The first look at the Borderlands movie was revealed at CinemaCon 2022, and it looks to be a faithful adaptation of the beloved video game franchise.

While we only saw about a minute of footage, it was immediately clear that this film is set in the Borderlands universe. From the artstyle to hearing Jack Black as Claptrap to seeing Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis, and Kevin Hart as Roland, all the familiar beats from Borderlands are being hit, albeit with a bit of Hollywood starpower being thrown in.

Production on the Borderlands movie wrapped in June 2021 and the crew shared a glimpse of Claptrap to celebrate the moment.

The film will follow Blanchett's Lilith and her quest to return to the planet of Pandora to recover the missing daughter of "the universe's most powerful S.O.B., Atlas." Alongside the previously mentioned cast members, Blanchett will also be joined by Ariana Greenblatt's Tiny Tina, Edgar Ramirez's Atlas, Gina Gershon's Moxxi, Janina Gavankar's Commander Knox, and Florian Munteanu's Krieg.

Eli Roth is the director of the Borderlands movie and Chernobyl's Craig Mazin wrote the script with Roth.

For more, check out our review of the Borderlands spin-off Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, our look at the 10 best Borderlands DLC of all time, why Edgar Ramirez thinks fans of the games should be excited for the film, and how Krieg won't be "exactly the same" as his video game counterpart.

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.

The Hunger Games prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.

Revealed at CinemaCon 2022, the prequel story will be based on Suzanne Collins' book of the same name and will "focus on Coriolanus Snow at age 18, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem."

"Young Coriolanus is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, he sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor for the Tenth Hunger Games… only to have his elation dashed when he is assigned to mentor the girl tribute from impoverished District 12," the official description continues.

Lionsgate announced The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020, and confirmed that Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1 & 2, would return to lead this new story. Collins' novel was released on May 19, 2020.

No casting has been revealed for the film, but we do know that Collins will write the film's treatment and will serve as an executive producer. Oscar-winner Michael Arndt will adapt the sceenplay.

“Suzanne’s new book has been worth the wait. It offers everything fans could hope for and expect from The Hunger Games while also breaking new ground and introducing an entirely new canvas of characters," said Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in the announcement. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is creatively thrilling and takes this world to complex new dimensions that open up amazing cinematic possibilities. We’re thrilled to reunite this filmmaking team with this very unique franchise, and we can’t wait to begin production.”

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.

The Hunger Games prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be released in theaters on November 17, 2023.

Revealed at CinemaCon 2022, the prequel story will be based on Suzanne Collins' book of the same name and will "focus on Coriolanus Snow at age 18, years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem."

"Young Coriolanus is handsome and charming, and though the Snow family has fallen on hard times, he sees a chance for a change in his fortunes when he is chosen to be a mentor for the Tenth Hunger Games… only to have his elation dashed when he is assigned to mentor the girl tribute from impoverished District 12," the official description continues.

Lionsgate announced The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in 2020, and confirmed that Francis Lawrence, who directed Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1 & 2, would return to lead this new story. Collins' novel was released on May 19, 2020.

No casting has been revealed for the film, but we do know that Collins will write the film's treatment and will serve as an executive producer. Oscar-winner Michael Arndt will adapt the sceenplay.

“Suzanne’s new book has been worth the wait. It offers everything fans could hope for and expect from The Hunger Games while also breaking new ground and introducing an entirely new canvas of characters," said Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in the announcement. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is creatively thrilling and takes this world to complex new dimensions that open up amazing cinematic possibilities. We’re thrilled to reunite this filmmaking team with this very unique franchise, and we can’t wait to begin production.”

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.

It looks as though Samwise Gamgee is a fan of Amazon’s The Rings of Power.

During an interview with Sam Maggs at Calgary Expo 2022, actor Sean Astin revealed that he’s already seen the preview… and it gave him chills.

“I for one am excited,” he said. “I saw the preview for it, and it gave me chills. It looked like they got it. I've been saying the whole time, they're gonna do it right. There's no way Amazon is gonna pay almost a billion dollars for a franchise just to screw it up.”

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set during the second age of Middle Earth – thousands of years before the events of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Nevertheless, Astin believes the new series will bring a new generation of fans to the film trilogy.

