Chinese Company Dalian Wanda Group Acquires Majority Stake in Godzilla's Legendary Entertainment

Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Monday that Chinese company Dalian Wanda Group has purchased a majority stake in Legendary Entertainment. According to Deadline, Dalian Wanda Group valued Legendary Entertainment at US$3-4 billion. Legendary Pictures produced Godzilla and Pacific Rim, and is producing the upcoming Godzilla vs. King Kong crossover film.

Dalian Wanda Group previously purchased AMC Entertainment Holdings for US$2.6 billion in 2012.

Legendary licensed the Godzilla film rights, and produced Gareth Edwards' 2014 Godzilla film, which opened in the United States in May 2014, and earned over US$500 million worldwide. TheGodzilla 2 sequel film is slated for June 8, 2018. Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.' Godzilla vs. King Kong is slated for a 2020 release.

Deadline also reported that Japan's SoftBank company and investment firm Waddell & Reed Inc. have both agreed to sell their stakes in Legendary Entertainment.

Project ARMS Writer, Phantom Master Artist's Area D Manga Ends

                                               

This year's combined sixth and seventh issue of Shogakukan'sWeekly Shonen Sunday magazine announced on Wednesday that writer Kyoichi Nanatsuki and illustrator Kyung-Il Yangwill end their Area D - Inōryōiki manga in the magazine's next issue, which Shogakukan will publish on January 20.

The "prison survival action" story is set after the sudden emergence of special powers in certain pockets of humanity. To deal with these so-called "Altered," a mysterious remote island prison named "Area D" was built.

Nanatsuki (Project ARMS) and Yang (Blade of the Phantom Master, Defense Devil) launched the manga in 2012.Shogakukan published the manga's 13th compiled book volume in November 2015, and will publish the 14th volume on February 18.

Tokyopop published Yang's Blade of Heaven and Islandmanhwa series in North America, while Viz Media published his March Story manga. Funimationreleased the Blade of the Phantom Master anime movie based on Yang's Shin Angyo Onshimanhwa after ADV Films had previously licensed the film. Yang also illustrated the Defense Devilmanga, which ran in Shonen Sunday from 2009 to 2011.

Nanatsuki's Project ARMS manga was also serialized in the Shonen Sunday from 1997 to 2002.Viz Media released both the Project ARMS manga and anime.