Mads Mikkelsen, who will replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts film, has spoken about what he expects the difficulties of taking on the role will be. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Mikkelsen was asked how his take on the dark wizard would be different to Depp’s portrayal. "Well it's going to be me, so that's a difference," he joked. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/johnny-depp-exits-fantastic-beasts"] Answering seriously, Mikkelsen said: “This is the tricky part. We're still working it out. There has to be a bridge between what Johnny did and what I'm going to do. And at the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn't completely detach from what he's already masterfully achieved." Mikkelsen will, technically speaking, be the third actor to play Grindelwald; Colin Farrell took the role for the first movie, albeit as ‘Percival Graves’, an alter-ego for Grindelwald achieved through transfiguration magic. After being unmasked, Depp played the ‘real’ version of Grindelwald for the second film. It remains to be seen how the third installment will deal with the change, but the Wizarding World series does, of course, have the handy get-out clause of magic to fall back on. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=actors-who-were-replaced-during-production&captions=true"] Depp resigned from the role of Grindelwald after losing a libel case against News Group Newspapers regarding allegations of abuse between he and former wife, Amber Heard. The case found the allegations of domestic violence committed by him to be “substantially true”. Following the outcome he resigned from the role in the Harry Potter prequel series, and has since been replaced by Hannibal, Doctor Strange, and Casino Royale star Mikkelsen. Not much is known about the rest of Fantastic Beasts 3. Production was put on hold due to COVID-19 earlier in the year, and it will have ‘epic battles’ apparently, but little else has been made public. It is currently set for release in July 2022. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Mads Mikkelsen, who will replace Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts film, has spoken about what he expects the difficulties of taking on the role will be. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Mikkelsen was asked how his take on the dark wizard would be different to Depp’s portrayal. "Well it's going to be me, so that's a difference," he joked. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/johnny-depp-exits-fantastic-beasts"] Answering seriously, Mikkelsen said: “This is the tricky part. We're still working it out. There has to be a bridge between what Johnny did and what I'm going to do. And at the same time, I also have to make it my own. But also we have to find a few links [to the previous version of the character] and some bridges so it doesn't completely detach from what he's already masterfully achieved." Mikkelsen will, technically speaking, be the third actor to play Grindelwald; Colin Farrell took the role for the first movie, albeit as ‘Percival Graves’, an alter-ego for Grindelwald achieved through transfiguration magic. After being unmasked, Depp played the ‘real’ version of Grindelwald for the second film. It remains to be seen how the third installment will deal with the change, but the Wizarding World series does, of course, have the handy get-out clause of magic to fall back on. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=actors-who-were-replaced-during-production&captions=true"] Depp resigned from the role of Grindelwald after losing a libel case against News Group Newspapers regarding allegations of abuse between he and former wife, Amber Heard. The case found the allegations of domestic violence committed by him to be “substantially true”. Following the outcome he resigned from the role in the Harry Potter prequel series, and has since been replaced by Hannibal, Doctor Strange, and Casino Royale star Mikkelsen. Not much is known about the rest of Fantastic Beasts 3. Production was put on hold due to COVID-19 earlier in the year, and it will have ‘epic battles’ apparently, but little else has been made public. It is currently set for release in July 2022. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Sea of Thieves will introduce a seasonal progression system in January 2021 alongside a battle pass with free and premium options. Announced as part of the final Sea of Thieves News for 2020, Rare will be moving away from the game's consistent monthly update model. The season system will replace this, bringing players new content every three months, with a "new way of play" introduced in every season, starting with Season One in January 2021. Each season will feature regular and featured live events as well as new rewards for pirate outlaws to uncover. You'll progress through 100 levels of Pirate Renown in each season, unlocking new rewards for your pirate player character and their ship. This will be separate from the existing progression system, which sees you ranking up companies by engaging with certain pockets of gameplay. Players who have achieved the coveted title of Pirate Legend will also be receiving specialized exclusive rewards as part of the new progression system. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/19/sea-of-thieves-review-2020"] An optional, premium tier of the battle pass called the 'Plunder Pass' will be available, offering even more unique rewards and exclusive items from the Pirate Emporium. As part of the January 2021 overhaul, Merchant Alliance players will be pleased to hear that Sea of Thieves will introduce a new "Voyage Experience" tied to the company where crews must use their detective skills to find lost shipments and shipwrecks. Back in November, Rare revealed the Xbox Series X and S optimizations players can expect when playing Sea of Thieves on next-gen consoles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Sea of Thieves will introduce a seasonal progression system in January 2021 alongside a battle pass with free and premium options. Announced as part of the final Sea of Thieves News for 2020, Rare will be moving away from the game's consistent monthly update model. The season system will replace this, bringing players new content every three months, with a "new way of play" introduced in every season, starting with Season One in January 2021. Each season will feature regular and featured live events as well as new rewards for pirate outlaws to uncover. You'll progress through 100 levels of Pirate Renown in each season, unlocking new rewards for your pirate player character and their ship. This will be separate from the existing progression system, which sees you ranking up companies by engaging with certain pockets of gameplay. Players who have achieved the coveted title of Pirate Legend will also be receiving specialized exclusive rewards as part of the new progression system. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/19/sea-of-thieves-review-2020"] An optional, premium tier of the battle pass called the 'Plunder Pass' will be available, offering even more unique rewards and exclusive items from the Pirate Emporium. As part of the January 2021 overhaul, Merchant Alliance players will be pleased to hear that Sea of Thieves will introduce a new "Voyage Experience" tied to the company where crews must use their detective skills to find lost shipments and shipwrecks. Back in November, Rare revealed the Xbox Series X and S optimizations players can expect when playing Sea of Thieves on next-gen consoles. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Elon Musk and his aerospace company, SpaceX, plan to launch two remote-controlled cars into space for a race on the surface of the moon next year. Both of these RC vehicles will be sent to the moon in October 2021 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX has enlisted Frank Stephenson, who is best known for his design work at Ferrari, BMW, McLaren, and more, to design the cars, as reported by Business Insider. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] "This is a project helping to develop the innovators of the future, allowing them to dream big and realize that nothing is impossible," Stephenson said in a Moon Mark press release. "Space is a fascinating place, remaining untapped for budding designers and I'm very much looking forward to sharing some of my knowledge to those involved in this innovative project." Stephenson will design the cars with two teams of high school students. After eight weeks of qualifying challenges by high-schoolers from around the world, six teams of five members will compete to become the final two that race on the Moon, according to Moon Mark, which is a multimedia education company helping to make this race happen. It's those two teams that will work with Stephenson. "Their adventures will be captured, produced and globally distributed by Moon Mark," the company said in a November 17 press release. "The final two teams will complete their racer designs in Houston, Texas, before being loaded onto the lander that will transport them to the Kennedy Space Center, and then to the moon." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/02/06/spacex-successfully-test-launches-falcon-heavy-rocket"] The two vehicles that the teams and Stephenson have yet to design and build will be carried in a Nova-C lunar lander created by Intuitive Machines aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Intuitive Machines is working with Moon Mark and Lunar Outpost, which is a space technology firm, to bring this off-world idea to life. "Moon Mark's mission of getting young people involved in aerospace and working toward utilizing space for the betterment of humanity is something that resonates with us," Lunar Outpost CEO, Justin Cyrus, said. "We look forward to enabling racers on the Moon and being part of the journey to bring space to the world." For more off-world science, read about how the Moon is rusting and then check out possible signs of life on Venus that date back to the 1970s. After that, why not take a look at IGN's Top 100 sci-fi movies. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Elon Musk and his aerospace company, SpaceX, plan to launch two remote-controlled cars into space for a race on the surface of the moon next year. Both of these RC vehicles will be sent to the moon in October 2021 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX has enlisted Frank Stephenson, who is best known for his design work at Ferrari, BMW, McLaren, and more, to design the cars, as reported by Business Insider. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] "This is a project helping to develop the innovators of the future, allowing them to dream big and realize that nothing is impossible," Stephenson said in a Moon Mark press release. "Space is a fascinating place, remaining untapped for budding designers and I'm very much looking forward to sharing some of my knowledge to those involved in this innovative project." Stephenson will design the cars with two teams of high school students. After eight weeks of qualifying challenges by high-schoolers from around the world, six teams of five members will compete to become the final two that race on the Moon, according to Moon Mark, which is a multimedia education company helping to make this race happen. It's those two teams that will work with Stephenson. "Their adventures will be captured, produced and globally distributed by Moon Mark," the company said in a November 17 press release. "The final two teams will complete their racer designs in Houston, Texas, before being loaded onto the lander that will transport them to the Kennedy Space Center, and then to the moon." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/02/06/spacex-successfully-test-launches-falcon-heavy-rocket"] The two vehicles that the teams and Stephenson have yet to design and build will be carried in a Nova-C lunar lander created by Intuitive Machines aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Intuitive Machines is working with Moon Mark and Lunar Outpost, which is a space technology firm, to bring this off-world idea to life. "Moon Mark's mission of getting young people involved in aerospace and working toward utilizing space for the betterment of humanity is something that resonates with us," Lunar Outpost CEO, Justin Cyrus, said. "We look forward to enabling racers on the Moon and being part of the journey to bring space to the world." For more off-world science, read about how the Moon is rusting and then check out possible signs of life on Venus that date back to the 1970s. After that, why not take a look at IGN's Top 100 sci-fi movies. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Warner Bros. reportedly still plans to bring Mortal Kombat to theaters but is considering other movies, like the Tom & Jerry movie, for a theatrical and HBO Max release. Variety says that, even with recent reports of COVID-19 vaccines, movies will be struggling in theaters during the early months of 2021. Mortal Kombat is set for a theatrical release on January 15 but is now expected to be delayed. Warner Bros. considered a strategy like Wonder Woman 1984 – where the movie will be available on HBO Max for its first 31 days in theaters – for the new Mortal Kombat movie. While Mortal Kombat is expected to be delayed for a traditional launch in theaters, Warner Bros. is considering a platform-hybrid launch for the Tom & Jerry movie, Judas and the Black Messiah (starring Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield), and The Little Things (starring Denzel Washington). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/17/tom-jerry-official-trailer"] The new James Bond movie, No Time to Die, may also receive another delay. The movie is set for a theatrical launch on April 2, 2021, but the movie's backers aren't confident in that release, according to Variety. A substantial amount of James Bond's audience is older people, and the backers believe there's less chance of getting that audience in theaters anytime soon. Variety also says that Paramount Pictures doesn't plan on selling any more movies to streaming services. Paramount has earned hundreds of millions of dollars during the pandemic by selling movies like The Trial of the Chicago 7, Coming 2 America, and Without Remorse to streaming. Variety points out that it's not very simple to just put a movie on a streaming service. Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins had to renegotiate backend deals they would've received from a theatrical-exclusive launch, according to Variety. When Paramount sold Coming 2 America to Amazon, Deadline says it complicated promotions with McDonald's and Crown Royal whiskey. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Here is every movie that has been delayed due to coronavirus so far. Mortal Kombat fans shouldn't be too surprised by the potential release date delay as the movie's producer said a few weeks ago that the movie will not be released during the pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Warner Bros. reportedly still plans to bring Mortal Kombat to theaters but is considering other movies, like the Tom & Jerry movie, for a theatrical and HBO Max release. Variety says that, even with recent reports of COVID-19 vaccines, movies will be struggling in theaters during the early months of 2021. Mortal Kombat is set for a theatrical release on January 15 but is now expected to be delayed. Warner Bros. considered a strategy like Wonder Woman 1984 – where the movie will be available on HBO Max for its first 31 days in theaters – for the new Mortal Kombat movie. While Mortal Kombat is expected to be delayed for a traditional launch in theaters, Warner Bros. is considering a platform-hybrid launch for the Tom & Jerry movie, Judas and the Black Messiah (starring Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield), and The Little Things (starring Denzel Washington). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/17/tom-jerry-official-trailer"] The new James Bond movie, No Time to Die, may also receive another delay. The movie is set for a theatrical launch on April 2, 2021, but the movie's backers aren't confident in that release, according to Variety. A substantial amount of James Bond's audience is older people, and the backers believe there's less chance of getting that audience in theaters anytime soon. Variety also says that Paramount Pictures doesn't plan on selling any more movies to streaming services. Paramount has earned hundreds of millions of dollars during the pandemic by selling movies like The Trial of the Chicago 7, Coming 2 America, and Without Remorse to streaming. Variety points out that it's not very simple to just put a movie on a streaming service. Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins had to renegotiate backend deals they would've received from a theatrical-exclusive launch, according to Variety. When Paramount sold Coming 2 America to Amazon, Deadline says it complicated promotions with McDonald's and Crown Royal whiskey. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Here is every movie that has been delayed due to coronavirus so far. Mortal Kombat fans shouldn't be too surprised by the potential release date delay as the movie's producer said a few weeks ago that the movie will not be released during the pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Gal Gadot is set to star in a new International spy movie from The Old Guard's Greg Rucka. Gadot will play the lead in Heart of Stone, which is an original James Bond-style action franchise centered around an international spy from Skydance Media, as reported by Deadline. Rucka, who wrote The Old Guard comic series and The Old Guard movie for Netflix, wrote the script for Heart of Stone with Allison Schroeder, who was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Hidden Figures. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/03/netflixs-the-old-guard-review"] Deadline reports that Heart of Stone will put a female spin on franchises like Mission: Impossible and 007. A director has not yet been confirmed, but Tom Harper (The Aeronauts, Peaky Blinders) is currently in talks to direct. Skydance Media's David Ellison, Don Granger, and Dana Goldberg will produce the film alongside Gadot and her Pilot Wave production company partners Jason Varsano, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lynn. Skydance Media is unsure if Heart of Stone will be a theatrical release or a streaming release, according to Deadline. Gadot has signed an eight-figure deal for Heart of Stone as she takes on the likes of Ethan Hunt and James Bond in the spy-thriller genre. The news of this new action franchise comes in the same year that discussions around a female 007, or rather lack thereof, heated up with news that the upcoming Bond film, No Time to Die, will be Daniel Craig's last. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/22/wonder-woman-1984-official-trailer-2"] You can catch Gadot later this month on Christmas Day in Wonder Woman 1984, which is finally releasing to theaters and HBO Max after several delays. Be sure to check out the latest trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 before then and check out our review of HBO Max, which is where you can watch Wonder Woman 1984 if you don't want to go to a theater. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

Gal Gadot is set to star in a new International spy movie from The Old Guard's Greg Rucka. Gadot will play the lead in Heart of Stone, which is an original James Bond-style action franchise centered around an international spy from Skydance Media, as reported by Deadline. Rucka, who wrote The Old Guard comic series and The Old Guard movie for Netflix, wrote the script for Heart of Stone with Allison Schroeder, who was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Hidden Figures. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/03/netflixs-the-old-guard-review"] Deadline reports that Heart of Stone will put a female spin on franchises like Mission: Impossible and 007. A director has not yet been confirmed, but Tom Harper (The Aeronauts, Peaky Blinders) is currently in talks to direct. Skydance Media's David Ellison, Don Granger, and Dana Goldberg will produce the film alongside Gadot and her Pilot Wave production company partners Jason Varsano, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lynn. Skydance Media is unsure if Heart of Stone will be a theatrical release or a streaming release, according to Deadline. Gadot has signed an eight-figure deal for Heart of Stone as she takes on the likes of Ethan Hunt and James Bond in the spy-thriller genre. The news of this new action franchise comes in the same year that discussions around a female 007, or rather lack thereof, heated up with news that the upcoming Bond film, No Time to Die, will be Daniel Craig's last. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/22/wonder-woman-1984-official-trailer-2"] You can catch Gadot later this month on Christmas Day in Wonder Woman 1984, which is finally releasing to theaters and HBO Max after several delays. Be sure to check out the latest trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 before then and check out our review of HBO Max, which is where you can watch Wonder Woman 1984 if you don't want to go to a theater. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.