Netflix's upcoming film Blonde has become the first movie produced by the streaming giant to receive an NC-17 rating, indicating that it's going to be a raunchy ride.

NC-17 ratings are exceedingly rare and generally only given to films with excess amounts of nudity or graphic sex. Netflix has streamed controversial NC-17 movies in the past, such as Blue is the Warmest Color and 365 Days, but this marks the first time the company has produced a flick that has resulted in the extreme rating.

In the case of Blonde, though, the NC-17 is not entirely surprising. After all, the film gives us a look at the life of beloved actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, who was well-known for pushing boundaries during the 1950s and 1960s. Though it's being touted as a "biopic", it's actually based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel by the same name, which the author has made clear is simply a work of fiction.

In an interview with Screen Daily earlier this year, director Andrew Dominik called the film "demanding."

"If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem," he said. "It’s not running for public office. It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”

Blonde stars Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, with costars like Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, and Bobby Cannavale rounding out the cast.

Netflix hasn't revealed a release date for Blonde, but the film is slated for sometime in 2022. In the meantime, check out what's new on the service in April.

Image Credit: Sunset Boulevard / Getty Images

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.

Netflix's upcoming film Blonde has become the first movie produced by the streaming giant to receive an NC-17 rating, indicating that it's going to be a raunchy ride.

NC-17 ratings are exceedingly rare and generally only given to films with excess amounts of nudity or graphic sex. Netflix has streamed controversial NC-17 movies in the past, such as Blue is the Warmest Color and 365 Days, but this marks the first time the company has produced a flick that has resulted in the extreme rating.

In the case of Blonde, though, the NC-17 is not entirely surprising. After all, the film gives us a look at the life of beloved actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, who was well-known for pushing boundaries during the 1950s and 1960s. Though it's being touted as a "biopic", it's actually based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel by the same name, which the author has made clear is simply a work of fiction.

In an interview with Screen Daily earlier this year, director Andrew Dominik called the film "demanding."

"If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the fucking audience’s problem," he said. "It’s not running for public office. It’s an NC-17 movie about Marilyn Monroe, it’s kind of what you want, right? I want to go and see the NC-17 version of the Marilyn Monroe story.”

Blonde stars Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe, with costars like Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, and Bobby Cannavale rounding out the cast.

Netflix hasn't revealed a release date for Blonde, but the film is slated for sometime in 2022. In the meantime, check out what's new on the service in April.

Image Credit: Sunset Boulevard / Getty Images

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.

The Sonic movies "wouldn't even try" to replace Jim Carrey if the iconic actor decides to follow through on his decision to retire.

Speaking at the Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Movie "blue carpet" event hosted by IGN, producer Neal Moritz agreed with the statement that it's not possible to fill Carrey's shoes in the role of the villainous Dr. Robotnik.

"No, we wouldn't even try," Moritz said as fellow producer Toby Ascher voiced agreement.

If Jim Carrey DOES retire from acting, #SonicMovie2 producers Neal H. Moritz & Toby Ascher confirmed they would not recast Dr. Robotnik!#Robotnik pic.twitter.com/w32BT0sSG8

— IGN (@IGN) April 6, 2022

Carrey recently revealed that he is considering retiring from acting after Sonic the Hedgehog 2, saying, "I have enough. I've done enough. I am enough."

Sonic's producers, however, are confident that Carrey will return for another movie. And if he does, they say, he will be welcomed back with open arms.

"Jim Carrey is always a member of the Sonic family and he will always have a place in these movies and TV shows as long as he'd like to be around. We love Jim and he's so special, and what he does with Robotnik is so incredible, we would love him as long as he would like to be there with us," Ascher said.

"I have a feeling that he loves Robotnik so much that I don't think he'll be able to walk away from that," Moritz added.

Sega and Paramount already have big plans for follow-ups to Sonic 2 including sequels and a spin-off series starring Idris Elba. One way or another, the "Sonic Cinematic Universe" will be moving ahead.

In the meantime, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 releases on April 8. You can read our review here, where we discuss how Carrey goes "even bigger as Robotnik continues to lose his marbles."

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

After Ezra Miller was arrested for disorderly conduct and harassment, a new report says Warner Bros. held an emergency meeting to discuss pausing Miller’s future projects with the company.

According to Rolling Stone, Warner Bros. and DC executives held an emergency meeting on March 30 to discuss Miller’s future with the studio. While a decision doesn’t appear to have been formalized, one source says the consensus is to “hit pause on any future projects involving Miller including possible appearances in the DC Cinematic Universe.”

Miller is set to reprise their role as Barry Allen in The Flash, which is set to be released on June 23, 2023. This film will co-star fellow Snyder-verse alumn Ben Affleck as Batman, as well as Michael Keaton, who will return as his version of Batman, and Sasha Calle as Supergirl.

