X-Forcecorpsfactormen97’ Season 2 | Chapter 274

[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. Perennial discretion is advised.

[00:00:14] Ladies and gentlemen, after a slight delay, yes ladies and gentlemen we are here, you are now experiencing Distance Nerding, I am your boy Young Phil, she is Jen the Frey Girl, they're the Shadoo, and he's the Jamaz5000.

[00:01:05] And we're here to Nerse Gather again. Nailed it for the 274th time. Talking about anything, popcorn, 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 currently watching on YouTube, hit that subscribe button if you haven't already, listen on any podcast app, drop us a 5 star review because it really does help the algorithm know that you enjoy what we're doing.

[00:01:31] YouTube, Instagram, Facebook threads, TikTok, all at Distance Nerding. Of course ladies and gentlemen, if you want to represent Distance Nerding and represent that DN, we got merch. So you can go to our website, www.streamlabs.com slash Distance Nerding slash merch, get you some of that sweet, sweet merch, more to come, more fun things to go.

[00:01:53] So let's get started guys. That way we're not delaying anymore. Ladies and gentlemen, you have now stumbled onto the worst kept secret on all of the internet because it is a really bad secret. You are now watching Distance Nerding.

[00:02:22] I still love it. Still love it every time. It's like the coolest intro to any show, right? All right. Well, let's get into this. John Mettis, tell everybody. I don't know. It's a really cool intro to a like podcast type show. We're back. We're back. We're back. We're back. We're back. We're back. There are some really good intros to other shows. Ours is the best. We're just throwing that out there. John Mez, what do we got going on this week?

[00:02:43] We got X-Men updates. Major DC casting theaters are actually happy with Netflix, some Star Wars news, and so much more. Yes. All right. So I haven't seen Daredevil season two born again thing. So we can't spoil anything for me. That's yeah. Hopefully we don't. When we get there. Yeah, hopefully we don't.

[00:03:12] John Mez, let everybody know. Let everybody know who is supporting the show right here. Who's bringing us to show today? Check out Colossus Girl Entertainment fan-focused Comic-Cons across the West Coast, including Beaver State Comic-Con, Metal Art Comic-Con, Anna Medford, Tri-Cities Powerhouse, Silver Age Comic-Con, and of course, Gem State Comic-Con. Yes. Coming up this coming weekend featuring... This weekend. Firefly reunion, Doctor Who cast. It's going to be amazing. Phil Lamar will be there.

[00:03:42] It's going to be awesome. Yes. Comics, cosplays, vendors, artists, celebrity guests, and so much more. Colossus Girl, ENT.com, plan your next Comic-Con. Indeed. All right. All right. Well, let's get right into this, guys. It's time to talk the news and all the fun things we got going on. So let's go ahead and get to this first segment. It's time for Straight from Jay Jonah. Woo. All right. So, yeah, this is my segment. So, yeah. All right.

[00:04:11] So, let's begin. You wanted the Punisher. You're getting the Punisher. Jon Bernthal's The Punisher is back with a vengeance in The Punisher, One Last Kill. And this summer of Spider-Man Brand New Day, and this summer of Spider-Man Brand New Day, excuse me, Bernthal appeared on the Kelly Clarkson show, where he called The Punisher, One Last Kill, the most psychologically complex, darkest version of The Punisher that you're ever going to see. So, then he added, as a quote,

[00:04:40] I believe it's what the fans want. I wrote it alongside the help of Nick Kumaltasos, something like that, who's a Marine Raider and unbelievable guy who wrote a book about his own pain and his own bout with hopelessness and his story back. It was such an honor. He's a producer on it. Cody Alford, also a Marine Raider, and Colton Hill, Green Beret, were on set. They're badasses. They're more than badasses. He continued.

[00:05:07] He also acknowledged that there is a big tonal shift between projects. With Spider-Man, he said, with Spider-Man, I think was most important, because obviously, tonally, it's very different. It's such an honor to be a part of it, especially with Tom Holland. Yeah. So, obviously, that is true. The Punisher, One Last Kill, has a TVMA rating, whereas Spider-Man, PG-13, obviously, it's kind of that contrast of tones. So, yeah. Yeah.

[00:05:35] I'm super excited for this, and I'm probably going to watch this after we're done with everything we're doing tonight. On top of that, I know that friends of the show, BD, Brandon Davis, and Joe Deckelmeyer have both seen it already. They saw it over the weekend, and they were just posting how much they enjoyed this and just how good and well-written it was.

[00:05:58] And usually, the stuff that they put out is always like, oh, it was fun, it was this, but they were really getting down on how much they enjoyed this. So, it got me that much more excited to watch it. That's good. That's awesome. Very cool. I'm in. Take my money. Let's move on. Exactly. All right. So, moving on, saying in the same kind of realm of the MCU, New York needs its defenders.

[00:06:24] After a season two finale packed with unresolved chaos, you can take your headphones off now. A new report is giving fans a clear idea of where things are headed next, and it sounds like the spotlight is shifting in a big way. According to Scooper, stupid name, by time to shine hello on X, Twitter, Twix, The upcoming season is expected to split its focus early on, with Matt Murdock sidelined behind bars, while the rest of the street-level heroes take control of the narrative. The report states, and I quote,

[00:06:53] First half of Daredevil Born Again Season 3 is the Defenders 2, as they focus on them while Matt is in prison. We will see them on their own. That concept flips the usual formula and gives Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist room to operate without Daredevil leading the charge. The original Defenders series on Netflix, we don't know, only ran for one season. Despite a loyal fan base, it never continued. So, this is probably the closest thing we've gotten so far to a proper follow-up. So, yeah.

[00:07:23] Again, something I'm super excited for, you know, again, the finale, we got, you know, a couple characters in there. We know that Finn Jones was on set for the recording of Season 3. I'm excited to see all of them together. I want to see that they fixed issues from the original Defenders on Netflix. You know what I mean? Like, I want to be able to see—I want good martial arts.

[00:07:51] I want to see Finn Jones' character with the mask on, so that way we can get, like, a really, really good stunt double that is a good martial artist. Like, I want this to be the pinnacle comic book version of the Defenders. I've been pretty happy with what they've done with transitioning from the Netflix MCU universe over to the actual MCU universe with Daredevil. You know, and the finale was great.

[00:08:18] I can't believe they put Spider-Man at the end finale of Daredevil. Oh! Sorry, Frey. I didn't know you were back on. Anyway, yeah, I'm looking forward to this. But I do think they're going to end up eventually getting to a Defenders type show. It was like the spinoffs are going to happen again. Right. So, yeah. So, again, there is no date for Daredevil Born Again Season 3, but maybe it will be Defenders Born Again. Ooh! I like that, too.

[00:08:48] All right. Moving on. Speaking of Spider-Man, actually, with great power comes controversial backstory changes. As Captain America Civil War celebrates its 10th anniversary, directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have opened up about a major shift in Spidey's office. It's an origin story that changes one of the most defining elements of the character. Joe Russo has shared a key detail that flips expectations. Speaking about their approach, he explained to CBR, quote, Spider-Man was one of my favorite characters growing up, if not my favorite.

[00:09:18] And what I related to was this idea of a kid with incredible responsibility, right? And I think you could manifest that responsibility through accidental death, right? And feeling the pressure and sense of loss in your life in a way that would keep the spirit that we wanted. So in our mind, no, he was not responsible for Uncle Ben's death. Russo continues. That would have been a different interpretation, a more intense interpretation of the character. That is a huge departure from classic Spider-Man mythos, where Peter's failure to act directly leads to Uncle Ben's death.

[00:09:48] In the MCU, however, at least from the Russo's perspective, that burden of guilt isn't part of Peter's foundation. Instead, his sense of responsibility comes from the loss itself, not from personal failure. So, does this origin shift get your Peter Tingle tingling? I'm not completely upset with this redirect, because it is something very different. And they have made clear that this is something different from the regular comic continuity.

[00:10:18] Also, he still has that same thing in Aunt May. He kind of blames himself for Aunt May passing. So, I mean, it may not have been Uncle Ben, but they flipped it on its head, and he lost Aunt May. So, I mean, yeah, he lost Uncle Ben at a point, but he feels directly responsible for Aunt May. So I feel like he still has that level of responsibility. Again, the only thing we're missing is Gwen Stacy.

[00:10:46] If they make MJ his Gwen Stacy. MJ passes away, MJ dies, which would suck. I hate to lose Zendaya, but I mean, like, you know, they kind of use her as his stand-in for Gwen Stacy. You know what I mean? And it's like, oh, you know, Spider-Man feels responsible because he tried to save Gwen Stacy and in the process killed her. Spoilers for the comics. But I mean, like, you know, it's... It's... It's...

