DC Films president Walter Hamada was reportedly on the brink of quitting his job over the high-profile cancellation of Batgirl – but has agreed to stay with the studio until at least the October 21 release of Black Adam.

According to Hollywood Reporter sources, Hamada was only informed of Batgirl being shelved at a test screening of Black Adam, and was upset at not having been consulted. He was also reportedly concerned about the impact of the unexpected news on the cast and crew of the movie.

Hamada apparently consulted with counsel around quitting, but has been convinced to stay on until Dwayne Johnson's first DC movie is released. “He’s pausing,” said a Hollywood Reporter source. “The decision has not been made to make this adversarial, yet.” Hamada is currently under contract until 2023.

David Zaslav, the new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, has made little secret of his desire to shake up DC's movie slate, including finding a leadership figure in the mould of Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige. It can't have been a comfortable atmosphere for the current head of that department, Hamada, even before the studio abruptly cancelled the $90 million Batgirl.

Batgirl may just have been the start. The company has been quietly removing other movies from HBO Max, and rumours abound that the planned Supergirl movie with Sasha Calle may also be canned. The future for HBO Max in general is hazy, after it was announced that it will merge with Discovery+ in 2023 and may drop the HBO name.

Zaslav said yesterday that DC movies will now follow a 10-year plan, designed to be similar to what kicked off the MCU. Zaslav has also defended his decision over Batgirl, but we think the company has been making all the wrong moves so far.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Thumbnail credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

DC Films president Walter Hamada was reportedly on the brink of quitting his job over the high-profile cancellation of Batgirl – but has agreed to stay with the studio until at least the October 21 release of Black Adam.

According to Hollywood Reporter sources, Hamada was only informed of Batgirl being shelved at a test screening of Black Adam, and was upset at not having been consulted. He was also reportedly concerned about the impact of the unexpected news on the cast and crew of the movie.

Hamada apparently consulted with counsel around quitting, but has been convinced to stay on until Dwayne Johnson's first DC movie is released. “He’s pausing,” said a Hollywood Reporter source. “The decision has not been made to make this adversarial, yet.” Hamada is currently under contract until 2023.

David Zaslav, the new Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, has made little secret of his desire to shake up DC's movie slate, including finding a leadership figure in the mould of Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige. It can't have been a comfortable atmosphere for the current head of that department, Hamada, even before the studio abruptly cancelled the $90 million Batgirl.

Batgirl may just have been the start. The company has been quietly removing other movies from HBO Max, and rumours abound that the planned Supergirl movie with Sasha Calle may also be canned. The future for HBO Max in general is hazy, after it was announced that it will merge with Discovery+ in 2023 and may drop the HBO name.

Zaslav said yesterday that DC movies will now follow a 10-year plan, designed to be similar to what kicked off the MCU. Zaslav has also defended his decision over Batgirl, but we think the company has been making all the wrong moves so far.

Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Thumbnail credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

It’s no secret that MultiVersus has seen its official launch delayed, and with recent troubles at Warner Bros. Discovery, fans were concerned about the game being a part of that wider issue. But don’t worry – the Season 1 delay is nothing to do with the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

According to game director Tony Huynh, the MultiVersus delay has absolutely nothing to do with the ongoing disruption at Warner Bros. Discovery.

“For those wondering, we are unaffected by the Discovery/Warner Bros. merger. #MultiVersus,” he said via Twitter.

For those wondering, we are unaffected by the Discovery/Warner Bros. merger. #MultiVersus

— Tony Huynh (@Tony_Huynh) August 4, 2022

MultiVersus was released into beta little more than a week agoan online platform fighter from Warner Bros. featuring many of the company’s hottest properties and most recognizable characters.

But while the game is still in open beta, fans have been concerned about what the recent disruptions at Warner Bros. Discovery will mean for the game – especially since some characters (such as Shaggy and Velma) are based on properties that have seen high-profile cancellations.

“I'm getting a bit nervous with recent events,” said one fan via Twitter. “If the game shuts down early, will we get refunds? I just bought 50 dollars worth of [in-game currency] gleamium last night with the intent to slowly spend it over time...”

We are unaffected by the Discovery/Warner merger.

— Tony Huynh (@Tony_Huynh) August 4, 2022

During the company’s Q2 earnings call yesterday, it was revealed that Warner Bros. kids and animation will be seeing a wide range of cuts across streaming and broadcast platforms… and that’s what made MultiVersus fans particularly nervous.

And while Huynh continues to play down the delay, some fans aren’t quite convinced. “If it turns out that you are? Then what?” said another player via Twitter. “If some of the biggest directors can’t guarantee their established tv shows, how can you guarantee no effects to what is provided? Will you honor refunds?”

