Hello everyone! On behalf of The Game Kitchen, in collaboration with Dotemu, Koei Tecmo Games, and Team Ninja, we’re incredibly excited to reveal a brand-new addition to Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound: a second, fully original playable character from the Hayabusa Clan’s long-standing rivals: the legendary Black Spider Clan.
In this post, we’d like to take you behind the scenes of how this idea came to life, what you can expect from this new character, and some gameplay details we’re especially thrilled to share.
When we first began designing new characters for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, one question sparked our imagination: Wouldn’t it be amazing to play as a member of an enemy faction? It’s something we always dream of in our favorite franchises, those rare moments when a game lets you get to step into the shoes of someone from the other side. The Black Spider Clan, a central presence in the 3D Ninja Gaiden installments, has always intrigued us with its fierce style and unforgettable characters. So we asked ourselves: Why not bring them back in a whole new way? That’s how the idea of Kumori was born.
Kumori is a proud kunoichi of the Black Spider Clan and serves as a compelling counterpart to Kenji, the game’s other protagonist. While Kenji is still learning under the guidance of his master, Ryu Hayabusa, Kumori has already earned her place as the top fighter in her clan. Following a near-collapse of the Black Spider Clan, she carries the burden of rebuilding and protecting their future. Ruthless and pragmatic, Kumori fights without restraint and embraces modern weaponry, enemy techniques, and even demonic powers to fulfill her mission. She follows no traditional code, only the path that leads to victory.
Unlike Kenji, who fights with a katana and focuses on close-range combat, Kumori wields kunai, granting her high range, rapid attack speed, and the ability to strike from nearly any position or surface. Her agility and adaptability make her an exceptional fighter, especially when engaging enemies in hard-to-reach areas or chaotic encounters.
Despite their differences, Kenji and Kumori share common values: they are both driven by loyalty, honor, and a fierce sense of duty to their clans. Though they come from opposing sides, they represent a new generation of warriors shaped by legacy but not bound by the past. Their paths intertwine in a pivotal moment when they face a powerful demonic threat, trapping both in the demon world. Faced with annihilation, they make an unthinkable choice: to merge their strength, knowing full well their clans would never accept such an alliance. This unholy alliance is both a blessing and a curse: a necessary bond that will forever alter their destinies.
As fused warriors, players gain access to the best of both characters, combining their weapons, abilities, and a new energy source: Ki. As players harvest Ki from enemies, Kumori’s spirit can summon powerful Spider Weapons, such as a Kama or a Chakram, capable of slicing through walls and enemies alike, unlocking new ranges, and delivering massive damage.
Their combined rage also fuels devastating attacks. Every time an enemy is defeated with a Hypercharged attack, their fury grows. Once their rage reaches a peak, players can unleash a screen-clearing attack, a spectacular display of vengeance and power. True to the spirit of Ninja Gaiden, the gameplay remains fast, fluid, and relentless. All weapons and techniques are seamlessly integrated and there’s no need to stop to switch characters. Combat flows naturally, keeping the adrenaline high and the action nonstop.
Equipping your characters also plays a crucial role. Players can collect Golden Scarabs to unlock new upgrades, talismans, and techniques. Kenji’s talismans focus on passive enhancements, such as boosting melee damage, improving defenses, or enhancing Hypercharge effects. Kumori, on the other hand, brings a unique twist with her Shadow Arts, unlocking new Spider Weapons and powerful Ragebound Arts tailored to different playstyles and tactical approaches.
Since Kumori’s physical body remains trapped in the demon world, only her spirit travels with Kenji, but through Demonic Altars, she can temporarily return to her corporeal form. These moments allow her to interact with an alternate demonic dimension, revealing hidden paths invisible to human eyes. However, her time in this state is limited, forcing players to think fast, solve puzzling situations, and overcome intense challenges before time runs out. These segments offer thrilling platforming sequences, strategic combat scenarios, and unique exploration opportunities that are designed to add to the game’s rhythm and depth.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this first look at Kumori. We can’t wait for you to experience both the path of the Hayabusa Ninja and the path of the Black Spider Ninja in this exciting new chapter of the Ninja Gaiden legacy.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound will be available for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 Summer 2025.
