Netflix and Sony Pictures have struck a deal that will keep upcoming Spider-Man films and other selections from Sony Pictures on Netflix after they finish in theaters, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reportedly multi-year contract will start with Sony's 2022 film slate. Netflix will have first-look rights to movies Sony is producing or licensing for streaming platforms. The number of films Netflix has committed to ordering is currently undisclosed. Notably, the deal doesn't stop Sony from selling streaming rights to other platforms. Sources speaking to Variety also said that the deal will amount to a record-setting sum for a pay-one window agreement. The deal is reportedly set to last five years and the New York Times reports that Netflix will pay about $1 billion to Sony over four years. Sony can make a pay-one window agreement such as this in part because it doesn't have its own streaming platform like Disney+ or HBO Max. So what has Netflix definitely earned for its money? WSJ reports that future Spider-Man movies will land on Netflix following their theatrical runs (it's unclear if Tom Holland's Spider-Man: No Way Home is included in the deal), along with other Marvel characters Sony stills holds the rights to, like Jared Leto's Morbius and Tom Hardy's Venom. Netflix will also license certain older Sony Pictures films. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/25/spider-man-no-way-home-what-the-title-reveals-about-the-mcu-sequel"] Films from studios under Sony's umbrella will also be included, such as the Jumanji franchise. Those studios include Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, and TriStar Pictures. Sony executives are also reportedly working on an additional theatrical film licensing agreement beyond the Netflix deal, Variety reports. Sony has previously partnered with Starz for its theatrical streaming agreements since 2006. Starz is currently owned by Lionsgate, who also lost out on Rian Johnson's Knives Out sequel to Netflix for the tune of $450 million. The Netflix deal only covers the United States. Historically, pay-one window agreements allow for films to hit streaming platforms about nine months after a theatrical run. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/13/morbius-official-teaser-trailer"] Netflix and Sony's relationship has strengthened in recent years, with the studios agreeing on streaming rights for Sony's animated films, including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Sony's announcement certainly hopes to assuage any fears that it's looking at letting go of theatrical releases in a world complicated by COVID-19. Sony says the deal will be "additive" to its theatrical schedule, "which will continue at its current volume." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

It only took 27 years, but the billionaires are finally talking about building Jurassic Park. They're talking about the Jurassic Park seen in the movie of the same name – you know, the famous 1993 movie where some very rich people fill a theme park with real dinosaurs after extracting DNA preserved in resin, only for it all to go down horribly when a Tyrannosaurus Rex escapes its enclosures, eats humans, and wrecks havoc all over the island of Isla Nublar... that one. More specifically, Elon Musk's Neuralink co-founder, Max Hodak, said on Twitter last week that they could likely build a Jurassic Park if they wanted to. It's unclear who he was referring to when he used the word "we."

we could probably build jurassic park if we wanted to. wouldn’t be genetically authentic dinosaurs but (shrug emoji). maybe 15 years of breeding + engineering to get super exotic novel species

— Max Hodak (@max_hodak) April 4, 2021

While not directly connected, it seems Hodak is particularly interested in conserving the biodiversity on Earth, if not all together creating even more novel diversity. He tweeted on April 4 saying, "biodiversity is definitely valuable" and "conservation is important and makes sense." He then asked, "but why do we stop there?" followed up by, "why don't we more intentionally try to generate novel diversity?" Biodiversity here refers to the variety of life on Earth ranging from variations as microscopic as genes to things as large as entire ecosystems. Credit where credit's due, dinosaurs would certainly be a form of "novel diversity," but it seems Hodak might be forgetting how the whole Jurassic Park thing went, not to mention how the sequels played out. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-deaths-in-the-jurassic-park-movies&captions=true"] Neuralink is a company founded by Musk, Hodak, and others in 2016 and as the name suggests, it's a company focused on creating implantable brain-machine interfaces. In February, Musk talked in the social app Clubhouse about how Neuralink, "has a monkey with a wireless implant in their skull with tiny wires." The monkey is part of a trial where Neuralink hopes to make the cyborg monkey play "mind pong" with another cyborg monkey. The Neuralink device being used in the trial is made up of more than 3000 electrodes that can monitor 1000 different neurons. As IGN reported back in February, Musk addressed concerns of animal welfare in Neuralink trials. The billionaire said, "you can't see where the implant is and he's a happy monkey," and he claimed that an inspector from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the company's laboratory was, "the nicest monkey facility" they had examined. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/12/new-tyrannosaur-species-discovered-dubbed-reaper-of-death"] To be clear, Hodak did not say he has any plans to create a real world Jurassic Park – he seemed to be referring to the technology either his company or humans as a whole, have in terms of possibilities of creating genetically modified species of dinosaurs. For more about dinosaur creation, check out this story about how scientists extracting DNA from insects preserved in resin (sound familiar?) have, "no intention of raising dinosaurs." Read this story about a new dinosaur species discovered recently in Patagonia dubbed the "one who causes fear" after that, and then check out this story about a T-Rex and Triceratops locked in the same fossil. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer, guide maker, and science guru for IGN. He likes dinosaurs, but doesn't need them to be alive again and is totally fine with riding the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios for his dinosaur fix. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confirmed that production on DC’s Black Adam film starts this week.

