Over 450 students of the United Kingdom's National Film and Television School got a nice surprise when director, David Fincher, gave a remote masterclass in filmmaking. Fincher's filmography covers a multitude of major films like Fight Club, Seven, and Zodiac. With the United Kingdom going into lockdown on Tuesday over coronavirus concerns, the National Film and Television School used this as an opportunity to enlighten students. National Film Television School director, Jon Wardle, posted on Twitter about having Fincher on video with at least 450 students using Zoom.

It’s been a tough week so we wanted to do something to lift the spirits of @NFTSFilmTV students. So this afternoon 450 x students sat down for a masterclass via @zoom_us with THE David Fincher. Thx @nevpierce & @VenetiaHawkes for helping me set it up. David is a legend. pic.twitter.com/oaJLKi9tRh

— Jon Wardle (@jonwardle) March 24, 2020

UK film school students happily tweeted about the surprise despite all the chaos currently going on. Student Ryan Ninesling wrote, "everything is terrible but at least we got to hangout on zoom with the one and only David Fincher today!" Elle Haywood also tweeted, "Every afternoon should be spent hanging out with David Fincher". Fincher is currently working on the Netflix original, Mank, about the making of Citizen Kane, revolving around screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] The movie industry has had a rough time recently with COVID-19 as movies have been delayed such as Black Widow, The Batman, and A Quiet Place Part II. While theaters chains like Regal Cinemas and AMC Theaters in the U.S. are closed temporarily, Chinese theaters are starting to reopen. Keep safe during the COVID-19 pandemic and understand how to stay healthy with these CDC guidelines. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jeffrey Lerman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @Snakester95.

Netflix has announced that it has ordered an Angry Birds: Summer Madness animated series which is set to premiere in 2021 on the streaming platform. The series will feature a teenage version of Red, Bomb, and Chuck as they head to summer camp. Reported by Deadline, the beloved birds will be up to their regular antics and wild adventures, under the direction of their camp counselor, Mighty Eagle. Of course, the rather obnoxious Pigs won't be far away and will be setting up camp across the river, because no summer camp experience would be complete without a rival camp causing chaos. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/09/29/history-of-awesome-angry-birds"] While this is the first Angry Birds title to come to television, the franchise has already released two successful films, with the first title bringing in $107 million. Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment has elected to continue its partnership with Cake Entertainment to bring the animated series to Netflix. "Angry Birds animated content plays a key role in our long-term franchise strategy," said Rovio's Ville Heijari. "After more than a decade in hit games, blockbuster movies, and licensed products, this is the Angry Birds’ first foray into a long-form series. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Cake and can’t wait to unveil the world of Angry Birds: Summer Madness to viewers on Netflix." "Angry Birds are about to smash the small screen and we are thrilled to be making the journey with Netflix as our global partner," said Cake Entertainment's Ed Galton. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] While you're waiting on Angry Birds: Summer Madness to release, be sure to check out our complete list of every video game movie currently in production. Additionally, be sure to check out every movie and show delayed by the coronavirus. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.

Cyberpunk 2077's updated female protagonist is getting a new figurine from Pure Arts. The figure reflects the female protagonist's updated look that CD Projekt Red shared earlier this month. The figure, which is set to release in September, includes a light up jacket and high platform shoes. Preorders are open now, and the figure will run you $229.00 USD. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/13/cyberpunk-2077-soundtrack-reveal"] The new feminine version of V has brighter red hair, pierced ears, and some minor changes to her face. CD Projekt Red also confirmed that the new-look V will be on the flipside of the reversible box art. Pure Arts is also offering a figure of the male version of V, which features Mantis Blades, a light up jacket, and an extremely detailed pair of light up shoes. Check out images of the figures below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=pure-arts-cyberpunk-2077-figurines&captions=true"] Cyberpunk 2077 is set to release on September 17, 2020. CD Projekt Red recently confirmed that the development is still on track to hit that release date, even as developers work from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Cyberpunk isn't even out yet, but we've already learned that CD Projekt Red plans to develop a new game set in the world of the Witcher after Cyberpunk 2077 releases. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Logan Plant is a news writer for IGN, and the Production Assistant for Nintendo Voice Chat, IGN's weekly Nintendo show. You can find him on Twitter at @LoganJPlant.

