It takes a lot of money to put together a high-fantasy series like Wheel of Time, what with all the magnificent vistas, giant capes, dramatic horseback riding, flashy weaponry, and all that magic. In fact, it turns out it's one of the most expensive shows Amazon has ever made.

This was confirmed by Vernon Sanders, co-head of TV at Amazon Studios, in an interview with IGN. He brought this up when I asked about previous statements made by showrunner Rafe Judkins that the budget was "tiny" compared to Amazon's other high-fantasy adaptation, Lord of the Rings.

"Wheel Of Time is one of our most expensive shows that we've ever made," he replied. "So we are really proud of the investment and we think that it shows on screen, and we're spending more in season two than season one."

Sanders couldn't give any specific numbers, but elsewhere in our interview he expressed a lot of optimism around these high-fantasy and sci-fi novel adaptations as fodder for epic storytelling opportunities Amazon is interested in. He's adamant, for instance, that Wheel of Time won't get cannibalized in future seasons by Lord of the Rings' higher profile and budget, and that the two shows will help build one another's audiences over time.

He is also feeling positive about Amazon's collaboration with Neil Gaiman on the Good Omens series, as well as its relationships with the Tolkien estate and the various stakeholders on Wheel of Time, such as the Jordan family. Amazon may also be looking at other literature in similar genres for future endeavors.

"It is the age of genre and fantasy fandom," Sanders said. "I think what's coming, at least here, what's coming at Prime Video and Amazon will blow people away, and so we couldn't be more proud to be the home of that content."

We also spoke to Sanders about Amazon's ideal of the Wheel of Time series spanning all 14 of Robert Jordan's books plus the prequel, as well as the show's debut success with over 1.16 billion minutes of watch time (per Nielsen) and continued growth.

We really enjoyed the first three episodes of Wheel of Time, saying the series was "gorgeous, well acted, and strongly written" and had a good balance of source material understanding without holding on too tightly to the original. The most recent episode was a bit less exciting for us, and the series' first season will be wrapping up at the end of this week. Wheel of Time has already been renewed for a second season.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is officially being delayed close to a year, with Lionsgate pushing it all the way into early 2023.

The disappointing news was conveyed via a charming but nevertheless mildly depressing video featuring the Wickverse's switchboard operators. The new release date is featured prominently on the chalkboard: March 24, 2023. It was originally set to release in May 2022.

"Be seeing you," the clip says at the end.

This news comes despite John Wick 4's filming being completed back in November. It will reportedly be named John Wick Chapter 4: Hagakure, and will apparently delve "deeper in terms of the code of assassin."

John Wick isn't the only movie being delayed. Back in October, Disney announced delays for pretty much the entire Marvel slate. More delays can likely be expected amid the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, Keanu Reeves is starring in The Matrix Resurrections, where he can be found sporting a beard and hairstyle that is reminiscent of John Wick. You can see the entire John Wick 4 cast here.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

John Wick: Chapter 4 is officially being delayed close to a year, with Lionsgate pushing it all the way into early 2023.

The disappointing news was conveyed via a charming but nevertheless mildly depressing video featuring the Wickverse's switchboard operators. The new release date is featured prominently on the chalkboard: March 24, 2023. It was originally set to release in May 2022.

"Be seeing you," the clip says at the end.

This news comes despite John Wick 4's filming being completed back in November. It will reportedly be named John Wick Chapter 4: Hagakure, and will apparently delve "deeper in terms of the code of assassin."

John Wick isn't the only movie being delayed. Back in October, Disney announced delays for pretty much the entire Marvel slate. More delays can likely be expected amid the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the meantime, Keanu Reeves is starring in The Matrix Resurrections, where he can be found sporting a beard and hairstyle that is reminiscent of John Wick. You can see the entire John Wick 4 cast here.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

If you're at all aware of Robert Jordan's high fantasy book series, The Wheel of Time, you probably know one thing: it's a long, long series. But Amazon wants to eventually cover the whole thing with its TV adaptation, even the prequel.

In an interview with IGN, Amazon Studios co-head of TV Vernon Sanders said the company is currently focused on the present, but would love for the series to eventually span all 14 Wheel of Time books and the prequel.

"Our ideal is to work with [showrunner] Rafe [Judkin] and the team on the full thing," he said. "Obviously that's a ways down the road. So we're focused on where we are right now. And Rafe and the team have just shared the first few episodes of season two, and I wish I could get those out to everyone right away. They're just, they're great."

