tabletop publisher Free League distribute the Ennie-winning game Outgunned, which lets gaming groups play out heist or action movies like Ocean’s Eleven and Mission: Impossible. As part of that deal, Free League just released the first book in Outgunned’s genre line, Outgunned Adventure, which focuses on pulp films like Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and Tomb Raider. The standalone book uses Outgunned’s Director’s Cut RPG system, which has players roll between two and nine six-sided dice and score successes based on how many land on the same face. As the name suggests, characters are meant to be outmatched by dastardly villains they need to face through shootouts and fast talking. Failure is common, but PCs can “fail with style” — for instance, getting lost while searching for something might mean the players find something they weren’t expecting. Being too noisy on an infiltration might just lead to an exciting fight with a dangerous enemy they hoped to avoid. The $51 core rulebook includes 10 new roles, like Scoundrel, Technician, and Captain. Those combine with action movie tropes to provide a wide range of character options. You’ll explore ancient temples, run from traps, and fight on top of trains, while searching for treasure and solving mysteries. GMs looking to start playing quickly can pick up the $21 Fall of Atlantis three-part campaign — Disney’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire is another major influence on the game — and an Adventure Director Screen, which provides a quick rules reference. The print books come with PDF copies, fulfilled through DriveThruRPG.Like the base game, Outgunned Adventure was the product of a highly successful crowdfunding campaign, raising more than €480,000 last summer. Two Little Mice has also just kicked off a campaign for its next genre book, Outgunned Superheroes. It has already raised more than €224,000, and high pledge levels include other Outgunned products, including the Action Flicks setting books and the John Wick-inspired World of Killers.