Johnson made the announcement on Wednesday via Instagram, where he showed himself “Black Adam ready,” sweating through his workout clothes.

“It’s always the work we quietly put in when no one is watching that changes the game,” Johnson said. “Grateful for the grind (and the face of my Warrior Spirit always watching my back).” Black Adam is scheduled to release on July 29, 2022, giving the bulk of production a little over a year to wrap things up, assuming COVID-19 restrictions don’t delay anything further. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=doctor-fate-explained&captions=true"]

Black Adam is also planned as a theatrical-only release, meaning HBO likely intends to pull the plug on its day-and-date release plan for certain movies on HBO Max.

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has also joined the cast of Black Adam as Doctor Fate, along with The Invisible Man’s Aldis Hodge as Hawkman. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

New Era has launched a Japan-exclusive Dragon Ball Z streetwear collection, emblazoned with characters from Akira Toriyama's legendary anime franchise. HYPEBEAST showcased an assortment of threads from the latest New Era x Dragon Ball Z collaboration, currently available on New Era Japan's website. The capsule features a variety of T-shirts and caps featuring some of Dragon Ball Z's best-loved characters, including Gohan, Goku, Majin Buu, and even Dende from the Planet Namek. Check out the New Era x Dragon Ball Z range below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=dragon-ball-z-x-new-era-japan-streetwear-collection&captions=true"] Altogether, the seasonal capsule consists of four different designs on black or white T-shirts, as well as a host of New Era cap styles adorned with various graphics from the beloved franchise. The Dragon Ball Z imagery appears on the 9FIFTY, 59FIFTY, 9FORTY, 9THIRTY, and 9TWENTY headgear silhouettes, with both adult and youth sizes available. To this day, Dragon Ball Z remains one of the most successful anime shows of all time, and for good reason. The series isn't particularly deep, as it basically revolves around superhuman martial artist Goku and his friends testing their mettle against an increasingly powerful and outlandish series of foes. But what the series lacks in terms of plot, it makes up for in humor, kooky characters, and incredible action. The Japanese anime series featured in IGN's picks for the 25 Best Anime Series and 10 Best English Dubbed Anime Series alongside the likes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Cowboy Bebop, which is getting the live-action treatment over at Netflix. Shinichirō Watanabe, the director of the original series and the movie, is serving as a consultant on the new series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/03/your-top-5-anime-power-ranking"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

An FMV horror game called Ghosts has been revealed to be in development, and it'll only be playable in its intended form at 10pm every night in your local timezone. Ghosts is coming to PlayStation, PC, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Mac, and will be released by Limited Run Games on February 22, 2022. The game is written and directed by Jed Henderson, the writer of the 2020 Zoom horror flick Host. Most of the cast of Host will also reunite and star in Ghosts.

Excited to announce that I'm making a REAL-TIME, live-action HORROR video game w/ creature design by @slimyswampghost & made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop!

Released by @LimitedRunGames & starring Haley, Jemma, Emma, Radina and Caroline. They can tell you all about it-#ghosts pic.twitter.com/5PeUa4CrHT — Jed (@Jedshepherd) April 7, 2021