Wheel of Time was renewed for a second season earlier this year, before the first season had even debuted. Sanders attributes this to Judkins's strong pitch and work on the show up to that point:

"That was just based on the creative conviction and Rafe's work on season one, and his pitch and layout for season two and beyond was so compelling that we had every confidence that we had a show that people would love and a show that demanded to go on," he said. "So this is all confirmation of our instincts, but it really is all credit to Rafe and the work that they're doing."

Sanders also tells us that the first three episodes of the show "did very well" in terms of viewership and that new episodes since have had "incredible growth" with "hundreds of millions of streams" worldwide for the series, a claim that's backed up by Nielsen's reporting of 1.16 billion minutes of watch time for the premiere. He also repeatedly mentioned "high, high completion rates," saying that Wheel of Time ranked "very high" for an Amazon series so far in terms of viewers continuing to watch the series after they had begun it.

Our review of the first three episodes of Wheel of Time found it "gorgeous, well acted, and strongly written" with a good understanding of the source material that wasn't loyal to excess. We were a little less thrilled about the most recent episode, but with the finale debuting this week we can hope that it ties the season together in a way that'll leave us wanting the rest of the 14-book saga to get a chance.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

If you're at all aware of Robert Jordan's high fantasy book series, The Wheel of Time, you probably know one thing: it's a long, long series. But Amazon wants to eventually cover the whole thing with its TV adaptation, even the prequel.

In an interview with IGN, Amazon Studios co-head of TV Vernon Sanders said the company is currently focused on the present, but would love for the series to eventually span all 14 Wheel of Time books and the prequel.

"Our ideal is to work with [showrunner] Rafe [Judkin] and the team on the full thing," he said. "Obviously that's a ways down the road. So we're focused on where we are right now. And Rafe and the team have just shared the first few episodes of season two, and I wish I could get those out to everyone right away. They're just, they're great."

Wheel of Time was renewed for a second season earlier this year, before the first season had even debuted. Sanders attributes this to Judkins's strong pitch and work on the show up to that point:

"That was just based on the creative conviction and Rafe's work on season one, and his pitch and layout for season two and beyond was so compelling that we had every confidence that we had a show that people would love and a show that demanded to go on," he said. "So this is all confirmation of our instincts, but it really is all credit to Rafe and the work that they're doing."

Sanders also tells us that the first three episodes of the show "did very well" in terms of viewership and that new episodes since have had "incredible growth" with "hundreds of millions of streams" worldwide for the series. He also repeatedly mentioned "high, high completion rates," saying that Wheel of Time ranked "very high" for an Amazon series so far in terms of viewers continuing to watch the series after they had begun it.

Our review of the first three episodes of Wheel of Time found it "gorgeous, well acted, and strongly written" with a good understanding of the source material that wasn't loyal to excess. We were a little less thrilled about the most recent episode, but with the finale debuting this week we can hope that it ties the season together in a way that'll leave us wanting the rest of the 14-book saga to get a chance.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Actor James Franco has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct brought against him nearly four years ago, admitting that he slept with students at his acting school despite previously denying the accusations.

In an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Podcast," Franco admitted that he did inappropriately sleep with his students at Studio 4.

"Over the course of my teaching, I did sleep with students, and that was wrong," he said on the podcast. "But like I said, it's not why I started the school and I wasn't the person that selected the people to be in the class. So it wasn't a 'master plan' on my part. But yes, there were certain instances where, you know what, I was in a consensual thing with a student and I shouldn't have been."

Franco added later: "At the time I was not clearheaded, as I've said. So I guess it just comes down to my criteria was like, 'If this is consensual, like, I think it's cool. We're all adults so….'"

He also tied his conduct at the time to sex addiction, which he says manifested following his becoming sober from alcohol.

"It's such a powerful drug," he said. "I got hooked on it for 20 more years. The insidious part of that is that I stayed sober from alcohol all that time. And I went to meetings all that time. I even tried to sponsor other people. So in my head, it was like, 'Oh, I'm sober. I'm living a spiritual life.' Where on the side, I'm acting out now in all these other ways, and I couldn't see it."

Franco was accused of sexual misconduct and abusing his power as an acting teacher and mentor by multiple women in 2018 in a Los Angeles Times article, as well as a lawsuit that followed in 2019. The various accusations included inappropriate behavior on film sets, exposing himself without consent, removing safety guards during an oral sex scene on a film set, and using his position of power to solicit sexual favors from students. He had previously been accused in 2014 of messaging a 17-year-old on Instagram and suggesting they should get a hotel room together.

At the time the accusations were brought forward, Franco denied them both publicly and via an attorney. He later reached a $2,235,000 settlement with the former students who filed the lawsuit.

Then, earlier this year, long-time collaborator Seth Rogen publicly said he would no longer work with Franco following the allegations, having previously stated he would continue to do so. He added that their personal dynamic had changed over time in light of the allegations.

On his recent podcast appearance, Franco also confirmed he and Rogen had split:

"What he said is true," he said. "We aren’t working together right now and we don’t have any plans to work together. Of course, it was hurtful in context, but I get it, you know, he had to answer for me because I was silent. He had to answer for me and I don’t want that."

Previously, Rogen and Franco had worked on a number of projects such as Pineapple Express and The Interview. Franco more recently starred in HBO drama The Deuce.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Blogroll image credit: Taylor Hill, via Getty Images

Actor James Franco has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct brought against him nearly four years ago, admitting that he slept with students at his acting school despite previously denying the accusations.

In an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Podcast," Franco admitted that he did inappropriately sleep with his students at Studio 4.

"Over the course of my teaching, I did sleep with students, and that was wrong," he said on the podcast. "But like I said, it's not why I started the school and I wasn't the person that selected the people to be in the class. So it wasn't a 'master plan' on my part. But yes, there were certain instances where, you know what, I was in a consensual thing with a student and I shouldn't have been."

Franco added later: "At the time I was not clearheaded, as I've said. So I guess it just comes down to my criteria was like, 'If this is consensual, like, I think it's cool. We're all adults so….'"

He also tied his conduct at the time to sex addiction, which he says manifested following his becoming sober from alcohol.

"It's such a powerful drug," he said. "I got hooked on it for 20 more years. The insidious part of that is that I stayed sober from alcohol all that time. And I went to meetings all that time. I even tried to sponsor other people. So in my head, it was like, 'Oh, I'm sober. I'm living a spiritual life.' Where on the side, I'm acting out now in all these other ways, and I couldn't see it."

Franco was accused of sexual misconduct and abusing his power as an acting teacher and mentor by multiple women in 2018 in a Los Angeles Times article, as well as a lawsuit that followed in 2019. The various accusations included inappropriate behavior on film sets, exposing himself without consent, removing safety guards during an oral sex scene on a film set, and using his position of power to solicit sexual favors from students. He had previously been accused in 2014 of messaging a 17-year-old on Instagram and suggesting they should get a hotel room together.

At the time the accusations were brought forward, Franco denied them both publicly and via an attorney. He later reached a $2,235,000 settlement with the former students who filed the lawsuit.

Then, earlier this year, long-time collaborator Seth Rogen publicly said he would no longer work with Franco following the allegations, having previously stated he would continue to do so. He added that their personal dynamic had changed over time in light of the allegations.

On his recent podcast appearance, Franco also confirmed he and Rogen had split:

"What he said is true," he said. "We aren’t working together right now and we don’t have any plans to work together. Of course, it was hurtful in context, but I get it, you know, he had to answer for me because I was silent. He had to answer for me and I don’t want that."

Previously, Rogen and Franco had worked on a number of projects such as Pineapple Express and The Interview. Franco more recently starred in HBO drama The Deuce.

Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Blogroll image credit: Taylor Hill, via Getty Images

Mark Subotnick, who was a producer at Sega of America during the Dreamcast era, claims that producer Yuji Naka was responsible for the cancellation of one of the console's exclusives, Geist Force. On The Retro Hour Podcast, Subotnick shared his version of what really happened behind the scenes regarding the Star Fox-style game.

First reported by Nintendo Life, Geist Force was intended to be a launch title for the Dreamcast in North America but was canceled due to Sega's reported lack of confidence in the title, as well as missed deadlines and internal disagreements. Subotnick says that even though the game was a Star Fox clone, he thought that Geist Force had a cool narrative and a diverse cast. He stated, "Looking back, we were actually ahead of our time."

On one particular day, Subotnick says Naka came to visit and tour the studio. Naka and his team reportedly took a look at all of the studio's engines and tools, including proprietary technology. "I would say still to this day, [we had] some stuff that I haven't seen replicated quite at the level we had," Subotnick explains.

However, Subotnick says Naka assumed that his team didn't understand Japanese, which most of his team was fluent in, including his lead engineer. Naka reportedly started speaking Japanese and talked about which parts of the studio's tech he would take to work on the Sonic franchise. Then, as soon as the studio shipped Geist Force, Subotnick says Naka suggested firing everyone except a single engineer and rolling them into the Sonic team.

Of course, Subotnick's team didn't take too kindly to Naka's alleged comments. The only other studio in North America working on a console like the Dreamcast was Visual Concepts, which was known for NFL 2K and NBA 2K. As such, Subotnick's team exited the company before the game shipped, leaving Subotnick in a predicament.

"I just lost my five lead engineers and I've got a proprietary engine; even if I hire, I've got healthy burn rate," Subotnick explains. "It would have taken me two months to hire, another two months to ramp up... so I've got four months of burn rate where pretty much nothing's happening."

He made a last-ditch effort to approach Visual Concepts to see if they could help out. Due to being busy with their own projects for the Dreamcast, they reportedly declined. As a result, Geist Force ended up being canceled, along with other planned projects for the title, like a range of toys.

Yuji Naka has recently been known for being the creator of Balan Wonderworld, as well as having left Square Enix shortly after its release. Additionally, he is now an indie game developer.

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

Mark Subotnick, who was a producer at Sega of America during the Dreamcast era, claims that producer Yuji Naka was responsible for the cancellation of one of the console's exclusives, Geist Force. On The Retro Hour Podcast, Subotnick shared his version of what really happened behind the scenes regarding the Star Fox-style game.

First reported by Nintendo Life, Geist Force was intended to be a launch title for the Dreamcast in North America but was canceled due to Sega's reported lack of confidence in the title, as well as missed deadlines and internal disagreements. Subotnick says that even though the game was a Star Fox clone, he thought that Geist Force had a cool narrative and a diverse cast. He stated, "Looking back, we were actually ahead of our time."

On one particular day, Subotnick says Naka came to visit and tour the studio. Naka and his team reportedly took a look at all of the studio's engines and tools, including proprietary technology. "I would say still to this day, [we had] some stuff that I haven't seen replicated quite at the level we had," Subotnick explains.

However, Subotnick says Naka assumed that his team didn't understand Japanese, which most of his team was fluent in, including his lead engineer. Naka reportedly started speaking Japanese and talked about which parts of the studio's tech he would take to work on the Sonic franchise. Then, as soon as the studio shipped Geist Force, Subotnick says Naka suggested firing everyone except a single engineer and rolling them into the Sonic team.

Of course, Subotnick's team didn't take too kindly to Naka's alleged comments. The only other studio in North America working on a console like the Dreamcast was Visual Concepts, which was known for NFL 2K and NBA 2K. As such, Subotnick's team exited the company before the game shipped, leaving Subotnick in a predicament.

"I just lost my five lead engineers and I've got a proprietary engine; even if I hire, I've got healthy burn rate," Subotnick explains. "It would have taken me two months to hire, another two months to ramp up... so I've got four months of burn rate where pretty much nothing's happening."

He made a last-ditch effort to approach Visual Concepts to see if they could help out. Due to being busy with their own projects for the Dreamcast, they reportedly declined. As a result, Geist Force ended up being canceled, along with other planned projects for the title, like a range of toys.

Yuji Naka has recently been known for being the creator of Balan Wonderworld, as well as having left Square Enix shortly after its release. Additionally, he is now an indie game developer.

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

General Zod has died twice now in the DC Extended Universe, but it's hard to keep a good comic book villain down. The Superman villain appears set for a return in The Flash based on new casting info, which lists both Michael Shannon and Antje Traue in the new movie.

The info comes courtesy of a new 2022 movie preview on the Warner Bros. official website. It included both Shannon and Traue along with Ezra Miller and Michael Keaton, the latter of whom is confirmed to be reprising his role as Batman.

That would appear to confirm both Zod and Faora for the new Flash movie, making the upcoming standalone film a major crossover event for the DC Extended Universe. Both Zod and Faora were the main villains in 2013's Man of Steel.

As for how Zod will make his return after getting his neck snapped and being stabbed by a kryptonite spear, never discount the multiverse. Bringing back established villains is all the rage right now, and Spider-Man: No Way Home showed that you can do basically anything with the multiverse.

The Flash was recently shown for the first time during DC FanDome. It is set to adapt the famous Flashpoint storyline, effectively rebooting the DC Extended Universe. It is set to release in 2022.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN