Bitcoin whipsawed investors, falling below $8,000 for the first time since November before recovering most of today’s losses, as a miserable 2018 continued for cryptocurrencies, with investors confronting a mounting list of concerns about the future of the industry. Since reaching a record high of $19,511 on Dec. 18 shortly after the introduction of regulated futures contracts in the U.S., Bitcoin has wiped out more than half its value amid waves of negative news. Setbacks included escalating regulatory threats from authorities around the world including India, South Korea, China and the U.S., a record $500 million heist at Japanese exchange Coincheck Inc., fears of price manipulation and Facebook’s ban on cryptocurrency ads. Japanese authorities raided Coincheck’s offices Friday morning, a week after the robbery, hauling out documents and computers as evidence. The inspection was conducted to ensure security for users, Finance Minister Taro Aso said. “Bitcoin is in trouble,” Lukman Otunuga, a research analyst at foreign exchange broker Forextime Ltd, wrote in a note Friday. “Price action suggests that bears are clearly in control, with further losses on the cards as jitters over regulation erode investor appetite further.” The largest digital currency dropped as much as 16 percent to $7,643, before trading at $8,897 at 11:14 a.m. in New York, according to consolidated Bloomberg pricing. Bitcoin is down 21 percent on the week. Rival coins Ripple, Ether and Litecoin tumbled at least 28 percent as losses continued to spread across cryptocurrencies. Nouriel Roubini of Roubini Macro Associates said Bitcoin is the “mother of all bubbles,” and its bubble is now bursting, speaking in an interview on Bloomberg Television. He said “virtually every” Group of 20 country is talking about cracking down on the phenomenon as policymaker worries grow.

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EA CFO Blake Jorgensen indicates they'll return in the next few months. Star Wars: Battlefront 2 publisher Electronic Arts planned to have sold 10 million copies of the sequel during the holiday quarter, but only managed 9 million, according to CFO Blake Jorgensen. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Jorgensen blamed controversy surrounding its loot box system for the missed sales target. And yet, despite signs that EA and DICE may opt not to reintroduce in-game monetisation, Jorgensen has confirmed that they will indeed return. "We'll do it when we think it's ready," he told WSJ, indicating that they'll come back "in the next few months". While 9 million units shifted might seem pretty good, the original DICE Battlefront game, released in 2015, had sold 13 million copies during its first quarter on shelves. EA and DICE announced last week that it would start talking about its new, revamped, Battlefront 2 progression system in March. This will most likely dovetail with the new in-game monetisation scheme being introduced, though it's anyone's guess whether it'll resemble the controversial system which featured at launch. Whatever the case, you'd have to be a cave dweller to have missed the recent controversy surrounding loot boxes, mostly prompted by Battlefront 2. Most recently, a Washington state senator has taken the cause under his wings.

PUBG developer Bluehole is making a big effort to solve one of the game's biggest problems. The Battlegrounds developer has set up a dedicated team to tackle the problem of in game cheating. The good news is that the PUBG studio has developed a new internal anti-cheat system that will be released in full next week. "This solution will complement the systems that have been developed and implemented already," reads a Bluehole blog post. "Its main focus for now is blocking unauthorised programs but it will be further developed to broaden the scope of its abilities." The feature will also block certain programs that alter visuals or change gameplay in some way "What these programs have in common is that they all hook into our game and transform game files," the post continues. "Programs that are not used to gain an unfair advantage can also be blocked if they behave like cheats. Bluehole warns that some software will be blocked temporarily while the anti-cheat measures are introduced. But it's not all good news for PC users, as Bluehole announces plans to deactivate family sharing on Steam. "We have an announcement for those of you using family sharing on Steam," the post continues. "We had allowed this feature so that the account holders who own PUBG can use their character with other Steam accounts if they wanted to. "However, we have decided to deactivate this feature because we have identified a number of vulnerabilities that are being exploited. Please understand that we are introducing this measure to fight abuse and ensure a fair environment." Bluehole is also planning on making changes to the Miramar desert map. In a bid to increase engagement, the update adds more buildings and cover, as well as new off-road routes. Fans will also be able to find more loot dotted around the map, which should balance things up. The Battlegrounds patch makes a host of bug fixes, and introduces a new replay system.