With a rich history in gaming, Sega is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a new timeline website that chronicles its journey as a company and its history in the gaming industry. For its 60th anniversary, Sega also introduced a new website and ambassador called Sega Shiro (Segata Sanshiro) who's played by the actor Hiroshi Fujioka. The new website will take fans through the past six decades of Sega history, including the story of its founding, the launch of various consoles and IPs, and much more. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=sonic-the-hedgehog-all-the-easter-eggs-and-hidden-references-from-the-movie&captions=true"] The Sega timeline starts in the 1960s with the founding of Nihon Goraku Bussan Co., Ltd, which would later become Sega. According to the timeline, Sega first got started in the gaming industry in 1964, when it began producing commercial arcade equipment. In 1983, Sega released its first home gaming console, the SG-1000. Costing ¥15,000 ($134 USD). the console released in Japan the same day as Nintendo's Famicom, and ended up selling 160,000 units in its first year, far exceeding Sega's expectations and officially marking its interest in the home console market. In 1988, Sega released the Mega Drive in Japan, better known as the Sega Genesis in the United States. The Genesis saw the first release of Sega's most iconic character, Sonic the Hedgehog, and solidified the companies name in the gaming industry, selling over 15 million units in North America alone. In what most consider to be the peak of Sega, the 1990s saw the release of multiple Sonic games and two new consoles, the Sega Saturn (1994) and the Dreamcast (1998). While the Dreamcast turned out to be Sega's final home game console, the company had quite the battle with Nintendo in the '90s, which has since been dubbed "the console wars." In the 2000's Sega's story mostly revolved around new IPs like Phantasy Star Online (2000), Yakuza (2005), and much more. Additionally, Sega also manufactured a variety of tech products like HomeStar, the world's first optical projection home planetarium [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/13/sonic-the-hedgehog-review"] Recently, Sega oversaw the release of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which came to theaters earlier this year. The film was received quite well in the box offices, becoming the best showing of all time for a video game movie. Be sure to check out our official Sonic movie review as well as reviews from various IGN staff members. If you're interested in learning more about Sega, be sure to check out our deep dive into the history of Sega. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith.

For years, X-Men fans accused Marvel Comics of attempting to downplay the merry mutants in favor of the Inhumans. Now former Marvel writer Rick Remender has lent fuel to that fire, revealing he abandoned plans to write Marvel's flagship X-Men title back in 2014 because of a "mandated Inhumans story." Remender has been very active on Twitter in recent days, posting glimpses of various Marvel and DC pitches that never came to be. Among those is a "story bible" he put together for Extraordinary X-Men, a 2015 comic that ultimately wound up in the hands of writer Jeff Lemire and artist Humberto Ramos instead. Remender reveals he had crafted a two-year plan for the franchise, one which would have hinged on psychic mutants Fantomex, Professor Xavier, Jean Grey and Mastermind.

Just found my entire 2 year X-bible plans from when I was going to take over the X books. Haven't opened it since I quit in 2014. Was very Fantomex, Jean, and Professor X-orn centric. Big bad was Mastermind. Just couldn't make myself do the mandated Inhumans story. c'est la vie pic.twitter.com/q122dxV8Yg

