Fast and Furious 9’s Magnet Plane Stunt Was Dreamed Up By a 9 Year-Old

Fast and the Furious 9 director Justin Lin has revealed that his young son came up with the idea for the upcoming movie’s hilariously outlandish magnet plane stunt.

Seen in the first F9 trailer, the magnet plane scene is clearly being billed as one of the movie’s showpiece stunts, with a car flying off a cliff being picked up in mid-air by a plane equipped with a gigantic magnet. In an interview with Empire, Lin says the stunt came into being when he brought his ‘eight or nine year old’ son Oqwe to a meeting in London.

During a discussion about the movie’s set-pieces, one stunt involving a ravine became a sticking point. Thankfully, Oqwe had been playing with toy cars and listening in:

“We were talking about the ravine [set-piece] and I said, ‘Alright, so here’s Roman and Tej. Jakob needs to get to the other side – how does he get there?’ And Oqwe just picked it up and pitched the idea of the plane and everything. After us spending hundreds of hours on planning, I guess he was paying attention, and he understood the characters.”

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And there you have it. Given that the Fast and the Furious franchise has always been about ridiculous action power fantasies and over the top set-piece moments, it’s not surprising that kids would be a great at coming up with ideas. Maybe the next time you’re struggling for ideas at work, think about bringing your kids along.

F9 will be including magnets in more than just planes, and we spoke to John Cena about his feelings on the new movie’s obsession with magnetism: “It makes for a fun effect, because it is something commonplace, something we see all the time – but make a really effing huge [magnet] and some chaos can ensue. I think it’s a really creative, inspirational thing, and Fast always seems to find a way to do those things.”

After multiple delays, F9 should finally be coming to theaters on June 29, and it’s aiming to bring the franchise’s past and future together.

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Liam Wiseman is a Freelance News Writer at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman

Wrestle Buddies: GameSpot’s Wrestling Podcast Celebrating WWE, AEW, And More

Wait, you’re not caught up on Wrestle Buddies, GameSpot’s professional wrestling podcast? That seems impossible. How do you get through your day without hearing GameSpot Entertainment’s Mat Elfring and Chris E. Hayner discuss the most important topics in wrestling history–or, at least, the topics they think are important. From Hulk Hogan’s failed pasta restaurant to the time John Cena beat up Kevin Federline, we’re talking about practically everything. Wrestle Buddies doesn’t end there, though.

We also interview the biggest stars from WWE, AEW, Impact, and Ring of Honor and every month offer up our predictions on what’s going to happen at WWE’s monthly pay-per-views. That’s not enough? We also look back on the best and worst things from a plethora of wrestling topics, from video games to factions, determining what is truly wrestling’s greatest of all time (Hint: It’s Gangrel).

If you’re looking for a weekly recap of what’s happening on professional wrestling, this isn’t the show for you. However, if you want a celebration of the best, worst, and goofiest this magnificent industry has to offer, you’ve come to the right place. We may not care about who won or lost on Raw this week, but we certainly care too much about the time Robocop invaded WCW.

You can take a look at all of our full-length episodes and mini bonus installments below.

New episodes of Wrestle Buddies are released every Thursday on the podcast platform or app of your choice, including Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts. You can also keep up to date with the podcast by following it on Twitter @WrestleBuddies.

Full Wrestle Buddies Episodes:

This week, we look at the talent released by WWE last week, where we think they might go next, and gush about Bo Dallas quite a bit. Then, to celebrate the release of the new Mortal Kombat movie, we look back on the time WCW ripped off Mortal Kombat. Glacier was like if Sub-Zero was a bad wrestler that superkicked everyone.

Every now and then, there’s a professional wrestling feud so bad that most wish it would be stricken from the records. This week, we’re talking about the Katie Vick angle, in which WWE Champion Triple H revealed Kane accidentally killed his girlfriend in high school, even though it’s hard to imagine Kane having a girlfriend in high school. Don’t worry, this storyline gets much worse and grotesque from there. We’re also joined by two guests that seem to show up whether invited or not, the Smackdown Hacker and PredictionBot 3000.

