James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as the heads of DC Studios, and Frank and Squeaks process the news minutes after it broke. Frank calls it a firing, ties it to Skydance taking over Warner Bros., and walks through what he knows about incoming boss Jeremy Latcham, the former Marvel producer behind Iron Man, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Squeaks is angry about losing a plan he thought was working after Superman and Lanterns, and both wonder what happens to Batman and The Brave and the Bold.

Frank spends the rest of Headlines hunting for silver linings in Skydance's 30-movies-a-year mandate, including Francis Galluppi's new Constantine movie, Danny McBride directing Bradley Cooper as Duke in G.I. Joe, and the 1955 Stranger Things prequel Other Worlds. Then Squeaks reviews the new Ocarina of Time and Frank reviews World of Warcraft Forever as an undead paladin.

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro and Network Updates
• 1:56 James Gunn and Peter Safran Out at DC Studios
• 13:28 Francis Galluppi's New Constantine Movie
• 15:24 Danny McBride's G.I. Joe and Skydance's Movie Plan
• 19:45 Stranger Things Prequel Other Worlds and Welcome to Derry
• 24:35 Squeaks Reviews Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• 34:40 Frank Reviews World of Warcraft Forever
• 43:26 Network Roundup and Picks of the Week

Key takeaways

• Deadline reported in October that David Ellison met with Gunn and Safran and planned to keep them in charge after the merger. Frank reads the reversal as a new owner with a different vision, and thinks it is a bad call this early in phase one.
• Gunn is still finishing Man of Tomorrow with Safran producing. The rest of the slate is a question mark, including Dynamic Duo and its unusual animation style.
• Frank expects safer, cheaper, faster DC movies under the new regime, which he thinks brings Hal Jordan back to life and gets a Flash on screen sooner. Squeaks hopes Latcham keeps Gunn's plan and only tweaks it.
• For G.I. Joe, Frank predicts a solid mid-budget action movie in the vein of The A-Team, worth a matinee and not much riskier than that.
• Squeaks gives Ocarina of Time 10 out of 10 rupees. The combat is unchanged, Link can jump on his own now, dungeons are color coded and easier to read, and Princess Ruto finally stays where you put her in Jabu-Jabu's Belly.
• Frank gives WoW Forever 9 out of 10 Doomhammers. Combat is slower, you can play without a build guide open, and strangers keep grouping up for quests. He docks a point for no Looking for Group and weak dungeon XP, which Blizzard buffed that morning.

Quotes

• "James Gunn and Peter Safran just got fired. I'm using the term fired because there's no way it wasn't fired." (Frank)

• "We got to build something to get to that Infinity War, Endgame. Like, come on, man." (Squeaks)

• "Killing off Hal Jordan in the show was very risky. And that's not what you do to make money." (Frank)

• "I think this is how a game honors a legendary game from the past." (Squeaks)

• "That's how devoted you are to your religion, is that you'll embrace the pain to cure the wounds caused by Arthas." (Frank)

Source

All news discussed in this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com.

Subscribe, rate, and share

Follow or subscribe to Geek Freaks, leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and send this one to the friend who was counting on Gunn's DCU plan making it past chapter one. Tag your reactions with #GeekFreaksPodcast.

Follow us

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast
• Instagram and TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast
• Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod

Listener questions

Who should play Constantine now that a new movie is in the works? Are you leveling in WoW Forever or still lost in Hyrule? Send your questions, reactions, and topic ideas to thegeekfreakspodcast@gmail.com and we may read them on a future episode.

Frank remembers Patrick Stewart, who died October 28 at 86, from Professor X and Captain Picard to Avery Bullock on American Dad, a show Frank falls asleep to. Thomas reports back from LA Comic Con, where Hayden Christensen told the crowd about a burglar who recognized him as Anakin mid-robbery, handed back his stuff, and got offered a train ticket home.

Bethesda has finally named The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel, and Frank is hoping Hammerfell brings dwarven lore and co-op with friends. James Gunn says the DCU's Batman isn't cast yet and that he'd bend over backwards to keep Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, while Dynamic Duo locks in Mason Thames and Logan Kim as Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. Then Frank sits down with Jose to introduce Hobby Quest, the newest Geek Freaks Network show, and the episode closes with a portion of its first installment, as Volt breaks down how to build a better D&D boss battle.

Chapters

• 0:00 Episode Rundown and WoW: Forever Guild
• 2:21 Thomas at LA Comic Con
• 4:00 Hayden Christensen's Panel Stories
• 12:49 Artist Alley and Cosplay
• 14:40 Remembering Patrick Stewart
• 16:20 The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel
• 19:59 James Gunn on Batman and Harley Quinn
• 24:03 Dynamic Duo Voice Cast
• 27:13 Hobby Quest Interview With Jose
• 39:06 Hobby Quest Episode 1: Boss Battles With Volt
• 51:09 Recommendations

Key takeaways

• George Lucas told Hayden Christensen that Anakin always believes he's right, which Thomas says reframes even the character's worst turns in the prequels.
• Christensen's return in Obi-Wan Kenobi hinged on the plan for the scene where Vader's mask gets cut in half.
• Asked which role he'd revisit outside Star Wars, Christensen lit up at Jumper, and Thomas would jump at a sequel.
• Thomas's hot take: LA Comic Con cosplay beats San Diego's.
• Frank doesn't want Sentinel to become another ESO, but he does want to bring a friend into a cave, a feature he thinks fits Bethesda's place at Xbox.
• Frank's Batman casting theory: Superman needs a performer who can disappear between two identities, while Batman needs a star you can recognize under the cowl. Gunn's focus on performance breaks from that.
• Jose names overpreparing as one of the first mistakes new DMs make, and Hobby Quest's customer polling shows players start feeling ignored at tables larger than eight.
• Volt builds boss battles from five tools (the boss, minions, secondary objectives, location, and hazards) and adjusts the monster on the fly if players threaten the moment.

Quotes

• "Superman, you get an excellent actor. Batman, you get the star." (Frank)

• "We use him as a claw machine." (Thomas, on trick-or-treating with his son)

• "I promise you, no matter how much you plan, they're going to mess up your plans." (Jose)

• "My monster is not a player. My monster exists so that I can get my players to that epic moment." (Volt)

Source

All news discussed in this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com.

Support the show

Subscribe or follow, leave a rating or review, and send this one to the friend who is still waiting on a Jumper sequel. #GeekFreaksPodcast

Follow Geek Freaks

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast
• Instagram and TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast
• Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod

Follow Hobby Quest

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hobby_quest_eg/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hobby_questing?lang=en

Listener questions

Who should play the DCU's Batman? Send your pick, plus any questions or topic ideas, to thegeekfreakspodcast@gmail.com.

Thomas joins Frank to remember Eric Bauza, the modern voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and tells the story of meeting him at DreamHack San Diego and running into him again at WonderCon this year. Then the news: Jonathan Hickman is consulting on Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and EA has shut down BioWare and canceled the next Mass Effect.

Thomas calls Hickman the Christopher Nolan of comics, pointing to House of X/Powers of X, while Frank goes back to the Council of Reeds in Hickman's Fantastic Four. Both want the Reed and Doom friendship at the center of the movie. On BioWare, Frank lays out Andromeda, Anthem, and Veilguard alongside the $55 billion buyout, and the two talk about the mid-budget games that disappeared and the indie studios filling the gap. Frank closes with his Clayface review: a small, dark DC movie with rough CGI late, a big turn from Tom Rhys Harries, and a villain you end up rooting for. Plus picks for Blade Runner 2099 and Prime's Carrie.

Chapters

• 0:00 Remembering Eric Bauza
• 5:30 LA Comic-Con Plans
• 8:45 Jonathan Hickman Joins Doomsday and Secret Wars
• 25:27 EA Shuts Down BioWare
• 32:19 Triple-A Risk vs. Indie Games
• 41:55 Clayface Review (Spoiler Free)
• 43:34 Clayface Spoiler Talk
• 51:29 Around the Geek Freaks Network
• 54:40 Thomas Recommends Blade Runner 2099
• 57:44 Frank Recommends Carrie

Key takeaways

• Thomas spent 20 to 30 minutes talking with Bauza before a WonderCon panel, and Bauza kept the conversation going from the stage as the room filled.
• Frank wants to see how Steve Rogers reacts when someone pulls him out of the life he finally got to live, and wonders if he still feels the same duty to this Earth.
• Frank's theory: Marvel is stretching the multiverse mess on purpose (two Caps, multiple Spider-Men) so the Secret Wars reset lands harder.
• A story-driven Triple-A game takes five to ten years, so one flop can sink a studio. BioWare had three in a row.
• Frank would rather spend ten dollars at a time on Marvel Rivals skins than $70 on a game he finishes in eight hours.
• Clayface's cop love interest could be cut without changing anything, and darker characters like Swamp Thing, Etrigan, and Constantine suit the same mid-budget approach.

Quotes

• "I stand by he's kind of the Christopher Nolan of comic books." (Thomas)

• "That story is so big and yet that question is so small." (Frank)

• "Not everything has to be $200 million." (Frank)

• "He's a man who's lost his identity. He's gaining a new one. He's desperately trying to reach the old one. And when he finally accepts the new one, he's Clayface." (Frank)

• "My peak of high school and social media together was figuring out your top eight in Myspace." (Frank)

Source

All news discussed in this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com.

Support the show

Follow Geek Freaks on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, leave a five-star review, and send this one to the friend still waiting on another Knights of the Old Republic. #GeekFreaksPodcast

Follow Geek Freaks

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast
• Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast
• Instagram and TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast
• Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod

Listener questions

Which BioWare game are you going to miss most? Send that, plus questions and topic ideas, to thegeekfreakspodcast@gmail.com.