— Rick Remender (@Remender) March 24, 2020

Remender writes, "Just found my entire 2 year X-bible plans from when I was going to take over the X books. Haven't opened it since I quit in 2014. Was very Fantomex, Jean, and Professor X-orn centric. Big bad was Mastermind. Just couldn't make myself do the mandated Inhumans story. c'est la vie." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-marvel-villains &captions=true"] Remender's tweet is a rare, open acknowledgement of creative tensions behind the scenes as Marvel worked to elevate the Inhumans franchise in the wake of 2013's Infinity, a story which culminated with the creation of a Terrigen cloud that simultaneously created new Inhumans and poisoned mutants, radically altering the course of both franchises. That story eventually led to 2017's Inhumans vs. X-Men crossover. Understandably, Marvel has never outright admitted to downplaying the X-Men in favor of the Inhumans, but it's been widely assumed the company was prioritizing a franchise to which it fully owned the multimedia rights, as opposed to one whose rights were still in the hands of 21st Century Fox at the time. Marvel's Executive Editor Tom Brevoort effectively said as much when he wrote in 2014, "If you had two things, and on one you earned 100% of the revenues from the efforts that you put into making it, and the other you earned a much smaller percentage for the same amount of time and effort, you’d be more likely to concentrate more heavily on the first, wouldn’t you?" Coupled with an established pattern of Marvel downplaying the X-Men and Fantastic Four in its merchandising, many readers were unhappy with the way the X-Men seemed to be sidelined in favor of the Inhumans. Remender's tweet suggests at least some Marvel creators felt the same way. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/the-new-mutants-official-trailer-2"] Remender also revealed he was again offered the keys to the X-Men kingdom as recently as 2019, indicating Marvel may have been exploring other options besides Jonathan Hickman's Dawn of X relaunch. But Remender reiterated his disinterest in returning to Marvel, tweeting, "Was offered the X books again last year but declined. Don't imagine there's a world where I'll put myself through that again." Remender's Twitter feed is currently a treasure trove of concept art and other unused story pitches. He also posted a rejected pitch for a Spider-Man story called Pandora's Box, which would have dealt with a new group of insect-themed villains created through the same process that gave Peter Parker his powers. Remender even revealed he and American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque once pitched a DC series called Justice League of Tomorrow, built around a futuristic team that includes Superman, Sandman, Firestorm, Poison Ivy, Negative Man, Hawkgirl, Captain Blackhawk and the Atom. [caption id="attachment_2325695" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Justice League of Tomorrow concept art by Rafael Albuquerque[/caption] What do you think of Remender's abandoned X-Men pitch? Let us know in the comments below. For more on the current state of the X-Men franchise, find out how Dawn of X has radically changed the X-Men status quo and what to expect from the next big X-Men crossover, X of Swords. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

The BBC has shared an "emergency transmission" from Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The short video, posted to the official Doctor Who Twitter account on Wednesday, sees Whittaker transform into the Time Lord to offer five tips on ways to cope with "any worrying situation," as her beloved TV character reveals she is "self-isolating" while "hiding from an army of Sontarans."

Incoming transmission. #MessageFromTheDoctor #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/WRTROxWRQy

— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) March 25, 2020

"One: Remember, you will get through this and things will be alright, even if they look uncertain. Even if you're worried, darkness never prevails," she reassures viewers. "Two: Tell jokes - even bad ones. Especially bad ones. I am brilliant at bad ones. Three: Be kind. Even kinder than you were yesterday. And I know you were super kind yesterday. "Look out for each other. You won't be the only one worried. Talking will help, sharing will help. Look out for your friends, your neighbours, people you hardly know. And family. Because in the end we're all family. Four: Listen to science. And listen to doctors, right? They've got your back. Five: Stay strong, stay positive. You've got this. And I will see you very soon." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/28/doctor-who-cast-respond-to-ign-comments"] This special message comes as more cities join the USA in following the lead of many in Europe with mandatory lockdowns. San Francisco and Los Angeles, California both announced lockdowns that include mandatory work-from-home policies and shutting down high-risk gathering spaces. Doctor Who costume designer Ray Holman tweeted shortly after the video was posted online to confirm that Whittaker had access to her costume at home "for personal appearances or publicity purposes," as he assured fans that the clip was recorded "in isolation" and had been organised by the actress, showrunner Chris Chibnall and executive producer Matt Strevens. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-most-essential-doctor-who-episodes&captions=true"] Doctor Who Season 12 premiered in January of this year and concluded in the opening days of March with the history-shattering season finale, "The Timeless Children." According to reports, Season 13 is planned to start filming in September, though this date could yet change in light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. For a list of recommendations on how best to help, and stay safe, during the Coronavirus pandemic, please read our resource guide. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Update: Since the publication of this story, reports on Downdetector appear to be dropping rapidly, and several IGN staffers are reporting normal function through the browser app and more. Original story follows: [poilib element="accentDivider"] Users and third-party tracking services are reporting massive problems with Netflix today, Wednesday, March 25. Subscribers are reporting either losing connection or problems with video streaming itself. According to Downdetector, reports about Netflix going down spiked around 9 am PT/12 pm ET. There appear to be problems with connecting to the website browser version of Netflix, and 41% of users are reporting connectivity issues with the service. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] However, some users report that Netflix is still functioning on other platforms such as mobile and third-party streaming devices. Netflix has seen an increased number of users as various cities across the globe issue lockdown orders or shelter-in-place directives amidst a COVID-19 pandemic that's currently affecting the world. Last week, Netflix announced that it would be lowering the quality of its streams in the EU by default to ease the strain the uptick in usage has had on local internet networks. The move is similar to ones made in recent days by YouTube, Amazon, and PlayStation. For recommendations on how to stay safe during the coronavirus pandemic, read our resource guide. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

The Orange Box is considered to be one of the greatest value propositions in the history of video games, and it all came about because Valve was approaching the finish line with multiple projects in a way they never had before. In this month's episode of IGN Unfiltered, Ryan McCaffrey sat down with Chris Remo and Robin Walker from Valve to talk about Half-Life: Alyx, The Orange Box, the mystique of Valve, and much more. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/09/10/history-of-awesome-orange-box"] "The Orange Box is interesting... It's a very interesting choice because it's not... I don't think it comes from the place that people assume it comes from. It came from what's essentially an internal problem, which was, up until that point... we had only ever shipped one game at a time." Before The Orange Box, whenever Valve would near the finish line on a project (say the last six months or so before shipping), most of the other teams would slow their work (even stopping their usual work in the final month) to pile on Valve's primary project and help the shipping product finish strong. "If you're on one of those other teams and looking at how you can spend an hour of your time... when a product is at the end, and you understand it perfectly, you can usually generate so much value in just one hour of work; fixing the right bug, putting the final polish on something, that it's hard not to just feel like, 'Oh, wow. I could help so much if I just went over and helped.' [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="legacyId=830467&captions=true"] "So, we've got a company full of people who are used to doing that, and then we're working on these three different games. Team Fortress 2, [Half-Life 2] Episode 2, and Portal. And, looking at, 'Oh, man, for the first time, it looks like all these are going to finish around the same time. How are we going to handle this?' "Another problem we've got is the case of Portal... which is a product that we're really excited about. We think it's really interesting, but there weren't a lot of first-person shooter puzzle games out there to look around at. We were bringing people in and playtesting it, as we always do, and they were really enjoying it, but we were [not really getting close] to figuring out... how do we talk to people about this? How do we explain it to people? It was also shorter [than other AAA games]." With each team feeling a need for additional help for their own products, Valve decided that instead of stopping two projects to focus on the third, as they normally did, they could combine all three games into a single product. By doing so, they would free team members to move around as needed without feeling they were hurting their own game. Unfortunately, this caused an entirely new set of problems. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/18/the-orange-box-backwards-compatible-with-xbox-one-x-enhancements"] For one thing, retailers didn't know what to do with Orange Box. "To them, bundles of products are either old or bad games. No one ever bundles new, great games." Xbox also had issues, because the Orange Box had five games on a single disc, which didn't work with the way Achievements were allocated, so custom code had to be written. Creating television ads was also more complicated because instead of convincing people to buy one game in a 30-second slot, Valve had to explain three games in the same window. Catch up on every single episode of IGN Unfiltered here so you can hear from the best and brightest minds in the video game industry, such as Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton (id), Stig Asmussen (Respawn), Sam Lake (Remedy), Bonnie Ross (343 Industries), Ted Price (Insomniac), and a whole lot more.

