The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare battle royale mode, officially called Call of Duty: Warzone, is real and it’s coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for free on March 10. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/09/call-of-duty-warzone-official-trailer"] After an announcement for Call of Duty: Warzone went up early on PSN, Activision officially announced the new mode ahead of a 24-hour countdown clock that was meant to reveal Warzone on March 10, 8 am PT/11 am ET/3 pm GMT. Warzone will officially include two modes: Plunder and a 150-player battle royale mode all set in one large map. In Warzone, 150-players will drop into Verdansk where they can loot weapon and gear and fight to be the last team standing. The developers have added some new features unique to Warzone's battle royale like Cash which can be collected and exchanged for equipment, Field Upgrades, Killstreaks, or Revive Tokens. There's also an element called Contracts which are optional mini-missions squads can take on to earn rare loot, Cash, XP, and Weapon XP. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] Warzone Battle Royale also features multiple ways for players who are eliminated to return to the fight. Once eliminated players will be transported to The Gulag where they can fight other eliminated players for a chance to revive in a 1v1, winner-takes-all gunfight. This is alongside the various Cash items that can revive players if necessary. The second mode in Call of Duty: Warzone is called Plunder, a new, large-scale mode where teams race to collect as much Cash as possible. They can do this by raiding Supply boxes, eliminating opponents, completing Contracts, or controlling Cash deposit locations. Unlike battle royale, Plunder will have unlimited respawns with your loadouts, killstreaks, and more. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=call-of-duty-warzone-screenshots&captions=true"] Call of Duty: Warzone will support crossplay between consoles and PC and will allow players to maintain a unified progression across Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. All battle pass rewards and purchased items will carry over into Warzone from Modern Warfare, but as this is a free-to-play mode, you don't need to own a copy of the full game for Warzone. For more check out IGN's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare review here for our take on the latest Activision shooter. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The much-rumoured Battle Royale mode seems to be on its way.

