The 2026 Hype Draft

Summary

House of R: The 2026 Hype Draft

Podcast: House of R (The Ringer)
Hosts/Panel: Joanna Robinson, Mallory Rubin, Rob Mahoney, Sean Fennessey
Date: January 29, 2026
Special Guest Appearances: Ben Lindbergh (Button Mash, via audio)
Episode Theme: Annual “Hype Draft” – panelists draft their most anticipated nerd-culture releases (TV, movies, adaptations, sequels, etc.) coming in 2026.

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Episode Overview

The 2026 Hype Draft is a spirited, hilarious, and deeply nerdy look ahead at the year's most anticipated pop culture releases in the realms of sci-fi, fantasy, comics, and more. Joanna, Mallory, Rob, and Sean each build their own "team" in a draft format, selecting their most exciting, buzzy picks across new movies, TV series, sequels, adaptations, and wild cards. Along the way, they debate what belongs, reminisce on previous years' victories and regrets, and delve into what genuine hype means for lifelong fans.
Tone: Warm, sharp, infectiously enthusiastic, frequently irreverent, peppered with in-jokes and genuine recommendations.

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Key Sections & Timestamps

1. Pre-Draft Banter & Last Year's Recap (00:00–13:28)

• Hosts and guests settle in, roast each other, and recap ongoing House of R programming.
  • Joanna teases, "That is the beautiful Malia Rubin. That is the wonderful Rob Mahoney. And Sean Fennessey is also here." [00:00]
• 2025 Hype Draft recapped: Reflections on what delivered and what didn’t.
  • Mallory: “I feel pretty good about picking Superman in the first round. [...] I'll take a do-over on rounds two, three, and four.” [10:06]
• Discussion about “winning” the hype draft – Is it for personal hype or pleasing the voting fandom?
  • Mallory: “The point is to build a team of excitement that represents what's in [your heart].” [20:47]
  • Sean: “I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want.” [21:05]
• Quick plug: You can vote for your favorite draft on Ringoverse socials and Spotify episode page. [22:28]

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2. Draft Rules & Categories (13:28–23:04)

• Draft categories for 2026: Movie, TV Show, Sequel, Adaptation, Wildcard (animation can fit anywhere).
• Eligibility: Any nerd culture property confirmed or reasonably expected for a 2026 release.
• Clarifications: Sequels can be TV or film; adaptations include any source material conversions (books, comics, journalism).
• Joanna: “You need to play by our rules on our podcast.” [15:05]
• Romantasy’s rise discussed, with a string of sex jokes and clever banter about genre crossovers.
  • “Romantasy is not infecting, it’s penetrating Hollywood.” – Mallory [17:52]

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3. Draft Begins: Round 1 (23:07–38:36)

Each panelist picks across five categories, choosing with heart and/or gamesmanship.

Notable First Round Picks

• Sean Fennessey: Dune Part 3 (Sequel)
  "The Dune movies are improving... I’m really stoked on that." [24:40]
• Mallory Rubin: The Odyssey (Adaptation)
  “We love mythology here on the House of R. We love a Nolan film. Look at this cast…” [31:20]
• Joanna Robinson: Disclosure Day (Movie)
  “Spielberg, potentially back to his roots... Wouldn’t it be sick if Spielberg made an incredible sci-fi movie this year?” [34:50]
• Rob Mahoney: Project Hail Mary (Adaptation)
  “I love Gosling. Honestly, I am quite—as a non-book reader—this is infuriating.” [36:37]

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4. Key Highlights & Quotes from the Draft (38:36–90:40)

Major Picks & Commentary

Joanna

• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Lestat (TV) [44:24]
  "If you liked heated rivalry and you like toxic gay yearning, have I got a show for you..."
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (Adaptation) [63:00]
  "I hope it's good. I'm actually more high on this than if it were The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
• Practical Magic 2 (Sequel) [73:14]
  “Sandy and Nicole are back... Against all odds, I’m quite excited for Practical Magic 2.”

Mallory

• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (TV) [48:29]
  “This television show is wonderful... an energetic return to Westeros. I love Thrones.”
• The Mandalorian and Grogu (Movie) [57:56]
  “We’ve been waiting since 2019... Grogu is one of the most important people in my life.”
• Toy Story 5 (Sequel) [76:27]
  “Porting us into a certain headspace and a shared experience. I really am looking forward to this.”

Rob

• Doomsday (Sequel) [38:37]
  “I hope, I hope to God this movie is good. I hope it’s just watchable.”
• X-Men 97 Season 2 (TV) [68:01]
  “As long as it maintains that energy [from S1]... I choose to hold out hope.”
• The Bride (Movie) [70:10]
  “I just need it to work for me. Test audiences: kick rocks!”

Sean

• Brand New Day (Movie; Spider-Man franchise) [52:05]
  “I’ve never not liked a Spider-Man movie. Spider-Man is eternal.”
• Lanterns (TV) [53:31]
  “I do need these Lanterns to do some lanterning... If there’s no lanterning, I’m going to be fucking pissed.” [55:03]
• Resident Evil (Adaptation) [79:14]
  “I've never played a Resident Evil video game in my life... If this movie isn't good, I'll be shocked.”

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5. Wildcards, Deep Cuts & Closing Rounds (82:19–90:40)

Unexpected Picks & Passion Projects:

• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Sean, Wildcard) [82:49]
  • “Don’t care about winning. I think this is just fun to talk about.”
  • Tells the incredible story of Disney trading Al Michaels for the rights to Oswald.
  • “It’s the meta nature of Hollywood history intersecting with IP on Disney.”
• Blade Runner 2099 (Mallory, Wildcard) [87:16]
  • “If this is good, we’re just thriving… it is an under-explored universe.”
• Werewolf by Robert Eggers (Joanna, Wildcard) [89:33]
• Godzilla Minus Zero (Rob, Wildcard) [91:40]
  • "Godzilla has scared me, he’s thrilled me, he’s only once made me cry, and that was Godzilla Minus One. So I simply have to take Godzilla Minus Zero."

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6. Lightning Round: “Can't Believe X Didn’t Get Picked!” (90:56–96:03)

Rapid-fire rundown of notable snubs:

• House of the Dragon S3, Supergirl, Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
• The Boys (final season), Super Mario sequel, Rings of Power S3, Ahsoka S2, Daredevil: Born Again, Avatar (animated), Hoppers (Pixar)
• Masters of the Universe, Tron: Ares, Wonder Man, Ready or Not 2, Cat in the Hat

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Notable Moments & Standout Quotes

• Sean (on draft strategy): "The Dune movies are improving... I’m really stoked on that." [24:40]
• Mallory, on Grogu: "I was gonna say one of the most important people in my life, and then I thought, that's weird, don't say it. But I decided to say it anyway. So there you are. Grogu is one of the most important people in my life." [58:59]
• Joanna discovers a new vibe: "If you liked heated rivalry and you like toxic gay yearning, have I got a show for you..." (on Interview with the Vampire) [44:24]
• Rob (stealing hype picks): "The listeners of this podcast adore the two of you and adore the things that you introduce them to... so I was looking to grab some of those people to rally them to my cause, that's all." [46:51]
• Mallory on picking Blade Runner 2099: "If this is good, we're just thriving. We're living. How wonderful to be us. And if it's bad, that would really suck." [87:16]
• Sean, on Lanterns: "If there’s no lanterning, if they don’t make a giant tank with a lantern, I’m going to be fucking pissed..." [55:03]
• Ben Lindbergh (via audio drop): "All that I ask is that if none of you drafts GTA 6, that I retain team control for one more year..." [05:44]

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Flow & Interpersonal Dynamics

• The draft is, as always, a blend of expertise and gleeful mischief—panelists absolutely pick to bug each other as much as to win.
• Personal passion vs. popular picks is a running question: Are you picking for love, for votes, or just to steal the joy from a co-host?
• The meta-discussion on hype culture, audience voting, and personal canon is as valuable as the draft itself.

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The Final Squads (Top Pick Highlights)

Sean Fennessey:

• Dune Part 3 (Sequel)
• Brand New Day (Movie/Spider-Man)
• Lanterns (TV)
• Resident Evil (Adaptation)
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Wildcard)

Mallory Rubin:

• The Odyssey (Adaptation)
• A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (TV)
• The Mandalorian and Grogu (Movie)
• Toy Story 5 (Sequel)
• Blade Runner 2099 (Wildcard)

Joanna Robinson:

• Disclosure Day (Movie)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Lestat (TV)
• Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (Adaptation)
• Practical Magic 2 (Sequel)
• Werewolf (Wildcard)

Rob Mahoney:

• Project Hail Mary (Adaptation)
• Doomsday (Sequel/Marvel)
• X-men 97 Season 2 (TV)
• The Bride (Movie)
• Godzilla Minus Zero (Wildcard)

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Takeaways for Listeners

• 2026 is bursting with promising genre media—the field feels deeper and more exciting than the post-strike vacuum of 2025.
• The hype draft is not just about what is coming, but why we’re excited: nostalgia, personal canon, creative teams, and occasionally spite.
• Mallory & Joanna’s deep fandom and sharp wit make House of R a must-listen for anyone eager for community in “nerd spaces.”

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Essential Segments & Timestamps

• Intro & last year’s recap: [00:00–13:28]
• 2026 draft rules/categories: [13:28–23:04]
• Draft “top tier” picks/debate: [23:07–38:36]
• Hype-pick justifications (e.g., Lestat, Lanterns): [44:24–61:07]
• Wildcards, deep cuts, and lightning round: [82:19–96:08]
• Wrap-up, sentimental closing: [97:22–End]

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Tune in for: massive laughs, surprising picks, behind-the-scenes fandom drama, and proof that your favorite nerds are thinking as hard about the future as you are.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Hello. Welcome back to House of R. I'm Joanna Robinson. That is the beautiful Malia Rubin. That is the wonderful Rob Mahoney. And Sean Fennesee is also here.

[B]

What's going on?

[C]

Brutal. Welcome back to the Pod.

[A]

Sean Fennesee, thanks for having Mortal Enemy on the Hypedraft pods. Great to have you.

[D]

My annual visit to one of my favorite podcasts that otherwise pretends I don't exist. I hear you. I hear you out there.

[C]

Anytime.

[D]

Okay?

[C]

Anytime.

[D]

It's nice to be here. So you're not destroying anybody this year. But you are. You're still planning to destroy people in this drive?

[A]

I feel like that's my energy. Is that what I'm bringing to the table here? I'm just here for small table.

[C]

90 minutes of fun with my friends. That's it. That's all I got today.

[D]

Rob here. Yeah.

[A]

Rob, how do you feel about being here?

[B]

I feel great.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I mean, I will win this draft as I win all drafts, so I guess I am here to destroy somebody. I have a dream.

[A]

When have you ever won a draft?

[B]

I've won every draft I've ever participated in.

[A]

Deeply untrue.

[B]

In the logic and space of my own mind, anything is possible. Joe.

[C]

There you go.

[A]

All right, so this hyped draft has been a little bit delayed, but that does not mean we don't have a lot to talk about in terms of what's coming this year. But just for programming reminders, we are in the thick of it with the Night of the Seven Kingdoms. So every Sunday, there's an episode of Talk the Thrones. Molly Rubin, Chris ryan, yours truly, three Rs.

[C]

I'm in the CR seat right now. I feel like I'm channeling his great, powerful. I feel assured in my convictions about everything but how to spell the names of Westerosi figures.

[A]

Itching for a Zen. Or, like, how are you feeling?

[D]

You feel tall?

[C]

Yeah. I feel fueled by nicotine substitutes. I have a sudden urge to put on a Phillies hat, which I've never felt before in my life.

[D]

So, yeah, perish the thought.

[C]

Cr. Yeah, I know.

[A]

On Tuesday, House of Our deep dives into Night of the Seven Kingdoms. And those could be anywhere. Like, three times as long as the episode, four times as long as the episode itself. Who's to say that's what you're here for?

[D]

What's the vibe? Is it good?

[C]

No, it's great.

[A]

We love the show.

