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The final chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Infinity Saga has arrived, and with it, we have so many questions about what happens next. While Avengers: Endgame wraps up many of the MCU’s lingering threads, it also leaves room for many more, including something that could have major ramifications on the Disney+ streaming service. Warning: What follows contains major Avengers: Endgame spoilers. Read at your own risk.

When Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) travel back in time to New York City in 2012–during the final showdown of the first Avengers film–something very interesting happens. While trying not to screw up the timeline, they accidentally let the 2012 version of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) get his hands on the Tesseract–which houses the Space Stone–and disappear into a portal with it.

While Tony and Cap solve the problem of getting their hands on the Space Stone by, instead, going even further back in time, neither of them seem to care much that Loki got his hands on the stone in their timeline and disappeared. Using Endgame’s own flawed time travel logic, that should create a branching timeline and a new–and likely very bad–series of events.

After all, this isn’t the Loki you couldn’t help but love from Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War. This is the absolutely awful and vile Loki that nearly brought about the destruction of Earth in Marvel’s Avengers. This Loki is the worst, plain and simple, and him having possession of the Tesseract it bad news, regardless of the timeline. And yet, as far as we know, Tony, Steve, and Scott didn’t even bother to tell anyone what happened.

So what happens now?

The future of the MCU remains a giant question mark after Endgame. We know Spider-Man: Far From Home is out soon and a number of Phase 4 movies–from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 to a Black Widow standalone film to Black Panther 2–are all expected eventually. But what about Loki and the Tesseract?

This may be where the upcoming Disney+ streaming service comes into play. It was previously revealed that among the MCU shows coming to Disney+ was a series starring Hiddleston as Loki. However, after Endgame, the god of mischief is still very dead in present day after being killed by Thanos (Josh Brolin). So how will he appear in his own show?

We may already know the answer. The Hollywood Reporter, citing a source, claimed the show will follow Loki as he revisits events in human history and acts as an “unlikely influencer.” Does this mean we’re getting an evil Loki going around and further screwing up human history? While the Space Stone allows him to teleport, it doesn’t make him able to travel through time. That said, Avengers: Endgame is loaded with time travel, for better or worse, which means finding a way to jump around in human history is a distinct possibility.

Are fans going to love a show where evil Loki just screws things up left and right, though? It’s always possible the show will find a way to make him good, but it’s hard to see this version of Loki as a hero.

Whatever the case, it should be interesting to see where Marvel Studios takes Loki in his standalone show. The important thing is that Hiddleston isn’t done playing the character just yet, which is very exciting.

Avengers: Endgame has destroyed box office records since its premiere, and there’s plenty to talk about when it comes to the movie–including what and who was originally planned to appear but ultimately didn’t make the final cut. If it isn’t clear already, let this be your final warning: the following article contains spoilers.

The final chapter to the Infinity War saga and second to last film for the third phase of the MCU, Endgame does plenty right. Unfortunately it gets some wrong too. Endgame ends Tony Stark’s story in the best way, but the movie doesn’t quite honor the legacy of Natasha Romanoff or Steve Rogers. Not all of these plot points played out as they were originally planned, however. In an interview with The New York Times, Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely explained how many aspects of the movie were once very different.

Banner Was Going To Become Professor Hulk Much Earlier

One of the many surprise changes for one of the original Avengers during Endgame’s five year jump is that Bruce Banner discovers a way to unite his mind with Hulk’s body. As a result, Banner has access to Hulk’s incredible strength without losing his brilliant mind. Although this transformation was always planned for Banner, it was originally scheduled for much earlier.

“There was a time when Banner became Smart Hulk in [Infinity War]. It was a lot of fun, but it came at the wrong moment. It was an up, right when everyone else was down,” Markus said. “It happened in Wakanda,” McFeely continued. “His arc was designed like, I’m not getting along with the Hulk, the Hulk won’t come out. And then they compromise and become Smart Hulk.”

