With both national chains and independent movie theater owners struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, another existential crisis may be rearing its head. As Variety reports, theater owners are raising the alarm about the potentially catastrophic impact of a federal minimum wage increase. This fear comes as Congress weighs the prospect of more than doubling the federal minimum wage by the year 2025, from $7.25 an hour to $15. Many theaters would also be impacted by a proposed end to the tipped minimum wage, which currently allows employers to pay waiters and other tipped workers $2.13 an hour. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=everything-coming-to-hbo-max&captions=true"] “That would kill us,” Foothills Entertainment owner Byron Berkley told Variety. “We couldn’t justify raising our admission prices and concession prices to compensate for that kind of increase and still expect people to patronize the business. It would be disastrous.” As of yet, it's unclear whether this minimum wage increase will actually be ratified. The wage increase is currently bundled with the Biden administration's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, but as Variety notes, President Biden himself has voiced doubts as to whether the increase will remain in the final version of that bill. Still, if a minimum wage hike remains a top priority for Congressional Democrats, theaters, restaurants, and other businesses may well be required to adapt to significantly higher payroll costs by 2025. Theater chains have faced plummeting ticket sales over the past year, particularly in the US where few blockbuster movies have seen a wide release since the pandemic began. AMC theaters have been hit particularly hard, with the company reporting a staggering 90.9% drop in revenue in its fiscal third quarter last November. Companies like AMC and Regal Cinema have repeatedly criticized movie studios for pivoting to streaming releases, particularly in light of WarnerMedia's announcement that many 2021 movie releases will debut simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/14/are-movie-theaters-about-to-go-extinct"] "Clearly, Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize its HBO Max startup," AMC's CEO and president Adam Aron told The Hollywood Reporter in December. "As for AMC, we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense. We will aggressively pursue economic terms that preserve our business." Despite criticism from theater chains and even directors like Christopher Nolan, WarnerMedia has shown no sign of backing down from its hybrid theatrical/streaming release strategy. Wonder Woman 1984 was the first of these day-and-date releases, and Godzilla vs. Kong will follow on March 31. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

HBO's House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones, has added Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, and Sonoya Mizuno. These actors and actresses join Paddy Considine's King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke's Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith's Prince Daemon Targaryen, and Emma D'Arcy's Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in this new show from George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal, and Miguel Sapochnik. House of the Dragon is based on Martin's Fire & Blood and is set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/30/game-of-thrones-prequel-series-house-of-the-dragon-coming-to-hbo"] Toussaint, who starred in Red, White and Blue, will take on the role of Lord Corlys Velaryon, who comes from a Valyrian bloodline that is as old as that of House Targaryen. Known as "The Sea Snake," Lord Corlys is known as the most famous nautical adventurer in Westeros and built a house that is richer than even the Lannisters. Furthermore, the Velaryon house is said to have the biggest Navy in the land/sea. Ifans, who was The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man, will play Otto Hightower, who also happens to be the Hand of the King. Ser Otto is loyal to the king and his realm, and believes the greatest threat to both is the King's brother, Daemon, who is the current heir to the throne. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=house-of-the-dragon-images-and-concept-art&captions=true"] Best, who is well known for her roles in Nurse Jackie and The King's Speech, will play Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, a dragonrider and the wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon. She is also known as "The Queen Who Never Was," as she was "passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male." Mizuno, who recently starred in Devs, is cast as Mysaria, who arrived at Westeros with nothing but her name and has been "sold more times than she can recall." Instead of giving up, she rose up to become the most trusted ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen. For more on House of the Dragon, which will likely premiere on HBO in 2022, check out our explainer of this Game of Thrones prequel and new dragon art for the series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/01/game-of-thrones-cast-on-how-the-series-conquered-the-world"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts series is coming to PC. The publisher confirmed the main Kingdom Hearts games are coming to the Epic Games Store exclusively on March 30, 2021. Epic Games confirmed that Kingdom Hearts 1 and Kingdom Hearts 2 Remix editions, Kingdom Hearts 3, and the rhythm game Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory will be coming to PC exclusively through the Epic Games Store next month. Kingdom Hearts, the long-running RPG series that combines the worlds from Square Enix and Final Fantasy with Disney, is finally coming to PC starting with a brand new PC collection. The series began on the PlayStation and the series is typically associated with Sony platforms, though spinoffs were released on Nintendo handhelds and mobile. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/11/20/kingdom-hearts-iii-together-trailer"] Kingdom Hearts 3 was a multi-platform release and the series’ debut on the Xbox, but none of the Kingdom Hearts games were released on PC, until now. The series stars (usually) a young boy named Sora as he travels different Disney-inspired worlds to fight a dark force that threatens the universe. He is joined by companions like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy, as well as iconic Disney characters like Elsa and Woody. You can read IGN’s Kingdom Hearts 3 review here. Although it was the first mainline Kingdom Hearts game in 14 years, the series isn’t done yet as creator Tetsuya Nomura says there are more stories left to be told in the Kingdom Hearts universe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a News Editor at IGN.

