Tag: Movies

Whatcha Watching, Geekly: June 2025

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Happy Wednesday! Since it’s Wednesday, we have another Whatcha post. Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Today, the Geekly writers will share the TV shows and movies they watched over the last month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching, because you’re part of the Geekly Gang, too.

Kyra’s Shows

I’ve watched a handful of shows, but Good American Family may be the most noteworthy. Good American Family is another true crime documentary, but it doesn’t involve murder like my last month’s picks, just child abuse and neglect. Trigger Warning: If you don’t care to watch a show about child abuse, I would skip Good American Family.

This Hulu exclusive follows a real-world couple (Kristine and Michael Barnett) as they adopt a child with dwarfism (Natalia Grace). Good American Family makes an interesting choice with its narrative structure; it attempts to show both sides of the issue. This idea may work better in theory than in practice. Kristine (portrayed by Ellen Pompeo) and Michael (played by Mark Duplass) tell their story first. In fact, the first two episodes (which originally aired the same day, March 19, 2025) follow the Barnett’s sequence of events.

Kristine champions autistic children. She believed in her autistic son, Jacob, and helped him adjust to his neurodivergence and strives to do the same for other children like Jacob. Good American Family goes out of its way to paint Kristine as an angel of mercy in these first two episodes. The same can’t be said for Natalia (played by Imogen Faith Reid).

Natalia does some horrific things like putting her hands over Kristine’s eyes while she’s driving, decapitating her adoptive brother’s stuffed giraffe, and poisoning Kristine’s coffee. What makes matters worse is that Kristine believes that Natalia Grace is a twenty-two-year-old woman instead of a seven-year-old child. It’s like a scene from the movie Orphan. Natalia is getting close to Kristine’s husband, Michael. The first two episodes do a great job of setting up this conceit. It even appears that Natalia has gone through puberty (she might have a period and has pubic hair), so Kristine Barnett’s hypothesis sounds like it could be true.

But then we get Natalia’s point of view in Good American Family’s third episode. She is clearly a child, not an adult. Her outbursts are those of a troubled child with disabilities. What seemed to be understandable–if extreme–responses by the Barnetts in the first two episodes transform into horrific child abuse in the third episode. By the end of the second episode, the Barnetts legally change Natalia’s age to 22 and dump her in an apartment by herself. So, the Barnetts just abandoned their child. That’s terrible. Things get worse for Natalia as the Barnetts sprinkle in some torment (during the third episode and beyond). Spoiler Alert: Eventually, Natalia finds a supportive family, her life turns around, and she takes the Barnetts to court.

Again, I’m most interested in Good American Family’s narrative structure. While I like the attempt to show both sides of this story, the show’s structure holds it back. Many viewers said things like I can’t believe this 22-year-old duped this couple. Clearly, these viewers didn’t watch Good American Family beyond its opening night (when it released its first two episodes). Perhaps Good American Family should’ve released the third episode on opening day or consolidated the first two episodes. The second episode ventures into some nice psychological horror; I could’ve done without the first episode’s melodrama.

The point of view shifts to Michael Barnett near the end of Good American Family. This episode (or episodes) paints Michael as another potential Kristine victim. I never bought it. Good American Family hammers home the point that Natalia was the only victim in this story during its final episode. Ultimately, Good American Family obscured a heap of details during those first two episodes. It didn’t just show the Barnetts’ point of view; it sanitized the Barnetts’ wrongdoing. And what the Barnetts did gets sick.

Kyra’s Movies

I watched plenty of true crime documentaries. I won’t add another one to the movies I watched this last month. Instead, Captain America: Brave New World was added to Disney+. I didn’t watch it in theaters, so I figured I would give it a quick review.

Captain America: Brave New World wasn’t as bad as I feared, but it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. The Serpent Society barely played a role. The movie doubled down on traditional Hulk villains, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Red Hulk) and The Leader. While I still think Hulk villains in a Captain America movie makes little sense, I like that Captain America: Brave New World didn’t try to shoehorn more members of the Serpent Society. The movie’s villains could’ve been crowded.

Despite being a more focused story than I originally thought, Captain America: Brave New World requires a lot of MCU homework. Falcon/Winter Soldier, The Incredible Hulk, and Eternals. I could see a lot of people watching Falcon/Winter Soldier. That series did well enough on Disney+, but MCU fans would need to subscribe to Disney+ and watch an eight-hour miniseries.

The Incredible Hulk is eighteen years old by this point. Captain America: Brave New World does a good job of building up Ross and his daughter, Betty, but talk about striking while the iron is ice cold. Fewer moviegoers watched Eternals. I wouldn’t have watched Eternals if it weren’t available on my flight to London. I wasn’t going anywhere for eight hours. Why not watch Eternals?

I like how Captain America: Brave New World introduced adamantium by using Celestial Island (an event from Eternals). But I can’t help but imagine the MCU viewer who saw the massive body in the middle of the Indian Ocean and wondered if that was Galactus. There’s a lot of mandatory MCU homework for Captain America: Brave New World. In fact, this movie may have the most required MCU homework. By my count, one would need to watch about 40 hours. 40 hours? Yikes!

And while I said that Captain America: Brave New World’s story could’ve been far more scattered with additional Serpent Society members, that doesn’t mean that the movie has a tight script. It rambles. I thought the movie could’ve ended a handful of times before it did. And my final note is on Sam Wilson’s Captain America (who didn’t take the super soldier serum). The Wakandans did Sam a solid. His vibranium wings saved him multiple times. While that makes sense for the character and within the confines of the MCU, I didn’t like how little I feared for Sam’s safety.

I didn’t want Sam to get hurt, but he’s the one Captain America who didn’t take the super soldier serum, and he went toe to toe with a Hulk. I didn’t gasp once during his battle. It was as if Sam had taken the super soldier serum. Captain America: Brave New World may be a mixed bag, but I love Tim Black Nelson’s Leader. The Leader may have been worth an eighteen-year wait.

That’s all I have for this month. Let’s see what Season and Skye have been watching.

Skye’s Movies

After watching Goodfellas, I can see what everybody’s talking about. Goodfellas isn’t one of those movies I hear a lot about, but whenever I do hear about it, it’s always good things. I wouldn’t say Goodfellas is the quintessential mob movie (considering we live in a world where The Godfather still exists), but it’s still pretty darn good. Goodfellas does a great job of capturing the feel of organized crime, has gritty violence, is just the right amount of uncomfortable, and I loved it.

While not the whole story, Goodfellas does enough to show us both the glamour and danger of mob life. Also, the piano exit from “Layla” has been stuck in my head for weeks.

Some Like it Hot has been on my watch list for years. After watching it, I can confirm that I enjoyed Some Like it Hot, but not as much as I thought. To be clear, Some Like it Hot is still a very funny movie and got some genuine laughs despite its age, but I was surprised by how slow it could be at times. I was taken aback by the sudden romance that came halfway through. It wasn’t necessarily bad; I just wasn’t expecting it.

Even if Some Like it Hot wasn’t as bombastically funny as I anticipated, I still had a fun time with it. After all, nobody’s perfect.

The Seventh Seal is a classic in every meaning of the word. Even to this day, The Seventh Seal is one of those movies that’s studied in film schools around the world. This was my first time watching The Seventh Seal. Put simply, I wasn’t disappointed. I respected The Seventh Seal’s patient approach to suspense and thrills. Modern horror films overly rely on jump scares to make the movie seem scarier. The Seventh Seal‘s silence scared me the most.

If you haven’t seen The Seventh Seal, I highly recommend you treat yourself to one of cinema’s most revered classics.

Eraserhead is a movie I had already seen before this month, but I felt like I needed to watch it again. If you’ve never seen Eraserhead, you’d best go into this experience blind. This is a cinematic journey you’ll never forget. It’s difficult to go into details about what Eraserhead is because it uses shrouded symbolism, abstract storytelling, and deliberate imagery. Despite having seen Eraserhead three times, I still don’t fully understand it. What I like the most about Eraserhead is how you can watch it several times and always come up with a different explanation. That’s, without a doubt, David Lynch’s intention. Rest in peace, David Lynch.

If you’ve never seen it, make sure you watch Eraserhead on an empty stomach. You’ll thank me later. Also, keep telling yourself: “In Heaven, everything is fine.”

Season’s Movies

I’m not much of a movie watcher, but I did re-watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & Part 2. No. I didn’t re-watch The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It’s been a while since I read the books, so I can’t remember everything in the books that got left out of the movies. I think Katniss singing “The Hanging Tree” was my favorite part across both movies. I think the movies did a decent job of representing the books from an outside perspective. As a viewer, I wasn’t completely inundated with Katniss’s every thought. The Hunger Games, in general, is definitely a good series to revisit, both in novel and film form.

Season’s Shows

I’ve been binge-watching Dead End: Paranormal Park the past few days, and I’m in love with it. It’s a cute show that combines accepting people for who they are and fantasy. Who doesn’t like fighting demons while having to deal with scary family/people situations in the real world? Dead End: Paranormal Park features LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent representation. There is one character who got gender binary-coded, which differs from the comic. This aspect of the show irritates me, but other than that, I’d definitely recommend Dead End: Paranormal Park for people who are looking for something fun and in the spirit of Pride.