The Team Wasn’t Going To Time Travel To The Battle Of New York

During the time heist, a group of the team travels to the Battle of New York, which takes place in 2012’s Avengers. The team chooses this moment because three of the Infinity Stones are present in the battle. However, there is another point in the MCU where more than one Infinity Stone shows up, and originally that was going to be the focus of Endgame’s time heist.

“In the first draft, we didn’t go back to the [original] Avengers movie,” McFeely said. “We went back to Asgard. But there’s a moment in the MCU, if you’re paying very close attention, where the Aether is there and the Tesseract is in the vault. In that iteration, we were interested in Tony going to Asgard. He had a stealth suit, so he was invisible, and he fought Heimdall, who could see him.”

The original plan was to also give Thor several long scenes with Jane Foster in Asgard. In Endgame, the two former lovers never interact, with Thor chickening out upon seeing her. This massive journey to Asgard would have changed up the composition of the designated teams for each of the other missions as well, resulting in entirely different time periods during the heist. “They went to the Triskelion at one point to get the [Tesseract], and then somebody was going to get into a car and drive to Doctor Strange’s house,” Markus said.

No Alexander Pierce Cameo

During the time heist, we discover what transpired in the immediate aftermath of the Avengers’ victory over Loki during the Battle of New York, prior to the team splitting up and going their separate ways. Turns out Tony Stark and Thor were stopped from exiting Stark Tower by Head of SHIELD and undercover HYDRA operative Alexander Pierce. Pierce tries to take the Tesseract away from Tony and Thor, which the two Avengers refuse to give up. Pierce’s role was always going to be filled by one of SHIELD’s leaders, but in previous versions of the script the possible characters had less villainous motives.

“That was one where we thought, should it be Nick Fury? We also wrote a version for Maria Hill,” McFeely said.

The Final Battle Would Have Paused For Strategy Discussion

The final battle against Thanos sees Captain American, Iron Man, and Thor joined by every friend they’ve made as well as the allies of said friends. It’s a massive spectacle, and one that originally was going to pause for the heroes to discuss strategy.

“It didn’t play well, but we had a scene in a trench where, for reasons, the battle got paused for about three minutes and now there’s 18 people all going, ‘What are we going to do?’ ‘I’m going to do this.’ ‘I’m going to do this.’ Just bouncing around this completely fake, fraudulent scene,” McFeely said. “When you have that many people, it invariably is, one line, one line, one line. And that’s not a natural conversation.”

The Final Battle Had A Few More Heroes

Speaking of said battle, there was a plan to have more heroes take part in it. The MCU’s version of the Avengers replaces founders Hank Pym (Ant-Man) and Janet van Dyne (Wasp) with Hawkeye and Black Widow. However, both Hank and Janet did make their way into the MCU eventually, and Endgame’s screenwriters did consider having both suit up to join Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor in the final battle.

“There were moments, as they brought everybody back, where we’re like, technically, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer have [Ant-Man] suits,” Markus said. “Do we bring them back? It became impossible to track the people we did bring back, but also, it’s just going to be an orgy.”

Black Widow Didn’t Die To Retrieve The Soul Stone

In a scene everyone knew was coming the second it was revealed Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were headed to retrieve the Soul Stone, the two fight over who will sacrifice themselves in order to earn their prize so the other doesn’t have to. For a second, it almost looks as if Clint successfully immobilizes Natasha before leaping to his death, but the former spy turned Avenger is able to outsmart her teammate and maneuver into a position where she’s the one sacrificed. Originally, there was a time when things were supposed to go the opposite way.

“Jen Underdahl, our visual effects producer, read an outline or draft where Hawkeye goes over,” McFeely said. “And she goes, ‘Don’t you take this away from her.’ I actually get emotional thinking about it.”

Besides access to online multiplayer and exclusive game discounts, another perk Xbox Live Gold members enjoy is free monthly games for Xbox One and Xbox 360–and the latest freebies for May 2019 have just been announced. Gold members, here are the titles you can download and keep for free next month:

Available May 1: Kicking things off is Marooners, a hectic party game with local or online co-op where you and your friends play as quirky Marooners. You’ll be dropped into intense minigames, where you can pull some shenanigans and pester each other as you compete (and even haunt each other after you die). You can grab Marooners on Xbox One. Then there’s Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, an EDF spin-off where you take down waves of deadly aliens and giant insects invading Earth. The third-person shooter includes over 300 weapons, jetpacks, and tactical armor, and thanks to backwards compatibility, you can play it on both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Available May 16: Spring is officially here, but if you can’t make it out to the links, pick up The Gold Club 2019 midway through the month. Available on Xbox One, The Golf Club 2019 features the new PGA Tour Career Mode that lets you play on famous real-world courses and participate in PGA Tour events like the John Deere Classic. Finally, there’s Comic Jumper, our second Xbox 360/Xbox One game that follows the adventures of Captain Smiley, a failed comic book character who jumps into other comics to explore why they’re so popular. Gameplay involves defeating enemies and platforming as Captain Smiley makes his way through various genres, his design and weaponry changing throughout to match each comic’s aesthetic.

Xbox Live Games with Gold for May 2019

Xbox Live Games with Gold for April 2019

Last chance to grab The Technomancer and Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 from last month’s batch of games! You’ll have another two weeks to download Outcast: Second Contact if you want it.

Not an Xbox Live Gold member? Get a one-month subscription for only $1 »

A new update for Mortal Kombat 11 has arrived, and it’s a big one. The new update, which is available now on PS4 (and is coming to Xbox One, Switch, and PC soon), fixes exploits and issues, makes changes to matchmaking, introduces some AI adjustments, and a lot more. You can see the full patch notes posted at the bottom of this story.

In addition to the update, today marks the release of developer NetherRealm’s response to the Mortal Kombat 11 microtransaction controversy. The studio maintains that it does not want to artificially push people toward spending money on microtransactions.

And in a “thank you” effort and a measure of good faith, the company is releasing a free in-game currency bundle for all Mortal Kombat 11 players. This bundle–which includes 500,000 Koins, 500 Hearts, 1,000 Souls, and 1,000 Time Crystals. The bundle is coming to PS4 with the new update today, and should arrive on other systems soon.

You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by NetherRealm on Reddit.

“There’s a diverse roster of interesting characters and playstyles, and the story mode is an entertaining romp,” Edmond Tran wrote in GameSpot’s Mortal Kombat 11 review-in-progress. “The unfulfilling approaches to the game’s dynamic single-player content and progression may feel like they’ve totally whiffed (at least at this early stage), but Mortal Kombat 11 hits where it matters.”

Mortal Kombat 11 Patch Notes:

• Fixed an exploit that allowed for more than one variation of a character to be set as default, which could then result in an online desync when trying to select that character

• Fixed a rare issue that occurred if the user lost internet connectivity while customizing their character, which would sometimes result in that variation being saved with some items being locked

• Fixed a rare issue that was affecting some user progression after using Kenshi’s blindfold in the Krypt to fully drain their Soul Fragments

• Move list and frame data corrections

• Integrated launch day gameplay server-side data

• Tweaks to online matchmaking

• AI adjustments

• Fixed a rare crash involving trying to use quick moves list in story mode

• Fixed a rare crash in the Totem Pole tower in The Gauntlet

• Fixed a crash related to pausing and unpausing the game

• Corrected some incorrect instruction text in tutorial mode

• Enabled Dev Slayer functionality

• Kitana’s Fans will no longer sometimes remain invisible if she is interrupted out of Edenian Fade with specific timing

• Hotfix server data will no longer sometimes become invalid when the game is booted up online