Legendary actor Max Von Sydow, who has played a number of roles in films, TV series and video games, including Star Wars, Game of Thrones and Skyrim, has died at the age of 90, it has been confirmed. "It is with a broken heart and with infinite sadness that we have the extreme pain of announcing the departure of Max von Sydow, March 8, 2020," his agent, Jean Diamond, said in a statement. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-actor-whos-appeared-in-game-of-thrones-and-star-wars&captions=true"] The Swedish-born actor received international acclaim for his frequent collaborations with director Ingmar Bergman, including his breakout performance in 1957's The Seventh Seal, in which he played Antonius Block, a medieval knight who famously played chess with Death. Von Sydow went on to have a prolific career in Hollywood and international films, with his imposing presence spanning decades on the silver screen. Notable roles included playing Jesus Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told, Father Lankester Merrin in The Exorcist, Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon, and James Bond villain Blofeld in Never Say Never Again. In his later years, the veteran actor starred as Lamar Burgess, the main antagonist in the 2002's Minority Report, Lor San Tekka, the legendary traveller and explorer in 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the Three-Eyed Raven in the HBO's Game of Thrones, a role for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2010/12/12/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-teaser"] Outside of his storied film and TV career, Von Sydow earned recognition in the gaming world, especially amongst fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, as he narrated the announcement trailer for the fifth chapter in the highly-anticipated Elder Scrolls saga, then voiced Esbern in the video game itself. He also recited lines as Vigo the Carpathian in Ghostbusters: The Video Game and Lor San Tekka in Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Following the news of his passing, several industry figures shared their condolences on social media, including director Edgar Wright, who wrote in a tweet: "Max Von Sydow, such an iconic presence in cinema for seven decades, it seemed like he'd always be with us. He changed the face of international film with Bergman, played Christ, fought the devil, pressed the HOT HAIL button and was Oscar nominated for a silent performance. A god." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Marvel has dropped the final trailer for Black Widow ahead of its release on May 1, and it gives us the best sense yet of what the film will be about. The trailer points to the plot featuring Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanov heading back to her homeland and reuniting with her former Russian agent partners to take down Taskmaster. The Marvel supervillain has taken control of the Red Room, the training facility that originally produced Black Widow, and begun manipulating its agents. We also see David Harbour's Red Guardian pulling off some extremely Captain America-y shield throwing, which is always nice. You can watch the trailer below: [ignvideo url="https://uk.ign.com/videos/black-widow-official-final-trailer"] Despite the coronavirus outbreak pushing back the release of No Time to Die, Disney is reportedly adamant that Black Widow will arrive on its scheduled release date. Marvel also revealed a new poster for the film today, adding its new characters alongside Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanov (including a reminder that The Departed's Ray Winstone is a member of the cast, despite no reveal of his character, even at this late stage): Previous posters have given us a closer look at Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, David Harbour's Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz's Melina Vostokoff. If you want to know more about Black Widow's key players, we've got an explainer that will catch you up on who Yelena is in just one minute, as well as a full rundown of who Taskmaster is ahead of the villain's introduction to the MCU. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Former Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson recently proposed his idea for an R-rated Star Wars horror movie set on the frozen planet Hoth, which he says wouldn't be connected to any previous characters or storylines. In a tweet that has since been deleted, Derrickson, who directed Marvel's first Doctor Strange movie in 2016, revealed what kind of Star Wars movie he would like to make if he was ever granted the opportunity to helm a Lucasfilm project. Derrickson explained that his entry into the Star Wars universe would be an original story, titled Hoth, grounded in the horror genre in a similar vein to "The Thing or Lovecraft's In The Mountains of Madness." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/14/what-is-doctor-strange-2s-multiverse-of-madness"] This comes a few months after Derrickson announced that he and Marvel Studios were splitting up over "creative differences" and that he was officially stepping down from directing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the announcement, Derrickson confirmed that he would remain as an executive producer on the project. Prior to his departure, Derrickson, who is best known for his horror work on the likes of Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, emphasized how the Doctor Strange sequel would be the MCU's first "horror" movie. Star Benedict Cumberbatch also talked up how the project was looking to introduce some scares into the MCU. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-phase-4-official-lineup&captions=true"] While it remains unclear exactly where Marvel and Derrickson failed to see eye-to-eye on the Doctor Strange sequel, there have been some further shuffles behind-the-scenes, with Loki showrunner Michael Waldron reportedly hired to rewrite the script that was previously penned by Jade Bartlett and Sam Raimi rumoured to be in talks to direct the movie. For more on the MCU's upcoming plans, check out our rundown of all the new characters and cast members in Phase 4, read Kevin Feige's explanation of why there is no Avengers movie in the forthcoming slate, and find out how Marvel's Phase 4 will break the established mould to shape the MCU's future. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Activision and Infinity Ward are reportedly launching a free-to-play, standalone Call of Duty: Modern Warfare battle royale game called Warzone. The report comes from YouTuber Chaos, who recently posted a gameplay impressions video that has now been removed. The video explains in detail that Warzone is free-to-play and does not require players to own Modern Warfare. It’s multiplatform and cross-play, too. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/05/call-of-duty-modern-warfares-rumored-warzone-battle-royale-map-reportedly-leaks"] Warzone is reportedly a 150 player battle royale with support for solo, duo, and three-person teams. There are two modes: one which seems a fairly traditional fight-to-the-last-player-standing, and another called ‘Plunder’, which the video does not detail beyond it being a respawn-based mode focusing on collecting cash. Cash is apparently part of the traditional mode, too; it can be looted across the map and is used at buy stations to purchase killstreaks, as well as revive tokens to get killed team members back in the fight. It looks like building a good stockpile of cash may be important for long-term survival. Purchasing revives is not the only way to bring back dead squaddies; when you die you reportedly are taken to the gulag, where you must compete in a 1v1 match that is essentially Modern Warfare’s Gunfight mode (the map used in the video is even Gunfight’s Gulag map). Winning this 1v1 will throw you back into the match. Apparently this feature won’t be available in the later minutes of a match. Warzone’s map is apparently large and completely custom made - meaning no reused building assets - and, like Black Ops 4's battle royale mode Blackout, will feature classic maps. This time they will be from Infinity Ward's back catalogue, such as Broadcast, Overgrown, Scrapyard, and Terminal. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] Furthermore to these leaked details, Twitter account @CODTracker claims that adverts for Warzone have already gone live on Twitch.