[D]

I've seen the first episode, but not the second yet.

[A]

It's eligible for the draft today.

[C]

You can select it today.

[D]

I'm aware of that. I enjoyed the idea of the.

[B]

It is, but should it be. Yeah, this, like, retroactive rule.

[C]

It's only 2026 hypedrops.

[A]

It's only because the Hype draft's a little delayed this year that it feels iffy. I get it. We'll get to the rules in a second. Last but not least, Buffy season three, Part two, we're doing next week. So, Giles, that is what is happening on House of R. Are you a Buffy watcher? I don't know if you ever watched Buffy.

[D]

I did watch a couple of seasons as a young lad.

[C]

Yeah. Did you want to fuck Rupert Giles?

[A]

Wow.

[C]

That's my experience.

[D]

It didn't come up back then when I was watching. It wasn't really on my mind.

[C]

Revisit it and get back to me.

[D]

No, but I mean, smg, you know, that's very powerful.

[C]

Formative.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I was recently revisiting Andy Greenwald's book about emo, and I had forgotten that Jim Adkins of Jimmy World was obsessed. Oh, wait, no, sorry. It's Chris Crab of Dashboard Confessional. Apparently obsessed with Sarah Michelle Gellar to a point where he had to stop talking about it in an interview. So who among us making her feel uncomfortable?

[C]

That sounds great.

[D]

She popped back up in the I know what you did last summer sequel last year. And she was the only good thing about the movie. It was really remarkable. She brought it for like three minutes in a dream sequence.

[A]

That's definitely true, actually, of that movie, which I did see. Okay, so we are doing a snake style draft. Yes, I definitely understand what that means. It means it goes like this.

[C]

You're a draft. You're a draft pro. Seasoned vet.

[A]

And we four are the drafters. We have a slightly different lineup this year. Speaking of lineup, Carlos, will you let us know who is drafting first today?

[E]

Is that Ben Lindbergh's music? Yes. Hello, hypebeasts. Hello, friends. It's Ben from Button Mash. Sorry I can't be joining you in person. Look, I know last year's draft was not my strongest showing, but did I deserve to get relegated for that? No. I know that's not what happened. I wish I could be out there not only to enjoy your company, but also because it's sunny and 60 in LA. Whereas here in New York, I have to slit a tauntaun stomach just to survive dropping my daughter off at school. Must be nice feeling some FOMO not to be with you this year. But I'm Glad I could crash the party and contribute in some form by determining the draft order or at least relaying the randomly determined draft order, which I will do now. And the first pick in the 2026 House of Our hyped draft goes to Sean Fenasey. Fenrock. Everything coming up Sean these days. He's got Luis Robert Jr. He's got Boba Shet, he's got Freddie Peralta. Now he's got the number one pick in the house of our hyped draft, coming off a strong showing in 2025 with When He Drafted Andor Season 2, a show he was so hyped for. He did eventually watch it several months later and agreed it was good. Glad you're on board, Sean. Next up, Mallory Rubin has the second pick in this draft and presumably has plotted out all sorts of scenarios for what she will take with it. Third, Joe, Joanna Robinson, you are drafting third. Congratulations or condolences. And finally fourth. Let's last but not least, Mr. Mahoney, you have the fourth pick in this draft, which feels appropriate because you're filling my slot and I drafted last last year. It's our lot in life, I'm afraid. Good luck to you all. All that I ask is that if none of you drafts GTA 6, that I retain team control for one more year. Because one of these years and or decades it will eventually come out. Maybe I can get credit for that in absentia. Good luck with all your drafting. Hope to rejoin you in future years. For now, I am hyped to hear what you select.

[C]

Wow, Ben.

[A]

Thank you, Ben.

[C]

Benny Boy.

[A]

Bullshit drafts.

[C]

This is just crazy that you're gonna get the Odyssey in this draft after.

[D]

What if I don't want the Odyssey?

[C]

Well, maybe you don't. After you spent $924. $26.

[A]

Let's not tip our hands about anything.

[B]

It's fine.

[A]

We care about it.

[B]

Animal Farm is right there.

[A]

I want to look back. I want to look back for a second. Okay.

[C]

I don't think there's a bad order, honestly.

[A]

Okay, sure.

[C]

I don't accept it's a loaded field.

[A]

As Ben alluded to and I did want to bring up. Many people are saying that Sean won the hypedraft last year simply because he picked and or season two. Yeah. Some people are saying I won because I picked sinners, but that's okay. I think those are the two best picks on the draft program.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

Are there some people in the room with us right now who are saying this?

[A]

I say it to myself in The Mirror Sinners is a wonderful movie. But here's a question. Shawn, you recently, as anyone who follows you on on social media, knows watched and OR season two. I did.

[D]

I saw it.

[A]

I believe Rob Mahoney has still not watched and OR season two. So I would like you to make the pitch to Rob Mahoney.

[C]

That doesn't make a lot of sense.

[B]

First of all, the pitch doesn't need to be made. I'm not here to throw anyone under the bus.

[A]

I've been trying for months.

[B]

This was supposed to be a household concern and it was never quite the right time in my household to watch.

[A]

This blaming Elizabeth, who's not here to defend herself.

[C]

I'm just saying I completely respect that.

[B]

Sometimes the power's out of your hands in these things.

[A]

Absolute bullshit.

[D]

I relate deeply to that issue. That's something that I also encounter from time to time. I did not worry about that when it came to watching andor season two. Just speed. Ran that at the early days of the year, sending my child to camp when I had four free hours and trying to knock through as many episodes as possible. I've never watched less television in my life. So now I have to kind of really make an effort to do it because I'm obviously quite movie diseased. I mean, I don't have to make the case for it. There are hundreds of hours of ringer podcasts explaining why it's so special, all from us.

[C]

And then there are also pods from other people.

[D]

Right? There's House of R and then there's a bunch of fuckboys. I'll say this, I have a lot of strong feelings about the show. Very much lived up. It's very rare that anything lives up in popular culture, let alone anything in life these days. The thing that I liked about it best is I am in the middle of this experience of seeing all the Star wars films with my daughter. And so I am already in a Star wars state of mind. I'm a fan of Rogue One. I don't think it's a perfect movie, but I've always been fond of it. And the series made everything about that period in the storytelling that film. A New Hope Empire, which has always been my favorite stretch, like any normal Star wars rebels, crucially not familiar with that.

[C]

Give it a try.

[D]

For the first time in my life after finishing Andor Season 2, I thought to myself, should I watch the Clone Wars? Should I go further than I have to this point? Because I felt very inspired by what was possible inside of this container. And I've struggled with some of the Star Wars TV shows. I love the first season of Andor Season 2. Thematically, performance wise, production design wise, this is kind of breathtaking across the board. You don't need to be talking about, you know it's going to be.

[B]

But this is a spirited telling of like exactly why I should be jumping in. I'm thrilled to hear that the many Bothans who died to bring you this information mean more to you than ever before.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, Gorman, you know, I was just.

[A]

I was just hoping that the the fantasy bump would work better than like me telling Rob again and again to.

[B]

Watch Andor so as if your advocacy is falling on deaf ears. Look, this show is is going to happen for me, maybe even this week.

[A]

Perhaps I would like to do a quick exercise. Sean, based on last year's draft, what is the thing you're. Is the thing you're proudest of drafting Andor Season 2? And is there anything that you wish maybe you hadn't drafted? And would it be a Night of the Seven Kingdoms, which didn't even come out last year?

[D]

I don't have any regrets because though I've only seen the premiere, I really liked it and I loved the idea of kind of redefining what a Game of Thrones show can be.

[C]

Wait till you get to the second episode. Gigantic cock right at the start.

[D]

Okay, that isn't specifically what I meant, nor is that really all that different from Game of Thrones as I recall.

[A]

But no, you've never seen anything like this on a Thrones show. I've always.

[D]

Wow, I just saw the Bone Temple guys. One of the biggest dicks you'll ever see is on a zombie in the Bone Temple. Yeah.

[C]

So Arlen's giving Samson a run for his money.

[A]

Truly.

[E]

Really?

[A]

Yes, genuinely.

[B]

Samson, slander on this pot I won't allow.

[A]

Mallory. Mallory, what is the pick you made last year that you're proudest of? Is there anything you wish you could have a do over on?

[C]

I feel pretty good about picking Superman in the first round. I enjoyed that movie and it was certainly a zeitgeist animating film. I would take a do over on all of the following picks.

[A]

I think all four of them, which.

[C]

Are Mission Impossible, Final Reckoning, Stand By, Paddington in Peru. Honestly, I'll take a do over on rounds two, three and four.

[A]

Okay, you did Daredevil, Born Again, Squid Game Season three, Paddington in Peru. Where was your list? I would say sinners is the thing I'm proudest of. I Wildwood did not Come out, thunderbolts. I stand by. Oh, yeah. Mickey 17. I liked a lot more than other people liked it. So actually, like, I liked it, too. For the record, the most embattled, I would say, is probably the last of us, season two, which I liked, but was not well liked across the board. That is true. And then, Rob, if you. What would have been your number one pick last year? Of all the things that you're seeing on the.

[B]

I'm trying to put myself back in that headspace of, like, what was I genuinely optimistic about? Because, yeah, andor I wasn't, I had seen season one, so I probably would have picked andor season two out of the gate. Superman. Reasonably optimistic, but also skeptical. Fantastic Four was reasonably optimistic, but skeptical. I think, honestly, seeing 28 years later on Ben's list is hardening to me. And Ben should be proud of that pick of plucking it. I mean, the trailer was obviously bonkers, but also, everything that movie turned out to be in surprising and emotional ways that paid off in a way that even some of the great things on this grid did not.

[C]

Ben had a good draft. I mean, obviously the actual kind of content success of Stranger Things aside, it was a huge monoculture moment, exceedingly rare. The thing that stands out to me, looking back, which we knew at the time, we felt at the time, but is really clear in Hindsight, is that 2025 was a slight year in our universe. In the nerd culture universe, there just wasn't that much stuff.

[A]

That's so funny.

[C]

Three of the four second round picks.

[A]

Didn'T come out last year.

[C]

We're heading into a year where we're like, this is 2026. We're back.

[A]

My memory last year, though, was you were like, superman's coming out. Fantastic Four is coming out. This is our year, baby. Last of us is coming out. Like.

[C]

But it was like big things at the top and not as much depth.

[A]

There's a much larger field here.

[C]

You could kind of off the dome, write down 75 things that are going to come out. This is. We're going to draft 20 titles. You could go 50, 70, 80, 90, 100 deep without really trying.

[D]

I couldn't much like sir arlen, you know, 70, 90 deep.

[C]

90 deep, for sure.

[A]

All right.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[F]

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[A]

Hopefully Ben Lindberg will not take this as another slight because it has nothing to do with him not being here. But we have swapped out our animation category that we usually work usually slips in a video game with adaptations. We're doing TV show, movie, sequel, adaptation, wildcard are the categories this year. Here are some reminders. Something like Andor Season 2 could be drafted in a sequel. Not this year, obviously, because it's not coming out this year. But last year could have been put in a sequels category because follow up seasons of television are being counted as sequels.

[C]

Yes, that's one of our weird little wrinkles here.

[B]

I like that wrinkle. My question is, are all sequels also adaptations in the spirit of best adapted screenplay, for example?

[A]

No, no. Fuck the Academy.

[C]

No, I'm just.

[B]

No, I'm just asking questions out here.

[D]

Okay. So you can only have an adaptation there. You cannot have a sequel in that space.

[C]

Sequel is a category. Adaptation is a category. Movie, TV sequel, adaptation wildcard. So animation is no longer a standalone category. But you can pick an animated property. But you can leave these categories.

[A]

But I would say there are some sequels that are also adaptations.

[B]

Absolutely.

[C]

Bleed across the categories for sure.

[D]

I see.

[B]

So not vegan, based on a source.

[C]

Previously published source if it's an adaptation of a poem.

[B]

So the Social reckoning Frank Herbert novel a novel. The Social Reckoning would be both.

[C]

I would say that that is definitively.

