Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who ushered the company's arrival into live-action blockbusters, has died. He was 58 years old.

Hasbro made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday. Variety reports that Goldner was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. On Sunday, Goldner resigned from Hasbro to focus on his health.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to take a medical leave to focus on my health,” Goldner said in a statement released on Sunday, according to Variety. "I feel confident knowing the Company will be in the skilled hands of Rich Stoddart as Interim CEO, our highly experienced management team and the best employees in the business."

Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000 and became CEO in 2008. The Hasbro press release credits Goldner with broadening the company to include movies, video games, and more. The Transformers movie series is now one of the most successful franchises in box office history and the first two G.I. Joe movies were blockbusters. Even the Ouija board became a successful movie series.

Goldner also oversaw Hasbro's acquisition of eOne in 2019. Now, Hasbro gets to work with other popular properties including Peppa Pig.

Interim CEO Rich Stoddart paid tribute to Goldner and the joy he brought to so many people.

"Since joining the Company more than two decades ago, Brian has been the heart and soul of Hasbro," Stoddart said in a press release on Tuesday. "As a charismatic and passionate leader in both the play and entertainment industries, Brian’s work brought joy and laughter to children and families around the world. His visionary leadership, kindness, and generosity made him beloved by the Hasbro community and everyone he touched. On behalf of the Hasbro family, we extend our deepest, heartfelt condolences to his wife, daughter, and entire family.”

The next movie to be released based on a Hasbro property is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in June 2022. After that, a Dungeons & Dragons movie will be released in theaters in March 2023.

Rise of the Beasts will introduce the Beast Wars to the Transformers movie franchise with Ron Perlman announced as playing Optimus Primal.

IGN recently talked to Paul Palmer, Hasbro's Star Wars brand manager, about Hasbro's big bet acquiring the rights to Star Wars: Episode I toys.

Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.
(Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, who ushered the company's arrival into live-action blockbusters, has died. He was 58 years old.

Hasbro made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday. Variety reports that Goldner was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. On Sunday, Goldner resigned from Hasbro to focus on his health.

"After careful consideration, I have decided to take a medical leave to focus on my health,” Goldner said in a statement released on Sunday, according to Variety. "I feel confident knowing the Company will be in the skilled hands of Rich Stoddart as Interim CEO, our highly experienced management team and the best employees in the business."

Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000 and became CEO in 2008. The Hasbro press release credits Goldner with broadening the company to include movies, video games, and more. The Transformers movie series is now one of the most successful franchises in box office history and the first two G.I. Joe movies were blockbusters. Even the Ouija board became a successful movie series.

Goldner also oversaw Hasbro's acquisition of eOne in 2019. Now, Hasbro gets to work with other popular properties including Peppa Pig.

Interim CEO Rich Stoddart paid tribute to Goldner and the joy he brought to so many people.

"Since joining the Company more than two decades ago, Brian has been the heart and soul of Hasbro," Stoddart said in a press release on Tuesday. "As a charismatic and passionate leader in both the play and entertainment industries, Brian’s work brought joy and laughter to children and families around the world. His visionary leadership, kindness, and generosity made him beloved by the Hasbro community and everyone he touched. On behalf of the Hasbro family, we extend our deepest, heartfelt condolences to his wife, daughter, and entire family.”

The next movie to be released based on a Hasbro property is Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in June 2022. After that, a Dungeons & Dragons movie will be released in theaters in March 2023.

Rise of the Beasts will introduce the Beast Wars to the Transformers movie franchise with Ron Perlman announced as playing Optimus Primal.

IGN recently talked to Paul Palmer, Hasbro's Star Wars brand manager, about Hasbro's big bet acquiring the rights to Star Wars: Episode I toys.

Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.
(Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

Evangeline Lilly has been playing Hope van Dyne since 2014's Ant-Man, but she says the character is still hard for her to understand.

Speaking to THR, Lilly said, "the truth is that I find it harder to know and understand Hope than any other character I’ve ever played before.”

Lilly says she wants to honor Hope in her portrayal of her, but that she's an "odd enigma" for her. According to Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is about halfway through filming, and this script has helped her get more of a grasp on the character.

