Netflix is Now Bigger Than Warner Bros., Fox, Sony
Netflix is now one of the eight largest media conglomerates after their market cap soared to $146 billion.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming services' good fortune is due to the 7.14 million new subscribers the company acquired in its first quarter. Netflix's impressive new market cap overshadows five other major players in the industry:
Time Warner (Warner Bros.) - $76 billion
21st Century Fox - $70 billion
New Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Poster
Arrow Gets New Showrunner as Marc Guggenheim Steps Back
Arrow has named its new showrunner as co-creator Marc Guggenheim takes a step back from the series.
Deadline reports Beth Schwartz, who started as a writer's assistant on Season 1, is set to be the new showrunner for Season 7. Current co-showrunner Wendy Mericle will depart after the end of Season 6, with fellow co-showrunner Guggenheim transitioning into an executive consultant role.
Guggenheim is also taking a step back on the other series he's been co-showrunning, DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Phil Klemmer, who's currently co-showrunner on Legends of Tomorrow, will serve as the sole showrunner for the fourth season.
How Fortnite Became the Biggest Game in the World – IGN Expert Mode
About 45 million people have played Fortnite Battle Royale, and well over half a million have tuned in to watch the game on Twitch... concurrently. Not bad for a mode that came together at the drop of a hat. I sat down with design lead Eric Williamson at Epic Games who told me the story of Fortnite Battle Royale's blisteringly fast initial development, and how the team has iterated and adapted to keep the growing fanbase satiated ever since.
Some of Willaimson's design philosophies might come as a surprise, for example, Epic has no plans at this time to add a second map. But as you'll hear below, behind every perplexing design decision is a logical and well-informed explanation that betrays a great aptitude and understanding of the Battle Royale space. When you consider the talent, work ethic, and willingness to communicate present in the team behind Fortnite Battle Royale, its success isn't all that baffling.
Spielberg May Direct DC Movie Blackhawk
Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. are teaming up for a film adaptation of DC's Blackhawk.
DC revealed Spielberg is intended to direct Blackhawk, with Jurassic Park writer David Koepp on board to write the screenplay. Koepp has collaborated with Spielberg before, including on The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Spielberg will also produce the film for Amblin.
Star Wars: Episode 9 Will Reportedly Bring Back This Legacy Character
POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS: EPISODE IX FOLLOW:
Star Wars: Episode IX will reportedly bring back a beloved legacy character.
NY Daily News reports everyone's favorite Jedi Master Yoda will return as a Force ghost to mentor and share some precious words of wisdom with Rey (Daisy Ridley). According to NY Daily News' source, Yoda's scenes in The Last Jedi were very successful.
"Yoda will again appear as a ghost as he acknowledges Rey's success and growth as a Jedi,” the sourced told NY Daily News. “The scenes are due to be put together later this year.”
PUBG Test Server Patch Adds Custom Games Spectator Mode, New Crates, and Weapon Skins
A new patch is coming to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and it will add custom game spectating, new crates and weapon skins, and a host of bug fixes.
Patch #11 is hitting PUBG test servers soon, and depending on how things go, the update may hit live servers within the week. The live server update schedule will be revealed later, and full details on the patch are available on PUBG's Steam page.
After the update, players will be able to watch ongoing games from the lobby's custom match list. Games which have Public Spectating enabled can be viewed in Custom Match, and private matches can opt to use passwords to allow selective viewership.
Mark Hamill to Guest Star on Big Bang Theory Season Finale
The upcoming Season 11 finale of The Big Bang Theory will guest star a certain Jedi.
CBS has announced that Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, will appear on the finale and will attend Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy's (Mayim Bialik) wedding. However, there's no word yet if Hamill will play a character or if he'll star as himself, which is quite common on the CBS comedy show. Bill Gates recently appeared as himself in an episode.
Along with Hamill, other new guest stars include Kathy Bates, Teller of Penn and Teller, and Jerry O’Connell as Sheldon’s older brother, George Jr. Laurie Metcalf will show up once again as Sheldon’s mother and Courtney Henggeler as his twin sister Missy.
Spider-Man PS4 Getting Tie-In Books
Insomniac's upcoming Spider-Man PlayStation 4 game is getting two tie-in books, one of which is a prequel novel.
Per Polygon, the novel is titled Spider-Man: Hostile Takeover and will lead directly into the start of the game. The story will focus on Kingpin's plans to take control of New York City and will feature an array of characters, such as Shocker, J. Jonah Jameson, and Mary Jane Watson.
The novel will also establish character relationships and certain details which will continue on in the game. Hostile Takeover is written by David Liss (Black Panther: The Man Without Fear), with Titan Books publishing. It comes out on August 21.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Reportedly May Have Battle Royale Mode
Update: A new report corroborates Polygon's information about the reported lack of a single player campaign in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, while also revealing the sequel may include a new mode.
Kotaku has reported a source told the outlet Black Ops 4 will include a battle royale mode, a rumored inclusion also reported by Charlie Intel.
No details on the alleged mode are included in Kotaku's report. Of course, games like Fortnite: Battle Royale and PUBG have exploded, attracting millions of players, and as Kotaku notes, studios releasing massive franchises like Call of Duty have yet to really capitalize on the trend.