The Flash was stuck in development hell for years and went through multiple directors before tapping It director Andy Muschietti to helm the feature. Filming was completed on October 18 and The Flash was originally set to premiere in November 2022 before being delayed to June 23, 2023.

According to reports, Miller became agitated while at a karaoke bar and grabbed the microphone from a woman singing, and reportedly lunged at another man playing darts. The couple later filed a restraining order against Miller.

Miller has starred in both blockbuster movies and indie dramas, but the recent arrest was not their first outburst. In 2020 a video showing Miller apparently choking a woman at an Iceland bar began circulating online, though no arrests were made.

Miller’s future at WB, especially as part of the DC Cinematic Universe is being discussed during a strange time for the company.

The Flash has drummed up a lot of excitement with its cast. However, the DCEU is in a strange place as WB appears to be releasing connected films like The Flash and Aquaman 2 alongside standalone films like The Batman.

As of now, The Flash is still on track for its 2023 release date and there’s no news yet of a potential sequel. IGN has reached out to WB and Miller's representatives for comment.

Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.

Dying Light 2 is getting a New Game Plus mode later this month.

Techland announced on Twitter (below) that the third major patch for Dying Light 2 was on its way with a promise it would be one of the biggest yet.

The developer didn't give an exact release date for the update but said it would be available on all platforms by the end of April, meaning it's a few weeks away at most.

Several fixes for both the single and multiplayer portions of the game will be included alongside the New Game Plus mode but Techland didn't say if anything else would be included.

Patch three would have to be fairly sizable to compete with Dying Light 2's previous updates. Its launch day patch featured more than 1,000 fixes while later ones were tasked with fixing server and co-op problems.

Techland also has two major story expansions planned for the game, with lead game designer Tymon Smektała saying these will take place "sideways to the main events" instead of beyond the game's ending.

Survivors,
Our team is working hard on patch 3 for DL2 Stay Human.
It will be one of the biggest patches we've released so far. Apart from many fixes for both multi and single-player mode, it will also introduce a New Game+ mode, giving you more reasons to re-visit The City.(1/2)

— Dying Light (@DyingLightGame) April 5, 2022

In our 7/10 review, IGN said: "Dying Light 2 Stay Human is an ambitious zombie action adventure that's packed with top-notch parkour, an awesome open world, and every painful bug in the book."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Apple TV+ has renewed its workplace thriller series Severance for a second season. The news comes just days before the show's first season finale airs on the streaming service.

“‘Severance’ has imagined an existence that‘s equal parts riveting and enthralling as viewers around the globe can’t get enough of these rich characters,” Apple TV+'s head of programming Matt Cherniss said in a statement. “We’re excited to go deeper into this wholly unique world and unpack more layers of Lumon in season two.”

Severance is helmed by creator and writer Dan Erickson and executive producer and director Ben Stiller. The show stars Adam Scott as Mark, a team leader at the cryptic Lumon Industries, a company that insists its employees undergo a procedure known as "severance" to divide their memories between their work and home lives.

The dystopian office series also co-stars Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Zach Cherry. Both Scott and Arquette also serve as producers.

Though there is no word of how many seasons the show will ultimately have, Stiller seems adamant that there is plenty of story left to tell about these characters and their unusual circumstances.

"It has been a long road bringing ‘Severance' to television," he said. "I first read Dan’s pilot over five years ago. It has always been a multi-season story, and I’m really happy we get to continue it. I’m grateful to our partners at Apple TV+ who have been behind it the whole way. Praise Keir!"

Severance has received widespread critical acclaim for its performances and eerie setting. In our review of the two-episode premiere, we said, "Severance's success will be determined by the payoff of its central mysteries, but the excellent cast, eerie visuals, and off-putting score make every moment of the first two episodes feel worth the ride.

Severance's Season 1 finale "The We We Are" airs this Friday exclusively on Apple TV+.

Billy Givens is a freelance writer at IGN.

The runtime for Jurassic World: Dominion has reportedly been revealed, and it looks set to be the longest entry in the franchise.

One Take News and Collider confirmed through sources that Dominion will clock in at 2 hours 26 mins, making it the franchise's longest installment. The second trilogy-closer is almost an hour longer than Jurassic Park III, the shortest entry at 1 hour 32 mins, and nearly 20 minutes longer than The Lost World and Fallen Kingdom, the lengthiest entries at 2 hours 9 mins.

Jurassic World: Dominion is expected to cap off the latest trilogy, but not the entire series, with a story that takes place four years after the events of Fallen Kingdom. This time around, the world is forced to deal with some invasive dino species, including one that is particularly deadly, after the park's genetically altered inhabitants were sold off to various companies.

