Crisis in Infinite Studios | Chapter 289

[00:00:00] Warning, this chapter of Distance NERDing was recorded live which means there may be strong language unsuitable for children and unusual humor which may be unsuitable for everyone who claims to be human. Parental discretion is advised. Distance NERDing.

[00:00:24] Hey! What's up everybody? There we go ladies and gentlemen. Yes it is a late day, it's my bad, I'm sorry but yes we are here, we are ready. It is another episode of Distance Nerding. Live on multiple platforms.

[00:00:47] Yes. Alright well let's uh, let's do this ladies and gentlemen, I am your boy Young Phil. He is the Shadoo and that is the Jamez 5000 and we're here to nerd together. Nerd, nerd together.

[00:01:06] Right, we're talking. Nailed it for the 289th time. Talking anything pop culture, news, movies, food, music, wrestling, comics, comic cons, whatever you're nerding out on we want to talk about it. Of course ladies and gentlemen if you are watching on YouTube, make sure you hit that subscribe button, hit that uh, uh, you know all the different places it really does help us out if you're listening on the podcast right now. Uh, just make sure that you uh, rate and review, let us know that you are enjoying everything that we're doing here.

[00:01:34] Uh, cause we really do need it, we need the help everywhere at Distance Nerding. Ladies and gentlemen, we got merch, so can you head over to uh, Distance Nerding or sorry streamlabs.com slash Distance Nerding merch, all that kind of stuff, fun, fun, fun. Uh, let's jump right into this. Uh, ladies and gentlemen, you have now tuned into the worst kept secret on all of the internet.

[00:01:53] It's time for Distance Nerding. Let's do this. All right, well here we go. Woo. Let's do it. Let's get into this. Uh, Jamez, let everybody know what's on deck this week. Let's uh, let's pop in here.

[00:02:23] Crisis at DC Studios, wild Marvel rumors are exploding, coyotes, race cars, murder bots, Robocops, and so much more. That's right. All the fun stuff. I didn't realize how slow I made that. All right, well let's. Cool transitions, but yeah. I know, right? Uh, this is what happens when you try to make things like really fast. Speaking of really fast. Exactly. Speaking of really fast.

[00:02:49] So let's uh, let's jump into this. Jamez, uh, let's talk about our first sponsor here. Check out Colossus Girl Entertainment fan-focused Comic Cons across the West Coast. Next up, Anna Medford this month in Medford, Oregon. Uh, comics, cosplay vendors, artists, celebrity guests, and so much more. Visit ColossusGirlENT.com, plan your next Comic-Con. That's right. All right. Okay, well let's uh, let's jump into this. We're gonna jump into the first round of segments here.

[00:03:17] Uh, ladies and gentlemen, let's talk about the, the, the news in the Marvel world. It's time for some straight from Jay Jonah. Ooh. All right. And that is, uh, that's my segment. Yes, sir. Let's go into it. Hawkeye isn't about to take his final bow. Yeah. Get it. Okay. It's been five years since Clint Barton last picked up the bow in the MCU, but Jeremy Renner may be getting ready to put the Hawkeye suit back on.

[00:03:43] Uh, Renner recently posted a closeup photo of his Hawkeye costume to his Instagram story with no explanation attached, no caption, just the suit. So yeah. So, uh, yeah, what are we thinking? I just think it's odd. Now that we are wrapping up towards doomsday, all of a sudden he's posting Instagram photos of his, of his Hawkeye suit. What's going on here? Yeah. I mean, he, he wasn't in the cast list.

[00:04:10] Uh, not on the cast list has not been announced, was not at D 23 or at, uh, San Diego Comic-Con. Yeah. Now, of course this could be secret wars. They haven't revealed who's going to be there probably cause it'd be spoilers for doomsday. Right. Right. We don't really know what's going on here. The only other thing I can think of is that this month in game on court is getting released or re-released. I guess.

[00:04:35] And you know, of course he has a big role in that we haven't got an announcement for him in doomsday. So maybe he's just like, Hey, look at me. I'm going to be in, in game on court. I don't know. Uh, it's, it's interesting because I, it's, it's almost like Jeremy Renner is going to be in these. I mean, he he's, he's such an integral character. He's like, kind of like he really is the heart of the team when it comes to the Avengers and to have him not in this film, even if it's for something like quick.

[00:05:05] Uh, I mean, the last time we saw him was on the Hawkeye show. It doesn't make sense for him not to be in it, but it may just be that he's not playing a major role within the film itself. Yeah, no, that's yeah. Yeah. So we don't really know if he's teaming the doomsday or he's teasing a doomsday appearance or it's just hype for in-game, you know, we really don't know. But Avengers in-game on court is coming to theaters on September 25th. And of course, Avengers doomsday on December 18th. But yeah, there we go.

[00:05:36] I'll do our next story here. We need more chairs. Speaking of doomsday, it's currently undergoing reshoots. An insider Daniel Rickman reports that Joe Russo and Anthony Russo are adding, quote, a lot of cameos to the movie. Um, we don't know exactly who these cameos are going to be, but there are some interesting clues floating around. So what do we got here, James? I see. We are coming off brand new day. And I don't have you guys seen brand new day. I know, Felipe. I know you saw brand new day.

[00:06:05] Yeah, I have not. But I kind of know the. Yeah. The gist of it. Well, you know, I don't know what they're going to do with the Hulk, but I could see them finding a way to bring the Hulk because it seems like he got taken away or something got kind of tucked away in in brand new day. But I I feel like they're going to bring him out some way like there's going to be like all hands on deck type thing. Call the Hulk. Yeah. And I think that's when we get the Hulk. We need a Hulk.

