Yearly Archives: 2020

Office Boss Says He and Steve Carell Have Talked About a Reunion ‘Something’

Ever since The Office ended in 2013, fans have been clamoring for a reunion - and despite pretty much everyone involved admitting that reassembling the busy and successful cast would be a gargantuan task, there could be a glimmer of hope on the horizon (especially following the news that the Parks and Recreation cast is reuniting for a scripted special for charity). IGN spoke to The Office showrunner (and Parks and Rec co-creator) Greg Daniels ahead of the launch of his two upcoming streaming shows - Amazon's Upload (premiering May 1), and Netflix's Space Force (releasing May 29), which reunites Daniels with Office star Steve Carell - about the continued interest around an Office reunion, and whether he and Carell have discussed the possibility. "It’s so personally satisfying for me to work with Steve again, and I have talked with Steve about the fact that in a year or so we’re gonna start on Peacock as a rerun and I’m sure that they would love something, some sort of a… something," Daniels told IGN. "I’m a little reluctant to open up the characters’ endings because we wrote specifically to an ending, but as we hang around we sometimes think about [it]. And there is a script that was written in Season 1; there was an extra script written that was never shot, called 'Pet Day,' so I don’t know, sometimes we joke around about gathering to do Pet Day." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/17/amazons-upload-season-1-official-trailer"] Rumors of an Office reunion have been percolating for years, with former NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt fanning the flames back in 2018 by publicly expressing interest in a revival. Ever since then, the cast and writers have been grilled about a potential reunion at every opportunity - soon after Greenblatt's comments, star John Krasinski told IGN, "I love the idea of coming back together... I think it'd be impossible to get us all together to do a run of the series, but [British shows] have the Christmas specials." Carell then staged a mini-reunion when he hosted Saturday Night Live, with former co-stars Ellie Kemper, Ed Helms, and Jenna Fischer jokingly harassing him about returning for a reboot. Soon after, a number of cast members reunited at Daniels' home and recreated the character photo op from "A Benihana Christmas." More recently, Krasinski reunited with Carell for the first episode of his Some Good News webseries. "Some of the most fun memories, personally or professionally, are intertwined and connected with that show, without a doubt," Carell said. "Listen, I know everyone's talking about a reunion; hopefully one day, we just get to reunite as people, and just all get to say hi," Krasinski responded. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/25/the-office-surprising-reason-behind-steve-carells-exit-revealed-ign-now"] How would you feel about an Office reunion or revival special? Weigh in below, and read up on HBO Max's (sadly unscripted) Friends cast reunion coming later this year. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=e43262ea-7d6a-4586-8295-b6e32ee0de59"]

Disney Theme Parks and Resorts May Not Open Until January 2021

Disney is reportedly considering keeping their theme parks and resorts, such as Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney World in Orlando, closed until at least the beginning of the new year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Disney parks remain indefinitely closed at the moment. According to the Los Angeles Times (via ScreenRant), the global financial advisory firm UBS informed their clients Monday that the "Walt Disney Co. is likely to wait until Jan. 1 to open its theme parks." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=avengers-campus-concept-art&captions=true"] And once they do, UBS predicts that Disney "will see only about 50% of 2019 attendance" and that they can expect reduced profitability until there's a vaccine for the coronavirus. Disney's stock dropped earlier this week following a downgrade from UBS. Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger recently said Disney parks and resorts will implement new screening measures and health precautions once they reopen, including possibly taking visitors' temperatures, in order to ensure employee and customer safety. Disney is reportedly losing upwards of $30 million a day as a large swath of their businesses remain closed, a downturn in the media giant's fortunes that has seen their rival Netflix become more valuable than them. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/06/we-rode-star-wars-rise-of-the-resistance-at-galaxys-edge"] Fortunately, there are new attractions you can look forward to in the future when the parks reopen, like Disneyland's upcoming Avengers Campus and the new Spider-Man ride featuring Tom Holland. As for Disney films, the company recently announced a slate of new release dates for their movies postponed due to COVID-19, and have pivoted to releasing some of their titles, like Onward, earlier than expected on VOD. The studio also scrapped plans to release Artemis Fowl theatrically, opting to debut the film on Disney+ instead on June 12.