As for how the game works, players take on the role of a TV producer for a failing cable channel, FrighTV. Ghosts is the channel's flagship show, a re-branded version of a popular show where viewers used to watch ghost hunters explore haunted locations. It seems like you'll be watching (and calling the shots on) this new version of the show and following the cast as they are haunted by an antagonistic force called The Long Lady. Designed to be playable only at 10pm in your local timezone each night, the game will star cast members from pandemic horror hit Host, including Haley Bishop, Radina Drandova, Jemma Moore, Caroline Ward and Emma Louise Webb. They're investigating a street reportedly haunted by the Long Lady. While details are scarce, it seems you'll be making decisions for them as they search the area. No "floating words or glowing doors" will be presented to guide you, meaning you're seemingly playing the game through the eyes of the camera only. "There are consequences for all of your choices though," reads the press release. "Playing it safe is not always the best option!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/08/ghosts-announcement-video"] As mentioned in the video above, if players turn the game off at any point, they lose, and the cast will die in "really horrible ways". If players load up the game before 10pm they will be met with a classic test card. "If you can crack the ‘test’ you will have access to an unlockable pre-watershed version where you can breathe and save your progress, but once you hit 10pm all bets are off," the press release reads. Creature design for Ghosts is being handled by Trevor Henderson, the creator of Siren Head. The feared (and as-yet unseen) "Long Lady" will also be fabricated by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. FMV games have made something of a comeback in recent years, with the likes of The Complex and Erica taking on sci-fi and mystery stories respectively. Horror is where the genre previously saw it most notable games in the '90s heyday, and Ghosts is clearly looking to bring back classic live-action scares. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

In the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, Ryan McCaffrey was joined by IO Interactive CEO and co-owner Hakan Abrak to talk about what IO is working on, the upcoming James Bond game, the future of Hitman, separating from Square Enix, and much more. While discussing his thoughts on "support studios," Abrak also revealed that Hitman and the highly anticipated James Bond game aren't the only projects the studio is working on. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/06/hitman-studio-boss-talks-hitmans-future-the-new-james-bond-game-and-more-ign-unfiltered-57"] "We have 007 we're working on, we have Hitman that we're working on... I should mention we're working on something else, as well. Something completely new... a new IP (intellectual property)." We'll have to wait a bit longer to learn what the project is, but IO will keep supporting Hitman 3 in the meantime, and with the approaching 007 game, studio fans will have things to sink their teeth into while awaiting more news. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=hitman-3-playstation-5-screenshots&captions=true"] Abrak also revealed, humorously, that even the studio's founders don't recall what the "IO" in "IO Interactive" stands for. "There are a lot of myths about what it is. I've been with IO for more than 14 years now, but I'm not part of the founders... I still know most of them... when I ask them, they don't even remember themselves, why, or what it was." "'Input / Output' is a good guess. Another one is '[one of Jupiter's moons,] Io' and stuff like that. They are having fun being secretive around that but, honestly, there's not a clear, 'This is it!'" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/hitman-3-reviews-is-this-the-best-hitman-ever-the-review-crew"]

For more interviews with the best, brightest, most fascinating minds in the games industry, check out be sure to check out every episode of IGN Unfiltered, which includes talks with Bethesda's Todd Howard, Uncharted creator Amy Hennig, Master Chief co-creator Marcus Lehto, Valve's Robin Walker & Chris Remo, and so many more.

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Brian Barnett writes wiki guides, deals posts, features, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).

GameStop's board of directors is, once again, preparing for another upheaval -- with Ryan Cohen heading up a leadership takeover of Chewy veterans. In an announcement today, GameStop revealed the candidates for its board of directors to be decided on at the annual meeting on June 9. They are Alan Attal (former Chewy COO and CMO), Larry Cheng (co-founder of tech-focused investment group Volition Capital, which was the first investor in Chewy), Jim Grube (former Chewy CFO), George Sherman (current GameStop CEO), Yang Xu (senior VP of global finance and treasury at Kraft Heinz), and Cohen, who will stand for election as chairman. With this, GameStop's board will be two-thirds run by people with Chewy connections, with Cohen at the head as he continues to play a major role in a push to transform GameStop into an e-commerce giant. His visibility and success with Chewy were also key factors in the Reddit-driven short squeeze of GameStop stock earlier this year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/28/what-is-going-on-with-gamestop-stock-ign-now"] Additionally, today Kurtis Wolf announced his resignation from the GameStop board of directors effective immediately. Wolf was instrumental in kicking off GameStop's transformation before Cohen appeared on the scene, taking a place on the board last year after a multi-year shareholder dispute that shook up the board of directors multiple times and began the push for change at the company. Notably, a number of other current board members are missing from this roster. Current board chair Kathy Vrabeck and directors Carrie Teffner, Raul Fernandez, Lizabeth Dunn, and James Symancyk indicated earlier this year they would not run for re-election, and former Nintendo head Reggie Fils-Aimé already announced his departure from the board after just a year. That leaves Paul Evans (who was notably appointed to the board alongside Wolf during last year's board shake-up) and William Simon who had not previously announced a departure, but do not seem to be sticking around. Other recent company leadership departures have included CMO and executive VP Chris Homeister, CCO Frank Hamlin, and CFO Jim Bell. GameStop's continued shake-ups appear to be in preparation for a major shift in the company's strategy after years of falling revenues. Its latest earnings call kept annoyingly silent about what these changes might actually, practically look like, but a recently announced equity offering program to sell up to 3.5 million shares of company stock indicates that wheels are in motion to turn the company's finances around and raise money for major changes to come. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

