CinemaCon, the film industry's largest trade show gathering of theater owners from around the world, has been canceled due to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, organizers announced Wednesday. The event, which was to have taken place from March 30-April 2, 2020 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, would have seen the major studios touting their upcoming films to exhibitors along with appearances by a bevy of stars there to promote their next films. “It is with great regret we are announcing the cancellation of CinemaCon 2020,” National Association of Theatre Owners president John Fithian and CinemaCon organizer Mitch Neuhauser said in a statement. "Each spring, motion picture exhibitors, distributors and industry partners from around the world meet in Las Vegas to share information and celebrate the moviegoing experience. This year, due to the travel ban from the European Union, the unique travel difficulties in many other areas of the world and other challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community is not able to attend CinemaCon." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=big-upcoming-movie-releases-of-2020&captions=true"] CinemaCon's cancellation is the latest major entertainment industry event to be nixed in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Earlier today came the official news that E3 had been canceled. Previously, the SXSW festival was canceled and Coachella was postponed. The NBA also postponed the remainder of the current season due to Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert testing positive for the virus. Hollywood's reaction to the COVID-19 virus has varied from the major studios largely staying the course on their big upcoming releases to films such as No Time to Die and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway having their release dates postponed just weeks from when they were slated to be released. The global film industry has been roiled by the spreading viral outbreak, with Italy under quarantine and cinemas across China closed indefinitely. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/no-time-to-die-big-game-spot"] For more of our coverage on how Hollywood is responding to COVID-19, discover what a high-ranking studio exec and box office analysts said about its potential impact on the industry and find out if medical experts think postponing a film's release will make a difference.

Call of Duty: Warzone, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's free-to-play battle royale mode, has been played by over 6 million players in its first 24 hours. Call of Duty revealed the news on Twitter, celebrating its first day since releasing the long-rumored mode into the wild. It will be interesting to see how Warzone fairs in its first week, and see if it can come close to Call of Duty: Mobile's record breaking 100 million downloads. For comparison, Apex Legends drew in 2.5 million players in its first 24 hours back in February 2019 and reached 10 million its first 3 days. Call of Duty: Warzone released on March 10 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC and includes two modes: Plunder and a 150-player battle royale mode. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/11/call-of-duty-warzone-battle-royale-trailer"] It stands apart from other battle royale titles like Fortnite and Apex Legends with such features as the Gulag, which allows eliminated players to battle another 1v1 for a chance at a second life. Warzone supports crossplay between consoles and PC and allows players to carry their progress wherever they choose to play. For more on Call of Duty: Warzone, be sure to check out our Tips and Tricks wiki to learn successful strategies, especially if you are new to the battle royale game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-warzone-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.

NBA officials have announced that the remainder of the regular season has been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus. The decision comes after Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the NBA announced in an official statement. The Athletic's Shams Charania first reported the story. Here is the NBA's official statement: "The NBA announced that a player on the Utah Jazz has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The test result was reported shortly prior to the tip-off of tonight’s game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. At that time, tonight’s game was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena. "The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight’s schedule of games until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic." Both teams are currently being quarantined at the arena, according to The Athletics Tony Jones. Despite testing positive for the coronavirus, reports state that Gobert feels "good, strong, and stable" and would have been capable of playing in the game tonight versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. "This is crazy, this can't be true," said Mark Cuban to ESPN, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Shark Tank star. "It's really not about basketball and money...you think about your family. You want to make sure you're doing this the right way," said Cuban. "This is much bigger than just the NBA." This news comes just a few hours after the NCAA announced that the annual March Madness tournament would be held without fans in attendance. Further, the ACC, SEC, and other major conferences have followed suit, announcing that their conference tournaments would be played without fans. The NHL has released an official statement stating that they are "continuing to consult with medical experts" and are "evaluating the options." Officials are expected to offer more information tomorrow. This story is developing...

