Sony’s Screen Gems and PlayStation Studios are in the process of adapting Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn to the silver screen. The studios recently revealed part of the cast of the upcoming film, announcing four of its principal actors.

Who’s a part of the Until Dawn cast?

On Friday, Deadline reported that Ella Rubin, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, and Michael Cimino have all been tapped to appear in Sony’s film adaptation of Until Dawn. However, the studios haven’t announced the actors’ roles.

Fans may recognize Rubin as the actress who played Izzy in Amazon Prime’s The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway. Prime watchers may also recognize A’zion as Corinne from the romantic comedy film Sitting in Bars with Cake. Yoo, meanwhile, was nominated for a Gotham TV Award for her portrayal of Mercy Cho in Amazon’s Expats. Finally, Cimino is best known as the title character in Hulu’s teen drama series Love, Victor.

“At PlayStation Productions, we are always looking to find creative and authentic ways to adapt our beloved games that our fans will enjoy,” PlayStation’s Asad Qizilbash said of the Until Dawn film. “Alongside Screen Gems, we’ve assembled a fantastic cast of new characters that builds upon our already stellar filmmaking team and their vision for the adaptation. We’re excited to reveal more about the movie soon.”

Sony’s film adaptation of Until Dawn is being directed by David F. Sandberg. His filmography includes horror movies like Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation and the DC Cinematic Universe’s Shazam! movies. Until Dawn’s screenplay is written by Gary Dauberman, who replaced Blair Butler.

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Following rumblings that Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to make an acquisition offer for media giant Paramount, The Wall Street Journal reports that the company has already submitted a cash offer in partnership with investment firm Apollo. The New York Times has also corrborated WSJ’s report.

Sony and Apollo made $26 billion cash offer for Paramount acquisition

According to both the WSJ and NYT, Sony and Apollo have made an all-cash offer of a whopping $26 billion to acquire Paramount. If accepted, Sony will become the majority owner while Apollo will hold a minority stake in the company.

Paramount is currently in exclusive talks with Skydance Media for an acquisiton, but the exclusivity period is set to expire soon. As previously reported, there has been pushback internally at Paramount against a potential merger with Skydance. However, just when it seemed that the door was left open for Sony, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish — the biggest opponent of the Skydance deal — stepped down earlier this week.

None of this stopped Sony and Apollo from submitting a “nonbinding expression of interest,” though.

For the gamer audience, Paramount currently owns the Sonic movie franchise, Knuckles TV show, and Halo TV series, among numerous other prestigious properties.

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Sony Pictures Entertainment is reportedly teaming up with investment firm Apollo Global Management to acquire media giant, Paramount. According to The New York Times, Sony has yet to officially submit a bid as Paramount is exclusively in talks with Skydance for a deal, but investors are “significantly” pushing back on a potential deal with Skydance, leaving the door open for other companies.

Potential acquisition of Paramount may help Sony’s cross-media ambitions

NYT claims that Apollo previously attempted to purchase Paramount but there were concerns over the company’s finances. A joint bid with Sony will address those concerns. One of the ways both companies may proceed is for Sony to become majority owner while Apollo holds a minority stake. NYT adds that it’s entirely possible that Sony will not end up making a bid at all.

With relevance to gaming, Paramount is behind the Sonic movie franchise, Knuckles TV show, and Halo TV series, among others. If the aforementioned deal goes through, bringing Paramount under the Sony Pictures umbrella will help the company expand its cross-media efforts that have recently seen its gaming properties get the Hollywood treatment. Sony Pictures and Sony Interactive Entertainment have been increasingly working together, producing content under the PlayStation Productions label.

NYT didn’t say when Sony is expected to make a bid, if it decides to go ahead with one.

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Sega‘s Golden Axe has returned after nearly a 16-year hiatus… as an animated series ordered by Comedy Central. The series will be produced by CBS Studios in collaboration with Sony Pictures.

Golden Axe animated series will star Emmy award winner Matthew Rhys

Golden Axe’s cast includes Matthew Rhys as Gilius Thunderhead, Danny Pudi as Hampton Squib, Lisa Gilroy as Tyris Flare, Liam McIntyre as Ax Battler, and Carl Tart as Chronos “Evil” Lait, among others. In a press release, Comedy Central teased surprise cameos for Golden Axe fans.

“In a hilarious and loving homage to Sega’s 1989 video game series, Golden Axe follows veteran warriors Ax Battler, Tyris Flare, and Gilius Thunderhead as they once again battle to save Yuria from the evil giant Death Adder who just won’t seem to stay dead,” the synopsis reads. “Fortunately, this time they have the inexperienced and underprepared Hampton Squib on their side.”

Golden Axe will feature 10 episodes. A release window has yet to be announced. The video game series hasn’t seen a new entry since 2008’s Golden Axe: Beast Rider, which released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Developed by Secret Level, the game was panned by critics and holds a Metacritic score of 44/100 on the PS3.

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Sony Group has signed a multi-year agreement with Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) to collaborate on the Esports World Cup, becoming a founding member of the event. The first event is scheduled to take place this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with players and teams from across the globe competing in a large number of games for “the largest prize pool in esports history.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Pictures, and Sony Music will all collaborate on Esports World Cup initiatives

The partnership will see various Sony divisions — Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Pictures, and Sony Music — come together to collaborate on various aspects of the World Cup. Sony Music will create its anthem, Sony Pictures will work on documentaries showcasing players and games, and SIE will “support promising creators and talent.”

“Sony has been enhancing the esports experience especially with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s initiatives such as PlayStation Tournaments and the annual EVO fighting game series,” said executive deputy president Toshimoto Mitomo. “We look forward to further catering to this growing, global community of players and fans with the Esports World Cup.”