There's an old saying that once the genie is out of the bottle, it's nearly impossible to get it back in. WarnerMedia's CEO Jason Kilar is going to see if he can pull off the impossible. Beginning in 2022, WarnerMedia's biggest tentpole films — DC, Harry Potter, MonsterVerse — will play exclusively in theaters for 45 days before moving to a service "like HBO Max," Kilar told Vox's Peter Kafka on an episode of Recode Media. This isn't too surprising considering that Cineworld, owner of Regal Cinemas, announced a similar plan previously. One major caveat is whether WarnerMedia has a similar deal with AMC. Back in March, AMC CEO Adam Aron told analysts on an earnings call that "you should properly assume that if we're playing Warner movies, we came to agreement with Warner that any changes in their strategy are being done in ways where AMC shareholders benefit," but no official announcement has been made. Much like Universal, which has a similar deal with AMC for a shortened theatrical window, a 45 day exclusive play period doesn't mean Warner Bros. has to pull its films after 45 days. If a movie like The Batman, Black Adam, or Fantastic Beasts III are over-performing, Warner Bros. can keep the film in theaters longer. Statistically, this is rarely the case. Most movies make the majority of their box office revenue within the first three to five weeks of being in theaters – about 21 to 40 days. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/29/godzilla-vs-kong-review"] Before the pandemic accelerated trends (like the importance of streaming and the near collapse of theatrical windows), studios had to commit to keeping their films in theaters for nearly 90 days. This worked well if the studio was Disney and movies like The Lion King, Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, or Aladdin were pulling in north of $1 billion or $2 billion. Most studios are not seeing Disney's overarching success at theaters. Asking studios to commit to 90 days, especially when those studios belong to bigger conglomerates that have streaming services they want to bulk up with exciting new movies (remember: big titles bring subscribers in, a full library of films and TV shows keeps them from canceling), is unrealistic. Another undeniable part of the equation is theater attendance. Companies like WarnerMedia and Disney used theater closures in 2020 to justify moving their movies to HBO Max and Disney+ respectively. In countries where HBO Max and Disney+ were unavailable, movies were released theatrically. In some cases, the studios saw success. Tenet amassed $305 million globally, while Soul nabbed $117 million globally, with $57 million coming from China alone, making it Pixar's second most successful film in China ever. In the United States, they didn't come close. Tenet saw $58 million in the US, while Wonder Woman 1984 garnered $46 million. Executives likely assumed this would be the case, and that's why Wonder Woman 1984 was promoted as an HBO Max title in the US while it received a bigger theatrical push internationally. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wonder-woman-1984-photos&captions=true"] Things started to change with Godzilla vs Kong. The movie had "a larger viewing audience than any other film or show on HBO Max since launch," according to the company, and also grossed $32.2 million in its domestic opening weekend. That's an impressive number considering the pandemic means theaters are still operating at limited capacity. Currently, the movie has generated more than $250 million globally in just two weeks leading industry analysts to declare that theaters are back, baby. One of the biggest differences between when Tenet was released and now is vaccine rollouts. When Godzilla vs Kong was released in the United States on March 31st, an average of 3.1 million vaccines started being administered daily, according to the Washington Post. The CDC estimates that by April 6th, approximately 19% of the United States population was vaccinated. In states like New York and California, roughly 85% of people will be vaccinated (reaching herd immunity) by July and October 2021 respectively. (New York and California also make up a large percentage of theatrical revenue in the United States.) In China, another incredibly important market for studios, the country's government is aiming to vaccinate 40% of its population by the middle of the year, according to Reuters. Even if 2021 is a wash theatrically, it's clear to see why studios like Warner Bros. and Disney want to play nice with exhibitors. People's appetites to head back to theaters when it's safe enough to do so is apparent; in countries like China and Japan where case numbers are lower, domestic movie releases are seeing gigantic turnouts. Despite ominous chants from industry insiders that "theaters are dead," you don't have to look further than Avengers: Endgame reaction clips on YouTube to see why people want to head back to their local cinema. The same thing that was true in 2019 will likely be true in 2022 when countries start to see much higher vaccination rates: event style, tentpole movies will drive people to theaters. Everything else can go to HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, or whatever else. While theater attendance has decreased year over year on average, box office revenue has increased. Superhero movies (especially the MCU) and big franchise blockbusters are mostly why. When Kilar brings up The Batman he isn't doing so because it's a random movie — it's the exact type of title audiences will go back to theaters to watch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Julia Alexander is IGN's top streaming editor. Have a story tip? DM her on Twitter @loudmouthjulia or request her Signal number by emailing julia_alexander@ziffdavis.com.