Kyra Kyle here again. That’s what the Geekly writers have been watching this past month. Let us know what you’ve been watching, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Thunderbolts* Review

Published on by Kyra2 Comments

Thunderbolts* takes a familiar MCU formula and adds deep themes, allowing its characters to shine. Yes! The Geekly Gang has had a chance to watch Thunderbolts* on the big screen. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Happy Friday. Today we’ll be covering Geekly’s thoughts on the latest Marvel film to release, Thunderbolts*.

Thunderbolts* is indeed the sleeper hit I was hoping for at the beginning of the year (during our MCU preview). I’d even say it’s one of the better recent Marvel projects. We’ll get to some of the goodness here after a while, but I wanted to start by saying that I appreciated not needing to do MCU homework for this movie. Because Sentry can tap into others’ past trauma, the audience got a good introduction to most of the characters. No hundreds of hours of viewing necessary.

That alone was a relief. Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova was an excellent choice for a primary point-of-view character. Thunderbolts* does bounce a little bit, but Yelena is the character the audience shares the most time. Thunderbolts*‘ Yelena isn’t the jovial Yelena from previous projects (like Hawkeye or Black Widow). This is a woman struggling with the loss of her sister (and by extension, her family). She’s lost and trying to find her place in the world. I said this during Geekly’s preview several months ago, and I’ll reiterate here: Yelena is relatable.

So many of the Thunderbolts* are relatable. They’ve fallen short of glory. They’re haunted by their demons. They find a way to endure and persevere. It’ll be difficult not to get preachy with this response, but I’ll try and restrain myself. In short, Thunderbolts* is about mental health.

I’ll try to stay as spoiler-free as I can. It’ll be difficult. I love how Thunderbolts* introduced Sentry. This could’ve handled Sentry’s introduction poorly, but Bob’s inclusion was handled with care. He battles demons of his own, and like I said prior, he can draw people into their past trauma. This will come back to bite the Thunderbolts in the future because every member has trauma. Sentry forces the team to face their past, and eventually, the Thunderbolts help Sentry battle his own self-loathing. Bob views it as an ever-present void. Again, for someone dealing with depression, this is relatable.

I don’t want to get into any further detail; it’ll get too spoilery. How the Thunderbolts assemble has shades of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It worked for the Guardians; it works for the Thunderbolts. There are a few exceptions, but most Thunderbolts are tasked with assassinating one of the other future members. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character (Valentina) is in the throes of impeachment trials and uses the various members to cover up her tracks. Her final loose ends are the Thunderbolts. Okay. That was kind of a spoiler. Thunderbolts* may use familiar tactics, but the way the movie executes these tactics feels fresh.

Thunderbolts* even manages to introduce small details earlier in the film that end up mattering more than the audience may have thought. That’s always fun. It’s like watching a puzzle piece fall into place. And Thunderbolts* does a good job of managing those puzzle pieces.

My only gripe is that I wish we had seen more of certain characters. To be fair, that’s a good problem to have. This is a minor spoiler, but one of the Thunderbolts dies early in the movie’s runtime. I see why Marvel did it. Fans didn’t care for this interpretation of the character, and knowing the multiverse, the character could return (even with the same actor) in some other form, hopefully one closer to the comic book.

And I wish we had gotten more screen time with Ghost. Again, I understand why Marvel went this direction. Ghost’s past is similar enough to Yelena’s (suffering from a childhood where she must do bad things). Thunderbolts* had a lot of characters to juggle, so someone had to draw the short stick. Ghost still had plenty of moments.

I don’t want to continue and risk spoiling any more of Thunderbolts*. It’s a great watch, one of the MCU’s better releases in recent years. Just be prepared with a box of tissues. Thunderbolts* covers some heavy topics.

I’m so glad Thunderbolts* was the first MCU movie I watched this year. I can’t wait for Fantastic Four: First Steps to release. Thank you for reading. Like Thunderbolts* tells us, be kind to yourself, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly Casting: X-Men in the MCU

Published on by Kyra19 Comments

Another day, another new series for JK Geekly. The X-Men will feature in the MCU’s upcoming Mutant Saga, so we’ll be discussing who could play Marvel’s mutants during this MCU Phase.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. The Geekly Gang will divide duties here with the discussion. Since Skye is our resident movie geek, she’ll cast her favorite actors for each role. I have an interesting job this week. Geekly Casting is an idea that came from one of our site’s commenters, Harper Ross. Thank you, Harper. I’ll discuss the picks Harper Ross suggests for Marvel’s Merry Mutants. Thank you again, Harper Ross.

Harper Ross’s Picks | Kyra’s Commentary

Thank you again, Harper Ross. Keep the cast suggestions coming.

I’ll preface all these lists (not just Harper Ross’s) by saying that I prefer actors who haven’t yet had their big breaks in blockbuster roles. This probably stems from watching Christopher Reeve as Superman. But we’ll most likely get more established names in these lists because actors who haven’t yet had their big break are unknown. Without further ado, let’s get to the X-Men cast.

Scott Summers/Cyclops: Sam Nivola

Yowza! Harper Ross has some great picks for potential MCU X-Men actors. Sam Nivola is on the young side, but I think that works, considering who Harper has to portray Jean Grey. Let’s face it. Whoever plays Scott Summers/Cyclops will most likely commit to ten or so films. The Summers family could and should be at the center of a Mutant Saga. While the Fox X-Men films had fun moments, the biggest shortcoming was how they treated Scott. Casting Sam Nivola in the role and giving him more to work with than James Marsden’s Cyclops will go a long way to make Cyclops cool again. I haven’t seen season three of White Lotus yet, but I’ve heard Nivola gives an amazing performance.

Jean Grey: Rhea Norwood

I love Harper Ross’s choices. Rhea Norwood is building a name for herself in Heartstopper as Imogen Heaney. She made her theater debut at London’s Playhouse Theatre as Sally Bowles in Cabaret last year. I like it when an actor is a triple threat (singing, dancing, and acting). One must be all three to portray Sally Bowles. Our next entry will continue this trend. And I like that Rhea Norwood would portray a younger Jean Grey. She, along with Nivola, could anchor the X-Men movies for a long time.

Other actors who Harper suggested include: Phoebe Dynevor, Eve Hewson, Grace Van Dien, Katherine Langford, Madelyn Cline, Sophie Thatcher, Josephine Langford, Imogen Waterhouse, Hannah Dodd, Emma Mackey, Lucy Doynton, Emma Laird, Kristine Froseth, Freya Allan, and Meg Bellamy

Wolverine: Taron Egerton

Taron Egerton has been in a lot of rumors to portray Wolverine. He’s on my personal shortlist to play the character, too. Like Hugh Jackman, Egerton is a triple threat. He can sing, dance, and act. I loved him in Rocket Man (the Elton John biopic), and he has a history of action films. Heck, he has experience portraying a comic book character in The Kingsman. Unlike Jackman, Egerton is closer to Wolverine’s canonical height. It’ll be difficult to find an actor who’s under five feet tall. At five feet, nine inches, Egerton is considerably shorter than the six-foot-tall Jackman. Egerton is also young enough to play Wolverine for a couple of decades.

Storm: Masali Baduza

Yes! Masali Baduza fits the bill of an actor who’s been close to breaking out and hasn’t yet done so. She had a significant role (Fumbe) in the great film The Woman King and guest-starred in a few Bridgerton episodes. Baduza has the acting presence for Ororo/Storm. She can play the role for a lengthy period, and she’s shown range, specifically when it comes to period-pieces. Storm should cross between the X-Men and Black Panther franchises. Whoever portrays Storm should be able to adapt. Baduza has proven she has that range.

Other actors who Harper suggested include: Denee Benton, Sophie Wilde, Kiki Layne

Rogue: Mikey Madison

Make no mistake. Mikey Madison is a phenomenal actor. Her breakout role in Anora netted her a BAFTA and an Academy Award for Best Actress. She’s the first Generation Z actor to have earned either award. Because she’s Gen Z, she’s young. She’d make a fantastic Rogue, but I’d like an older actor as Rogue. I noticed that Harper didn’t mention an actor to portray Gambit; that could mean that Channing Tatum will reprise his role. Tatum is eighteen years older than Madison. Furthermore, I like the idea X-Men ’97 explored last year of a Gambit-Rogue-Magneto love triangle. Rogue may have to be closer in age to Magneto for this love triangle to make it to the big screen.

I love Madison as an actor. She’d be amazing as Rogue. But if she were to take on the role, Marvel may need to age down Gambit and possibly Magneto.

Kwannon/Psylocke: Anna Sawai

I have heard nothing but great things about FX/Hulu’s Shōgun series, and from what I’ve heard, Anna Sawai is brilliant. Clearly, she has the gravitas to pull off Kwannon/Psylocke. The name Psylocke is better known in Marvel Comics, and the MCU could go in the direction of Betsy Braddock’s consciousness inside Kwannon’s body, but I like Harper’s idea of casting Kwannon, sans Psylocke. While Psylocke physically showed up in an X-Men movie or two, Kwannon has yet to be explored.

Jubilee: Kiawentiio

Kiawentiio aligns with my thoughts on an actor who hasn’t yet had their break. Another great pick, Harper. I also like that she’s Native American (Mohawk Wolf Clan specifically). The only sticky point I can see is that Kiawentiio voiced Whata in the season two episode of What If “What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?.” Usually, Marvel doesn’t mind if an actor voices a different character in an animated feature than the one they portray in live-action. Kiawentiio could portray Jubilee. But Marvel could also bring Whata into the mainline MCU.