• Fixed a rare crash involving using a consumable near a chest in The Krypt

• Increased rewards for breakables in The Krypt

• Adjusted rewards from AI Battle mode

• Increased Koin rewards for winning Ranked Matches

Towers of Time Adjustments

• Adjusted AI difficulty curve

• Further opponent health reductions in higher level Towers

• Performing a Fatal Blow while standing in an active modifier will no longer sometimes cause unexpected behavior or a crash

• Ice based modifiers will no longer attempt to freeze players during invalid states

• Adjusted and removed modifiers from many Daily Towers

• Increased Koin Rewards for kompleting Towers and Tower Platforms

• Increased Dragon Challenge Koin rewards

• Increased post fight Koin rewards

• Increased amount of Hearts earned from Fatalities, Brutalities, and Mercies

• Lowered modifier damage for many modifiers

• Adjusted the lifespan of several modifiers

• Dramatically increased cooldowns on Tag Assist modifiers

• Fixed a missing Reduced Damage modifier in The Gauntlet

• Several Gift/Curse Modifiers are now considered projectiles allowing them to interact with moves that effect projectiles as intended

• Adjusted Gauntlet difficulty and progression requirements

• Disabler Konsumables now work with all intended modifiers

• Improved targeting for several Konsumables

• Sektor Hunter Killer Protocol Modifier is now disabled by the Rocket Disabler Konsumable

• Corrected some multipliers on Augments for some characters which were inconsistent with others

• Fixed incorrect Armor interactions with some Modifiers

• Decreased Konsumable cooldowns for players

At the heart of any European town founded before the 19th century lies a church. It’s the same with Anno 1800. At the center of your city sits a magnificent cathedral, its spectacular steeple reaching for the heavens and illuminating the lives of everyone who passes by. It’s a very beautiful church, but it’s hiding something.

At the heart of Anno 1800 lies an intimidating and complex financial simulation. It may seem like you’re overseeing the rise and occasional fall of a European-style city as it comes of industrial age. But really, you’re juggling numbers, thumb wedged in the accounts ledger, finessing production efficiencies and stabilizing trade fluctuations. Anno 1800 is perhaps the prettiest spreadsheet I’ve ever seen.

Each randomly generated map in the core sandbox mode unfurls as a mostly blank canvas, a glistening sea dotted with fertile islands waiting to be claimed by you and your (AI or human) opponents. As you grow and expand your reach across multiple islands and into the New World–and your empire undergoes its Industrial Revolution–you’ll employ more advanced technologies, extracting coal and oil to fuel great belching factories and formidable steam engines. But the basic principle remains constant: Satisfy your population by employing them to manufacture natural resources into commodities that encourage more people to move to your cities.

Everything becomes a production chain for you to configure, massage and optimize. Early on the choices you’re making here are relatively simple; the virgin terrain of your first settlement makes it easy to place the knitter near the farm so the wool is delivered swiftly and the warehouse within range so the finished goods can be collected for immediate sale. But soon the need for a navy means you’ve had to build a sailmaker’s yard which is now diverting wool previously used by the knitter. Building another sheep farm means finding the physical space for an additional farm as well as for all the extra housing for the new farmers. Extend this scenario a few hours into a game and it will encompass dozens of productions chains of increasing complexity and inter-connectivity.

Managing these productions chains–whether it’s work clothes and sails or beer and pocket watches–is an enjoyable exercise in a kind of “balancing the books” sense. You know you have to spend resources to grow, but your success depends on finding that ever-moving sweet spot between overreaching and not pushing far enough. It’s necessary to keep the requisite resources flowing and meet the housing and job demands of your population, but it’s not sufficient. To maintain a firm hand on your economy you have to appreciate the various financial levers available to you, allowing fine adjustments to tax rates and production ratios that can genuinely mean the difference between keeping it in the black and going bankrupt.