The Open Beta Test for the upcoming Resident Evil multiplayer game mode, RE: Verse, has been temporarily suspended due to matchmaking troubles.

【Regarding the RE:Verse OBT】 As we are still seeing issues with RE:Verse OBT matchmaking service, we have decided that until further notice to temporarily suspend the OBT to resolve the problem. We will continue to investigate, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused.

— Capcom Dev 1 (@dev1_official) April 8, 2021

Announced on Twitter, Capcom Development Division 1 explained that it is still seeing issues with the RE: Verse beta matchmaking service. The team is continuing to investigate the problem, but without an immediate solution the decision has been made to temporarily suspend the beta. The beta will be suspended "until further notice", with no new dates mentioned. It seems like we can only expect a rescheduled beta period for RE: Verse when the problem has been resolved and matchmaking is working. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/21/re-verse-resident-evil-village-multiplayer-reveal"] RE: Verse is the multiplayer component of the upcoming Resident Evil Village, and will allow players to take on the roles of classic Resident Evil characters in a deathmatch-like mode. The open beta test for RE: Verse was due to start on April 7, but matchmaking problems have meant players have struggled to get involved. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Datamining of a recent Nintendo Switch update could suggest that the console will get a new dock for a 4K version of the console, and that it may see an update to allow for Bluetooth audio. Dataminer OatmealDome has pointed out that the Switch's 12.0.0 update contains references to potentially unannounced features. While Nintendo's patch notes only say that a save data backup bug has been fixed, fans looking through the update files have remarked on other changes. OatmealDome initially spotted that the update seems to allow for the Switch's dock to be updated itself – something that shouldn't be necessary given how basic the components in the dock are. However, hexkyz on Twitter pointed out that the use of the term 'crda' in the firmware seems to stand for "Cradle Aula" – 'Cradle' being the internal term for the Switch dock, and 'Aula' being a purported codename for the much-rumoured 4K Switch upgrade. OatmealDome also points to a new internal setting – '4kdp_preferred_over_usb30' – that could relate to a 4K display port output, something that would only be needed in a Switch upgrade. While none of the above is certain, and firmware settings can be implemented without ever being used, the idea of a new dock and 4K output tallies with the idea of new, potentially more expensive Switch model.

[Nintendo Switch Firmware Update]

About my earlier tweet about update 12.0.0 being able to upgrade the dock firmware... There is also this setting: "is_crda_fw_update_supported" "CrdA" = Cradle (Dock) for Aula. Aula is the codename for the new model. (Thanks to @hexkyz!) https://t.co/USSPCbG20q pic.twitter.com/gwsOZdmg6b — OatmealDome (@OatmealDome) April 6, 2021

Separately, the dataminer has shown off that the firmware update adds audio support to the Switch's Bluetooth driver. Bluetooth audio has been a much requested feature since the Switch's launch – allowing players to use wireless headsets rather than the 3.5mm jack – and its possible that update would finally allow it to work. However, the dataminer makes clear that they're not sure anything on the console uses it at this point and, as with the dock changes, it could end up never being utilised at all. It is possible, of course, that a Switch upgrade would add the feature however (and mainly-docked players like me would be very happy about that). While impossible to confirm officially at this time, if Nintendo is working on a new Switch, it stands to reason that it would look to implement internal upgrades to support it ahead of release. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/articles/game-scoop-618-if-this-switch-pro-rumor-is-true-is-it-enough"] Rumours of a so-called Switch Pro model have persisted for a long time, with Nintendo going as far as saying it wouldn't announce a new model 'anytime soon', and analysts remaining conflicted on a 2021 release. However, with the company reportedly expecting a second year of record sales, it may be that a new model is seen as a means to boosting software sales. We've also looked into whether a rumoured new chip will help the Switch keep up with PS5 and Xbox Series X. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.