Wrestlemania week is here and we’re kicking things off with a full episode of predictions. After all, the biggest show of the year is actually two shows once again and there are so many matches to dig through. What will be the best match? How good is the overall card? Why does Mat have a robot that loves wrestling? These are all things we’re covering this week.

This week, Mat and Chris can see the future! Well, they can predict the future. As total wrestling video game nerds, we look ahead at the next couple of years of video game titles from WWE and AEW, as well as a couple of very exciting independent games. Did you know WrestleFest has an official sequel? It does, even if we’re not sure how it’s official! Plus, we blaze through a bunch of listener questions and have an intense discussion about hot dogs.

This week we look back on the most important feud in modern pro wrestling history. We are, of course, talking about John Cena vs. K-Fed. That’s right, remember when the WWE Champion fought Britney Spears’ husband? It happened and we’re obsessed with it. Plus we introduce a new segment. Are you ready for Pitchfest 2000?

Be a man, Hogan! Because this week we’re breaking down “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s rap album. You haven’t heard it? You’re so lucky, you coward. Get ready for a lot of talk about his Hulk Hogan diss track and us doing impressions. We’re also revisiting Mankind’s WWE debut and the career is evolved into.

This week, we look back at the finger poke heard around the world. Remember when Hulk Hogan won the WCW title (again) by simply tapping on Kevin Nash? The whole thing is far weirder than you remember and we’re going into detail. Then, it’s WBF time as we look back at the strange history of Vince McMahon’s bodybuilding venture, the World Bodybuilding Federation. From the creation of “bodystars” to the time the bodybuilders fought WWE wrestlers on an episode of Family Feud, there’s a lot to dig through.

It was us, Austin! It was us all along! This week, we’re revisiting the time Vince McMahon’s most nefarious enemy was revealed to be…Vince McMahon. No, seriously. He did it because “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was a bully. We also look back on one of the weirdest and worst matches in latter-day WCW, the “Human Torch” match between Sting and Vampiro (and the Sting stuntman). No, this had nothing to do with the Fantastic Four.

This week, Mat and Chris have their eyes set on Wrestlemania. With the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber behind us, we take a look at what the “road to Wrestlemania” actually is and whether or not it means anything. Then, we discuss what this year’s Wrestlemania weekend will be like, from WWE’s offerings to a long list of independent wrestling shows scheduled around the big event. This year’s Wrestlemania, like last year’s, is going to be incredibly unique and we’re curious as to what it will look like.

This week, we welcome TV Guide senior editor Megan Vick to talk about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new TV series Young Rock. What was The Rock’s life like growing up? Turns out, it was pretty wild. Then, Young Rock star Joseph Lee Anderson stops by to talk about playing The Great One’s dad Rocky Johnson and training with Chavo Guerrero. Special guests: Young Rock’s Joseph Lee Anderson & TV Guide’s Megan Vick

This week, we reveal our professional wrestling predictions for 2021. Who will main event Wrestlemania? Will NXT invade Survivor Series again? Will WWE be sold? We talk about it all. Then, a new segment debuts, in which Mat and Chris celebrate the greatness of Bo Dallas and look back on one of his finest moments.

This week, Mat has completed his ridiculous project of rewatching every episode of Raw and every pay-per-view WWE presented in 1995. Come along on the journey with us as he breaks down the highs, the lows, and the Man Mountain Rock.

This week, Mat and Chris are having too much fun talking about the D-Generation X “invasion” of WCW during the Attitude Era. Yes, revisionist wants you to believe they did it in a tank, but that’s just not the case. Then, the Smackdown Hacker breaks into the show again to declare himself for the Royal Rumble, even though he doesn’t seem to know what that entails.