[00:11:13] I feel like they're kind of going down that road, but because it's a different universe. It's that whole concept from the Spider-Man, Spider-Verse movies, where if something is supposed to happen, if it is an event that is supposed to happen in your life, it is going to happen no matter what. And it's kind of like it is happening to him, but in a different order with different people. Yeah. No, and I feel like, yeah, with Aunt May's death and all that, I feel like this is kind of the only way they could do it properly.

[00:11:43] Because then it would be like, okay, he was responsible for this death and then this death. Like, yeah. You still only need to learn the lesson once. Right. So... Freya, are you back with us? Yes. Yes, I'm back. Great. All right. Back again. Okay. Well, I think...

[00:11:59] So going back to the Peter Parker thing, I do like that they explained this because we got to see that innocent, funny, quippy Peter Parker back in Civil War and moving up until the last movie with Aunt May passing away.

[00:12:14] So we got to see the fun and the lovable version of Peter Parker instead of going straight into the I'm heavy and I'm in the tonal shift of I'm got so much regret and guilt on my shoulders. Yeah. I like this. This is good. It's good. I like it. I also like that they, instead of Uncle Ben, like Tony Stark kind of took that role on. Yeah.

[00:12:43] And I liked that because it really anchored him to not only the MCU, but to like Iron Man and the Avengers so that it's an easier transition if he does become like a young Avenger or like he can be called upon more. So I do like that. And I agree. We did get to see the, ah, shucks, Peter for a little bit.

[00:13:12] And now that he has lost Aunt May and he's kind of out on his own, we get to see like what kind of man he will become. Yeah. And I don't think we got that from any of the other Spider-Man versions, not to say anything about Andrew Garfield or, uh, Maguire, uh, the Toby.

[00:13:37] I, and so I just, I feel like this Spider-Man is a lot more well-rounded and we have gotten to see like, oh crap, I'm on vacation. I'm doing the school trip and I, now I got to save everybody. That is something we never got from the other Spider-Man movies. It was always about Spider-Man and his girlfriend. But this was more about Spider-Man being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and, oh yeah, he's got these kid problems.

[00:14:06] It would all just, it seemed more comic book light, even though Uncle Ben wasn't there. So I feel like they did really well. And I don't mind that, uh, Aunt May was killed because, oh my God, was she a drag on him forever. Not in the movies, but in the comics. Like she stuck around too long. So yeah. So Spider-Man brand new day released in theaters on July 31st of 2026.

[00:14:34] Aunt May needed to go to a home. Yeah, sure. Definitely did. And now she's in the farm upstate. Oh God. All right. Let's, uh, let's move on. Yes. All right. The luscious locks just added a beautiful beard. A new patch of promo art for X-Men 97 just dropped and is loaded with reveals that give fans a much clearer idea of where season two is headed.

[00:14:57] Between fractured timelines, new team formations, and a surprising evolution of the X-Men brand itself, this chapter is shaping up to go big in every direction. The newly serviced artwork pulls back the curtain on two very different areas the team is stuck in. Uh, so yeah. So we just got some summary stuff here. Uh, so Cyclops and Jean Grey found themselves stranded in a bleak 3960 AD.

[00:15:22] Uh, while Roe, Nightcrawler, Beast, uh, Professor X, and Magneto were dealing, uh, with ancient Egypt in 3000 BC, crossing paths with Insabonur, of course, Apocalypse. Uh, the promo art confirms that Wolverine, Storm, and Morph are also stuck in the future, which adds another layer to how split up this team really is. Uh, the art also gives us our first proper look at X-Force and X-Factor. Uh, X-Force brings together Cable, Archangel, Psylocke, Sunspot, and Jubilee.

[00:15:50] Uh, meanwhile, X-Factor is made up of Havoc, Polaris, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Bolton Woman, and Val Cooper. Uh, suggesting a very different dynamic, likely tied to government oversight and mutant affairs, because, I mean, of course, like, of course it is. Uh, then there's the big twist of the bunch, X-Corp. The promo art reveals a team wearing uniforms inspired by the new X-Men by Grant Morrison, which hints at a major shift in how the X-Men operate once they make it back home.

[00:16:16] Instead of just being a superhero team, this version of X-Corp suggests something more structured, possibly corporate. I mean, it's X-Corp, so yeah. Uh, and definitely different from what longtime fans are used to. Uh, Brad Winderwong, Marvel Studios' head of streaming television animation, hinted that the future of the series stretches far beyond season two. Uh, saying, and I quote, There is definitely, more than possibly, more to come from X-Men 97. We're talking about seasons four and five right now. Uh, so yeah.

[00:16:45] I think they've grown up the X-Men. We went from, like, okay, we have, like, one team of X-Men. Now we're gonna have, like, four or five. Yeah. And, like, three different time periods. It's crazy how, how far they're taking this X-Men 97. I, I love that we're getting the different teams. I, I'm, if you don't know that I'm excited for X-Force, because, like, I, I love X-Force as a comic. I love, I've always loved X-Force. X-Factor was another big thing for me.

[00:17:14] Like, I, I love that they're bringing these characters in, these, bringing in these extra teams. Uh, and they're gonna be dealing with the young Evans, uh, uh, uh, and Sabanur. I'm, I'm, I'm all in for this. Yeah. Awesome. You know what I think? This is exactly what happened in the 90s in the comics. Remember? It is totally marrying that, because it was two X-Men teams. You had X-Force. You had, uh, New Mutants.

[00:17:42] You had the weird ones. You had Excalibur. Excalibur, yeah. You had the other weird ones. Exiles. Like, everything. It all just blew up then. So, yeah. Of course they're doing this. It's fantastic. I love it. Shut up and take my money. Well, they, uh, they will take your money, uh, in summer 2026. So. All right. That's not far at all. It's coming up.

[00:18:11] They're gonna announce it, like, two weeks before the show actually comes on. Like, that's because of what they do. But, I mean, again, it gets me, gets me more juice for this. Especially for the summer. Real quick. We were talking about this a couple weeks ago. So, I think SDCC, San Diego Comic-Con, would be the perfect way to drop this. Yeah. Ooh, yeah. That's probably what they'll do. It's coming in a week. Well, if it's not, if it's not that, it's D23. So, I mean. Right. Exactly. It's soon, regardless. It's not one thing. It's your mother.

[00:18:39] Hi, Mom. All right. So. Uh. We're gonna stay with X-Men. Just, uh, non-animated this time. They're not ashamed to be in an effing superhero movie. Uh. Marvel Studios is digging its long-awaited. X-Men reboot. I was digging into its long-awaited X-Men reboot. Excuse me. And the creative team's aiming for something more personal and more emotional. Director Drake Schreier brought in some collaborators. Teaming with, I'm gonna say just Lee Sung-jin. I think that's it. Known for beef.

[00:19:09] And Gianna Callow. Gianna. Joanna Callow. Co-showrunner of The Bear. Jin said, I wasn't planning on doing another Marvel thing because I have a lot I want to explore in my personal projects. When they came back with X-Men 97, I devoured that. The original Claremont run of comics is near and dear to my heart. Hmm. Uh, Chris Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men was groundbreaking. It built layered characters, complicated relationships, and ongoing emotional arcs that felt closer to serialized drama than episodic comic book storytelling.

[00:19:38] Uh, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige are all in. Uh, Jin emphasized how collaborative and hands-on the process has been. Uh, and of course the Claremont influence suggests that we'll see a mix of personalities clashing and connecting in ways that go beyond the usual superhero formula, which, you know, makes sense for X-Men. So, yeah. I totally see. I think Frey nailed it. She's like, you know, the 90s X-Men when they started exploding and getting all soap-free? Yeah. That's exactly what we're gonna get. Soap opera, political commentary, all of that.

[00:20:08] I expect them to animate a Jim Lee and him to mention it at some point. Yeah. All right. Uh, so yeah, so of course the film does not have an official release date, um, but it is rumored to begin production this year with a potential 2028 release. Uh, so yeah, you know, things are moving here. I like it. Okay. No, I, again, I'm for all of this. It's, it's X-Men is long awaited and it needs to be done properly. Uh, you know, we, we, everybody knows my feelings on the movies.

[00:20:38] Let's, let's just, everything that we've been seeing so far has been really good. I just want them to continue with that base that they've started with. Yeah. No, I agree. Uh, so speaking of movies, um, we have, uh, I'm just gonna say Avengers Ensemble. Rebecca Rom, uh, Romaine. It's Romaine, right? Romaine. Yeah. Romaine. Yeah. Rebecca Romaine opened up about stepping back into Mystique's shoes and the wild experience of filming alongside a huge lineup of heroes and mutants.