Still, I can’t help thinking that MultiVersus is safe. After all, it had an absolutely huge beta launch, with some seriously impressive player numbers since. As for when Season 1 will officially launch, we’ll have to wait and see.

Want to find out more about MultiVersus? Check out our character guide for a full list of playable characters, as well as our tips and tricks to get the most out of your match-ups.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

It’s no secret that MultiVersus has seen its official launch delayed, and with recent troubles at Warner Bros. Discovery, fans were concerned about the game being a part of that wider issue. But don’t worry – the Season 1 delay is nothing to do with the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.

According to game director Tony Huynh, the MultiVersus delay has absolutely nothing to do with the ongoing disruption at Warner Bros. Discovery.

“For those wondering, we are unaffected by the Discovery/Warner Bros. merger. #MultiVersus,” he said via Twitter.

For those wondering, we are unaffected by the Discovery/Warner Bros. merger. #MultiVersus

— Tony Huynh (@Tony_Huynh) August 4, 2022

MultiVersus was released into beta little more than a week agoan online platform fighter from Warner Bros. featuring many of the company’s hottest properties and most recognizable characters.

But while the game is still in open beta, fans have been concerned about what the recent disruptions at Warner Bros. Discovery will mean for the game – especially since some characters (such as Shaggy and Velma) are based on properties that have seen high-profile cancellations.

“I'm getting a bit nervous with recent events,” said one fan via Twitter. “If the game shuts down early, will we get refunds? I just bought 50 dollars worth of [in-game currency] gleamium last night with the intent to slowly spend it over time...”

We are unaffected by the Discovery/Warner merger.

— Tony Huynh (@Tony_Huynh) August 4, 2022

During the company’s Q2 earnings call yesterday, it was revealed that Warner Bros. kids and animation will be seeing a wide range of cuts across streaming and broadcast platforms… and that’s what made MultiVersus fans particularly nervous.

And while Huynh continues to play down the delay, some fans aren’t quite convinced. “If it turns out that you are? Then what?” said another player via Twitter. “If some of the biggest directors can’t guarantee their established tv shows, how can you guarantee no effects to what is provided? Will you honor refunds?”

Still, I can’t help thinking that MultiVersus is safe. After all, it had an absolutely huge beta launch, with some seriously impressive player numbers since. As for when Season 1 will officially launch, we’ll have to wait and see.

Want to find out more about MultiVersus? Check out our character guide for a full list of playable characters, as well as our tips and tricks to get the most out of your match-ups.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Anime adaptation Chainsaw Man just got a new trailer… and it's as gory as you might imagine.

The upcoming anime from director Ryū Nakayama tells the story of Denji – a teenage Devil Hunter who’s brought back from the dead after making a gruesome pact, and returns as Chainsaw Man.

Able to pull a cord in his chest and transform into a human/Devil hybrid armed with the titular gardening tools, it’s quite a... visceral kind of power. The new trailer really shows the kind of havoc and destruction you can cause when your hands are made of chainsaws.

Chainsaw Man PV with English subtitles pic.twitter.com/cIi9TIKU5v

— Kumi (@D_Kumii) August 5, 2022

Chainsaw Man is based on the popular manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, in which Devils are brought into existence based on the collective fears of humankind.

In the manga, Denji eventually joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters – a government organization that fights back against the Devils whenever they become a threat to the world.

The manga was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2018 before heading online to Shōnen Jump+ for its second part in July 2022. The original comic was well met by manga fans and critics and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2022 as well as winning Best Manga at The Harvey Awards in 2021. Chainsaw Man will be heading to Crunchyroll when it debuts in October 2022.

“With dark humor, dynamic characters and a sharp story, Chainsaw Man is one of the most anticipated new series this year, and we are wickedly excited to bring it to fans on the Crunchyroll service," said Asa Suehira, Chief Content Officer at Crunchyroll. “Anime fans will be up all night thinking about the spectacular visuals and high-octane action.”

Kikunosuke Toya will voice Denji alongside Tomori Kusunoki as Makima, Shogo Sakata as Aki Hayakawa, and Fairouz Ai as Power. Art director Yusuke Takeda brought Denji’s story to the screen alongside character designers Kazutaka Sugiyame and Kiyotaka Oshiyama. Kensuke Ushio composed the music for the MAPPA-produced adaptation.

Ryū Nakayama directed Chainsaw Man based on a screenplay by Hiroshi Seko.

Chainsaw Man is still one of IGN’s most anticipated new anime titles of 2022, along with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Spriggan, and Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Anime adaptation Chainsaw Man just got a new trailer… and it's as gory as you might imagine.

The upcoming anime from director Ryū Nakayama tells the story of Denji – a teenage Devil Hunter who’s brought back from the dead after making a gruesome pact, and returns as Chainsaw Man.

