A new book by an executive once involved with Marvel Studios claims that, in an effort to appeal to Chinese markets and investors, Marvel almost introduced Shang-Chi and the Mandarin in a post-credits scene in 2012's The Avengers, nearly a decade before either character would eventually enter the MCU. China was an emerging theatrical market a decade ago and Hollywood was hot to get its product into its theaters. But in order to do so, accommodations would need to be made by the studios in order to appeal to Chinese audiences and to appease the state agencies that promote Chinese interests on screen and can also censor theatrical content. As revealed by former Chinese-based DMG Entertainment Motion Picture Group president Chris Fenton in his new book titled Feeding the Dragon, Marvel Studios' then-Chief Operating Officer Tim Connors had been working with DMG at the time on helping get Marvel films into Chinese theaters and win over the powers-that-be. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-plot-thread-the-mcu-abandoned&captions=true"] Fenton recalled in his book that Connors, who currently serves as Senior Vice President at Blizzard, had some "good news" about a way DMG could help tailor Marvel's The Avengers for Chinese audiences, at DMG's expense. "Assuming we pony up more money, [Marvel] did offer [DMG] the opportunity to create a teaser at the end of Avengers for the China market," Fenton claimed. "That would give us a chance to tease a potential character, either The Mandarin or Shang-Chi. It's our decision as to which." Shang-Chi was considered the more appropriate choice seeing as how he's a "good guy." The Mandarin, of course, is Iron Man's archenemy. As Fenton wrote in Feeding the Dragon (via Bleeding Cool):

"The development team in Beijing felt Shang-Chi was the safer role to promote since he was a 'good guy' and a hero, while The Mandarin was clearly a nemesis to Iron Man. Strictly thinking about how the 'Ministry of Propaganda,' which reports directly to the Politburo, would view it, you always wanted the Chinese character to be a good guy or a hero, not a villain. Remember to them, China is good, and the West is bad. The Politburo wanted white-knight messaging. The country was spreading its wings globally, and it wanted to be viewed as a friend to the world, not an agitator or adversary encroaching on long-established borders through an Imperialistic strategy."

This kinder, gentler depiction of China and Chinese characters was a reaction to what Fenton characterizes as "American hubris, and often ignorance," in Hollywood's depiction of the country and its people as antagonists. "Hollywood didn't want to waste the part of a hero on a Chinese actor. But a villain role? No big deal," according to Fenton. "And simply putting Chinese people in a film was mistakenly thought of as the guaranteed price for admission to China's lucrative market. So, studios did it." Ultimately, there was no China-only post-credits scene created for The Avengers, with audiences everywhere seeing both the introduction of Thanos and the shawarma restaurant scene. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/05/21/iron-man-3-the-movie-that-never-was-ign-keepin-it-reel"] The Mandarin would later appear in Iron Man 3, but the character was turned into a ruse, with it being revealed -- SPOILERS -- that the terrorist was actually a frontman for the film's actual villain. "The Mandarin" turned out to actually be British stage actor Trevor Slattery (played by Sir Ben Kingsley). The "real" Mandarin was eventually revealed to exist in the Marvel One-Shot short titled All Hail the King, a move which director Shane Black deemed Marvel's apology for Iron Man 3's Mandarin twist. DMG Entertainment served as a production partner with Marvel on Iron Man 3, although their attempt to become an official co-production partner in China didn't pan out. Two versions of Iron Man 3 were produced, one for U.S. and international release and one version specifically tailored to China. The Chinese version featured four minutes of additional footage (not directed by Iron Man 3 helmer Shane Black) that did not go over well with Chinese audiences, with Chinese bloggers and critics calling out the jarring nature and shameless product placement of this localized additional footage. As reported back in 2013, the Chinese version of Iron Man 3 includes "scenes revolving around characters Dr. Wu (played by Wang Xueqi) and his unnamed assistant (played by Fan Bingbing), neither of whom apparently play a particularly necessary role in the movie. There was also the bizarre addition of two advertisements at the top of the film: one for a Yili milk drink that poses the question, 'What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?' -- Spoilers! It's Yili milk -- and another for a Chinese tractor and crane manufacturer." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/28/why-the-mandarin-could-be-shang-chis-father"] Both the real Mandarin and Shang-Chi make their official MCU debuts in 2021's Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Simu Liu plays the titular Master of Kung Fu, while Tony Leung portrays the Mandarin. In the end, Marvel Studios did find box office success in China. The Avengers was the No. 1 movie of 2012 in China, and nearly every subsequent MCU film has grossed well over $100 million at the Chinese box office since.