[00:21:08] Romaine recently spoke with Collider and naturally the conversation turned to Marvel's upcoming event film, Doomsday. Uh, she didn't hold back when describing one particular filming stretch that brought together a eye-watering number of cast members. Uh, when Astro it was like to be on the set of a Marvel movie, uh, during the day when 35 people were present, she responded, that was a very surreal day. I'll never forget it. There were two days back to back. We were all just kind of looking at each other going, this is crazy. It was very surreal.

[00:21:36] Uh, so yeah, 35 actors on set at the same time. Can you imagine 35 like name? It's a crowd. It's yeah. Wrangling 35 people. Plus stunt doubles, you know, you know, stunt coordinators and all. Oh my gosh. That must've been crazy. Hell yeah. Wrangling cats at its finest. It's going to be the best. Yeah. Yeah. Herding cats in wigs. Yeah.

[00:22:02] Well, I think that also tells us we're going to get some, the scene she's talking about. We're probably going to get like X-Men on one side, Avengers on the other side sort of thing. Just face. Well, yeah, we're probably going to get an Avengers versus X-Men. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It'll be, yeah. I'm, I'm excited. So yeah. I think they're going to blow their wad on everything. Like we're going to get like a, a shot of Avengers versus X-Men. Fantastic four versus Avengers. Young Avengers versus old Avengers.

[00:22:31] Young Avengers versus X-Men. Are we going to get all that? All in one scene. All the same scene. Yeah. Well, you know, to be honest, I think they could do something like that where they might slow it down and, or just highlight certain characters. Just like in, was that end game when, and you know, I think it was like during the fight scene, it ended up being like a lot of the, the female characters, you know, kind of running with things and they're the ones taking charge. I get that. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:59] No, it's, I think could, could see that there's a big battle and refocus on other people. Pretty cool. So yeah. So, uh, Doomstay comes out this year, uh, with, with once again, 35 actors on set at the same time. There you go. Hell yeah. Yeah. Uh, yeah. So that was, uh, straight from Jay Jonah. All right. Well, now that we've gotten through all the Marvel stuff, guys, uh, let's talk about DC. We only got one story from DC this week, but let's, let's jump right into it. Oh my God. Is it me?

[00:23:29] It's me. It's totally me. It's you, you. You're the host. It's you. Okay. We're screaming from hell's kitchen to metropolis. The upcoming Superman sequel man. Of tomorrow is just. It. Well, just pulled in another familiar face. So Matthew liberal. What? Okay. Nevermind. Matthew Lillard has officially joined the growing ensemble for the highly anticipated sequel,

[00:23:59] adding even more intrigue. Adding even more intrigue to a project that's already packed with heavy hitters and big ideas. As of now, details on who Lillard is playing are being kept under wraps and DC studios isn't offering any. And I think we need to call James. We're in the Lillard area or era people. I like area. Yeah.

[00:24:27] He returned to the scream franchise with scream seven reprising his role as do. Mocker. Mocker. Macher. Macha. Mocker. Mocker. He also appeared in season two of cross on Amazon prime and showed up in daredevil born again on Disney. Less. Next, he's set to appear in a 24s upcoming carry series.

[00:24:56] Oh, he doesn't need to be a man of tomorrow. I think everything. I think an area is like the region around Lake Erie. So no, it's the region around the areola. Uh, yeah, that makes sense. And YouTube took it. So look, before we get into when this is all happening, not showing anything.

[00:25:22] But before we get into this, like when man of tomorrow is going to be out and all this stuff. I have a question. Yeah. Who do we think he's playing? That somebody else tells me to go first. Yeah. That gets difficult because I mean, there's so many characters. And especially with the way that James Gunn writes all these characters in to begin with, he can be anybody. It's like, who do you want him to be?

[00:25:45] That gets a little difficult, too, because Matthew Lillard has such a range of the way he plays characters. He literally could be anybody. So it is really hard to guess who he's going to be, because, like, again, he goes from Stu Mocker, who is a certified psychopath to Shaggy to the character that he plays. Shaggy is also a certified psychopath, though, as well.

[00:26:13] Not the same way, though. He's more of like a pothead psychopath. He's just on weed, y'all. Yeah. He's just high all the time. Yeah. He's just a pothead. He's high all the time. That's why he's not killing people. What do you think of those Scooby Snacks? More pot. That's why his dog is always high. That's what I'm saying. They're edibles. Yeah. Or they're pot brownies. What the hell? But I mean, like, you know, again, it's hard to guess who Matthew Lillard's going to be in this.

[00:26:38] And I mean, I think it's because he's one of those dudes who is a good enough actor that he can kind of, like, merge himself to play any type of character. So it's not something where you can just jump in and say, well, you know, typecast him to be this character. Like, it's hard to kind of guess. If I were to, if I were to, like, fan cast him as anybody, he's Plastic Man. Ooh. Ooh. That's not bad.

[00:27:07] No, no, no. That's not bad. But I don't think he's going to be, like, a hero. I do like that idea, though. Because I was like, he's going to be some government agent guy, kind of like what he is in Daredevil. Maybe Jim Gordon. No, they already have a Jim Gordon. Yeah. Do they already? And he'd be older. Yeah. Yeah. I don't necessarily like him as Jim Gordon, I think. Okay. Yeah. I wasn't sure if they already had one or not. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:27:37] I, like I said, I think he's goofy enough that he could be a good Plastic Man. Yeah. All right. Would you guys like to know who I think he's going to be? Who do you think he is, Jim? Leave. Well, I have three. Elongated Man. Okay. Okay. Same. Yep. Yep. Because I feel like he could do the drama of Elongated Man more than the wackiness of Plastic Man.

[00:28:02] And I think Elongated Man has a better, richer history to be introduced first. Correct. And then, or if he's going to be a government person, he could be, because they love like Batman animated series, the corrupt cop from that. Harvey Dent? No. No, not Dent. Bullock. Bullock. Yeah. Bullock. Bullock. He could be Bullock.

[00:28:32] Bullock traditionally is a bigger guy, but you know who he could be. Hold on. I got to pull his name up. Go ahead and continue. And then I also thought he might be really good as either Dead Man or the Spectre. Ooh. The first Spectre. Dead Man could be fun. I'd like to see him pull off a really, really Bostonian accent, though, if he's going to do that. The character I was thinking of is Arnold Flass. Okay.

[00:29:02] Yeah. All right. Arnold Flass is more of a... No, I can see him as Flass. Yeah, Flass is more of a deep cut in the comics, but Flass is... He'd have to put on a pack on a little bit more muscle, because Flass is kind of like... He's an ex-Green Beret, and he's kind of a jackass, but I think he could pull off Arnold Flass. I think he can... I think he has the acting chops to do Arnold Flass. He just doesn't have the look right now to be Arnold Flass. Hmm. So, and since it's Man of Tomorrow, I mean, we're talking Batman.

[00:29:30] What about Man of Tomorrow's, like, supporting cast? Isn't there, like, Bibbo? Mike? Mike Bibbo? One of his pals? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't remember it. I don't know enough about Superman, guys. I'm sorry. But there are several people that are in that, that aren't necessarily, like, at the Daily Planet that Superman knew and had relationship, like, had a friendship with that weren't...

[00:30:00] Bibbo Babowski. He's the sailor dude. That's it. Yeah. Yeah. He could be him, too. So, like, there are a lot of possibilities, but I really think Dead Man would be amazing. Elongated Man would also be amazing if he was going to be hero-like. And then, if not, I think, you know, yeah, he's going to be a detective or something. He could be a new journalist at the Daily Planet after all of this. Right.

[00:30:30] But I don't know. I just don't see that. Either that or he's, like, Sean Gunn's friend, like, Max, Maxwell. Maxwell Lord? Yeah. One of his friends. I don't know why. Like, Maxwell Lord is, like, one of my favorite Belen. Yeah, I was about to say. But, yeah, he could be that. And I can't believe I just, like, went on Lord. But anyway. I do think, like, there are a lot that I... Man, I think... I'm thinking Dead Man or Elongated Man, guys. Right.

[00:31:00] I like Dead Man. And, again, I don't want to continue too much on this. But I really like Dead Man now. Again, I'd like to see him do a Bostonian accent. Because if he's going to do Dead Man, he has to be, like, deep fucking Boston. Yeah. So, I know, James. I'm... I gotcha. I just said that. We have any more PC stories? The production on Man of Tomorrow has taken flight with heat visioning a release date of July 9th of 2027. Awesome. And that's it. That's all.