Director Colin Trevorrow previously spoke about how Dominion will sink its teeth into a larger story, one that will tie together the two trilogies and serve as "a celebration of the whole franchise." The next film will also break out more animatronic dinosaurs and practical effects than the two other Jurassic World movies, so it may just need those extra minutes.

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard will return for Jurassic World 3, and will be joined by original Jurassic Park stars Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum who will feature "all the way through" the film as opposed to popping up for a cameo appearance. Dominion is scheduled to open in theaters on June 10, but you might want to watch the prologue first.

Trevorrow broke down the prologue and what it means for Dominion after the five-minute scene transported viewers 65 million years in the past to see dinosaurs moving in herds, peacefully grazing, and even fighting. There was also a glimpse of a very familiar mosquito before arriving in present day where one dinosaur crashes into a drive-in movie theater.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Players can now instantly pick up resources in Horizon: Forbidden West, fixing a point of irritation for some players.

As reported by Eurogamer, the feature ppears to have arrived in the latest update but was missing from developer Guerrilla Games' patch notes. When turned on, it means players don't have to wait for an animation to play out whenever they wish to harvest enemy drops and other useful items in the open world. This also applies to when Aloy's mounted.

Instant pick-up can be turned on and off in the pause menu, and makes exploration in the Forbidden West a little smoother. Many players had found having to wait for an animation every time an item was picked up a point of frustration, not least because you can find yourself doing it a dozen times after a single fight.

Guerrilla has released several updates for the game since it launched in February, most of which have included bug fixes and minor quality of life improvements such as the automatic pickup option. In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "A triumphant combination of enthralling combat, top-tier creature and character design, and a captivating open world, Horizon: Forbidden West is an absolute blast and fantastic showcase for the power of the PS5."

We've also named it amongst our best open world games of all time alongside The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Elden Ring.

For everything you need to know about Aloy's adventure, check out IGN's Horizon: Forbidden West Wiki which has collectible locations, boss strategies, and more.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for Marvel's Moon Knight.

Marvel's Moon Knight features hidden QR codes that offer viewers free access to comic books that inspired the Disney+ series.

The second episode of Moon Knight is now streaming on Disney+, and a lot of people have taken to social media to share their insights, opinions, and critiques of the latest chapter — but some have been studying the frames a little more closely than others and have spotted interactive Easter eggs strategically placed in the background of certain scenes.

Episode 2, for example, features a QR code on the storage locker that Steven Grant visits. That QR code actually works when scanned and leads fans to a Marvel page where they can gain access to a free digital comic. This week's companion piece is Werewolf by Night #33, featuring Moon Knight's second comic book appearance.

#MOONKNIGHT SPOILERS

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The QR code on the locker leads to Werewolf by Night #33 pic.twitter.com/yyBK96azlo

— Len ☾ MK SPOILERS (@LENNIEC0N) April 6, 2022

Moon Knight's premiere also included a free comic giveaway. Redditor u/Goalless highlighted the Easter egg for those that might have missed it amongst all the chaos, writing, "There is a QR code on the wall of the museum in Moon Knight that takes you to a free digital copy of Werewolf By Night 32." GamesRadar confirmed the promotion will run for all six episodes.

Marvel is reportedly developing a Halloween special for Disney+ that will take inspiration from Werewolf by Night. Composer Michael Giacchino is rumored to be directing the project, though very little is known about it at this time. It's also unclear which incarnation of the Werewolf by Night character might be involved or whether Moon Knight will show up.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

A new trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has shown off live-action zombie versions of Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch, and more unexpected imagery from the upcoming MCU sequel.

The new trailer, titled 'Dream', focuses a little more on Wanda Maximoff (aka Scarlet Witch), and seemingly a lot more on the various versions of Strange we'll seemingly be meeting along the way. While we've seen Marvel Zombies in animated form as part of What If...?, this trailer includes a first look at live-action Wanda and Stephen in zombie form:

We also see Sinister Strange open his literal third eye, get a loo kat what may be an alternate version of Rachel McAdams' Dr. Christine Palmer (who seems to have new MCU superhero America Chavez imprisoned behind her), and get a closer look at the mysterious new character some believe to be Superior Iron Man or an alternate Captain Marvel.

You can take a look at some of the more curious shots in the gallery below:

Between the last trailer and this one, there's a huge amount to break down, and fans have been speculating whether everyone from Deadpool to a Bruce Campbell cameo will appear. There's also the small matter of Patrick Stewart appearing in the movie, seemingly as Professor X.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, alongside Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. They’re joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Xochitl Gomez.

Sam Raimi directed the movie from a script by Michael Waldron, based on characters created by comic book legends Steve Ditko and Stan Lee.

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.