[00:06:36] We need a Hulk. Well, OK, so the last thing we saw with the Hulk specifically is one again. This is spoilers, but we saw the best version of the Hulk that we've seen in a while. Like we have not seen the whole. Yeah. In this kind of like angry, savage way that we've seen like we haven't seen in a while. But the last we saw of him was him going to essentially a mental institution that he's going to an institution.

[00:07:02] So I don't know if we're going to get any of him in the movie. I think more than anything, we may be getting more looks into characters in the future or, you know, maybe a final battle scene where we see some characters. By the way, there is a lot of gift giving going on in our chat right now. And it is. Yeah, I can tell man since that. Excellent.

[00:07:26] So there has actually been talk that Mark Ruffalo had stepped away from filming season two of task to shoot scenes for doomsday. So could be could be some Hulk stuff. But yeah, Elizabeth Olsen could also be returning. Her stunt double was reportedly involved with filming and obviously everything. So right. And I mean, supposedly what's going on with her in the whole thing is she like a lot of time, a lot of people are saying that she's going to be one of the witches.

[00:07:57] And I mean, it makes sense given what her role is in the comic with with this story arc that we're assuming that this is. So, I mean, like it could be a lot of things. I would love to see her back in this because we need some of this. But you know who else it could also be, though, now that I'm thinking about it? They said we're getting Ghost Rider sooner than we thought. Ooh. So what if it's Ghost Rider that we're getting in this?

[00:08:25] I have heard rumors about that. I've heard rumors of of of that and like the X-Men. Yeah, right. You know, the their role is, you know, apparently much bigger than we thought in Secret Wars. We might be getting multiple Ghost Riders too. That was that was a rumor. Right. Chat, you guys are killing me. I love it right now.

[00:08:52] Hey, real quick, since we have Sack Deadpool in the chat, let's ask that question. Do did we get confirmation that Deadpool is in this or not in this? I think he basically did. I think the whole thing was a three. Yeah. Yeah, kind of. We kind of got confirmation that he's going to be in it because he kind of it was more he was saying that he wasn't in it.

[00:09:15] I'm not going to say what I know, but I mean, like, you know, it would be nice for him to be in it, considering that he has the biggest franchise at this point, the second biggest franchise within Marvel, because now the first is it's Spider-Man's easily back on top again. Deadpool jokes aside. Yes.

[00:09:38] Honestly, at this point, I think they're going to anything is a possibility, even especially the way they pulled off brand new day and they were able to incorporate all those villains, all those rogues gallery plus Punisher plus, you know, Sadie Sink. I can say who she is, right? Yeah. Plus, it's been almost a month. We can say it now. Yeah. I know. I know.

[00:10:05] And I would like to say just just, you know, on that, I think I'm cursed to have crushes on all of the Jean Grey's. I'm just going to put that out there. You're a Famke. You're a Famke fan. Hey, I had a crush on Famke, but I mean, that was also kind of, you know, that was our heyday. Yeah. Good. Yeah. So actually, speaking of things Phil knows, the plot apparently may have leaked online. That's a rumor. There's a detailed plot summary floating around. Uh huh. I did.

[00:10:35] I did want to cover it because I didn't want to spoil the actual movie for people, but I did read it. So if you if you want the link, we can send it to you, but I don't want to like blast it out there. But we have it. I haven't read it, but I'm sure it's just going to confirm all the things I already know. I'm sure. So speaking of. Yeah. So doomsday, December 18th. We will find out if any of this is true. If any of these rumors are true and who exactly is going to appear.

[00:11:04] Yeah, I'm just about it. I don't know about you guys. I'm pretty. I'm very excited. It'll be good. There's a lot of juice and should do. Yeah. Yeah. And that was that was Jay Jonah. He would like to. He would. Ladies and gentlemen right here. Ticket. He would like to juice Sadie Sink. OK. I'll be back for five minutes. It's what you get. All right. Let's get into this. Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time to move on to the world of DC.

[00:11:35] That's right. We're watching the Watchtower. So let's jump into this easy money. I'll wait for Indy Navarrete is rogue. Fair enough. I'm kind of with them on that. That's pretty. That is pretty solid. She's also not. You're just now realizing this really. My blood. But it's a crisis in infinite studios. All right, ladies and gentlemen, let's recap.

[00:12:02] Gun and Saffron started strong with Peacemaker and Superman, but then Supergirl failed at the box office. I mean, to an extent, but gun and Saffron's contracts have reportedly been approaching their expiration dates either this year or next. Plus, announced projects started stalling. So, I mean, what would the new bosses at Paramount do? According to a new report, Paramount's current currently has no intention of changing how DC studio operates.

[00:12:27] Actually, the last thing I heard was they actually did extend James Gunn's contract out for two years. But I got to I got to confirm that the rap reports that if the Paramount and Warner Brothers merger receives final approval, Paramount plans on keeping gun and Saffron running for DC studios. Gun and Saffron already have several successes at this point toward creature commandos, all that kind of stuff. I mean, there's there's so much that they've done that is right. Lanterns is a freaking hit right now. Creature commandos.

[00:12:54] Nobody has anything bad to say about creature commandos hit or miss with Peacemaker with most people in Superman. Again, you have a lot of people who say negative things about Superman, but there's a lot more positive to say about Superman than there is negative in all reality. So what I need now is your guys's thoughts on all this.