Sage: Marion Cotillard

Marion Cotillard’s Talia Al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises left a lot to be desired, but the fault lies more with how the Nolan brothers struggled to develop her character. Marvel Comics’ Sage shares some similarities with Talia. There’s a chance for a double-cross or two. So long as Cotillard has the screen time and a good script, she can easily pull off Sage. You know what, she’d kill as Sage. Make that happen.

Professor X: Daniel Day-Lewis

Ah! I’d love to see Daniel Day-Lewis as either Professor X or Magneto. He could pull off either role. Unfortunately, Day-Lewis has retired from acting. I don’t know if an MCU role would coax him out of retirement. Knowing Daniel Day-Lewis, he’s probably in some exotic corner of the world learning a niche skill. I do agree with Harper that Day-Lewis would be amazing as Professor X.

Lilandra Neramani: Michelle Monaghan

I know a lot about Michelle Monaghan’s work (she’s featured in the Mission: Impossible series), but I’ll admit that I haven’t watched too many of her more prominent roles. Monaghan is one of those actors I’ve seen in plenty of TV shows and movies. She’s a consummate character (True Detective, The Path, and The White Lotus) and could easily take on Professor X’s main squeeze Lilandra.

Magneto: Ralph Fiennes

Fiennes is another great choice to portray Magneto. Fortunately, he’s very much active. He’ll star in the follow-up to 28 Days Later, 28 Years Later in 2025. He was also excellent in the Netflix adaptation of Roald Dahl’s short stories: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Fiennes has the acting chops to pull off Magneto. It also helps that he’s a similar age to Day-Lewis.

Mystique/Raven Darkholme: Rosamund Pike

I see the vision here. Rosamund Pike could portray a Mystique with a focus on espionage. The Fox X-Men series’ Raven Darkholme dabbled with infiltration but never committed. While I think Jennifer Laurence could reprise the role (and there are some rumors that she could), Rosamund Pike has taken on plenty of layered roles like Gone Girl and I Care a Lot. I’d like to see Pike’s take on the character. Great pick.

Emma Frost (White Queen): Samara Weaving

I like Harper’s call of Samara Weaving playing Emma Frost. First off, she looks the part. Emma Frost has a distinct look that comic fans expect to see. Secondly, Weaving has been involved in a ton of great and award-winning ensemble casts. She’s an actor’s actor. She’s able to fit into just about any cast, and she’s ready to break out. Emma Frost could be that breakout role for Weaving. I also like that Weaving and the actor who Harper suggested should portray the Black Queen (next on this list) have an age difference, but it isn’t as significant as one might think. Weaving should be capable of holding her own while also showing the White Queen to be the upstart to a more established Black Queen.

Selene Gallio (Black Queen): Demi Moore

Demi Moore has had a career resurgence with the body horror flick The Substance. She showed a vulnerability to the role that gave The Substance weight and parodied her former image as a Hollywood star. Oddly, Selene Gallio could continue that trend. Forever in the White Queen’s (Emma Frost’s) shadow, Moore could grant the role of Gallio some much-needed nuance.

Mystique/Raven Darkholme: Rosamund Pike

I see the vision here. Rosamund Pike could portray a Mystique with a focus on espionage. The Fox X-Men series’ Raven Darkholme dabbled with infiltration but never committed. While I think Jennifer Laurence could reprise the role (and there are some rumors that she could), Rosamund Pike has taken on plenty of layered roles like Gone Girl and I Care a Lot. I’d like to see Pike’s take on the character. Great pick!

That’s all we have from Harper Ross in terms of MCU X-Men roles. This is by no means the only casting thoughts we received. We’re well on our way to an Inhumans and Alpha Flight movie/show for next month. Thanks again for submitting your thoughts, Harper.

Skye has made some fan castings of her own. She insists that she has a surprise or two. I can’t wait to see what she has in store.

Skye’s Picks

Thanks again to Harper Ross for suggesting this post. I hadn’t thought about this topic much until you brought it up. Ever since the release of the MCU, I’ve been wondering when the X-Men will show up in the MCU. I don’t watch movies for specific actors, but there are some actors I think would be great fits.

To clarify, these are actors I’d like to see. Just for fun, I will include actors who have passed away. Bottom line: if I think an actor would’ve been a good fit, I’mma mention it. Cool? Cool.

Wolverine: Charlton Heston (Posthumously)

Whaddya know? I’m starting off with an actor who’s passed. Don’t you tell me who I can and can’t pick. Rewatching both The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur for my Christian films post made me think, “Wow, Charlton Heston was shredded back in the day.” That aside, not only did Heston have the physique for Wolverine, his acting would’ve been a great match. Charlton Heston has had plenty of experience with characters with tragic and complex backgrounds like Wolverine. He’s got the looks, the personality, and the beard. Nuff said, bub.

Professor X: Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman may not be English (like Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy), but personality-wise, he’s spot-on for Professor X. Morgan Freeman hasn’t made it to the MCU yet. That has to change! If y’all have ever seen a Morgan Freeman movie before, you probably know how much he exudes Professor X energy.

This shouldn’t be a choice I have to defend. Come on, y’all. You see it, right?

Cyclops: Tye Sheridan

Tye Sheridan has played Cyclops before, but I’d like to see him again. He deserves a second chance after a less-than-stellar performance as Cyclops. He and James Marsden in the original X-Men film series didn’t have great scripts that represented their acting ability. I decided to go with Tye Sheridan due to his age. While I believe James Marsden could’ve done better as Cyclops the second time, he’s already in his 50s. If Marvel intends to keep the love triangle with him, Wolverine and Jean Grey, it’d be hard to do if Cyclops was already over 50. Tye Sheridan could be a great Cyclops if he had a better script.

Jean Grey: Elle Fanning

Elle Fanning would be a good fit since I expect Marvel to keep the love triangle (Jean Grey-Cyclops-Wolverine) going. While Fanning wouldn’t be most folks’ first choice, she has potential. She’s played several innocent and loving characters, which could translate to a proper cinematic Jean Grey. Previous Jeans have flubbed this aspect. All of them were setting up The Phoenix first before trying to get a good Jean Grey. If you want a good Phoenix, you must get a good Jean Grey. Because of that, Elle Fanning could be sympathetic, realistic, and relatable.

Storm: Viola Davis

I shouldn’t have to defend Viola Davis as Storm. If you’re familiar with Viola Davis, you know what I mean. After her amazing performance in The Woman King, it’s hard to see anyone else filling the role of Ororo Munroe with as much passion, confidence, and leadership. Honestly, my first choice was Danai Gurira, but she’s preoccupied playing Okoye in the MCU. Viola Davis is by no means a downgrade.

What more can I say? Fight me! …Please don’t.

Gambit: Channing Tatum

After Channing Tatum’s performance as Gambit in Deadpool and Wolverine, it’s hard for me to imagine anyone else portraying Gambit in the MCU. He wasn’t the best Gambit I’ve ever seen, but he’s the most authentic in a film. You know what, no, Channing Tatum is the best Gambit I’ve ever seen. What am I basing that on anyway? X-Men Origins: Wolverine? I hate that I said that. I’m sorry for reminding you that X-Men Origins: Wolverine exists.

Rogue: Debbie Reynolds (Posthumously)

We have another actor who’s passed. I’ve wanted an authentic Rogue in film. Debbie Reynolds is a classic film alumna. She’s gone through several film roles and character personality types, has a strong resemblance to Rogue in comics, and is all around cool. I could easily imagine Debbie Reynolds as the take-charge, no-nonsense, badass Rogue from both the comics and the original X-Men Animated Series.

Beast: Kelsey Grammer

I’ve adored Kelsey Grammer as Beast since X-Men: The Last Stand. From minute one, I felt less like he was an actor playing a role and like Beast come to life. Despite the other issues with X-Men: The Last Stand, Beast was the one element they nailed.

I love it when the MCU pays homage to what came before. As Marvel changes, it’s important to remember where it began, for better and worse. Sorry, I got philosophical there for no reason. Where was I? Oh yeah, Kelsey Grammer would be a great Beast.

Magneto: Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington’s Magneto would be a great contrast to Morgan Freeman’s Professor X. I’ve learned (from Geekly News) that the MCU may be considering Denzel Washington for the part of Magneto. If this is the case, that’s absolutely genius.

Not only does Denzel Washington have experience with dark, conflicted roles, but Magneto’s personality was originally based on Malcolm X. This is too perfect because Denzel Washington has already portrayed Malcolm X. The idea that this could come around full circle is too much for me to resist.

Emma Frost: Samara Weaving

Harper, you nailed this one. I’m familiar with Samara Weaving from her role in Ready or Not, so I know she can be elegant, selfish, powerful, and intimidating. After seeing your suggestion, I can’t imagine any other actress in this role. Thanks again for your suggestions, Harper. I hope Marvel is listening.

Mr. Sinister: Robert Pattinson

Considering Robert Pattinson’s increasingly dark film roles, he could pull off Mister Sinister. Since his Twilight days, Pattinson has scored some solid film roles: The Lighthouse and The Batman. Pattinson has lent himself to suspenseful and dark themes. Enter Mister Sinister. First, there’s never been a cinematic Mr. Sinister. That needs to change. Second, if that does happen, make him like a horror movie monster. That would be memorable and unique to his character. Given those requirements, Robert Pattinson’s career turnaround is dying for this surefire blockbuster hit.

Juggernaut: John Cena

This is less what I want, and more what I’ve accepted modern Hollywood will likely do. What’s the deal with John Cena? Why is he in so many movies now? Maybe I should be asking the same question about The Rock, but I don’t want to give Marvel any more ideas. For whatever reason, Hollywood has started putting Cena in everything. With Marvel, I feel like it’s only a matter of time.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Those were some interesting picks, Skye. You may have given Marvel more than one idea. Since you mentioned Charlton Heston and Debbie Reynolds, I expect Marvel to superimpose their faces on other actors’ bodies, Rogue One style. Samara Weaving may have competition with Marilyn Monroe. Real soon, we’re going to see Marilyn in everything.

JK…I hope. Thank you again, Harper. Keep the casting ideas flowing, and if anyone else wants to participate, join the party in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Skye’s Favorite Christian Films

Published on by Skye1 Comment

Hello, and happy Easter. I’m not Christian, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy Christian movies, and I can respect the value of their beliefs.

Not only do some of these stories hold enduring morals, but some have been made into (what some would consider) the greatest films ever made. I’m inclined to agree. I’d also like to clarify that these aren’t objectively the best Christian films. As a non-Christian, I feel it’s only fair to mention these films as my favorites. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

With that said, let’s start Easter weekend off right with my favorite Christian movies.

1. The Ten Commandments

I’m a classic film lover. Even though The Ten Commandments might be a cliché choice, I can’t deny that I loved every minute. The Ten Commandments has everything you’d expect from an “epic” film. By the time I finished watching it, not only did it feel like I had marched to Jericho with Moses and company for 40 years. The Ten Commandments makes me question my reality days after viewing.

On top of that, the acting is stellar, the story is gripping and well-paced, the morals are strong, and The Ten Commandments sticks with you. If I had to nitpick anything, I’d say it’s a bit too long. The Ten Commandments is a three and a half-hour long movie, so shaving off a few minutes wouldn’t make much of a difference. Either way, The Ten Commandments reminds us that what we’re promised will always be ours in time.

2. Ben-Hur

Wow, Charlton Heston really got around back in the day, didn’t he? While technically not a Christian film, Ben-Hur does have many hallmarks of one. Similar to The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur is another three and a half hour epic. It has characters experiencing crises of faith, takes place in a biblical setting, and of course, includes everyone’s main man: J. Crizzle. Despite having clear similarities to The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur manages to be a distinct story with a definitive message to convey. What’s the price of revenge?

When a Jewish man, Judah Ben-Hur, is betrayed by his Roman childhood friend, Messala, he dedicates the next five years to regaining what he had lost and killing his new arch-rival. In the process, Ben-Hur poses some interesting questions when Judah becomes consumed by his goal. Despite coming into contact with Jesus Christ himself on multiple occasions, Judah never heeded Jesus’s words of forgiveness. Judah becomes more cruel to the point where there’s no difference between him and Messala. Ben-Hur asks the question, Was it worth it?

3. The Prince of Egypt

The Prince of Egypt might be cheating since I already put The Ten Commandments on here (which is based on the same biblical story), but screw it. The Prince of Egypt is awesome. Not only was it the first Christian film I ever watched, but it also contains some of the most awe-inspiring and epic hand-drawn animation I’ve seen. During my childhood, Disney had this system called “The Disney Vault.” Certain films in the vault wouldn’t be available in stores to increase their value. Because of that, my family never owned The Lion King on DVD. Instead, The Prince of Egypt was my Lion King.

Looking back, The Prince of Egypt didn’t go all out like The Ten Commandments with the epic tone of the story. It wanted to hit a wider audience. In doing so, The Prince of Egypt maintained a solid dedication to film-making and craftsmanship while paying homage to the greats that came before it. Honestly, The Prince of Egypt resonates with me more than The Ten Commandments. While The Ten Commandments is amazing, The Prince of Egypt explores the humanity of its characters, and that’s powerful. If you haven’t seen The Prince of Egypt, I highly recommend it.

4. Barabbas

After watching a variety of Christian films, I realized something important. While I love Jesus (I mean, how can you not?), it’s difficult for me to get invested in his story. Like I mentioned with The Prince of Egypt, what’s always resonated with me more is connecting with characters on a personal level. When it comes to Jesus, however, he’s perfect. At least, he’s always portrayed as perfect. Because of that, he’s hard to relate to as a character. So, what’s more powerful to me is exploring the power Jesus has over other people. That led me to Barabbas.

If you’re familiar with the story of Jesus Christ, you may remember that the citizens of Jerusalem were allowed to choose one prisoner to walk free during the Passover season. Instead of making the obvious choice (Jesus), they decided to free a man named Barabbas, a thief, ruffian, and overall criminal. This movie follows Barabbas’s life after he was set free and the struggles he experiences. While not a sympathetic character (especially in the beginning), Barabbas goes through several crises of conscience and faith.

Initially, Barabbas doesn’t believe in Jesus and demands answers from Jesus’s Apostles, Lazarus, and many others. In the process, Barabbas realizes the meaning of the life he’s been granted and wishes that he had been sentenced to death instead. Barabbas is a powerful film, and one I think more folks should watch regardless of religion.

5. Monty Python’s Life of Brian

This is a bit of a curveball, but let me explain. Like Ben-Hur, Monty Python’s Life of Brian technically isn’t a Christian film, but it does deal with Christian themes. Also, Life of Brian is hilarious. Even if it doesn’t always make sense, Life of Brian gives the movie-going public a lighthearted reminder that we should never take religion too seriously. That is probably the most enduring part of this movie. If you try to apply logic (or “bizarro-world”) to religion, you start to realize how silly it can be sometimes. That’s essentially what Life of Brian is: the perfect balance of both sense and nonsense that results in comedy.

As a long-time fan of Monty Python myself, it’s only natural that I’d feel attached to Life of Brian. Similar to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian is one of those movies my family likes to refer to as “infinitely quotable.” Any line from it, either in or out of context, can get a huge laugh if you quote it among friends and loved-ones. If you need a pick-me-up this Easter, pop in Monty Python’s Life of Brian and experience one of the best Christian comedies ever made.

Those are my picks for my favorite Christian films. What are your favorite Christian movies? Feel free to let us know in the comments, and maybe one day I’ll get around to watching some Pure Flix. When it comes to movies, I’m like a Pokémon Trainer. Gotta watch ’em all! Thank you for joining us this Easter season, and always look on the bright side of life.

Whatcha Watching, Geekly: April 2025

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

This is our second new Wednesday segment: “Whatcha Watching, Geekly?” Today, the Geekly Gang will discuss which shows and movies they watched the prior month. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Let’s give the Geekly Gang one criterion for this post; we won’t include any television shows or movies that we reviewed for JK Geekly. We obviously watched those shows and films. And feel free to share which movies and shows you’ve watched this past month. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang.

Kyra

Shows

Not gonna lie. I’m basic. I’ve been watching true crime shows. I binge-watched all eight seasons of Signs of a Psychopath on Max so fast that I could predict what the psychologists would say next. Shallow affect. Check. Refusal to accept any responsibility. Double check. See how the killer describes the details of a gristly murder like someone would describe their grocery list. Quadruple check. Frankly. I watched too many true crime shows this past month. I may have traveled too far down this rabbit hole.

While YouTuber KallMeKris may not be a forensic psychologist or pathologist like Signs of a Psychopath’s experts, she has more personality than at least three-quarters of the people on that show. And it doesn’t hurt that her platform is free. Crime. Conspiracy. Cults. Serial Killers And Murder. I guess I am one of those sick, beautiful, intellectually minded freaks, and I love it when Kris screws up her intro. Sick, intellectiful binded, anyone? Anyone? Kris is a popular YouTuber for a reason. If you haven’t checked out her channel and you like true crime, give one of her episodes a watch.

Staying on brand, I also binged Netflix’s The Residence. I highly recommend this whodunnit with plenty of comedic moments. The Residence will keep you guessing until the very end. The performances are stellar. Uzo Aduba as Detective Cupp is phenomenal. Ken Marino’s Harry Hollinger is a character you love to hate. The rest of the star-studded cast are brilliant. Giancarlo Esposito goes against type with his portrayal of A. B. Winter. I love Esposito’s performance, but it’s bittersweet. The Residence was supposed to be Andre Braugher’s final performance. The Residence is dedicated to him, and Esposito reluctantly took Braugher’s role. If you’re a fan of whodunnits with a comedic touch, you should watch The Residence.

Movies

I kept seeing YouTube clips of a 2006 Rom-Com, Wedding Daze, starring Isla Fischer (Wedding Crashers) and Jason Biggs (American Pie), and decided to watch it free with ads on YouTube. I vaguely remember watching Wedding Daze years ago. It’s a shameless cash-grab on Biggs’s and Fischer’s notoriety at the time. I’ve seen both actors in better movies/shows since. Biggs portrayed an intriguing side character in Orange is the New Black, while Fischer was excellent in Wolf Like Me. Wedding Daze makes little sense. I give the movie props for swinging hard into the absurd. I mostly “watched” Wedding Daze while I worked on my board game prototypes. But you can’t beat free. YouTube ads within movies aren’t that intrusive. At least they weren’t while I watched Wedding Daze.

Great! Now that I mentioned the show, I may need to rewatch Wolf Like Me.