Last Epoch 1.2 Tombs of the Erased brings a sentinel rework, Weavers endgame Faction, revamped Monolith of Fate experience, and much more. This is Last Epoch’s biggest update yet and IGN has teamed up with the ARPG experts at Maxroll to prepare detailed guides on all of the new content along with excellent builds for leveling and endgame alike. Before we get to the builds, here’s all the new stuff coming in 1.2:
New 1.2 Tombs of the Erased Content
Woven Faction
One of the biggest changes in 1.2 is the new Woven Faction. They provide a deeper endgame experience by adding Woven Echoes to your Monolith of Fate. Begin interacting with them by finding a Cemetery of the Erased on your Echo Web, after completing the mini-boss at the end you can enter the Haven of Silk and speak to Masque to join the faction. Gain ranks with the Woven Faction by completing Woven Echoes to add points to your Weaver Tree then use these points to customize your endgame experience.
Champions & Mini-bosses
As you explore the Echo Web, you may also find some fun new surprises in the form of Champions, and new weaver mini-bosses. The Champions are larger, more powerful versions of rares, immediately visible due to their angry red glow. Defeating them is tricky but if you persevere you’re sure to be duly rewarded. There are also several new mini-bosses you can encounter in 1.2, so keep an eye out for a scary-looking boss as you explore the Monolith of Fate.
Set Item Crafting and LP Changes
Last Epoch has an in-depth Crafting System where you use Affix Shards, Glyphs, and Runes to heavily customize your items. This popular system is straighforward to understand and has a fair bit of depth to master.
In 1.2, crafting in Last Epoch gets even better. You can break Set items down to obtain crafting shards and then use those to craft set bonuses on your items. This gives you the best of both worlds where you have the power of a set bonus and the flexibility to craft your own gear with the affixes you need. EHG has also made a big change to how you use Unique items with Legendary Potential (LP) to craft Legendary items. In the past, when interacting with the Eternity Cache the modifiers added to your Legendary Items were chosen at random. So if you used a 1LP Unique, you get a Legendary with 1 random affix, if you use a 2LP Unique, you get a Legendary with 2 random affixes.
Now, if you complete a Temporal Sanctum of level 2 or higher you can choose 1 affix to transfer to your Legendary! This means you get to pick what you want when using a 1 LP Unique, if you use an item with 2-4 LP, then you get to pick 1 affix and the remaining modifiers are chosen at random.
Uber Aberroth
Last Epoch’s ultimate boss is getting even tougher with 1.2. In addition to the normal version of this encounter, there is a special Uber Aberroth encounter. Very little is known about this foe beyond the fact that he is the most dangerous being in Eterra. Challenge him at your own risk!
1.2 Tombs of the Erased Leveling Builds
Use Maxroll’s leveling builds to cruise through the campaign with ease. Season 2 introduces the ability to switch your Mastery so you can level with the most efficient build for the campaign, then respec your mastery upon reaching the endgame. Here are the best ways to level each of the game’s 5 classes, straight from Last Epoch’s top speed runner Terek!
Primalist
The best way to level a Primalist is by playing Druid. This build has good damage, it’s very cozy as you can use transformations to spam your skills during the campaign, and gets quite tanky thanks to Werebear form.
Mage
The Spellblade mastery seamlessly weaves blades and spells to decimate foes using Shatter Strike. You are reliant on spells in the early game but once you get Shatter Strike most of your time is spent rotating between Shatter Strike for damage and Mana Strike to recover your resources to continue dealing damage. Don’t be fooled by the Mage’s health, you can easily generate tons of Ward just by hitting enemies.
Sentinel
Hot off the rework, Sentinel is stronger than ever. The most efficient way to level is by playing Paladin to get easy access to Resistances and Holy Aura for both offensive and defensive bonuses. Crusade your way through the campaign burning enemies in the holy fire of your Judgment!
Acolyte
As an Acolyte you are a master of the undead and the profane. Embrace your inner darkness and become a Warlock to create rifts in reality which unleash a volley of Chaos Bolt. The Chthonic Fissure skill provides great persistent damage for clearing while your Summoned Infernal Shades melt bosses with their hellish assault.
Rogue
The Rogue levels with her trusty Falcon Companion, flying through levels with ease and grace. This Falconer build is easy to scale with great sustain thanks to the Melee Leech affix on gear. With a bit of investment into Health, Regen and Physical Resistance, this Rogue becomes a well-rounded beast of a build.