[00:13:12] So for me, the only two things I see that are the issues with with DC and the James Gunn, Peter Saffron version of the DCU is that, yes, Supergirl did have some box office blunders with, you know, the amount of money it made. I get it. It's a loss. So that sucks. But it was still a pretty enjoyable movie. But I wish it was more in depth for for what the story was. It was very much a cliff note version of the story.

[00:13:42] Yeah. So I think they they missed the mark on that, even though I did enjoy the film. The other thing is and kind of like a Star Wars thing where they started announcing projects and then pulling them back. Right. And then, OK, here's another one. Oh, wait, that one's on hold. OK. And then here's this big tentpole, you know, like Batman, brave in the bold. But we're not pushing it as much as we should. Like, I don't even want to know that until we're ready.

[00:14:10] So it's almost like they did the blunder by announcing those projects. They weren't ready to be announced. Right. I think he had like a road map of what he wanted. And it kind of changed once film started coming out. It was like, oh, Supergirl. And then, you know, he started writing Man of Tomorrow. And I think that changed a lot of where he wanted the story to go. The thing is that he's already planted seeds for other storylines. So it's kind of like, where do we go from here?

[00:14:38] I 100 percent believe that Warner Brothers is behind the vision because if they wanted him out, they would have canceled all his projects and they would have stopped it a long time ago. I mean, considering that they keep green lighting projects that he continues to put out there, I don't think they're planning on getting rid of him. It doesn't seem like Paramount wants to get rid of him either, because they seem to have a lot of good to say about him as much as all the fanboys are like, they're going to fire him and they're going to bring back Zack Snyder.

[00:15:06] Zack Snyder has already said he's not coming back. So, I mean, stop. Yeah, stop with all the rhetoric. Stop with all the complaints. Stop with all of the what you think is going to happen, because what you think is going to happen is not happening, guys. I'm sorry. As much as I did not dislike his world. It was a fine take, but it's not happening. So, you know, get on board, guys. What up, say, Eric? Yep. I mean, basically what you guys have said, there's not much more.

[00:15:35] You know, I don't really want to compare it to Marvel too much because that feels, you know, you can. They're different universes, so you can't really compare them. Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm saying. But I'm saying the structure. Right. Or anything else. Yeah, you would think let's do a Superman movie. Let's do a Batman movie. Let's do a Wonder Woman movie. Let's do a Justice League. But like, you know, it I appreciate they're trying different things and whatever. And I'm, you know, I'm glad that Warner Brothers seems to still be behind this, even if a movie has failed.

[00:16:04] Because I think that's really what you need to take away from it is you got to stick behind it. You got to be like, all right, let's see how this goes. Let's see what the payoff is going to be. So, yeah, it seems like you're doing that. But I also, you know, I always worry about these big corporations being like, ah, we didn't make enough money here. Cancel all. Cancel all. So, yeah. And I mean, that's kind of that's the problematic part of all of this is that they're looking at dollar signs. They're not looking at creativity. They're not looking at what is creative and the best way to do things.

[00:16:34] Yeah. Also, I'm sure they're all freaking out after Spider-Man because they're like, OK, the theory that people aren't going to the movies anymore because they're waiting on it to come to streaming. Spider-Man disproved all of that. But at the same time, I think more it's more now. Is it enticing enough for me to go see in theaters or am I willing to wait for it to come out on streaming? Right. Yep. Agreed. And with the next few projects they have coming up, they're kind of set up for success. Man of Tomorrow, it'll do well.

[00:17:03] It'll be a blockbuster summer movie. That's fine. People will come out for it. That won't be a problem. Clayface is coming out in like a month. I can't wait to see that. It looks so good. It has like a body horror film. And it only costs $40 million to make. That is so low, even for like an indie movie that's low. So it's going to make the money back. So I think they're OK. They're like, let's see what happens here.

[00:17:32] And then again, like we talked about lanterns is just it's getting a lot of good reviews. Yeah. So I think a lot of it's also there. They're starting to trust gun with doing what Marvel did at first because Marvel movies became their own formula and they became Marvel movies and everything became a Marvel movie. But when they first started putting Marvel movies out, they were different genre films. They were genre films within the universe.

[00:17:57] I think that's what gun is starting to do with with DC is I'm going to we're going to make a film that is within a separate genre that just lives within DC. I love that idea with that. I love that.

[00:18:12] You know, you have this fun adventure movie with with Supergirl, but then, you know, you're getting into more of a comic movie with Superman, but then you can go and do other properties and make it like a comedy or you can make it, you know, something that is you can make a Western at, you know, like things like that. Like it like a kind of detective show with with lanterns. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Great. All right. So that is it for our side on DC.

[00:18:42] So let's talk about our next sponsor here. Ladies and gentlemen, this show is brought to you by the good folks over at Debbie. Oh, that was loud. Over at Debbie. Debbie is a brand of energy drinks created to help focus concentration reaction time with no jitters or crash. Debbie contains no meltodextrin, no sugars, no fillers, no artificial colors or dyes. Find out more about Debbie at www.w.gg. Use the code nerding10 and get 10% off your order. All right. Let's jump into the next segment here.

[00:19:11] We've got some one shots. Quickest news in the galaxy. Gomez, let's jump on these stories here. The roadrunner still has some pep in his step. Coyote versus Acme, the long delayed Looney Tunes movie. Open to $15.4 million at the domestic box office. Giving distributor Ketchup, Ketchup Distributing, its biggest debut today.

[00:19:37] That also is incredibly close to the $15.5 million opening for the day of the earth blew up. The other Looney Tunes Acme movie that came out a couple of years ago. The positive response from critics and movie goers certainly helped. So good for Ketchup. Thank you for bringing this Looney Tunes movie out. And for now, that's all, folks. Get it? I do. I do. So happy that this movie is making money.