[B]

A sequel, but not an adaptation.

[C]

It's an adaptation of real life events. So that gets to your.

[D]

I think it's also an adaptation journalism published in the Wall Street Journal.

[C]

That's an adaptation for sure on that front, no question.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

However, that film is not eligible.

[B]

You don't need to open your minds to what constitutes magic and science fiction.

[A]

You need to play by our rules on our podcast. Okay, so yeah, so many releases can get go into more than one category. What is eligible for selection? Anything confirmed for a 2026 release, or as we just discovered looking at our drafts last year, anything reasonably expected to come out in 2026 is eligible. So if they say coming. If they've said coming soon, and let's say they've already wrapped filming and you're like, surely the special effects won't take the entire year. But then sometimes it does. If you think, if you can make the case that it will come out this year, 2026, you can draft it. Any questions about that?

[B]

No.

[A]

You can pick something that has already premiered as long as it started in 2026. For example, 28 years later, the Boat Temple, speaking of our guy Samson, or A Night of the Seven Kingdoms, et cetera, et cetera. You cannot pick something that is still airing but premiered in 2025. So bad luck to the Percy Jackson and Fallout fans. That's something I guess we say to our listeners anyway, because we haven't covered those.

[C]

Just found out there's The Percy Season 3 also comes out this year though. So there you go, Percy, right back on the board. There you go, back on the board.

[B]

Sean will be drafting it.

[A]

In terms of eligibility, as we already alluded to anything, nerd culture is easily defendable. There are other things that I think we can make cases for of whether or not Mallory and I would would cover it on House of R. I think specifically in certain adaptation spaces, we tend to sort of draw outside the lines. Would you agree, mallory?

[C]

You know, two hype drafts ago, I took Gladiator 2 in the second round, continuing the tradition of just really missing in the second round.

[A]

So you're getting ready for a sword and sandals sort of.

[C]

Then we sort of felt like we had to cover the movie and the POD made such a big deal about us draft it. That was tough for us. But you know, we have our fun here. So yeah, we can talk it through. If there's a genre pushing selection, we'll. We'll workshop it in real time. I think the date ones in. In Hypedrafts past, the date boundary pushing has always been like a pretty clear consensus from the group either way. So two years ago again, I tried to select the final season of Stranger Things. I thought someone has to at least attempt it. And I was instantly rejected by the group because there was obviously no chance that that show was going to come out in 2020. 4. It did not. It came out at the end of 2025. So, you know, we'll work it out together. We'll figure it out together.

[A]

This is mostly film and television, but if you want to pick a video game in honor of Ben Lindbergh, a novel, comic, et cetera, you can. You're a big novel guy, right?

[D]

You wanna love novels.

[C]

Will you be selecting any romantic 300 a year romantasy novels?

[D]

No. Getting in on the boom. I am definitely learning more about them because they are fully infecting Hollywood right now. Particularly romance. Not romantic.

[C]

Infecting is not a certain word. I would not say infecting. I would say penetrating.

[A]

There she is.

[D]

Like Sir Arlen.

[C]

Big old Sir Arwen she is.

[A]

Can't wait.

[C]

Give it a try.

[A]

Can't wait for the deep dive tomorrow when we're recording Mallory. Okay.

[D]

Let Sir Orland penetrate me. Is that what you just asked me to give a try?

[C]

I mean, why not? But I meant give Romantasy a try. It's very rewarding education.

[A]

I don't know about infecting. Here's what I'll say. It's an extremely popular genre that people love and people in Hollywood are starting to take that more seriously, as they should.

[C]

We got a rivalry. We got a fourth wing update. Ish.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Michael B. Jordan was like, we're working.

[B]

On it, but I hope we get more heated rivalry where you're less like Colleen Hoover. That's a slightly adjacent.

[A]

Why are you saying that as if you've watched heated rivalry, which I know you haven't.

[B]

I'm just saying I'm more open to the possibility of it.

[C]

Heated rivalry is fantastic.

[A]

Colleen Hoover sucks.

[D]

Do you.

[C]

I would say the two most important shows of last year were Andor Season 2 and Heated Rivalry. Genuinely.

[B]

Rob, did you see inside Mallory, there are two wolves, and those are them.

[A]

Did you see the guys with the torches? Did you see them?

[C]

You know I did.

[A]

Yeah, I did.

[C]

The algo is still working for me.

[A]

I know you did.

[D]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[C]

Oh, man.

[A]

The two stars of Peter Ravelry got to like, carry the Olympic torches for, like. Was it Monica? I don't know where that was.

[B]

It's in Milan. Well, where they are now. They're going to Milan. I don't know where they were.

[D]

That wasn't like a metaphor. Holding the torches.

[A]

Oh, carrying torches. Very sweet.

[D]

Very poetic Joseph Dick joke.

[A]

Damn it. All right, what's the goal today for Joanna to misinterpret sex jokes as yearning Jokes to have fun, to celebrate what awaits.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

This is about excitement and anticipation and not necessarily predicting what will be good. Mallory wrote these notes, I think maybe looking at her hype draft from last year.

[C]

We say that every year. I believe that. I think that the hype draft, the point of this is to look ahead and anticipate right. Now, granted, it's the end of January. Typically, we do it at the beginning of January. It makes a little more sense then as an annual preview. But, like, we don't know if these things are going to be good. Sometimes they're great and that's energizing and exciting. Sometimes they suck, and that is, like, despair inducing. All we have is the possibility that we will get to share these things that we love and that mean things that mean something to us. Right. Collectively, individually. So that is always, I think, the idea behind the hypedraft. Then we try to pair that with, like, what might people vote for on an. On an Instagram graphic? Certainly this year, I am going exclusively with what am I excited about.

[A]

I think this is where your optimism bumped up against my cynicism. You know what I mean? And I feel like you. And I love that about you, that you are gonna, like, vote with your heart and your mind, and I'm gonna vote with, like, Dewey. I have heard. I'm not sure, you know, it infects the hype. So we'll see.

[C]

Well, how. One of the questions, without tipping picks, I was gonna ask you, like, this year in particular, there are a lot of personal faves in the mix. Right. So do you have, like, this is for everybody, but starting with Joe, a strategy. Are you, like, some of my favorite things in the entire world.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Are on this list. And I don't care if people are going to vote for them. The point is to build a team of excitement that represents what's in.

[A]

Well, absolutely. Because what if someone took it from me?

[C]

Do you know if anybody here dared. I mean, they don't even know what we're talking about.

[A]

I think Rob thinks he knows what he's. What we're talking about, but that's not what we're talking about.

[D]

I'm just going to tell you right now, I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want, so. And I don't know what you're talking about, but I will not let that infect you.

[A]

Find out.

[C]

The question is just what round.

[A]

The problem is that, like, I would never do that. Bob is really good at taking the things that I want during a draft, but he's drafting after me.

[C]

He could take.

[A]

He can have that.

[C]

But the thing that it is, no.

[B]

One else can have the things he thinks it might be. Look, you're talking about these things as if they're mutually exclusive. Here's the thing. I'm gonna do my draft. In the process, I'm sure I will steal things that all of you love. And I will speak for the common man, because I am the common man. I'm at a table of coastal elites, but I am in touch with. With ultimately the tastes of America.

[A]

Why are you pitching to the Redskins right now?

[B]

I'm just saying.

[C]

Folksyou are the least common man of anybody at this table when it comes to your film.

[D]

Over the last five years, what were the two cities you lived in?

[B]

No comment.

[D]

Okay, don't.

[B]

My lawyer said I don't have to answer that.

[A]

Just start sprinkling the y' alls in and, like, talk about it. All right, listen.

[D]

I'm from provincial Long island, so I stand alone. I stand apart on an island.

[B]

Quite literally apart.

[D]

Yes.

[C]

Just to check in, just for Nick's and Metz Hats do have Marty Supreme A24 logos on the side.

[A]

Right.

[C]

You did tell me that you secured those.

[D]

Just Mets, actually.

[C]

Just Mets.

[D]

Just Mets.

[A]

I think none of us get to claim people. Salt of the earth.

[D]

Let's zag. Coastal Elites. They're good.

[B]

They're good.

[D]

Actually, they were right.

[A]

You can vote. Guess what? They weren't. I don't know. You can vote for this on the Ringoverse socials and on the Spotify episode page.

[C]

That's right.

[A]

And I will be whipping votes, and we'll see what that does. Okay. Okay.

[D]

Interesting.

[C]

I will not be doing that.

[D]

Who gives a shit?

[A]

I do.

[D]

Just like God knows. And. Or season two. You won, Sean. Good job. God knows. Yeah, he'll know. If you do it.

[B]

He'll know.

[A]

Is that. What are you once again applying. Appealing to the. You know.

[D]

No, I'm reapplying to be in service of God, and God is channeling through me. Good picks.

[B]

Yes.

[D]

That's what's about to happen here. Let's go.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

So excited. Love a draft.

[A]

On a genuinely perturbing note, let's start the draft. So drafting. First reminder is Sean Fenasy. And a reminder to you, Sean Fennesee, to when you make your pick of the Odyssey or whatever the case may be, that you pick first, say which category you're picking.

[D]

Okay. I think that there are three potential moves here.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

I kind of want to talk them out. Go for it you opposed to them being talked out?

[A]

You can talk them out, but then are you then giving Mallory and me a hint is what we should do next?

[C]

I don't give a shit what Sean thinks I should pick.

[D]

Thank you. We're at the top of the draft, so there are some very obvious contenders.

[C]

I agree. There is a top three.

[D]

I think so. Obviously, the Odyssey is very hotly tipped for a variety of reasons. It's likely to be one of the biggest movies of the year. It's also going to be an awards contender. It's Christopher Nolan's follow up to Oppenheimer. You immediately thought Odyssey for me.

[C]

Well, again, you spent nearly your entire.

[D]

Budget, but that was a little in the big pick auction because that you're.

[C]

Going for your tic tac toe.

[D]

Well, what I wanted to do was get under Chris skin.

[C]

Yeah, you succeeded, which worked.

[A]

That seemed like that was meant to be a tournament attack.

[D]

I am very excited for the film, but I wouldn't say that it's my most anticipated movie of the year. And in fact, it was not on my most anticipated movies of the year list when we did it on the big picture.

[C]

So you'll be taking Clayface number one.

[D]

But when you talk about hype and trying to be true to the spirit of hype, I'm significantly more hyped for another movie, which is Dune Part three.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

The Dune movies are improving as they're going along. I also just talked recently on a show about how whether or not this becomes a big best picture contender. Denis Villeneuve is about to go to James Bondland and is not gonna maybe have as much creative freedom as I think he may be willing to exercise in Dune Part three. So I'm really stoked on that.

[C]

Okay, what's your third and your top three here?

[D]

There's Project Hail Mary, not Adventures.

[A]

This is the get under people's skin.

[C]

Move, which, as you know, it is one of our favorite books. This is. I would be about this.

[A]

Sean. You know we had a conversation about this.

[D]

Hugely anticipated, right?

[C]

Definitely the thing I've texted you the most about over the last year.

[A]

Wow.

[D]

I was in the room at Cinemacon when they premiered the extended trailer for the film.

[A]

Yep. We were in the room at San Diego Comic Con.

[C]

That's right.

[D]

Right.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So got you beat by four months.

[B]

Just Coastal Elite shit through and through, I gotta say. I was in my room watching on.

[D]

YouTube like the rest of America. I'm not anticipating Project Hail Mary as much as I'm anticipating the other two films. I'M excited for it. It's coming out really soon, very soon.

[A]

March.

[D]

It is the first really big movie of 2026, but I think it's in third. And then maybe there's. There's four and five are also kind of interesting.

[A]

You would have said the three.

[C]

I would have said Doomsday at three. I'm surprised.

[D]

That's some big concerns.

[A]

I'm very dubious about that big.

[C]

I would just remind you. And this is, again, everybody's strategy can differ. This is. Are you drafting for personal excitement or are you, like, drafting to appeal to the Ringerverse voting public? No, because that's who's voting.