Able to pull a cord in his chest and transform into a human/Devil hybrid armed with the titular gardening tools, it’s quite a... visceral kind of power. The new trailer really shows the kind of havoc and destruction you can cause when your hands are made of chainsaws.

Chainsaw Man PV with English subtitles pic.twitter.com/cIi9TIKU5v

— Kumi (@D_Kumii) August 5, 2022

Chainsaw Man is based on the popular manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, in which Devils are brought into existence based on the collective fears of humankind.

In the manga, Denji eventually joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters – a government organization that fights back against the Devils whenever they become a threat to the world.

The manga was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2018 before heading online to Shōnen Jump+ for its second part in July 2022. The original comic was well met by manga fans and critics and was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2022 as well as winning Best Manga at The Harvey Awards in 2021. Chainsaw Man will be heading to Crunchyroll when it debuts in October 2022.

“With dark humor, dynamic characters and a sharp story, Chainsaw Man is one of the most anticipated new series this year, and we are wickedly excited to bring it to fans on the Crunchyroll service," said Asa Suehira, Chief Content Officer at Crunchyroll. “Anime fans will be up all night thinking about the spectacular visuals and high-octane action.”

Kikunosuke Toya will voice Denji alongside Tomori Kusunoki as Makima, Shogo Sakata as Aki Hayakawa, and Fairouz Ai as Power. Art director Yusuke Takeda brought Denji’s story to the screen alongside character designers Kazutaka Sugiyame and Kiyotaka Oshiyama. Kensuke Ushio composed the music for the MAPPA-produced adaptation.

Ryū Nakayama directed Chainsaw Man based on a screenplay by Hiroshi Seko.

Chainsaw Man is still one of IGN’s most anticipated new anime titles of 2022, along with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Spriggan, and Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Streaming giant Netflix has lost a case against the Writers Guild of America, and must pay $42 million in unpaid residuals.

A recent arbitration with the WGA over Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock has resulted in the organization securing $42 million in unpaid writer residuals.

“Netflix argued the WGA should accept a substandard formula the company negotiated with DGA and SAG-AFTRA,” reads a WGA memo from president Meredith Stiehm. “After a hearing, however, an arbitrator determined differently: that the license fee should have been greater than the gross budget of the film.”

The arbitrator forced Netflix to shell out $850,000 in residuals to Bird Box writer, Eric Heisserer as well as $350,000 in interest – a grand total of $1.2 million.

The ruling not only affects Bird Box but many other titles. Essentially, the arbitrator ruled that writers on original Netflix titles should be paid the same level of licensing fees that the streaming service pays for third-party titles. This means that the ruling applies to a total of 139 Netflix original feature films.

As an example, the WGA mentioned Red Notice, whose writers will receive $2.78 million thanks to the arbitration instead of the originally proposed $850,000.

The 216 writers of those films are in line to receive $42 million total in unpaid residuals. The WGA is also pursuing an additional $13 million in interest, meaning the affected writers could receive a total of $64 million in residuals after the WGA’s action.

Netflix began producing films written by WGA members in 2016, but the guild’s original compensation only covered the films’ theatrical runs. When those films are licensed or released in other markets, residuals need to be paid on those revenues. However, Netflix negotiated new deals with SAG-AFTRA and DGA that allowed them to pay significantly lower residuals and tried to force the WGA to accept this same deal.

Arbitration over Birdbox was a result of the WGA disputing this deal. Now, the guild has secured its members a massive $20 million more than what they would have received under the DGA and SAG-AFTRA deal.

“The upcoming 2023 MBA negotiation challenges us to address the industry’s rush to use the growth of the streaming model to depress pay and working conditions for Hollywood talent,” said the WGA. “It is our hope that writers and all Hollywood labor will receive their fair share of the value we together create.”

Netflix recently lost over 1 million subscribers and has since resorted to cost-cutting measures such as slashing its animated projects as well as layoffs at its editorial website, TUDUM.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

Streaming giant Netflix has lost a case against the Writers Guild of America, and must pay $42 million in unpaid residuals.

A recent arbitration with the WGA over Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock has resulted in the organization securing $42 million in unpaid writer residuals.

“Netflix argued the WGA should accept a substandard formula the company negotiated with DGA and SAG-AFTRA,” reads a WGA memo from president Meredith Stiehm. “After a hearing, however, an arbitrator determined differently: that the license fee should have been greater than the gross budget of the film.”

The arbitrator forced Netflix to shell out $850,000 in residuals to Bird Box writer, Eric Heisserer as well as $350,000 in interest – a grand total of $1.2 million.

The ruling not only affects Bird Box but many other titles. Essentially, the arbitrator ruled that writers on original Netflix titles should be paid the same level of licensing fees that the streaming service pays for third-party titles. This means that the ruling applies to a total of 139 Netflix original feature films.