Spider-Man studio, Sony Pictures Entertainment, could be up for sale with the executive shuffling that is bound to happen at the multinational company. This is despite major hits in 2017, such as Spider-Man: Homecoming, a collaboration with Marvel Studios, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which continues to exceed expectations at the box office. The news comes after Fox’s sold their film and TV division to Disney has officially been announced to the public. Interestingly, at one point, Sony was also interested in Fox until the House of Mouse edged out all their competitors to emerge as the winner. Since the buyout broke out, the industry has been divided about their thoughts on it. Some are happy, particularly comic book fans as Marvel Studios will regain rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four. Others, meanwhile, are less thrilled considering that the sale could result in thousands of jobs lost and possibly even less variety in terms of content on both the big and small screen. Deadline reports that Sony Pictures’ sale is possible now that current chief executive Kaz Hirai has announced that he is stepping down from his post. He will be replaced by chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida. The main difference between the outgoing and incoming CEO is that Hirai is a proponent of continuing to foster Sony’s TV and film division. His successor, however, much less so. Yoshida, who is described as a numbers guy, allegedly wants to get rid of the entertainment pocket of the Japanese conglomerate and focus all their efforts on tech instead. “Kaz was not interested in selling and Yoshida is really not too keen on the entertainment business so everyone (is speculating) that Sony is ready for a sale,” one source said. Despite speculations, insiders who have personal knowledge of the matter admit that they do not have any clear evidence that there will be a major change in the company with Yoshida at the helm. That means that the succeeding executive is still expected to continue the strategies laid out by his predecessor when it comes to growing Sony Entertainment as an independent company. Furthermore, there is supposedly no talks of sales as of the moment. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any in the future after Yoshida officially takes the company’s top spot. While nothing is still confirmed as of the moment, if there is really any industry buzz about Sony Entertainment being put up for sale, it’ll be interesting to see whether Disney considers getting into the bidding war or if they would choose to sit on the sidelines for this one. After all, that would be their opportunity to snag the film rights back to Spider-Man (and own Jumanji).

General Hux actor Domhnall Gleeson is defendingStar Wars: The Last Jedi‘sembattled humor. While The Last Jedi won’t come near to the domestic or worldwide grosses of its predecessor The Force Awakens, there’s no denying that the eighth film in the Skywalker family saga is a bona fide hit. So far, the film has earned $612 million at home and another $701 million overseas, thus bringing its total to $1.3 billion. Still, that’s $700 million less than The Force Awakens’ final global tally, leading fans and industry types to ask one simple question: Why? While the vast majority of critics praised the film, a variety of general audiences (including some die-hard fans) reacted much differently than critics – and that may have impinged Last Jedi‘s global tally. Some fans loved the film, while others took issue with writer-director Rian Johnson’s creative decisions (ranging from Luke and Leia’s newfound Force powers to Luke’s unfortunate fate at the end of the film), so much that a petition was started to remove The Last Jedi’s events from the Star Wars canon altogether. Among the various other grievances fans had with The Last Jedi was the amount of humor found throughout. And since Gleeson is the target of one big comic interlude in the opening scene, he’s feeling free to address Episode VIII‘s humor. In an interview with MTV’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Gleeson defended The Last Jedi‘s humor, which began with Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) annoying General Hux in a radio transmission, pretending that he can’t hear the general on the other end. And while Gleeson was fine with the humor in the film, he says he understands why fans were disappointed with it. “If you expect it to be a certain way, and it’s not that way, you’re going to be disappointed. You can’t decide not to be disappointed. If you’re disappointed, you are. I just – it’s my opinion that it was better to change things up than remain on the same kind of tramline sort of thing. And I thought Rian [Johnson] had tremendous respect for everything that had [come] before, but he also did his own thing. And I think for a filmmaker like him, it would be foolish not to have him do his own thing.” Essentially, Gleeson’s sentiments echo previous observations made by Johnson (and the rest of the cast), who felt he needed to do his own thing to advance the new Star Wars trilogy’s narrative without wavering from his decisions. For Gleeson, while he’s part of the lesser-disputed beefs fans have with the film, it’s great that the he’s sticking with Johnson’s overall creative decisions, even though the filmmaker has taken tremendous heat for them. Hux, while the recipient of a knock-out blow from Kylo Ren in the third act of The Last Jedi (another instance in the film that got laughs), is presumably returning for director J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX – and hopefully in an expanded role. There’s no question he’s a memorable character in his supporting turns in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, and he’s rolled with whatever changes for the character that have come his way. Whether Abrams decides to humiliate Hux again is yet to be seen, but it appears that Gleeson is willing to take any and all decisions in his stride.

