biteho.com

The roster of Disney+ streaming MCU TV shows just keeps getting bigger. Director Ryan Coogler and his production company Proximity Media have entered a five year deal with Disney to develop future projects in addition to Coogler’s upcoming Black Panther 2 feature film, Deadline reports. The deal will allow Coogler and his team to develop projects in both film and TV.

First up on the docket isa Black Panther spin-off TV show for Disney+ that will focus on the Kingdom of Wakanda. Details about the show and its cast are not yet available, but considering the wealth of lore about Wakanda’s history the MCU has yet to explore, it’s likely to play a large role in future phases.

Coogler said in a statement that he is “looking forward to learning, growing, and building a relationship with audiences all over the world through the Disney platforms. We are especially excited that we will be taking our first leap with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and their partners at Marvel Studios where we will be working closely with them on select MCU shows for Disney+. We’re already in the mix on some projects that we can’t wait to share.”

Last year during an investors day call, Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed that the MCU will not be recasting T’Challa after the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, which means that the mantle of Black Panther may or may not be passed down to another character–his sister, Shuri, for instance, who has taken up the superhero identity in the comics.

In the same call, the release date for Black Panther 2 was set for July 8, 2022.

Currently, the MCU’s first ever TV show, WandaVision, is streaming on Disney+ with new episodes airing every Friday.

What’s up with the Uncharted movie adaptation? Here’s everything we know so far.

The GameStop/Reddit stock price drama and controversy over the past week has been one of the most-discussed topics globally, and so it’s no surprise that Hollywood has come knocking to turn the events into movies and TV shows. There are now several Hollywood projects in the works, with big names and famous studios attached trying to cash in.

Following the news that Ben Mezrich had sold his book proposal to James Bond studio MGM to spin into a a feature film, it’s been reported that numerous other studios are getting involved.

The Netflix Project

First up is Netflix. Deadline reports that Netflix is in discussions with writer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit) to pen the script for a film with Noah Centineo to star. Scott Galloway, who runs the podcast Pivot, is reportedly going to consult on the script.

Sources told Deadline that this film will “shine a light on the phenomenon of how social media has leveled the playing field and allowed the masses to challenge status quo gatekeepers, for good and bad.”

The movie could also touch on how social media impacts elections and specifically how social media might have led to and encouraged the US Capitol rights in January.

The Pinky Promise Project

Deadline also reported that the production company Pinky Promise is “fast-tracking” a limited TV series called “To The Moon” based on the GameStop/Reddit situation. “They have met with several top members of the Reddit group, hedge funds and other trading insiders,” the report said.

“The series is the multi-narrative, rip-roaring story of the r/wallstreetbets people’s rebellion against cynical hedge funds. To The Moon follows two roommates laid off from their jobs at GameStop and AMC, who turn Covid into lemonade by using their stimulus checks to dip into the world of day trading,” Deadline reported. “It’s The Big Short meets Reddit, in this chronicle of the movement that grabbed Wall Street by the wallet and chucked it all the way to the moon.”

Pinky Promise co-founders Jessamine Burgum and Matthew Cooper told Deadline that they are working with veteran members of the Wall Street Bets subreddit to “make sure we tell this story correctly.”

“This is a movement that could very well dictate the future of Wall Street and individuals’ beliefs that they can stand up to Goliath–getting this right is our top priority,” they said.

Noam Tomschoff is set to write the series; he made his directorial debut with the film Tankhouse starring Back to the Future’s Christopher Lloyd. “Several buyers” are said to be interested.

The Ben Mezrich Project

The first of the big studio projects to be announced came from author Ben Mezrich, who wrote the books the turned into The Social Network and 21.

According to Deadline’s report, James Bond studio MGM won the rights to Mezrich’s book proposal, The Antisocial Network, which follows the story of “amateur investors, gamers, and internet trolls who brought Wall Street to its knees.”

Mezrich also said he hopes Elon Musk and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, two prominent figures in the ongoing drama, will play themselves in the feature film.

For more, check out GameSpot’s primer on just what the hell is going on. You can also listen to the newest episode of GameSpot After Dark where we discuss the drama.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

February 2021 marks Blizzard’s 30th anniversary, and the company is commemorating the occasion with celebration bundles for some of its biggest titles. This month, players will be able to buy one of three “Celebration Collections” containing various in-game goodies for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo III, Hearthstone, and more.

The Celebration Collections will be available to purchase from the Blizzard Shop starting today, February 1, and they come in three varieties. The Essentials Pack costs $20 and includes the following items:

• Moon-Touched Netherwhelp pet (World of Warcraft)
• Tracer’s OSV-03 Rogue mount with Tracer Hero (Heroes of the Storm)
• 30th Anniversary Overwatch player icon and spray [coming soon] plus 5 Loot Boxes
• A set of StarCraft II and StarCraft: Remastered portraits [coming soon]
• 10 Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs (Hearthstone)
• A pet and portrait for Diablo III [coming soon]

The Heroic Pack costs $40 and includes everything in the Essentials Pack plus the following items:

• Snowstorm mount (World of Warcraft)
• Raynhardt (legendary) in Overwatch [coming soon]
• Random Madness at the Darkmoon Faire Legendary card (Hearthstone)
• Diablo III wings [coming soon]

