Disney announced last week that Toy Story 4 had been delayed for a second time, with the highly anticipated animated movie now slated for summer 2019. Now, Pixar veteran Pete Docter, who is assisting on the movie’s story, has spoken about why it’s taking so long to get the movie out.
He told Entertainment Weekly that it’s been difficult to find the right story to tell because Pixar wants to make sure Toy Story 4 doesn’t feel like “another regurgitation of something we’ve seen.”
The first three Toy Story movies have already “plumbed the depths” of main characters Woody and Buzz, so it’s been a challenge to “find something new that hasn’t been done.” Docter is optimistic about where things stand now.
“I feel like we’re onto it now. But it’s taken some real deep investigative work,” he explained.
What we do know about Toy Story 4‘s plot is that it will be something of a love story about Woody and Bo Peep. Pixar boss John Lasseter said this would be the case in a 2015 interview and Docter confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the love story angle was still in play.
“The last I saw, those were still elements that they’re playing with,” he said. “It brings it to something that you haven’t seen before, which I think is what people want. On the one hand, you like the familiarity, you like these characters, you want to see them again–but if it was the same movie or it felt like, ‘Eh, it was a little bit like Toy Story 2,’ then we’re kind of sunk.”
Toy Story 4‘s screenplay is being written by actors Rashida Jones (The Office, Parks and Rec) and Will McCormack (Celeste & Jesse Forever). Lasseter and Josh Cooley (Inside Out) are attached to direct.
Also in the interview, Docter talked about the possibility of a Monsters, Inc. sequel. He directed the 2001 original and said he has a “never say never” attitude about a sequel. 2013’s Monsters University was purposefully a prequel because Pixar didn’t want to address what might have happened to Monsters, Inc. character Boo and how she grew up after the events of the first film.
For a sequel to happen, it would “have to be really compelling,” Docter said.
After its latest delay Toy Story 4 is now slated to come out in June 2019. It was previously scheduled for a June 2018 release, but that date has now been taken by The Incredibles 2.
Nintendo will share more details on Animal Crossing: New Leaf‘s Amiibo support and possibly more today during a Nintendo Direct briefing dedicated to the game.
As announced previously, the Nintendo Direct kicks off at 7 AM PT / 10 AM ET / 2 PM UK today, November 2. You can watch the entire event right here in this post through the Twitch embed below.
When the update comes out, you can tap compatible Amiibo figures and cards on your 3DS, which will then bring that specific villager to your town. Today’s Nintendo Direct may explain in greater detail how that will work. Check out some screenshots and every compatible Amiibo in the gallery below.
Fox has released a new TV spot for Assassin’s Creed, the upcoming movie based on Ubisoft’s popular video game series. The video uses footage from previous trailers, but compiles it in a new way.
In only 30 seconds, the video touches on the story, shows some intense action scenes, and even includes a cheesy standard fare line from Michael Fassbender. “The party’s just getting started,” he says. The video also confirms Assassin’s Creed will be rated PG-13 and not R.
Assassin’s Creed comes to theaters on December 21. In addition to Fassbender, it stars Oscar winners Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Irons. Ariane Labed, Brendan Gleeson, and Michael Kenneth Williams are also in the movie. A new trailer was released last month–watch it here.
[UPDATE] Uncharted game director Neil Druckmann clarified on Twitter that he has never met the movie’s writer, Joe Carnahan. “I haven’t met the movie writer, don’t know his take on the material, therefore have no opinion on the script,” he said.
In the Collider interview, Carnahan said he met with Druckmann and other people involved with the Uncharted series.
“I sat down with [Uncharted director Amy Hennig] and sat down with [Drake voice actor Nolan North] and sat down with [Uncharted writer and director Neil Druckmann], who created this thing, and took them through what I was doing and what I was thinking of and they loved it,” Carnahan said.
The writer told Collider that Levy is “incredibly” smart and talented and said they both have a fondness for the Indiana Jones movies, which Uncharted shares similarities with. For Carnahan, however, he’s taking an “anti-Indy” approach to the script.
“What I’ve written is very anti-Indy in the sense of the guy that loves museums and wants to preserve these artifacts. He’s not! He’s a thief and he’s a grifter, and he’s a scourge,” Carnahan said. “He and Sully are not good guys but they’re better than the bad guys. It’s a game, you know, they’re certainly rogues, and certainly don’t have a problem, even in the first game he just kind of dumped Elena and it’s interesting.”
Video game movies have a track record of mediocrity or worse, so the Uncharted film faces something of an uphill battle, at least in terms of perception. For a video game movie to succeed, it needs to be something that exceeds the sum of its part, Carnahan said, adding that his script is being well received in its current state. It’s important that the Uncharted movie stay true to its roots but being too beholden to the source material might be a bad thing, the writer said.
“I sat down with [Uncharted director Amy Hennig] and sat down with [Drake voice actor Nolan North] and sat down with [Uncharted writer and director Neil Druckmann], who created this thing, and took them through what I was doing and what I was thinking of and they loved it,” Carnahan said. “She loved it. She understands too that you can’t be so slavish and devoted to the source material. I’m a big believer that the fanboy element or the fan lobbies are massively overrepresented in Hollywood and don’t have nearly the lobbying power that we think they do.”