Shane Black’s The Predator is heading back for over two weeks worth of reshoots. The original Predator recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and is considered an enduring classic of the sci-fi genre. The movie would spawn numerous sequels, spin-offs, comic books and video games, but the film series hasn’t had a new entry since 2010’s mostly forgettable Predators. The Predator is intended to relaunch the franchise and finds a group of soldiers taking on the title hunters in suburbia. Story details are still a little thin, though it’s been confirmed the movie won’t be a total reboot as actor Jake Busey will be playing the son of villainous government agent Peter Keyes, who was played by his father Gary in Predator 2. The film is also said to have more of a comedic tone than past entries, which was apparently met with a mixed reception during recent test screenings. Now The Predator is headed back for reshoots, with a production listing posted on The Director’s Guild Of Canada (via AVP Galaxy) confirming the film will shoot from March 12th to March 29th in Vancouver. Reshoots are a regular part of large productions, so the film could be going back to punch up actions setpieces or add more character moments. Some fans are speculating the reshoots could add a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch, though since the actor previously turned the movie down this seems like wishful thinking. The Predator director Shane Black has a long history with action films, having written Lethal Weapon 1 & 2, in addition to directing Iron Man 3 and The Nice Guys. He also played Hawkins in the original, who meets a gory demise at the hands of the alien hunter. Actors who’ve worked on the project have confirmed The Predator is funnier than previous movies, which apparently caused some concern after mixed test screenings results. Maybe the reshoots will tone down the humor slightly, though again, that’s just speculation. There still hasn’t been a teaser or any footage revealed for The Predator, though a trailer is rumored to appear sometime this month. Since the movie is being released in August, fans should probably expect a trailer to appear in the next month or so to start building anticipation. The Predator series was one of the many franchises Disney received in their recent FOX purchase, so it will be interesting to see how the House of Mouse deals with the property moving forward. Just like Alien, a dark, R-rated horror franchise doesn’t fit the typical Disney model, but future movies will probably depend on the success of The Predator.

Anticipation is running high for fans awaiting Evangeline Lilly’s official debut as the Wasp, but man fans may be disappointed to find out that she won’t have a prominent role in Avengers 4. Nabbing a part in Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War (or in their currently-untitled Avengers 4) is the hottest ticket in Hollywood, seeing as both movies culminate the MCU’s past decade into an ultimate battle with the Mad Titan Thanos. And now that the intergalactic villain is gathering his Infinity Stones, the stage is set for an epic brawl across time and space. However, while Lilly was already confirmed for Avengers 4, her part as Hope van Dyne, aka Wasp, could be a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it affair. Taking to Instagram, the LOST actress indulged her fans in an in-depth Q&A session, warning that she won’t be appear on-screen for too long in Avengers 4: “I will appear in Avengers 4. Not very much, so don’t get your hopes up. Not going to be a ton. But I’m in there! And I’m proud to be in there, and I’m stoked to be in there.” Other characters confirmed for Avengers 4 are Pepper Potts, Black Panther‘s sister Shuri, and Valkyrie, among others, so there was never going to be enough time to give everyone a starring role. But it does look like Lilly will have more than enough to do when she sticks on a pair of wings and shrinks down in size in Peyton Reed’s upcoming 2018 film, Ant-Man and the Wasp. As the sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang is back for more, but this time he has a partner in tow: the Wasp. Hope van Dyne is a major player in the comics, but Lilly has very much remained a background character of the MCU (so far). While Ant-Man and the Wasp is sure to put her back on the radar, it doesn’t sound like she will be finding herself on the Avengers’ main roster anytime soon. Much like characters including Pepper, Jane Foster, and Christine Palmer, the romantic interests MCU’s male heroes so far are often, regrettably, sidelined to little more than a handful of scenes. However, with promises of an expanded role for Gwyneth Paltrow in the next two Avengers movies, there could be hope for Wasp yet. Also, with Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige keeping a tight lock on what is coming in Phase 4 of the MCU, fans already know that the big bosses have another 20 movies planned after Avengers 4 in 2019. While Wasp may be lurking in the background of the big ensembles for now, there is a chance that Lilly could get her own solo movie down the line. If not, we’re sure she will be happy spreading her wings and taking to the skies for an inevitable Ant-Man 3.

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Super Bowl weekend is one of the quietest frames of the year in terms of moviegoing. CBS Films and Lionsgate's classic haunted house tale Winchester, starring Helen Mirren, is performing ahead of expectations in its box-office debut, according to early Friday returns. The genre pic is winning the Friday race for a possible No. 1 finish over Super Bowl weekend, one of the quietest frames of the year in terms of moviegoing. Projections show Winchester grossing $4 million or more on Friday for a possible debut north of $10 million. CBS and Lionsgate insiders are being more cautious, suggesting $8 million-$10 million. Either way, it could be a close race between Winchester and two holdovers; Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Sony) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (20th Century Fox). And don't count out Hugh Jackman's musical The Greatest Showman (Fox). Heading into the weekend, Winchester was tracking to open in the $7 million-$8 million range. The period supernatural thriller is inspired by the real-life tale of Sarah Winchester, the eccentric 19th century heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. fortune who spent her life constructing an enormous mansion in San Jose, California, complete with secret passages and trap doors, in order to keep at bay what she thought were the angry spirits of the people killed by her family's firearms. In the film, Winchester (Mirren) is visited by a skeptical San Francisco psychiatrist (Jason Clarke) who discovers that her obsession may not be so insane after all. Sarah Snook and Angus Sampson also star in Winchester, which was directed by Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig and produced by Tim McGahan and Brett Tomberlin. CBS Films acquired rights to the movie for a modest $3.5 million. Elsewhere, several films nominated for top Oscars are hoping to score major points, led by Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water, which is upping its theater count from 1,854 locations to more than 2,305. Specialty distributor Fox Searchlight is on double duty, between Shape of Water and multiple Oscar nominee Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which will up its theater count from 1,457 locations to more than 1,700. It's the first time that Fox Searchlight has had films playing in 4,000 or more theaters on any given weekend. Both Shape of Water and Three Billboards are up for the best picture Oscar, the gold standard when it comes to enjoying a box-office bump. Other movies scoring top noms can also benefit this weekend, with I, Tonya hoping that's the case as it moves into more than 1,500 cinemas. The dramedy, from Neon and 30West, stars Oscar-nominated Margot Robbie as disgraced ice skater Tonya Harding.