[00:20:06] I've seen complaints where people are saying it's not making as much money. But I don't care. I haven't seen it yet, but I need to go see this. It's one of the movies on my list to go watch. And I want to see it in theaters. I've heard so many good things about it. And John Cena's performance seems to be very breakout in it. John Cena's? I don't know. I didn't even know. He plays the villain. Yeah, he plays the bad guy. I didn't see him anywhere. Oh, yeah. No. Apparently, Joe Dekelmeyer was on stage by himself in Canada this weekend.

[00:20:37] MD, MD, MD. That's all, folks. All right. Was it funny at the second time? No. It kind of was. Hold on, James. I got you. I got you. Thanks, everybody. Looks like it's time to hit the pace car again. Tom Cruise is getting back behind the wheel as Cole Trickle and Anne Hathaway is joining him for the ride.

[00:21:07] Hathaway will star opposite Tom Cruise in Paramount's picture's upcoming follow-up to Days of Thunder. I think they're going to call it Days of Thunder 2. I hope so. So they're going to bring some serious star power. Cruise's return to the NASCAR world. The new film arrives nearly 40 years after director Tony Scott unleashed the first Days of Thunder in 1990. 40 years. Wow. So long.

[00:21:37] Do you guys see this announcement? I didn't. I'm not against it. I love what Eric D is saying in the chat, though. He said NASCAR has a senior circuit? Like the PGA? Oh, that's good. That sucks. That is really good, man. I'm not against it.

[00:21:55] Again, I think we were talking off mic earlier, but if this ends up being like Top Gun and you have a reason for the story to continue on and they do it well, I'm all for it. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I mean, Days of Thunder, the whole story is like an experienced NASCAR driver kind of handing it off to the next generation.

[00:22:19] It's probably going to be something similar to this instead of, you know, Robert Duvall and, you know, mentoring Tom Cruise. It's going to be Tom Cruise mentoring somebody else, like Miles Teller or something. Yeah. But I will say this. Seeing Anne Hathaway jump into this, I'm like, good, good pull. She is nothing but money these days, right? Like, I like her as an actress, but check this out. I was looking this up.

[00:22:47] In 2026, she's put out Mother Mary. I think that was a horror movie. Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street, and she has an upcoming movie called Verity coming like in December. She is box office galore this year. So, all right. Good for Days of Thunder.

[00:23:12] Days of Thunder 2 will release or will race into theaters on June 2nd, 2028. Awesome. Again, as long as it makes sense, I'm for it. Yeah. All right. Actors are killing to get into this series. Apple TV Plus Murderbot is loading up on some serious talent for season two with Steve Buscemi,

[00:23:35] Wanda Sykes, Patton Oswald, Tramiel Tillman, Blair Underwood, and Brendan Hunt among the new additions joining the Emmy-nominated sci-fi comedy. That's huge. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. And by the way, Dave the Smolchen is coming back for season two as well. Right. Right. Have you guys watched the show? I love this show. So, I have not. I know Jen is a massive, massive fan of this show.

[00:24:29] Mm-hmm. Totally bingeable. Totally worth it, too. Yeah. All right. So, there's currently no date announced for Murderbot season two, but the expanding cast gives fans another good reason to keep an eye on it. I'm so interested in this one. Yeah. All right. Speaking of Murderbots, dead or alive, Dan Stevens is coming with me.

[00:24:54] Dan Stevens has landed the title role for Amazon Prime Video's upcoming RoboCop TV series. Dan Stevens, right? You guys remember who Dan Stevens? I recognize the name. Okay. So, let's see. RoboCop is going to be eight-episode series officially announced in July. But if you don't know Dan Stevens, he's, for me, the biggest thing that gets me, like, he was in Downton Abbey and stuff like that.

[00:25:23] But the biggest thing, he was in Legion, that FX show. Oh! Yes! Okay. That's why I know Dan Stevens. Yes. Okay. Yep. He's the main guy in Legion. He was in, I mentioned Downton Abbey, Dexter, Resurrection, Godzilla, Kong, The New Empire. He was in that as well. But, so, you know him. Like, once you see his face, you're like, oh, Dan Stevens. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, 100%, I know who he is.

[00:25:51] And I know, okay, so if he's playing Murphy, I'm all for it, dude. Speaking of, I do have a, my friends call me Murphy. You call me RoboCopopsis? Excuse me, I have to go somewhere. There's crime happening. Synopsis. Oh, God. Give me a second. Oh, I gotta deliver it. My friends call me Murphy. You call me RoboCop. Obsis. Excuse me. I have to go somewhere. There is a crime happening. Synopsis!

[00:26:22] Synopsis! The official logline reads, A giant tech conglomerate convinces the city to place a powerful robot on its police force. A robot implanted with a consciousness of a beloved fallen officer. Yes. Prime Video has announced an official date for RoboCop. Not yet until it goes on patrol. I'm for this. Dan Stevens killed it as Legion. So, I'm all for it.

[00:26:52] I'm into this. You know what's funny? We talked about this before. RoboCop getting rebooted a few different times and it hasn't quite landed. I think this could land. With Dan Stevens, I do like this. Yeah. I agree. I'm with it. I have no objections to Dan Stevens as Officer Murphy. I think that was my last headline. Yep. Should do. I gotta ask. Because there's so much that you've never seen.

[00:27:22] You've never seen RoboCop, I'm assuming. Nope. Nope. It's almost like a cult. It's a cult classic now. I think instead of being like, oh my god, you haven't seen that movie? We should just feed you the cult classic movies that you should go out and watch. We should just have movie nights. I think that's what we should do. We should just have movie nights here on Patreon or something. We used to, yeah. I mean, we used to, we tried doing it for a while, but we just didn't have a lot of people who were joining.

[00:27:49] Maybe now that we might be able to do it a little bit more now. Yeah. We'll just go through movies I haven't seen that you guys think I should see. Yeah. RoboCop for sure is a movie. Fucking write that down. That is a movie you need to see. Ultra violent, but it is very good. It's the same. It's the same. Have you seen Starship Troopers? Oh, yeah. Who made Starship Troopers? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was where it was, but I haven't seen. Yeah. I'd say World Cup.

[00:28:21] Prime directive. All right. Well, that is it for James's last story. So let's jump into our last sponsor before we jump in. I'll read it. Disendarding is part of the Geek Freaks Network. Are you discovering your latest binge, debating, casting choices are still not over that plot as well? Well, the Geek Freaks Network has got you covered. Your fandom, your community, your people. Geek out your way. Check out the Geek Freaks Network at GFPods.com.

[00:28:49] Once again, that is GFPods.com. That's right. Geek Freaks, baby. Woo. Listen to Geek Freaks. I do. And so should you. Yes. I'm sorry. All right. We're going to jump into the next segment right here. Ladies and gentlemen, we're jumping into our headlines. It's going to get really sad for a minute here. Last week, I talked about Dolly Parton. It was very sad.

[00:29:14] But we had even more sad, just heart-destroying things happen over the course of this week. Ladies and gentlemen, Autobots roll out one last time. This makes me so sad. All right. Peter Cullen, the legendary voice actor best known as Optimus Prime in Transformers, has died at the age of 85. His family confirmed his passing. A cause of death hasn't been revealed.

[00:29:42] For generations of Transformers fans, Cullen wasn't simply an actor playing Optimus Prime. He was Optimus Prime. Every definitive version of Optimus Prime was played by Peter Cullen, which is absolutely amazing. Cullen first voice Optimus Prime when the original Transformers animated series debuted in 1984. Michael Bay brought the Autobots and Decepticons to the big screen with Transformers in 2007.

[00:30:08] Bringing Cullen back to voice Optimus was absolutely the right call. He continued voicing Prime throughout the live-action movie franchises, with his most recent performance coming in Paramount's Transformers Rise of the Beasts in 2023. Most recently, Cullen joined Invincible. Then there's Eeyore. The same actor who gave us the powerful voice of Optimus Prime could turn around and completely disappear into Eeyore.

[00:30:33] He served as a narrator for Cartoon Network's Toonami, helping introduce viewers to shows such as Dragon Ball Z. Thank you, Peter. You will absolutely be missed till all are one. So I need you guys to see. I need you guys just kind of thoughts or anything you want to say in regard to the James. I know you should have a lot to say about this because we grow up in this era. Tech guy and I are chatting in the chat there about crying over this loss.

[00:31:03] I remember going to see Transformers the movie by myself back in like 86. It was like the first movie I ever saw by myself. I was a little kid. And I remember crying when Optimus Prime died. I'm like, what am I watching? Why am I alone here? And like all my favorite Transformers are dying. Like Ironhide just got shot and he's laying there. And now Optimus Prime is, you know, dead and gray. So sad.

[00:31:32] I felt the same way when I heard this story. It's like Peter Cullen. He like what you said. He was Optimus Prime. Right. So this one hurts a lot. And you know what's funny is like a lot of my cousins, like we reached out to each other like, oh my gosh, I can't believe this happened. It's like one of those things that like bonded us was Transformers. So this hit a bunch of us. Yeah. Now we need to protect Frank Welker and Rob Paulson with every fucking fiber of our bodies.

[00:32:02] Yes. You know, like, man, it is absolutely, like it hurts because of so much of what the work that he did was such a part of us. And dude, him coming in to Invincible was like the minute I heard his voice, I fucking fangirled so hard.

[00:32:25] I think I remember when I told you when we were talking on this show, dude, have you seen Invincible, the season of Invincible yet? Mm-hmm. Fucking Optimus Prime, man. And I was so excited that Peter Cullen was playing a character in Invincible. And God, man, it's so painful, man. And like one of the things that I think about now is when we get Optimus Prime, are we going to be getting completely new takes?

[00:32:54] Kind of how Thor. Chris Hemsworth. Chris Hemsworth had a very different take on Optimus Prime, right? But like if people go and do the mainstream cartoon, are we going to get people who are voice matching Peter Cullen? Specifically, there's a TikToker who does like comedy skits as Optimus Prime, and he sounds just like Peter Cullen.

[00:33:20] The thing is, is that if you watch his other videos, he just sounds like that. Like he already sounds like Optimus Prime. Well, then he may have a job, right? It's the dude that does the I came to roll out. I came to roll out. So get out your seat and jump around. That guy, like he sounds like Peter Cullen. Like just not Peter Cullen. He said like if you watch his other videos, he's just like, well, I was walking around the room the other day. And I'm like, holy crap. He sounds like Optimus Prime regularly.

[00:33:51] Interesting. Oh, God. No, I'm sorry. I had to just look in there right now. So tech guy Eric just said Hasbro already said they have AI already for Transformers. There's that. I hope if anything, I hope he signed off to that. But at the same time, I just I don't like that. All right. Let's let's continue on. Yeah, let's move on. We're staying within the realm of sadness because I'm sorry.

