Mark Hamill
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'The Dark Crystal' Comic-Con preview goes behind the scenes
Besides The Witcher, Netflix also highlighted its upcoming The Dark Crystal prequel series at Comic-Con. Instead of another trailer, the video posted goes behind the scenes, talking to engineers and others at Jim Henson Company who have continued the tradition more than thirty years later for this ten episode run. According to director Louis Leterrier, hopefully the audience will "forget you're watching puppets." Stars like Mark Hamill and Taron Egerton showed up for the SDCC panel, where producer Lisa Henson said "This is the proudest thing that I've done since my siblings and myself started running the company." The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will premiere on Netflix August 30th.
Mark Hamill and other stars will read the Mueller Report live at 9PM ET
On Monday night, a group of Hollywood stars will take part in a live reading of The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts, a play based on the Mueller report. The likes of Annette Bening, Kevin Kline, John Lithgow and Alyssa Milano are among those who'll read passages from the report in front of an audience in New York. It'll all be livestreamed at 9PM ET, and you can watch it below.
'Child's Play' trailer shows Chucky controlling smart homes and drones
A reboot of the Child's Play franchise will hit theaters this summer and while we already had a good idea killer toy Chucky would be more of a robot with AI capabilities this time around, the latest trailer provides further confirmation he'll be able to control smart homes. Terrifying.
The Soapbox: MMOs waste millions on voice-over
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. A-list voice actors are not new to the video game genre. Over the last 20 years, video games have pulled from the same pool of talent as cartoons and commercials. But it really wasn't until last year with DC Universe Online that we started to see MMOs advertise the voice talent they had in the games. DCUO filmed multiple documentary-style videos to impress us with the level of voice-over work the game had. Although DCUO was the first fully voiced MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic made a point to tell us that it had over 200 different voice actors (300 if you believe IMDB) with over a thousand recording sessions for over 200,000 lines of dialogue. In the end, what's the pay-off? Six months after launch, the majority of players will threaten to leave a SWTOR pick-up group if the other players don't skip over the dialogue. Although a large portion of players did watch all the dialogue shortly after the game launched, all the players I spoke to said that the cutscenes started to grate on them before they'd even reached level 50. And even though DCUO was the first MMO to be fully voiced, SWTOR got away with advertising that it was first mainly because voice-overs were considered so insignificant by the MMO community that almost no one noticed the fib. And dare we even talk about the expense of recording 200,000 lines of dialogue? Is fan excitement over, say, Mark Hamill's Joker worth the cost of bringing him in on the project in the first place?
DC Universe Online brings fans into the recording studio with Mark Hamill, Adam Baldwin, and Arleen Sorkin
DC Universe Online's upcoming DLC pack, The Last Laugh, will be hitting the live servers tomorrow, June 19th. As you may have surmised from the DLC pack's title (which it shares with a renowned comic story arc), the new content will heavily feature everyone's favorite Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. And of course, when it comes to voicing the Joker, we know there's only one man for the job: the legendary Mark Hamill. In a new video released by Sony Online Entertainment, Hamill brings fans into the recording studio as he lays down his lines for the maniacal Mistah J. Joining Hamill are the voices of Superman (Adam Baldwin), and Harley Quinn (Arleen Sorkin). Together the trio talks about the joys of voicing three of DC Comics' iconic characters and their work on the upcoming Last Laugh DLC. To see these talented voice actors bringing your favorite DCUO characters to life, just click on past the cut for the full video. [Source: Sony Online Entertainment press release]
Watch Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy record for Arkham City, destroy the fabric of reality
This voice acting-oriented episode of Inside Rocksteady Studios is the first time we personally have ever seen either the Joker or Batman's voices come out of real human bodies, and suffice to say that oh man is it weird.It's almost like Batman and the Joker are providing voiceovers for Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, instead of the other way around. Seeing the Joker's spooky laugh come out of a hunched-over Mark Hamill is an image that'll stick with us for a while, and his cheshire cat grin didn't help much either. The video also features Stana Katic (Talia in Arkham City and Detective Becket on Castle), but seeing her perform isn't so much of a head trip, considering that it's basically just Detective Becket with an undercover accent.
Mark Hamill returns as The Joker in DC Universe Online expansion
In addition to the player-versus-player goodies the latest DC Universe Online downloadable content pack provides, Mark Hamill will be returning to voice The Joker, and he won't be alone."The Last Laugh" DLC pack also features Arleen Sorkin, who returns as Harley Quinn, a role she played in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Adam Baldwin joins the two as Superman, his first video game voiceover role since, well, DC Universe Online. The content is free for Legendary subscribers and can be purchased by free and Premium users via PSN and the game's website.