[A]

I'm just. But that's not you, if you give a shit.

[B]

So cynical.

[C]

No, it's not cynical.

[A]

No.

[C]

But I'm actually film in our universe. I'm actually, like.

[A]

I don't disagree with you, but I'm actually. I feel people, like, people are a little chilly on it.

[D]

I will say I'm anticipating it. I'm definitely excited to see it. As you guys know, I love the last two Avengers films. I'm kind of on paper in on anything Marvel and will watch anything Marvel. But you love Quantumania. They've really kind of filtered my interest over the last five years.

[C]

Doomsday falling in this draft would not surprise me at all.

[D]

And they could become a great value pick.

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[D]

I'm just gonna go with Dune Part 3. That's the movie that I want to see the most.

[C]

Pretty annoying. What category?

[D]

I think it's going in sequel. Because there are some cool sequels that I like, but nothing nearly as strong to me as Dune Part 3 sequel.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

There's a lot of adaptations this year.

[B]

This is what feels crushing about being fourth in this draft is like, I just have no shot at this movie in particular and the Odyssey in particular. There's just no chance that they're gonna filter down to me.

[C]

But you're gonna get such.

[B]

We'll see. I mean, I would have loved to have the Sandworm in hand versus have to go, you know, filtering through and find something in Ford possibly.

[D]

There's a very, very, very minor risk in taking Dune Part 3 1. It's currently dated for the same day as Avengers. Doomsday.

[C]

Dune will surely move up, right?

[D]

Well, the thinking had been that it would move into October or November for the longest time. Warner Brothers has still not moved it. And now those dates are getting filled, including with some films we may draft here in October and November. And it's suddenly looking like not as.

[A]

Easy in terms of like a Sir Arlan esque, like, slamming your cock on the table sort of move. How do you feel about that?

[D]

Is that what he does in the episode?

[C]

No, but he walks out of a cottage. Yeah. Small cottage.

[A]

Oh, he went to the cottage.

[C]

He went to the cottage. And he just takes a piss very close to the door. Too close to the door. And we hear some tales about his life and his legacy as we just watch him hold his giant cock.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

But thanks for asking.

[A]

I did that to myself. But the countdown clock that Marvel put up for Doomsday starting when the trailer released and now it's moving now and stuff like that. Did that feel like we're pissing all over this date?

[D]

For sure. And I think they're also trying to. I think that they know that the murmurs are that, like, tepid. This may. This may not go well.

[C]

Right.

[D]

So they need to kind of like be really steely in the face of that. But one thing that could have. This isn't going to happen, I don't think. But let's just give it a 1% chance. What if they push Dune into early 2027 and they say we're grabbing just like The Dune Part 2, we're grabbing February or March and we're going to try to make another billion dollars in that place where we'll have a lot more open landscape. Especially if we don't think it's an Oscar movie.

[C]

Well, if they do think it's an Oscar movie and the field is too crowded and they want to move into a.

[D]

If I'm them, I'm probably moving it to November 1st or whatever that first weekend of November. If I think it's. I think if. I think it's a for sure best picture contender. But we just saw Avatar, Fire and Ash number three in a franchise installment with even more weirdness in the story. Ms. In best picture. So it's. There's a lot of.

[C]

Oh, my God. Come on.

[A]

Are you putting Avatar and Dune conversation on my podcast?

[C]

Do you think it's going to be.

[D]

Avatar is a more decorated movie at the Academy Awards.

[A]

Does that.

[C]

Okay. I mean, all right, the Villeneuve Dune films are sensational. Adapting Dune Messiah, it feels like what Villeneuve is like, alive to do. I. I think this is a great pick at number one. I think that Odyssey would have been a great pick at number one. But I can't quibble with Dune Part three, easily my most anticipated movie.

[D]

When do you think it will come out?

[A]

Can I just say really quickly?

[C]

October. The last week of October.

[A]

I think, you know, that Oscars matter to me, but I think when it's Academy Award winning Suicide Squad, there are ways in which the Oscars don't matter to me. Do you know what I mean?

[D]

You know, it's a good win for Suicide Squad. Quality legacy for dceu.

[A]

Would you care to draft?

[C]

I would be selecting the Odyssey, which I assumed would go number one in the draft. And I would have been thrilled, obviously, to take Dune Part two at number two. But I am also delighted and astonished to be able to select the Odyssey. I'll be taking it in an adaptation.

[B]

Makes sense.

[D]

Yeah, I think that's the spot.

[C]

Which I'm excited to be able to get my adaptation pick in early. That feels good and fun and right. And hey, look, you know, we've been doing a hot Nolan summer into crisp Nolan fall into whatever our Nolan nomenclature for the winter into spring will be. We're rewatching and celebrating all of the Chris Nolan movies here on House of R. Just because we're so fucking excited for the Odyssey. So in terms of, like, hype and anticipation here at the House of R, Dune and Odyssey, and for us, because of our affection for project Hail Mary.

[A]

Like, we love a dense text that's adapted sort of.

[C]

These are. These are. And just obviously for the.

[A]

You love the wine, dark sea. You're a big fan.

[C]

Like cr. And again, I'm in the CR seat, so I'll just say it aloud.

[A]

The sea is dope. Yeah.

[C]

You know, the sea is dope. And I like to be out on.

[B]

My disagree, to be honest.

[A]

Charybdis, we love a Greek myth.

[C]

We love mythology here on the House of R. We love a Nolan film. Look at this cast. We like to be in a big IMAX screen. We like to have everybody in the the seat in the theater on the same weekend.

[D]

Are you guys going to reread the Odyssey?

[A]

100%.

[C]

As Joanna knows, my angelic husband bought me that beautiful folio edition and I'm actually, like, afraid to touch it.

[A]

Don't read that one.

[C]

I'm scared to touch it.

[A]

It's so cute.

[B]

No, no, no, no, no, no.

[A]

That's for displaying. We'll get you a paperback for reading.

[C]

I got one in Greece actually, in October.

[A]

Oh, actually, who am I kidding? You're going to read it digitally, I.

[C]

Think you know that like to highlight on the Kindle for cod prep.

[B]

Are we translation snobs? Like, is there a particular cut of the Odyssey that we need to turn to first and foremost? I know this is Like a very opinionated subject in the classics community.

[C]

Should we ask Dobbins? Because she revealed recently that she has like 18 copies.

[B]

That's a lot of copies.

[A]

I'm just going to use my text from college.

[B]

Works for it.

[A]

Already has notes on the margin.

[B]

That feels like cheating though.

[D]

I'm looking into an illustrated retelling.

[C]

19 year old illustrated is Savannah knows.

[D]

We're going to find out a very.

[C]

Fun way to do it.

[B]

You know, I have been doing some thinking though. I think 2026 is off to a pretty rough start if we're all being honest about it. I am ready to sail to a witchy island and be turned into a pig. Like I'm cool with it.

[D]

I'm ready.

[B]

I'm ready to surrender.

[A]

You're going to go with the lotus eaters, though. That's a better place.

[D]

I don't know.

[B]

Chewing on acorns for years.

[A]

Ok.

[B]

I would take it at this point.

[A]

Hashtag pig life. That's like a real like cottage core.

[B]

That's what I'm saying.

[A]

From you.

[B]

What's cozier than that?

[C]

Sure, I agree.

[A]

I guess it's my turn.

[C]

This is. You have great choices here.

[A]

Thanks so much for amping me up. I'm sure I'm going to pick something that's going to baffle you.

[C]

No. Take d it.

[A]

Do it. I'm not going to do it here, but I am going to do it on the turn. But I do think the thinnest well can go in that category. This is a time for big swings. Oh, at the top of the drive. Joanna. Yeah. I think I want to potentially bother Sean though I'm not sure that that's.

[C]

What that's gonna do. Wait, I'm trying to guess what you may be doing here. Okay. So a movie that's gonna bother Sean. Oh, I think I know what you're gonna do.

[A]

I don't know. I think I'm gonna pick disclosure day.

[D]

Yeah. Okay.

[A]

And this is the mysterious. But it's aliens. Probably Steven Spielberg film with Emily Blunt.

[C]

Which category?

[A]

Our guy, Josh o'. Connor. It's a great question. Let's just put it in film.

[D]

Movie, right? Yeah.

[B]

It's not an adaptation.

[D]

Right. It's original.

[A]

It's originally wildcard.

[B]

Do you want to take a crack at the voice croak.

[A]

No, that's. Do you want.

[B]

No, I mean, it's your pick. You first.

[A]

I think you know how I feel about strange voices.

[D]

That's what I thought.

[B]

I thought it might mean something to you. I thought it might have reached, like.

[D]

A very visceral place.

[A]

Do you want to tell Sean what we did last night?

[B]

We went to go see Inland Empire at the Academy museum last night with hundreds of our closest friends.

[D]

Very chill.

[B]

Yeah, I don't think I've recovered. I feel like I'm in a weird trance and my grip on reality is slipping even as we speak. Joe had quite a reaction many times in the movie, including. How would you describe that one scene where the guy is doing the weird finger but also croaking. It's a lot.

[D]

Interesting choice considering that movie, I know, was recently restored to 4K but was also shot with a potato.

[B]

So it was.

[D]

It was shot with a potato.

[B]

This was the 4K restoration.

[A]

Yeah. Of the potato shot. Yeah, it was. Laura Dern was there. We had a good time.

[B]

Let me tell you, potatoes have never looked better.

[D]

Yeah. That is a very upsetting movie.

[B]

It was upsetting.

[A]

Perturbing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Disclosure day.

[C]

Yeah. Tell us.

[A]

Steven Spielberg, great cast. Like, we're all fans of Joshua Connor. Anything Joshua Connor wants to do. Colman Domingo, the best thing about some dubious properties this last year. Wyatt Russell, our guy, Just like an incredible cast. David Koepp, Sort of like a bit hit or miss in the genre space, but a name that brings optimism to my heart writing the screenplay. And this is just like Spielberg, potentially back to his roots. We've done a couple Spielberg big pic episodes, and we've been sort of lamenting how long it's been since we felt like Spielberg had a real, real, real hit. And wouldn't it be sick if Spielberg made an incredible sci fi movie this year? So that is why I'm picking disclosure day, number one.

[D]

Really good pick. I'm kind of fascinated by what this movie does because it's a huge swing. And if it was not Steven Spielberg's name attached to it, a movie like this would not be dated for June 25th. You know, like, it's hard, just hard to get a movie like this made these days. And if you remove Ready player one, it's been almost two decades since he made a movie.

[C]

If only we could remove Ready player one.

[D]

He just hasn't made a movie at this scale in a long time. So I'm excited. Great pick.

[B]

I'm certainly hoping there's, like, a little minority report, sci fi thriller energy into it, and it seems like it's leaning in that direction more than ready player one. I mean, literally, any other direction than ready player one would be much appreciated.

[A]

Rob Oni.

[B]

I mean, I will take project hail Mary this Book means absolutely nothing to me.

[C]

So fuck it.

[A]

This is so fucking annoying, honestly.

[D]

But you just left it there for him.

[C]

You should have let Rob do this.

[D]

You just left it out.

[C]

There is the thing.

[B]

Look, I'm psyched to see it. I love Gosling. Honestly. I am quite. As a non book reader.

[C]

This is infuriating.

[A]

I just. It's just a classic Mahoney move and it's fine.

[B]

It was right there.

[C]

What category? God damn it.

[B]

I will take it. An adaptation, which I also think is like a little.

[C]

An adaptation of a text. You have no relationship.

[A]

I actually think adaptation is pretty.

[C]

That's fine.

[B]

I haven't read it. I will not be reading it.

[D]

I was thinking about reading it.

[B]

Yeah, the trailer is lovely. I'm furious about the end of the trailer, at least the first cut and some of the reveals within it that I would have really preferred not to know.

[D]

Me too. I felt the same way.

[C]

Joe and I have talked about this a lot. I think there's some value in them really just showing us what the story is and hopefully drawing more people. I will say that the part of the delight of the book is the surprises that wait for you. So it is a little bit of a bummer that so much has been revealed. That said, when you get to see what has been revealed. Fucking electric. Just electric. I had my nails digging into Joe's arm at Comic Con. Elbow. And Van on the other side, like.