“You just think, how long before it will be fresh? For an entire, at least one or two generations, it'll be brand new. They'll end up discovering our version of The Lord of the Rings as a consequence of seeing what will be new to them.”

The upcoming series will delve into the rise of Sauron as well as the last alliance between Elves and Men… and even includes some characters we know and love, even if they look a bit different.

“It will bring new awareness to what we did, so it's all good,” he added. “And if in the unlikely event it's not good, okay. I still credit people with being determined and trying and expressing themselves. And I feel that way about all remakes. You have classics that you think 'please don't touch that,' but the truth is, nothing can ever take it away.”

Still, it sounds as though Astin isn’t too precious about his time as Samwise Gamgee and expects to see The Lord of The Rings remade someday.

“Tolkien, as a master storyteller, has created a work that will forever be reinterpreted,” he said. “Forever. I'm just one Samwise, there will be many, many Samwises to carry the torch of the ideas, the language, and the heart of that character.”

Will fan favourite Gandalf the Grey make an appearance? Not likely… but with a whole gang of new characters, there’s plenty of lore to get stuck into in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Additional reporting by Cian Maher.

It looks as though Samwise Gamgee is a fan of Amazon’s The Rings of Power.

During an interview with Sam Maggs at Calgary Expo 2022, actor Sean Astin revealed that he’s already seen the preview… and it gave him chills.

“I for one am excited,” he said. “I saw the preview for it, and it gave me chills. It looked like they got it. I've been saying the whole time, they're gonna do it right. There's no way Amazon is gonna pay almost a billion dollars for a franchise just to screw it up.”

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set during the second age of Middle Earth – thousands of years before the events of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Nevertheless, Astin believes the new series will bring a new generation of fans to the film trilogy.

“You just think, how long before it will be fresh? For an entire, at least one or two generations, it'll be brand new. They'll end up discovering our version of The Lord of the Rings as a consequence of seeing what will be new to them.”

The upcoming series will delve into the rise of Sauron as well as the last alliance between Elves and Men… and even includes some characters we know and love, even if they look a bit different.

“It will bring new awareness to what we did, so it's all good,” he added. “And if in the unlikely event it's not good, okay. I still credit people with being determined and trying and expressing themselves. And I feel that way about all remakes. You have classics that you think 'please don't touch that,' but the truth is, nothing can ever take it away.”

Still, it sounds as though Astin isn’t too precious about his time as Samwise Gamgee and expects to see The Lord of The Rings remade someday.

“Tolkien, as a master storyteller, has created a work that will forever be reinterpreted,” he said. “Forever. I'm just one Samwise, there will be many, many Samwises to carry the torch of the ideas, the language, and the heart of that character.”

Will fan favourite Gandalf the Grey make an appearance? Not likely… but with a whole gang of new characters, there’s plenty of lore to get stuck into in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Additional reporting by Cian Maher.

Marvel Studios opened the gates to the multiverse in Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, but now those gates have been shattered. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness features the good sorcerer in a caper across all realities. For fans, this means a heaping helping of cameos from other Marvel properties.

We've already seen a potential glimpse of a character cut from Avengers: Infinity War. We've also seen the zombified Doctor Strange from the animated What If? Series and Patrick Stewart confirmed that it is his voice in an earlier trailer, even if he won't commit to saying it's a return as Professor X. Fans have even been speculating that Deadpool might appear in the film! The sky is the limit following Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spoilers for delisted Marvel Teaser Below

It seems like the latest trailer, which Marvel has deleted, is hinting at yet another cameo. This time around, we catch a brief glimpse of a distinctive shield. It looks like the shield of Captain America, but with a Union Jack emblazoned on it. That would point to Captain Carter appearing in the film.

No, her official name is actually not Captain Britain; that's a different person if he ever pops up in the MCU.

Captain Carter appeared in a few episodes of What If?, highlighting what would've happened if Peggy Carter underwent the Super-Soldier process rather than Steve Rogers. While her suit and shield are somewhat similar, Captain Carter is a little bolder than Rogers' Captain. In the animated series, the character was voiced by Hayley Atwell, reprising her role as Peggy from Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter.