DCUO's Last Laugh features Hamill as the Joker, lots of new content
Sony Online Entertainment is bringing out the big guns for its next DC Universe Online content patch. As we reported last week, the Joker is set to return for The Last Laugh, and fortunately for everyone, his voiceover duties will be handled by none other than Mark Hamill. Hamill is joined by DC stalwart Arleen Sorkin (that's Harley Quinn to you, mistah), and Adam Baldwin returns to the role of Superman for the first time since DCUO's launch. The Last Laugh also features a new shield weapon, four new safe house battles, and 8v8 throw-downs in both the Watchtower and the Hall of Doom. The Last Laugh will be freely available to legendary DCUO members, while free and premium players can purchase it via the in-game marketplace, the official website, or the PlayStation Network. [Source: SOE press release]
Exclusive Interview: DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao
What gamer hasn't wanted to be a superhero at one time or another? Superheroes and comic books have been a part of gaming culture as long as computers. Of course, everyone has wanted to be Superman soaring through the skies of Metropolis, or Batman scaring the pants off the criminal underworld of Gotham City. Sony Online Entertainment has teamed up with Warner Bros. and DC Comics to bring this world -- nay, this universe -- to life. On November 2nd, DC Universe Online will blast its way to game store shelves everywhere. DCUO gives fans of comic books, action video games, and MMOs a reason to come together and celebrate this incredible amalgam of genres. Create your own superhero! Thrill to the art of Jim Lee! Soak up the voice-acting of Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy! On top of that, if you preorder this deliciously intense action RPG, you will have exclusive rights to a token that will allow you to join a 2v2 PvP arena as the caped crusader himself, using his abilities, gadgets, and fighting style. Plus you'll get all the other preorder bonuses like confetti bombs and batarangs. Massively snagged an exclusive interview with DCUO Game Director Chris Cao about this groundbreaking game. Up, up, and away! (OK, that was cheesy. Just hit "read more" to read our lengthy interview after the break!)
SDCC 2010: Up, up and away at the DCUO panel
Are you pumped for DC Universe Online after watching the recent "Who Do You Trust?" trailer or our own interview with John Smedley? We can hardly blame you -- it's tough being a superhero waiting in the wings. While we count down the days until its November 2nd launch, there's a lot more DCUO goodness to be had. Massively was on hand at the DCUO panel at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, where Jens Andersen, Chris Cao, Marv Wolfman, Jim Lee and Mark Hamill (who is reprising his voice work as the Joker) were on hand to answer questions about DC's upcoming title. Hit the jump for the full skinny on time travel, heroes, villains and Bat-shark repellent.
DC Universe Online promises "all-star voice cast"
Just a few days after the preorder bonuses were released and beta signups began for DC Universe Online, Sony Online Entertainment unveiled the central lineup of voice actors for the game. Some of the names are familiar and unsurprising, but still nice to have confirmed. Mark Hamill will be voicing The Joker once again, and Kevin Conroy returns as Batman. SOE highlighted the two returning actors with a short video on the DCUO site entitled "The Voices of the Game." Fans of Joss Whedon's work were interested to see several familiar names in the list: Gina Torres as Wonder Woman, James Marsters as Lex Luthor, and Adam Baldwin as the voice of Superman. Michelle Forbes rounds out the cast list list as the voice of Circe. John Blakely, SOE's Vice President of Development, says "We're excited that not only will Mark and Kevin bring their talent back to the DC Universe as part of DC Universe Online, but we've hit the jackpot with a full cast that are veterans of movies, TV shows and games that our fans are crazy about."
DC Universe Online voice cast revealed, studded with stars
Who would have thought that one of the strongest voice cast lineups we've seen in a good, long time would come from an MMORPG? Check out some of the talent Sony Online Entertainment managed to wrangle for its upcoming superpowered outing, DC Universe Online: Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy will reprise their frequent roles of The Joker and Batman, respectively. You may remember the sounds of their pipes from Arkham Asylum, as well as any other animated Batman project from the past 15 years. Former Firefly stars Gina Torres and Adam Baldwin will voice Wonder Woman and Superman, respectively. Though you probably didn't need that "respectively" bit, due to your understanding of gender. James Marsters will voice balding mastermind Lex Luthor. After playing Spike in Buffy, Brainiac in Smallville, Captain John in Torchwood and Piccolo in the recent Dragon Ball movie, this should be a nice notch in his nerd-fame belt. Wonder Woman's adversary, Circe, will be voiced by Michelle Forbes, who provided the voice for Dr. Mossman in Half-Life 2. She's also been in every sci-fi show ever made. All of them. Seriously.