Lionsgate has announced that Jack Black has been cast as Claptrap in the upcoming Borderlands live-action movie. Black will provide voice acting for the yellow robot, which has long been seen as the mascot of the Borderlands series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/20/its-official-borderlands-movie-to-be-directed-by-eli-roth"] “I am so excited to reunite with Jack, this time in the recording booth,” said Eli Roth, director of Borderlands. “Claptrap is the funniest character in the game, and Jack is perfect to bring him to the big screen.” Black joins a cast that already includes heavyweights Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, and Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Tannis. Last year, director Eli Roth also said he hoped for fans to be added to the cast, too, as extras that can be killed off in humorous ways. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] The Borderlands movie’s current screenplay draft has been penned by Craig Mazin, previously writer on HBO’s Chernobyl and currently the developer behind HBO’s The Last of Us. The big video game TV adaptation also announced major casting news this week, with actors assigned to Joel and Ellie. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

McDonald's has revealed it is "working quickly" to restock Pokemon 25th Anniversary trading cards following reports that scalpers are profiting from the limited-edition packs – and is "strongly encouraging" restaurants to set a limit on how many packs they sell to individual customers. Yesterday, it was revealed that the commemorative Pokemon cards, which are only supposed to be attainable when customers buy a McDonald's Happy Meal, were being purchased in bulk by scalpers and sold for ridiculously high sums online. In some instances, full boxes of the packs were being posted on sites including eBay for over $1,500.

@McDonalds @Pokemon I sure hope you do some form of inventory control for your promo Pokémon cards as some of your stock is being sold in sealed boxes which means they’re not even making it to your stores Though same thing happened with Tim Hortons Hockey too. Retail $1.99 pic.twitter.com/kX8qZyRX2V

— redphoenixsportscards (@redphoenixcards) February 9, 2021

Responding to IGN's request for comment, a McDonald's spokesperson said the restaurant franchise is moving to distribute more packs to its outlets, and said that restaurants would be 'strongly encouraged' to limit how many packs they can sell to individual customers. McDonald's statement reads: "We love seeing fans’ passion for our limited-time Happy Meal promotion celebrating 25 years of Pokemon. With such significant demand for our promotional Pokemon TCG cards, and some fans even going to extreme lengths to get them, we’re working quickly to address shortages and also strongly encouraging restaurants to set a reasonable limit on Happy Meals sold per customer. We want to offer the full Happy Meal experience to as many families as possible, and help ensure everyone is able to get in on the fun!” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/29/pokemon-sword-and-shield-crown-tundra-expansion-pass-trailer"] McDonald's confirmed that the company is working with its supply chain to help restock at restaurants that have sold out of Pokemon card packs, and does not condone reselling Happy Meal bonuses for profit. However, some restaurants will seemingly be allowed to offer standalone pack purchases in unspecified cases. Happy Meals with back-up toys will be offered if restaurants run out of Pokemon trading cards, and we McDonald's made clear its policy that full boxes of Happy Meal toys should not be sold to customers, and that toys must be distributed in stores by employees only. In light of Pokemon's 25th birthday, The Pokemon Company had teamed up with McDonald's to distribute 50 limited-edition trading cards while stocks last. The packs, which contain four random cards, celebrate the franchise's heritage with all 24 starter Pokemon and series icon Pikachu in standard and foil versions. In other Pokemon news, Post Malone will perform a virtual concert on February 27 as part of the franchise's year-long anniversary plans. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Tom Power is a UK-based freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter.

Update: Snyder has released another tease ahead of the new  Zack Snyder's Justice League trailer coming this weekend. The latest tease offers a brief glimpse at Darkseid in the film, and he appears to not be alone with some other foes flanking him in an intriguing new glimpse.