[00:31:31] All right. Well, that is it for our DC news. Ladies and gentlemen, before we actually get into all the craziness here, this show and everything that we've got going on around here is brought to you by the good folks over at Debbie. That's right. Debbie's 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.

[00:32:00] Use the code NERDING10 and get 10% off your order. Deliciousness. And, guys, you know, it's fun stuff. So, getting into this. Let's jump into the rest of the news. It's time for headlines. James, take it away, sir. For more news, trailers, reactions, check out the Distance Derington post on Facebook and let us know what you're nerding out on. If tomorrow never comes, isn't that a Garth Brooks song?

[00:32:30] A new report has shut down recent chatter that Edge of Tomorrow 2 was moving forward. According to the latest update, the sequel isn't active in development anymore. It comes from Collider. Delivering the latest update is not great news. It's not a full shutdown, but the outlet explained, while the project is not officially dead, it's not exactly alive either. Do you want Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt back?

[00:32:59] You can answer that tomorrow. Ah! Wait, wait, wait. This is so meta for the movie. It's not dead and it's not alive. I have. Isn't that like, that's almost the whole freaking premise. He just keeps dying and coming back, dying and coming back. And he's running the whole time. He would be running the entire movie. I mean, this entire movie is about like, uh, respawning in video games. So it's like, yeah, that all works. There you go. It tracks. All right.

[00:33:29] Fashion, fame, and fighting in the box office. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Devil Wears Prada 2 has now pulled in an impressive $433 million globally. Just after two weeks, the original did $326 million over the entire run. That's crazy. Michael is proving to be a thriller.

[00:33:54] The Michael Jackson biopic has moonwalked to $577 million worldwide. Michael is eyeing the music biopic crown held by Bohemian Rhapsody that did $910 million globally. Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat did not have a flawless victory, bringing in its global debut to just $63 million. Man, there were a lot of Michael Jackson puns in there. Yeah.

[00:34:24] That was good. Just to throw it out there, uh, of these three movies, Mortal Kombat was the one I saw this weekend. Uh, absolutely fun. Uh, it is the biggest love letter to, to, uh, uh, Mortal Kombat ever. Uh, some of the acting at the beginning was a little bit like cringe, but, uh, as it goes on, the fight scenes are really well done. And the, uh, the acting definitely does get better as the movie goes on.

[00:34:52] Just the very beginning is very forced, but I mean like towards the rest of the rest of the movies get. So again, really good movie, uh, as far as like, like fun goes. Now I'm just waiting for Street Fighter to see which one's the better one. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But no sequenced gloves. So it didn't do as well. I thought the Michael Jackson movie came out five years ago. Yeah. Honestly, it feels like it did. Yeah. That's what you thought, but it was really a Pepsi commercial that you were watching. Oh God. Oh God. Was his hair on fire?

[00:35:21] That was the wrong commercial. Oh, easy. Easy. Okay. Let's keep it going. Yeah. This casting is no mystery. Two-time Oscar nominee Felicity Jones has signed on to play legendary author Agatha Christie alongside Caesar winner Vincent Cassell in this noir mystery thriller. 11 missing days. The movie is based on the true story of the British author's mysterious disappearance.

[00:35:51] I had no idea. Agatha Christie went disappearing? Yeah, I know. Really? I don't think I did either. Yeah. I did. Yeah. I know the story. I had no idea. So hold on. I did because of her. So Christie's disappearance made national and international headlines. It captured the public's attention with leading politicians and fellow writers, including Arthur Conan Doyle and James Bond. Yeah, they were buds. Feel like home. Not James Bond. Feel like home.

[00:36:20] Run into the search. Oh yeah. You're right. My bad. So I do have a whodunitopsis. Life imitates art synopsis. Whodunitopsis. Life imitates art synopsis. Synopsis.

[00:36:40] In December 1926, at the height of her fame, Agatha Christie became front page news when she vanished in bizarre circumstances from her home. In a case of life imitating art, this whodunit explores the investigation behind her disappearance, strangely resembling an Agatha Christie novel itself where everyone in her life became a suspect.

[00:37:05] Currently in pre-production, the picture is on course to shoot this summer in the UK. So really, she went to. Do you want me? Yeah, please. Give me the short version. You want me to tell you what happened? You want me to give you the tea? All right. Let's do this tea thing. All right. So Agatha Christie left her house and then her car was totally abandoned by this quarry. Everybody thought maybe she died and her husband did it because he was having an affair.

[00:37:33] We call them entanglements now. Back then, they called it an extramarital affair. Anywho, she was gone. They thought he did it. But he was like, I didn't do it. I don't know what you're talking about. He was supposed to see his mistress that weekend. So some people think that Agatha Christie did it on purpose to keep him from seeing his mistress and to expose the whole thing because later they divorced. And like she was super happy with her second husband.

[00:38:01] And we don't know what happened to him because he was like a drunk pilot or whatever. So she goes to this place and it's like a spa thing, but it's also like a hotel. And she says she has no memory of it. Still, to the day she died, she never told anybody what happened. But she was there. They found her there. And she was like, I left. I sent like letters and stuff. And her brother was like, look, she sent me a letter.

[00:38:30] She's going on this trip. They didn't believe him. They had this massive manhunt. It was this huge deal. They found her at a hotel. A little staycation. Okay. All right. She was dancing like one of the 1920s dances when they found her and she didn't know who she was. So then she did. But her last name, same last name as the mistress. Wait, hold on. So the fucking book.

[00:38:58] So she didn't just really like, oh, I'm just going to go on a staycation and not tell anybody. She like her memory was screwed up. She claims her memory was completely like she doesn't remember it. She made it to a train station and then she made it to this place that she was going to anyway. Under a different name. And they found her later, like eight or nine days later. And she was just like, no, I'm not married. I know what you're talking about.

[00:39:29] And they had to tell her all this stuff. Then she like, no, I don't remember any of it. To the day she died. That woman knows how to keep a mystery alive. I'm telling you. I like it. And now I want to see the movie. Okay. Now I'm in. I'm in. Yes. We will expect some payment from whoever is making this movie. We would like some marketing.

[00:39:54] I just put a poll up on YouTube right now that says, do you think Agatha Christie faked her own disappearance? Yeah. If you're in the chat right now, I need you guys to vote on that. That would be hilarious. Everybody vote on that. That's amazing. All right. I'm going to keep it going. Yeah. Yeah. Alexa, add bananas to the shopping list. The Planet of the Apes franchise isn't slowing down.

[00:40:22] It's taking its first steps towards another big screen chapter. Matt Shackman. Shackman. Shackman. Shackman. Is officially stepping into the world of intelligent apes, bringing his experience from Marvel and beyond to one of sci-fi's most enduring series. Shackman's resume includes being a key force behind WandaVision, Fantastic Four, Monarch, Legacy of Monsters, The Consultant, Succession, and Game of Thrones.

[00:40:53] Is he taking over? Planet of the Apes? I kind of like that idea. Yeah. Give Shackman anything he wants. That dude is a beast, man. He's an ape beast. He's an ape beast, man. That dude is aping that movie out. Like, he is. Is he a 100-pound gorilla? Yeah. Or an 800-pound gorilla? 800-pound gorilla. I don't think he's going to be monkeying around. That joke was the 800-pound gorilla in the room. There we go. I absolutely love anything that he gets his hands on.

[00:41:22] He's really good at what he does. So, yes, I'm all for that. Nice. Speaking of bananas, Illumination is back with more yellow-fueled insanity with the latest trailer for Minions and Monsters, the third prequel spinoff in the ever-growing Despicable Me universe. Have there been more? There's more prequels than movies. I think there are now. Or maybe it's three. No, it's, well, there's going to be with this one, I think.

[00:41:52] Yeah. But I don't know. The film introduces us to an entirely new tribe of Minions who find themselves in Hollywood at the dawn of cinema. The film slips into theaters on July 1st. It comes out this year. I didn't even know it, but I know what I'm going to end up seeing. Illumination! Because I don't get a vote in what movies I get to go see. So, why don't we go see this? Hey, Minions are fun, okay? At least they're entertaining. Right. You know what?

[00:42:21] Now that Husby has a patch, he put a googly eye on it. He looks like a minion. You can just call him Kevin. Kevin. Kevin! Kevin! I mean, I think Chuck still works. I don't think that joke did. I don't, what happened? Yeah. Let's just move on, because I want to hear about the switches. Move on. Yeah.