[A]

Van's going, wonderful Van over the course of that panel going from what the hell is this? To they got me. And he was like almost teary eyed and like very boyishly looking up at the screen was a really great experience.

[B]

We love a van on an arc. Honestly, him selling it, sells it.

[C]

Yeah, it's a. This is a really, really great story. And it's a fun sci fi story. It's a fun, like, what will you do to rally in the face of great odds story? But it's just a beautiful friendship story and it is easily one of my most anticipated movies of the year. So I'm very annoyed that you got this.

[B]

Well, also, plus, as far as the Gosling intergalactic traveler movies go, this is the one I feel comfortable betting on. I know the other one probably isn't a 2026 release, but it's like he's a great emissary to send out into space, but in this capacity and not in the like, I'm gonna babysit on a different planet capacity. I don't know what's going on with Star Wars.

[D]

He's been an astronaut.

[C]

That also looks great.

[B]

First man.

[D]

First man. Which is awesome in this film, in Starfighter and in Only God Forgives. He played an astronaut in all four of those films.

[C]

There you go.

[D]

Four classics.

[C]

Earth is not big enough for gas. Link.

[A]

Rob, honey, you have another pick.

[B]

I mean, what. What a luxury. Fuck it. I will take Doomsday. I will embrace the chaos of a gigantic release.

[C]

So annoying.

[B]

I'm gonna take it in sequel. Just to leave my options open a little bit.

[C]

Yep. Okay.

[B]

I hope. I hope to God this movie is good. I hope it's just watchable. I hope I don't come out of it with the feeling that I left the theater with after seeing Fantastic Four, which is just like this Enterprise. This machine has lost every capacity to put energy into these movies. And I will say I'm a little stirred by some of the trailers and the teasers so far. It's a lot of fatherhood, which, sure, maybe not every character needs that particular bond to make this movie go.

[D]

Been there, though. Once you've been there, you're Thor and you're holding a baby and then you're Captain America and you're holding a baby.

[A]

And then you're just watching Marty supreme.

[C]

And you're like holding the baby. Infinity series was like the father of our shared fandom. You know, I would just try to tap into that nostalgia.

[B]

But then you got to do something else beyond fatherhood. Like I want the midlife crisis Marvel movie. And that's what I'm hoping. That's the energy I'm hoping they bring. What is the Space Corvette?

[D]

I have to say one, I thought Deadpool and Wolverine was bad and I really enjoyed it and I had like a great time.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

And watching Cyclops go apeshit on Sentinels, I was like, I am nine years old.

[A]

Yep.

[D]

Like I will be happy when they are doing that. I have a lot of misgivings about. We need to use these old characters to convince people to be interested in something going forward. And they completely bungled like three or four characters in the last five years. But Marsden releasing ruby red vision all over giant robots.

[C]

Pretty cool.

[D]

It works. I am interested in that. As a monkey brained kid.

[A]

Did you Watch X Men 97?

[D]

I did. I loved it. I drafted it, I believe.

[A]

Yeah, you did. Well, I just didn't know if that meant you watched it the year before.

[D]

It came out, did I?

[C]

Yeah, in the first round and then I got it the next year, but it was great. And the year it actually came out.

[A]

No, it was Wonderful. But, like, there's been this whole chatter online about, like. Yeah. The reclaiming of Cyclops.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

What if Cyclops is good? Actually, yes.

[D]

I'm on a tech start with some friends where we're kind of like, casting yourself. And, you know, I just. I relate to Scott, you know, Scott.

[B]

I don't think you want to say that out loud.

[A]

You're a Scott guy.

[D]

The older I get, the more I understand Scott's.

[A]

I would like to.

[D]

Everybody loves Wolvie, right? Or you're a Jean Grey.

[A]

You're on a text thread where you guys say which X Men you are.

[D]

It's one of the cooler threads I'm on. It's full of cool people who have good taste.

[C]

Why are we not on it?

[D]

If you'd like to be, you could add you on.

[B]

I've always thought of you as having magneto energy. I'm gonna be honest.

[D]

Yeah, maybe that's true.

[B]

You have a point of view.

[D]

If I live long enough, I just.

[C]

Compliment Jean Grey.

[D]

Yeah. Obvious. Very obvious. Yeah.

[B]

The power to destroy the universe. Mallory Rubin, occasional sarcastic.

[C]

I really hope Doomsday is good. To me, Doomsday is emblematic of the spirit of the hyped. You live in the now until you can't any longer. You live in the moment of anticipation until they rip it away from you.

[B]

I also think the closer we get, more people are going to want to believe in it. And so we're going to ride the hype train together. And if it's a disappointment, we're going to look back and say we never believed in it in the first place.

[C]

Well, maybe. I think that there's a level of rational detachment where some people will say we never believed. Or like this was always so, like, nakedly craven and creatively bankrupt.

[B]

To be clear, it is that.

[A]

Not to be confused with Kraven the Hunter, one of your most anticipated movies.

[C]

Oh boy, that was a good time on the pie. I think that if Doomsday is bad, it will be an absolute crisis for fans of a certain type of comic book.

[D]

But let's use this opportunity to talk about the first four things that were selected in this draft. I mean, this is how dramatically even this exercise has changed in the last four years. The Odyssey, Dune Part 3. But made by a prestige filmmaker with awards consideration for sure. Project Hail Mary, an original sci fi novel. And what was the last one?

[C]

Disclosure Day.

[D]

And Disclosure Day, an original science fiction story. Everything has totally changed.

[A]

When we did the mid year best movie of the year, big pick last year or we were talking about trends and I was talking about how original storytelling in 2025, having this big surgeons was so exciting and for us to be at the end. Like, I just. I'm so excited about what happened last year with. With films and their success.

[D]

I am, too. I think it's. All of the films that have been taken so far are totally appropriate for this draft, too. It's not like anybody's reaching beyond what you guys would normally cover. But on top of that, it's not. They are original stories or they're adaptations of kind of more historical literature, but they have, like, a lot of. They have roots. Like, Disclosure Day is part of a lineage of science fiction storytelling from a filmmaker. You know, these movies, even a project Hail Mary feels like revisiting a kind of certain, kind of like the Martian standing in for a certain kind of.

[A]

Miller getting to, like, do their Han Solo.

[D]

Yes, exactly.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[C]

These are all part of a tradition. I mean, Dune, obviously, one of the influential texts on all of the things that we all consume and cover. And the Odyssey is like, it's the story number one. That's it.

[D]

So.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Will we.

[D]

What of the Bible?

[A]

Gilgamesh would. Gilgamesh would like a word. But that's okay.

[B]

Gilgamesh would like a word.

[A]

All right, so it's my turn.

[F]

This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios. Send help from the twisted mind of Sam Raimi, director of the Evil Dead and Drag Me to hell, starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'. Brien. I like both of them. Comes a new film that begs the question, what would you do if you were stuck on an island with your terrible boss in paradise? HR can't hear you screaming. Now playing only in theaters and 3D.

[A]

I'm going to do it. It's the stupidest move I could possibly make, but I'm going to do it anyway. I have to be myself. My most anticipated, generally most anticipated thing of this year is television series called the Vampire Lestat. It's Interview with The Vampire Season 3. I genuinely think this is going to be, for me, the best thing that happens this year. I'm going to make my pitch right now. For people who have not watched an interview with Vampire Witches, an incredible. This is its third season, an incredible television series. Anyway, hey, if you liked heated rivalry and you like toxic gay yearning, have I got a show for you. Interview with a Vampire this season. The third season, which focuses on the vampire Lestat, is also a musical season. So they've written original music. We're watching the vampire Lestat go on tour. He is a rock star. And I just think this has a potential because it's sort of its own thing, slightly independent of the first two seasons. It has the potential to retroactively boost the first two seasons into the consciousness. Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson as Louis and Lestat are two of my favorite performances we've seen on television. I feel like I'm so happy for Hudson Williams and Connor's story out of heated ravelry, but I feel like Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson deserve this level of like, adoration and star boosting. From this, Eric goes just an all time icon on this show in general, but as a very snarky journalist. Daniel Malloy, he's just the best. And Jennifer Ehley is here. I mean, this is just gonna be my shit. Like pure, uncut my shit. Is it stupid to pick it here? Yes.

[C]

No.

[A]

I live in fear of anyone else having it.

[B]

Yeah, it's not stupid because I would have taken it.

[A]

Would you?

[B]

Again, sight unseen, just for the purposes of taking it in this draft. It's not to bother you.

[A]

No, it is to bother me. If you take Project Hail Mary and the vampire Lestat, you're here to bother.

[B]

That's not to bother.

[C]

That's true. You should be the cruel one on drafts. But I've mellowed in my old age.

[B]

You've become the monster I'm just looking to siphon. Look, the listeners of this podcast adore the two of you and adore the things that you introduce them to. And the word cloud of what you just said. Joe, Toxic Gay vampire romance, that's also a musical is just about the most Joanna Robinson thing I've ever heard.

[A]

I know.

[B]

And so I was looking to grab some of those people to rally them to my cause, that's all.

[C]

Well, now you can't.

[B]

No, it's off the board.

[C]

Stay true to herself.

[A]

Tv. I'm putting it in tv. I think there is a really good TV pick that I did not pick, but other than that, I think TV is pretty thin actually this year in our world. There's a really good one still on the board that I probably should have picked, but I did not want Rob Mahoney to do anything to me. Not that he could have because I had another term. But anyway, the vampire list.

[D]

Dad wasn't on my board.

[A]

I know, but have you considered which.

[B]

Of those things are you? Anti Toxic gay romances, Vampires or musicals?

[D]

More broadly, anti TV is really more my issue.

[C]

Sam Reid, shirtless.

[D]

That's not how I would get right on shirtless.

[A]

Not how I would get Sean Fedisy into the fold.

[D]

I'm not opposed to looking at.

[A]

Allow me to make a curated pitch to you later. Okay, great. And it's not.

[D]

I'm not generally opposed to anything you just pitched.

[C]

I recently watched the first two seasons of this television program. What would you say? It was fucking fantastic.

[A]

What would you say about the cinematography on this show? This is a beautiful show.

[C]

It's beautifully rendered in every respect. The acting is sensational and the writing is just resplendent. And Jo knows this because she and Adam are on a vibrant text thread about it. But Adam, who has a relationship to the canon in a way that I did not.

[A]

Based on the Ed Rice novels.

[C]

Yeah, based on the novels is like this is just one of the best shows that they have made.

[A]

So I. Charles Holmes loves it. Van Lathan loves it.

[C]

Yes. I think the pattern is if people give it a shot, they're like, this is pretty damn good and it would be cool if more people watched it. For that reason alone, I think it's cool to pick it in the second round of the hyped draft, bring more attention to it. I also think it's cool because now I can pick a Knight of the.

[A]

Seven Kingdoms with my actually what I.

[C]

Was thinking of, which I want to have on my team again. The show has started, but it is a 2026 release so it is eligible to be selected. I will be taking that as a TV show and we're at the time of recording this and I think still when this comes out, two episodes will have aired. It's six episodes, bite sized, 30 minutes. And this television show is wonderful. It is based on the Hedge Night novella, the tales of Dunk and Egg that Joe and I just absolutely adore. And my most fervent hope and desire is that the word of mouth continues to be positive and the buzz builds. And by the last couple weeks of this show, people are like, I gotta sit down on Sunday night to watch this and share this with my pals who like to go to Westeros because it is delightful and charming and the energy and essence and comedy and spirit and also really rich themes about honor and hope and intention and identity are all here. And it's just like really an energetic return to Westeros. I love Thrones. I want to have it on my team and now I don't.

[A]

I think episode three is going to turn a lot of of people's attention to it. I'm very excited for that.

[B]

Well, so this isn't the only Throne show coming out this year.

[A]

No, correct.

[D]

See, House of the Dragon 3 is summer.

[A]

Summer.

[D]

Summer.