SOE makes big plans for Comic-Con
Comic-Con is just a handful of days away, and Sony Online Entertainment has announced its lineup for the event. It's a hefty schedule, but there are several highlights for MMO fans. Saturday the 24th will feature a panel discussion including Jim Lee, Mark Hamill, Marv Wolfman, and members of the DC Universe Online dev team. They'll be going behind the scenes of DCUO, discussing the backstory and giving fans a first look at the game's intro cinematic. Those attending the panel will receive a DCUO VIP beta key. Saturday evening there is a fan event for attendees to meet Jim Lee and Marv Wolfman, have another chance at a DCUO beta key, and participate in a Q & A with the development team. Finally, the SOE block party is a free event on Saturday that welcomes fans into the SOE studios for music, food, tours, previews, prizes, and kids events. Shuttle buses will provide transportation to Comic-Con as part of the event. If you're attending Comic-Con, be sure to visit the SOE booth for the full schedule!
Mark Hamill talks about game voice acting, Batman role
Mark Hamill has made a name for himself over the years with his game work, with high-profile roles in games like Full Throttle and Wing Commander 3. Not to mention his legendary performance as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, which he reprised for Arkham Asylum. But Mark Hamill already had a name, and it was "Luke Skywalker." An interview with CVG suggests that the move was intentional. Hamill described the attitudes he faced when he started working in games. "I'm sure there's a range of opinions, from 'You're slumming it', or 'Can't you get more legitimate work?'," he said. "But that snobbishness comes with the business." He relished the opportunity to merge his animation and game careers with a return to Joker's smarmy mania. "I thought this will be one last chance to play Joker. And it was so much fun to play a character who is clearly insane." Here's a surprise: the reason Hamill hasn't performed Luke Skywalker's voice in one of about a million Star Wars games isn't because he's not interested in reprising the role (though he isn't): nobody ever asked him to. How has that never happened? So many games have been made based on the three movies that an established video game voice actor starred in, and it just never came up?
Mark Hamill signs on for Darksiders
. Our time spent with Darksiders' creative director Joe Madureira yielded more than a confirmation of release date and a demo, as we noticed a familiar voice ringing out through our play session. As fellow Joystiq staffer Kevin Kelly raised an eyebrow, we both realized who it was: Mark Hamill. Voicing The Watcher, a demon locked in protagonist War's gauntlet, his voice is unmistakable. Madureira proceeded to confirm our suspicion, stating, "Yeah, we got Mark Hamill."Indeed, you did, and we consider it a massive victory.
POW! BIFF! New Batman: Arkham Asylum screenshots
click for high-res gallery Though we've taken a trip through the game's moody milieu and become acquainted with its fan-approved voice cast, one thing remains ambiguous about 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum. Just what exactly is the pointy-eared protagonist doing in there? The latest batch of screenshots proves most elucidating: Batman's in there doing his thing, which often involves inconspicuous maneuvering in the dark and unapologetic violence inflicted upon disturbingly bulky henchman. See for yourself in the gallery below. %Gallery-39919%
Batman: Arkham Asylum gets Hamill's Joker, Conroy's Batman
Eidos and Warner Bros. have confirmed that Mark Hamill, the voice of The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, will reprise his sadistically animated take on the Clown Prince of Crime in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Additionally, the Caped Crusader himself will be voiced by Kevin Conroy, recognized as the voice of Batman in numerous animated series and games. While we remain largely undecided regarding Rocksteady Studios' "graphically distinct" take on Bruce Wayne's alter ego (spoiler! - Ed.), today's news brings us dangerously close to being pulled off the fence as we continue to wait for Batman: Arkham Asylum to ship next summer for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Yakuza nabs celebrities, takes their voices
What do Michael Madsen (Mr. Blonde), Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor from Smallville), Eliza Dushku, (Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rachel Leigh Cook (She's All That), and Mark Hamill (uhh, Luke Skywalker) all have in common? Yup, none of them are Japanese and all of them are lending their voices in Sega's American-ization of their Japanese crime-game Ryu ga Gotoku, now Yakuza. Thing is, none of em are playing Kazuma, the title's lead. For some more on the selection process, check out Gamespot's interview with Justin Lambros, the US producer. Hoping to keep the Japanese dialogue track for that authentic Ryu ga Gotoku feel? Tough luck, says Lambros, "We were hoping to include the Japanese dialogue as an alternate track, but unfortunately there just wasn't enough room on a single disc to put both sets of voice files."