[00:34:22] So much happened this week as far as things that make me sad because another person from my childhood that had so much to do in my childhood. Guys, we're going to do the time warp, you know, for the last time. Tim Curry, the legendary actor, singer, stage performer and voice artist passed away at the age of 80, leaving behind more than five decades of unforgettable characters and one hell of a legacy.

[00:34:45] A cause of death wasn't immediately available, but he had dealt with several health issues after suffering a severe stroke in 2012. Every role of his was absolutely memorable. Pennywise, the clown and Stephen King's it. Dr. Frankenfurter and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Curry received a Tony Award nomination for playing Mozart in the 1981 New York production of Amadeus.

[00:35:07] His turn as the Pirate King in 1982, 1982's Drury Lane production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. Penzance. It's Penzance, isn't it? Penzance. Penzance. Okay. Pirates of Penzance earned him a Lawrence Olivier Award nomination. Curry played con man Rooster Harrigan in John Huston's Annie in 1982.

[00:35:33] Then came the massive horns, hooves and layers of prosthetic makeup required to turn him into darkness for Ridley Scott's 1985 fantasy legend, which a lot of people rewatched this last week and remembered how much of a crazy role that was. And then there's Clue, right? I mean, I absolutely love that movie, too.

[00:35:58] Curry's performance as Wadsworth is a masterclass in comic timing, escalating panic, physical comedy and controlled chaos. Curry also won a Daytime Emmy for voicing Captain Hook in the 1990-91 animated series Peter Pan and the Pirates. During the 1990s, he appeared in The Hunt for Red October, The Three Musketeers, Home Alone 2, Lost in New York, the other. I love you. That scene is so good.

[00:36:26] Loaded Weapon, Muppet Treasure Island, which again, masterful performance. Adam's Family Reunion, Fern Gully, Rugrats, Wild Thornberries. Wild Thornberries. Thornberries, he plays the dad. So good. Just so many good roles that he had over the course of everything. The best villain ever in Fern Gully, right? I mean, come on, guys. And I don't think anybody denies how great of a villain he was in Fern Gully. Guys... Not guys. I'm sorry.

[00:36:56] Tim, I'm saying this to you directly. Thanks for the nightmares, the laughs, and the time warps. You will be missed. You will be cherished. Because you absolutely were one of the most iconic just beings to ever grace this earth. And we appreciate everything that you ever did. And we will continue to appreciate everything that... All the work that you put out there for us to enjoy.

[00:37:25] Yeah, it's crazy how... He was so big in the 90s. He was in so many different projects. And his voice stands out so much. So it's nuts how much work he got in the 90s. And yeah, he's an icon. Totally. He was originally the Joker for Batman the Animated Series. Yeah, I think there's four episodes that he did. And then they redubbed them with Mark Hamill. So, you know, I was just thinking about that.

[00:37:55] Like, it would be nice is if we got a sampling of that. Or like, here's an entire episode. Or maybe it's all four episodes with Tim Curry. It's out there. It's out there. I'm going to have to find the video and send it to you. But somebody found the footage of Tim Curry. Or somebody released the footage of Tim Curry as the Joker. And it's from the first episode. And it's great. Because Mark Hamill talks about when he got that role.

[00:38:23] They had already started recording Tim Curry as the Joker. Yeah. And he kind of just like, he was auditioning for like Henchman number two. Because he was like, I just wanted to do like a cameo where somebody later on would say, yeah. Yeah. Did you know that Mark Hamill voiced a henchman in like the first episode? Because he's like that kind of nerd. He wanted that kind of legacy. And they asked him to read for the Joker. And he ended up taking the Joker.

[00:38:51] But the Joker as a character was based on Dr. Frankenfurter. Yeah. Such a weird like full circle type thing. Yeah. All right. Oh, no love for Congo. No, you're good, man. Congo was also great. So, yeah, we'll continue on. But, yes, guys, just we lost a lot this week. Yeah. Between Dolly, Peter, and Tim. And Heading Pennantier. That's right. And Heading Pennantier.

[00:39:20] That was another one, man. The cheerleader. I had such a crush on her. Yeah. And, yeah, man, it just sucks. All right. Well, let's move on. Because I will just spiral if I keep thinking about this. Right. So, we're going to jump into this next story right here. When he left us, he was but the learner. But now Hayden is the leader.

[00:39:47] We could be seeing a lot more of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader in the years ahead. According to Star Wars Gaming, Christensen is reportedly in the final stages of signing a multi-picture deal with Disney and Lucasfilm. The report also claims that a standalone Darth Vader movie could be part of the plan, which is actually what he's been asking for for years. So, I'm going to ask right now, but I'm also going to put it in the chat here in a moment for you guys.

[00:40:16] I need to know, do you guys want to see a standalone Darth Vader movie? Again, I'm going to put a – I'm forgetting the word. A poll. A poll in the chat here in a moment once I get through this and we start the discussion. None of this has been officially confirmed by Lucasfilm or Disney. So, guys, take it with a grain of salt. Take it as a rumor. It's not something that we 100% know is happening right now. A multi-picture deal also opens up more possibilities than just putting Vader back on the big screen.

[00:40:45] Anakin's Force Ghost could continue to play a role for future stories, especially as Star Wars explores different eras and characters. Madeline Rose, a novel legacy, has even expanded Anakin's presence into the sequel era with an encounter between Anakin and Rey. Will we get more Darth Vader stories – Darth Vader's story to explore? I don't know. You tell us. So, guys – and by guys, I mean you two. What do you guys think of this?