Gary Whitta will bring Rian Johnson's movie to Marvel starting in May. As Star Wars fans head to theaters to watch Solo: A Star Wars Story, Marvel Entertainment will be fulfilling a tradition that goes back to the origins of the franchise by releasing the first two issues of its comic book adaptation of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The six-issue series, which begins in May, follows the tradition established by Marvel’s adaptations of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, by adding new scenes unseen in the movie that are, nonetheless, canonical parts of the story. It also follows the comic adaptation of The Force Awakens by using a writer whose work has appeared elsewhere in the Star Wars franchise; the series will be written by Gary Whitta, one of the screenwriters of Rogue One, who has also written episodes of the Disney XD Star Wars: Rebels animated series and contributed to the Star Wars: From A Certain Point of View prose anthology. (The Force Awakens comic was written by Chuck Wendig, the author responsible for the Star Wars: Aftermath prose trilogy.) Artwork for the Last Jedi comic book comes from Michael Walsh and Mike Spencer, with covers by Mike Del Mundo. The first issue also features a variant cover by Marvel CCO Joe Quesada. Star Wars: The Last Jedi No. 1 will be released May 2, with the second issue following later that month.

'Skyfall' scribe John Logan will adapt Walter Isaacson's biography about the Renaissance artist for the film from Paramount and Appian Way. John Logan has been tapped to adapt Walter Isaacson's biography about Leonardo da Vinci. Paramount and Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way optioned Isaacson's latest biography, following another of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that was turned into writer Aaron Sorkin and director Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs movie adaptation. DiCaprio is set to star as the famed Renaissance artist and scientist. Logan, who wrote two recent James Bond screenplays, Spectre and Skyfall, also has movie credits like Any Given Sunday, Gladiator and The Aviator, the Howard Hughes biopic that also starred DiCaprio. Logan also created the Penny Dreadful TV series. DiCaprio, who hasn't been seen on the big screen since his Oscar-winning turn in The Revenant, may reunite with Quentin Tarantino for the director's upcoming Charles Manson movie.

Facebook says it has shut down the group page that was recruiting members to help sabotage Black Panther‘s Rotten Tomatoes score in an effort to alter the public perception of the film. Following the exciting debut of the character played by Chadwick Boseman in Captain America: Civil War in 2016, fans are only two weeks away from the Black Panther solo movie and the anticipation is already at a fever pitch. Early reactions to Marvel superhero extravaganza have been overwhelmingly positive, and fans are clearly hyped, too, as the film is projected to pull in at least $120 million (and as much as $150 million) in its opening weekend. Despite all the positive vibes about Black Panther, a specter of negativity has been looming over the film in the past couple of days. It began Wednesday when word surfaced that a group claiming to be DC fans said they were organizing an effort to storm Rotten Tomatoes to trash the film’s audience score as revenge for the low scores that DC Extended Universe’s films have received on the site. And while director Ryan Coogler said he wouldn’t let the trolling effort affect him, Rotten Tomatoes stepped up in an effort to prevent people from meddling with the film’s audience score on its site. Now, in a further effort to prevent the anti-Black Panther initiative, the people behind the social media platform where the movement began is taking action. According to Variety, Facebook has shut down the group “event” page, which was bluntly called “Give Black Panther a Rotten Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes.” Variety says the page was started by a professed member of the alt-right and had recruited 4,000 Facebook members for the group before the social media giant took it offline. The publication snagged the page’s event description before it shut down by Facebook, which said: “Given the massive success of the audience review rigging on the Rotten Tomatoes site for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and due to the sudden rise in those disgruntled with Disney business practices among other factors especially due to the corporate manipulations which created falsified bad press for the DCEU, I feel that it’s time to strike back at all those under Disney and bring down the house of mouse’s actions for paying off the critics that hurt DC Comics on film and for other parties affected by them.” The page’s administrator also indicated that Black Panther was just the start, promising “events like this for Infinity War and the Netflix shows etc so we can rally together to truly make a difference. Share this with your friends and all potential sympathizers.” Now, of course, Facebook has seen to it that that’s not going to happen. It’s hard to say how much of an impact the trolling effort would have had on Black Panther, which, thanks to the massive amount it has already earned in presale tickets, is already projected to earn at least $400 million at the domestic box office. To put things into perspective, that’s in the same neighborhood as DC’s superhero blockbuster Wonder Woman, which earned $412.5 million in its domestic run to become the top film stateside during the 2017 summer movie season. Of course, that doesn’t mean sites like Rotten Tomatoes and social media platforms like Facebook can ignore similar sabotage efforts in the future. Whether it affected the film’s box office is debatable, clearly there was some sort of trolling effort at work with the aggregation site’s audience score for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which was considerably lower than the film’s “certified fresh” critic rating.