Marvel's newest Darth Vader series opened with a huge twist for the Dark Lord of the Sith, as Vader was confronted by none other than his dead wife, Padme Amidala. But is this really Padme? And if so, how did she manage to survive and stay alive all the way up to the Original Trilogy era? Star Wars: Darth Vader #2 has the answer. Read on to learn the truth about Padme's return, but beware of spoilers ahead! [poilib element="accentDivider"] [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-big-reveal-in-darth-vader-1&captions=true"] This new series is set shortly after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Having recently confronted Luke Skywalker and failed to turn him to the Dark Side, Vader is now obsessed with hunting down and punishing everyone who helped Luke remain hidden. So far, that journey has taken him from the Lars homestead on Tatooine to Padme's abandoned apartment on Coruscant to a planet called Vendaxa. It's there Vader was confronted by the sight of his wife at the end of issue #1, seemingly alive and well and definitely very angry. The sight of Padme awakens even greater feelings of turmoil and longing in Vader. However, it's not long before he and his new droid companion ZED-6-7 realize the truth. It's not Padme at all, but her former handmaiden Sabé. [caption id="attachment_2317129" align="aligncenter" width="927"] Art by Raffaele Ienco. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)[/caption] First introduced in The Phantom Menace (where she was played by a then-unknown Keira Knightly), Sabé is the most significant member of Queen Amidala's entourage of handmaidens. It was she who impersonated the Queen during the Battle of Naboo, and Sabé remained at her friend's side for years afterward as Padme transitioned from queen to senator. She last appeared in the 2019 novel Star Wars: Queen's Shadow, which revealed Sabé and bodyguard Captain Tonra went into hiding after the end of the Clone Wars to investigate the cause of Padme's death. This series appears to be picking up where Queen's Shadow left off. Vader convinces Sabé to accompany him on his quest, insisting she was betrayed by the Jedi and would have supported the Empire had she lived. After slaying a group of beasts and presiding over the burial of Sabé's dead soldiers, the two leave Vendaxa. Sabé reveals she and her team were able to steal video recordings from Padme's apartment on Coruscant. However, they were never able to penetrate the Imperial encryption protecting those recordings. That's where Vader comes in. Unfortunately for him, the encrypted recordings have been stashed away on Naboo. He's about to visit the very last place in the galaxy he wants to be. [caption id="attachment_2317130" align="aligncenter" width="938"] Art by Raffaele Ienco. (Image Credit: Marvel/Lucasfilm)[/caption] We can't imagine this unlikely alliance is going to end well for either character. It's probably only a matter of time before Sabé stumbles across Vader's true identity and role in Padme's death, at which point even C-3PO wouldn't be able to calculate the odds of her survival. As for Vader himself, this mission seems to be awakening painful memories he's spent two decades trying to keep buried. The goal with this series may well be to show how Vader began walking the path to redemption and reclaiming his Anakin Skywalker identity even before killing his master aboard the Death Star. This is hardly the only big development in the world of Star Wars comics this year. Marvel's relaunched Star Wars series revealed how Luke Skywalker's blue lightsaber was recovered on Cloud City and why Han Solo wasn't the only character to be frozen in carbonite. Meanwhile, the final issue of Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren shows how Ben Solo completed his journey to the Dark Side. We'll have the full scoop on that story later today. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/21/star-wars-the-clone-wars-season-7-premiere-review"] For more major Star Wars revelations, check out our breakdown of all the reveals in the Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker novelization, including the definitive answer to how Palpatine survived the events of return of the Jedi. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Song of the South will not be released on Disney+. Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger answered an audience question at an annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday about whether all Disney movies, including Song of the South, will eventually be on the service. Iger says they still plan to release older content to Disney+, but Song of the South will stay out. Iger said the film is "not appropriate in today’s world,” according to Deadline. Song of the South is set on a plantation in Georgia after the Civil War. Despite featuring the iconic "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" song and influencing the popular Splash Mountain ride at Disney's theme parks, the film has never been officially released for home use in North America. The film has been released unedited on VHS, Laserdisc and other formats in various European and Asian countries. Copies of those releases are widely available online. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/28/new-to-disney-plus-for-march-2020"] Controversial Disney movies like Dumbo (1941) have appeared on Disney+ with a disclaimer placed at the end of the film or TV show's summary. It reads, "This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions." People have complained that the disclaimer is not enough. Mashable cites a tweet that praises Warner Bros.' policy with their older cartoons, and how the different wording can go a long way. Every Disney theatrical short pre-60s, including ones that don't have any "outdated cultural depictions", have this message. There are even some cases where the disclaimer is posted on edited films. Fantasia, Three Little Pigs, and Santa's Workshop have had controversial content edited out but still feature the disclaimer that says "This program is presented as originally created." Then there are cases like Aladdin, a movie that has faced criticism from Arab-American groups since its release, according to The New York Times article It's Racist, But Hey, It's Disney. A song lyric was edited out of the opening scene of Aladdin after its blockbuster run in theaters. The lyric, "Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face. It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home" was changed to "Where it’s flat and immense and the heat is intense. It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home." Aladdin does not feature the disclaimer in its Disney+ summary. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=movies-and-tv-shows-not-on-disney&captions=true"]

The disclaimer hasn't changed since Disney+ launched in November 2019. Actress Whoopi Goldberg was inducted into Disney's "Legends" club and expressed a desire for Song of the South to be released.

Goldberg said at the time, "I’m trying to find a way to get people to start having conversations about bringing Song of the South back, so we can talk about what it was and where it came from and why it came out."

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Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN who wants to mention that if you Google "song of the south" then the full, unedited movie is available to legally watch for free on the first page of Google results.

Former NFL superstar Rob Gronkowski is headed to the WWE. He is reportedly set to make his professional wrestling debut on the March 20 episode of SmackDown on Fox. Gronkowski will also appear at WrestleMania 36 in Florida, but an insider told TheWrap that he will not compete at the event. Instead, his appearance will build hype towards a matchup set to take place sometime in the future. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/24/wwe-2k20-review"] The former New England Patriots tight end won three Super Bowls with the Pats before retiring nearly a year ago. After his retirement, Gronk served as an analyst on FOX NFL Sunday throughout the 2019 NFL season. Gronkowski will reportedly keep his role as a football analyst even after his professional wrestling career begins. Rumblings of Gronkowski's deal with the WWE first came out on Tuesday night's episode of WWE Backstage, where Ryan Satin said that Gronkowski was "close" to finalizing a deal with the league. The WWE is apparently hoping that Gronkowski's mainstream appeal will translate into more interest and revenue. For more on the WWE, check out IGN's recap of last year's WrestleMania 35. On the video game side, check out every IGN WWE game review, including our WWE 2K20 review, which we called "a mess." For football fans, NFL 2K is returning in 2021, but the new games will be "non-simulation football game experiences," leaving Madden NFL unchallenged in the high-end simulation market. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

Well, E3’s canceled. It’s a phrase some have expected to have to write at some point in the last few years, but it’s unlikely anyone foresaw this reasoning behind it. But there remains the lingering feeling that, even without the COVID-19 outbreak that led us to this point, we might have been seeing similar news appearing at some point before the June event. With Sony, Geoff Keighley, and even the show’s own creative directors pulling out ahead of the event, all did not seem well behind the scenes of gaming’s most famous expo. Now that it’s officially off, most of the gaming industry will be searching for a new way to show off the biggest upcoming releases. Depending on how well that goes, this could, quite feasibly, be the beginning of the end for E3 as we currently know it, rather than a one-year blip. Here’s how that could happen. The most obvious immediate routes for those who were scheduled to attend E3 lie in two directions. The first is Gamescom. The German show is already the world’s biggest games event by footfall and comes with its own slate of (albeit smaller) conferences. Gamescom also has a major developer, publisher, and retailer presence – E3 has traditionally had a side-function of acting as a useful meeting space for companies, leading to future deals between them. Gamescom could provide a similarly useful space, leading to companies pivoting towards it. Set over two months back from E3, it might be seen as a safe bet in terms of the trajectory of the spread of Coronavirus, while retaining some of the sheen and prestige of an E3 announcement. It wouldn’t be hugely surprising to see a far more announcement-heavy Gamescom 2020 (should that show go ahead, of course) - particularly as Geoff Keighley's Opening Night Live (which began last year, and is due to continue this year) has already helped galvanise Gamescom-centric announcements. The second is to follow Nintendo’s lead, and take those announcements in-house and online. The Direct model has been successful enough for the world’s biggest console manufacturer to adopt it, and Sony’s State of Play has been joined by the likes of Xbox, Devolver, and Blizzard, who have all taken digital announcement events in their own directions. It feels likely that some of E3’s major players will now attempt to create their own schedule, with the benefit of making big announcements entirely on their own terms, and with less possibility of being drowned out by someone else’s mega-news arriving on the same day. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/06/e3-2020-creative-directors-resign-with-mixed-emotions-ign-news"] That comes coupled with the fact that AAA game release dates themselves have become increasingly scattershot in recent years, led by the likes of Capcom’s recent moves to January and March releases for its major games. Where E3’s June placement has always made sense for publishers teasing a lucrative Holiday release, it may be that companies begin to prefer to handle their own announcements, simply because the timing lines up more neatly with their respective releases at different times of year. What’s truly interesting is what happens if those approaches prove successful, and perhaps more successful – at least in potential savings – than a traditional E3 announcement. E3 might have been seen as something like an industry safety blanket for some time – companies announce there just because. Removing that marketing beat from the equation might push publishers to reconsider strategies and their traditional reliance on E3 -- a lot of companies may be about to realise that it’s simply better for them to handle their announcements in a different, more personalised way. We know that E3’s organisers, the ESA, are now exploring the idea of an 'online experience' to replace the show, and are likely already scrambling to secure announcements, attempting to make sure that E3’s main event being canceled doesn’t equate to E3 shutting down as a whole for the year. It may already be too late -- corporate E3 attendees have surely been making contingency plans for some time, and will probably move to make those a reality (placating worried potential customers) rather than wait to hash out a new plan. There’s a chance those deals have already been made with the ESA, but the organisers’ insistence that event planning would go ahead – even as E3’s host city declared a state of emergency – could well have forced some hands. It may have worked for a few ticket sales at the time, but in hindsight it may have been a step too far, forcing companies to think beyond E3. All of which leaves E3 itself in a precarious position. It’s entirely possible that, come 2021, more companies than just Sony will see the event as something of an unnecessary formality, and make the decision to skip the event. That could leave us with either a smaller, perhaps more specialised E3, a digital-only E3 (retaining the brand and tradition, with fewer overheads), or no E3 at all. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] From a fan perspective, all of this could lead to a mixed bag of results. E3 has traditionally acted as ‘game announcement Christmas’, an event the industry and fans alike flock around. The potential loss of that focal point is, apart from anything else, just a bit sad. From a more pragmatic position, the need to be a part of E3 has more than likely led to companies trying to outdo one another, leading to wilder and wilder shows and a marketing calendar that pushes for big announcements to drop under a universal deadline. Atomising game announcements into company-specific shows could lead to a toned-down approach to game reveals – while we might see a more regular turnout of new games and new gameplay, there's less of a pressure to simultaneously reveal a game and have it available for hands-on opportunities after the show, allowing press and, at recent E3s, consumers to form their own opinions outside of the marquee conferences. E3 was by no means a perfect event but, if it did disappear or diminish, its benefits could vanish too. Most worrying for the ESA right now will be the fact that disappearing or diminishing is not really its decision. The future of the world’s most important gaming event lies in the hands of those who usually attend it - and the next few months will be critical in seeing how that pans out. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News, and he's sad today. Follow him on Twitter.

Several Supernatural cast members are safe and sound after a recent plane scare that ended with an emergency landing en route to Las Vegas. Cast members Jensen Ackles, Alex Calvert, Misha Collins, and Richard Speight were heading to a Supernatural convention in Las Vegas when on March 6, one of their plane's engines exploded, as originally reported by ET Canada. Fortunately, the emergency landing was successful and nobody onboard was hurt. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-15-best-horror-tv-shows-of-the-last-10-years&captions=true"] Speight said that once the engine exploded, the plane started to tilt to the side in air and the cast did their best not to panic.

Q: what happened with the plane? Richard: Jared tried to k word alcal, misha, Jensen and I. We were flying in his plane and the right engine exploded. The engine literally blew up and the plane started tilting to the side and we all tried to not panic #SPNLV#SPNVEGAS

— isisSPNChi // fan (@MonarchMish) March 9, 2020

While nobody onboard was hurt, Ackles said he'll never be flying again.