[00:41:14] Do you think we should be getting more Hayden Christensen? Shadu, you're wearing a Star Wars shirt, so you answer. Okay. Yeah, I mean, you know, if he's willing to do it, let's do it. I don't know if a Darth Vader solo story is necessary, but I'll take it. It'd probably be good. I'm excited. I think he's kind of in a – not that it was ever his fault.

[00:41:39] He's kind of in a redemption arc where everybody wants to see him back as Anakin. Everybody wants to. Everybody's excited about this, which is good. I think we're in a good place there. Yeah. So, yeah. I think it'd be great. I'm interested to see what – if, of course, this is true, which I feel like it probably is. I'm curious to see what they want to do with him and what he wants to do with all of this. So, yeah. I'm in. I have mixed feelings about this.

[00:42:07] So, seeing Hayden come back. I thoroughly enjoy him coming back, especially in like Ahsoka and the world between worlds stuff, you know, and the flashbacks to the Clone Wars. I love it. I love that. Do I want a standalone Vader movie? I don't know. It kind of feels like overkill to me. It's a little too much. Like getting bits and pieces of Vader in Ahsoka, in Rogue One.

[00:42:36] I kind of like that versus like do we need to know more about his story? I don't know. Yeah. And I agree with you on this. Sorry. No, you're fine. Go ahead. No, continue. Continue. I do. I was basically going to agree with James. I do like him as this kind of like almost demonic figure where he's kind of in the background all the time and he just pops up sometimes like, oh, that's not good. You know, it's. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:07] I like that. Our boy Estelon said, James, that's a blast for me. But I agree with you, James. I'm agreeing with you on this. I do also believe that I enjoy him more as the looming threat and the overarching villain within all this than giving him a standalone film.

[00:43:31] As much as I feel like Hayden would kill that if they do do something like that, like I would want to see more like live action Clone Wars stuff. Yeah. And like adventures with Anakin and Obi-Wan, you know, surviving the Clone Wars kind of thing. I don't I don't feel like we need a full on like Vader thing. We've already gotten Vader story and enough of Vader's stuff.

[00:43:57] Like, you know, I don't feel like I feel like adding more to it would convolute the character. You know, Filoni even said we're supposed to see Vader like this. The way he's portrayed Vader in like Ahsoka and stuff like that is he and it's actually it came out of Shadow Lord. The mall series is like Vader does not have a consciousness. He doesn't care. His mission is to kill you and he's going to do it. Right.

[00:44:26] Like there's nothing else going through his head. He's just like unstoppable force. Yes, exactly. That's the Vader we get in that era. And I kind of like it like that. Right. You know, it's it's one of those things where, again, the last remnants of any kind of moral authority and consciousness that he had was basically beaten out of him by Obi-Wan and the Obi-Wan series.

[00:44:51] And that's kind of that was the whole point of that was that full villain turn, whatever redeeming qualities he had, he lost in that moment. Exactly. You know, and that explains why Obi-Wan doesn't stops calling him Anakin. He just calls him Vader. Mm hmm. Yeah. I agree. I like it. Right. Or he calls him Darth. That's right. As as a as a almost like a level of disrespect to call him just Darth. Yeah. Right. Right.

[00:45:21] So, yeah. So that's what we're going to leave off on this story right here. We've got one more story to get through here, guys. So let's go ahead and move on to our last story of the night. Hopefully we don't linger too much on this one because you guys know me. We call this sugarcoating. Yeah. Yeah. We call this sugarcoating, kids.

[00:45:43] David Ellison, CEO of the Paramount Skydance has promised that the combined studio would release at least 30 movies theatrically every year. And now Paramount is prepared to turn that promise into something much more substantial than a corporate talking point. Do you guys think Paramount can can pull off 30 movies a year? That is what? Two, two and a half a month. It's a lot of movies.

[00:46:11] But I mean, considering it's it's two different studios. So, yeah. So that's even that that's one movie a month per studio. That seems like a lot. Yeah, it does. They would have to have a lot in production to do all that. Anyways, according to Bloomberg, Ellison is offering three year contractually enforceable commitments to AMC Entertainment and Regal Cinemas, the two largest theater chains in the United States.

[00:46:38] The proposed agreement would guarantee at least 30 theatrical releases annually, exclusive theatrical windows of 45 days and a minimum 90 day wait before those movies could arrive on streaming services. So essentially he's going back to the old model where it's it's you're not getting movies right away. Right. No other major studio is currently promising to put 30 movies into theaters every year.

[00:47:03] That is interesting, though, that he's promising the theaters we're going to deliver you 30 movies, 30 movies a year like that's good for theaters. Right. They're getting content like that's part of the thing. It's like theaters have just been kind of backboning against the bigger tentpole content.

[00:47:23] Maybe with Paramount and Warner Brothers pushing this, they'll get a little bit more solid content than just like we need to wait for the big tent poles to come up each. Right. But then that's also so if you're doing a 45 day theatrical window. So now you have a chance to go see the film and then 90 days from that before it can be on streaming. That's that that's the old DVD, the old DVD promise that they used to do because DVDs aren't a thing anymore. Yeah.

[00:47:53] You know, Blu-rays aren't a big thing anymore. It's like, OK, well, we're going to treat streaming as if it were DVDs, you know, which also means streaming services like actual regular streaming services may get it even later than that. Because I guarantee you that 90 day minimum wait is more for VOD than it is for than it is for for streaming on like Netflix and stuff. That's a good point. Right.

[00:48:17] Like that 90 day wait for a movie to come out on streaming is probably going to be more when you can buy it on video on demand. Yeah, I kind of like that. I mean, if anything, it kind of guarantees the theater business that they will have content that Paramount and Warner Brothers are like, hey, we believe in theaters being a thing. And it's not just about streamer, streamer, streamer stuff.

[00:48:41] So it if I don't know, the way I look at it is it it kind of helps the movie industry. I think that's a good thing. I mean, I'm not 100 percent against the idea because I believe that it would usher people back to the theaters instead of people just waiting to see films like they've been doing. Yeah. Also, this is still terrible for everyone else.

[00:49:10] Well, yeah, studio wise. Absolutely. I agree with that. This is terrible for everyone. Actors for studios for. Yeah. Yeah. So the contractual offer also serves another purpose for Paramount. The merger is facing antitrust lawsuit from 12 state attorney generals who argue that combining Paramount and Warner Brothers would give the company too much control over the theatrical movie business, which it would.

[00:49:33] Putting the 30 film commitment and theatrical windows into legal enforceable legal enforceable agreements could help Paramount argue that it isn't planning to swallow Warner Brothers and funnel movies toward Paramount Plus and HBO Max. Instead, the company would be legally committing itself to feeding theaters a steady supply of films. So, yes, it's not wrong. The conjecture of that is not wrong.

[00:50:02] I'm not trying to give credit to the Ellisons because we all know I don't exactly love those guys and I don't like their moves and the choices that they've made. But a broken clock is right twice a day, right? Like, I mean, with this, they are trying to reinvigorate the film industry and reinvigorate the theater industry. The thing is, is now you need to – and two things.

[00:50:32] Quality control. For 30 movies, quality control needs to be back on the rise. They need to make sure that if they're putting out 30 movies a year that they're still putting out quality films or they're upping the quality of their films instead of just trying to push movies out because that's what's going to get people to actually go to the theaters. Two, finding a way to get theaters not to charge so much for everything because that's the other part of the equation. Right?

[00:50:58] Because the other piece of the equation is because theaters are charging so much for concessions and tickets are – ticket prices are fairly up and everything like that. You know, if you get things down to a reasonable price, I think more people will go to the movies. Yeah. I don't see theaters lowering their prices though. Yeah. Two things before we close on this. One, it's still a monopoly.

[00:51:25] Two, I do fear that them trying to push out 30 movies a year and with how we know the Ellisons are generally, these are going to be like AI movies or something at this point because they're going to be like, no, we need to do all this. We need to do it as efficiently as possible.

[00:51:42] So, David Ellison has specifically said that he does want to do some replacements with AI, which again, that's going into another realm of shit that I don't agree with. You know what I mean? Yep. Which we are not going to get into tonight. No. No, that's for another night. We do not have time. So, with that being said, ladies and gentlemen, that is the last story of the night. Let's jump into our schedule. That's right.

[00:52:13] Our schedule, Tuesdays, distance nerding, typically from 630 to 830, but I was late. Work happens. You know, we're still, we're not too far off. Thursdays, ladies and gentlemen, we have distance nerding interviews. Now, this week's interview, I'm excited for this. If you guys haven't heard of this, look into it now. David Hudson, the co-creator of Drunk Shakespeare, who is also the creator of Drunk Dracula. You guys got to check that out.

[00:52:43] He's going to be on the show this Thursday. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm really excited to talk to him about the process, how he came up with this idea, which, I mean, it was probably just a bunch of theater nerds hanging out saying, let's get drunk. I'm going to do Othello. I'm fucking wasted. All right. So, yeah, I'm interested in having this conversation on Thursday. That'll be at 630. Again, we've changed the times on this. I've got to update the schedule here.

[00:53:11] But Disconcerting Interviews is now at 630 on Thursdays, same time as our regular show on Tuesdays. Fridays, The Buzzer. I don't think I have anything this week. So, I think we may actually have a date night. I thought Gravy was going to do Jeff Nerdy. Oh, then let's do Jeff Nerdy. We're playing games this week, guys. That's what we're going to be doing. We're playing games. Oh, SAC. Okay. SAC anime is happening this week. Yep. That too. Go to that. Yeah.

[00:53:39] So, with that being said, let us move on here. Of course, before we end everything here, as always, pluggables should do. You're the only one with plugs. So, plug your stuff. I am at SHU Studios. Everywhere for my music, it is at SHU Music. Go check it out. All right. So, check all that out, guys.

[00:54:05] When you get a chance, support your local artist, even though he's only local to Oklahoma and parts of Kansas. All right. Let's move on here. Ladies and gentlemen, of course, you can follow us on all those social media places. If you want to join the Taco Party, head over to distancencerding.com. You can join the Taco Party. It is a way to support Distance Nerding. Very soon, we'll be getting into Patreon. So, if you really want to support Distance Nerding, get into Patreon. We'll be bringing all kinds of exclusive content and fun things.

[00:54:35] Maybe dropping early audio episodes of new content and things coming out. And, you know, taking some fan, some nerd. I say fan, but taking some nerd suggestions. So, like, you know, if you guys have ideas for things you want to do, then Patreon will be the place to do that. Connect with us on all the places, everywhere, at Distance Nerding. If it exists, we will be there at Distance Nerding. Jamez, would you like to take us out, sir? All right. Bruce, you better be asleep already.

[00:55:04] But for everybody else, thanks and keep nerding together. Deuces. Later, everybody. Everybody have a good night. Distance Nerding. This was a production of the Distance Nerding Podcast and Time for Tacos Media.

[00:55:34] For more content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok. All at Distance Nerding. If you enjoy our content, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks and keep nerding together.