It’s important for the Uncharted movie to “cut loose” from following the game’s story too closely, Carnahan said. “You need to break with tradition sometimes to tell compelling stories,” he explained.
“It’s just making a great movie and trying to put as much of the game in as you can and the sensibilities of making Drake and Sullivan and so on, and beyond that, just do something original and fun,” Carnahan added. “Roll the dice, like we have to do on anything. There are no assurances, and there certainly are very few hedging your bets when it comes to making movies. So I really believe that. Just be original. Do your best. Try to check the boxes you can, but beyond that don’t get wrapped up.”
The Uncharted movie’s script, as it currently stands, includes important elements from the game like the signet ring, the harvest magnet, and the legend of Sir Francis Drake. Of course, it will also have “big action stuff,” Carnahan said, which is no surprise, given the game series is known for that.
Outside of Drake and Sullivan, we don’t know if any other familiar characters will show up. Carnahan said he did keep some characters, but they have been “reset.”
“So there’ll be names and familiar faces and so on, but they won’t necessarily be what they were in the game, which I think is important, you have to do that, create amalgams,” he said.
At least based on the screenplay, Carnahan said he thinks Uncharted fans will be happy.
“I think people will dig it, but I can’t imagine,” he added. “I’m sure someone will hate my guts, but that’s okay, a lot of people hate my guts.”
Also in the interview, Carnahan said he and Levy have discussed actors who could play Drake, but said nothing is locked in yet because he’s unsure who will be available and what it might cost to get them. Nolan North would be perfect, he said with a laugh. But more seriously, it may end up coming down to “sheer economics,” Carnahan said.
One of the names floated for Drake was Mark Wahlberg. Carnahan said he would be “great” in the role, but it would depend on how old Drake would be in the movie. The same goes for Sully. Another factor to consider is that Sony apparently wants Uncharted to be a film franchise that could span multiple movies. This complicates the matter of choosing an actor.
“Is Sully in his 50s and Nate in his late 30s? Is Nate in his late 20s and Sully’s in his early 40s? Who knows,” Carnahan said. “It really is gonna depend on that process because if X gets excited and says ‘Oh, I want to play that,’ then it means Sully’s gonna have to be this age, and that changes things. And if you’re talking about making three, four films, what’s ideal for that.”
The next high-profile video game movie is Assassin’s Creed, which is based on Ubisoft’s video game franchise. Michael Fassbender stars in the movie, which opens on December 21.
Sega is teasing a new entry in its Daytona USA racing series. The Sega Amusements Twitter account posted a gif that cycles through previous entries in the series, and then teases something new for 2016.
The gif and the accompanying Twitter post confirms the new Daytona will be playable at an International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions event being held at the Orange County Convention Center the week of November 14.
Daytona USA was originally released in 1993 and this new machine is the first entry in the series since Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge, which launched in 1998. The beloved arcade racing series was directed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, who went on to create the Yakuza series and Binary Domain.
Although the first Daytona is remembered fondly for its gameplay, it’s standout feature is the superb theme tune, which is sung by Japanese video game composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. Here’s hoping he comes back for the new Daytona.
In other Sega news, the company has reported its financial performance for the six months ending September 30 and both sales and profits have increased.
Sega has detailed its financial performance for the six months ending September 30, reporting an increasing in both sales and operating income. This improvement was, in part, attributed to better performance of its software.
Sales for the period were cited as $1.6 billion, which is a nine percent increase over the same period in 2015. Operating income, meanwhile, was $148 million, which represents a significant upturn when compared to the $55 million it reported in 2015.
Discussing its video game business, Sega said Phantasy Star Online 2 topped 4.5 million accounts in Japan and “continues to maintain its strength.” Sales of mobile titles Puyopuyo!! Quest, Chain Chronicle – Kizuna no Shintairiku, and Hortensia Saga “remained robust.”
Sales of packaged games were described as “higher than the level for the same period in the previous fiscal year,” in Sega’s accompanying statement. In total, the company sold 4.5 million copies of packaged games and although it didn’t break down specific numbers for its titles, it said Persona 5‘s sales were “strong.” Sega is the owner of Persona developer Atlus.
Looking ahead, Sega said “expectations are rising for future expansion” in the packaged games market. This, it says, is due to the penetration of next-generation consoles. Additionally, Sega has developed a large market for PC games in Europe, the US, and Asia.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Sega announced two new Sonic games to celebrate the iconic character’s 25th anniversary. The first game, titled Sonic Mania, reimagines levels from the series’ history. The second is an untitled game that stars classic and modern versions of Sonic in a new adventure against Eggman.
Sonic Mania releases for PS4, Xbox One, and PC in spring 2017. The unnamed second Sonic title will launch in holiday 2017 on PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.
Socks, Bill & Hillary Clinton’s actual cat, died in 2009. He’s never coming back. But a video game starring the lil’ guy, which was developed for the SNES, never released and assumed lost, might soon be making a comeback.
One of the biggest problems with social games on Facebook is finding the damn things. Facebook Gameroom is a standalone app that gathers them all together in one place.
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