[B]

Theoretically summer.

[C]

I won't be surprised if that moves back, but so far they said summer.

[B]

So is that the confirmation of you already feel good about sightseeing a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is good versus House of the Dragon TBD in the coming season? Or is there something about the bones and the DNA of those particular shows that this appeals to you?

[D]

We know the bones appeal, clearly, but.

[B]

There'S bones abound in Westeros.

[C]

I would not have hesitated if I had not gotten a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which I had as my number one TV show on my TV show list and pretty high on my sequels and adaptations list as well. I gotta say, I would not have hesitated to take House of the Dragon season three later and just would have probably prepared a little speech, you know, and a little apology to George R.R. martin as I selected it because he is in such a public war with. He certainly is to feud that show team. But I like Hot D and I think that not to get ahead on a pick nobody has made, but I think season three of House of the Dragon will be excellent bangers only based on the canon that it was where they are in the set. I think anybody who wants to pick that should do so without hesitation. I think it'll be a good season of tv. Sean, Fantasy, you're on the turn here. This is exciting.

[D]

I feel like the board fell in my direction for what I wanted, not for whether I can win with your audience or whether or not I can stymie Rob effectively or whatever. But what I want, I think is going to go well. Now, I'm not always great at actually watching the things that I select. For example, Alien Earth. I watched two episodes and I was like, nope, not for me. This isn't what I think this should be. Wasn't a fan.

[A]

Right?

[C]

But then did you still listen to all of our podcasts about it?

[B]

I trust you did.

[D]

I did not. Tough. But I've heard great things. I've heard they are elite podcast.

[C]

We had fun.

[D]

So I'm very pleased for you guys.

[C]

We had fun. Have you heard of the Albatron was.

[D]

Here Interview of a lifetime friend of the Pod Was happy for you guys. You know, I actually did watch that.

[A]

Content on social media and you were charmed by it.

[D]

Well, I've had Tim Oliphant stock for a long time, so I'm happy for you guys.

[B]

Since when? Girl next Door. What was it that won you over.

[D]

Go.

[B]

He's amazing.

[D]

Go. Just incredible. What a breakthrough as the worst person in the universe.

[A]

Very hot, but the best person to ever wear a Santa hat, I think.

[E]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

Very sleazy and sexy and dangerous.

[C]

I know what you're gonna pick based on this preamble, but we'll see.

[D]

Well, I mean, I have two picks, right? So I'll get the obvious one out of the way first. In movie, I'll be taking Brand New Day, which I've never not liked. A Spider man movie.

[B]

Sure.

[D]

Same. Including even the ones people don't like. Spider man is eternal. I love him. If you think I have strong feelings for Cyclops blowing up sentinels, just wait until Peter Parker is cracking lies while flying through his city. You know, change in filmmaker here, which will be interesting the first time Jon Watts is not on a film. I assume there's going to be some connectivity to Doomsday here. Feels obvious. And yet you read a lot about how Sony is kind of desperate to reel Spidey back in and get a little bit more ownership over that property over the long term. So I'm quite curious. But, you know, the gang's back, Holland's back. I'm gonna do those movies with my daughter, too, which I'm excited about. She's really into Spidey, as all little kids are, because of Spidey and his amazing friends, which is crack cocaine on Disney.

[A]

Sadie Sink is here.

[C]

That's right.

[D]

Playing tbd.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

Playing Jean Grey.

[C]

If you've never been on the Internet. Playing tbd.

[D]

Sure.

[B]

I just see a lot of stuff floating around, a lot of theories about who she could be playing in this movie. So I don't. I. I genuinely don't know. Lucille Baller.

[A]

I think it's out there. Okay.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I'm not in the right corners.

[D]

Is she playing historic villain Scorpion? Who is she playing? No.

[B]

Michael Mando.

[D]

Michael Mando is playing Scorpion. That's right. That's exciting.

[A]

Michael Mando. Better call Solheim.

[D]

So Spidey in movie and then in tv, I'm going lanterns.

[A]

Yeah, that was. That's what I would have picked if I hadn't picked.

[B]

That hurts.

[C]

I had lanterns very high on my TV show.

[D]

I have another TV show that I'm really interested in, and I don't think anybody's going to take it. And if anybody doesn't, I want to talk about it at the end.

[C]

You can also. You can take it in Wildcard, or if it's a sequel, you can take it in a seque. Not A limited. You can take a television show in more than just the TV show category.

[D]

I know I do.

[A]

It's the movie guy.

[D]

There's just a lot of movies that I want.

[C]

But remember last year when he took, like, all TV shows except for. You took a lot of TV shows last year.

[D]

I think I took two, right? No, three. I took Night of the Seven Kingdoms, Alien Earth, and Andor.

[C]

Yeah. That was weird that you did that.

[D]

That was weird. And I got Fantastic Four, which didn't work out.

[C]

I enjoy that.

[D]

Lanterns, of course. New HBO Max series, Green Lantern adaptations starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre comes to us from Damon Lindelof. Very excited about that.

[A]

Damon's not the lead creator on that show, I should say.

[D]

I don't know who that person is. You can fill me in on that.

[B]

This is the guy from Ozark, I think.

[D]

Right, okay. That's Jason Bateman, as far as I know.

[B]

Yes. It's either Jason Bateman or Laura Linney who's running the show.

[A]

I just. I don't think we should.

[D]

Well, Laura Linney presents Lanterns is something I'm interested in.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

It's Chris Mundy. And Tom King also is involved. But, like, you can. You can. Like Lindelof fingerprints are on this show. But it's not like this is his follow up to Watchmen or something like that.

[D]

Right. So here's my thing. I do need these lanterns to do some lanterning. Like, I do need them to get the ring out and make stuff. If it is just a gritty feet on the ground like desert cop drama with lanterns, I don't want that.

[C]

They are describing it as, I believe, true detective for the D.C. universe.

[D]

Now, we have heard many a Marvel creator use that kind of verbiage to describe one of their properties that is ultimately about a guy with a shield hitting a guy in an iron suit. So just because you say something is something. Now, if there are no. If there's no lanterning, if they don't make a giant tank with a lantern, there will be. I'm going to be fucking pissed. Like, I'm going to get. I'm going to demand to get on this show. I'm going to be calling you guys every day and I'm going to be like, where are the fucking lanterns?

[A]

You're welcome.

[D]

What are they? Why are they not.

[A]

We could have a corner every week on our lantern coverage. That's just Sean being like, God damn it, where are the lanterns?

[C]

Now you can submit us selfie videos the way Ben did. We'll consider airing them.

[A]

If you flip a table, you can definitely come on the show.

[D]

I can't promise that I'll be as calm and collected as Ben was there, but I feel like this is a good pick, right. This show. Is this the second most anticipated show in this space this year after the Thrones duo?

[C]

I would personally, just because of my Thrones obsession, have both throne shows at the top of the list. And then I had Lanterns and one other show.

[A]

I think people. I think people are really excited about Lanterns because they're thinking of it as a Damon Lindelof show. And I just want to temper slightly that expectation.

[B]

I think there's also the hope of, like, can you actually make a property with these characters that is good, that is not animated? Like, the animated versions of Jon Stewart and Hal Jordan, I think have been pretty effective, but live action's been a fucking disaster.

[D]

And Kyle Chandler is playing Hal Jordan.

[C]

Yes. Proper Hal Jordan.

[D]

Canon Hal Jordan.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

As I understand, that's just a great.

[C]

Character promotional photo, obviously, that they have released.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

I know you're going to talk about.

[C]

It, and I just am prepared to say and commit to House of Arcanon that nobody has other than Harrison Ford and Witness and obviously Aragorn when he opens the doors. Nobody has ever looked hotter than Kyle Chandler as Al Jordan in the first promotional image for Lanterns. Nobody. The salt and pepper hair, the kind of shag. He's basically in, like a Last of Us Apocalypse jacket. Like, you love a jacket, boy.

[D]

60 years old.

[C]

I know.

[B]

That's my sweet spot.

[C]

This is ideal.

[B]

Maybe even young.

[C]

Yeah, a little young. Now that I age, that's a little young. And, you know, we're early in the. In, you know, the gods and monsters, like dawn of the New DCU still, so there's just a lot of hype and anticipation in general. I had. I had one or two shows I would have taken ahead of this, but this would. This was a top four TV show on the. On the. On the ranking for me. I think it's a completely good and fine pick. Yeah, Mal, this is kind of where things open up in a. I could take 17 things here. I think I'm going to follow through on my pledge at the beginning of the draft to just go with my heart and go with things that I love. And yes, things that I'm dreading might let us down, but really desperately hope are gonna be good.

[A]

And I hope for you that they are good.

[C]

Thank you. I know. You know what I'm gonna take this is, again, like, Emblematic to me of the spirit of the hypedraft. If we get through the release window when this movie is gonna come to us in May, and it's a disappointment or it was good, but there's a lot of. Shouldn't this have just been season four of this television show conversation? You know, whatever. Right now, the thing that matters to me most is that we're finally going to get a Star wars movie. We have been waiting since fucking 2019 when a film that shall not be named destroyed our lives and our childhoods. And so I'm selecting the Mandalorian and Grogu because I am living in the desire for that movie to be good. Grogu is, you know, I was gonna say one of the most important people in my life, and then I thought, that's weird, don't say it. But I decided to say it anyway. So there you are. Grogu is one of the most important people in my life. Zeb is in this movie. Our beloved Anzellans are in this movie. I don't personally, like, really care. See, this is how I. If you really know that you haven't.

[B]

Watched Rebels guy, this is how I.

[C]

Really know you haven't watched Rebels. Alice is going to like Rebels. So let's follow up on Star Wars Rebels after this.

[B]

Alice is not going to like Rebels.

[D]

Yeah, I don't. We're not going to do that. Of course we are going to see the Mandalorian and Grogu, though. And part of the reason why we're seeing all these movies right now is so that we can go see Mandalorian Grogu, she saw that trailer and she was like, you need to put that inside.

[C]

That is a big moment for Star wars fans. Am I picking this in movies?

[B]

I'm never going to be the person to pitch Rebels. I apologize.

[C]

I'm going to pick this in movie. I'm going to pick it in movie.

[A]

Love the Star wars animation.

[D]

Does it have strong female characters? That's really the only recipe.

[C]

Very much so.

[D]

That is the original only thing that matters for her. Not to me, of course.

[C]

I actually feel really excited that I got that. I got Mando and Grogu here. Genuinely, I'm happy for you. Same.

[A]

It was on my desperation team.

[B]

This is the biggest I'm happy for.

[D]

You pick so far.

[C]

I really love. This is.

[D]

This isn't going to be good. Come on. Like, come on.

[C]

We know this looks like a TV show. It's a TV show, but I love TV shows. See, that's the Thing for me, it looks like season four of the television show is not disqualifying for it in like the could it be good camp.

[A]

Maybe it's a.

[C]

Do they know what they're doing with running Star wars and Lucasfilm? And should this be the first movie after the near decade long waits since Rise of Skywalker? Those are all fair questions for you to ask on the big pic.

[D]

Such scared money and scared money coming after scared money. I don't, you know, not trying to denigrate. I'm. I mean, I'm in an infatuation with Star wars right now, but I love Star Wars.

[A]

You are trying to denigrate, but that's okay.

[C]

An adventure to bring us to the theaters and also to challenge Imperial Remnants and Zeb in the trailer.

[B]

Look, we support the politics. What's up for debate.

[C]

I'm thrilled. I can't wait.

[D]

I'm looking at Zeb right now.

[B]

Yeah. What do you make of him? He did appear briefly in. It was in Mando, right? Not Book of Boba Fett.

[D]

This is real Korg vibes from Thor films to me.

[A]

But you like Korg in the First.

[D]

Thor movie 1 Korg is good in his first appearance. Not in his second appearance, though. A little bit of overkill. But what if this is a Love and Thunder situation?

[A]

But what if it's a Ragnarok situation? It won't be.

[C]

That's exactly right.

[B]

But it could be. Hyped suggests it could be.