[00:42:51] That's good. I don't know how that fell flat the way it did. All right. Let's go. Almost like you were looking with one eye. Ah. Get ready to run amok amok amok again. Hocus Pocus 3 is officially in early development from Disney live action studios with a trio of stars, Bette Medler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy returning to reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters.

[00:43:21] Reports state that there are plans for a theatrical distribution following the success of the straight to Disney Plus Hocus Pocus 2. That makes sense. Putting it back in the years. Deadline reports that the holdup in the movie, in the moving forward came down to the salary negotiations with Midler, Parker, and Najimy, all of which have since been worked out. Plot details for Hocus Pocus 3 are currently brewing in a cauldron somewhere. Nice.

[00:43:51] I like it. I love that in Hocus Pocus 2, they did not seem like they got any older. And it's like, yay. Uh, Jen, what you got? That's all I wanted to fucking say. I'm gonna bleep it out later. Okay.

[00:44:11] In Young Phil I Called That News, Charlie Day is officially campaigning for his Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-star, Danny DeVito, to step into the role of Wario in a future Mario Brothers movie. Day, who voices Luigi in Super Mario Brothers movie and the Super Mario Galaxy movie, recently tossed the idea out during an interview and it instantly clicked with fans who know exactly

[00:44:41] the kind of wild energy DeVito would bring to Nintendo's greediest anti-hero. Danny would fit in so well in this universe and it would be a good Wario. I think they told Screen Rant. Until then, the Super Mario Galaxy movie is currently playing in theaters. Wah! Wah-deo! Wah-deo! Wah-deo! Wah-deo! Go ahead. We'll give you your flowers. I do love this.

[00:45:08] I've been actually saying for a while that if they cast anybody as Wario, it needs to be Danny DeVito. I think Danny DeVito would pull off Wario so perfectly because the whole thing is it's not just Wario doing the whole wah-wah-wah. Like, I can see Danny DeVito just being like a deep, dirty down dude from Brooklyn that's just messing with him the entire time. What do you think you're doing? You need to give me all your money. Yeah.

[00:45:38] Yeah. I can see it. And then he goes, wah! Wah! Like Danny DeVito doing wah would be, wah! Wah! So, oh. All right. I'm sold. I'm sold. I'm there. I'm sold. James' look on his face is like, I didn't know you could do Danny DeVito. That's amazing. We can pull this out more. Yeah. All right. Oh, next segment's yours. Yeah.

[00:46:07] So let's continue on with the news and everything going on. I don't know about you guys, but this is very exciting here. So we're going back to the Lylat system. Out of nowhere. And this really was out of nowhere because I woke up and this trailer was just there. Nintendo just pulled the trigger on something fans have been hoping to hear for years. A Star Fox 64 remake is officially on the way and it's arriving much sooner than anyone expected.

[00:46:36] During a recent Nintendo Direct, Nintendo revealed the next entry in the long running franchise simply titled Star Fox. Instead of pushing the series forward with a brand new sequel, the company is revisiting what many consider the high point of the franchise, Star Fox 64, and rebuilding it with a modern hardware in mind. One of the more interesting reveals is that the game will support the Nintendo 64 controller previously released for Switch and Switch 2.

[00:47:05] So the biggest surprise though, Star Fox is set to launch on June 25th exclusively on Switch 2. That's pretty cool. But a nostalgia. That is pretty cool. Yeah. So. I'm not really a Nintendo person. But that's cool. The high and the low for this. The high is it looks absolutely beautiful. It looks absolutely amazing.

[00:47:31] It makes, this is like that turning point that makes me want to go get a Switch 2. I wanted to get one, but this, this makes me want to get it. The downside is they were literally remaking the same game for the fourth time. That's all right. Yeah. This game has been remade exactly four times and it's exactly the same way. Right. But the thing is, is again, with how pretty it is and how good the graphics are, like he almost looks like the, the, uh, the Carfax Fox.

[00:48:03] Right. And like, he's so, it's so like realistic with the way that they did the graphics on this. Cause it's, it's essentially PS4 graphics at this point. Like he, he kind of does look like the Carfax Fox in this. Yeah. He does. He does. But again, it looks cool. I like it. Like a steampunk Carfax Fox. Yeah. I like that. Yeah. I see it. It's good. I like that. Uh, so, Oh, Annie Mae. I get it.

[00:48:32] Like I kind of do actually get that now. Yeah. After hearing that. All right. Uh, time to get ready to stream some anime. Cause if you're not already, you need to, there's no better time to binge those series and movies that you've been putting off due to other commitments. And Crunchyroll wants to help you catch up on your anime watch on your anime watch list with Annie Mae.

[00:48:55] Now through May 21st, anime fans in supported territories can save money as they subscribe to Crunchyroll's premium membership tiers. The fan tier usually runs $9.99 a month. And the mega fan tier is usually $13.99 a month. But right now you can get up to three months of Crunchyroll fan tier for only $1.99 a month or the Crunchyroll mega fan tier for only $2.99 a month.

[00:49:24] This is also great timing as the anime awards are set to stream on May 23rd. Oh, and it ends on the 21st. Nice. Yeah. Gives people a chance to go and, uh, and watch all the stuff that's being up for awards right now. Exactamundo. What's on, uh, what's on Crunchyroll? Like, yeah. Anything anime, dude.

[00:49:52] Like anything that you see that's anime that you, you know, that we see at like cons and stuff, all that stuff's on Crunchyroll. Oh, you know what's on Crunchyroll? Oh, I was going to say some soy sauce. I, I, I, oh, yeah. I, I hear the name of that and I always get hungry. It's like, yeah. What were you going to say, James? I was going to say the one show that everybody talks about that, uh, I haven't seen is, uh, what is it? Dan to Dan? I think that's on Crunchyroll. Dan to Dan is on Crunchyroll.

[00:50:21] Well, I think Dan to Dan's on, um, on Netflix. Oh, is it on Netflix too? It's also, I think it's also on Prime. Yeah, it's on a couple different places. Yeah. Nice. Yeah, it's like they, I, they're not exclusive anywhere. Dan to Dan to Dan to Dan to Dan to Dan to Dan to Dan. Okay. I, definitely a show I need to watch. Uh, Cyberpunk is back. I love it because I'm a big cyberpunk nerd.

[00:50:46] Ghost in the Shell finally has a date to lock, uh, date locked in with a high energy action and a modern edge that still respects what made the franchise a classic. Ghost in the Shell, uh, began as a manga in 1989 and has since grown into one of the most influential sci-fi properties out there. Taking on the animation duties, Science Suru, uh, the studio behind projects like Dan to Dan, uh, Scott Pilgrim takes off and Star Wars Visions.

[00:51:14] Uh, the new anime series will stream on Prime Video premiering July, July 7th, 2026. You know, I'm, I'm seeing a more animation coming to Prime Video lately. Like, you know, with the Batman thing they've got going and then they, aren't they doing like an animated, uh, no, they're doing Spider Noir, right? So that's not, but that's live action. Right.

[00:51:40] But then they're also, they also have been doing all the D&D campaign shows. That's true. All the animated D&D campaign shows. Yeah. So I have noticed more anime lately and I know that, uh, members of our family, uh, also like some of the anime, especially the next story that you're going to be talking about. Oh yeah. Uh, this one again, this is, I'm already starting to talk about it before I even get to the story.

[00:52:10] So let me, how about I start talking about it first? Uh, and then just tell the story. Exactly. I'll tell the entire story here. Uh, so hold on to your katanas. Netflix has confirmed in a major update that season two of Blue Eye Samurai is coming and it's happening during one of animation's biggest global events.

[00:52:30] The hit animated series exploded onto Netflix in 2023 and quickly became one of the streamers most talked about originals thanks to its gorgeous animation, brutal action, and emotionally charged revenge story. Netflix has officially announced that Blue Eye Samurai season two will be featured during the ANSI International Animation Film Festival 2026.

[00:52:53] Uh, the showcase takes place on June 23rd during a special presentation called Netflix Anime Bold Stories Boundless Worlds. At the moment, Netflix still hasn't announced an official release date for season two, but it can't be that far off. Yeah, Netflix always keeps their release dates closed, but then once they announce it, it's like a month away. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I'm- The first season was really good.

[00:53:20] I, I started watching it, uh, and I got distracted and I never went back to it and it wasn't that I didn't want to watch it. It was just, it's one of those things where, one, the ADHD is, like, you know, pushing me to not start the show. Uh, and it's one of those things where it's gonna be like, uh, Demon Slayer, where, like, as soon as I start watching it, I'm going to get into it and I'm gonna be upset that we don't have more seasons.