"I will say that after I read the script of the film, I did have a kind of eureka moment; I said to [director Peyton Reed], 'Oh my God, I think I finally get her.' Three or four films in, I thought, 'I think I get it now'," Lilly said. "So I’m hoping that when we come to wrap and when I see the movie, I’m going to know the difference. But I don’t think anyone else will. I think I’m a good bluffer."

Hope van Dyne is introduced in Ant-Man. She has a more prominent role in the sequel where she got the second billing in the title, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and where she takes on a starring role alongside Paul Rudd. Lilly also makes appears in Avengers Endgame and voiced the character on an episode of What If...? as a variant in another universe.

Ant-Man 3 was revealed late last year, and is set to release on February 17, 2023. Before that, MCU fans can look forward to 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals, which will have a "very big effect" on the MCU's future.

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

Evangeline Lilly has been playing Hope van Dyne since 2014's Ant-Man, but she says the character is still hard for her to understand.

Speaking to THR, Lilly said, "the truth is that I find it harder to know and understand Hope than any other character I’ve ever played before.”

Lilly says she wants to honor Hope in her portrayal of her, but that she's an "odd enigma" for her. According to Lilly, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is about halfway through filming, and this script has helped her get more of a grasp on the character.

"I will say that after I read the script of the film, I did have a kind of eureka moment; I said to [director Peyton Reed], 'Oh my God, I think I finally get her.' Three or four films in, I thought, 'I think I get it now'," Lilly said. "So I’m hoping that when we come to wrap and when I see the movie, I’m going to know the difference. But I don’t think anyone else will. I think I’m a good bluffer."

Hope van Dyne is introduced in Ant-Man. She has a more prominent role in the sequel where she got the second billing in the title, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and where she takes on a starring role alongside Paul Rudd. Lilly also makes appears in Avengers Endgame and voiced the character on an episode of What If...? as a variant in another universe.

Ant-Man 3 was revealed late last year, and is set to release on February 17, 2023. Before that, MCU fans can look forward to 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals, which will have a "very big effect" on the MCU's future.

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

Squid Game is a bonafide global hit, and Netflix is releasing the numbers to prove it.

On Twitter, Netflix said the South Korean survival drama has officially reached 111 million people, making it the biggest launch ever for the streaming service.

Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever! pic.twitter.com/SW3FJ42Qsn

— Netflix (@netflix) October 12, 2021

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month that Squid Game was already on track to become Netflix's biggest show ever, and these latest figures seem to support his claims. Just know, however, that Netflix historically counts its views as any Netflix account that watches at least 2 minutes of a series within the first 28 days after release.

The last time Netflix reported data, Bridgerton: Season 1 took the top spot with 82 million accounts tuning in. Squid Game's 111 million has smashed that total. Other shows in the top 10 that Squid Game has surpassed include The Witcher, Tiger King, Stranger Things, and more.

Squid Game's journey from script to screen was a long one, so hopefully, its creators are enjoying the success. The script for Squid Game was rejected for a decade before Netflix gave it the green light. Once it entered production, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk says he lost multiple teeth due to stress.

For more, check out our Squid Game review, where we called the show, "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." Or, read up on Squid Game season 2, which might not focus on the contestants.

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

Squid Game is a bonafide global hit, and Netflix is releasing the numbers to prove it.

On Twitter, Netflix said the South Korean survival drama has officially reached 111 million people, making it the biggest launch ever for the streaming service.

Squid Game has officially reached 111 million fans — making it our biggest series launch ever! pic.twitter.com/SW3FJ42Qsn

— Netflix (@netflix) October 12, 2021

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month that Squid Game was already on track to become Netflix's biggest show ever, and these latest figures seem to support his claims. Just know, however, that Netflix historically counts its views as any Netflix account that watches at least 2 minutes of a series within the first 28 days after release.

The last time Netflix reported data, Bridgerton: Season 1 took the top spot with 82 million accounts tuning in. Squid Game's 111 million has smashed that total. Other shows in the top 10 that Squid Game has surpassed include The Witcher, Tiger King, Stranger Things, and more.

Squid Game's journey from script to screen was a long one, so hopefully, its creators are enjoying the success. The script for Squid Game was rejected for a decade before Netflix gave it the green light. Once it entered production, Director Hwang Dong-hyuk says he lost multiple teeth due to stress.

For more, check out our Squid Game review, where we called the show, "one of the most exciting series to hit Netflix in some time." Or, read up on Squid Game season 2, which might not focus on the contestants.

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

Like everyone else, Ed Boon appears to be feeling nostalgic for Mortal Kombat. Boon, who helped create the franchise nearly 30 years ago, recently posted a series of tweets filled with info about Scorpion's legendary hook attack, complete with motion capture footage that dates all the way back to 1992.

Boon published the video on his Twitter on Tuesday. He says that, even though Mortal Kombat will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022, Boon says developing the game began 30 years ago in 1991. Boon shared the video to celebrate and commented on how spontaneous the video shoots were.

"We certainly did a ton of prep for our video shoots, but some ideas came to us while filming," Boon said. "With Scorpion’s spear, it started with 'You know what would be a cool ass move?' From there you can be a fly on the wall and see us working through the details."

Mortal Kombat will be 30 years old in 2022. But 2021 marks 30 years since we actually BEGAN working on the game. To celebrate, it seemed like a fun idea to share some behind-the-scenes stuff. This clip shows how we created Scorpion’s iconic (GET OVER HERE!) spear move. (1 of 9) pic.twitter.com/3f1tdvjG9R

— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021

Boon kept replying to his tweets and talked about the difficulties of saving memory so the game can fit on what chips they had available in the '90s.

"We were so tight on memory, that we didn’t even capture any motions for the victim reactions," Boon wrote. "Instead we borrowed from their existing animation frames. You can hear us talk about reusing one of the victim’s 'knockdown' animations when they initially get hit by the spear."

Boon said in his final tweet in the thread that he wants to share more videos in anticipation of Mortal Kombat's anniversary.

Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios announced in July that they have stopped developing DLC for the most recent game in the series, 2019's Mortal Kombat 11, and will develop a new game. Boon is set to talk at DC FanDome on Saturday, which could possibly be that new game announcement.

Mortal Kombat 11 is the best-selling game in the franchise with 12 million units sold. The franchise has exceeded 73 million copies sold on consoles and over 138 million downloads of 2015's Mortal Kombat Mobile.

IGN's Mortal Kombat 11 review praised everything about the game except for its "grindy" way to unlock new content: "Everything from its methodical and deep combat to its fantastically absurd story mode and its rock-solid netcode, right down to its extraordinarily comprehensive tutorial is absolutely exceptional. It’s only when you get into its drawn-out progression that it trips up."

Mortal Kombat 11 was to be played at the in-person Evo Showcase 2021, but the event was recently canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Like everyone else, Ed Boon appears to be feeling nostalgic for Mortal Kombat. Boon, who helped create the franchise nearly 30 years ago, recently posted a series of tweets filled with info about Scorpion's legendary hook attack, complete with motion capture footage that dates all the way back to 1992.

Boon published the video on his Twitter on Tuesday. He says that, even though Mortal Kombat will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2022, Boon says developing the game began 30 years ago in 1991. Boon shared the video to celebrate and commented on how spontaneous the video shoots were.

"We certainly did a ton of prep for our video shoots, but some ideas came to us while filming," Boon said. "With Scorpion’s spear, it started with 'You know what would be a cool ass move?' From there you can be a fly on the wall and see us working through the details."

Mortal Kombat will be 30 years old in 2022. But 2021 marks 30 years since we actually BEGAN working on the game. To celebrate, it seemed like a fun idea to share some behind-the-scenes stuff. This clip shows how we created Scorpion’s iconic (GET OVER HERE!) spear move. (1 of 9) pic.twitter.com/3f1tdvjG9R

— Ed Boon (@noobde) October 12, 2021

Boon kept replying to his tweets and talked about the difficulties of saving memory so the game can fit on what chips they had available in the '90s.

"We were so tight on memory, that we didn’t even capture any motions for the victim reactions," Boon wrote. "Instead we borrowed from their existing animation frames. You can hear us talk about reusing one of the victim’s 'knockdown' animations when they initially get hit by the spear."

Boon said in his final tweet in the thread that he wants to share more videos in anticipation of Mortal Kombat's anniversary.

Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios announced in July that they have stopped developing DLC for the most recent game in the series, 2019's Mortal Kombat 11, and will develop a new game. Boon is set to talk at DC FanDome on Saturday, which could possibly be that new game announcement.