In 2 Days #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague#SnyderCutpic.twitter.com/OWYGPojcHM

— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) February 12, 2021

The latest trailer for the film will debut on Feb. 14 ahead of the film's March 18 release on HBO Max. Original story follows: [poilib element="accentDivider"] As Zack Snyder's Justice League draws nearer, we've gotten more teases of everything new Snyder is bringing to his version of the film, and the latest tease offers another look at Superman in his black suit. The latest tease, which you can watch below, offers a brief snippet of what fans can expect from the new trailer, which is set to premiere on Sunday, February 14. Among the footage is Steppenwolf, the Batmobile, and Superman clad in his black suit, shooting heat vision at someone off screen.

“The bell’s been rung.” #SnyderCut pic.twitter.com/B9hT2veXFs

— Zack Snyder's Justice League (@snydercut) February 11, 2021

The tease comes shortly after we got new photos of Jared Leto's Joker and his new look in Justice League and after Snyder confirmed the date for the new trailer with a glimpse at Victor Stone's life before becoming Cyborg. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/release-date-new-posters-confirmed-format-for-justice-league-snyder-cut"] Zack Snyder's Justice League is set to hit HBO Max on March 18 and will be R-rated in this new version. But if you're looking for more of the film ahead of its release, be sure to stay tuned to IGN Fan Fest later this month, where Zack Snyder will be answering our and your questions about the film. As for what the new cut of the film will bring, it reportedly will include about 150 minutes of unseen footage, of which "about four minutes or five minutes [are] additional photography." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=justice-league-snyder-cut-all-the-known-differences-from-the-theatrical-version&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will officially be released on PS5 on June 11, 2021. Revealed on PlayStation.Blog, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a brand new adventure that is exclusive to the PS5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/11/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-release-date-trailer"] "When the evil Dr. Nefarious uses a device that can access alternate dimensions to find a galaxy where he always wins, Ratchet and Clank are separated," The official description reads. "As they try to reunite, they will meet a new Lombax resistance fighter, explore new and familiar locales (but with new dimensional twists!), and wield a whole new arsenal of out of this world weapons." Insomniac Games notes that this is a great place to start for the Ratchet & Clank franchise, as it will be a "stand-alone storyline," but it will reward fans of the series that began in 2002 on the PS2 with "deeper layers of connection to previous games." Insomniac also revealed Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart's box art, key art, pre-order bonuses, and the digital deluxe edition, all of which you can see below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ratchet-clank-rift-apart-key-art-box-art-pre-order-bonuses-digital-editions&captions=true"] Pre-orders have officially opened for Rift Apart, and those who do so will unlock the Carbonox armor from 2003's Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, all updated with "high-definition materials, lighting responses, and ray-traced reflections." Those who pre-order the game will also receive an early-unlock of the Pixelizer weapon, the retro-blaster from 2016's Ratchet & Clank. The Digital Deluxe Edition, which will cost $79.99 USD, will grant players five additional armor sets, 20 Raritanium for upgrading weapons, and a sticker pack to use in Ratchet & Clank's first ever photo mode. Furthermore, also included are a digital artbook and digital soundtrack. Participating retailers in the US and Canada will also have a Special Physical Launch Edition of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart that will retail for $69.99 USD/$89.99 CAD. This will include a code for the pre-order bonuses mentioned above. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/27/ratchet-clank-rift-apart-ps5-gameplay-trailer"] Insomniac also teased that, while it isn't ready to reveal the new playable Lombax's name that had been previously teased, it mentions that we should "hang in there" and that we will be "feeling rosy soon." Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was announced at the PS5 reveal event back in June 2020. It promised that "Players will seamlessly travel through different dimensions in mid-gameplay, thanks to PS5’s ultra-high speed SSD. The DualSense wireless controller brings combat to life, with haptic feedback and the adaptive triggers adding powerful sensations that increase immersion in combat." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Pigs can be trained to play simple video games, scientists have found, demonstrating the animals' potential for a "remarkable" level of behavioral and mental flexibility. A BBC report presented a trough of information about the piggy players, sourced from a research paper published in a journal entry on Frontiers in Psychology. The document details an investigation into whether pigs are capable of playing a joystick-operated video game task, with four pigs - Hamlet, Omelet, Ivory, and Ebony - trained to move a joystick with their snouts to steer an on-screen cursor. The pigs were required to move the cursor to make contact with randomly-positioned walled targets, and a reward was provided if the cursor collided with a target. However, researchers noted that the pigs exhibited a "high level of social motivation to perform the task," and continued playing the game even when a food reward was not dispensed because of social encouragement from the trainer. [caption id="attachment_2472130" align="alignnone" width="976"] Image Credit: Eston Martz / Pennsylvania State University[/caption] "This sort of study is important because, as with any sentient beings, how we interact with pigs and what we do to them impacts and matters to them," said Dr. Candace Croney, lead author of the study. The data analysis from the gaming sessions showed that neither Hamlet nor Omelet achieved significant performance on three-walled targets but performed "above chance" on one-walled targets and two-walled targets, with "78 and 70% correct responses" on the latter. Ivory and Ebony were both more successful than expected by chance on three-walled targets but had a bigger gaming gap on the one-walled targets. Ultimately, researchers were satisfied that the pigs had the capacity to acquire the joystick-operated video game task, though they also noted that future studies into the cognitive behaviors of domestic species may benefit from the use of touchscreens or other advanced computer-interfaced technology due to dexterity and visual constraints as all four subjects, in this case, were far-sighted. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/31/the-biggest-game-releases-of-february-2021"] Similar experiments have been conducted with chimpanzees and monkeys, who have proven to be even more skilled, with their opposable thumbs and individually moving fingers giving them an advantage. It remains to be seen, however, what might happen when a monkey plays video games in its own mind. Elon Musk might have the answer for us soon, as he claimed that one of his companies has implanted a device into a monkey's brain, and hopes to make it play "mind pong" with another cyborg monkey. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

