Month: February 2020

Dan Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar Games and head writer on games like Bully, Red Dead Redemption, and Grand Theft Auto, is leaving Rockstar and Take-Two Games.

According to Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, Dan Houser will be leaving the company on March 11, 2020. He previously worked on numerous GTA games as well as Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2.

In a statement published ahead of the company’s Q3 2020 financial report, Take-Two said:

“We are extremely grateful for his contributions. Rockstar Games has built some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game worlds, a global community of passionate fans and an incredibly talented team, which remains focused on current and future projects.”

Houser already took an “extended break” that began in the spring of 2019 after the launch of Red Dead Redemption 2 in November 2018.

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Dan along with his brother Sam Houser were executives at BMG Interactive before it was acquired by Take-Two. The Houser brothers founded Rockstar Games under Take-Two in December 1998. At Rockstar, the brothers wrote and developed games like GTA and Red Dead, but also Bully, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, and Smuggler’s Run.

Houser is credited as a writer on most of the Grand Theft Auto games from Grand Theft Auto 2 to Grand Theft Auto 5, as well as head writer on Bully, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne 3, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

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IGN has reached out to Rockstar Games for a statement.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Disney boss Robert Iger gave an update on the future of the Star Wars Universe and where the company will be shifting its creative focus over the coming years during a quarterly earnings call.

“We’re taking a bit of a hiatus in terms of theatrical releases, we finished the nine-episode Skywalker Saga and we’re developing both television and features,” Iger explained. “The priority in the next few years is television, with The Mandalorian: Season 2 coming in October and then more coming from The Mandalorian thereafter, including the possibility of infusing it with more characters and the possibility of taking those characters in their own direction in terms of series.”

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Developing…

The streaming service Disney+ has been pushing out plenty of original content from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more. And there’s even more coming, including two Marvel series we didn’t know about.

Disney CEO Bob Iger briefly discussed what’s coming down the line for Marvel on Disney+. “There are seven other Marvel series in various stages of development or pre-production,” he said. Currently, we know of five series that are in production for the streaming service.

Disney+ Marvel series in development:

• The Falcon and Winter Soldier
• WandaVision
• Loki
• What If…?
• Hawkeye

This also wouldn’t include the Disney+ Marvel-related series–Marvel’s Hero Project–as it has already been released. It is possible that Iger’s comment could include the documentary series Marvel 616, which arrives this year. The Disney CEO didn’t comment further on exactly what these series were. Additionally, Iger wasn’t also referring to Disney+ and Hulu combined though, as Hulu–on its own–has six series already in some form of production.

Hulu Marvel series in development:

• MODOK
• Helstrom
• Hit Monkey
• The Offenders

As to what the mystery shows could be at this time is unknown as they have not been revealed to the public at this time. That wasn’t the only big announcement coming from Disney+. WandaVision, The Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Mandalorian all got rough release dates for 2020.

Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

Disney+ will release its upcoming MCU-set series WandaVision in December 2020, Disney confirmed in its Q1 earnings presentation to investors.

WandaVision was initially slated to debut in 2021, but the release date was recently moved up to 2020, moving closer to the August release date for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Watch the new Super Bowl big game spot for all of Marvel’s Disney+ shows, including Falcon and Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki, below:

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Developing…

Update, 2/4: Disney has confirmed that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will premiere in August, announcing the news during their February 4 investor earnings call. 

Disney+ launched a first look at its upcoming Marvel Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and Loki in a recent Super Bowl spot, which you can watch below.

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Disney also confirmed a December 2020 launch date for WandaVision, and an October release for Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

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Original story continues below.

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The release of Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ has reportedly been moved up to August of this year.

According to a recent Deadline report, the highly anticipated miniseries is now expected to hit the streamer towards the end of the summer, slightly ahead of its original Fall 2020 debut, though Disney has yet to officially confirm this schedule shift.

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As it stands, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set to be the first MCU spinoff series on the Disney+ release calendar. The Phase 4 production started filming towards the end of last year, with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes respectively, alongside Emily VanCamp, Daniel Brühl, Desmond Chiam, Wyatt Russell, and Miki Ishikawa. The new report shares that Noah Mills has also recently signed on in an undisclosed role.

If confirmed, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s new premiere date would be the second shake-up to the Disney+ streaming schedule, as the House of Mouse previously revealed the release of Marvel’s WandaVision had been moved up to 2020, ahead of its originally planned Spring 2021 debut. It is now possible that the sitcom-style show will take the newly-opened Fall 2020 slot in order to stagger the two new shows, though exact release dates have yet to be announced.

For more on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, read our explainer on Falcon’s tenure as Captain America, check out the concept art for the new costumes, and take a closer look at Sam and Bucky’s new looks in the first poster. Alternatively, find out more about every upcoming MCU movie and TV show that has been announced so far.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

The Disney+ streaming service has announced a release window for its popular new Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, which will debut in October 2020.

The announcement was made by Walt Disney boss Robert Iger during the company’s quarterly earnings call. Iger went on to say that Baby Yoda “has taken the world by storm,” and promised that more consumer products featuring “The Child” will be hitting the market in the coming months.

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Iger also revealed that Disney+ has amassed 28.6 million subscribers to date, which is an impressive number, considering the streamer made its debut just three months ago.

“We had a strong first quarter, highlighted by the launch of Disney+, which has exceeded even our greatest expectations,” Iger said. “Thanks to our incredible collection of brands, outstanding content from our creative engines and state-of-the-art technology, we believe our direct-to-consumer services, including Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu, position us well for continued growth in today’s dynamic media environment.”

While Disney+ has grown substantially since its launch, the company still trails Netflix, which currently sits at over 158 million subscribers worldwide. In more Disney+ news, both WandaVision and Marvel’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier were given 2020 release windows.

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David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.