This week, Mat and Chris welcome All Elite Wrestling star Scorpio Sky and Jason Willems from FunHaus to talk about their new podcast, Wrestling with the Week (Out now!), and very important topics like wrestling, video games, and a love of 90 Day Fiancé. Mat and Chris also look back at the late-’90s “Man’s Man” gimmick that William Regal was saddled with for some reason. At the very least, it proved that drinking orange juice is manly. Special Guests: AEW’s Scorpio Sky & FunHaus’s Jason Willems

This week, Mat and Chris head revisit SummerSlam 2005 to watch Shawn Michaels oversell every single move Hulk Hogan throws at him during their match. It’s truly one of the most bizarre WWE bouts of all time and–dare we say it–Hogan’s best match ever. We also take a look at The New Day’s WWE debut in the new segment First Impressions. Back then, they weren’t the pancake-throwing, trombone-playing meme machines you know and love now.

This week, we break the normal format to talk about the late Jon Huber, who you know best as Mr. Brodie Lee in AEW and Luke Harper in WWE.

This week, we welcome back Keisha Hatchett for the final episode of 2020. It’s the Wrestle Buddies Awards! That’s right, you’ve waited all year for it and it’s finally time for the Buddiesies. We have lots of trophies to give out, so hopefully, you’re ready for an award more prestigious than the Slammys and the WWE Hall of Fame put together. Oh, and Mat plays with WWF Bungeez again because he’s truly committed to the bit.

This week, Mat and Chris found the absolute worst toy WWE ever released, just in time for the holidays. Do you remember WWF Bungeez? It’s like what if Pogs met magnets met severed heads and it’s wonderfully bad. Of course, we had to buy and play with it. You’re also in luck, as this episode contains the final Wrestlepiece Theatre of 2020 as the stars of GameSpot After Dark join forces with the hosts of We Enjoy Wrestling to recreate an iconic Attitude Era promo.

This week, Mat takes us back to when Kane unmasked and, because he had nothing else to do, began feuding with the Attitude Era version of himself. Yes, it was weird. Then Chris spends a lot of time talking about Impact Wrestling’s absolute worst faction ever, Sports Entertainment Xtreme. Yes, the acronym is SEX. Yes, Vince Russo is at fault.

This week, Mat and Chris look at Kenny Omega’s All Elite Wrestling world championship win and AEW’s new partnership with Impact Wrestling. Will it lead to dream matches, even if Omega’s first Impact appearance wasn’t that interesting? We also look at the current Being the Elite product and the rise of Dark Order’s John Silver in our hearts and minds.

Mini Episodes & Interviews:

Guerrilla Collective 2021 Dates Announced, More Than 80 Games Will Be There

This summer’s big gaming events continue to come into focus, as the Guerrilla Collective showcase has now set dates for its 2021 show. The event will take place on two Saturdays in June: June 5 and June 8.

The showcase will begin at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET on each Saturday. These events will include news and new footage for games, along with other new components. Guerrilla Collective has partnered with Wholesome Games to showcase the next Wholesome Direct broadcast, while Guerrilla is also working with the Black Voices Gaming series. You can see a rundown of the schedule and watch to expect below.

Guerrilla Collective 2021 Schedule:

Saturday, June 5

  • 8 AM PT | 5 PM CET: Guerrilla Collective Showcase
  • 10 AM PT | 7 PM CET: Black Voices in Gaming

Saturday, June 12

  • 8 AM PT | 5 PM CET: Guerrilla Collective Showcase
  • 10 AM PT | 7 PM CET: Wholesome Direct

How To Watch

Guerrilla Collective’s 2021 showcases will be streamed live on Twitch for both days. Additionally, GameSpot is a co-streaming partner so you can watch right here.