I may have seen Monsters, Inc. and the previous movie the same day. I definitely watched them the same week. I must’ve been on a nostalgia kick. Monsters, Inc. (2001) holds up almost two and half decades later. Mrs. Geekly shared that one of the movie’s sound technicians followed the toddler who portrayed Boo and recorded whatever she said or sang. And Mary Gibbs (Boo) was allowed to explore the studio and do whatever she wanted. Mrs. Geekly insisted that the one sound technician had the best job in Hollywood. The only problem she could see was refraining from giggling. I have to agree.

I could include a few more movies and shows that I’ve seen and haven’t covered for Geekly this past month, but I’ll turn the post over to Season and Skye. I’d like to see what they’ve been watching. Thank you for reading.

Season

shows

Normally, I’m not a fan of shows (unless we’re watching them for Geekly). Most shows run an hour long for one episode. There are exceptions for me, but the way I see it, if I’m going to watch something long, I may as well watch a movie. That aside, I watch a lot of YouTube. I’ve been into obscure stories and gross-out content. Papa Meat has a lot of content like this. He creates his own set pieces, does food ranking videos, and discusses movies. I prefer the videos where he discusses new age health trends or deadly pranks. Also, his animation channel, MeatCanyon, is a cool showcase of his art. He pokes fun at celebrities and Disney Adults.

Keeping up with the YouTube trend, I fall asleep to ManlyBadassHero’s videos. He’s a horror YouTuber, but he seldom screams or gets loud. Sometimes, the game he’s playing will jump scare me, but his videos are calming. One of my favorite videos of his is when he covers the indie game Hunsvotti. Hunsvotti is about the traditional Finnish holiday of Juhannus (or Midsummer) in which the player runs around finding flowers to throw into a well to find their true love. The player character is bullied because they have black hair while the other villagers are blonde. If I remember correctly, “hunsvotti” is a slur in Finnish, but I’m not sure if it’s still in use. The video itself is about twenty-five minutes, so I won’t go into too much detail.

movies

I got hit with a wave of nostalgia and binged all four Shrek movies. I grew up in the early 2000’s and Shrek was a staple of my childhood. I used to get Shrek toys in my McDonald’s happy meals whenever a new movie came out. I’m not going to lie, I thought the making of next year’s Shrek 5 was a joke. I’m not jumping at the idea of another Shrek movie, but I will watch it. Because Shrek. It’s like me with the Jurassic Park series. I don’t like most of the movies, but I like dinosaurs, so I watch them.

I recently got the Shrek 2 video game for PS2. Skye and I used to play it together growing up. Time to relive the glory days.

Skye

Ah, now this is more up my alley. 😉

If y’all know me, you know that I love TV and film. Heck, I have a movie review blog. To keep things fresh, I won’t include anything you’ll see on Geekly or my other blog. Surprisingly, I enjoy watching a lot of stuff.

Movies

I have a list of movies and shows I feel I need to watch. There isn’t any rhyme or reason to what I decide to watch; I just see something I wrote down and go with it. I’ve meant to watch the Mad Max film franchise for years, and decided there’s no time like the present.

I’ve since seen the first two films, and so far, I’m having a good time with them. While I don’t always follow the plotlines or understand character motivations, the atmosphere of these movies is distinct. That’s easily my favorite aspect. Given that I enjoyed The Road Warrior more than the original, I’m excited to see if the franchise continues this trend of improvement. Naturally, the one movie I’m looking forward to the most is Fury Road.

Anime

I have an otaku side as well. Don’t we all? Since I adored the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, I was more than happy to dive into Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It’s been on my radar for way too long.

It’s great to see the Elric brothers again. The animation is as great as ever. The homunculi biding their time in the background gives me goosebumps, and Armstrong is my favorite character. Even in the first series, he always brought a smile to my face.

YouTube

Did I not tell you I’m a fan of online media too? Well, I am. I go through phases of watching my favorite channels, but right now my go-to channel is CoryxKenshin. Even while I write this, I’m listening to his Let’s Play of Murder House.

CoryxKenshin’s sense of humor, love of music, over-the-top reactions, and lovable wit are impossible to resist. It’s tricky for me to describe in this kind of format, but if you’re a fan of YouTube gaming, particularly horror, I’d recommend this channel.

That’s all we have for this week, Geekly Gang. Next week will be our Geekly Tunes post for the month. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News CMON Games

Geekly News: March 16, 2025; CMON Games Could Lose $2 Million for 2024

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

Crowdfunding Board Game Giant CMON Games Claims They Could Lose $2 Million for 2024

CMON’s board issued a profit warning to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange earlier this week. It estimates its losses for 2024 at between $1.4m and $2.1m, with the final, audited total expected by the end of this month. $2 Million is a large number. Several factors have contributed to CMON Games claiming a loss for 2024. We’ll give a quick rundown on what led CMON in this direction.

A Quick History

CMON Games quickly bounced back from the pandemic. It suffered a 17.5% revenue drop to $25.1m in 2020 because of the pandemic. In 2022, CMON reached $45.3m and almost duplicated that success the next year due to multimillion-dollar Kickstarter campaigns for its long-running Zombicide series and games based on huge IPs such as Marvel and DC Comics.

Marvel United Box Close Up Board Game Review

Last September, CMON’s mid-year revenue had fallen for the first time since the pandemic, to just over $15.9m with slumping wholesale earnings putting a dent into the company’s H1 results. CMON’s wholesale revenue sank 39% to $5.9m in H1 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, while revenue from its crowdfunding campaigns fell by about 9.7% to just over $9.9m.

What CMON Claims Caused this Loss

CMON Games says the biggest contributing factor to this loss is the rising cost of living, which is eating into its revenue from tabletop game sales. They believe people aren’t buying as many board games because the cost of living has increased. Cost of living can and does play a role in reduced board game sales. But this can’t be the only factor.

CMON Switches from Kickstarter to Gamefound

CMON switched its crowdfunding strategy in February 2024 when it ended 12 years of running campaigns on Kickstarter. They chose to sign an exclusivity deal with Kickstarter’s crowdfunding competitor Gamefound. CMON had raised more than $108 Million in total on Kickstarter.

CMON’s first year on Gamefound began slowly. Large campaigns like DC Super Heroes United and Cthulu: Death May Die, Forbidden Reaches helped push CMON closer to the money they raised on Kickstarter the previous year.

At the mid-point of the year, the 2024 losses would almost wipe out CMON’s $1.8m profits across the previous three years combined, marking the first time the company suffered a loss since the pandemic.

Personal aside: I backed one of CMON’s projects on Gamefound and followed several others. The company had issues navigating Gamefound’s backend. There were growing pains but the year ended better than it could have. Different consumers use Gamefound and Kickstarter. Switching crowdfunding providers could contribute to a dip in sales. Gamefound also offers what equates to layaway, so certain Kickstarter marketing tactics CMON Games has cultivated over 12 years may not work as well on Gamefound.

CMON Bought IPs Last Year

CMON made two significant acquisitions last year. They bought Japon Brand, the Japanese board game collective that published Love Letter and Machi Koro and picked up the intellectual property rights to a pair of stalled Kickstarter projects from Mythic Games in January 2024.

The two games from Mythic Games, Hel and Anastyr, raised a combined $3.2 Million on Kickstarter. Per CMON Games, both games require extensive playtesting and editing to reach their standards for print. CMON Games plans to ship Hel and Anastyr to Kickstarter backers if the customers who originally backed the game are still interested. This created another issue with CMON Games switching from Kickstarter to Gamefound. Original backers of Hel and Anastyr haven’t received a single update since CMON Games acquired the rights to produce these games because CMON no longer uses Kickstarter.

Tariffs on Board Games

Geekly mentioned a month ago that tariffs on Chinese goods have complicated board game production. We belong to several board game groups and know several publishers. Many board game publishers have cited up to $2000 for a crowdfunded board game making $100,000. CMON deals in crowdfunding projects in the millions of dollars, and the company has at least seven completed campaigns that it will fulfill by the end of 2025. The company could lose at least $500,000 in tariffs alone.

CMON Agreed to Sell IPs

CMON started 2025 by agreeing to sell some of its intellectual properties in a $12 Million deal, with two new shareholders investing around $1.39 Million into the business by picking up a combined 16.66% stake in the company. CMON had entered a non-binding agreement to sell the unspecified IPs last August, but terminated the arrangement last month after CMON and the unnamed buyer failed to agree to terms.

CMON also revealed last week that the new shareholders had failed to hand over the money for their stakes and said it was seeking legal advice on how to cancel the process. CMON added at the time that it was now seeking other fundraising means to increase its general working capital in order to enlarge its capital base, increase the overall liquidity of its shares, and strengthen the company’s financial position.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of which factors affected their sales the most, CMON Games finds itself in a tight spot. One of board gaming’s dominant companies (especially post-pandemic) is struggling. But CMON has taken steps to get on the right track.

In January this year, CMON hired the CEO of tabletop gaming YouTube channel Man vs Meeple as its new global director of marketing. David Waybright will work full-time on promoting upcoming crowdfunding and retail releases from CMON while continuing to run Man vs Meeple, which specializes in previewing upcoming crowdfunded games. Fingers are crossed that CMON Games recovers.

Split Fiction Video Game Sells 2 Million Copies Its First Week

Split Fiction is the follow-up to Hazelight’s critically acclaimed It Takes Two (2021). It sold 2 million copies during its first week. Split Fiction was first announced at the 2024 Game Awards by studio chief Josef Fares, but began development immediately after Hazelight released It Takes Two. Like its predecessor, Split Fiction features dual protagonists who must work together, either locally (couch co-op) or online.

