avengers secret wars

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! By the time this post goes live, I should be participating in a board game design panel at Nuke-Con, so I’m writing this Geek News post in advance. It may be shorter than usual, but I’ve said that in the past and ended up with a standard-length post. Let’s start this week’s Geek News with the MCU canceling its Unnamed Fall 2027 film.

MCU Cancels Untitled 2027 Film

The movie slot in the fall of 2027 Marvel Studios has been holding for years has just been cancelled this past week. Per Variety, The Simpsons 2 movie takes its place. There are a couple of things to unpack with this tidbit of news. First, by the time the sequel releases, The Simpsons will not have had a movie in 20 years; the first Simpsons film was released in 2007. That’s a significant gap between films. The first Simpsons film wasn’t as bad as some say, but it wasn’t stellar either. While I’m willing to give The Simpsons 2 a chance, I don’t have high hopes. At this point, The Simpsons are a four-decade-old property (the show debuted in 1989, and the family first appeared earlier than that). Multiple generations of television watchers has yet to live in a time without The Simpsons. Second, I like the MCU’s direction.

In a recent interview, Marvel Studios’ CEO Kevin Feige mentioned that the public needs to miss the MCU. As the old saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. No one can miss the MCU if the franchise pumps out multiple movies every year. According to some interviews, Feige never intended the MCU to release as many films and shows as it did in the previous phase or two. With the launch of Disney+, Disney pressured Marvel Studios (and the Star Wars franchise) to produce more shows and movies. Feige has insisted the MCU will slow down its production schedule. The announcement of the 2027 film cancellation solidifies Feige’s position. There will be no MCU film that releases between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

Honestly, I love the break. The MCU squeezed in two films in between the last Avengers’ crossover event. Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and The Wasp were released in the gap between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Those two releases felt rushed. Any film released between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars could face the same fate.

And I agree with Feige. Make the public miss you. It’s difficult to miss someone or something when it never leaves.

Don’t Starve: The Board Game Launches on KickStarter

Glass Cannon Unplugged launches its latest board game adaptation of a video game classic, Don’t Starve. I’ve playtested a few rounds of this game’s prototype. It was so long ago, I thought the game had already been released. By the way, if you’re interested in playtesting upcoming Glass Cannon Unplugged (GCU) board games like Apex Legends and Frostpunk, feel free to join their Discord channel. GCU has a great habit of uploading its upcoming board games online, so you can remotely playtest.

Anyway, Don’t Starve: The Board Game does a fantastic job of translating what made the video game fun into a board game format. It’s a 1-4 player rogue-like, cooperative game worthy of the name Don’t Starve. If you’re a fan of the video game, you owe it to yourself to at least check out Don’t Starve: The Board Game’s KickStarter page. Pledges range from $79-129. The game features beautiful miniatures/standees–standard with most GCU games–exploration, survival, and crafting. Oh, yeah.

Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game Storms GameFound

We go from one board game company (GCU) known for its video game adaptations to another one in Archon Studios. Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game is the brainchild of the same company that gave us the Wolfenstein and He-Man: Masters of the Universe Board Game. Unlike Don’t Starve, I can’t speak to Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game’s quality, but Archon Studios has an amazing track record.

Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game gives me similar vibes to the classic card battler board game, Summoner Wars. Akin to Chess meeting Magic: The Gathering. Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game touts numerous video game references–even small ones–and the card art (and design) looks spot on. Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game sports a ton of expansions. I’m certain gamers will have plenty of pledge options to choose from once the campaign launches in the middle of next week. We don’t yet know what price points Heroes of Might and Magic: The Card Game offers, but if you’re interested in the game, check out its GameFound page.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles Releases

Final Fantasy Tactics is one of my favorite games. I’ve picked up the title each time it’s been remade/remastered, so it’s only a matter of time until I return to Ivalice. In Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, players assume the role of Ramsa, a forgotten warrior who brought peace to the land. Players recruit party members and train them through a job system in this tactical JRPG. Western Zodiac signs dictate how well your team synergizes and how much damage they deal to enemies. Most strong enemies in Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles have a fire sign, so picking a birthday (for Ramsa) with a water sign puts the game on easy mode. I didn’t know this until recently. My birthday happens to be under a water sign, and it would confuse me when folks would say Final Fantasy Tactics was difficult.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles is available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2. DLC (pictured above) is available. If you’ve never played the classic JRPG Final Fantasy Tactics, I highly suggest giving this game a try.

Ghost of Yotei Releases on PlayStation 5

As of writing this post (I’m writing this early), Ghost of Yotei has yet to be released, but it will be in time for the weekend. I can’t wait to play this PlayStation 5 exclusive. Skye swears by Ghost of Tsushima. She covered the first game in this series in a previous month’s Watcha Playing. This series’ combat is second to none. I was about to borrow Skye’s copy of Ghost of Tsushima and begin playing when I remembered Ghost of Yotei was on the horizon. I’m unsure if I’ll miss anything if I begin with the second game in the series. We’ll have to see.