1.2 Tombs of the Erased Endgame Builds
After you complete the campaign, you enter Last Epoch’s endgame. Maxroll’s Last Epoch team has been extensively testing a wide variety of endgame builds to dominate in the Monolith of Fate. While all of these builds are powerful, you can use Maxroll’s tier lists to see how they compare across different kinds of content.
Heartseeker Marksman
The Heartseeker Marksman uses a new skill which seeks enemy targets and triggers a spectacular display of Fire and Cold Projectiles that cover the entire screen. Watch your enemies evaporate as they get blasted by your Attacks and Spells!
The build revolves around dealing Damage with Heartseeker and proccing an insane amount of Dragonfire from Dragonsong. Heartseeker also triggers Burning Dagger for even more craziness. This Marksman has incredible mobility and utility thanks to Shift, Smoke Bomb, Shurikens, and unspecialized Decoy.
Pros
✔️ Amazing DPS
✔️ Fast Clear Speed
✔️ Deals Damage While Moving
✔️ Insane Scaling with Gear and Uniques
Cons
❌ Active Playstyle
❌ Needs Uniques to Shine
❌ Survivability Relies on Gear
❌ Defensive Tools Require Timing
Judgement Paladin
The Judgement Paladin creates Consecrated Ground with Judgement, to burn enemies with holy fire. Become the Judge and cleanse your foes of impurity, as they hopelessly try to break through your immense defenses. This build is a natural continuation of the Paladin Leveling Build, making it extremely easy to play as your first character of the season.
The Judgement Paladin deals Fire Spell Damage Over Time with Consecrated Ground and generates Mana with Vengeance. Consecrated Ground also grants massive Healing, since multiple instances can stack on top of each other. Use Holy Aura and Symbols of Hope for great passive buffs. Healing Hands grants Ward and Healing, while acting as your Movement Skill.
Pros
✔️ Insane Tankiness
✔️ Exceptional Sustain
✔️ High Single Target DPS
✔️ Amazing Scaling With Gear and Uniques
Cons
❌ Limited AoE
❌ Average Clear Speed
❌ Needs Legendaries To Shine
❌ Generator/Spender Playstyle
Warpath Void Knight
The Warpath Void Knight uses Warpath to wipe the battlefield clean of enemies. Stay spinning to increase your Damage and AoE until Warpath almost covers the whole screen. Unleash the Spin-to-Win playstyle with this build!
The Warpath Void Knight specializes into Warrior’s Fury to reach amazing levels of Void Melee Damage and Area of Effect. Warpath costs more Mana every second, but thanks to the Void Well Passive and Mana stacking, you can stay spinning for a long time. The Void Well Passive is mandatory when you have Warrior’s Fury allocated. Devouring Orb, Anomaly, Symbols of Hope, and Abyssal Echoes grant powerful buffs.
Pros
✔️ Amazing AoE
✔️ Extreme Clear Speed
✔️ Very Simple Gameplay
✔️ Excellent Single Target DPS
Cons
❌ Gear Dependent
❌ Average Tankiness
❌ Needs Legendaries To Shine
❌ Requires Mana Investment
Tornado Shaman
Summon the fury of the storm with this Tornado Shaman Guide as you strike down foes from afar. This build invokes Tornados onto the battlefield that rapidly calls Storm Bolts down on enemies in an enormous area. Speed through monoliths and destroy bosses with this outstanding build.
Place down long-lasting Tornados on the battlefield that rapidly cast Storm Bolts thanks to Charged Storm for huge Lightning damage. Gathering Storm allows you to drastically increase the damage of those storm bolts while Summon Spriggan, Warcry, and Maelstrom offer you some amazing offensive and defensive bonuses. Since you are not casting Gathering Storm manually, you can equip an unspecialized Fury Leap for mobility.
Pros
✔️ Insane Tankiness
✔️ Exceptional Sustain
✔️ High Single Target DPS
✔️ Amazing Scaling With Gear and Uniques
Cons
❌ Limited AoE
❌ Weaker Defensively While Moving
❌ Optimal Play Requires Standing Still
❌ Summon Spriggan Dies Often And Needs To Be Resummoned
Stygian Coal Lich
The Stygian Coal Lich Guide harnesses the power of undeath in the form of Stygian Beams. This Lich transforms into its horrific Reaper Form to unleash a barrage of deadly Necrotic Stygian Beams. Hit your enemies with Rip Blood to empower yourself, and generate Mana and obliterate everything around you.