Disney Theme Parks and Resorts May Not Open Until January 2021

Disney is reportedly considering keeping their theme parks and resorts, such as Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney World in Orlando, closed until at least the beginning of the new year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Disney parks remain indefinitely closed at the moment. According to the Los Angeles Times (via ScreenRant), the global financial advisory firm UBS informed their clients Monday that the "Walt Disney Co. is likely to wait until Jan. 1 to open its theme parks." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=avengers-campus-concept-art&captions=true"] And once they do, UBS predicts that Disney "will see only about 50% of 2019 attendance" and that they can expect reduced profitability until there's a vaccine for the coronavirus. Disney's stock dropped earlier this week following a downgrade from UBS. Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger recently said Disney parks and resorts will implement new screening measures and health precautions once they reopen, including possibly taking visitors' temperatures, in order to ensure employee and customer safety. Disney is reportedly losing upwards of $30 million a day as a large swath of their businesses remain closed, a downturn in the media giant's fortunes that has seen their rival Netflix become more valuable than them. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/06/we-rode-star-wars-rise-of-the-resistance-at-galaxys-edge"] Fortunately, there are new attractions you can look forward to in the future when the parks reopen, like Disneyland's upcoming Avengers Campus and the new Spider-Man ride featuring Tom Holland. As for Disney films, the company recently announced a slate of new release dates for their movies postponed due to COVID-19, and have pivoted to releasing some of their titles, like Onward, earlier than expected on VOD. The studio also scrapped plans to release Artemis Fowl theatrically, opting to debut the film on Disney+ instead on June 12.

AMC Theaters Will Wait For New Movies Before Reopening

While a number of states in the US are preparing to phase out stay-at-home orders and allow nonessential businesses to reopen, AMC Theaters is taking a more cautious approach. The company released a statement Friday indicating they won't be reopening movie theaters until closer to the release of major summer blockbusters like Christopher Nolan's Tenet. Via The Hollywood Reporter, AMC released a statement indicating the company's first priority is the well-being of its employees and customers. Additionally, given the lack of new releases between now and July, the company sees little point in reopening theaters until films like Tenet (scheduled for release on July 17) and Mulan (delayed until July 24) can drive ticket sales. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] AMC's statement reads: "As we plan our reopening, the health and safety of our guests and associates is our absolute highest priority. To be able to open, we also need a line of sight into a regular schedule of new theatrical blockbusters that get people truly excited about returning to their favorite movie theaters. Those blockbusters are scheduled to return this summer, beginning with Warner Brothers’ Tenet and Disney’s Mulan, with many more major titles scheduled immediately thereafter." The statement also indicates some AMC locations may undergo a soft reopening of sorts, with theaters slowly opening in the days and weeks leading up to Tenet's release and relying on "creative programming of immensely popular previously released films." AMC is among many companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. After closing more than 600 locations in March, the company furloughed its CEO and other corporate employees. AMC now faces financial uncertainty after its credit rating was downgraded amid fears the company will run out of cash during the closure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/19/tenet-official-trailer"] While the slow phasing out of stay-at-home orders may be the light at the end of the tunnel AMC needs, there's certainly no guarantee the situation won't take a turn for the worse. WB recently confirmed Tenet is still on track for its July 17 release, but at this point it's one of the few summer blockbusters not to be significantly delayed. Some major 2020 releases like Venom: Let There Be Carnage have now been pushed back into 2021. Do you think theaters will be open for business by July? Let us know in the comments below. [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.

AMC Theaters Will Wait For New Movies Before Reopening

While a number of states in the US are preparing to phase out stay-at-home orders and allow nonessential businesses to reopen, AMC Theaters is taking a more cautious approach. The company released a statement Friday indicating they won't be reopening movie theaters until closer to the release of major summer blockbusters like Christopher Nolan's Tenet. Via The Hollywood Reporter, AMC released a statement indicating the company's first priority is the well-being of its employees and customers. Additionally, given the lack of new releases between now and July, the company sees little point in reopening theaters until films like Tenet (scheduled for release on July 17) and Mulan (delayed until July 24) can drive ticket sales. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] AMC's statement reads: "As we plan our reopening, the health and safety of our guests and associates is our absolute highest priority. To be able to open, we also need a line of sight into a regular schedule of new theatrical blockbusters that get people truly excited about returning to their favorite movie theaters. Those blockbusters are scheduled to return this summer, beginning with Warner Brothers’ Tenet and Disney’s Mulan, with many more major titles scheduled immediately thereafter." The statement also indicates some AMC locations may undergo a soft reopening of sorts, with theaters slowly opening in the days and weeks leading up to Tenet's release and relying on "creative programming of immensely popular previously released films." AMC is among many companies hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. After closing more than 600 locations in March, the company furloughed its CEO and other corporate employees. AMC now faces financial uncertainty after its credit rating was downgraded amid fears the company will run out of cash during the closure. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/19/tenet-official-trailer"] While the slow phasing out of stay-at-home orders may be the light at the end of the tunnel AMC needs, there's certainly no guarantee the situation won't take a turn for the worse. WB recently confirmed Tenet is still on track for its July 17 release, but at this point it's one of the few summer blockbusters not to be significantly delayed. Some major 2020 releases like Venom: Let There Be Carnage have now been pushed back into 2021. Do you think theaters will be open for business by July? Let us know in the comments below. [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.

Google Stadia Connect Announced for Next Week

Google is hosting another Stadia Connect on Tuesday, April 28, at 9am PT/12pm ET/4pm GMT on YouTube, and those who tune in will "hear from the team and see a few new games coming to Stadia." A short teaser accompanied the announcement on Google Stadia's Twitter, but no further details were given as to what can be expected from the presentation. This Stadia Connect arrives shortly after Stadia began rolling out the free option for its streaming service that allows anyone with a Gmail account to sign up and stream games they purchase with up to 1080p/60fps and stereo surround sound. Those who sign up also earned two free months of Stadia Pro, which costs $9.99 and gives subscribers free games like Destiny 2 and the ability to stream games at 4K/60fps and with HDR. It may be too early to hear from some of them, but Google Stadia has been building up its first-party studios with moves like hiring former God of War executive producer Shannon Studstill to lead a new Google Stadia Games and Entertainment studio in Playa Vista, California. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/08/google-stadia-is-free-starting-today"] Stadia also recently acquired Typhoon Studios, the developers behind Journey to the Savage Planet. While you wait for this new Stadia Connect, be sure to check out our final review of Google Stadia and all the games available on the streaming platform. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=google-stadia-review&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.

Google Stadia Connect Announced for Next Week

Google is hosting another Stadia Connect on Tuesday, April 28, at 9am PT/12pm ET/4pm GMT on YouTube, and those who tune in will "hear from the team and see a few new games coming to Stadia." A short teaser accompanied the announcement on Google Stadia's Twitter, but no further details were given as to what can be expected from the presentation. This Stadia Connect arrives shortly after Stadia began rolling out the free option for its streaming service that allows anyone with a Gmail account to sign up and stream games they purchase with up to 1080p/60fps and stereo surround sound. Those who sign up also earned two free months of Stadia Pro, which costs $9.99 and gives subscribers free games like Destiny 2 and the ability to stream games at 4K/60fps and with HDR. It may be too early to hear from some of them, but Google Stadia has been building up its first-party studios with moves like hiring former God of War executive producer Shannon Studstill to lead a new Google Stadia Games and Entertainment studio in Playa Vista, California. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/08/google-stadia-is-free-starting-today"] Stadia also recently acquired Typhoon Studios, the developers behind Journey to the Savage Planet. While you wait for this new Stadia Connect, be sure to check out our final review of Google Stadia and all the games available on the streaming platform. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=google-stadia-review&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.

New Release Dates for Mission: Impossible Sequels, DnD Reboot

Paramount Pictures has announced another wave of release date changes due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the upcoming back-to-back Mission: Impossible sequels among the films affected. Mission: Impossible 7 was poised to shoot a major sequence in Italy when that country went into lockdown and production on the Tom Cruise film was shut down indefinitely. With the resumption of filming still unclear, Paramount has changed the wide release of Mission: Impossible 7 from July 23, 2021, to November 19, 2021. Mission: Impossible 8, previously scheduled for wide release on August 5, 2022, has now been pushed to November 4, 2022. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Meanwhile, the Chris Pratt-led sci-fi/action film The Tomorrow War was originally slated to open this December before being pulled. Now Paramount has scheduled the film for a wide release on July 23, 2021. Paramount also set a new release date for their Dungeons & Dragons movie -- yes, there's a new DnD movie in the works! -- with the fantasy film shifting from November 19, 2021, to May 27, 2022. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/top-gun-maverick-big-game-spot"] Finally, the studio also rescheduled their Paw Patrol movie to August 20, 2021, and has taken Spell (previously scheduled for August 28, 2020) off their schedule pending a new release date. For more on Paramount's upcoming films, find out when Top Gun: Maverick and A Quiet Place: Part II are now coming out.

New Release Dates for Mission: Impossible Sequels, DnD Reboot

Paramount Pictures has announced another wave of release date changes due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with the upcoming back-to-back Mission: Impossible sequels among the films affected. Mission: Impossible 7 was poised to shoot a major sequence in Italy when that country went into lockdown and production on the Tom Cruise film was shut down indefinitely. With the resumption of filming still unclear, Paramount has changed the wide release of Mission: Impossible 7 from July 23, 2021, to November 19, 2021. Mission: Impossible 8, previously scheduled for wide release on August 5, 2022, has now been pushed to November 4, 2022. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] Meanwhile, the Chris Pratt-led sci-fi/action film The Tomorrow War was originally slated to open this December before being pulled. Now Paramount has scheduled the film for a wide release on July 23, 2021. Paramount also set a new release date for their Dungeons & Dragons movie -- yes, there's a new DnD movie in the works! -- with the fantasy film shifting from November 19, 2021, to May 27, 2022. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/top-gun-maverick-big-game-spot"] Finally, the studio also rescheduled their Paw Patrol movie to August 20, 2021, and has taken Spell (previously scheduled for August 28, 2020) off their schedule pending a new release date. For more on Paramount's upcoming films, find out when Top Gun: Maverick and A Quiet Place: Part II are now coming out.

The Batman’s Kravitz on Catwoman Training, Catsuit & Quarantine

Catwoman actress Zoe Kravitz jokes that she might need a bigger catsuit by the time self-isolation is over and The Batman can resume production. Although she credits "food, wine, and weed" with getting her through quarantine, Kravitz is training virtually with her trainer to remain in tip-top shape to play the DC Comics femme fatale. In an interview with Vanity Fair (via Batman-News), Kravitz was candid about the challenge of maintaining actorly discipline in regards to staying in shape when stuck at home for weeks on end with food and wine. Kravitz had already been training "four or five months" for her role as Selina Kyle when The Batman shut down roughly a quarter of the way through production. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-batman-how-robert-pattinsons-batsuit-draws-from-the-past&captions=true"] "I mean, it’s not like the studio called and said, 'Don’t get fat, bitch,'" Kravitz said. "The first couple weeks that I self quarantined, I remember texting the director, I texted Matt [Reeves] and I was like, ‘We might have to make the cat suit a few sizes bigger when this is over.’" Kravitz then said she started training virtually with her trainer, David Higgins, five days a week. She credits this with providing her some kind of structure during self-isolation and said "it’s actually been really great just for my mental health." [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/20/big-changes-for-the-batman-and-other-dc-movies-ign-now] The actress, who's currently starring in Hulu's High Fidelity, is nevertheless "definitely eating whatever the f*** I want. But yeah, try to stay in decent shape so I don’t have to start from scratch." The Batman, now moved to an October 2021 release, isn't Kravitz's first time playing Catwoman. You may recall she voiced the character in 2017's The LEGO Batman Movie.