In order to craft a cohesive version of Wakanda, the teams behind Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War worked side by side. We’re just weeks away from the start of Marvel’s massive 2018, with Black Panther projected to hit $400 million domestically when all is said and down. Ticket pre-sales have been through the roof and social media buzz and early reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. But no matter how well the film does, it’s a safe bet that the epic team-up that is Infinity War will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest earner yet. Aside from what are sure to be huge openings for both films, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War will also share some characters and locations in common. Chief among them will be T’Challa and Wakanda, who will both play crucial roles when Thanos comes to Earth. Like in the comic Infinity War is based upon, Thanos’ Black Order will head to Wakanda for one front of their invasion. And with the kingdom and its citizens serving as a major part of Infinity War, the film’s writers and directors were careful to collaborate closely with the Black Panther team on bringing it to life. io9 spoke with Black Panther directorRyan Coogler about what it was like shooting his film while its lead character and central location were also being used down the road for Avengers: Infinity War. According to Coogler, the effort required a great deal of communication and coordination to ensure that Infinity War‘s version of Wakanda aligns with Black Panther‘s representation of T’Challa’s homeland: “So what [Infinity War directors the Russo Brothers] would do is, they would send their production design team and their VFX team to come spend time with me and our production design and VFX team. And they would ask questions. Even with their writers [Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely], as they were writing, they were thinking about, ‘What scene does this?’ ‘What kind of things in the Wakanda that you are building have these things?’ ‘Where would this kind of thing happen?’ So as we were really fleshing out Wakanda, we would tell them all about it so that their ideas could track. [The Infinity War team] would spend time with our actors when they could, just so they could get ready to do what they need to do in their film.” The writers and directors behind the various MCU films have often collaborated to ensure consistency across the different films, but the case of Wakanda in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War is especially important. While MCU movie costumes and characterizations need to remain in sync, making sure Wakanda looks and acts the same in different films is an even bigger task, considering its size and scope. What’s more, the two films will be released only months apart, meaning any discrepancies will stand out more for it. Despite the proximity of the two movies in terms of release dates, Black Panther won’t directly set up Infinity War, despite the natural shared throughlines between the two films and all other MCU movies. That is to say: Black Panther will be telling its own self-contained story, but keeping an eye on Avengers: Infinity War along the way.

Anticipation is running high for Black Panther, which is why it’s projected to become one of the highest-grossing movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Getting T’Challa’s story onto the big screen has been a long and arduous journey. Columbia Pictures attempted an adaptation in the early 1990s with Wesley Snipes in the title role, but that project ended up falling by the wayside. Although the Black Panther film rights returned to Marvel in 2005, it’s taken the studio years to bring the character onto the big screen. Chadwick Boseman made his debut as T’Challa, aka Black Panther, in Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: Civil War in 2016, and he’s slated to reprise his role in the Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War this summer. But before he joins the Earth’s mightiest heroes in their fight against the Mad Titan Thanos, Boseman will be appearing in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther solo movie later this month. Audiences are so excited for the movie that Black Panther has already broken all ticket presale records, and it’s projected to earn $150 million over its opening weekend, thus giving Deadpool‘s February opening record a run for its money. However, Black Panther isn’t expected to just earn big initially and drop off. In fact, it might just become one of the MCU’s highest-grossing releases ever. According to a long-range forecast by Box Office Pro, Black Panther is now projected to earn up to $400 million (if not more) at the domestic box office, thus making it one of the highest-grossing solo superhero movies ever to release. Earning $400 million in the U.S. would put Black Panther just under Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man ($403.7 million), Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 ($409 million), and Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman ($412.5 million) with regard to solo superhero films. Plus, it would make it the fifth highest-grossing MCU film in the U.S. to date, behind Civil War, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and The Avengers. Regardless of how well Black Panther ends up performing, it’s clear that Marvel Studios has another winner on their hands. Black Panther social media reactions are overwhelmingly positive, with many critics citing this film as having the shared universe’s best villain yet. Plus, the fact that it’s already outpacing Civil War means it’s on the right track to earn quite the sum at the global box office. If Black Panther does manage to rake in an estimated $400 million under its belt, it’s certainly possible that the film could pull another $400 to $500 million from overseas markets and become the second highest-grossing solo MCU movie, behind Iron Man 3 (which got a significant boost in ticket sales thanks to being the MCU’s first post-Avengers film). After all, Marvel movies tend to do much better internationally than domestically.