Would Atwell return to be the live-action iteration of Captain Carter? It's could be likely. She's worked with Marvel Studios multiple times and she's been in fighting fit shape for her role in the newly-titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1. Making a brief cameo in Doctor Strange should be right up her alley.

Her return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would also explain the recent Captain Carter comic series from Marvel Comics. That series started in March and details Carter's journey through the modern world, similar to Captain America when he was found by the Avengers. The comic, written by Jamie McKelvie and drawn by Marika Cresta, is currently on its second issue.

Assuming Atwell appears, she joins a pretty stacked cast. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olson, Xochitl Gomez Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams, alongside whatever intriguing cameos Marvel decides to bring to the table. The film will be in theaters on May 6 and it's only the beginning. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Fiege recently said that he's heading into a retreat to block out the next decade of the MCU, and it's clear the multiverse and Strange will be a strong part of that story.

Mike Williams is a Freelance Writer for IGN.

Marvel Studios opened the gates to the multiverse in Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home, but now those gates have been shattered. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness features the good sorcerer in a caper across all realities. For fans, this means a heaping helping of cameos from other Marvel properties.

We've already seen a potential glimpse of a character cut from Avengers: Infinity War. We've also seen the zombified Doctor Strange from the animated What If? Series and Patrick Stewart confirmed that it is his voice in an earlier trailer, even if he won't commit to saying it's a return as Professor X. Fans have even been speculating that Deadpool might appear in the film! The sky is the limit following Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spoilers for delisted Marvel Teaser Below

It seems like the latest trailer, which Marvel has deleted, is hinting at yet another cameo. This time around, we catch a brief glimpse of a distinctive shield. It looks like the shield of Captain America, but with a Union Jack emblazoned on it. That would point to Captain Carter appearing in the film.

No, her official name is actually not Captain Britain; that's a different person if he ever pops up in the MCU.

Captain Carter appeared in a few episodes of What If?, highlighting what would've happened if Peggy Carter underwent the Super-Soldier process rather than Steve Rogers. While her suit and shield are somewhat similar, Captain Carter is a little bolder than Rogers' Captain. In the animated series, the character was voiced by Hayley Atwell, reprising her role as Peggy from Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter.

Would Atwell return to be the live-action iteration of Captain Carter? It's could be likely. She's worked with Marvel Studios multiple times and she's been in fighting fit shape for her role in the newly-titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1. Making a brief cameo in Doctor Strange should be right up her alley.

Her return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would also explain the recent Captain Carter comic series from Marvel Comics. That series started in March and details Carter's journey through the modern world, similar to Captain America when he was found by the Avengers. The comic, written by Jamie McKelvie and drawn by Marika Cresta, is currently on its second issue.

Assuming Atwell appears, she joins a pretty stacked cast. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Elizabeth Olson, Xochitl Gomez Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams, alongside whatever intriguing cameos Marvel decides to bring to the table. The film will be in theaters on May 6 and it's only the beginning. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Fiege recently said that he's heading into a retreat to block out the next decade of the MCU, and it's clear the multiverse and Strange will be a strong part of that story.

Mike Williams is a Freelance Writer for IGN.

Activision Blizzard is currently facing serious ongoing allegations of harassment and mistreatment of marginalized workers. To learn more, please visit our timeline as well as our in-depth report on the subject.

After teasing an announcement late last week, Infinity Ward has revealed the first official logo for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Modern Warfare 2 is a sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare reboot, rather than a remake of 2009's original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Besides the logo, no new details about the game were revealed.

You can check out the logo for yourself below.

#ModernWarfare2 pic.twitter.com/5wgtkph59W

— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) April 28, 2022

A sequel to 2019's Modern Warfare was officially announced back in February, alongside Warzone 2. Infinity Ward is taking the lead on Modern Warfare 2, but 11 different studios are reportedly working on the game in some capacity. Other reports say the campaign will feature U.S. special forces fighting Colombian drug cartels.

Modern Warfare 2 will seemingly mark the end of Call of Duty's streak of annual releases. Bloomberg reported that Call of Duty's planned 2023 release has been pushed back to 2024. This lines up with other rumblings saying Call of Duty devs are eager to move away from the annual release schedule.