CBS has handed out a formal pilot order to the long-gestating True Lies TV reboot, three-plus years after the series was greenlit at Fox. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed late on Wednesday that the network had commissioned a pilot adaptation of the 1994 hit action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis as Harry and Helen Tasker, a dysfunctional married couple who must simultaneously save the world and their relationship. James Cameron and McG are both still attached to the project despite the series being dormant for many years. Cameron, who directed and produced the 1994 action-comedy, is on board to executive produce the potential series alongside McG who has also been lined up to direct the pilot, which is coming from the Disney-owned studio 20th Television. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/02/17/top-25-action-movies-true-lies-clip"] Burn Notice scribe Matt Nix has also joined the team as he will be handling the scripts on the now back-in-development series. The story is said to follow the same concept as the '90s action flick. The official logline reads the same as the movie: "Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage." McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision president Mary Viola and frequent Cameron collaborator Rae Sanchini of his Lightstorm Entertainment banner will also executive produce the reboot. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=23-films-that-became-tv-shows&captions=true"] Cameron has been pursuing a True Lies TV series reboot on-and-off for more than a decade. He reportedly shopped the idea around various networks back in 2010, though we didn't hear any more until seven years later when Fox handed out a pilot commitment for an hour-long episode. For unknown reasons, that also failed to move forward. In recent years, an abundance of movies have been adapted for TV, with the likes of Terminator, Hannibal, and Psycho, all having made the transition to the small screen, with varying degrees of success. McG was also previously involved in another TV remake of an action classic as he served as an executive producer on the Lethal Weapon TV reboot and directed some of its episodes. For a dose of nostalgia, check out this retro Lethal Weapon TV show trailer that uses footage from the rebooted series to recreate the original movie trailer shot-for-shot. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Post Malone will be performing at a virtual concert to celebrate Pokemon Day on February 27. The Pokemon Company announced the news with a trailer (below), which shows Post Malone transforming into a digital avatar of himself after thanking Pokemon fans for their support and brandishing a Pokeball. The animated version of Malone suggests the concert could be a hybrid between live-action and virtual performance. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/11/pokemon-pokemon-day-virtual-concert-with-post-malone-announce-trailer"] According to Billboard's interview with Malone, the concert will take place on Feb 27 at 7 PM EST, and will be streamed live via the Pokemon YouTube channel, Twitch channel and 25th Anniversary website. "Don't miss your chance to be front row for the Virtual Experience on Pokemon Day," the YouTube video description reads. This is all part of a collaboration between Pokemon and Universal Music Group called P25 Music. We reported back in January that Katy Perry will also be teaming up with The Pokemon Company to act as the "premiere collaborator" for this promotion. According to Billboard, Malone's concert "serves as the series' kickoff," with more details about P25 coming at the end of the concert. In other Pokemon news, check out this pillow that lets you put your head in Gengar's mouth. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.