Turn Drain Life into a DPS powerhouse thanks to the Stygian Coal Unique Catalyst. Death Seal provides powerful buffs and releases pulsing Waves of Death around you while it’s active that kill any enemies near you. The build has great mobility thanks to Reap and Transplant.
Pros
✔️ Good Tankiness
✔️ Exceptional Sustain
✔️ Insane Single Target DPS
✔️ Deals Damage While Moving
Cons
❌ Limited AoE
❌ Mana Management
❌ Unique Heavy Build
❌ Generator/Spender Playstyle
Umbral Blades Falconer
The Umbral Blades Falconer calls down its Falcon from the skies to spawn Umbral Blades, which are Throwing Attacks that detonate into giant Cold explosions and decimate your enemies. Watch your foes die as you swiftly cruise through the battlefield with this amazing build that focuses on maximizing the destructible power of the Twilight Strike Node inside the Aerial Assault Skill.
Thanks to the Cooldown Reduction from Free Lofting Bird, you can spam Explosive Trap to cycle through Dive Bomb and Aerial Assault almost non-stop. Smoke Bomb is your Movement Skill and Shadow generator.
Pros
✔️ Very Fast
✔️ Amazing AoE
✔️ Insane Burst Damage
✔️ Multiple Defensive Layers
Cons
❌ Cooldown Based DPS
❌ Mana Management
❌ Can’t Leech From Crits
❌ Requires Uniques to Shine
Frostbite Frost Claw Sorcerer
The Frostbite Frost Claw Sorcerer strides into battle wielding the potent Frost Claw as its Skill of choice. With each swift cast, Frost Claw releases a barrage of projectiles, all capable of converging upon a single target. This relentless assault not only deals Damage but also has the power to Freeze foes in their tracks. Thanks to its high Cast Speed, it can maintain a relentless offensive assault, while also accumulating Ward to fortify its Defenses.
This is an Ailment-based build that scales Frostbite and Cold Damage Over Time. Its Damage primarily comes from Frost Claw, Elemental Nova, and Ice Barrage. The build also has amazing CC thanks to the ability to Freeze enemies reliably.
Pros
✔️ Easy to Play
✔️ Incredible CC
✔️ Flashy Visuals
✔️ High Scaling Potential
Cons
❌ Visual Clutter
❌ Average Survivability
❌ Requires Uniques to Shine
❌ Mana Intensive Without Proper Setup
Last Epoch 1.2 Tier Lists
If you want to see the best performing builds of the patch, here are Maxroll’s Tierlists to help you decide what to play depending on your goals and taste! The best ones stand in S-Tier and are expected to outperform others. Choose wisely, read the guides, and defeat all content!
Corruption
Maxroll’s Corruption Tier List categorizes the performance of all builds against any high-end challenges, taking into account all their strengths and weaknesses. Builds are compared based on their Endgame Planner Setup.
Bossing
Use Maxroll’s Bossing Tier List to see which builds excel at taking down Monolith Bosses, Dungeons Bosses, and Pinnacle Content. Maxroll considers many factors when placing the builds but mainly focuses on Overall reliable DPS. Builds are compared based on their Endgame Planner Setup.
Hardcore
Maxroll’s Hardcore Tier List ranks a build’s suitability for the optional permadeath mode “Hardcore”. Therefore the builds are primarily ranked based on their raw survivability and reliability, even on their Starting Planner Setup. Unlike the other tier lists, the early game gearing is given higher weight here, because a single death means losing your character when playing on Hardcore.
Speed Farming
Maxroll’s Speed Farming Tier List ranks a build’s ability to speed through content. Naturally, speed is the main factor, which means the ability to AoE down mobs, move quickly, and maintain this speed even at high corruption. Builds are compared based on their Endgame Planner Setup.
This article was created by IGN Staff with help from the Maxroll Last Epoch Team.
Get in the video game, loser – we’re going to the future in order to shoot some tentacles in order to go to the past in order to save the future by soul-jacking people from 1980s Poland. Wait, let me rewind time and start afresh: here’s a new overview trailer for Cronos: The New Dawn, a sci-fi horror from Silent Hill 2 remakers Bloober Team. It’s got a Dead Space-style suit that makes you look like either an enormous fly or a sewn-up bottom (delete as appropriate), and some manky environments that recall Bloober’s last original production, The Medium. Quickly now, watch the trailer while I finish writing this article.
CD Projekt Red is stepping in to shut down rumors after talk of a fake The Witcher 4 beta test started making the rounds online.
The Cyberpunk 2077 developer made its announcement on social media today, clarifying that the supposed pre-launch test for its upcoming fantasy RPG is, unfortunately, not real. It’s a tongue-in-cheek public service announcement that should help clear the air for those contacted by scammers while warning unfamiliar players that they should be cautious of any The Witcher 4 news that doesn’t come directly from CD Projekt Red.
Recently, we’ve been getting reports from some community members that they’ve been invited to a beta test of The Witcher 4 — this is a scam! 🚨
We’ve been taking the necessary steps to take this fraudulent messaging down. That said, if you receive any invites to or stumble… pic.twitter.com/nVmHnDSH2M
“We’ve been taking the necessary steps to take this fraudulent messaging down,” the team’s Witcher 4 PSA says. “That said, if you receive any invites to or stumble upon news of one, we kindly ask you to report the scam using the tools available to you in your email client or the social media platform you are using.
“Remember: professional monster slayers don’t fall for scams; they see right through them and slay them!”
Although The Witcher 4 beta tests are not real, the project is a real game that is very much in active development. We’ve heard whispers of how it might follow up to the story Geralt left players with in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for years, with first confirmation of its development arriving in 2022. As development surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 post-launch support began to wind down, CD Projekt Red announced work on The Witcher 4 was moving forward full steam ahead as of early 2024.
It wasn’t until The Game Awards 2024 that the team would finally reveal The Witcher 4’s first trailer. Although the clip kept many story details under wraps, it did confirm fan-favorite character Ciri would be returning, this time as the protagonist.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
How many times has Hayabusa village burned down? Some Ninja Gaiden freaks out there must know. This aged series has changed a lot in the decades since its NES debut, but that blazing home village has become a running gag. Ninja Gaiden games are slicey-dicey outings of varying quality in which Ryu Hayabusa must kill everything he dislikes yet again. But in the upcoming Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, it’s going back to 2D, largely without Ryu. I scuttled along to a demo session to play the “neo-retro” action platformer, and found that the familiar hero does show up as a tutorial mentor you can battle. You might, unlike me, even be able to defeat him. But it won’t matter. Your village will be burnt to the ground anyway.
“Because what would be a Ninja Gaiden game without it?” jokes game director David Jaumandreu of The Game Kitchen, who’ve been hired by Team Ninja to render those flames in old-school pixel art.
Doom: The Dark Ages is set to release May 13 – 15, depending on which edition you get. It’s looking great so far – our reporter was seriously impressed with it in our recent hands-on preview. If you’re excited enough for the game to want special Doom-themed Xbox hardware, you’re in luck: you can preorder it now. There’s a standard Xbox wireless controller, an Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, and an Xbox Series X console wrap, all themed after Doom: The Dark Ages, and all available for preorder. Let’s take a look.
Xbox Wireless Controller – Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition
If you ask me, this is the one to get if you’re only going to get one. It has the most distinctive Doom design, and it looks downright awesome. It has a blood stain on it, I mean, come on. Aside from the incredible style, it’s a standard Xbox wireless controller, which is to say it’s my favorite controller ever made. It feels great in the hand, and it works on devices ranging from Xboxes to PCs, Macs, iPads, Android phones, and more.
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Doom: The Dark Ages Limited Edition
If you’re an elite gamer, this is the one to get. It’s exclusive to the Microsoft Store, so you can’t pick your retailer of choice, but that’s fine. This is a standard Elite Series 2 Xbox controller, which means you can swap out the sticks and D-pad, enable hair triggers, adjust the stick tension, customize the buttons and rear paddles, and all the rest. It’s my pick for the best elite controller on the market.
