A Delaware court has granted Twitter's request to expedite its ongoing lawsuit against Elon Musk after the billionaire and CEO of Tesla withdrew his offer to buy the company earlier this month, The Verge reports.

In April, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion, which the company accepted that same month. Though as the months progressed, it seemed uncertain that Musk would go through with the deal as he claimed that Twitter had too many bots. Even before Elon rescinded his offer to buy Twitter, The Washington Post reported that the buyout was in "serious jeopardy," noting that Musk and his team cast doubt on Twitter about the number of spam accounts registered on the platform.

After Musk terminated the agreement, Twitter chairman Bret Taylor wrote, "[t]he Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement."

During today's oral arguments, Twitter's legal counsel claimed that Musk's conduct was "inexcusable." As CNBC notes, Musk's legal team argued before the court that Twitter wants "to continue to shroud in secrecy," referencing how the company was giving the Tesla CEO the runaround when it came to providing data regarding the number of bot accounts on the platform.

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ordered the trial to start in October and will last five days, though the exact dates have yet to be scheduled. Twitter originally wanted the trial to start in September of this year, while Musk wanted the trial to begin in February 2023.

Blogroll image credit: Jim Watson/Getty Images.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Today, Netflix has announced it has acquired Animal Logic, an animation studio with credits on films and shows such as Captain Marvel, The Lego Movie 2, Peter Rabbit, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and more.

The Australian studio has been in the business since its debut in 1994 on Little Women, and has since contributed to numerous popular films. Some of its older credits include Babe, The Matrix, Farscape, Moulin Rouge!, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Harry Potter and the Globet of Fire.

Currently, the studio is hard at work on animation services for Astro Boy, and is also working on The Magician's Elephant and The Shrinking of the Treehorns in partnership with Netflix.

With Animal Logic, Netflix picks up approximately 800 Sydney and Vancouver-based employees, and intends to use its resources to "produce some of our largest animated feature films." The deal has not yet closed, but is expected to later this year.

This news comes alongside Netflix's Q2 earnings report, during which we also learned that Netflix lost one million subscribers in its last fiscal quarter, and is preparing to release its planned low-cost ad tier in early 2023.

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

Today, Netflix has announced it has acquired Animal Logic, an animation studio with credits on films and shows such as Captain Marvel, The Lego Movie 2, Peter Rabbit, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and more.

The Australian studio has been in the business since its debut in 1994 on Little Women, and has since contributed to numerous popular films. Some of its older credits include Babe, The Matrix, Farscape, Moulin Rouge!, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Harry Potter and the Globet of Fire.

Currently, the studio is hard at work on animation services for Astro Boy, and is also working on The Magician's Elephant and The Shrinking of the Treehorns in partnership with Netflix.

With Animal Logic, Netflix picks up approximately 800 Sydney and Vancouver-based employees, and intends to use its resources to "produce some of our largest animated feature films." The deal has not yet closed, but is expected to later this year.

This news comes alongside Netflix's Q2 earnings report, during which we also learned that Netflix lost one million subscribers in its last fiscal quarter, and is preparing to release its planned low-cost ad tier in early 2023.

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

Netflix is moving quickly on the release of its new ad-supported subscription service, which it recently revealed will be supported by tech from Microsoft. In today's earnings report, Netflix said that it is targeting "the early part of 2023" for the tier's release.

The tier, which was announced earlier this year, will offer a lower subscription price in exchange for viewing advertisements. The news comes as Netflix confirms that it lost nearly 1 million subscriptions despite the success of Stranger Things Season 4, which has been viewed for more than 1.3 billion hours since launch.

According to Netflix, the rollout will be gradual, and the tier will "likely start in a handful of markets where advertising spend is significant."

"Like most of our new initiatives, our intention is to roll it out, listen and learn, and iterate quickly to improve the offering," Netflix says in its letter to shareholders. "So, our advertising business in a few years will likely look quite different than what it looks like on day one."

Over the long run, Netflix is hopeful that the new tier will "enable substantial incremental membership (through lower prices) and profit growth (through ad services)." Netflix has not yet revealed the new price structure.

In the meantime, Netflix is also cracking down on password sharing while testing out a new model that will enable subscribers to buy additional "homes." It's all part of an attempt to appease shareholders amid declining subscriptions, which in turn has resulted in layoffs and other cutbacks.

Netflix has been buoyed by the success of Stranger Things 4, which has topped streaming charts and continues to draw significant interset. However, with Stranger Things 5 not expected to release until late 2023 or early 2024, Netflix will have to continue to find other ways to rebuild its subscription count.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Netflix is moving quickly on the release of its new ad-supported subscription service, which it recently revealed will be supported by tech from Microsoft. In today's earnings report, Netflix said that it is targeting "the early part of 2023" for the tier's release.

The tier, which was announced earlier this year, will offer a lower subscription price in exchange for viewing advertisements. The news comes as Netflix confirms that it lost nearly 1 million subscriptions despite the success of Stranger Things Season 4, which has been viewed for more than 1.3 billion hours since launch.