[C]

Mando season one and Mando season two are really great. The two Mando episodes of Book of Boba Fett are really great. Mando season three was not good. It was very disappointing. I am hoping that this is a return to form of the. The spirit of this lone wolf and cub found family adventure story and a galactic quest that we can all share. And also, I just think Grogu's the best. So I select it without frankly, any reservation.

[B]

I love to hear it.

[C]

Joe, it's back to you.

[A]

I'm really. I'm really trying to figure out if I want to do what I'm about to do. I'll wait.

[D]

Oh.

[C]

Oh.

[A]

What?

[C]

I thought you were gonna take a certain thing that you love.

[A]

No, because I don't think that's gonna be good. And I'm really worried about it actually. We'll talk about it later.

[D]

I think I know what you're talking about.

[C]

Maybe Rob will take that. Maybe just. Just in case it ends up being good. Then he could say he hurt you again. Can future proof. Future proof again? Pissing you off.

[B]

I don't appreciate the way I'm being painted on this podcast, you know?

[C]

Well, we don't appreciate the way you're conducting yourself.

[B]

I'm just a guy chasing his own.

[C]

Heart, you know, something terrifying.

[D]

I'm trying so nice to not be the heel.

[B]

I'm just trying to celebrate the things that my friends love with them, and that makes me a villain on this show.

[A]

That's why you took Project Hail Mary away from Mallory Rubin.

[B]

I want to be on it with you. That's what I'm saying.

[C]

Okay. Well, you're welcome to see that with me, as long as you promise to see the Mandalorian and Grogu with me.

[B]

You know what? I would be delighted. That feels like the best way to see it.

[A]

I agree. Okay. On the vein of Joanna loves witch stuff. I'm gonna go with my heart and say and my love for Greta Gerwig. And I'm picking Narnia. The Magician's book.

[C]

Nice.

[D]

This is who I thought you were referring to that you thought wasn't going to be good. So that's interesting to hear you say.

[C]

I assume that was about Buffalo.

[A]

Yeah. That's about Buffy. Yeah.

[C]

Which is sad to hear.

[A]

Concerns this could. I'm not 100% certain about this. Unlike most of the Internet, I got excited when I found out this is called the Magician's Nephew because I care about the books in book order. And this is the first book.

[B]

Well, it's chronological order. Is it book order?

[A]

Yes, it's chronological order.

[B]

Agree to disagree.

[A]

And it matters to me.

[B]

Agree to disagree.

[A]

Seamus McGarvey's on board, and I love his work in cinematography. I. I'm always worried about Netflix property. I'm always worried about a big creator that I love who's done something on the big screen that everyone went to see. Against all odds, getting into bed with Netflix and this feeling like a smaller proposition as a result. That being said, Carey Mulligan and Emma Mackey and Denise Guff of Andor Season 2 fame, Daniel Craig is here. Like, this is some real, like, witchcraft.

[D]

Well, lion is there. I mean, I don't know. Daniel Craig won't actually be there. He might.

[B]

That's not like, Mo Cap Daniel Craig.

[C]

That's not confirmed. Right. Isn't there a second Pretty powerful.

[D]

Strongly rumored. I don't know. Maybe not.

[A]

I. I feel like they zagged from that after they saw the reaction and they were like, we're no longer in. In Woke America, so we're zagging on our lion. Jesus. Lion. Voice. Anyway, this is.

[D]

Who did they cast?

[A]

Well, it was. It was rumored to be Emma Thompson, right? Oh, yeah.

[D]

A little gender flip there. Nice.

[A]

And then they were like, the magician's niece. Yeah.

[D]

Why not the magician's niece, guys?

[A]

Why not?

[D]

Why can't nieces have a show?

[A]

Why not? Anyway, this is with hope in my heart.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And my faith in Greta Gerwig and my love of this, you know, book series.

[D]

So I don't know what to make of this.

[C]

I also don't.

[A]

But, like, I hope it's good. I actually think I would be less high if it were the lion, the Witch of the Wardrobe, than I am that she's doing the Magician's Nephew. Right. Cause, like, she's doing.

[C]

No question.

[A]

Yeah. She's doing, like, some. She's putting her stamp on something new.

[D]

And it's sequentially the beginning of the story.

[C]

Exactly.

[A]

And the way that what Greta Gerwig has done with, like, say, A Little Women or even Barbie, which, like, everyone knows I was very, very high on, but, like, there was no reason that movie should have been good. And then I thought it was fantastic. And so she's got a lot of faith for me as a result. And Amy Pascal is here as a producer, and that can be hit or miss, but it's been hit a lot recently. And so. So I'm excited.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

A Greta Gerwig adaptation, as you said, I'm already thrilled about, given her past work. A Greta Gerwig movie starring in part Carey Mulligan as a witch.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

I'm down for that. A Greta Gerwig Narnia movie. All right. I need to see it. All of these things together. I just don't know. Like, I just. I just don't know if it's gonna play or not. And that's. And I would love for this movie to work. I would love for Emma Mackie to be great in it. Our governor herself, like, we salute her work. But I'm apprehensive. I'm hopeful, but I'm apprehensive.

[D]

My one reservation about it is pretty entirely around the fact that one of the great things about Barbie is the kind of real world, practical design. There's this great exhibit at the Academy Museum that shows Greenwood and Spencer and the work that they did to kind of build the world of Barbie. If you have a young child, they will have their minds blown by all the ways in which they kind of built out the visual world.

[C]

But if you have a young child right here inside, then that'll also work.

[D]

I enjoyed it as well. Narnia kind of demands visual effects work, and Greta has not really done that before in a film. And we're in a low moment in visual effects work in Hollywood history.

[A]

I agree.

[B]

And has Netflix ever done it at this scale successfully?

[D]

Not really. And the movie is kind of make or break, at least based on what I know about it, with that kind of work. And so that's the kind of thing that in the last few years has really taken me out of movies. I'm not trying to yuck anybody's yum here or diminish the hype, but that's my key reservation because I'm pretty much with you guys. I kind of try her across the board. I love all her movies and just.

[C]

Fascinated to see what her particular touch does to the story, whatever anybody else thinks. Noted, observed. Joanna and I will be covering this movie from the Eagle and the Child pub where Tolkien and Lewis used to sit and talk about the story. And that's just the way we'll be spending our fall.

[D]

Where is that?

[C]

It's in Oxford.

[A]

We're going to Oxford.

[C]

I'm going to send you the Oxnard. You said Oxford? Yeah, Oxford. I'll be sending you the request, the travel request.

[A]

We'll be experiencing that.

[B]

Which of you is the Tolkien and which one is the Lewis?

[C]

We're both Tolkien.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

The professor is always welcome here on.

[A]

The House of R. That's true. Is it? It's gonna be House of Our Colon. Famous Inklings. Like that's what it's gonna be.

[C]

That's exactly right. Exactly right.

[A]

Okay. That's my pick.

[D]

Glad you guys found each other. Jesus.

[C]

Same. It's very special. It's a very special bond. It's a very special bond.

[B]

I'm gonna take that knot in the.

[D]

Tone and just gonna say, you could be insane together. Straight.

[B]

I will be selecting X Men 97 Season 2.

[D]

Is this happening?

[B]

Supposedly.

[C]

But so different.

[A]

Different creator.

[C]

Different creator.

[B]

Different creator.

[C]

What do you think about that?

[B]

I mean, I'm open to ultimately the aesthetics of the world.

[C]

Are you taking this as a TV show?

[B]

I'm taking it as a TV show, yeah. Look, the swerve in terms of the creativity behind the show does concern me because this was a show that understood a lot of things about X Men in season one, including the fact that X Men, which is a critical part of the formula.

[A]

Indeed.

[B]

As long as it maintains that energy. And we're getting, based on the trailers and stuff we've seen so far, Colossus in the show which is exciting. Archangel in the show, which is exciting. More Psylocke, Hypothetically, Apocalypse, which is a scale of story, I think can be a little daunting for X Men properties. But again, I choose to hold out hope.

[C]

Interesting pick. Okay.

[B]

Ultimately, I am not thrilled with the TV slate as well. I think there's a lot of hope and dream and. And pray. This is good. And maybe House of the Dragon is like, the safer play in some ways, especially given the to be continued nature of the end of season two. But, like, I just want this to be good. I want it to continue.

[A]

You watched all of House of the Dragon season two?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And you have not watched andor season two?

[B]

Look, I don't choose the order in.

[D]

Which happen in the other. I believe it.

[B]

This is part of the problem. You know, sometimes these properties find their way into your life, and it's like, I know this is important. I need to make time for it. And so then the idea of eating it over dinner feels Disrespectful to Anto vs House of the Dragon. Like, fuck it. Let the dragons ride.

[D]

I really did carve out time where I was like, I will have four consecutive hours to myself to watch these and have three days of that. And that actually turned out to be great for that show. And some shows deserve that. You guys obviously are doing Yeoman's work, covering it every single. Covering these shows every single week. And that's a different kind of experience. But when you get the chance to not have to do that, there is something rewarding about getting the bunch. So I, like, I'm not usually a binge person, but if something is legitimately great, then you don't want to.

[C]

You don't want to stop.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

So no reservations about doing Double Double Marvel here on this podcast.

[B]

I do not. No.

[C]

Interesting.

[B]

I'm cool with it. You know, maybe it would be a smarter play to diversify, but I think.

[A]

You have an opportunity to diversify right now.

[B]

I do, but I'm going to diversify toward whatever I want, which in this case is in movie. I will be selecting the bride, which I am thrilled about.

[C]

So I just want to. Can we. Carlos, can you actually in the edit, rewind to, like, seven minutes ago when Rob was like, I'm not specifically trying to piss Joe off.

[A]

Don't worry. Lock it in.

[C]

That.

[A]

That pick is final. Lock it in.

[B]

Boy.

[A]

Sean and I have heard very bad things about this movie.

[D]

Oh, no.

[A]

Too late.

[B]

Oh, no.

[C]

Is that true?

[B]

That's heartbreaking.

[A]

Very bad things.

[D]

I'm.

[C]

I'M I. I sensed some of this on the big pic when you guys.

[D]

I reserve the right to like it in the face of bad reporting around a movie, but I've talked to some.

[A]

People who've seen it and it's bad. I support Maggie so much. Love the lost daughter. Jesse.

[C]

What a bummer.

[D]

Love this idea for a movie. The whole conceit is really cool.

[C]

Over a year ago I texted you.

[A]

I was like, I have to be on this episode now. Please don't put me on there.

[D]

Or if it's good. It's a risky pick because it got kicked to this year. The idea was Jesse Buckley's gonna be on stage at the Oscars.

[A]

Right.

[D]

But. But that's not. This is not a good window for a movie like this.

[B]

Very unfortunate to hear, but I don't need it to work for them. I just need it to work for me. Test audiences kick rocks. Like, ultimately, look, I will maintain some of the sweetest spots in cinema are like the 35 to 55% Tomatometer range. That is for you, right? Like, I don't need it to have broad appeal. I don't need it to work for everybody.

[A]

Impressive.

[C]

Zag.

[D]

This.

[B]

This cat.

[D]

We know your love for national treasury too well.

[B]

It's very. I think we're going to talk nica here in a little bit, potentially, but I hope so. Like, this style of adaptation just really appeals to me and that's why I hope it's good. In addition to the cast in a direct. In, like, in addition to Maggie G. Like, I just want a vision like this to be effective.

[D]

And Christian Bale, I mean, Christian Bale. For years, Christian Bale was like, gold standard. If he's in your movie, he. This is going to be an interesting story.

[A]

Did you say the words love and thunder recently?

[D]

Well, they fell away. But he's the best part of it.

[A]

Innocent.

[C]

That's not the problem.

[B]

We are pro God killer on this podcast.

[C]

It sounds like you kind of like softly attempted to plant the flag there that you'd be taking Spider Noir in the fifth round with your wild card pick.

[D]

That's the thing.

[C]

You just tried to incept us into allowance. Keep that in mind.

[B]

I recently discovered for the first time that that's a live action series. Insane and amazing.