J.J. Abrams’ new sci-fi TV show Demimonde has been ordered to series by HBO as the director continues his fruitful relationship with the network. While Abrams has made a splash on the big screen thanks to his work in the Star Trek, Star Wars, and Cloverfield franchises, the auteur always returns to television. Thanks to Lost, his legacy as someone able to craft compelling and complex stories has remained unchallenged and his work producing the Westworld reboot has shown he can still ensnare an audience. The next few years, however, will see even more of his work. Abrams’ touch will next be seen on Stephen King’s Castle Rock for Hulu which his company Bad Robot is producing. The latest Castle Rock teaser offered more mysterious hints about the show and looks to be yet another hit in terms of Stephen King adaptations. Abrams will also be producing Lovecraft Country with Jordan Peele, another anthology series that will dive into horror on HBO. Between that series and Westworld, it seems the network is fond of working with Abrams as they’ve just nabbed another series from him. Deadline is reporting that HBO has ordered Demimonde to series. The show will be the first solely created by Abrams since Alias, and Bad Robot, Warner Bros. TV, and HBO will all be producing. The series is described as “an epic and intimate sci-fi fantasy drama,” and it’s said to focus on the fight against a powerful adversary. Whether the titular ‘half world’ will be the main location or the evil entity threatening reality, it’s not yet known. Though HBO was long considered the favorite for the series, Apple expressed interest before it was picked up. The media and tech giant has been expanded their plans for television content lately, and have already grabbed a number of intriguing sounds projects. Most recently, Apple and La La Land director Damien Chazelle are developing a new series. Between Westworld, Lovecraft Country, the Game of Thrones spinoff, and now Demimonde, HBO is building itself quite the stable of genre content. As sci-fi, fantasy, and horror continue to perform well across film and television, the network looks to be making itself an indispensable part of the landscape. And with the Watchmen TV series exploring a comic book adaptation, HBO will gain a piece of the superhero pie. Abrams’ last series he had a hand in creating, Fringe, didn’t make the splash that Lost did but was a critical and cult success. If some of that same energy can be channeled into Demimonde, the series could be a fitting return to the world of sci-fi television for the creator.

Ramona Singer is being sued by a former employee who alleges the reality star underpaid and mistreated her — and defrauded Bravo by scheming the network into paying for clothes that she either already owned or eventually returned. According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a woman by the name of Lisa Taubes says she worked for the Real Housewives of New York City star from January 2016 to December 2017 doing marketing and branding for Singer and her company, RMS Fashions. According to Taubes, when she was hired, it was agreed that she would be paid a base of $4,000 per month for a 15-20 hour commitment, and would be paid for any hours exceeding 20 hours in a month. However, Taubes claims she regularly worked in excess of 40 hours per week and on the weekends, but was still only paid $2,000 every two weeks. She also alleges Singer would contact her “at all hours during the day and night,” expecting her to “be on call round the clock,” and often demanded she perform duties outside of their agreement, including “bookkeeping, dog walking, payment of personal bills, searching for furniture and apartment decor, and other persona errands.” Singer has not yet responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment. Taubes’ most serious allegation is that the Bravo star “routinely” instructed her to “engage in unethical practices by submitting false receipts to networks for reimbursement on clothes.” “Specifically, [Singer] asked Ms. Taubes to purchase designer clothes for the filming of Ms. Singer’s show, and instructed [Taubes] to submit receipts to Bravo Cable Network for reimbursement and then asked Ms. Taubes to return the clothes for refund,” states the suit. “[Singer] also instructed [Taubes] submit fake receipts for reimbursement on clothes that she already owned and demanded [Taubes] carry out these tasks.” Taubes claims she was fired by Singer on Dec. 13 in the lobby of Singer’s building, alleging Singer “publicly humiliated” her by pushing her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Taubes alleges that when she refused to sign the papers, Singer “shoved” her, grabbed her handbag and “overturned the contents” in the lobby. “Several people in the lobby witnessed Ms. Singer’s demeaning conduct and Ms. Taubes, with the assistance of a doorman, collected personal belongings of her overturned handbag,” reads the suit. Taubes is seeking the wages she claims she is owed and is suing for damages in excess of $150,000.

Actor Jeremy London was arrested and booked into jail for misdemeanor domestic violence on Friday, according to TMZ. Jeremy was arrested in Jackson County, Mississippi, and he looks disheveled in his mugshot. Details of the arrest aren't known, nor is his alleged victim. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that the actor, who appeared in "Mallrats," "Party of Five" and "7th Heaven," was arrested in the front yard of a home owned by his wife, Juliet Reeves, who he married in 2014. Jeremy, whose twin brother is "Dazed and Confused" actor Jason London, has previously been arrested on similar charges. In 2012, he had an altercation with his then-estranged wife, Melissa Cunningham. He was alleged to have pulled her hair and hit her on the head, but the charges were dismissed in 2013.