Despite Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Modern Warfare 2 isn't set to be an Xbox exclusive. According to a report from earlier this year, Activision Blizzard has already committed to releasing three more Call of Duty games across multiple platforms, including PlayStation. After that, however, the series could live exclusively on Xbox.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Veteran developer Yuji Naka hit out at his former publisher, Square Enix, after a court case over his removal as director of Balan Wonderworld concluded.

Naka is best known for his work on Sonic The Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, and Nights into Dreams. In a series of tweets, Naka said that “Square Enix is no good” and that neither they nor co-developer Arzest are “companies that care about games or fans.”

Naka had served as the director of Balan for much of its development but was removed from the post about six months before the game was released. He resigned from Square Enix shortly after Balan was released and filed a lawsuit against the company. He also floated the idea of retiring from the games industry for good.

In his thread, Naka cited two reasons for his last-minute dismissal. First was he voiced concern about promotional work with a Youtuber, who was to perform and release sheet music for a piano arrangement of the game’s music. “I thought it strange that we would only release an arrangement of the game’s music, and furthermore use a ghostwriter to produce that arrangement,” wrote Naka. “I got in trouble for arguing that we release the original score.”

Naka also cited tensions between himself and Arzest surrounding his comments that the game was submitted in an unfinished state, with known issues left unfixed. “I believe that games should be made by working hard until the very end, until it's a good game that the team thinks their fans enjoy when they buy it,” he wrote.

バランワンダーワールド発売の約半年前にバランワンダーワールドのディレクターから外される業務命令が出されましたので、スクウェアエニックスに対して裁判所で訴訟を提起していました。裁判が終わり業務命令が現時点で効力は失われていると言う事ですので、お話したいと思います。#BalanWonderworld pic.twitter.com/9KE7hLqfor

— Yuji Naka / 中　裕司 (@nakayuji) April 28, 2022

Balan Wonderworld was announced in 2020 and hyped as the long-awaited reunion of Naka and fellow Sonic creator Naoto Ohshima, who is currently the head of Arzest. It was a critical and commercial failure upon release in March 2021, with our review calling it a “half-baked platformer” that was little more than a “jumble of endearing but incoherent ideas” and let down by “fundamentally bad choices.”

While mostly focusing his ire on Square Enix and Azrest, Naka also thanked those who provided “comments and fantastic illustrations” inspired by the game, and offered his “sincere apologies to those customers who bought the unfinished Balan Wonderworld.”

IGN has reached out to Square Enix for comment and you can read our independent translation of Naka's Twitter thread below.

Jack Richardson is a Freelance Writer for IGN.

Activision Blizzard shareholders voted today to approve the company's pending acquisition by Microsoft, but that doesn't mean it's a done deal, with several other hurdles remaining.

Announced via press release today, over 98% of shares voted in favor of the acquisition, which is expected to close sometime in the upcoming Microsoft fiscal year, which is between July 2022 and June 2023.

The voters approved the acquisition at $95 per share - considerably higher than the share price of late, which has been slowly dropping over the last month from the low-$80 range and has been hovering between $76 and $77 per share for the last few days.

The lowering share price ahead of the deal could indicate a lack of shareholder confidence that the deal will ultimately pass. Though the vote was overwhelming, a number of other possible challenges lie between now and the ultimate conclusion of the deal.

One key hurdle is the likelihood of an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. Lina Khan, its recently-appointed head, has already shown a willingness to tackle big tech antitrust issues, including blocking an Nvidia acquisition and reopening the case against Meta. The deal will also require regulatory approvals abroad, including in China.

The Activision Blizzard acquisition comes at a time of ongoing turbulance within and around the company. The deal itself has prompted accusations of insider trading, but even more notable is the ongoing California lawsuit against the publisher accusing it of fostering a "frat boy culture" as well as subjecting female employees to unequal pay and sexual harassment.

Since the lawsuit, over 1,000 employees have called for the removal of CEO Bobby Kotick after reports that he knew about a number of the sexual harassment and assault allegations. Though it''s unclear if Kotick will remain post-acquisition, he stands to receive a $15 million "golden parachute" compensation if he departs. You can see a full timeline of events related to the lawsuit here.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.