[00:53:42] Uh, um, but I mean, like, you know, uh, again, it was, it was more so because I kept getting distracted when I, when, when I was trying to watch the first season. Uh, and I was like, okay, I need to go back to it and, like, actually pay attention to it because it's like Lord of the Rings where it's like one of those things where I have to be able to pay attention to it. You know what I mean? Yeah. Speaking. Oh, no, exactly. No, wait. Well, we're, we're, okay. Yeah. We're, we're ways off from that.

[00:54:12] Who's Netflix gonna call? Obviously. Dan Aykroyd. Dan Aykroyd. It's obviously Dan Aykroyd. Dan Aykroyd has officially signed on as an executive producer. Not, not somebody else. Uh, Dan Aykroyd has officially signed on as an executive producer for the upcoming animated Ghostbusters series being developed by Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation.

[00:54:35] The announcement dropped as part of Netflix's fantasy lineup, uh, giving fans a fresh reason to keep an eye on the ever expanding Supernatural franchise. Details about the show are still mostly under wraps and is set to debut exclusively on Netflix in 2027. I like that. I believe we're getting 2027 stuff. I mean, I know we're like halfway through 2026 and all that, but it's just weird. It still sounds weird. Yeah.

[00:55:05] Yeah. I believe we're just hearing 2027. This year just started and also it's lasted about a decade, so. This year's lasted about a decade, yes. Yeah, no, this, this, this, this, this year feels like it has lasted about a decade and about two seconds, so. Exactly. This time is all wibbly wobbly tummy wimey. All right, well, let's, uh, let's continue on here. Need hands! Final season walking.

[00:55:33] Second, FX has revealed the release date for the fifth and final season of the beloved series, The Bear. The latest news comes after FX dropped a surprise prequel episode of The Bear on Hulu titled Gary. I thought that was the weirdest thing that this episode of The Bear called Gary just popped out of nowhere. Yeah, I know, me too. I was like, what is this? I didn't get a chance to watch it right away, but I'm going to go watch it later. I didn't either, but it was just kind of like, it popped up on my, on my, um, on my Hulu screen.

[00:56:03] And I was like, hold on, wait, what, what, what, Gary? And then you go in and it's The Bear. I'm like, oh shit, it's The Bear. They got a new episode. Um, so the episode is a flashback following cousins Richie, played by, you know, Eben Moss Bacharach, uh, and Mikey, John Barenthal, on a work trip to Gary, Indiana. The eight episode final season will all be available on its release date June 25th on FX and Hulu. I like that. That's cool. All right. I kind of hate that they're dropping it all at once. Really?

[00:56:32] Yeah. I know. That's the best way to do a final season. No, because. Is drop it all at once. People can just like barrel through it and then they can cry their eyes out, get it off their plate. Then they watch it again. Cry again.

[00:56:49] The problem with this is because what we're seeing is like a lot, a lot more shows are benefiting from doing a week to week because you're getting people who are talking about the episodes and, and, and the conversation continues going for eight weeks versus drop it all at once. And people are going to talk about it for a weekend and then forget about it. Yeah. You know, like I feel like the smarter move that Disney would have done would have been to, because remember Disney owns this.

[00:57:18] Um, the smarter move for Disney to do would have been to do a week to week for this. All right. There's your, there's your poll. What's the best way to stream a series? Oh, there you go. There you go. Yeah. See for me. There you go. I like what they did with Darth Maul shadow Lord. It was week to week, but they released two episodes per week. So it was a 10 episode series, but it was only like five weeks long. So it was kind of nice that you got a good chunk.

[00:57:47] So in case there was an episode that was a little bit of a filler episode, you got two episodes to play with and see the story kind of unfold. So I kind of like the whole like mini binge type thing where they do. No, I'm remembering clearly. I thought they maybe did indoor like that too, or, but, but they, they, and or, and or they did three. Yeah. I thought it was three. It was each arc. Yeah. Yeah. It was like a whole year. Yeah. Like a whole year's worth of storytelling. Yeah.

[00:58:17] No, I, I enjoyed that as well. So. Cool. All right. Sorry. I'm putting the poll up right now. So what I did is what's the best way to release a new season of a hit show week to week, all at once or batch episodes. Yeah. Nice. I actually do like batch episodes. Uh, I, I will give that, uh, um, you know, a plus that, you know, batch episodes are actually a pretty good way to put the shows out too. Cause you're kind of getting the best of both worlds, you know? There you go. Polls on the screen right there. So there you go, guys.

[00:58:47] Uh, let's get, if you do get a, uh, an episode that is a little bit of a filler, it's, it drags. So it's like two weeks before the next, you know, part of the actual story comes out and you're like, what? I just, I just wasted a week waiting for this. I was anticipating this and then it comes out and it's a letdown. I'd rather have two episodes and one of them be a letdown. That I get. I mean, I get that too. Uh, speaking of shows that are going to be letdowns, wait, no, nevermind. Not going to be allowed.

[00:59:15] Nothing is stronger than family except for a series on Peacock. Apparently the fast and the furious franchise is making the jump to live action television. And it sounds like universal is going all in NBC universal officially confirmed. During its upfront presentation that they are developing a few live action fast and the furious series for Peacock. The announcement came directly from franchise star and producer Vin Diesel, who revealed Peacock is launching four episodes of four shows in the fast and the furious universe.

[00:59:45] No dates when the new series will start, start its engines. Womp womp. Four different series. Oh my God. What? Like, why do we need this? They're doing four of them. They're doing four different series. I don't know if we need this. Honestly, I, if they did one series, I'd totally be okay with it. And like tell like a deeper storyline.

[01:00:15] I don't know if it's how it would connect to the, the movie universe, but okay, fine. You have a little bit more time with, with telling a story on, as a series, but four shows. That's a lot. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if we need four passing the furious series. It feels like they've, they've. This is not about family.

[01:00:40] It feels like they've, they've taken a cow and just like removed its udders at this point. Like, seriously. I am guru. No, I, I'm saying, I was making a milking joke. I am guru. That, that was. We're going to move on from that, I think. That's it. It's played, he's played by Vin Diesel. Okay. Nevermind. I got it. This is the perfect segue to the next story. Yeah. It's time to go back to work.

[01:01:10] Seriously, guys, go back to work. All right. It looks like severance fans won't have a three year wait for season three. Speaking on the red carpet at the BAFTA TV awards, Adam Scott told deadline. We're definitely planning on getting it out much sooner than the last round, which was three years between the last one, which is way too long. So severance season two premiered on Apple TV plus January 7th, 2025. So expect severance season three.

[01:01:39] January 17th. Sorry. January 17th, 2025. So expect severance season three sometime in late 2027. Hmm. All right. Great. You guys severance fans? No, I won't. I haven't. I want to see it, but I haven't seen it. I've only seen some of it. I haven't seen it. It was a little slow, but I liked it. I've heard a lot of good things. I've heard some of the plot synopsis of it. Synopsis. Synopsis. Synopsis.

[01:02:09] There you go. Just got an excuse for that. Some of the plot synopsis on it, and it seems so interesting, and I need to watch. Probably going to suggest to see if Jackie wants to watch it. There you go. I like it. Okay. Let's go ahead and move on to the next story here. Three rings for the elves, and a season three for the rest of us.

[01:02:30] The upcoming season of Rings of Power jumps forward several years after season two and drops viewers right into the escalating conflicts between the elves and Sauron during the Second Age. Back to Middle- Oh, James. James. James. I can do it. Okay. She do. Back to Middle-Earth Opsis. Pack extra Lumbus Spread Synopsis. Back to Middle-Earth Opsis. Pack extra Lumbus Spread Synopsis. Synopsis. All right.

[01:03:00] Season three unfolds at the height of the war of the elves in Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the one ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war. Bind all peoples to his will, and he'll last rule all of Middle-Earth. Prime Video has announced season three of The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power, and it will premiere on November 11th. It's exciting. No, I'm glad. Yeah.

[01:03:30] I'm glad it's still going. It's exciting because, again, the way that people are, or the way that Prime has faith in this- I know. The way that Prime has faith in this is, hey, you know, the story gets better. Stop complaining. Just watch the show, and it'll get better. Regardless of if it's good or not, I do applaud them for at least being like, no, no, screw you. We're going to make the rest of the damn series. We're going to do this whether you like it or not. Yeah.

[01:03:57] I do applaud my name. Because if we don't, we're going to break a contract, and that'll cost us way much more money than it does to actually make the show. It is for cynical reasons, but at least, you know. And so we're going to put this drivel out that is not good, and we're going to cancel Wheel of Time. Let's move on. That's right. I enjoy the series. I kind of like it, so I'm excited for it. Not everybody has good taste. You could have produced Wheel of Time along with this.

[01:04:26] Just saying. All right. Well, let's move on before we give Frey an aneurysm. The truth is still out there. I'm excited for this. And Ryan Cougar is bringing in the cast to help uncover it all. Hulu's reboot of The X-Files has added a batch of guest stars that includes Amy Madigan, Steve Buscemi, Ben Foster,

[01:04:50] Tantu Cardinal from Killers of the Flower Moon, Joel D. Montgrad, and Sophia Grace Clifton. Madigan comes into the series after a huge year thanks to her role as Aunt Gladys in Weapons, the horror hit from Zach Crager, which, again, we're excited about all this stuff. Zach Crager's doing shout-outs to Resident Evil! Okay. She also picked up the Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for the film.

[01:05:18] The new series stars Hamish Patel, who, again, I love Hamish Patel. He's awesome. And Danielle Deadweiler as two highly respected FBI agents who couldn't be more different from each other. Hulu says the truth is out there, but not the release date quite yet, so be sad there. That was good. All right. Yeah. I think that's it. All right. That's it for the one-shots.

[01:05:45] So, yes, ladies and gentlemen, let's talk about our last sponsor here. Of course. Because Distance Learning is part of the Geek Freaks Network. Discovering your latest binge, debating casting choices, or stoned out over that plot twist, 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. Once again, that is gfpods.com. All right.

[01:06:14] Well, let's continue on, and let's get into this news. Should do. I didn't even realize I had the front end and the back end of the show. All right. So, the lion, the witch, and the theater? During a recent earnings call AMC CEO Adam Aaron, I'm going to assume, Adam Aaron sounded fired up about where things were headed. With the studios rethinking theatrical windows, new labor agreements in place, and streamers

[01:06:41] experimenting with big screen releases, Aaron believes the landscape is changing. What really caught his attention is Netflix committing to a full global theatrical rollout for Narnia, the magician's nephew, joined by Greta Gerwig. So, yeah. So, the film will get a worldwide theatrical release on February 12th of 2027, followed by its streaming debut on April 2nd. The AMC CEO said, and I quote, This is the biggest opportunity our industry has ever had to embrace Netflix as a theatrical contest provider.

[01:07:11] According to Aaron, this didn't happen overnight. Right. There's been what he describes as a, quote, Tremendous amount of high-level diplomacy between AMC and Netflix going back to last fall. That collaboration has already led to a handful of external theatrical events, including screenings to I do, K-pop Demon Hunters, Sing Along, oh, the K-pop Demon Hunters Sing Along, sorry. The Stranger Things finale, and a few episodes of the live-action One Piece. So, yeah. This is interesting.

[01:07:37] It sounds like hopefully the scenes are shifting back a little bit again. It's like Netflix is becoming a real movie studio. Yeah. It kind of seems like it is. It's not just Netflix anymore. It's Netflix. Oh my god, Netflix is growing up! Too bad they couldn't buy a studio! It's funny how, like, six months ago, Netflix was, like, the bad guy. Right. And now they're, yeah. And now they're like, oh, okay. You're our buddies now. That's fine.

[01:08:03] Well, you know, as long as you think you can get money out of them, that's really all it is. So, you know. Yes. There's no morality with the dollar. Yeah. So, yeah. So, Narnia, the magician's nephew, will be exclusively in theaters February 12th of 2027. I like it. I do. I like it, too. Okay, I like it. All right. So, it's my backstory, you boob! For decades, Masters of the Universe fans have watched Skeletor scheme, rage, and chase

[01:08:32] ultimate power across Eternia. Mattel and Dark Horse Comics have announced Masters of the Universe Genesis, a 12-issue series that will explore the history of Eternia through its most legendary characters. Kicking things off is Skeletor himself, with the first three issues dedicated to unraveling his mysterious past. Hmm. So, yeah. So, Skeletor's origin has always been one of the franchise's biggest mysteries. The original cartoon hinted he may have come from another dimension.

[01:09:00] The 2002 He-Man, the Masters of the Universe series introduced the idea that he was once Keldor, whose transformation came after being splashed with acid. Then, the 2012 DC Comics run added another layer, suggesting Skeletor was actually the overlooked heir to Eternia's throne, passed over by King Miro in favor of Randor. Later, Masters of the Universe, Revelation, built upon that version, portraying Prince Keldor

[01:09:25] as a student of Hordak, who wielded the Havoc Staff, leading to the horrific transformation that defines his look. Hmm. So, yeah. So, I guess they're going to try to syncretize all of that? I've been saying for a little while that this is probably the best version of Skeletor, that you make him scorned and imbued with power by Hordak. Because then you link him to Hordak.

[01:09:53] Hordak's the ultimate big bad in the Masters of the Universe franchise. He's the Melchordus Skeletor Sauron. Yeah. So, I mean, like, you know, the whole big thing is you... I love this idea of, you know, I've been saying, like, the movie that's coming out later this year, that if they tell that story that he is Keldor and that the reason that they had

[01:10:15] to take Adam out of Eternia was because Keldor was like, well, King Miro basically screwed me over and Randor doesn't deserve his place. And Hordak gives him power. So, he's just like, I'm going to kill my brother. But that also doesn't make me the heir to the throne. I also need to kill his heir. Yeah. Yeah. Do you have a favorite, like, origin story of Skeletor so far?

[01:10:41] Or do you, like, what should you say, like, maybe some kind of amalgamation of different stories? So, the comic book version, which is the one we were talking about towards the end of that, that kind of, like, leaned into the Revelation version where they kind of, like, pulled on that. That's my favorite version of him. Because in the comics, when they revealed that he was Prince Randor, or when they kind

[01:11:09] of built on that he was Prince Randor, because they revealed that in the cartoon. That he was Keldor, you mean? Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, that he was Prince Keldor. When they expanded on him being Prince Randor, at the time, he was super Skeletor. So, he was already imposing, and he was a lot, like, scarier of a character. And, like, I've always, like, I've been saying that the version that we need, we need Skeletor in this movie.

[01:11:36] Which, I'm liking him more and more the more the new trailers come out. Because, as much as I don't like, you know, some of Jared Leto's performances, I love the way that he's being portrayed in this. I know. And then, super Skeletor needs to be the villain in the second movie. And then they need to, not redeem, but, like, basically him sacrifice himself and fight Hordak in the last movie. And do three movies. That's where I'm going to leave that at, so. Great. All right. So, yes.

[01:12:04] All will be revealed when Masters of the Universe Genesis number one hits comic stores on August 5th of 2026. Nice. Yeah. All right. And in some Star Wars news, Season 2 is on its way back to the galaxy. Now, Dave Filoni gives us a solid idea of where things stand with Season 2 of Star Wars Ahsoka. And how far this story might go. Filoni spoke with Screen Rant and confirmed that work on the new season is in full swing. He said, we're working on it. It's coming.

[01:12:34] It's come a long way. Obviously, I'm editing all the episodes at once right now. And just deep and visual effects to the team. But I'm really proud of everyone. The work they've put in. And lots of things to resolve and figure out. But that's normal. He continued. I'm excited for people to see it. We didn't really go out and premiere in a way last time. I think that the team's really excited to be out with the fans with this one and see how it goes. Disney Plus has already slotted the show into a coming soon in 2026 lineup.

[01:13:01] So, that suggests a summer or fall 2026 premiere is close. So, we're really close to Ahsoka Season 2, it sounds like. That's interesting. I didn't know it was that far along. Apparently, I know. I guess with Mando and Grogu and then Starfighter. So, they're probably just pacing the news. Yeah. I know they finished Principal a while back. So, it's like. Yeah. We reported on that. Yeah. Yeah.

[01:13:28] It's exciting to see that their visual effects are that far along. We're going to be getting this this year. I'm happy. I'm happy. I can't wait for more Ahsoka. I love that. Me too. No, I loved. Before Andor, that was my favorite Star Wars series they had in so far. So, it's still probably second to Andor. But, it's. Yeah. I need some more good high fantasy Star Wars. I agree. We're re-watching Mandalorian with the kids right now.

[01:13:56] And we just got to the episode with Ahsoka. And our kids are like, who's this? You know, they're all like. All right. Well, you got to go watch Clone Wars now. Yeah. You're going to watch Clone Wars. She's female. She's a badass. She's got two lightsabers. And they're like, she's got two lightsabers? Yeah, she has two. They're like, oh my gosh. She's awesome. Young Shadu totally didn't have a crush on her. You know, we're not going to talk about this. Isn't Shadu still young? Younger Shadu.