According to Netflix, the rollout will be gradual, and the tier will "likely start in a handful of markets where advertising spend is significant."

"Like most of our new initiatives, our intention is to roll it out, listen and learn, and iterate quickly to improve the offering," Netflix says in its letter to shareholders. "So, our advertising business in a few years will likely look quite different than what it looks like on day one."

Over the long run, Netflix is hopeful that the new tier will "enable substantial incremental membership (through lower prices) and profit growth (through ad services)." Netflix has not yet revealed the new price structure.

In the meantime, Netflix is also cracking down on password sharing while testing out a new model that will enable subscribers to buy additional "homes." It's all part of an attempt to appease shareholders amid declining subscriptions, which in turn has resulted in layoffs and other cutbacks.

Netflix has been buoyed by the success of Stranger Things 4, which has topped streaming charts and continues to draw significant interset. However, with Stranger Things 5 not expected to release until late 2023 or early 2024, Netflix will have to continue to find other ways to rebuild its subscription count.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Netflix's subscriber bleed appears to have accelerated over the spring. After losing 200,000 subscribers between January and March, its Q2 earnings reveal that it dropped again between April and June - this time by a whopping one million subs.

The streaming company reported 220.67 million subscribers at the end of June, down from 221.64 million the previous quarter, which was itself down from 221.84 million at the end of last year. Its loss of one million subscribers is actually better than what was projected; CFO Spence Newman had previously speculated they'd lose two million. Netflix revenue was up 9% year-over-year.

Last quarter, Netflix blamed its slowed subscriber gain on the global economy, the war in Ukraine, and account sharing, the latter of which the company has been promising an aggressive crackdown on for some time and appears to be on the cusp of implementing.

But this quarter, Netflix's shareholder letter was less self-reflective. While the letter acknowledged the company "had more time to understand these issues, as well as how best to address them," the following paragraphs largely focus on praising Netflix's content slate and existing plans. It also reiterated its upcoming plan for a lower-priced ad tier in partnership with Microsoft, which now appears to be dropping in early 2023. A full rollout of its paid account sharing offering is also expected that year.

For now, Netflix is projecting a one million subscriber bounce back in the coming quarter, largely thanks to Stranger Things season 4. However, it expects revenue growth to continue to stall year-over-year, and is expecting only 5% growth in Q3.

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

Netflix's subscriber bleed appears to have accelerated over the spring. After losing 200,000 subscribers between January and March, its Q2 earnings reveal that it dropped again between April and June - this time by a whopping one million subs.

The streaming company reported 220.67 million subscribers at the end of June, down from 221.64 million the previous quarter, which was itself down from 221.84 million at the end of last year. Its loss of one million subscribers is actually better than what was projected; CFO Spence Newman had previously speculated they'd lose two million. Netflix revenue was up 9% year-over-year.

Last quarter, Netflix blamed its slowed subscriber gain on the global economy, the war in Ukraine, and account sharing, the latter of which the company has been promising an aggressive crackdown on for some time and appears to be on the cusp of implementing.

But this quarter, Netflix's shareholder letter was less self-reflective. While the letter acknowledged the company "had more time to understand these issues, as well as how best to address them," the following paragraphs largely focus on praising Netflix's content slate and existing plans. It also reiterated its upcoming plan for a lower-priced ad tier in partnership with Microsoft, which now appears to be dropping in early 2023. A full rollout of its paid account sharing offering is also expected that year.

For now, Netflix is projecting a one million subscriber bounce back in the coming quarter, largely thanks to Stranger Things season 4. However, it expects revenue growth to continue to stall year-over-year, and is expecting only 5% growth in Q3.

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

Moon Knight star Ethan Hawke has spoken out about Marvel’s treatment of its filmmakers. During an interview with IndieWire, the 51-year-old actor explained why he thinks Marvel directors have a hard time compared to its actors.

“That group of people [at Marvel] is extremely actor-friendly,” he said. “They might not be director-friendly, and that could be what Scorsese and Coppola are talking about. But they love actors.”

Hawke appears to be referencing the now-iconic interview with Scorsese in which he claimed that Marvel movies are not cinema.

“I don't see them,” said the legendary filmmaker. “I tried, you know? But that's not cinema,”

Despite joining the MCU as the villainous Arthur Harrow in Marvel’s Moon Knight, it looks as though Hawke shares Scorsese’s sentiment.

“If you keep reviewing these movies that are basically made for 14-year-olds like they’re Fanny and Alexander or Winter Light, then who the hell’s going to get to make Winter Light?” he said.

And the actor appreciates the elder filmmakers calling them out.

“I appreciate the elder statesmen of the community reminding people not to set the bar too low,” Hawke added. “I know it makes some people think they’re stuck up, but they’re not stuck up.”

Marvel’s long-running Cinematic Universe has often been criticized when it comes to how much creative freedom its directors are given. But Marvel actors seem to have an altogether more positive experience.

