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io9GamesVoldemort Is Back and the Dune Reprint Gets a Release Date in the Latest Tabletop Gaming News
Welcome back to Gaming Shelf, io9’s regular column all about the latest in board games and tabletop roleplaying. San Diego Comic-Con and Gen Con are around the corner, and with both of those we’re expecting a lot of exciting gaming news. In the meantime, there are some really cool announcements we’ve gotten over the past … Continued
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io9GamesThis Harry Potter Mobile Game Trailer Is a Better Wizarding World Movie Than Fantastic Beasts
Not gonna lie: I can’t say I’m all that excited for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the new game from the people behind Pokémon Go that is basically Pokémon Go but with British wizards. But this launch trailer for the game really, really has me hankering for a modern Potter movie with this sort of premise. … Continued
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io9Toys & CollectiblesThis Week’s Toys Are in Awe at the Size of This Absolute Pikachunit
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s regular roundup of the merchandise threatening to drain our wallets of their life essences. This week: McFarlane takes on the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Hasbro conjures up an adorable little Simba, and the Voltron you used to ignore gets a rad action figure. Check it out! Bandai Lifesize … Continued
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io9Toys & CollectiblesWe Love These Trading Cards Based on Real (and Fake) Sports in Movies
Fictional merchandise based on movies is the best. There’s just something special about owning a trinket based on, or from, a movie or TV show that you never thought possible, or maybe never even thought of. Imagine a poster from a movie inside a movie, a t-shirt of a fake band, the watch a certain … Continued
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io9Books & ComicsGeorge R.R. Martin Thinks Gandalf Could Kick Dumbledore’s Ass—Do You Agree?
Did you know that Ian McKellen turned down the opportunity to play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise after Richard Harris died because Harris once allegedly called McKellen a “dreadful” actor? George R.R. Martin probably knew that, and then some, this week when he took a moment at the Tolkien premiere to share some thoughts … Continued
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io9Toys & CollectiblesAn Incredibly Sparkly Stag Might Just Be the Best Part of Lego’s New Harry Potter Sets
Hagrid’s Hut? Keep it. Another attachment to the past Lego Hogwarts sets? Cool, but no big deal. A glistening, glittery Patronus figure? Okay, Lego, fine. You got me. Thankfully said Patronus is part of the smallest set in Lego’s latest wave of Harry Potter toys, all pulling inspiration from the movie adaptations of Prisoner of … Continued
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io9MoviesThe New Harry Potter Ride Will Feature One of Hagrid’s Unique Creatures That Wasn’t in the Movies
A creature mentioned in the Harry Potter books, but never seen in the films, is finally coming to life in a new theme park ride. Blast-Ended Skrewts—part-manticore, part-fire crab creatures bred by Rubeus Hagrid—are being realized for the first time in live-action as part of Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, a new ride coming to … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsMagical Smart Home Upgrade Lets Muggles Control Their Homes With a Wand Too
When his son asked for a Harry Potter themed birthday, Adam Thole decided to borrow an idea from Universal Studios’ The Wizarding World of Harry Potter which lets visitors cast spells using interactive wands. The results are quite possibly the most magical smart home upgrade you’ve ever seen, and one that’s not terribly difficult to … Continued
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io9MoviesRalph Fiennes Almost Turned Down Playing Voldemort Because He Didn’t Know Anything About Harry Potter
Ralph Fiennes, great actor that he is, is probably more recognizable these days in sinister supervillain makeup than he is outside of it. That’s because he played Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, an iconic role that he filled excellently. But that almost was not the case, as Ralph Fiennes recently revealed on the Jonathan … Continued
By Julie Muncy -
io9Movies
J.K. Rowling Adds More Fuel to the Dumbledore/Grindelwald Fire
The upcoming Blu-ray release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald features some choices quotes from writer J.K. Rowling and director David Yates regarding the are-they/aren’t-they relationship between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. Radio Times reports that, on the special features of the disc, Rowling says the following: Their relationship was incredibly intense. It was … Continued
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io9Toys & Collectibles
These Pop Culture Mini-Portraits Are Truly a Sight to Behold
Size matters, especially in the world of pop culture art. Collectors can only buy and display so many full size movie posters before running out of wall space. And once that happens, their eyes may turn to smaller, but equally awesome pieces. Lots of artists’ work fits that bill—but a new, up-and-coming talent has his first show … Continued
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io9GamesThe Harry Potter Equivalent of Pokémon Go Looks Exactly Like You’d Expect
What if, instead of catching Weedles, wandering around in Pokémon Go got you the chance to save Harry Potter from being nibbled on by a Dementor? That’s basically what Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is. Announced by Niantic back in 2017 when Pokémon Go was still near its apex—not to say that it’s not popular anymore, … Continued
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io9Movies
Hagrid Leads a Magical Ride in the Newest Wizarding World of Harry Potter Attraction
Time to start planning your next trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort, because there’s a brand-new ride opening this summer. According to the amusement park, it’ll be a new rollercoaster called Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, opening June 13. Here’s some concept art: Universal Orlando’s official blog shares a … Continued
By Cheryl Eddy -
io9Movies
Javier Grillo-Marxuach Takes on Fandom’s Generation Gap in ‘The Audacity of Being Jaded’
Javier Grillo-Marxuach is beloved by genre fans for the many TV shows he’s had a hand in writing and producing—including Lost, The 100, the Xena reboot that sadly never was, and the upcoming Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. A few years back, he released a book of essays about his time in the TV trenches, and … Continued
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io9Books & ComicsCheck Out This Very Good Boy Who’s Been Trained With Harry Potter Spells
Expecto Adorablum! A dog has been trained to do tricks using an unconventional method: Harry Potter spells. And we recently spoke with the owner who decided to use the wonderfully nerdy wizard training. Actress and YouTuber Anna Brisbin recently shared a video showing how she’s trained her dog, Remus (named after Remus Lupin, naturally), to … Continued
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io9Toys & Collectibles
Godzilla: King of the Monsters Plays Out on Your Toyshelf, and More of the Coolest Toys of the Week
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9’s roundup of all the latest toys threatening the contents of our wallets lately. It’s a new year, which means new toys! We’ve got an early look at the next line of Game of Thrones figures, Snape hits Figuarts’ Harry Potter line, and Medicom takes on the King of Atlantis. … Continued
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io9Books & ComicsOk, But Why Did Wizards Used to Shit Themselves?
Just a fun fact! To celebrate National Trivia Day and remind us that Harry Potter is getting close to rivaling Star Wars as a franchise so deeply fascinated by gazing into its own canonical navel, the official Pottermore Twitter account decided to #jointheconversation and drop this dookie: Delightful. If your head isn’t now just full … Continued
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io9Daniel Radcliffe Has a Very Good Reason For Not Wanting to See Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Daniel Radcliffe spent years embodying Harry Potter—his time as part of a series, which has started branching out and spinning off (and wildly out of control, depending on who you ask) beyond him, is over. And while he’s more than happy to look back at that time, he’s not quite as willing to see at … Continued
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io9Movies
How Fantastic Beasts Failed at Representation, and What J.K. Rowling Can Do About It
I come not to bury J.K. Rowling, but to praise her. Harry Potter was an honest to god phenomenon, impacting my generation in roughly the same way Star Wars did for the one before us. The world she created fascinated us and the fandom was deeply invested in the story. But in her rush to … Continued
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io9Movies
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Is Criminally Underbaked
There’s a moment near the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald when I realized the scene I was watching could have been the second one in the movie. Instead, it was near the end, climactic and important. Yet it took so long to get here and everything that happened prior was so superfluous … Continued