Split Fiction’s protagonists are named after Fares’ real-life daughters. Written by director and Hazelight studio chief Josef Fares and Sebastian Johansson, Split Fiction blends fantasy and science fiction, following a pair of authors trapped in the worlds they wrote. Split Fiction features unique gameplay mechanics involving split-screen combat, platforming challenges, and differing abilities for each character.

Steam’s Spring Sale Takes Up to 75% Off Your Favorite Games

Spring starts early, thanks to Valve. Steam begins its annual Spring Sale, and while most of the games featured in this sale aren’t new, there are some classics you may consider purchasing if you don’t already own a copy.

You can pick up a copy of Square Enix’s Chrono Trigger in honor of the SNES RPG’s 30th anniversary. Cyberpunk 2077 is down to $42.76 (almost $40 off), which includes the expansion Phantom Liberty that significantly improves the gameplay. The 2016 Doom reboot is going for $1.99. I may have my eye on some deck-builder games. Slay the Spire is $6.24, while Inscryption is going for $7.99. Both of these games offer great mechanisms and blend in roguelike elements.

Steam’s Spring Sale ends March 20th so be sure to check out the store before then.

Wasteland Degenerates Launches on Kickstarter

Tabletop Role-Playing Game Wasteland Degenerates launched on Kickstarter this week and was funded within hours. Wasteland Degenerates takes inspiration from the MÖRK BORG and CY_Borg systems. It features easy-to-roll-up characters, and dice rolls that can take out a character in seconds. If you want to explore the wastes, finding treasure from trash, and fight gnarly mutants, Wasteland Degenerates has you covered. While Wasteland Degenerates is based on, and compatible with, the award-winning MÖRK BORG and CY_Borg systems, it does not require any other books to play. You can learn more about this project on its Kickstarter page.

Modiphius Announces New Star Trek Adventures Sourcebook

Take your Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition RPG to the next level with the upcoming Technical Manual. Modiphius Entertainment announced that the new sourcebook will be released in June 2025.

This 129-page full-color hardcover book covers gear from across the Star Trek universe. The Technical Manual will cover details on Starfleet, Klingon, Romulan, Orion, and more technology. Add just about any piece of tech from the Star Trek universe, from universal translators to tricorders. The manual also details medical technology and the engineering elements of transporters.

The Star Trek Adventures 2nd Edition Technical Manual will retail for $46.23. You can order your copy of the base game and the Technical Manual by following this link.

Steamforged Games Announces Helldivers II: The Board Game

Steamforged Games has a history of bringing several video game properties to the tabletop game space, and they continue by announcing a board game adaptation of the hit sci-fi shooter Helldivers II. Manning squads armed with pistols, machine guns, and flamethrowers, players protect Super Earth against alien threats. You’ll complete high-risk missions, navigate battlefields, and overcome enemy swarms.

The crowdfunding campaign will launch on Gamefound on April 8, 2025.

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.

Black History Month Movies

5 Movies for Black History Month

Published on by SkyeLeave a comment

Hello, one and all! First of all, I love you. I’m sorry I missed you on Valentine’s last week, I promise to buy you something next year, babe. In the meantime, let’s talk about something different. What else is February known for? Black History Month.

I usually make “Top” lists for the posts I make on this site, but I won’t be doing that here. Since I’m as White as an albino moth in a snowstorm, I don’t think it’s my place to judge the “Top” 5 Black History Month Movies. Instead, I made a list of 5 movies about Black experiences that I watched and enjoyed this month. I hope you understand.

Without further delay, let’s discuss some movies about one of America’s most commonly misrepresented, underappreciated, and deeply resilient minority communities.

These films aren’t in any particular order. All are worth a watch, I promise

Marshall

Starring everyone’s favorite Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman (R.I.P., legend), Marshall is a story about America’s first Black Supreme Court Justice: Thurgood Marshall. While not the story of how he became a Supreme Court Justice, it goes into detail about one of the landmark cases he oversaw: The State of Connecticut vs. Joseph Spell.

Featuring fantastic acting while outlining Marshall’s quick wit and ability to navigate a system that’s stacked against him, it really kept me invested. The courtroom drama aspect was compelling. Granted, one of my favorite movies is 12 Angry Men, so take that for what it’s worth. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat, just don’t Google anything. Spoilers!

12 Years a Slave

Y’all knew this was gonna get heavy at some point. While not for the faint of heart, 12 Years a Slave is certainly a gripping story that makes you want to see the main character escape with his life. Detailing the real-life experiences of a man named Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), he was originally free until he was sold back into slavery for, you guessed it, 12 Years.

Going through different masters with varying levels of cruelty on his quest for freedom, Northup can never be safe until he makes it back to his family in the North. If you’re up for the brutality portrayed in the film, I’d say this is a great one to watch detailing both Black struggles and Black triumphs. Also, be prepared for an incredibly racist song to be stuck in your head until you die. I said that and now it’s back in my head. Frick.

13th

I wanted to put one documentary on this list. I was torn between this film and I Am Not Your Negro for the longest time, but I went with 13th because it details problems that actively face the Black community today and outlines ways we should approach fixing them. If you have the time, I still recommend I Am Not Your Negro, but for now, let’s talk about 13th.

As the title suggests, this film documents the impact the 13th Amendment to the Constitution has had on our society. The same Amendment that banned slavery in this country is the same that made it okay as punishment for a crime. And we wonder why there are so many Black people incarcerated. This film explains it far better than I could, and the facts it contains are far beyond what any White person is prepared to face. I know I wasn’t, but that’s why I’m recommending it.

Malcolm X

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a big fan of provocative films that challenge the way I see the world. What better way to do that than with one of the most controversial Civil Rights Leaders in history? Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic about the life and times of Malcolm X is an emotional powerhouse. Denzel Washington gives a career-defining performance as the titular historical figure, and it’s just as epic as it sounds.

You’re gonna need a huge chunk of time to watch this one, but I promise it’s worth it. Despite being 3 and a half hours long, Malcolm X never left me bored. This film has everything including the good, the bad, and the ugly of a great orator’s life. My favorite part is how the film portrays him as an imperfect human who managed to make a huge impact on society through his experiences. If you like that kind of stuff, I bet you’ll love Malcolm X.

Shaft

I know I exude a distinguished film historian demeanor. At least I think I do. I’m cool, right? That doesn’t mean I don’t like to have fun. That’s what Shaft is to me. Fun. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of racial themes in this film as well, but it mostly focuses on the star power of everyone’s favorite NYC Private Investigator from the early 70’s, John Shaft. I’m tellin’ y’all, this cat, Shaft, is a bad mother–

What? I’m just talking about Shaft.

This month, revisit the awesomeness of Gordon Parks’ cinematic adaptation of Shaft. Bumpy Jonas’ daughter has been kidnapped and it’s up to John Shaft to find her. Will he be able to do it? Is it possible Ben Buford was behind it? And how many women will John have sex with? All these questions and more in Shaft. You’re with Shaft every step of the way, and it’s an unforgettable ride. I love this movie, and if you haven’t seen it, I hope you’ll dig it, too.

With that said, those are my 5 movies for Black History Month. Are there any I missed? Absolutely. If I were to list each of my favorite Black films here, this post would be essay-length. If there are any y’all would like to discuss, let us know your favorites in the comments. We’d love to hear from you! Or if you’d just like to discuss movies, I’d be more than happy to oblige. Have a great rest of your Black History Month and always keep an open mind. 😉

Geekly News Fantastic Four First Steps

Geekly News: February 9, 2025, Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

We didn’t release a news post last week. We’re still figuring out how we’re going to cover Geekly News. This week, we’ll try a headliner story with other stories. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here, and we’re back with some Geekly News. Hopefully, I make some sense; I’ve been under the weather this past week.

MCU 2025 Preview Fantastic Four Art

Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Dropped

The official teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps was released on February 5th. The trailer left me equally excited and nervous about the upcoming film. The new movie appears to be the most faithful adaptation of Marvel’s first family. The Thing looks comic book accurate; I watched the trailer multiple times to hear the click of his lips and clack of his fingers. And H.E.R.B.I.E.’s inclusion made me smile. Sure, the special effects look on-point, especially when we get our first glimpse of Galactus, but the teaser’s best feature is how the Fantastic Four interacted. This team has been doing the superhero shtick for a while. They behave like a family and not just because Sue uses the word family. The scene between H.E.R.B.I.E. and The Thing shows us the team’s family dynamic.

Just in case you missed the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser trailer, here’s the official teaser:

Let’s cover some details from the trailer.

Prior to the trailer’s release, if you happened to log into the live feed, you would’ve seen a countdown sponsored by the Future Foundation. In the comics, the Future Foundation was created by Reed to better serve humanity’s future, and the Fantastic Four’s space suits resemble their Future Foundation super suits. Most likely, the group works for the Future Foundation.

The movie is set in the 1960s and showcases a retro-futuristic look. The Fantastic Four are headquartered in the Baxter Building, just like in the comics. The Baxter Building may or may not replace Avengers/Stark Tower in this alternate reality. Director Matt Shakman manipulates the aspect ratio (when the scene shifts to our first view of the Baxter Building) much like he did in WandaVision.