[01:14:26] Younger Shadu. And, and current Shadu. But, you know, we're just going to move on from that now. So, until then. I hear Rosario Dawson likes Younger Men. She's Rosario Dawson. Like, come on. Until then, the Mandalorian and Grogu will land the Razorcrest in theaters on May 22nd of 2026. It's coming up very, very soon. Yeah. Just throwing this out there real quick here. So, the poll. We just finished the poll. The last poll that we were doing.

[01:14:53] What's the best way to release a new season of a hit show? Batch episodes was at 42. Week to week was at 29%. All at once was at 29%. So, batch episodes definitely won that. The new poll at the top right now is. Yeah, the new poll I just started is. Is your body ready for Ahsoka season two? Yeah. How many options are there? Just yes and no. Just yes and no. That's all you need. So, speaking of Mandalorian and Grogu.

[01:15:24] Is this the way? Or is there a way out? Ever since the Mandalorian introduced Din Djarin's strict helmet rule, Star Wars fans have been debating how long Lucasfilm could realistically keep that going. Lucasfilm clearly wants Pedro Pascal front and center promoting the Mandalorian and Grogu. And recent marketing has made it obvious that Din Djarin is going to spend more time unmasked. A newly released clip from the Mandalorian and Grogu seems to reveal Lucasfilm's helmet fix.

[01:15:51] In the scene, the Hutt twins taunt Din Djarin after forcing his helmet off, telling him he'll be shamed for it. Din's response changes everything. Not if you all die. Oh yeah. It's good. Yeah. I did wonder how long they could keep that going. Yeah. I saw the trailer earlier today and him going, like the whole thing with his helmet being off and he goes, you won't be alive long enough to tell anyone.

[01:16:20] And then puts his helmet back on. I'm like, okay, I like that. I like that. I like that. They're going to do a mask reveal with Din Djarin, but it's a, okay, well, I'm just going to kill everybody. That's how we fix this. That's how we fix this. Yeah. Yeah. Like I'm sick of going back to that fricking world to get in that fucking water. Right. It's disgusting. I'm just going to kill you all. She's going to kill everybody. You know, there's no witnesses. Right. No witnesses. Yeah. That's funny. That's awesome.

[01:16:50] It's like this one. Yeah. That's funny. All right. So yeah. So get your eggs and blue cookies ready. All right. Sure. Oh, oh yeah. Sorry. Get your frog eggs and blue cookies ready. Mailer and Grogu hits theaters again on May 22nd, May 26th. In 10 days. That could also be Suga. Oh, 10 days. It is in 10 days. Suga. Tiki. Get ready. Yeah.

[01:17:19] So we're going to stay with Star Wars. Actually, this is our last story. All right. Could this quest be a Hail Mary? A new synopsis for Star Wars Starfighter has surfaced online, teasing a high-stakes story centered on Ryan Gosling's pilot and a mission that could shake the very foundations of the force. We do have a synopsis here. Oh, yay. Where's Rocky Opsis? Will Ryan be Knuff synopsis? Come on now. Are you really? Okay.

[01:17:49] Where's Rocky Opsis? Will Ryan be Knuff synopsis? Synopsis! Synopsis! A little hip there and it's good. The newly posted description, which quietly appeared on IMDb, reads, In a rebuilding galaxy, a solitary pilot becomes entangled in a crucial mission as new threats emerge. Their journey may alter the future of the force itself. So yeah, it's short and vague, but that final idea about the future of the force opens the door to something potentially game-changing.

[01:18:18] The story takes place five years after The Rise of Skywalker. Which puts it in a wide open era for new characters and new conflicts, it is called Star Wars, to take shape. The film is directed by Sean Levy. The rest of the cast is star-studded, including Mia Goth, Matt Smith, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jameel Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams. So yeah, this is crazy. Yeah, I'm curious what they're going to do with...

[01:18:46] I didn't think this would affect things that much. So this takes place, it's the furthest in the future. Furthest in the future, yeah. After the sequel series. So I think it's going to be him, kind of almost like a Mandalorian, how the Mandalorian was, how he's shepherding a Jedi. I think he's going to be shepherding this kid who's probably force-sensitive somewhere. You know, and he's got to figure out how to get past, you know, whoever's hunting this kid.

[01:19:16] Whatever, some pirates or something. Yeah. I think he's a descendant of Quinlan Vos. Ooh, that would bring back Quinlan Vos, because we've got an unresolved thread with Quinlan Vos right now. So that would be kind of cool if they did that. That would be cool, yeah. Or, or Revan. Revan would be, I, I, give me any excuse to have Revan in anything right now. But like, okay, but, but they would have to come back, and that's like, that's the problem, is like, I would want some stuff. Not if he's a descendant.

[01:19:46] Him and Bastila. Sure, but then again. They had kids. I've had my feelings on how I don't want to, like, canonize Revan having a gender at first. So, you know, not having, but, you know, I want to keep that from, from KOTOR, where it's vague on that.

[01:20:09] Now, the thing here, what makes me, makes me kind of like wonder on where they're going with all this is, the rumor right now is Disney is talking about a way to retcon the sequel trilogy. I'm not sure about that. That, there's, it's, it's a pretty hard rumor right now where they're saying that Disney and Filoni are trying to find a way to retcon all of the sequel trilogy right now.

[01:20:34] And if they do that, if they did do that, considering the way that they kind of described this, this, this thing, it can change the future of the force. You know, this could be a way where they can kind of like, you know, potentially be doing that. The other thing with that is the only thing that I would want retconned or anything is I just want, I want Mara Jade in all of this. That's it. Yeah.

[01:21:04] That's it. I want them to find a way to put Mara Jade in the series. Okay. Could be me again. I'm there. I'm with it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know what I really want? And the force is telling me that we should move on this very quickly. Uh-huh. I want a schedule. A schedule. Not just any schedule. I want the distance nerding schedule. Yes. You know what? You're just in luck. We've got the distance nerding schedule.

[01:21:31] All right, ladies and gentlemen, distance nerding, the show that you are watching right now. On Tuesdays from 630 to 830, come and hang out with us. We talk news, movies, all the different things, the rumors, all the fun stuff that's happening in the industry. Thursdays, distance nerding interviews. Now, this week we're not going to be doing a show because we're going to be driving to Idaho. We're going to be getting ready to do Gem State Comic Con. It's going to be a crap ton of fun. We will see you guys in Idaho. Come to Idaho.

[01:22:00] If you can make your way to Boise, go to Idaho. Idaho. Exactly. Idaho. Oh. And then, of course, on Fridays, the buzzer, our game shows and everything that we do on Fridays. It can be D&D. It could be Jet Nerdy. It could be Well Really. It could be Jackbox Games. You know, it's a crap shoot, but it's fun regardless of what it is that we do. Now, yeah, it's going to be fun in everything that we do there.

[01:22:29] So, guys, we not too far. So, we will see you guys on all of our shows again Thursday. This Thursday, this Friday, we will not be doing the buzzer or this is during interviews. Right. Because again, we'll be back next week. And I know. Yeah. With that being said, of course, before we get into that little fun thing, Shadu, give us your plug, sir.

[01:23:23] Yes. I tend to think they're pretty good. I totally don't have a bias at all. There's no bias to it. Jen, anything to add? All hail treasus. All hail treasus. And see you at Gem State. All hail treasus! Damn it. It happens. Sorry. We do need to get going on those trips, too. Yeah.

[01:23:48] So, with this being said, ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to follow Distance Nerding and everything that we do, come in and hang out with us on all the social media places. If it exists, we are there at Distance Nerding. Of course, you can email us using your email of choice, but the only place you can email us at is Distance Nerding at AOL.com. With that being said, Jamez, please, sir, take us home. Thanks, and keep nerding together. And, of course, Bruce, buddy, it's bedtime.

[01:24:18] Go to bed. Go to sleep. Go to sleep, Bruce. Go to sleep. All right. Oh, actually, before we end here, let me end this poll. At the end of the poll here, 67% of our viewers' bodies are ready for Ahsoka Season 2. I just feel like that's body shaming. And cancel. All right. And that is it. All right. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we will see everybody later. James, one more time for me.

[01:24:47] Thanks, and keep nerding together. All right, guys. We'll see you guys later. Bye, nerds. See you guys later. See you guys at Jim State. Yeah, Jim State. Woo! Distance Nerding.

[01:25:19] This was a production of the Distance Nerding Podcast and Time for Tacos Media. 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.