That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. By the time this write-up posts, I’ll be at a board game design panel at Nuke-Con. If you’re in the Omaha area, stop by and say hello. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. GenCon is this week. Several board game companies announce titles at GenCon and/or launch board game crowdfunding campaigns during GenCon, cashing in on the hype caused by demos this weekend. So, our board game releases will see an uptick in the next two weeks. Woo hoo! Not only that, but this week saw a lot of high-profile video game releases. Yes! Before we get into those new game releases, we’ll kick off this post with some intriguing MCU news.

X-Men Cast Update and Unnamed MCU Film Set for Release between Doomsday and Secret Wars

Several sources (including Variety and ScreenRant) have cited the MCU casting a younger group of actors for The X-Men. This makes a lot of sense. Ever since the pandemic, movie-going behavior has changed. Fewer people physically watch movies in the theater (they wait for the movie’s digital release), and superhero movies seldom break the $1 billion mark. This new reality has led film studios to change their tactics. The MCU casting lesser-known actors to portray The X-Men should save the production money. We’re seeing this more with other larger movies with budgets earmarked for special effects (films like the upcoming Legend of Zelda). While I don’t care for the reasoning, I’ve always liked the idea of giving lesser-known actors a chance at playing iconic roles.

In other MCU news, Marvel Film Executive Kevin Feige made an announcement that the MCU has an unnamed MCU film set for release between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. There is a chance the MCU keeps the date, July 23, 2027, available for an MCU movie (between Doomsday and Secret Wars) and chooses not to use the time slot, but there’s a better chance Marvel Studios will fit in a movie between these two Universe-wide and Universe-altering movies. To date, Captain Marvel is one of the MCU’s most financially successful films (at the box office), and it was released between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Captain Marvel benefited from the hype generated by the two Avengers films. The MCU will most likely want to capitalize on the window between Doomsday and Secret Wars.

By my estimation, four films could fill this July 23, 2027, time slot: Deadpool 4, Black Panther 3, Blade, and Doctor Strange 3. I listed these films in the likelihood of their being released, starting from least to most likely.

Even though Ryan Reynolds says he’s not interested in another Deadpool film, Marvel Studios could coax him to do another movie with enough cash. Deadpool 4 will most likely happen, but not right away. Besides, Deadpool is one of the few Marvel film franchises that doesn’t need a Doomsday-Secret Wars boost.

Black Panther is another Marvel film franchise that doesn’t need the boost. Everything Ryan Coogler touches turns to gold. I loved Sinners, Ironheart was better than I expected, and I can’t wait to see his take on The X-Files. Throw in Denzel Washington to Black Panther 3’s cast, and you can see why Black Panther 3 doesn’t need the hype train. It is the hype train. The only reason I place Black Panther 3 ahead of Deadpool 4 in order of likelihood of being released is that it’s further along in its development.

Kevin Feige insists Blade is years away, but he may protest too much. Mahershala Ali has been waiting for his chance to play Blade in an MCU movie. While Blade has been a successful franchise in the past, the upcoming Blade movie will be the first in the MCU. Blade isn’t established within the MCU, so the character can exist outside the universal crossover event. And a Blade film would follow in Captain Marvel’s footsteps of introducing a new MCU character and banking on the hype generated by two connected Avengers films.

But I chose Doctor Strange 3 as the most likely film for a July 23, 2027, release because it’s been in production for a while and doesn’t yet have a release date. At the end of The Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange entered a different plane of existence with Clea, so Doctor Strange 3 could explain why he might not be in Doomsday and could tie into his inclusion in Secret Wars. Doctor Strange 3 could also exist outside both movies, or at least the first one, and not screw up the two Avengers films’ storyline.

But what do you think? Do you think the MCU will pass on using the placeholder July 23, 2027, release date? If the MCU uses the date, which film do you think will fill that date? It could be a fifth film I didn’t mention. Let us know in the comments.

Echoes of the Sundering Lands on KickStarter

So much of Echoes of the Sundering’s description interests me. Echoes of the Sundering is a 1-5 player cooperative, open-world, deck-construction adventure. It features simultaneous play and a strong narrative. Cooperative with deck-construction and simultaneous play with a strong story to boot. Count me in. Supposedly, player choices affect what happens in the world. Gamers can customize their characters to suit their playstyle. All of this sounds amazing.

I’m uncertain how players will be able to play their turns simultaneously, but I’m here for it. The game also includes drop-in/out companions. I’ve seen this play out in various other games, but each board game accomplishes this differently. Players can level up their characters like they would in a video game RPG, and while you can play a rogue-lite version, which offers extended replayability, Echoes of the Sundering features a 40-hour campaign.

Build your own unique character and get exploring in Echoes of the Sundering. From the sound of it, Echoes of the Sundering is a more story and character-driven version of Gloomhaven. The above image lists publisher The Wilderforger’s vision board. If this sounds interesting, check out Echoes of the Sundering’s KickStarter page.

