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CNBC Article Hints at New ‘Diablo’ Game?
Yes, this is another one of those “take with a grain of salt” things, especially given that it’s Blizzard.
In what seems like a rather mundane article on CNBC that talks about Goldman Sachs raising its rating for Activision Blizzard shares, the article has a quote from an analyst to their clients that’s rather curious. “We are raising our 2019 and 2020 estimates [of Activision Blizzard shares] on account of a robust multi year pipeline of games — Diablo, Overwatch 2, and a Blizzard mobile title — which we don’t think [Wall Street] estimates are fully taking into account.”
Now, one could take this as an analyst not knowing what they’re talking about (as a sequel to Overwatch seems kind of weird, given the game came out last year and is still going strong), but the mention of Diablo raises a few eyebrows. It’s been rumoured that Blizzard is looking to remaster Diablo II after their remaster of Starcraft, and this can only fuel more fire for that one. However, it could also mean that Blizzard is getting ready to jump into a new Diablo game (which would explain the franchise’s absence at this past BlizzCon).
Whatever it is, there’s something going on that has the potential to make Diablo fans very happy in the next year.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park, has passed away this week at 78 years old. In a statement shared on Neill’s Instagram page this morning, the actor’s family said that his passing was “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022, but stated the following year that he was in remission. The family notes that he “remained cancer free” at the time of his passing.
The family statement reads, “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.
“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
In addition to his iconic role as Dr. Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park and the sequels Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion, Sam Neill left an indelible mark on the horror genre with memorable roles in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession, The Omen: The Final Conflict, John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness, and sci-fi horror favorite Event Horizon.
Sam Neill’s vast resume in film and television began in the early 1970s and also includes the films Sleeping Dogs, Enigma, The Good Wife, A Cry in the Dark, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Hostage, The Jungle Book, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Horse Whisperer, Bicentennial Man, Daybreakers, Escape Plan, and Thor: Ragnarok.
Sam Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
Steven Spielberg said in a statement to Variety, “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.”
Spielberg adds, “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’
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