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What To Expect

The Guerrilla Collective 2021 event is promising to showcase more than 80 games from a variety of studios, including Among Us developer Innersloth and 505 Games. Here is a rundown of all the participating studios and publishers as of May 12:

  • 2 Awesome Studio
  • 505 Games
  • Akupara Games
  • All in! Games
  • Goblinz Studio
  • Fellow Traveller
  • Good Shepherd
  • Graffiti Games
  • Humble Games
  • Headup
  • Hypetrain Digital
  • Innersloth
  • tinyBuild
  • Neon Doctrine (formerly Another Indie)
  • Perfect World
  • Raw Fury
  • Superhot
  • Thunderful
  • Versus Evil
  • Whitethorn Games

Black Voices in Gaming

This segment will highlight Black voices in the gaming industry. This part of the show will be focused solely on games from Black developers and titles that feature Black protagonists. There will also be conversation segments with the creators of these games.

Wholesome Games

The Wholesome Direct will be part of Guerrilla Collective this year, too. It’s an independent organization run by volunteers that aims to shine a light on “uplifting and thoughtful indie games.” There will be new footage, interview, and announcements for more than 75 games.

More To Come

Guerrilla Collective said it will have more details to share as the event gets closer, so keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

E3 2021, meanwhile, is scheduled for June 12-15 as an all-virtual show. June 12 is also the day that Devolver Digital is planning to host its own summer broadcast. The busy summer schedule will also include the latest Summer Games Fest event in June from host Geoff Keighley, EA Play Live 2021 in July, and a virtual Gamescom in August

GameSpot’s Play For All charity event also returns this June as we celebrate video games and lend support to important causes. We’ll have more details about what we’ve got planned soon.

The Forever Purge’s First Trailer Takes The Terror To Texas

The first trailer for The Forever Purge has been released. The fifth movie in the Purge series hits theaters on July 9.

While most of the Purge movies are set before and during the annual night of legalised crime and violence, The Forever Purge picks up the day after. The movie focuses on a group of Mexican immigrants living in Texas, and the trailer shows them cleaning up their rural community after the Purge. Unfortunately a group of criminals have decided that the Purge is still happening. It looks like another entertaining mix of horror, action, and social satire–check it out below:

The Forever Purge stars Ana de la Reguera (Army of the Dead), Josh Lucas (Ford vs Ferrari), Tenoch Huerta (Narcos: Mexico), and Will Patton (Halloween 2018). It’s directed by Everardo Gout, who previously directed episodes of Snowpiercer, Luke Cage, The Terror, and Banshee.

The movie is written by James DeMonaco, who created the Purge series. DeMonaco has written every movie so far, as well as directing the first three films. He previously stated that this will be the final film in the series. However, producer Jason Blum subsequently admitted that he hoped more films will follow. “I would never say its end is set in stone,” he told Radio Times last year. “Hopefully, I’ll talk James into making a couple more.”

For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to the biggest upcoming movies in 2021.

New 24-Hour Flash Sale Live Now At Best Buy: Gaming Laptops, Webcams, And More

Fresh off its latest weekend promotions, Best Buy just kicked off a 24-hour flash sale that’s available today only, and it has some very nice deals for gamers, streamers, and anyone who plans to travel more in the near future. Though the rest of today, you can take advantage of steep discounts on a pair of gaming laptops from Asus and Razer, an excellent soundbar system, a solid pair of true wireless earbuds, and one of our favorite games released so far in 2021: It Takes Two. From webcams to smart TVs, the small sale includes a nice selection of offers, so be sure to check it out before it ends tonight. We’ve rounded up some of the best deals below.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Animal Crossing-Esque Sim Hokko Life Hits Steam Early Access Next Month

Soon, Steam users will also be able to build their life amongst cute animal villagers. Hokko Life, an upcoming town sim from Team 17, will be launching on Steam Early Access next month.

In a post on Steam, Hokko Life’s sole developer Robert Tatnell, who goes by Wonderscope, announced that the upcoming title would be heading to Early Access on June 2. Some features of the game were also revealed, which may remind you of another town sim game with animal villagers. Players will be able to use a workshop to design their own furniture, go fishing or catch bugs, or simply chat with their neighbors.

The similarities don’t end there either. A new trailer for Hokko Life revealed some snippets of gameplay, and it’s all very Animal Crossing-esque. Players travel around their village from a semi-top down perspective, chat with some anthropomorphic villagers, and customize their little box-shaped home. The game also seems to have seasons, although we can’t say if those are tied to the passage of time in the real world a la Animal Crossing.

Hokko Life does seem to have some features that set it apart from Animal Crossing. For instance, players can place items in the world at various angles instead of being locked into a grid. Likewise, the individual parts of furniture can be decorated. Players can customize the frame and cushions of a couch for example. However, when players speak to villagers, they don’t have their own cute, unique voices, and that’s just a letdown.

Currently, Hokko Life’s Early Access price is unknown. However, Tatnell has stated that the game will cost less during its Early Access period than it will once it fully releases.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

WWE Wrestlemania Backlash 2021 Match Card And Predictions

It’s time for those who were wronged at Wrestlemania to get their revenge–or backlash. The next WWE PPV is none other than Backlash–now called Wrestlemania Backlash–taking place on Sunday, May 16. The event will feature a few rehashes of WM37 bouts with a few different stipulations or additions. Here’s what you can expect from the card.

WWE rebranded the Backlash PPV as Wrestlemania Backlash, and it will be taking place again in the Thunderdome, which is currently in the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida. However, why the show does have “Wrestlemania” in the title–the first WWE PPV since the pandemic started with an audience–the public won’t be in attendance for this one. The show starts at 7 PM ET / 4 PM PT, with a Kickoff Show airing one hour prior. Said preshow will air for free on Peacock, as well as on Twitter and YouTube.

Numerous championships will be defended, including Bianca Belair’s first defense of the Smackdown Women’s Championship; however, it won’t be a rematch against Sasha Banks. This time, she’ll be taking on Bayley. Additionally, Cesaro will finally get a Universal Championship match against the “head of the table” Roman Reigns. Considering the caliber of matches Cesaro puts on, this will be one to watch.

As of this writing, there are seven matches on the card, and there is a good chance a couple more will be added in the upcoming days, especially after Friday’s episode of Smackdown.

WWE Wrestlemania Backlash Match Card:

  • Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman (WWE Championship)
  • Bianca Belair (c) vs. Bayley (Smackdown Women’s Championship)
  • Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair (Triple Threat Match for the Raw Women’s Championship)
  • Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro (Universal Championship)
  • Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode (c) vs. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
  • Damian Priest vs. The Miz (Lumberjack Match)

While most of the world can watch Wrestlemania Backlash on the WWE Network, wrestling fans in the US will need to subscribe to NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock. While the service has a free tier, Wrestlemania Backlash will only be available to stream on the Premium and Premium Plus tiers, which cost $5 a month and $10 a month respectively. The difference between the two is that Premium Plus is ad-free.

Aside from WWE content, Peacock is the home to movies, TV shows, original content, and live events. This summer, Peacock will be the streaming home to the Tokyo Olympics–which were supposed to take place in 2020 but were delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Predictions:

Later this week, there will be a special episode of GameSpot’s professional wrestling podcast Wrestle Buddies, where we discuss our predictions for the upcoming PPV. For now, here’s a prediction for one of the possible main event matches.

Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman (WWE Championship)

If there’s one thing WWE loves right now, it’s turning a one on one feud into a Triple Threat match for a PPV. The Strowman Express is tossed into this Lashley/McIntyre feud to get the most amount of large, muscle-men into a championship match. While there’s been a huge push with Strowman recently, I don’t see him winning the WWE Championship here. This could be a good time for McIntyre to regain the title, but I see Lashley retaining through nefarious means.

11 Minutes of Scarlet Nexus Preview Gameplay

In a futuristic world threatened by otherworldly monsters called ‘Others’, Scarlet Nexus sees you play as either Kasani or Yuito with the task of putting a stop to them. Each protagonist have different paths through the same story, and you can see both of them in action in the above gameplay.

You’ll not be fighting along, as you’ll be fighting alongside a merry band of anime boys and girls who are part of a special forces unit who can support you in combat encounters. But of course, there seems to be a deeper mystery to unravel in the main story.

We got out hands on with the game for about 3 hours, but the gameplay in the above video was provided by Bandai Namco. Scarlet Nexus is set to launch on June 25th for PC, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PS5, and PS4.

You can check out our full preview right here – https://www.gamespot.com/articles/scarlet-nexus-anime-style-action-has-potential-but-hasnt-fully-impressed-yet/1100-6491378/

Hitman Dev IO Hires Cyberpunk 2077’s Lead Gameplay Designer And Former Battlefield Dev

Hitman developer IO Interactive has hired two prominent game developers to support its upcoming projects across the Hitman franchise, as well as the new James Bond game and the studio’s unannounced original IP.

Rasmus Hojengaard is now the studio design director, and in that role, he will lead and shape every project that IO Interactive is working on. It’s a homecoming of sorts for Hojengaard, as he was previously the game director on 2006’s Hitman Blood Money. He left IO to join DICE, where he worked on the Star Wars Battlefront, Battlefield, and Mirror’s Edge franchises. Most recently, he was at Rocksteady Studios, the developer of the Batman Arkham series.

The other new hire is Andrzej Zawadzki, who left The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red to join IO. He was the lead gameplay designer on Cyberpunk 2077.

At IO, Zawadzki takes on the role of senior game designer for the studio’s unannounced IP. “His experience, drive and imagination will be a crucial part of establishing a completely new universe,” the studio said in a blog post.

This new IP is said to be a fantasy game with dragons that could be an Xbox-exclusive, though IO has yet to announce any details officially.

IO also mentioned that Hojengaard and Zawadzki are just two of the new hires at the company. The studio also hired “other top talent” at its studios in Copenhagen, Malmo, and Barcelona. “All of the IO Interactive studios will make a significant impact to all projects,” the studio said.

IO’s latest game is Hitman 3, which continues to get new DLC, the latest of which was the Season of Pride.

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Emily Blunt Shoots Down Fantastic Four Casting Rumors

In a recent interview, actor Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place: Part II) says despite persistent rumors online, she and husband John Krasinski (The Office) are not in negotiations with Marvel to co-star in the planned Fantastic Four film. In a clip posted online Tuesday, Howard Stern tries several times to hear whether Blunt even acknowledging internet rumors might indicate she may potentially be in the film, which is still a long way off.

“No one has received a phone call,” Blunt said in the interview. “That is just people saying, ‘Wouldn’t that be great?’ And that’s it.” Check out the two-minute portion of the conversation, in which Stern and Blunt discuss the rumors, below.

Again, despite reports of casting and filming, Deadline reported back in late February that Marvel has only begun meeting with rumors to explore a Fantastic Four movie–there is no plot, no script, no writers attached, no actors hired, and filming has not yet begun. Earlier this year, there were unsubstantiated rumors that a high-profile actress was heading to Australia to begin filming–and the internet does what it does best, and latched onto the notion that the A Quiet Place: Part II star and director couple were making this their next project.

Perhaps sensing that Blunt is perhaps protesting too much, Stern asked the actor whether she felt acting in a Marvel or DC film was “beneath her,” which she immediately dismissed.

“It’s not that it’s beneath me. I loved Iron Man, and I wanted to work with Robert Downey Jr.,” Blunt said, explaining about her decision to turn down the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2. “It would have been amazing, but I don’t know if superheroes are for me. They’re not up my alley. I think it’s been exhausted.”

That aside, here is some extra grist for the rumor mill: Despite Blunt’s strong statements, she has a superhero movie in the pipeline, Ball and Chain. In it, she and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are to co-star in a ’90s comic book adaptation about a couple that can only use their superpowers when they’re together.