Some of the games announced for the inaugural event include Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, Overwatch, Rocket League, Fortnite, and Rainbow Six Siege.

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A new report — corroborated by several high-profile outlets — claims that Disney and Sony Pictures Entertainment have struck a deal for the latter to take over the former’s physical media business. The agreement will see Sony market, sell, and distribute Disney releases via 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.

Disney and Sony deal might be good news for video game discs

News of the aforementioned agreement was first reported by The Digital Bits, followed by Deadline and Variety. The reported licensing agreement will see Sony start handling Disney’s physical releases with The First Omen, scheduled for theatrical release in April.

According to The Digital Bits, this deal will enable Disney to offer its TV shows and movies on disc in various markets more efficiently while saving costs. This deal comes as somewhat of a surprise considering the entertainment industry’s shift towards digital. Only recently, Best Buy announced that it would no longer stock DVDs and Blu-ray discs amid declining demand for physical media.

While the deal between Disney and Sony is specifically for movies and TV shows, it’s good news for gamers who prefer discs. The shift towards digital downloads has been relatively slow in the games industry, but has picked up pace recently. With companies like Microsoft veering further away from physical media, this news is a breath of fresh air for PlayStation players.

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Nintendo has teamed up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop a live-action movie based on The Legend of Zelda. Sony is co-financing the project, with more than 50% of the contribution coming from Nintendo.

Sony will have distribution rights for Nintendo’s Zelda movie

As part of the deal, Sony will retain exclusive theatrical distribution rights for the Zelda movie, which will be co-produced by Arad Productions Inc. and directed by Wes Ball. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto will also be involved in the project.

“By producing visual contents of Nintendo IP by itself, Nintendo is creating new opportunities to have people from around the world to access the world of entertainment which Nintendo has built, through different means apart from its dedicated game consoles,” reads a press release by Sony Pictures and Nintendo. “By getting deeply involved in the movie production with the aim to put smiles on everyone’s faces through entertainment, Nintendo will continue its efforts to produce unique entertainment and deliver it to as many people as possible.”

Sony Pictures has been strengthening its entertainment business and continues to expand into the video game world. Considering the popularity of Zelda, this is a major deal that’ll significantly bolster Sony Pictures’ portfolio.

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Interactive streaming series Silent: Hill Ascension will stream on the PS5 and PS4 via the Sony Pictures Core app. Series creator Genvid announced its partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring the series to PlayStation consoles alongside Bravia TVs and Xperia smartphones.

Silent: Hill Ascension will premiere on October 31

Ascension is billed as a “mind-bending” choose-your-own adventure that’ll be shaped by millions of viewers. It’s unclear how many episodes it’ll have, but Konami and Genvid plan to run the series for up to six months. Other than Sony’s platforms, Ascension can be streamed on a desktop browser, iOS devices, and Android devices via the App Store and Google Play, respectively.

“We are exploring all new territory with Silent Hill: Ascension,” Sony Pictures executive Pete Wood said in a press release. “Through this unique venture with Genvid, we are excited to offer viewers on Sony devices a weekly catch-up on the action of Silent Hill: Ascension with full episodes of compiled scenes from this innovative, interactive series.”

Ascension’s story revolves around two families who “uncover strange connections between them” amidst horrors consuming their towns. The first episode will be available just in time for Halloween, October 31.

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Sony announced on Thursday that it was rebranding the Bravia Core app across a wide range of its devices and introducing Sony Pictures Core on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles today.

The Sony Pictures Core app marks the first time the movie streaming service has been on a PlayStation console and allows fans to buy or rent up to 2,000 movies from its service. Previously, the service — called the Bravia Core app at the time — was strictly available on Sony TV’s.

“At launch, this will include blockbuster hits such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Uncharted, The Equalizer, No Hard Feelings, Bullet Train, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife, among others,” said Sony in a brief PlayStation Blog post on the matter.

PlayStation Plus Premium/Deluxe members get benefits

PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe members will get access to a curated catalog of up to 100 movies through the app to stream on demand for free. The catalog will be ad-free and updated periodically, and includes titles like Looper, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Elysium, and Resident Evil Damnation. Sony says PlayStation Plus members will receive more benefits in the future as well.

For those who might be wondering why to choose Sony’s service over something like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, the service includes a function called “Pure Stream,” which it claims can stream HDR movies at up to 80Mbps, which is similar to 4K or UHD Blu-ray quality. This is a much higher quality than most other platforms can provide for every film, and should give those watching a better image.

Sony also says that fans will be able to purchase “select Sony Pictures films during an exclusive, early access window” before they arrive anywhere else, but no further information was made available on that just yet.

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The WGA and SAG-AFTA strikes continue to send ripples through Hollywood. And as such, even some of the films coming out in the near-term future have been affected. The Gran Turismo movie is one of these projects, as it has been delayed.

The new Gran Turismo movie release date is just a few weeks later

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Gran Turismo will now open nationwide on August 25, two weeks after its previous release date. However, there will be sneak previews from August 11 to August 13 and August 18 to August 20. This is, according to a Sony spokesperson, an experiment to get word of mouth to bring people in since union rules prohibit members from promoting films during the strike.

“The stars can’t promote the film but the audience can,” said the Sony spokesperson.

Sony had previously sent out emails to certain PlayStation Plus members giving them an option to see it early at select theaters.

This is just part of Sony’s overhauled slate, as many films were pushed. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was indefinitely delayed. Kraven the Hunter was delayed 10 months to August 30, 2024. The untitled Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel was moved from December 20, 2023 to March 29, 2024.

The biographical film based around the popular driving series is being directed by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp with a screenplay from Jason Hall and Zach Baylin. It stars Archie Madekwe, David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Darren Barnet, and Djimon Hounsou, just to name a few.

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