A quirky romantic comedy and a gimmicky sci-fi premise, "Groundhog Day" managed to tap into universal, spiritual, larger than life questions. What kind of person do I want to be? What would I do with eternity? Do I have the capacity to change? But the creators of the classic film, released a quarter century ago, say that the Bill Murray comedy's deeper themes and success feel almost accidental. "I was not trying to write a spiritual piece, but I was trying to write a story about a human life," screenwriter Danny Rubin told TheWrap. "You sort of go through these periods of time where it's not quite right, and you feel like you want to move on, and you feel like you've tried everything and it's just not changing. Yeah, of course. I think that's a very common, human experience. I don't know many people who haven't experienced something like that." If you were immortal and could live long enough, would you change? That was the question Rubin started with in imagining "Groundhog Day." Suddenly he had an idea about something more than a man caught repeating the same day. "For some of these arrested development types, maybe one lifetime isn't long enough," Rubin said. "Now it seemed really promising, because it wasn't just a comedy premise. It was the story of a human life, a very long human life. I thought of it like Siddhartha, a man's journey through life all on the same day." When Rubin first met with director and co-screenwriter Harold Ramis, Ramis was fascinated by the film's references to reincarnation and resurrection. It all came as a surprise to Rubin, and he looked to Ramis to help the script's final draft find the warmth and humanistic qualities that have made it a classic. "Groundhog Day" producer Trevor Albert recalled getting a call from a Buddhist leader applauding them for making a film that embodied ideologies of regeneration. Some time later, he got a call from a Jewish organization that had embraced it as a perfect depiction of "mitzvah." And these were hardly the only theories that have followed the film in the last 25 years. "The chance for becoming a better human being in this lifetime, I think that's a philosophy a lot of religions try to embrace," Albert told TheWrap. "Neither one of us being particularly religious saw it more as a humanistic tale, and that was enough for us, but it's certainly part of what appealed to me about it, that it was a comedy and it was a love story, but it was about something." "Why is it 5:59 and then 6:01? Is that because how old Moses was when the flood happened? Oh...might be," Rubin joked. "Did you know that Nietzsche was trying to figure out how to dramatize his theory of eternal recurrence? Is that what you were trying to do? Yes? Because I thought that's just what Hollywood needed!" When we first meet Murray's pompous weatherman Phil Connors, he already thinks of himself as a god. "I make the weather," he says in the midst of a snowstorm blocking his way out of town. But he fears he has no future, he's unaware of the world around him, and as he's condemned to repeat the day becomes increasingly despondent. "Wouldn't it be great if we had that kind of experience and learn something from it? We go through life and are not always conscious of it," Murray's co-star Andie MacDowell told TheWrap. "Whatever religion you want to base yourself in, that's ultimately why we're here." MacDowell said for a movie about kindness, it was Ramis' spirit that influenced "Groundhog Day's" charm. She described him as "the nicest man" she's ever worked with, always in a good mood and never grumpy. And she hopes that kindness rubs off on anyone who watches "Groundhog Day," even 25 years later. "Hopefully we do become more conscious of how we treat others and the affect we have every day, down to the point do we let the car go in, do we let a car pass us in Los Angeles, do we pick a fight, do we help an old lady cross the street? Are we conscious enough to make those decisions," Macdowell said. "It is about imbuing and hoping that irredeemable people can be redeemed. That's the great human aspiration," Albert said. "I'd like Donald Trump to watch the movie and see if it affects his behavior a little bit. You want people whose views you don't agree with or who are unkind and selfish to be better human beings, or at least I do." MacDowell's character Rita has a line as Phil has spent the day trying to woo her off her feet. "It's perfect. You couldn't have planned a day like this." "Groundhog Day" too feels equally effortless in its charm and the spiritual legacy it has left on so many. "Well, you could," Phil says. "It just takes a lot of work."

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 has been an absolute triumph, transforming a superhero TV series into an outer-space science-fiction story. The show stranded Agent Coulson and his team in a harsh dystopian future – one in which the world itself had been shattered like an egg. Little by little, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have realized that they’re trapped in a strange loop in time. They are destined to return to the present, but it is their own actions that will literally destroy the Earth. In ‘Past Life,’ the moment finally came. Flint used his Inhuman powers to trigger the Monolith, transporting S.H.I.E.L.D. back in time. Crucially, though, the episode ended before revealing whether or not the team actually returned to their own time. Although the time loop itself seems to indicate they do, the disturbing truth is that there are terrifying questions about certain characters. Meanwhile, surprisingly, they may actually have picked up a new recruit. So, which members of S.H.I.E.L.D. have gotten home, and whose future is in doubt? Let’s run through the team. COULSON Phil Coulson was mysteriously absent in flashback scenes through ‘The Last Day,’ prompting some fans to worry that he wouldn’t make it back to the present. The older Yo-Yo’s words imply that he gets back home, though, but that he’s dying after his scrap with Kasius’ Inhuman. In fact, it even seems S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attempts to save Coulson are an important part of the end of the world. Coulson is clearly a crucial player in this time loop, so it’s safe to say he got back to Earth. DAISY Along with Coulson, Daisy is one of the characters we can be certain made it back to the present day – even if she didn’t exactly want to do so. Daisy knows what the future holds, and now she has to work out how to avert it. At the same time, she’ll have to deal with the fact Coulson forced her to go home unwillingly, literally shooting her. It’s worth remembering that, in real terms, Daisy has actually only recently rejoined S.H.I.E.L.D.. Season 4’s events seemed to only take place over a few weeks, and for the S.H.I.E.L.D. team (bar Fitz) there was no break between Seasons 4 and 5. It’s possible Daisy will run once again, attempting to flee from her destiny. FITZ It’s certain that Fitz makes it back. He’s an important part of the time loop; if Fitz doesn’t return to the present day, the machine to send them home will never be built. That also means most of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stood before the Monolith will survive the journey, hopefully relatively unscathed. MACK Mack’s fate was the most questionable of them all. At some point, the loop seems to involve his death; worse still, it may be that he died in ‘Past Life.’ The elder Elena spoke of Mack dying running from flames – and he ran from an explosion towards the Monolith. He was also the furthest from the Monolith when it triggered. Finally, none of the flashbacks in ‘The Last Day’ featured Mack. Thankfully, Mack seems to have made it home OK. He’s visible in the trailer for the next episode, and there’s no evidence of an injury. For now, Mack has dodged the bullet. But time is still in a loop, and S.H.I.E.L.D. may yet lose the man who’s become their heart and soul.

SPOILERS for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode ‘Past Life’ ahead The latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5, ‘Past Life’, reveals the way to save Earth is to let Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) die; we break down how and why his death can prevent the planet’s destruction. Since the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 premiere, Coulson and his team have been trapped in a future where the Earth was destroyed – supposedly by Daisy Johnson aka Quake (Chloe Bennet) – and the remnants of humanity have been subjugated by Kree. In particular, the humans were ruled over by Kasius (Dominic Rains), a Kree lord who was banished to Earth after angering his father. Throughout the early part of season 5, Coulson and the team have been looking for a way back to the present, and the Kree Monolith, along with some help from the young Inhuman Flint (Coy Stewart), is their ticket home. Of course, the agents were also searching for a way to save Earth from being destroyed and leading to the future where they’ve been trapped, but it’s still unclear how exactly Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will save the world this time. Based on everything we know about how the Earth was destroyed, though it isn’t much, S.H.I.E.L.D. is actually responsible for the end of the world. In this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ‘Past Life’, we get new puzzle pieces that offer some insight into the season-long mystery of Earth’s destruction. Two particular tidbits of note are Kasius’ mention of his father’s fixation on Earth and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. will set events into motion that lead to the end of the world when they save Coulson from dying. So, why must Coulson die for the agents to save Earth and how is it connected to Kasius? We break it down and posit a theory for where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5 is headed after its hiatus. WHY DOES COULSON HAVE TO DIE TO SAVE EARTH? Since it was revealed in last week’s episode that Kasius has his own seer to even the scales after the precognitive Inhuman Robin helped S.H.I.E.LD. with her visions, fans have wondered who Kasius’ seer is. In ‘Past Life’, Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) comes across that seer – and the seer turns out to be the future version of Yo-Yo who lived through traveling to the future, returning home, and not being able to stop the Earth from being destroyed. The time travel of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. may be confusing, but future Yo-Yo confirms the agents are stuck in a time loop of knowing the Earth will be destroyed, but not knowing how to stop it. Well, future Yo-Yo does give her younger self one way to save Earth: “Phil Coulson is dying, and you have to let him.” Earlier in the episode, Kasius fed some black alien substance he called Odium to the Inhuman trainer Tye (Max E. Williams), whose eyes turned black and shed black tears. Tye attacked Coulson and injured the S.H.I.E.L.D. director, giving him a deadly wound infected with the Odium. While it’s unclear what exactly the Odium is or how it will affect Coulson, this is the injury and the illness that Yo-Yo says will kill him. As future Yo-Yo tells her younger self, the Odium infection slowly killing Coulson will force the S.H.I.E.L.D. team to make a choice, either save him and bring about the end of the world or let him die and save the Earth. Of course, there’s a puzzle piece missing here. While we know saving Coulson’s life is somehow connected to the destruction of the Earth, we don’t know exactly how. Before Yo-Yo can learn as much from her future self, she’s urged to leave in order to make it back to her friends. However, insight into Coulson’s condition – and how the agents might save him – comes from the other part of the mystery of Earth’s destruction that’s revealed in ‘Past Life’.

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