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast. This week we're discussing Marvel's Avengers Spider-Man exclusivity on PlayStation, Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Nintendo's incredible year, PS5 and Xbox Series X release dates, and more. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher

While the Star Trek franchise is currently thriving on television, its future on the big screen is more uncertain than ever. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fargo creator Noah Hawley's Trek movie has been put on the back burner. THR notes there are currently three Star Trek movies in the works at Paramount, including Hawley's project, Quentin Tarantino's R-rated Trek movie and a direct sequel to 2016's Star Trek Beyond. However, the studio's new motion picture group president Emma Watts is "re-assessing" upcoming projects, with the Hawley movie being one apparent casualty of that process. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=star-trek-discovery-virtual-table-read-storyboards-visual-effects-and-more&captions=true"] Interestingly, the COVID-19 pandemic may be a significant factor in the decision to pivot away from the Hawley project. Not because of cost or logistical concerns, but because the plot may hit a little too close to home in 2020. The movie reportedly revolves around a devastating virus that wipes out a significant portion of life in the Trek-verse. Hawley previously spoke about his Star Trek movie in an interview with Deadline in 2020, indicating he hoped to move forward with the movie after wrapping work on Fargo: Season 4. He also hinted that it would revolve around a new cast rather than bringing back Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and the rest of the Kelvin Timeline Enterprise crew. Hawley told Deadline, "There's nothing better than that moment when William Shatner puts on his reading glasses and lowers Khan's shields. It doesn't cost anything. But it's that triumphant feeling about smarting your enemy. For me it's about to getting to those elements of the show. I don't necessarily find action in and of itself interesting unless it's story. So, it's early days, I'm still talking with Paramount and I have a take and I gotta write a script." Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the first time Hawley has become attached to a major Hollywood property, only for that project to be shelved. Hawley previously penned a script for a solo Doctor Doom movie, but that project appears to have been canceled in the wake of the Disney/Fox merger. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/star-trek-universe-official-panel-comic-con-2020"] The good news is that fans have plenty of new Trek content to look forward to in the TV realm. Star Trek Discovery: Season 3 is premiering on CBS All Access on October 15, while the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks is off to a strong start. A second animated series dubbed Star Trek: Prodigy will debut on Nickelodeon in 2021. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Guy ‘Dr. Disrespect’ Beahm is officially back to streaming after a high-profile ban from Twitch back in June. Although Beahm made his return to livestreaming on YouTube, IGN has learned that Dr. Disrespect has not signed an exclusive deal with YouTube. In June, Beahm was mysteriously banned from Twitch. Neither Beahm nor Twitch divulged the reason for the ban, and Beahm maintains that he doesn’t know why he was banned from the platform in the first place. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-ign-call-of-duty-review&captions=true"] After months of silence, aside from a handful of interviews where Beahm expressed interest in returning to streaming, a teaser of sorts premiered on the Dr. Disrespect Instagram account. The teaser suggested Beahm could return to streaming as early as that day, but nothing materialized. Instead, Beahm premiered his Dr. Disrespect persona on YouTube a day later. IGN has learned that Beahm does not have any exclusive deal with YouTube and plans to “experiment” with other platforms including Facebook Gaming and his own Champions Club website. Beahm was once banned from Twitch back in 2019 after streaming out of an LA Convention Center bathroom during E3, but that ban was only temporary. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/16/dr-disrespect-speaks-out-on-his-twitch-ban"] Meanwhile, streaming services like Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube Gaming have begun signing streamers to exclusive contracts. Something Mixer did when it signed Ninja to the platform before the service shut down. Logic recently retired from rapping to stream exclusively on Twitch. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

On a special second episode this week of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Max Scoville and Brian Altano to discuss Sony's latest State of Play presentations. Watch the new episode below. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/07/state-of-play-reactions-beyond-episode-661"] The cast goes into the PS4, PS5, and PSVR game reveals, what worked, what didn't, and what the future of State of Play can look like. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-playstation-exclusive-from-sonys-ps5-event&captions=true"]

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out the PS5 full specs list, why we're excited about PS5's 3D audio focus, and an analysis of what teraflops really mean for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=c94f0dcc-4d4a-4e40-9e22-ffb30f8c30aa"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

The purported developers behind Aeon Must Die, a new beat’em up game that was shown off during the Sony State of Play livestream, have gone public with accusations against their CEO for gross mismanagement and IP theft. The publisher, Focus Home Interactive, has also released a statement on the matter. Shortly after Aeon Must Die premiered during the State of Play livestream, reports began circulating that the newly announced title was “stolen” from developers at Limestone Games. A second Aeon trailer appeared on YouTube from a private user with the description: “This trailer was created with abuse, manipulation, theft.” [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/06/aeon-must-die-story-trailer-state-of-play-2020"] Among the allegations from the developers that IGN has reviewed include “unbearable work conditions with endless crunch,” legal threats, a failure to establish a dialogue between employees and management, and IP theft. There was also a link to a Dropbox folder meant for media detailing a full list of allegations from the developers against the CEO, Yaroslv Lyssenko. The developers also allege that they’ve notified the publisher, Focus Home Interactive, but claim that the publisher did not help them. In a statement published on Twitter, Focus Home Interactive says that “These grievances are directed at Limestone, their employer. As the publisher of this video game, Focus is carefully looking into these allegations and will draw the necessary conclusions if they are proved to be well-founded, and then take appropriate measures.”

Our statement regarding Limestone Games and Aeon Must Die!. pic.twitter.com/75ldhtp27T

— Focus Home Interactive (@FocusHome) August 7, 2020

Since the allegations have gone public, Limestone’s official website includes a link to a new company Twitter account that only has a single link to the same Dropbox folder containing the allegations of abuse. Focus Home says no further comment will be shared until the publisher as a “clearer and complete view on this matter.” [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Facebook has released a limited version of its dedicated gaming app on iOS. Due to Apple's App Store guidelines, users will be limited to engaging with livestreams — the mini-game functionality has been cut from the iOS version. In a series of tweets, Facebook explained how "months of submissions and repeated rejections by Apple" led them to "remove instant games entirely from the standalone app." "Citing App Store guideline 4.7, Apple rejected the app claiming the primary purpose of the Facebook Gaming app is to play games," the company wrote. "It’s not. ~95% of app activity on Android is from watching livestreams. We shared this stat with Apple, but no luck." Facebook appealed Apple's decision, a process Apple introduced for app developers earlier this year, but "did not receive a response." Rather than pursue additional appeals, Facebook says it decided to launch the app Friday as is "for livestreamers and fans." "We’ll keep building a games platform," it wrote. "Playing games will always be part of Facebook Gaming whether Apple allows it in a standalone app or not." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/13/hands-on-with-microsofts-xcloud-streaming-service-and-halo-5-e3-2019"] Facebook's public frustration with Apple's policies comes shortly after Microsoft revealed it's facing similar trouble with bringing Project xCloud to iOS. "Unfortunately, we do not have a path to bring our vision of cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to gamers on iOS via the Apple App Store," Microsoft said earlier this week after ending xCloud's iOS public preview. "Apple stands alone as the only general purpose platform to deny consumers from cloud gaming and game subscription services like Xbox Game Pass," the company added. "And it consistently treats gaming apps differently, applying more lenient rules to non-gaming apps even when they include interactive content." Despite the roadblock, Microsoft says it's "committed to finding a path to bring cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to the iOS platform." Apple defended its decision in a statement to Business Insider, citing the trust and safety of its customers. It added, "Our customers enjoy great apps and games from millions of developers, and gaming services can absolutely launch on the App Store as long as they follow the same set of guidelines applicable to all developers, including submitting games individually for review, and appearing in charts and search." "Submitting games individually for review" appears to be where Apple finds issue with apps such as Project xCloud and Facebook Gaming, as each game included in Microsoft and Facebook's respective services aren't being individually submitted. To this point, Microsoft noted all xCloud games "are rated for content by independent industry ratings bodies such as the ESRB and regional equivalents." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.

Rockstar has announced the upcoming August 11 update for GTA Online, called the "Los Santos Summer Special."