As an example, the WGA mentioned Red Notice, whose writers will receive $2.78 million thanks to the arbitration instead of the originally proposed $850,000.

The 216 writers of those films are in line to receive $42 million total in unpaid residuals. The WGA is also pursuing an additional $13 million in interest, meaning the affected writers could receive a total of $64 million in residuals after the WGA’s action.

Netflix began producing films written by WGA members in 2016, but the guild’s original compensation only covered the films’ theatrical runs. When those films are licensed or released in other markets, residuals need to be paid on those revenues. However, Netflix negotiated new deals with SAG-AFTRA and DGA that allowed them to pay significantly lower residuals and tried to force the WGA to accept this same deal.

Arbitration over Birdbox was a result of the WGA disputing this deal. Now, the guild has secured its members a massive $20 million more than what they would have received under the DGA and SAG-AFTRA deal.

“The upcoming 2023 MBA negotiation challenges us to address the industry’s rush to use the growth of the streaming model to depress pay and working conditions for Hollywood talent,” said the WGA. “It is our hope that writers and all Hollywood labor will receive their fair share of the value we together create.”

Netflix recently lost over 1 million subscribers and has since resorted to cost-cutting measures such as slashing its animated projects as well as layoffs at its editorial website, TUDUM.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the Cartwheel Galaxy, revealing new details about its formation, shape, and structure.

The image released by NASA on Tuesday shows the Cartwheel Galaxy in never-before-seen detail. The large pink, speckled galaxy that resembles the wheel of a wagon is pictured in a "very transitory stage" alongside two spiralling companion galaxies, located around 500 million light-years away from Earth in the Sculptor constellation in the southern sky.

This cosmic snapshot offers a new view of how the Cartwheel Galaxy has changed over billions of years, and how it is likely to evolve in the future. Researchers say that the shape and structure of the Cartwheel Galaxy show that it was created as the result of an intergalactic collision "between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy," which is not visible in the image.

The galaxy's striking shape is formed by a colorful outer ring and a bright inner ring with glowing spokes spiralling out from it. NASA explains these rings are expanding outward from the center of the collision "like ripples in a pond after a stone is tossed into it." These distinctive features have led astronomers to categorize the Cartwheel Galaxy as a "ring galaxy," which makes it much more of a rare sighting.

The bright core of the galaxy "contains a tremendous amount of hot dust with the brightest areas being the home to gigantic young star clusters," according to NASA. "On the other hand, the outer ring, which has expanded for about 440 million years, is dominated by star formation and supernovas. As this ring expands, it plows into surrounding gas and triggers star formation."

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched last December and was designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. It's "the most powerful telescope ever launched into space," and its greatly improved infrared resolution and sensitivity allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope while also assisting research into habitable conditions.

The image of the Cartwheel Galaxy is the latest in a series of snaps that the James Webb Telescope has produced so far. President Joe Biden unveiled an image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, known as Webb's First Deep Field, during an event at the White House last month. The photo was later released online, along with more images and data from the orbiting observatory.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Cover image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the Cartwheel Galaxy, revealing new details about its formation, shape, and structure.

The image released by NASA on Tuesday shows the Cartwheel Galaxy in never-before-seen detail. The large pink, speckled galaxy that resembles the wheel of a wagon is pictured in a "very transitory stage" alongside two spiralling companion galaxies, located around 500 million light-years away from Earth in the Sculptor constellation in the southern sky.

This cosmic snapshot offers a new view of how the Cartwheel Galaxy has changed over billions of years, and how it is likely to evolve in the future. Researchers say that the shape and structure of the Cartwheel Galaxy show that it was created as the result of an intergalactic collision "between a large spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy," which is not visible in the image.

The galaxy's striking shape is formed by a colorful outer ring and a bright inner ring with glowing spokes spiralling out from it. NASA explains these rings are expanding outward from the center of the collision "like ripples in a pond after a stone is tossed into it." These distinctive features have led astronomers to categorize the Cartwheel Galaxy as a "ring galaxy," which makes it much more of a rare sighting.

The bright core of the galaxy "contains a tremendous amount of hot dust with the brightest areas being the home to gigantic young star clusters," according to NASA. "On the other hand, the outer ring, which has expanded for about 440 million years, is dominated by star formation and supernovas. As this ring expands, it plows into surrounding gas and triggers star formation."

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched last December and was designed primarily to conduct infrared astronomy. It's "the most powerful telescope ever launched into space," and its greatly improved infrared resolution and sensitivity allow it to view objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope while also assisting research into habitable conditions.

The image of the Cartwheel Galaxy is the latest in a series of snaps that the James Webb Telescope has produced so far. President Joe Biden unveiled an image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, known as Webb's First Deep Field, during an event at the White House last month. The photo was later released online, along with more images and data from the orbiting observatory.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Cover image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI.