Wrestling Wrap Up: SmackDown is Scrambling to Build New Stars
Every so often my work load becomes such that I have to power and pound through a Wrap Up at a precarious pace. Just barf out all my brain beats like a Bull Nakano in a Chyna shop. This Wrap shall be such a Wrap.
At the sound of the starter pistol here, I'll just throw in this clip of Randy Orton, from a while back, speaking very highly of Jinder Mahal. Jinder Mahal, who not only doesn't get a lot of praise these days -- what with him concussing Finn Balor last week -- but who autocorrect desperately wants to display as "Tinder Mahal." To a frustratingly obsessive degree.
Why play this clip? Because Jinder won a Six-Pack challenge last night to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship. We all know that SmackDown is the "Land of Opportunity," to the extent that they often have to make new stars in order to have a viable main event scene in each division, but Jinder's rise went: Memorable Battle Royal loss at 'Mania -> quick match with Finn -> quick match with Mojo -> Shakeup -> now he's after the top title in the company. Basically that feels like the way I used to read books in freshman English. First couple chapters aaaaand let's just skip to the end.
Fast and the Furious Series to End With Tenth Film
The Fast and Furious franchise will conclude with the tenth movie, according to series producer Neal Moritz.
In an interview with Collider, Moritz confirmed the current plan is to still just make two more films following The Fate of the Furious. The producers want to start production on the ninth film as soon as possible, but they'll only begin filming when they "have a great story."
The film franchise's creative team already has an ending in mind for the series, which Moritz, Diesel, and series writer Chris Morgan came up with together. "We have some big themes and things we're talking about, we’re just not there in terms of where exactly we're gonna go yet," Mortiz said. "We kind of have the ending point of the franchise, but we don’t know the in-betweens yet."
Binding of Isaac Amiibo Teased
Binding of Isaac might be the next indie title to get its own amiibo.
Publisher Nicalis, Inc. posted a photo of a Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ amiibo to its Twitter feed. It looks like an actual, production amiibo, but it could just be a very convincing artist mock-up.
Isaac amiibo
No details, like availability, functionality, or if it's even real, were given by Nicalis. Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ on Nintendo Switch is one of the few Switch games to really lean into the console's cartridge format. Instead of just adding a tutorial to the game itself, Binding of Isaac on Switch has an awesome Zelda-inspired instruction manual.
IGN Prime: Smite – Skin Giveaway
In celebration of the Celestial Voyage event currently taking place in SMITE we've teamed up with Hi-Rez Studios to giveaway codes that will unlock Anubis as well as the Stargazer Skin on PC, Xbox and PlayStation 4.
SMITE is the online Battleground of the Gods, a mythology-themed action game for PC and consoles. Since launching in Europe and North America in March 2014, SMITE has quickly established itself as one of the Top 3 games in the rapidly growing MOBA genre, with over 20 million players. Themed around gods of mythology and offering a third-person camera and more game modes than any other leading game in its genre, the game provides a unique, action-packed experience that puts the player in the thick of the action. SMITE is free-to-play on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Mac.
Arrow Actor’s Role in Star Wars Battlefront 2 Revealed
Paul Blackthorne's role in Star Wars Battlefront II has been revealed.
After Blackthorne responded to a fan's inquiry on Twitter regarding the identity of his Battlefront II character, the official EA Star Wars Twitter account retweeted his post, confirming the actor will play an an Inferno Squad member named Gideon Hask.
Blackthorn, best known for his role as Quentin Lance in The CW series Arrow, joins True Blood's Janina Gavankar, who will play the protagonist of Star Wars Battlefront II, Inferno Squad leader Iden Versio. While Blackthorn was shown briefly in a behind-the-scenes video for Battlefront II this past weekend at Star Wars Celebration, no details about his role were provided at that time.
New to Netflix for May
Every month, we've noted how Netflix has slowly been taken over by its own original programming, leaving little to watch on the periphery - but this May takes that concept to a whole new level!
Not only are there dozens of new Netflix Original movies, documentaries, and shows that you likely didn't even know were coming, but May marks big returns for several notable original shows like House of Cards, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Sense8, Master of None, Bloodline, F is for Family, and Chelsea. That's right, all in one month.
Plus, on the movie front there's Marvel's Doctor Strange, Inglourious Basterds, Forrest Gump, Chocolat, and The Host.
Check out the gallery below for our spotlight on some of the most notable debuts of the month, followed by the full list below.
What’s Leaving Netflix in May
It's time to wave goodbye to a handful of movies and TV shows on Netflix. Expiring from the streaming site in May are the first three Jurassic Park films, assorted Stephen King fare like Cujo and Thinner, all of Scrubs, some seasons of American Dad, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Wedding Planner, Step up, What About Bob?, and more.
Check out the full list and plan your binging accordingly!
Major DC Characters Return in ‘The Button’
DC's Batman/Flash crossover is underway, and already the twists are flying.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for Batman #21!
"The Button" picks up where DC Universe Rebirth #1 left off last year, as Batman and Flash are still trying to deduce the secrets of the mysterious smiley face button left in the Batcave. Progress was finally made in this issue when Batman accidentally placed the button too close to Psycho Pirate's mask, creating a spark and opening a breach between worlds. For a fleeting moment, Batman came face to face with his own father, the Batman of the Flashpoint universe.
Dwayne Johnson Will Reportedly Return for Fast 9
Dwayne Johnson will reportedly return to star in the ninth Fast and the Furious film now that he and Vin Diesel have allegedly ended their much-publicized feud.
TMZ reports that after meeting privately several times to iron our their issues, Johnson and Diesel are now "good" and "1000% in" for Fast 9.
The main cause for their feud, which had nothing to do with money, was an argument over who got the most screen time in The Fate of the Furious, according to TMZ. While Johnson wanted more of the spotlight, he ultimately acknowledged Fast 8 was Diesel's movie, with Diesel listed number one on the call sheet.
New Power Rangers Comic Goes Back to the Beginning
A new ongoing comic book series called Saban's Go Go Power Rangers is coming from BOOM! Studios by writer Ryan Parrott and artist Dan Mora.
Check out the cover to Issue #1 by Mora.
Art by Dan Mora. (BOOM! Studios)