While The Thing does cook in the comics every once and a while, it’s fun to see the connection between Ebon Moss-Bachrach and his role in The Bear.

If you pause the scene where Reed works on an equation, you may notice a bridge to observe parallel worlds. This could explain how the Fantastic Four cross over into MCU’s reality.

The rocket the Fantastic Four takes in the trailer is known as Marvel-1. The Fantastic Four are indeed Marvel’s First Family. The company wasn’t even known as Marvel until after the group took to the skies in the Marvel-1. Fantastic Four: First Steps recreates the look of the original rocket.

The Thing Halloween masks the three kids wear resemble a rare Thing face mask available in 1967.

The blue car that flies through the streets is most likely the Fantasticar. One can almost make out the name at the front of the car. The flying Fantasticar is the primary mode of transportation for the Fantastic Four.

John Malkovich’s character makes a brief appearance and while the movie hasn’t announced who he’s playing, he’s most likely portraying Ivan Kragoff/Red Ghost. I was relieved. I just finished the Fantastic Four Color Palette Quiz for July and debated if I should include Red Ghost. I thought, nah, no one will know who he is and there’s no way he’ll make an appearance in Fantastic Four: First Steps. Looks like I may have been wrong.

We have a Galactus sighting. Yay! He looks comic book accurate, unlike the cloud in Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Finally, we come to the stage the Fantastic Four stand on during what appears to be a television appearance. I say television appearance because the stage looks like the famous stage that The Beatles performed on during their first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

Like I said, the trailer has me hyped and a little worried. Please. Let this movie be good. It must be good.

PlayStation Network Outage

This is a developing issue and the latest addition to this geekly news break. Sony confirmed a Playstation Network (PSN) outage started on Friday, February 7th at 1900 EST. I’m writing this update on Saturday, February 8th, and the network is still down. Even if the outage returns before this post goes live, PSN would be down for over 24 hours.

The PlayStation Network outage impacts game sales, subscription sign-ups, and microtransactions across the PlayStation Store. Players can’t play live service games. This doesn’t just affect Sony. All third-party partners can’t sell games or content or run their live service games until the PlayStation Network returns.

Sony gave a clipped and terse response on February 7th at 2043 EST. “We are aware some users might be currently experiencing issues with PSN.” The company didn’t give any updates or an estimate to when the servers will be restored. The company didn’t even announce that the outage was global. “Some users?” Try all users. If you’re still experiencing issues with PSN while reading this, be sure to check the PlayStation Network status page with this link.

This PSN outage of at least 24 hours marks the longest PSN outage since the infamous 2011 PlayStation Network outage. Back then, the PSN had been out for 24 consecutive days because the system got hacked. Hopefully, this outage doesn’t last as long as the 2011 outage or have as many repercussions.

Azur Promilia Misses Its Release Date

This news is a bit late, but Azur Promilia, one of my most anticipated video games of 2025 (and my most anticipated Gacha video game of 2025) missed its release date of January 25th. You may be asking, “Azur Promilia. What’s that?” Let’s discuss what the game is and what this delay could mean.

What is Azur Promilia?

Azur Promilia is an upcoming Gacha game by Chinese publisher Manjuu. Players recruit characters and form teams like Genshin Impact, sprinkle in some light farm simulation like Harvest Moon, and each character receives boosts from pets you can raise like Pokémon. You can breed these creatures that help you in combat. We don’t know if these critters inherit stats from their parents. If that’s the case, it could reduce the amount of grinding needed in a Gacha. Fingers crossed.

What we do know is there will be mounts, even flying mounts, to traverse a vast open world. The translation (into multiple languages to include English) is complete. The game will have a simultaneous launch (every region will get the game on the same day). It uses a free-to-play Gacha model. And pre-registration is open. You can pre-register for Azur Promilia on the game’s home page. Follow this link.

What does Azur Promilia’s Missed Release Date Mean?

In short, we don’t know. Chinese video game companies apply for a release date a year in advance. Manjuu applied for Azur Promilia’s license on January 25th, 2024, which means the company needed to release the game on or before January 25th, 2025. The cost to apply for a video game release is hefty. There is a chance that Manjuu applied for an extension for their current license, or they may have to reapply. Either way, there has been little word from Manjuu since Azur Promilia missed its release date.

Here comes some speculation. You’ve been warned. Since Manjuu has gone radio silent and China is in the middle of a holiday season, Azur Promilia will be released in April 2025 at the earliest. There is a chance that the game could be released next month (March 2025), but Manjuu will need to ramp up its promotion for Azur Promilia in advance of the game’s release. I wouldn’t mind streaming the game if Manjuu would like to send Geekly a key. Just saying.

If we hear something from Manjuu about a new release date in the next week, great. There’s a chance for a March release. If we don’t, I’d expect an April 2025 release date or later. I’ve been waiting for Azur Promilia for months. It looks fantastic. I can’t wait to get lost in another stunning world. Plus, dragons. I want my dragon mount already.

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual Releases

The 2024 version of Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual will be officially released on February 18th, 2025, but many local gaming stores have had hard copies since February 5th, 2025. I know that the previous sentence doesn’t make sense. The 2024 version of D&D’s Monster Manual releases in 2025. All I can do is shrug. Publisher Wizards of the Coast has an odd release schedule for the 2024, 50th Anniversary Dungeon & Dragons core set.

The 50th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons edition makes some changes to D&D 5th Edition. Think of it as 5.5 Edition. It caters to new players and streamlines certain aspects of 5th Edition. If you pre-ordered the book, you can pick up your copy. If you didn’t pre-order your copy of the Monster Manual, most local gaming stores will have additional copies. And if you haven’t picked up the rest of the core set (Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide), you should be able to pick up the 50th Anniversary Dungeons & Dragons core set in its entirety. Happy gaming!

And that’s all I have for you this week for Geekly News. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

MCU 2025 Preview

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) 2025 Preview

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We covered the DCU earlier this month because we didn’t know when Harley Quinn Season 5 would be released. Who knows? Perhaps I finally broke down and purchased Max and I’m binge-watching DC Comics movies and television shows right now. But we know that the MCU’s 2025 will kick off in a couple of days. We’re getting our preview of the upcoming year’s MCU movies and television shows in the nick of time.

Marvel didn’t release too many projects in 2024, but the ones it did release were well received. Echo, the X-Men ’97 cartoon series, Deadpool and Wolverine, Agatha All Along, and What If? Season 3 were at least fun. You can let us know which one of these 2024 MCU projects was your favorite. 2024 was a good year for Marvel, a recovery year of sorts. 2025 has a much larger slate of projects. Almost double last year’s projects. Looks like I’ll be busy. Real busy.

This will be a big year for Marvel and not only because the MCU has nine projects that will be released in 2025. The fate of the MCU’s future rests in the hands of two specific projects: Daredevil: Born Again and Fantastic Four. Like Superman: Legacy for the DCU, these two projects must succeed. We’ll get to both projects soon enough, but let’s discuss each project in release date order.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (On Disney+ Starting January 29, 2025)

I’ll be honest. I don’t care for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s animation, but I’m glad the showrunners are going in a different artistic direction. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man doesn’t copy the Spider-Verse’s homework. It also doesn’t mimic the art style of the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, even though X-Men ’97 was a triumph; that would’ve been an easy path to take. Nope. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man forges its own path, and that deserves respect.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will focus on Spidey’s origin story and early days as a crimefighter. I’m not a huge fan of retelling Spider-Man’s origin story—most people know Spidey’s origin by this point—but this should only take up an episode. I’m more forgiving of this with a series. Charlie Cox voicing Daredevil is my big highlight in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. We don’t know if the new Marvel Animated Multiverse will tie into the greater MCU, but anything to link these two properties together is fantastic. Cox’s appearance as Daredevil could also raise interest in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again.

Captain America: Brave New World (In Theaters February 14, 2025)

Some may say that Captain America: Brave New World is the third Marvel project that must succeed this year. I can see their perspective; Captain America films grounded the first few phases of the MCU. Respectfully, I disagree.

The MCU is pivoting to other characters—too many characters, in my opinion—and the new Captain America is one of several potential “anchor characters,” if you will. There are plenty of other Marvel projects this year. Captain America: Brave New World is the first of three films and the second of nine—that’s NINE—Marvel projects for 2025.

Plenty of issues have plagued Captain America: Brave New World. Test audiences have seen the film and disliked it. Reportedly, these audiences believed Brave New World was too boring. That’s not good. After the test screenings, reshoot after reshoot occurred. That doesn’t mean that the final movie will stink. Not all reshot movies end up like the original Suicide Squad. I’m still trying to block out that one.

Captain America movies don’t have the same cache they did with the first three Marvel phases. The big threat of the Multiverse Saga may be Doctor Doom, and he’s a Fantastic Four villain. And this Captain America film isn’t a huge crossover film—that we know of yet—or a glorified Avengers film like Civil War. I’ll let them cook with the new Cap.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross as President of the United States is an interesting choice. Thunderbolt Ross would fit better with the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie. Ross is a member of the Thunderbolts in the comics. Harrison Ford’s Ross may make an appearance in that film, too. Tim Blake Nelson reprises his role as The Leader over a decade and a half after The Incredible Hulk (2008). Liv Tyler returns as Bruce Banner’s love interest Betty Ross after the same hiatus. It might be best Hulk doesn’t show up in the one; he may have some explaining to do after his romance with Natasha Romanov. Is that canon?