“I think Kevin Feige had a great thing happen with Robert Downey Jr. and he understood that Downey’s passion was a large part of the success,” said Hawke. “When actors are excited by a part, audiences get excited about watching them. Feige understood the algorithm there, so they’re extremely respectful toward the process. The best thing about Moon Knight for me was Oscar’s performance. It’s a gonzo thing that happens to have a giant budget — a pretty out-there performance.”

Still, it sounds as though Hawke won’t be tied down by his Moon Knight role for very long. After all, the season finale left Arthur’s story pretty much tied up.

A good thing, considering that Hawke doesn’t sound too bothered about returning.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” he said. “I had to sign an NDA about dealing with them, but I’m not interested in long-term commitments. I protected myself because I didn’t know what it was going to be. I just wanted to know what that sandbox was like. And it’s what young people are watching, so why are we going to sit there and tell them it’s not good?”

Want to read more about Marvel’s Moon Knight? Check out what the show’s ending really means, and find out what psychologists really thought of the show.

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

Moon Knight star Ethan Hawke has spoken out about Marvel’s treatment of its filmmakers. During an interview with IndieWire, the 51-year-old actor explained why he thinks Marvel directors have a hard time compared to its actors.

“That group of people [at Marvel] is extremely actor-friendly,” he said. “They might not be director-friendly, and that could be what Scorsese and Coppola are talking about. But they love actors.”

Hawke appears to be referencing the now-iconic interview with Scorsese in which he claimed that Marvel movies are not cinema.

“I don't see them,” said the legendary filmmaker. “I tried, you know? But that's not cinema,”

Despite joining the MCU as the villainous Arthur Harrow in Marvel’s Moon Knight, it looks as though Hawke shares Scorsese’s sentiment.

“If you keep reviewing these movies that are basically made for 14-year-olds like they’re Fanny and Alexander or Winter Light, then who the hell’s going to get to make Winter Light?” he said.

And the actor appreciates the elder filmmakers calling them out.

“I appreciate the elder statesmen of the community reminding people not to set the bar too low,” Hawke added. “I know it makes some people think they’re stuck up, but they’re not stuck up.”

Marvel’s long-running Cinematic Universe has often been criticized when it comes to how much creative freedom its directors are given. But Marvel actors seem to have an altogether more positive experience.

“I think Kevin Feige had a great thing happen with Robert Downey Jr. and he understood that Downey’s passion was a large part of the success,” said Hawke. “When actors are excited by a part, audiences get excited about watching them. Feige understood the algorithm there, so they’re extremely respectful toward the process. The best thing about Moon Knight for me was Oscar’s performance. It’s a gonzo thing that happens to have a giant budget — a pretty out-there performance.”

Still, it sounds as though Hawke won’t be tied down by his Moon Knight role for very long. After all, the season finale left Arthur’s story pretty much tied up.

A good thing, considering that Hawke doesn’t sound too bothered about returning.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” he said. “I had to sign an NDA about dealing with them, but I’m not interested in long-term commitments. I protected myself because I didn’t know what it was going to be. I just wanted to know what that sandbox was like. And it’s what young people are watching, so why are we going to sit there and tell them it’s not good?”

Want to read more about Marvel’s Moon Knight? Check out what the show’s ending really means, and find out what psychologists really thought of the show.

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

Just the term "LASO" sends chills down even the most hardened Halo player's spine. The term refers to completing a Halo campaign on its hardest difficulty — Legendary — with all of the gameplay-modifying Skulls turned on (LASO standing for Legendary All Skulls On). If that doesn't sound hard enough as it is, how about completing the entire LASO run with zero deaths?

That's what content creator Charlie ‘Cr1tikal’ White is challenging the Halo community to complete. In a YouTube video first spotted by PCGamesN, he offered the first player to finish a Halo 2 Anniversary LASO run with zero deaths a $20,000 prize. Besides the seemingly impossible task of a one-life LASO run, Halo 2 is also widely recognized as the most difficult Legendary campaign in the franchise. $20,000 doesn't seem like enough.

Cr1tikal first announced the challenge a couple weeks ago, with a $5,000 prize attached. As the days went by with no takers, he quadrupled the prize to try and entice some fearless gamers to take the challenge. The streamer said he's tried the challenge himself, and was unable to get past the first two rooms of the first mission before giving up.

According to Cr1tikal, a run like this has only been completed once, but it had the Envy skull turned on, allowing Master Chief to turn invisible. So, to up the challenge even further, Cr1tikal is requiring players to turn that one specific skull off.

Other skull effects dramatically change gameplay, from increasing enemy aggression, to making enemies permanently cloaked, to eliminating your shield's ability to recharge normally. It's very possible no one will ever complete Cr1tikal's challenge.

If you want to jump into a Halo experience that won't have you breaking your controller, you can check out the details on Halo Infinite's co-op beta. Or, check out how the famous Halo 2 E3 demo will soon be playable.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.