.@mishacollins : we had a plane problem last night and had to turn around and we're all texting loved ones and @JensenAckles is like it's fine. We landed and he's like I'm never flying again. #spnlv pic.twitter.com/mW8MLoMZzN

— Fangasm (@FangasmSPN) March 8, 2020

The plane belonged to Supernatural star Jared Padalecki, according to ET Canada, but Padalecki was not onboard at the time of the emergency landing. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/02/08/supernatural-300th-episode-jeffrey-dean-morgan-talks-john-winchesters-return"] Supernatural is set to end with its current season, Season 15. Padalecki already has his next gig lined up as he's set to star in a reboot of Walker, Texas Ranger. Fans want Ackles to play Batman in some form now after seeing him don the cape and cowl for Halloween last year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for charges of sexual assault and third-degree rape. He will serve his sentence in a New York prison and will be registered as a sex offender. Weinstein spoke to the courtroom before his sentencing. He expressed regret for his actions, but ultimately condemned the #MeToo movement. “I really feel remorse in this situation,” Weinstein said to the courtroom, as reported by Deadline. According to Variety, he continued, “I think men are confused about all of this…this feeling of thousands of men and women who are losing due process, I’m worried about this country.” Deadline said the first two rows of the courtroom were filled with Weinstein's accusers. Two of those women, Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, were the primary accusers in the case, and both delivered statements to the judge before Weinstein's sentencing. [ignvideo url="http://www.ign.com/videos/2018/02/27/the-weinstein-company-to-file-for-bankruptcy-ign-news"] Haley accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in his apartment in 2006. “It scarred me deeply, mentally and emotionally," Haley said at the sentencing, according to Variety. "What he did not only stripped me of my dignity as a human being and a woman, but it crushed my confidence.” Mann accused Weinstein of raping her while she was in an abusive relationship with the producer. “I don’t know how to explain the horrors of being raped by someone who has power,” Mann said. “The impact on the psyche is profound. Rape is not just one moment…it is forever.” The disgraced producer -- sitting in a wheelchair -- reportedly apologized to both women after they spoke. Prosecutors were asking for Weinstein to serve the maximum 29 years in prison while the defense was asking for 5 years. New York Justice James Burke ultimately settled with a 23 year sentence. Weinstein was being held at Riker's Island but is now being transported to the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Weinstein turned himself over to authorities in May 2018, which was just three months after his movie studio, The Weinstein Company, filed for bankruptcy. Weinstein was one of Hollywood's biggest producers. His production company released multiple films a year and has produced movies including Quentin Tarantino's films, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Spy Kids franchise, the Scary Movie franchise and TV shows like Project Runway. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Petey Oneto is a freelance writer for IGN.

Xbox head Phil Spencer and Ubisoft have announced that both companies will be hosting digital events in place of E3, which was just cancelled. Spencer stated on Twitter that details on the timing of this digital event will be revealed in the "coming weeks" and this new plan will be a way to "celebrate the next generation of gaming with the @Xbox community who love to play." Ubisoft also announced that it supports the ESA's decision to cancel E3 2020, but that it is "exploring other options for a digital experience that will allow us to share all the exciting news we have planned, stay tuned for more!" E3 was cancelled over concerns about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. The ESA has announced that it is exploring the possibility of an "online experience" to replace the show, but there is no indication whether or not Xbox will be part of this. ESA's statement explained their difficult decision: "After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry--our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners--we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles." "Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/13/xbox-series-x-console-announcement-trailer"] E3 follows the cancellation/postponement of such other events as the Game Developers Conference, Taipei Game Show, and South by Southwest. Spencer confirmed the news that Xbox was planning on attending E3 2020 following Sony's decision to sit out for the second year in a row. 2020 is a huge year for Xbox, as it is gearing up to launch the Xbox Series X and Halo Infinite this Holiday season. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=all-the-big-games-coming-in-2020&captions=true"] Ubisoft had previously discussed that it was planned on releasing five new AAA games in 2020-21, and that one of them was not Beyond Good and Evil 2. Those plans were likely to become clearer at E3 2020. [poilib element="accentDivider"] 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.