Compania Launches on KickStarter

Publisher Level 99 is known for its anime/manga aesthetic. Compania continues this trend, but don’t let the art style fool you. Compania is a clever engine-building worker placement game. I love Compania’s worker placement twist. Players secretly assign their workers to spaces on the board. Each player simultaneously uses six-sided dice to show how many workers they plan to send to each space. Whoever chooses the most workers for each space that turn, claims that space (and its ability) for the turn. Brilliant!

Compania lists its play time as 1 hour, and I believe it. Any time a design includes simultaneous play as one of its mechanisms, play doesn’t take as long because you don’t need to wait for players to take their turn. Everyone takes their turn at the same time. Compania’s auction system has me interested, but I’ve always liked Level 99’s art style; I always know when a game is a Level 99 game. You can back the standard-edition Compania for $50 or go for the deluxe version at $90. Check out Compania’s KickStarter page.

Flip Voyage Emerges on KickStarter

I love flip and write games. I’ve covered a few flip and write games like Draft & Write Records and On Tour. Fliptown, by Write Stuff Games is a fantastic flip and write, and Flip Voyage is the Fliptown’s sequel. It looks just as good. In fact, Flip Voyage’s KickStarter campaign features an expansion to Fliptown. You can pick a pledge that includes the expansion and Flip Voyage.

Flip Voyage’s gameplay looks straightforward and offers plenty of player choice. I have yet to demo Flip Voyage, but the game’s mechanisms make it look as if no two games will ever play out the same way twice. And Flip Voyage’s deck is a modified, standard playing card deck. There’s enough familiarity for newer players to understand the game, while offering something new and exciting. Flip Voyage offers several pledge levels. Most are cost-effective. Check out Flip Voyage’s KickStarter page.

ExoTerra Powers Up on KickStarter

I’ve seen advertisements for ExoTerra for a while, and it looks like something that would interest me. ExoTerra is another cooperative game. This time, you build your own custom mech, a large robot typically found in anime/manga. Player boards are customizable, and the way each one is set up reminds me of Sky Team in a good way.

Of course, ExoTerra features detailed miniatures, but my favorite feature must be the triple campaign map books. Each campaign map includes 30 pages of battle stages. This makes setting up ExoTerra a snap. Just turn to the pages you need and place the three books together. ExoTerra includes several paths to victory. You could replay a scenario, using a different tactic (perhaps a non-combat option), and see if you can win. ExoTerra’s pledges range from $150-260. If you’re interested, check out ExoTerra’s KickStarter page.

Tekken: The Board Game Launches on GameFound

Publisher Go On Board lends their knack for adapting video games to tabletop games to the Tekken franchise. The combat space looks tight, and that’s a good thing. Many combat games provide too many options to run and hide, or allow some characters an unfair advantage to keep their distance and attack from afar. Tekken: The Board Game keeps the fight close. Tekken boasts a short playtime (20-60 minutes). A fighting game of this nature demands a shorter play time.

Tekken: The Board Game features numerous iconic characters from the franchise. While writing this post, the campaign hasn’t yet launched, but by the time you’re reading this, Tekken: The Board Game should be available on GameFound. Check out Tekken: The Board Game’s page.

Grounded 2 Releases in Early Access on Steam

Obsidian’s Honey, I Shrunk the Kids inspired survival game received a sequel this week. Grounded 2 enters early access on Steam. Everything in Grounded 2 is bigger and better than the original, but fear not, fans of the original Grounded, Grounded 2 keeps everything that made the first game fun. The first Grounded was one of the best survival video games on the market. Grounded 2 looks poised to fill those shoes.

I can’t wait to befriend some helpful ants. Check out Grounded 2’s page on Steam.

Tales of the Shire Enters Early Access on Steam

Have you ever wondered what Stardew Valley would look like if it were set in the Shire? Tales of the Shire has you covered. Live your life as a hobbit. Create your own Hobbit as you set forth in Bywater. Though not yet established as an official village in Hobbiton, you will play a big part in helping the quaint town flourish.

Tales of the Shire offers a unique gaming experience. Based on the image above, it looks like we’re getting ready for Elevenses. I’m all for that. For the next ten days, Steam is offering a 10% discount on Tales of the Shire.

Gloomhaven Sequel Frosthaven Releases on Steam

I enjoyed the original Gloomhaven video game. Gloomhaven’s sequel Frosthaven, lands on Steam this week. If you’re like me, you either don’t want to shelve Gloomhaven’s massive box or go through the twenty minutes or more to set up the game. The video game adaptation does a great job of translating the board game into a video game. Frosthaven received the same treatment, and the video game looks great.

Similar to Tales of the Shire, Steam is offering a 10% discount on Frosthaven for one week. Check out Frosthaven’s Steam page.

That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Tag: avengers secret wars

Geekly News: October 5, 2025, MCU Cancels 2027 Movie