BREAKING: Advertisements for Call of Duty: #Warzone have began to appear on Twitch!https://t.co/pELCgxgPwQ pic.twitter.com/1oBZqmiFtU

— Call of Duty Modern Warfare Stats (@CODTracker) March 9, 2020

Currently there is no official word from Activision or Infinity Ward regarding Warzone, but Chaos notes in his video that he attended a pre-release preview event in order to capture his gameplay footage. It’s currently unclear if Warzone is due for imminent launch or is still some months away. For more Call of Duty, check out the leaked Warzone map, which looks identical to that seen in Chaos’ video. There was also a report that Warzone will feature a ping system and vehicles, two features this latest leak also supports. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

With Westworld returning to HBO in just a few days' time -- on Sunday, March 15 -- we're taking a quick look at some of the biggest questions looming ahead of the show's third season. Season 2 ended with rebel-bot Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) escaping Westworld in a Host body resembling Delos' Executive Director, Charlotte Hale (Tessa Thompson). Sometime later, in the real world, Dolores rebuilt her original body along with the Host form of Bernard Lowe (Jeffrey Wright), who she also brought back to "life." A Host resembling Hale was with her as Dolores set out to lead an A.I. uprising, with Bernard resurrected to play the role of her adversary. Season 3 will introduce Aaron Paul's Caleb, a criminal-for-hire who forms a special Bond with Dolores. But does he know she's a Host? What role will he ultimately play in the war to come? Let's check in with some of the biggest "WTF?"s ahead of Season 3.

Who is Aaron Paul's Caleb?

What's up with Aaron Paul's Caleb Nichols? Why does he join Dolores in her mission to subjugate humanity? Does he know she's a Host? Is he a Host but doesn't know it? Series co-creator Jonathan Nolan told EW that "Aaron’s character will challenge Dolores’ notions about the nature of humanity. He’s the type of person who doesn’t get to go to Westworld.” That quote seems to suggest that Caleb is human, despite theories abound that he's somehow Dolores' secret Host son. Through Caleb, viewers will get a closer look at what life is like outside of the parks, in 2058 Neo-Los Angeles. He's a construction worker by day (and has a robot named George), and by night he works as a thief as part of a crew. From the looks of one of the "hidden trailers," Caleb comes into conflict with the new character Vincent Cassel is playing. Cassel could be a crime boss or an executive at a tech firm targeted by Dolores. Most likely, it's looking like, huge twists aside, Caleb is there to fall in love with Dolores. And possibly vice-versa.

What is Soloman?

This might wind up being the biggest wild card of Season 3. More than Maeve wielding a sword or possible trips into a World War II-themed park. Teasers for Season 3 introduced us to a new tech company called Incite and a new look at a historic timeline of global events within the show - including the activation of a system called "Solomon" (and is that Vincent Cassel's voice?). Those familiar with Jonathan Nolan's Person of Interest already know of his affinity for secret menacing A.I. programs being put into place without the public knowing - and this could be the case with Solomon (on POI, it was "Samaritan"). The date shown for Solomon's birth is 2039, which would be long before the Host uprising in Westworld (which could be the divergence listed in 2058). Does that mean the real world is already running at the behest of a massive A.I. system? One that's supposedly in place to manage "divergences?" If so, then how does it figure into the larger war that Dolores looks to wage? Or Delos' plans to achieve immortality by transferring mapped human brains into Host replica bodies? Is Solomon and its handlers the real enemy here or is this something Dolores might want to partner up with? [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=tv-shows-to-watch-in-2020&captions=true"]

Are Dr. Ford (or Arnold Weber) Still Present?

Once Season 2 introduced the idea that Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins) could upload his consciousness into a place like the Cradle, or that Hosts could live a free life in the virtual Eden of the Valley Beyond, we now have a story sandbox that allows for pretty much anyone to come back. Once Ford entered Bernard's mind in Season 2, and then had to be purged when Bernard wiped his own memories, he was supposedly killed off forever. He remained on as part of Bernard's own imagination, but for show purposes he seemed to be gone. And yet, it was Dr. Ford who was trying, at all costs, to stop Delos from their wicked plan to create human Hosts in order to live on past death, so it would be strange for him to be completely out of the mix. Perhaps he's a part of Maeve now, since Maeve was Ford's favorite Host. Whatever the case, it's hard to imagine him not popping up again, in control of things somehow. Dr. Arnold Weber is a different story since he's been dead for 35 years. But did Dolores make a Host form of him though? No, not Bernard, who was created in Arnold's image, based on both Ford and Dolores' best recollections, but an actual Arnold Host? He's someone who actually hadn't been brought back to the show's present, so it'd make for a cool surprise.

Could Arnold Be the Host in Charlotte Hale's Form?

Which pearls did Dolores escape Westworld with at the end of Season 2? One was presumably Bernard, since she brought him back from the brink, in his own body. Another pearl probably landed in whoever's occupying the Charlotte Hale husk. Or Did Dolores basically copy her own self into Hale? Or, you know, is it Arnold? Angela? Abernathy? Those Hosts who went to the Valley Beyond couldn't have been in her possession, right? So that means no Teddy or anyone else who retired to that VR "free will" world (which Dolores herself shuffled off somewhere safe). Could the pearls she took, because they came from the Forge, be Delos-copied human minds? As in, maybe they're not Host brains but real people brains? Could she have William or William's daughter Emily?

Did Dolores Win?

Season 2 ended with a stinger that's supposedly set far into the future. We watched William (Ed Harris), wounded, enter the Forge to find his daughter there, still alive. Both William and his daughter are Hosts though, obviously, but Emily is the one running a "fidelity" test on William, who's very specifically the William who kind of died at the end of Season 2. Host Emily was created to do very different things while this William is very much the "Man in Black" who has no idea time has passed. So, who's bringing William back and why? Is it Emily? Is this Emily the head of Delos now? And is William being brought back to take out Dolores on behalf of Delos? Or is Solomon behind this resurrection? The biggest question now is: Is this a future where Dolores won? Did A.I. succeed in fully supplanting humanity? Are we that far into the future that she's taken over everything? And is William being brought back because he knows something key that can turn the tide for humans? We'll have to find out, starting March 15! [poilib element="accentDivider"] [ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/21/how-leaving-westworld-changes-westworld-in-season-3-comic-con-2019] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red is celebrating International Women’s Day by showing off an updated depiction of the feminine version of the protagonist, V. The new art is also Cyberpunk 2077’s reversible box art.

 

CD Projekt Red shared the new look from the official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account. V still looks like the hardened citizen of Night City we’ve seen in other trailers and screenshots, with a few key differences. This feminine version of V now has much brighter red hair, pierced ears, and some minor changes to her face. It appears some of the smokey eyeshadow is gone, and the lines in her face (we assume an indicator of some past bodily modification or repair) swoop a little lower on her cheeks now.

Here's an older look, for reference.

The official Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account confirmed in multiple tweets that this new image (the first on this page) will be the reverse box art cover, so you can decide whether you have a masculine or feminine V gracing your game.

Character customization will be a core part of Cyberpunk 2077, unlike the more set-in-stone Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Players will be able to change their V’s body type, clothes, hairstyle, tattoos, makeup, skin tone, and more. CD Projekt Red is also allowing players to choose a body type rather than a strictly defined gender, although the studio was criticized last year for a problematic depiction of a transgender person on an in-game poster in demo footage.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/27/unboxing-cyberpunk-2077-mcfarlane-toys-action-figures"]

If you’re wondering what other characters you’ll meet in Cyberpunk 2077, the artist Grimes recently leaked her own character’s backstory.

Cyberpunk 2077 releases on September 17, 2020, thanks to a relatively recent delay. You can preorder the Cyberpunk special or regular editions with our helpful guide.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/05/24/7-cyberpunk-games-to-play-before-cyberpunk-2077"]

Don’t forget to check out our other International Women’s Day coverage, including a guest editorial from Ubisoft’s Alice Rendell on how burning out influenced her game developer career.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/definitely gonna play that fem V kinda guy for IGN.

Disney-Pixar’s Onward, featuring the voices of Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, topped the box office this weekend with an estimated $40 million. This made for a good opening, but still one on the lower end of initial expectations which predicted $40-45 million. Onward's weekend is also, per Variety, on par with the debut of Disney-Pixar's The Good Dinosaur, which debuted with $39 million and wound up being the lowest-grossing Pixar film of all time. The last two Pixar films, Toy Story 4 and The Incredibles 2, both had massive opening weekends. Both were also sequels to big hits and opened in the summer, not March. IGN's review of Onward hails it as a "fun-filled fantasy adventure tale featuring a solid voice cast." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/21/pixars-onward-review"] The Invisible Man, dropping about 49% from last weekend, pulled in an estimated $14 million to take the number two spot. Right now, it's at $52 million domestically. For third place, it was The Way Back, starring Ben Affleck as a mourning alcoholic who tries to turn his life around as the coach of a high school basketball team. It brought in an estimated $8.5 million. IGN's review of The Way Back notes that it's a "gratifying sports movie that is made better than the average by some sadness, some realism, and Ben Affleck's performance."

North American Box Office Estimates

In a close race for third, Sonic the Hedgehog will fall just behind The Way Back. Still, the well-received video game flick has, to date, earned a whopping $141 million here in North America. Meanwhile, Focus Features’ Jane Austen adaptation, Emma, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, brought in $5 million, landing in sixth place. Bad Boys for Life continues its juggernaut run, crossing the $200 million domestic mark this weekend. Here are the Top 10 North American box office estimates for the (2-day) weekend (via Box Office Mojo)

• 1. Onward $40,000,000
• 2. The Invisible Man $15,150,000
• 3. The Way Back $8,500,000
• 4. Sonic the Hedgehog $8,000,000
• 5. The Call of the Wild $7,000,000
• 6. Emma $5,000,000
• 7. Bad Boys for Life $3,050,000
• 8. Birds of Prey $2,160,000
• 9. Impractical Jokers $1,845,000
• 10 My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising $1,528,753

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-disney-and-pixar-animated-movie&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

After spoofing his own James Bond film, No Time to Die, earlier in the show, Saturday Night Live host Daniel Craig then helped take a playful swing at the southern accent he used, playing ace sleuth Benoit Blanc, in Rian Johnson's Knives Out. In the skit, Craig, playing himself, meets with Rian Johnson (played by Mikey Day) and introduces his accent coach, Franklin Hughes (Beck Bennett). From there, Craig and his coach launch into outrageous and cartoonish Southern caricatures, all of whom are complaining about their big sweaty butts. Click here to watch the sketch, or click on the image below... [caption id="attachment_231525" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Click to watch Daniel Craig in the SNL skit "Accent Coach."[/caption] Rian Johnson recently said that his idea for a Knives Out sequel involves a "whole new cast." Knives Out was a huge success for Lionsgate, earning close to $300 million at the worldwide box office. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-movies-of-the-decade-2010-2019&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.