Finally, the Epic Pack costs $60 and features everything in the Heroic Pack as well as the following:

• 30 days of World of Warcraft game time
• 5 Golden Madness at the Darkmoon Faire card packs (Hearthstone)
• 3 Golden Loot Boxes (Overwatch)
• Diablo III Helm Transmog Items [coming soon]

On top of that, purchasing any of the aforementioned Celebration Collections will net you a one-time 15% discount on an order from the Blizzard Gear Store. This discount code will be distributed to the email that’s tied to your Blizzard account after your purchase. Additionally, Blizzard says that the Overwatch and Starcraft items listed as “coming soon” will be available “no later than February 18,” while the Diablo III items will arrive “no later than February 28.”

February is a big month for Blizzard. The company is hosting Blizzcon Online on February 19-20. Unlike past years, this event will be completely free to watch. You can read more about the online event on Blizzard’s website.

The game-streaming platform Google Stadia is making a big change, announcing that it will no longer develop games. In a blog post from industry veteran and head of Stadia, Phil Harrison, the executive said Google is focusing on fleshing out Stadia’s technology and will back away from actually developing games for it.

“Given our focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships, we’ve decided that we will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-term planned games,” the statement said. “Over the coming months, most of the SG&E team will be moving on to new roles. We’re committed to working with this talented team to find new roles and support them.”

Google’s game-making studios in Los Angeles and Montreal are closing as part of this news, according to Kotaku. Around 150 developers are said to be impacted. According to the report, Google is trying to place the affected developers in new positions within Google.

Jade Raymond, who was among Google Stadia’s biggest-name hires for its new game studios, is leaving Google as part of the shakeup. “We greatly appreciate Jade’s contribution to Stadia and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors,” Google said.

Alex Hutchinson, the head of the Stadia team in Montreal that was acquired in 2019, reacted to the news with a tongue-in-cheek tweet. “What a time to be alive,” he said.

A source told Kotaku: “Google was a terrible place to make games. Imagine Amazon, but under-resourced.”

The Stadia and Stadia Pro platforms will remain operational in the wake of this news. “You can continue playing all your games on Stadia and Stadia Pro, and we’ll continue to bring new titles from third parties to the platform,” Google said. “We’re committed to the future of cloud gaming, and will continue to do our part to drive this industry forward. Our goal remains focused on creating the best possible platform for gamers and technology for our partners, bringing these experiences to life for people everywhere.”

You can read Google’s full statement below.

Google Stadia Statement:

“We launched Stadia with the goal of making your favorite games instantly available wherever you want to play them. With the recent successful launch of Cyberpunk 2077 on Stadia, gameplay on all types of devices, including iOS, growing our slate of YouTube integrations, and our global expansions, it’s clear that Stadia’s technology has been proven and works at scale. Having games streamed to any screen is the future of this industry, and we’ll continue to invest in Stadia and its underlying platform to provide the best cloud gaming experience for our partners and the gaming community. This has been the vision of Stadia since the beginning.

In 2021, we’re expanding our efforts to help game developers and publishers take advantage of our platform technology and deliver games directly to their players. We see an important opportunity to work with partners seeking a gaming solution all built on Stadia’s advanced technical infrastructure and platform tools. We believe this is the best path to building Stadia into a long-term, sustainable business that helps grow the industry.

Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially. Given our focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships, we’ve decided that we will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-term planned games. With the increased focus on using our technology platform for industry partners, Jade Raymond has decided to leave Google to pursue other opportunities. We greatly appreciate Jade’s contribution to Stadia and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. Over the coming months, most of the SG&E team will be moving on to new roles. We’re committed to working with this talented team to find new roles and support them.

What does this mean if you’re a current or future Stadia gamer? You can continue playing all your games on Stadia and Stadia Pro, and we’ll continue to bring new titles from third parties to the platform. We’re committed to the future of cloud gaming, and will continue to do our part to drive this industry forward. Our goal remains focused on creating the best possible platform for gamers and technology for our partners, bringing these experiences to life for people everywhere.”

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Actor Dustin Diamond, best known for his portrayal of a lovable nerd on popular ’90s NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell, has died in hospice according to TMZ. It was recently revealed in mid-January that Diamond had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. At that time, he was taken to a Florida hospital a few days after reportedly feeling unwell.

Diamond came to fame with his role of Samuel “Screech” Powers on Saved by the Bell–the role of best friend and sidekick to the show’s main character and offered comic relief as a kind-hearted geek. The actor’s declining health was likely a reason for Screech not having a presence in the recent Peacock revival series. Aside from Diamond and Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding), many familiar faces returned to the series including Mario Lopez (Slater), Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack), and Tiffani Thiessen (Kelly).

Diamond never quite broke away from being known as Screech, but he embraced a similar comic-relief geek role on reality shows including Celebrity Boxing 2 and Celebrity Fit Club. He also had a short-lived side career as a musician, performing with alt-metal band Salty The Pocketknife, which released a self-titled album in 2006.

TMZ has reported that Diamond’s girlfriend “was by his side when he passed away.”

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.