Of course, it’s also just as enjoyable to play the more visual puzzle game of city planning, slotting in that new building not only where its specific dimensions fit, but where it also retains proximity to its related structures in the chain. Nobly assisting matters here is the “move” tool that lets you–for no resource cost at all–pick up and move any building to another location. Need to pop a police station downtown but there’s no room? Just move the nearby houses further down the street to open up the space. It really does look utterly beautiful when it all comes together, too, like an exquisitely detailed diorama that you can poke, prod and tweak to your heart’s content. There’s even a first-person mode that lets you walk the streets and observe all your townsfolk going about their day to day business. I especially welcomed the moments I was able to spend admiring the view before some new urgent matter warranted investigation and I had to return to crunching those numbers.

Spinning all the plates becomes even trickier as you advance into the Industrial Age. Production chains that were once straightforward, one-to-one input/output ratios turn into logistical nightmares as multiple buildings start feeding into multiple other buildings. The demands of the job are only exacerbated by a lack of clarity in the feedback you’re given when things aren’t operating at full capacity. Simple things like knowing how many flour mills and grain farms support a bakery just aren’t communicated clearly enough in-game or in the non-existent manual. I spent hours engaged in trial and error in such situations before finding a comprehensive external wiki that I found myself alt-tabbing to constantly while I played.

There is a campaign mode that functions as a tutorial before it segues into the main sandbox. And there is an additional setting that enables a more guided experience, providing you with specific goals at the appropriate moments. I found both very welcome, even as someone who had played some of the previous Anno games. But at the same time, I felt that other important aspects weren’t explained thoroughly enough, if at all, and it was frustrating to guess at solutions to problems I wasn’t confident I’d even diagnosed correctly.

Much of Anno 1800 is spent watching numbers go up and down. Total gold is going down. Now it’s going back up again. There aren’t enough workers for the number of available jobs. Okay, now there are too many workers and not enough engineers. Sometimes it’s clear why these things are happening and sometimes it’s obvious what you can do to rectify the situation. However, other times it isn’t and it’s really quite panic-inducing. My stomach tightened whenever the numbers plummeted into the red, but as soon as they shot back into the black I would feel a surge of relief. Even so, outside of these sharp swings, when the numbers remained relatively stable and my economy seemed to be ticking over steadily, I couldn’t shake this nagging sense that everything was always on the verge of complete collapse.

I spent all of my time playing Anno 1800 in a mild yet pervasive state of anxiety. As a city-building sim that emphasizes economic management, it is as robust and powerful as the steel factories it allows you to pollute the skies with. But for all the natural beauty of its island paradise and the architectural splendor of its churches, theatres, and piers, it’s just a little too cold in its reliance on numbers and a little too impenetrable in its reluctance to show you its workings. I’m glad I visited, but I don’t think I’d want to live there.

George R.R. Martin has often cited J.R.R. Tolkien as an inspiration for his own A Song of Ice and Fire series. So it’s exciting news that Martin has been announced as the moderator for a discussion and Q&A about the new movie, Tolkien.

Martin will moderate and discussion and Q&A with the movie’s stars, including Nicholas Hoult, Lily Collins, and director Dome Karukoski. The event is taking place on May 8 at the Regency Westwood Village where the film is premiering in Los Angeles.

“Modern fantasy would not exist without J.R.R. Tolkien and Lord of the Rings… and that most definitely includes my own A Song of Ice and Fire,” Martin said in a blog post. “Tolkien’s work redefined fantasy, and all of us who have followed in his footsteps owe him a profound debt.

“But who was the man behind the Shire, the Hobbits, and the One Ring? Tolkien, the new motion picture about JRRT’s early life, aspires to answer that question.”

The discussion and Q&A will be broadcast live on the Tolkien movie’s Facebook page, beginning at 9 PM PST.

Last week, the Tolkien Estate disavowed the movie Tolkien. The Estate said it was not involved in and does not approve of the new film, which stars Hoult as Tolkien and Collins as Edith Bratt. In response, film company Fox Searchlight said it is proud of the movie, adding that it has the “utmost respect and admiration for Mr. Tolkien and his phenomenal contribution to literature.”

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