Mortal Kombat 11 is the best-selling game in the franchise with 12 million units sold. The franchise has exceeded 73 million copies sold on consoles and over 138 million downloads of 2015's Mortal Kombat Mobile.

IGN's Mortal Kombat 11 review praised everything about the game except for its "grindy" way to unlock new content: "Everything from its methodical and deep combat to its fantastically absurd story mode and its rock-solid netcode, right down to its extraordinarily comprehensive tutorial is absolutely exceptional. It’s only when you get into its drawn-out progression that it trips up."

Mortal Kombat 11 was to be played at the in-person Evo Showcase 2021, but the event was recently canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

A little more than a year since its original announcement, we still know comparatively little about Avowed — the new first-person RPG from Obsidian based in the Pillars of Eternity universe. However, a new report by Windows Central appears to shed light on the project, revealing that it's well into pre-production and that it will "feature many elements Pillars of Eternity fans are familiar with."

They reportedly include familiar spells such as Jolting Touch and Fetid Caress, as well as creatures like the Xaurips. The report repeatedly compares Avowed to Skyrim and Oblivion, describing it as "undoubtedly Obsidian's take on The Elder Scrolls." It may go as far as to include destructible environments, with fire spells leaving areas "coated in flames."

Avowed is reportedly still in pre-alpha and is not yet playable, but Obsidian is said to be making steady progress. The report speculates that Avowed could be in a playable state by E3 2022, but that date is currently unconfirmed.

Assuming it's all correct, it sounds like Avowed will be the sort of deep open world RPG that has been characteristic of Obsidian's efforts over the years. A direct descendant of Black Isle Studios, Obsidian is best-known for its work on Fallout: New Vegas and Knights of the Old Republic 2, both which has become beloved classics over the years.

Avowed was first announced back in July 2020, where it was presented as evidence of Microsoft's growing first-party muscle in the run-up to the launch of the Xbox Series X|S. Little has been revealed since, suggesting that Avowed is indeed still quite early in its development process.

However it turns out, both Avowed and The Outer Wilds represent Obsidian's renewed push into the AAA RPG space after a prolonged absence. Prior to being acquired by Microsoft, Obsidian had been focusing on smaller projects such as Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny.

Apart from Avowed, Obsidian is currently working on The Outer Worlds 2, which was announced during E3 2021. Both games are set to be released on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and neither have a release date as of yet.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

A little more than a year since its original announcement, we still know comparatively little about Avowed — the new first-person RPG from Obsidian based in the Pillars of Eternity universe. However, a new report by Windows Central appears to shed light on the project, revealing that it's well into pre-production and that it will "feature many elements Pillars of Eternity fans are familiar with."

They reportedly include familiar spells such as Jolting Touch and Fetid Caress, as well as creatures like the Xaurips. The report repeatedly compares Avowed to Skyrim and Oblivion, describing it as "undoubtedly Obsidian's take on The Elder Scrolls." It may go as far as to include destructible environments, with fire spells leaving areas "coated in flames."

Avowed is reportedly still in pre-alpha and is not yet playable, but Obsidian is said to be making steady progress. The report speculates that Avowed could be in a playable state by E3 2022, but that date is currently unconfirmed.

Assuming it's all correct, it sounds like Avowed will be the sort of deep open world RPG that has been characteristic of Obsidian's efforts over the years. A direct descendant of Black Isle Studios, Obsidian is best-known for its work on Fallout: New Vegas and Knights of the Old Republic 2, both which has become beloved classics over the years.

Avowed was first announced back in July 2020, where it was presented as evidence of Microsoft's growing first-party muscle in the run-up to the launch of the Xbox Series X|S. Little has been revealed since, suggesting that Avowed is indeed still quite early in its development process.

However it turns out, both Avowed and The Outer Wilds represent Obsidian's renewed push into the AAA RPG space after a prolonged absence. Prior to being acquired by Microsoft, Obsidian had been focusing on smaller projects such as Pillars of Eternity and Tyranny.

Apart from Avowed, Obsidian is currently working on The Outer Worlds 2, which was announced during E3 2021. Both games are set to be released on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and neither have a release date as of yet.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN