• Patty Jenkins and Rian Johnson Reportedly Shelved Star Wars Projects Because of Creative Differences

    Following the news that Patty Jenkins Star Wars movie has been delayed indefinitely, reports have surfaced suggesting that the move was made due to creative differences between the director and Lucasfilm executives.

    Former THR editor and noted insider Matthew Belloni reports that issues between Jenkins and the studio caused the film to be taken off Lucasfilm's production schedule. Specifically, Belloni reports that the issues have revolved around the film's script, stating that Jenkins and studio executives including senior VP Michelle Rejwan couldn't agree on how to move forward.

    Belloni states that this is a "laughably recurring problem" at Lucasfilm. According to the article, a number of agents have previously reported that top filmmakers are often keen to sign on for a movie within the franchise, but find themselves hampered by issues of "micromanagement and plot-point-by-committee" processes.

    Belloni cites that similar experiences were held by Game Of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss who "bailed" on creating a new Star Wars trilogy as well as Rian Johnson, whose own trilogy was also shelved.

    Jenkins' Star Wars film was originally announced in December 2020. Disney revealed at the time that the film would be called Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and that it would be the first title in the franchise to feature a female director. While the title shares its name with a franchise-based video game, Disney confirmed shortly afterward that Rogue Squadron would not be an adaptation and instead would feature its own original story.

    While little else was known about the film's plot, the future of the film now appears to be far from certain. If production does resume again in the future, it's likely that fans won't see anything from the film for some time yet.

    For more on Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, make sure to check out our dedicated IGN page for the film.

    Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

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    New Spider-Man: No Way Home Trailer Premieres Tomorrow, New Poster Released

    A new Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer will premiere tomorrow, November 16, ahead of its December 17 theater release date. Marvel also released a new poster to mark the event.

    The second official Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer will arrive tomorrow according to Marvel Entertainment's official Twitter account. A new poster featuring Spider-Man and Doctor Strange facing off against Doc Ock's arms, Electro (his electricity at least), and Green Goblin in the background has also been released.

    The poster is a bit bare-bones, but we'll hopefully get a better glimpse of what's to come in tomorrow's trailer.

    There have been several purported "leaks" for the new Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer but none of them have been shown to be valid. These fan-made trailers have tried to predict plot points from the film, including heavily rumored appearances by past Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. But without an official trailer, these remain fan theories and speculation.

    Spider-Man: No Way Home marks the end of the "Home" franchise that began with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Following the events of the last film, Peter Parker asks Doctor Strange for help regarding his secret identity and ends up messing with the multiverse.

    Peter Parker actor Tom Holland has called the upcoming film the darkest in the trilogy. However, Marvel recently announced an animated prequel series set during Peter Parker's Freshman year which will premiere on Disney+

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

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    PAX East Returns in April with Full Vaccination Requirements and Mandatory Masking

    One of the biggest video game and pop culture conventions is making a return to Boston in 2022, and it will be live and in-person.

    ReedPop has announced that PAX East 2022 will be held from Thursday, April 21 to Sunday, April 24 in Boston, Massachusetts. More details about the event will be coming soon. Presumably, it'll take place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center like it always has.

    Additionally, ReedPop anticipates that all participants for PAX East 2022 will be required to be fully vaccinated and present proof of vaccination upon their time of entry. Masks are required as well for all attendees, including cosplayers, exhibitors, guests, artists, Enforcers, and staff.

    There will be increased sanitation and hygiene standards, and the convention's layout will have physical distancing in mind. Interestingly, PAX East's Health & Safety guidelines page doesn't mention the option of presenting a negative COVID-19 test like PAX West 2021 did, so it seems like being fully vaccinated is the only way to attend.

    After over a year of pivoting to virtual events, PAX came back as an in-person event for PAX West 2021 in Seattle, Washington. Originally, the convention didn't have a vaccine or negative COVID-19 test requirements but eventually implemented them after receiving criticism. It definitely looks like ReedPop wants to avoid that situation again.

    In related news, last month ReedPop announced that it would be shutting down PAX South for the foreseeable future due to its stagnant growth.

    George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey

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    Rogue Jam Is a Brand-New Indie Game Jam Competition With $800k In Prizes

    IGN and Rogue Games are partnering to produce Rogue Jam, a brand-new game jam that's offering exclusive development deals along with $800,000 in total prizes to competing indie game developers.

    Submissions will be accepted between November 29 and December 31 at Rogue Jam's homepage, with finalists being showcased in a show produced by IGN in early 2022. The grand prize winner will win $500,000 to develop their game as well as an exclusive Rogue Games publishing deal.

    In addition to the grand prize, the competition will feature several other categories, including a "WTF" prize for Rogue Jam's weirdest and wildest game, and an "Eye-Poppingly Beautiful" award for the most attractive game of the competition. Both categories will offer prizes of $100,000 along with a publishing deal with Rogue. Smaller prizes of $50,000 plus a Rogue right of first refusal deal will be offered for "Huge Potential" and "Audience Choice" winners.

    Judges for the event will include several well-known figures from across the games industry, including IGN Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer Peer Schneider and former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé. Here is the complete list.

    • Kimberly Pointer Corbett, Warner Bros. Games Senior Vice President of Digital Publishing
    • Reggie Fils-Aimé, former Nintendo of America President, Board Advisor at Rogue Games
    • Peer Schneider, IGN Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer
    • Chris Lee, Netflix Head of Game Sourcing and Interactive Games
    • Matt Casamassina, Rogue Games CEO
    • Chris Archer, Rogue Games Chief Strategy Officer

    Rogue Games was founded by Casamassina, who served at IGN until his departure in 2010. Earlier this year, Rogue Games raised $2.5 million in funding to publish "batsh*t insane" indie games for PC, consoles, and mobile games.

    The list of games Rogue currently has in development includes Super Impossible Road, a spiritual sequel to Impossible Road due to release on Nintendo Switch on December 9, followed by a first quarter launch on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Rogue is also publishing Arcanium, an "open-world single-player strategy card adventures," and Sprawl, a retro FPS. In addition, Rogue Games recently announced that it is partnering with Bloober Team on an unannounced project.

    The Rogue Jam submission portal will open beginning November 29, and submissions will be accepted until December 31. Submissions must be playable in order to be considered.

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    Xbox Creator Seamus Blackley Talks 20 Years of Xbox – Unlocked 520

    Xbox creator Seamus Blackley joins us for a special episode commemorating the 20th anniversary of Xbox. He shares stories from the early days of building the Xbox at Microsoft, discusses what he thinks of Xbox and the gaming industry now, and much more!

    Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our new YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out the last time Seamus was on Unlocked, back on the legendary episode 201 with fellow Xbox bosses Peter Moore (Xbox 360-era) and Phil Spencer (present-day):

    Oh, and you can be featured on Unlocked by tweeting us a video Loot Box question! Tweet your question and tag Ryan at @DMC_Ryan!

    For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review.

    Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

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