Enlarge / Danny Rand (Finn Jones), aka the Immortal Iron Fist, will not be fighting evil on Netflix anymore. (credit: Netflix)

We here at Ars were quite pleased with the vastly improved second season of Iron Fist, arguably the least popular of all the Netflix Defenders series. The writing and fight choreography were better in season 2, the characters and their relations were more fully developed, and it had a thematically interesting premise in its exploration of the nature of power. Plus it ended with one hell of a plot twist.

So we were looking forward to how the writers built on all that in season 3. Alas, Netflix has abruptly canceled the series, informing the cast just a few hours after the odd decision, Deadline reports. It’s the first time the axe has fallen for one of the Netflix Defenders series.

Here is the joint statement from Netflix and Marvel in full:

Pinball News

[Update: This piece has been updated with comments from Zen Studios VP of Publishing Mel Kirk at the bottom of the original piece.]

Earlier this week, Zen Studios released its first set of four licensed Bally/Williams pinball tables as DLC for its popular Pinball FX3 digital simulation. That came as welcome news in the pinball community after 60 such licensed tables were removed from Farsight’s competing The Pinball Arcade earlier this year.

Welcome to “The Unbearable Critic,” a new video series we’re trying out. In it, our intrepid culture reporter and person-with-lots-of-opinions Sam Machkovech applies his critical eye to movies, books, TV, and anything else that catches his feisty fancy.

Our kickoff episode centers on First Man, the Neil Armstrong biopic starring Ryan Gosling that opens this coming Friday. This isn’t a full review—we’ve got one of those from space editor Eric Berger already—rather it’s a discussion of the craft and attention to detail that went into the movie (which is something Ars is quite comfortable analyzing; you’ve seen Tech on TV right?). Machkovech has compiled a list of three important things that the movie explains about Neil Armstrong—and three important things that were left out.

The consensus at the Ars Orbiting HQ is that First Man overall does an excellent job both with the personal and also the technical details around Armstrong’s Gemini and Apollo missions—which is gratifying to hear, since CollectSPACE editor (and good friend of Ars Technica) Robert Pearlman was one of the movie’s technical advisors. As you’d expect, Ars has quite a bit to say about those details, and we hope you’ll give the video a peek.

First Man movie

First things first: If you’re interested in space, don’t hesitate before seeing the new movie about Neil Armstrong’s life, First Man. I’m passionate about space history, NASA, commercial space, and the whole enterprise of trying to push things and people off this planet and deeper into space. And I absolutely loved this movie. It opens Friday across the United States.

This is a movie of two parts. The first storyline pertains to Armstrong and his family life, his relationship with his wife Janet, a daughter named Karen who died young, and his two boys, Rick and Mark. This part of the film is often a bit melancholy, as Armstrong struggles with Karen’s death and how to communicate the risks of his profession with his family. The humanity of these scenes will appeal to some, but not others seeking a purely action movie. I found the scenes between Ryan Gosling, who does a fine job as Armstrong, and Claire Foy as his wife, to be compelling.

Razer

Razer has announced the second iteration of its gaming-focused Razer Phone. Called the Razer Phone 2, the device improves the camera, adds wireless charging, and bumps up the specs across the board compared to its predecessor.

The main draw is still its screen. The 5.7-inch LCD display has a 2560×1440-pixel resolution, HDR support (HDR-10), 645 nits of maximum brightness, and Wide Color Gamut with 98.4% of DCI-P3. But the big claim to fame is a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz with Ultramotion technology; the refresh rate is variable, going as low as 40Hz. The audio setup is also notable; this phone has stereo speakers that are Dolby Atmos certified.

Horror novelist Stephen King is having a cultural moment with various film and TV projects. The latest is Pet Sematary, coming next year from Paramount Pictures. This is the second film adaptation of the bestselling 1983 novel by Stephen King, and judging from the trailer, it could well prove to be the definitive one.

The story is well-known by now. A doctor named Louis Creed (Jason Clarke) moves his family from the big city (Chicago in the book, Boston in the 2019 film) to a charming small town in Maine. The new house is right by a busy highway on one side and bumps up against a forest in back. So many local pets meet their demise on the highway that the children have set up a “Pet Sematary” in the forest to bury their beloved animals.

(Spoilers below)

Enlarge / Time for another streaming service! (credit: HBO)

According to a report from CNN, WarnerMedia plans to launch its own streaming service in the fourth quarter of 2019, adding to growing list of OTT (over-the-top) services that bypass cable providers and bring television series and movies directly to viewers—most of them for a monthly fee.

The organization (formerly Time Warner) has several TV-content networks under its umbrella, including HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros. Turner’s assets include CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, and others. Warner Bros. produces series such as The Big Bang Theory, The Voice, and The Bachelor for distribution on other networks, as well as feature films like Crazy Rich Asians, Wonder Woman, Blade Runner 2049, Ready Player One, and Dunkirk. Warner Bros. also owns DC Comics.

And of course HBO produces original series like Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, Westworld, and Silicon Valley, and others, plus documentaries and other films and specials.

Subscribers to Nintendo’s paid Switch Online service got an unexpected surprise today. Alongside the expected released of three new downloadable emulated Nintendo Entertainment System titles—NES Open Tournament Golf, Solomon’s Key, and Super Dodge Ball—Nintendo also offered a version of the original Legend of Zelda that lets players start with a bevy of powerful items.

The Klingons have hair again, Rebecca Romijn debuts as Number One, and we catch our first glimpse of a young bearded Spock (Ethan Peck) in the action-packed new trailer for Star Trek: Discovery season 2. It’s the flagship series for the fledgling CBS All Access streaming network, which unveiled this sneak peek at New York Comic Con last Saturday.

Discovery is a prequel to the original Star Trek, set roughly 10 years before Captain Kirk and his crew took over the USS Enterprise and boldly went where no man had gone before. Season one adopted a darker tone than TOS and irritated the more hardcore Star Trek fans, but season 2 looks like a return to its roots, with a fair sprinkling of humor to lighten things up—plus lots and lots of dramatic lens flares.

CBS

James Gunn participates in the Lollipop Chainsaw launch party held at GameStop on June 11, 2012 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images) (credit: Getty Images / L. Ortega)

In an unusual film-news announcement, Warner Bros. Entertainment has exclusively confirmed to io9 that its DC Entertainment arm has picked up quite the contributor: writer and director James Gunn.

If that name sounds familiar, it should: that’s the James Gunn who was recently fired from any future Marvel Studios projects, particularly his all-but-confirmed role writing and directing the next Guardians of the Galaxy film, after a deep dive into his blogging and social media history elicited an outcry from Disney’s top brass.

Neither Warner Bros. nor DC Comics has used any of its official online platforms to confirm this news despite io9 having a lengthy report on exactly what the deal entails.