The long-awaited next Evil Dead movie is actually happening, according to Ash Williams himself, actor Bruce Campbell. However, the original trilogy's director, Sam Raimi, will not direct the film, instead passing the baton -- er, chainsaw? -- to a new director. And, according to Campbell, Ash himself will also be sitting out this installment. In a chat with Empire, Campbell revealed the next Evil Dead movie is being written and directed by Lee Cronin. Raimi and Campbell appear to be involved in a producing capacity. "It’s called Evil Dead Now. Sam handpicked Lee – he did a cool movie called The Hole In The Ground. We’re going to get that sucker out as soon as practical,” Campbell said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/11/01/bruce-campbell-takes-igns-evil-dead-quiz"] Campbell said Evil Dead Now, like the 2013 reboot Evil Dead, will focus on a female protagonist rather than Ash, with the actor-producer promising a "more dynamic" entry. “From this point forward, they kind of have to stand on their own,” Campbell said of the films. “We just want to keep the series current. And the mantra, really, is that our heroes and heroines are just regular people. That’s what we’re going to continue.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-15-best-horror-tv-shows-of-the-last-10-years&captions=true"] Campbell last played the role in the now-canceled Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead. He and Raimi collaborated on Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness.

The CW announced Monday that they have fired The Flash cast member Hartley Sawyer over a series of racist, misogynistic tweets he posted in the past. Sawyer portrayed Ralph Dibny, aka the Elongated Man, on the superhero series. He first appeared on The Flash in a recurring role in 2017 before becoming a series regular in 2018. "Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash," The CW, producers Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions and executive producer Eric Wallace said in a statement (via THR). "In regards to Mr. Sawyer's posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation. Such remarks are antithetical to our values and polices, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce." [caption id="attachment_2361922" align="alignnone" width="720"] Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny on The Flash.[/caption] In 2012, Sawyer tweeted, "The only thing keeping me from doing mildly racist tweets is the knowledge that Al Sharpton would never stop complaining about me." Several other cited past tweets are sexual and misogynistic in nature. Although Sawyer has deleted his Twitter account, he has since posted an apology to his Instagram account for his past tweets. "My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humor, were hurtful, and unacceptable," Sawyer wrote. "I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply." The Flash's showrunner and executive producer Eric Wallace said on Twitter that Sawyer's past tweets "broke my heart and made me mad as hell":

My statement regarding Hartley Sawyer and THE FLASH. pic.twitter.com/hni0MxOWZU

— Eric Wallace (@ewrote) June 8, 2020

The Flash's sixth season recently ended, with the show renewed for a seventh season that is expected to air in 2021. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=17-tv-stars-who-were-fired-for-unacceptable-behavior&captions=true"]

EA and Criterion Games have announced that Need for Speed Heat will become the first EA game to feature cross-play. Criterion Games General Manager Matt Webster posted a letter on EA's official site explaining that, after an update coming to the game on June 9, Need for Speed Heat will be the first EA title ever to feature cross-play across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Webster said this update will also be the game's last as the team is working on the next title in franchise. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/10/15/need-for-speed-heat-13-minutes-of-4k-gameplay"] "So we're thrilled to let you all know that on June 9, Need for Speed Heat will be the first EA title to offer cross-play, meaning that players — regardless of their platform — can jump into Palm City together as one, united community," Webster said. "As we at Criterion shift gears into the future with full focus on developing the next Need for Speed game, this will be the final update for Need for Speed Heat." Webster said that since the launch of the game last year, the team has been listening to what players love about the game and what they believe could make it better, all in an effort to create "the most expressive, most socially connected, action-packed game yet for Need for Speed fans and beyond." He said to keep an eye out at EA Play Live on June 18 for additional Need for Speed announcements. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/17/need-for-speed-heat-accolades-trailer"] After installing the update, players will need to opt-in to cross-play. After doing that, players can search for friends that have also opted-in to cross-play on any system inside the Find Players menu. After becoming friends, players can use the new EA Friends tab in the Party menu to see who is online and ready to play. Need for Speed Heat was recently added to Steam with other EA titles and the game will be added to EA Access and Origin Access Basic Vault on June 16. We thought Criterion's latest crack at the series was great and you can read about why in our Need for Speed Heat review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Sony has announced that its PlayStation 5 event will now take place on Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 1pm PT/4pmET/9pm BST. The date was revealed via a Twitch ad, and we're expecting an official announcement to come in the near future from PlayStation's official channels. IGN has captured the below screenshot, confirming the new date. Sony was originally set to reveal the PS5 on June 4, 2020, but it decided to delay it in response to the global protests that followed the death of George Floyd. The PlayStation 5, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, is still scheduled to be released during Holiday 2020. Sony also stated that the yet unknown price of the next-gen console has not been affected by the pandemic either. While we still have yet to see the actual PS5 box, Sony did reveal its controller, the DualSense, earlier this year. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/01/sony-delays-ps5-june-reveal-event"] We also recently saw an Unreal Engine 5 demo running on a PlayStation 5, even though Epic confirmed it was not set to be a full-fledged game, yet it is playable. Sony still hasn't exactly made clear what games new PlayStation 5 owners can hope to play when it launches next year, but we do have some confirmed third-party games, including Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Madden NFL 21, Destiny 2, and more. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-playstation-5-games&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 who can't wait and is so excited he just can't hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

References to Xbox Lockhart, the rumoured second console in the new Xbox series, have been found in the Windows Operating System libraries. Images from the operating system’s code were tweeted by security researcher TitleOS, which include five references of the Lockhart codename, found within several of Windows’ System32 library files. They include files specifically featuring the phrase “Xbox-Lockhart”, as well as “Xbox-Anaconda”, the codename for the Xbox Series X.

https://t.co/ctdvPmLVSm pic.twitter.com/h0nTPYxJwR

— TitleOS (@XB1_HexDecimal) June 1, 2020

The Xbox Lockhart is believed to be a lower-powered, lower-priced alternative to the Xbox Series X, with rumours suggesting it may retail under the name of Xbox Series S. No official announcements have been made by Microsoft, but Windows Central has said that it has spoken with developers targeting the console. The lack of official word from Microsoft itself has led some to believe that the rumours are false, and that the Lockhart is not a real console. This is what led TitleOS to post the images of the Windows OS library files; they prove that Lockhart is certainly an Xbox-related thing, regardless of if the rumours to it being a console are true or not. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/10/project-scarletts-lockhart-version-returns-unlocked-422"] Last year there were reports that Lockhart is a cheaper, disc-less version of the Xbox Series X. Reports from January spoke of a new AMD chip with an unknown APU that was speculated to be for Lockhart. But despite it being months since those reports, Microsoft has yet to announce anything. With a series of presentations as part of Xbox 20/20 though, if the company does have anything to announce, we could see it as part of those shows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

The Premier League has partnered with EA Sports to use virtual crowd noise from FIFA in real-life soccer matches. Sky Sports in the UK has revealed its partnership with EA Sports FIFA to deliver a range of "team-specific crowd noises and chants" to complement the restart of The Premier League, which kicks off on June 17 after a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Those watching matches from home can choose "to watch with the added sound or with stadium noise" to implement the famous atmosphere that will be missed as games are played behind closed doors without a live audience. Apparently, it will be a feature you can alter on your TV using the Sky channel. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/19/fifa-20-review"] Luckily for The Premier League, the FIFA franchise has been recording chants and crowd tones for the past few years to improve the atmosphere in-game, breathing life into specific stadiums. Sky Sports Managing Director Robert Webster explained the new features. "We want Sky Sports viewers to still feel it all and have the best possible viewing experience - even if they can't be in the stadiums or watch with their family and friends." For more from FIFA, check out our review of the latest installment of the beautiful game, FIFA 20, from late 2019. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Toon toon black and white army, and follow him on Twitter.

CD Projekt Red has quietly revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 will not be available on Google Stadia when it launches on PC and consoles this September. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/30/15-minutes-of-cyberpunk-2077-deep-dive-gameplay"] In a press release discussing the upcoming advertising campaign for Cyberpunk 2077, the developer states “Cyberpunk 2077 will be released on 17 September 2020 for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. By the end of the year the game will also make its debut on Google Stadia.” A discrepancy between platform release dates had not been previously specified by CD Projekt Red. However, it is now clear that the Stadia launch will come some time after the September 17 global launch. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-cyberpunk-games-to-play-while-youre-waiting-for-cyberpunk-2077&captions=true"] It’s another minor hindrance to go along with several other disappointments that have affected Stadia since launch. Things have been looking better for Stadia - our original review of a 6 was recently updated to a 7 due to many improvements - however we noted that its catalogue is “still a ghost town”. An extra wait for Cyberpunk 2077 certainly doesn’t aid that. For more from CDPR, check out the Cyberpunk 2077 special edition Xbox One X that comes with free DLC - which is promised to be as big as The Witcher 3’s expansions - and the news that the next Night City Wire update about the game has been delayed. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

CD Projekt Red has quietly revealed that Cyberpunk 2077 will not be available on Google Stadia when it launches on PC and consoles this September. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/30/15-minutes-of-cyberpunk-2077-deep-dive-gameplay"] In a press release discussing the upcoming advertising campaign for Cyberpunk 2077, the developer states “Cyberpunk 2077 will be released on 17 September 2020 for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. By the end of the year the game will also make its debut on Google Stadia.” A discrepancy between platform release dates had not been previously specified by CD Projekt Red. However, it is now clear that the Stadia launch will come some time after the September 17 global launch. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=7-cyberpunk-games-to-play-while-youre-waiting-for-cyberpunk-2077&captions=true"] It’s another minor hindrance to go along with several other disappointments that have affected Stadia since launch. Things have been looking better for Stadia - our original review of a 6 was recently updated to a 7 due to many improvements - however we noted that its catalogue is “still a ghost town”. An extra wait for Cyberpunk 2077 certainly doesn’t aid that. For more from CDPR, check out the Cyberpunk 2077 special edition Xbox One X that comes with free DLC - which is promised to be as big as The Witcher 3’s expansions - and the news that the next Night City Wire update about the game has been delayed. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

Amazon's Crucible is removing two of its game modes just three weeks after launch. A statement from developers Relentless Studios was issued last week, noting that the Harvester Command and Alpha Hunters game modes will be retired so that the team can focus on Heart of the Hives, Crucible's most popular game mode. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20059624&captions=true"] Things are changing really quickly for Crucible after its player-base started to dwindle in the first few weeks of the game's release. Yet the team is ready to address the issues raised by the community, adding in hotly requested features like voice chat, a surrender function, and a means to deal with AFK players. As well as the features listed above, the team will be working on "improving framerate, hit feedback and matchmaking" among others. The game will remain in pre-season as the team address these issues, with the first season pushed back until the community and developer agree that the game is ready for it. Harvester Command and Alpha Hunters will be retired in phases, and soon Crucible will be centred around the Heart of the Hives game mode. The game will then be fleshed out to complement this vision with "custom tailoring" for the game's map and "enhanced social system functionality." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/27/crucible-review"] Despite the drastic changes, the team at Relentless note that they're "excited about the road ahead." "We're going to be making a lot of changes based on your feedback, and at the end of this we'll have built a great game together." In our review of Crucible, we scored the game a 4/10, calling the team-based shooter "a slog." "Its ambitious marriage of PvE and PvP has resulted in a whole that's less than the sum of its parts." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Amazon's Crucible is removing two of its game modes just three weeks after launch. A statement from developers Relentless Studios was issued last week, noting that the Harvester Command and Alpha Hunters game modes will be retired so that the team can focus on Heart of the Hives, Crucible's most popular game mode. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=20059624&captions=true"] Things are changing really quickly for Crucible after its player-base started to dwindle in the first few weeks of the game's release. Yet the team is ready to address the issues raised by the community, adding in hotly requested features like voice chat, a surrender function, and a means to deal with AFK players. As well as the features listed above, the team will be working on "improving framerate, hit feedback and matchmaking" among others. The game will remain in pre-season as the team address these issues, with the first season pushed back until the community and developer agree that the game is ready for it. Harvester Command and Alpha Hunters will be retired in phases, and soon Crucible will be centred around the Heart of the Hives game mode. The game will then be fleshed out to complement this vision with "custom tailoring" for the game's map and "enhanced social system functionality." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/27/crucible-review"] Despite the drastic changes, the team at Relentless note that they're "excited about the road ahead." "We're going to be making a lot of changes based on your feedback, and at the end of this we'll have built a great game together." In our review of Crucible, we scored the game a 4/10, calling the team-based shooter "a slog." "Its ambitious marriage of PvE and PvP has resulted in a whole that's less than the sum of its parts." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.