Xbox Series X Wrap – Doom: The Dark Ages
And if you want to go all in on the Doom: The Dark Ages theme, transforming your Xbox Series X console into a demonic artifact is the obvious endpoint. It makes the system look like a pillar of rock that’s been seared with the Mark of the Slayer. This wrap looks great and is easy to affix to your Xbox.
Doom: The Dark Ages is getting the full AAA rollout, which is to say it has various release dates depending on which edition you get. Check out our Doom: The Dark Ages preorder guide to see what comes in each edition.
Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Bluesky @chrislreed.com.
I now own the Razer Viper Ultimate because I needed something that actually works without making a big production out of it. It’s $69.99 right now on Woot, down from the usual $99.99, and that includes the RGB charging dock. No extra add-ons, no fine print. Just the mouse and the dock, ready to go. Or, if you’re a first time buyer, you can even save an extra $10 and pick it up for just $59.99 with code TENOFFRAZER. Here’s why I recommend doing just that.
Ready for some savings? Nintendo has kicked off an all-new ‘Partner Spotlight‘ sale on the North American eShop, bringing discounts to thousands of titles until 27th April at 11:59pm PT.
To help you see the best of the best, we’ve assembled the following list highlighting every game in the sale that we scored a 9/10 or higher. The games are accompanied by their sale price in USD, and we’ve presented things alphabetically so you can track down a select title at a glance.
This collection celebrates DOOM and the latest chapter in the franchise’s storied history. From the runes adorning each piece, to specific homages like the matte green armor and the Mark of the Slayer, every detail in this collection has been thoughtfully selected to capture the essence of the DOOM universe.
If you’re going to be the Slayer, you better look the part – gear up with the Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller in battle-worn green and silver. Crowned with 3D silver helmet spikes at the top and silver-plated sheathing on the two sides, this controller was forged for a demon-slaying super weapon. With additional touches like a rubberized, leather-like grip, a red thumbstick to match the chest port, and blood splatter resulting from your Shield Saw, every detail is crafted with the DOOM fan in mind.
The Xbox Wireless Controller – DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition also includes the DOOM Slayer Executioner Skin DLC for DOOM: The Dark Ages (game sold separately) so you can jump right into the action adorned with the skin’s deep red and green metallic luster.
For those looking to take their game to the next level, look no further than the DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. Our most advanced controller lets you become a living super weapon. The bold Mark of the Slayer serves as the focal point at the center of the controller, while the transparent red top case—infused with ember-like flakes—evokes the feeling of gazing into the fiery depths of Hell.
Fans who demand precision in battle can fine-tune their settings through the Xbox Accessories App, adjust features like shorter hair trigger locks, adjustable-tension thumbsticks, and swap in interchangeable components. With additional paddles, thumbsticks, and a carrying case included, you have endless ways to customize your Elite controller to fit your playstyle.
Finally, Xbox Series X owners can customize their console even further with the DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition console wrap. Transform your console into an omen of DOOM, featuring dark, towering rock shattered by the bright red Mark of the Slayer. On the inside, unspeakable inscriptions and symbols from the deepest levels of Hell are etched into the design, sealed away by the wrap’s easy-to-install Velcro strap – no tools or adhesives required.
Whether you own the Xbox Series X with a disc drive or the All-Digital version, the wrap works seamlessly, thanks to a removable disc cover. Crafted with solid panels and a high-tech fabric exterior, this wrap delivers a precision fit and premium finish for your Xbox Series X.
The Xbox Wireless Controller – DOOM: The Dark Ages Limited Edition is available now for $79.99 USD ERP exclusively at the Microsoft Store – for a limited time only. Grab yours early at the Microsoft Store or check later with other local retailers before they’re gone.
When I inherited – pardon me, founded Endless Bear Studios at the flickering end of the Roaring Twenties, I had a dream. And that dream was to film Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy 30 years before Peter Jackson was born. Its one of many will-be classics I hope to “pre-make”, as it were. But ugh, these writers. There ain’t a single Jackson amongst ’em. I’ve got four on staff right now: one is a gambler, another likes to drink, the third is an incorrigible slacker, and the fourth is a recent hire who can barely use a typewriter. I spoonfed the gambler the rudiments of Spartacus, and he came back with some rancid applesauce about a knight and a criminal mastermind and a village of pixies. I told the tippler to write The Hobbit, and he cooked up a leaden three-hander with no wizard.