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Brian Barnett writes news, features, wiki guides, deals posts, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).

Fox and NASCAR held a test lap of sorts on March 22 with its eNASCAR iRacing Pro Series Invitational opener and after its success, Fox has decided to air the remainder of the virtual season on its channels. NASCAR racers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte headlined Sunday's eNASCAR race that drew in over 900,000 viewers. Sunday's race was the most talked-about TV program that day on Twitter, according to NASCAR. Three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin took home the win, but he and other racers will now be competing online for the remainder of the season in the PC game, iRacing. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-delayed-movie-due-to-coronavirus-so-far&captions=true"] "This rapid-fire collaboration between FOX Sports, NASCAR, and iRacing obviously has resonated with race fans, gamers, and television viewers across the country in a very positive way," Fox Sports Executive Producer Brad Zager said. "We have learned so much in a relatively short period of time, and we are excited to expand coverage of this brand-new NASCAR esports series to an even wider audience." The standard Fox NASCAR broadcast team consisting of Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy, and Larry McReynolds will continue to commentate on the action found in the virtual races, just as they would for the organization's actual races. Gordon said he's excited to bring a "bit of normalcy back to the weekend" with these races. These esports races will include simulation races from competitors in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and other NASCAR series. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/25/how-coronavirus-is-impacting-the-games-industry"] The next race is scheduled for Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m. EST. It will be broadcast live from a virtual Texas Motor Speedway and can be viewed on the Fox broadcast network channels, FS1, and the Fox Sports app. NASCAR isn't the first racing organization to turn to virtual races in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. All Supercars drivers will participate in a Supercars All Stars Eseries of races while the regular season is postponed. F1 drivers are doing the same through F1 2019. Here are some ways to help others and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

While we're waiting for Rick and Morty to resume its long-awaited fourth season on Adult Swim, co-creator Justin Roiland has another surreal animated sci-fi tale to share - Hulu's Solar Opposites, which has just debuted its first official teaser trailer. The series, which will premiere its entire season on Friday, May 8, 2020, is co-created by Roiland and Mike McMahan. Per Hulu, "Solar Opposites centers around a team of four aliens who escape their exploding homeworld only to crash land into a move-in ready home in suburban America. They are evenly split on whether Earth is awful or awesome. Korvo (Roiland) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) only see the pollution, crass consumerism, and human frailty while Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love humans and all their TV, junk food and fun stuff. Their mission: protect the Pupa, a living supercomputer that will one day evolve into its true form, consume them and terraform the Earth." Watch the hilarious new trailer for Solar Opposites below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/25/solar-opposites-official-teaser-trailer-2020-justin-roiland-thomas-middleditch"] Solar Opposites also features a who's who of guest actors including Alan Tudyk, Alfred Molina, Christina Hendricks, Jason Mantzoukas, Liam Cunningham, Rainn Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and many more. Here's a message from Roiland and McMahan: “Solar Opposites is coming! We can only show you the teaser right now, but the whole season will be out in a matter of weeks! Stay inside and stay healthy so you can watch and love this show and call us geniuses and all that s**t.” Check out the official art for the series below: To further bask in the glow of Justin Roiland's twisted mind, be sure to check out our top 10 Rick and Morty episodes ranking, Rick and Morty reacting to their own memes, and our review of Roiland's VR game, Trover Saves the Universe. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=new-movies-coming-to-vod-early&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.