The Leader and Ross are usually Hulk villains, so there’s another connection with Hulk. Throw in Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder (the leader of the Serpent Society) and Shira Haas as a former Black Widow and high-ranking US government official Ruth Bat-Seraph (who is also the mutant Sabra in the comics), and there are plenty of directions Captain America: Brave New World could go. And that’s where the movie may have lost test audiences; there may be too much going on at once. But I trust the team trimmed down the final project to a point where Captain America: Brave New World will be good. It could even be a sleeper hit. Let ‘em cook.

Daredevil: Born Again (On Disney+ Starting March 4, 2025)

In my opinion, Daredevil: Born Again must succeed. The Netflix Daredevil series has a built-in audience. Several fans claim it to be the best Marvel television show, and Daredevil: Born Again brings back most of the original cast. They brought in the showrunner Dario Scardapane from the original Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher to head the Born Again project. And the series title “Born Again” references a classic Daredevil comic book story arc of the 1980s that the third season of the Daredevil Netflix MCU television series loosely adapted. Daredevil: Born Again is also the first Disney+ Marvel television show that uses their new method of producing shows (a leaner and more focused production plan). Yeah. Daredevil: Born Again has a lot to live up to and sets the tone for future Marvel shows. It must be good.

But many of those elements I mentioned above are also reasons why Daredevil: Born Again has an advantage. Returning more than 75% of the original Daredevil cast is a boon. Bringing in a showrunner with Marvel Netflix experience is another feather in Daredevil: Born Again’s cap. And I’ve heard that we’ll see more of the courtroom in this series. That makes sense as Matt Murdock (Daredevil) and Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) barrel toward an inevitable showdown both legally and on the street. I can’t wait.

Thunderbolts* (In Theaters May 2, 2025)

Thunderbolts* doesn’t have the same colorful cast as the comic book team of the same name. Even Winter Soldier’s variant of the team had its Moonstone and MACH-X and Kobik, who is a Cosmic Cube (the MCU renamed the Cosmic Cube to the Tesseract) shard in human form. What? The asterisk may make sense. This may not be the first iteration of the Thunderbolts. There have been numerous variants in the comics. Interestingly, Bucky’s Thunderbolts take place between Thunderbolt Ross’s and Mayor Wilson (Kingpin) Fisk’s iterations. Given the previous two projects on this list, is that a coincidence?

Wild speculation aside, the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts* are a combination of super soldiers and assassins. These characters are mostly cast-offs.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of them:

Yelena Belova (from Black Widow and Natasha’s sister and a Black Widow herself) needed another vehicle; Florence Pugh is too electric as the character.

David Harbour’s Red Guardian (Black Widow) is funny.

Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster (Black Widow) will no longer be under her father Dreykov’s control, so she’s a blank slate. I wonder what the writers/director will do with her.

Sebastian Stan is good as Bucky/Winter Soldier.

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/U.S. Agent (from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) lives a disgraced life as the man who tarnished Captain America’s name; that has some depth.

And Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost was the best thing from Ant-Man and the Wasp; I’m glad she’s getting more to do in Thunderbolts*.

Phew! That’s a large cast. And it still ends up as a list of B-list heroes.

Still, Thunderbolts* could deliver more than just a superhero movie. Pugh’s Yelena (through a voice-over) in the second trailer shares that there’s something wrong with her, an emptiness. She’s just drifting. She doesn’t have purpose, so she throws herself into her work. This may be the most human and relatable a superhero has sounded in years.

And then I saw that the director was Jake Schreier and one of the writers was Lee Sung Jin; both worked on the Netflix series Beef, and that makes sense. Thunderbolts* may have the least pressure of any of the three Marvel movies. It can also be a surprise hit.

The premise: The Thunderbolts run into Bob at a secret facility. Turns out this “Bob” is Sentry. I won’t spoil it here, but Sentry can be a lot of fun, especially with the prospect of him entering the MCU. And he should be more than what a team of super soldiers and assassins can handle. Me thinks someone will die.

Ironheart (On Disney+ Starting June 4, 2025)

Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams/Ironheart from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ironheart has been on the schedule and then off the schedule and for a time, folks thought the idea had been scrapped. Nope. Marvel returned to Ironheart after the writers’ strike. From what I’ve heard, the series got reworked.

I don’t know much about Ironheart as I was writing this post. Many of the actors assigned to the project have undisclosed roles and given the premise, I can see why. Following the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Williams returns home to Chicago where she becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins/The Hood, discovering secrets that pit technology against magic. The Hood, which is short for neighborhood (he doesn’t wear a hood, but I think he should), has often been linked to one of two mystical beings: Loki and Dormammu. He also controls a massive Crime Syndicate. Confirmed actors with unconfirmed roles (like Shakira Berrera, Paul Calderon, Cree Summer, and Sacha Baron Cohen to name a few) could play any number of colorful characters. I’d love to see Cohen portray Armadillo. Armadillo is a guy dressed in a massive Armadillo costume. Think of the LOLs.

The special effects for Ironheart intrigue me, too. For those of you who think the MCU’s painted-on CGI armor was getting stale, Ironheart’s armor may be what the doctor ordered. Riri doesn’t have the resources Tony Stark has. Most of her armor looks more lived-in and low-tech. Ironheart’s use of more practical effects, its premise, and its varied cast pique my interest.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (In Theaters July 25, 2025)

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is another big one. This film must succeed. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at what Marvel has done with this movie. Most—if not all—of the main cast have won Academy Awards or Emmys or Golden Globes or have been nominated for one. The main antagonist for the upcoming Avengers movie, Doctor Doom, is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four; there should be a Robert Downey Jr. post-credit scene as Doom, so that’s another Academy Award-nominated actor in the cast. Marvel brought in Matt Shakman, the showrunner of WandaVision, one of the MCU’s better projects of the last phase, to direct. And The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the first film and the beginning of the MCU’s Phase Six. Marvel knows a lot is riding on this movie.

All that said, I don’t know too much about the film at the time of writing this post. Marvel’s playing this one close to the vest, and I don’t blame them. What I do know is that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth, and the Fantastic Four will go up against Galactus and the Silver Surfer. I also sense a little montage as we may get vignettes of the Fantastic Four’s previous exploits. This will be a Fantastic Four that has had many adventures. I prefer that to the Fantastic Four’s origin story. Again.

I don’t know what more there is to say except I hope this Fantastic Four movie lives up to the name. We haven’t had a “fantastic” Fantastic Four movie. When the idea of Marvel making a Fantastic Four movie was still theoretical, folks kept saying to wait until Marvel made its own Fantastic Four movie. Well. That time is now.

Eyes of Wakanda (On Disney+ Starting August 6, 2025)

Eyes of Wakanda is another Marvel project that I didn’t know too much about at the time of writing this post. Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler will direct this animated television miniseries. That’s a great start. Many cast members from the Black Panther film franchise will reprise their roles as voice actors. This show sounds phenomenal.

Initially, the series was supposed to have eight episodes, but it got pared down to four. This could be another sign of the MCU tightening its releases. And Eyes of Wakanda will explore the various people who have donned the Black Panther mantle. There’s even an Iron Fist sighting. Hopefully, we’ll get a better interpretation of the character.

I’ve seen Eyes of Wakanda’s sizzle reel several times. It looks fabulous. I imagine we won’t get much more than this reel for some months. There’s a chance Marvel intends to see how well-received Eyes of Wakanda will be. That’s part of why I watched the sizzle reel several times. If you like what Eyes of Wakanda offers, watch it several times. Perhaps we’ll get the other four episodes.

Marvel Zombies (On Disney+ Starting October 3, 2025)

Marvel Zombies functions as a sequel to the What If? animated series of sorts. I didn’t know there was enough story for Marvel Zombies to have its own series, so I always thought a couple of episodes of What If? made sense for that story. Marvel Zombies will release in October 2025, just in time for Spooky Season.

Disney/Marvel has been good about releasing a horror-adjacent project in October most years. Werewolf by Night was released in October 2022 and Agatha All Along hit Disney+ in October 2024. I’ll probably give Marvel Zombies a watch.

Wonder Man (On Disney+ Starting December 2025)

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portrays Simon Williams in Wonder Man. Like so much of Marvel’s later slate of 2025 releases, I don’t know much about Wonder Man. Williams auditions for the lead role in a superhero television series—most likely named Wonder Man—but I don’t know if Simon Williams already has powers or if he’s faking that he has superpowers. Either way, Wonder Man should be hilarious.

Andrew Guest show runs Wonder Man, and he’s written some of the greatest Community episodes (“Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” and “A Fistful of Paintballs,” to name a couple). Wonder Man is in great hands. And the character Simon Williams has done a lot of things in the Marvel Universe. He’s even been an actor for more than one stint in the comics, so this premise works for the character. Wonder Man is also Vision’s brain brother. Wasn’t VisionQuest releasing soon, too? There might be a reason Marvel wants to introduce Simon Williams.

Wonder Man’s supporting cast includes Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, the man who pretended he was the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Slattery will serve as Williams’ acting coach. That should be good. Demetrius Grosse will portray Simon’s brother Eric, who becomes Grim Reaper, Wonder Man’s archnemesis and persistent thorn in the side of the Avengers. So, there may be more going on in Wonder Man than a goofy comedy. But I wouldn’t mind a goofy comedy.

That’s all I have for now. Let us know which Marvel Cinematic Universe has you the most excited this year. See you soon. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.