[C]

I thought there was a chance that that would go in, like, the second round of this draft.

[B]

It might look.

[D]

I need to see an image before I can get excited about that.

[B]

I feel more optimistic not seeing the images.

[C]

No, you can take it right now.

[D]

Now.

[A]

Oh, I'M not taking.

[C]

You can take it right now.

[A]

That's not gonna be good.

[D]

He's got another big role this year, by the way. He's also playing John Madden. Just for the record.

[B]

Jesus Christ.

[A]

Which we discussed.

[B]

Whether it come out. It already came out.

[D]

He was altered. No, he was. He was Joseph. He was the carpenter.

[B]

Oh, I thought he was Jesus in the desert.

[D]

No, he's the carpenter.

[C]

He's Jesus to you.

[D]

The film is the carpenter's son.

[B]

Emma Thompson is my Jesus.

[A]

What are you taking in sequel? I think I'm just gonna lean into this whole vampire and witches energy and I'm taking practical magic too.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

That's actually what I thought you were gonna pick when you said witches earlier.

[D]

Interesting.

[B]

We were talking before this pod and Joe was saying that Joey King's presence in this movie is what she's most excited about.

[A]

That is not what I said.

[D]

No.

[C]

My God.

[A]

Your honor, you were in the green room firing shots at Joey King. I did not even bring her up.

[B]

I was just saying like does she have to be in this movie?

[A]

Don't drag me into this. Sandy and Nicole are back.

[B]

They are now.

[A]

Listen, are there many reasons which I should be skeptical of this? Sure. I never wanted hocus pocus 2 and it turns out I was right. So you know, there's like many money grab sequel sort of. There's a lot of energy coming off of this. That being said, Susanna Beer, who is a director, is a director I really, really admire and Lee Pace is here and I don't think I need to say anything else, honestly.

[C]

But if you wanted to say something else, you could talk about how handsome he is for a minute.

[A]

Can I just say that if you go to the practical magic to Wikipedia page per Sean's point about is an upcoming American romantic fantasy film. So they're trying to put this in the romantasy bucket. Which is not how I would have thought of the first practical magic film. This is a film about sisters. But sure, Lee Pace is also here.

[D]

This is a movie in desperate need of a subtitle.

[C]

This is suggest one right now. Workshop it right now.

[D]

Practical Magic two. Practically Magic. Like practically magic.

[A]

Cole still practicing, still witching.

[D]

Practitioners of magical moments.

[C]

The Lord of the Rings colon the rings of power.

[A]

Too many of the words repeat still murdering bed dudes.

[B]

It's a little too Pennyworth. The life of Batman.

[D]

Practical Magic 2. We love money.

[A]

I miss we love the 80s. And you would just put a 2 at the end of your sequel name, I think.

[D]

Unless you were electric Boogalooing.

[C]

It's true.

[A]

But why are you touting that as a good thing?

[B]

Anyway, this is Practical Magic 2 colon Messiah.

[D]

Let's take it.

[A]

This is based on Alice Hoffman's novel the Book of Magic. And it's a seque, which is sequel to the original novel. And I, against all odds, am quite excited for Practical magic, too. And I do think it's going to make a lot of money, but that's not why I picked it.

[D]

I like, Sandy's got a real handle on life. I feel like she really knows what she's doing. Where she's like, I don't. Take a couple years off, come back. Movie makes 500 million. Take a couple years off, come back raising my family.

[C]

You want to give that a try? A sabbatical. A sandy sabbatical. A Dr. Robbie sabbatical.

[D]

Don't tempt me with a good time.

[A]

Dr. Robbie's not going on that sabbatical, I don't think.

[C]

Neither would Sean. And neither would Sean.

[D]

Stalker Channing back for this? Yeah. Diane Wiest, Maisie Williams.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Interesting.

[A]

Joey King, Rom's favorite actor. I would prefer Weast and Channing are here.

[B]

What else could you want instead of Joey King in this movie? If you had Stalker Channing do the Sigourney Weaver de Aged also playing a young person, I think it would be better.

[A]

That's tough for me to hear. Bottom line, put the lime in the coconut. I'm ready to go back. Practical Magic, too.

[C]

Okay. I will be selecting as my sequel. Sticking with a little bit of a theme here, embracing the spirit of childhood, the spirit of play, the spirit of nostalgia, and the spirit of. Frankly, it's never been bad. Once. Toy Story 5 had to be. I'm kind of shocked this fell this far. I thought you would take it higher.

[A]

Really? I thought Toy Story 4 was like. Like just so aggressively fine.

[D]

No, I think it's good.

[B]

I think the problem is it is good.

[A]

Would you think that's good if you didn't have a kid?

[D]

Yeah, I didn't have a kid with you.

[C]

Didn't have one at the time.

[D]

It was like I saw it alone at the. What's the theater in Hollywood that Disney owns? The El Capitan. Sat in the balcony, had an absolute blasting. Thinking of Keanu Reeves doing what's his name? New Kaboom.

[B]

The Key and Peele stuff in is very good.

[A]

Keanu's fun. I thought it was just great.

[C]

I feel like we're gonna.

[A]

I'm more excited for Hoppers. The other Pixar film than I am for Toy Story 5.

[C]

Hoppers would be great.

[D]

There's very positive buzz on this one because Andrew, stand back. And the premise of the iPad being.

[C]

The villain, tech as a villain in some ways, I think, like, okay, should that have been the plot of Toy Story 4? Like, maybe we're a little late for the idea as tech as the villain, but I suspect that this will really, really scratch and itch that we like to have scratch when we sit down to watch a great Pixar movie and Toy Story specifically, like, porting us into a certain headspace and a shared experience. I really am looking forward to this. I would be astonished if this was bad. That's the other thing. It's not going to be bad. How high is the ceiling? Who knows? But the floor, very high. And I think in the fourth round, there's good strategy there. And it's also something I'm genuinely, like, anticipating and excited about and would really love to be good. So, yeah, Toy Story 5 is my sequel. Welcome to the squad.

[A]

There's a really cool. I don't know if it's still up, but I was at Pixar a couple months ago and there was this really cool anniversary exhibition of, like, the original Toy Story film. And there's just like all these, like, like clay. Clay designs of what Buzz and Woody were originally supposed to look like and all this original art. And it was just like, very nostalgic. Like, very cool and nostalgic.

[C]

I'm in a nostalgic mood. I'm in the mood mood, I think, in general this year, to tap back into things that I know bring me joy.

[A]

I love that. I just, I want Pixar to regain its supremacy. I absolutely want that. And Perhaps Toy Story 5 is the way to do it. I just really want its new properties, its new, fresh ideas to do really well. So I'm really hopeful for Hoppers. We'll see. But I'm really, really hopeful for that.

[D]

I have two picks.

[C]

You do?

[D]

I know exactly what I'm doing.

[A]

Everything's still coming up fantasy for you.

[C]

There's some really good stuff on the board here.

[D]

Yeah. An adaptation. I'm taking Resident Evil.

[A]

Nice.

[D]

This is Zach Kreger's follow up to Weapons. I've never played a Resident Evil video game in my life.

[C]

Where are you in general on your pledge? Made on this very podcast.

[B]

Just the most preposterous thing I've ever heard in my life.

[C]

8,000 hours this year to playing video.

[B]

Games, to play Elden Ring specifically.

[D]

I estimate I have roughly 75 years of life left, so I am left. Yeah. So I will live to the vampire.

[C]

What are your secrets?

[D]

Because I feel very strong and very healthy, and I feel that I'm living my life in a way in which. Are you also spending a lot of.

[A]

Time in the sauna?

[B]

I would never.

[A]

Are you also taking creatine?

[D]

No. Not all of us are so blessed. I've made zero progress on my pledge.

[C]

Zero. Okay. All right.

[D]

Zero progress.

[C]

Thanks for being honest.

[D]

I would like to make some. Here's the thing that happened. Nobody cares, but I'm gonna share anyway. You just cross the threshold with a child where you're like, I don't have to be hovering over you every five seconds. And when that happens, you're like, oh, my God, I have my life back.

[C]

Not fully, but then you just read tweets about the bets.

[D]

I mean, that did happen for the last six weeks, and I was justified in doing that. But now that that. That period is over, if I want to take up another hobby, it's in play.

[A]

You're watching Olla andor Season two and tweeting about it.

[D]

I felt great about that. That was time well spent.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. You know, how you feeling about Sam Darnold in the Super Bowl?

[D]

I'm really happy for him. I am really happy for him.

[C]

That's really sweet.

[D]

He seems like a really good guy, and it's great how he turned his career around and I have no ill will towards him. I love him. The Patriots can die in a fight. I would like to play more video games. I'm probably not going to play Resident Evil.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

I think you should, though. Like, there's a new one coming out in February. I actually think it's a great entry point. If you're gonna jump back into this.

[D]

Here's my thing. I'm kind of like, I'm a very mission oriented person. You are.

[B]

Eradicating zombies isn't a mission to you?

[D]

Well, it just. That kind of like, open world adventure level game doesn't never really appealed to me. And so part of the challenge of the other games that we were talking about is just the vastness of them and getting lost inside of them is appealing to me. And everybody's like, this guy doesn't know what he's signing up for. I know what I'm signing up for. I read the Wikipedia.

[B]

I don't think you.

[D]

I'm not saying I'm going to beat them. I would like to try, but I think throwing myself inside of something big. Resident Evil is the opposite. Right. This is going to be a two hour movie and it's going to fucking rip. If this movie isn't good, I'll be shocked. Like, Zach Kreger has proven that he knows how to make incredibly entertaining genre fare, which is the most important thing. He also is clearly dispensing with a lot of the mythology around Resident Evil, which has been kind of elevated and torn to shreds by Paul W.S. anderson over the last two decades. And he's just a filmmaker and a writer that I trust. Bringing Austin Abrams from Weapons to this movie.

[A]

I'm so excited for Austin Abrams.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Big euphoria. Austin Abramson, Euphoria fan. Loved him in Weapons. I thought that was such a good role for him and I'm most excited for him as this big career boost being the lead in a Resident Evil film.

[D]

We'll see. It's got a plum fall release date. It should be. Yeah, it'll be good to see.

[C]

Okay, now your wild card to close out your squad here, your hype squad.

[A]

To recap. Recap. Really quickly, you have Doom part three, brand new day lanterns, Resident Evil.

[C]

Good team.

[D]

So I've got Variety, right? I've got all the kind of the major worlds that I want to get involved in.

[A]

You've got a bunch of money on the board here too.

[D]

Yes, got a lot of money on the board. I'm going to take a curio that I don't know if you guys have heard about. Maybe you have. I'll be taking the TV show. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

This is a new animated live action television show coming to Disney later this year, created by Jon Favre. Rob, do you know who Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is?

[B]

I have no awareness of this character.

[D]

This is the character that Walt Disney created before Mickey Mouse. He created him with Oobwerks, who's the same person he co created Mickey Mouse with. He created this character for Universal in 1927.

[B]

Wow.

[D]

One year later, Universal took control of the character. Walt Disney left, started his own company, began creating his own characters. And this show probably exists in part because because of the things that Walt Disney went on to do. Now the show Hasselblad, the show the Ringerverse, much of what the pop culture that happens. I'm not sure if Disney doesn't exist. I don't know if this level of coverage exists in the space.

[A]

Thanks, Walt.

[C]

Thank you, Walt.

[D]

In 2006, something really interesting happened. Disney decided they wanted to get control of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. After almost a century it resided with Universal. So the. Wait, do you know this? The way in which they acquired Oswald is they traded the living human Al Michaels from abc, Disney, still thriving by the way, to Universal, Comcast, NBC, so that he could call games for Thursday Night Football.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

And they got the rights to Oswald.

[B]

This is like when Doc Rivers got traded for a first round pick. Like I didn't even know you could do this.

[D]

It's a one for one. This isn't a pick to be named later. This is a. This is an animated rabbit.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

And a 70 year old.

[C]

Will you be asking Al to come podcast about this program with you?

[D]

Al has not been as sharp as I would have liked in those Amazon broadcasts. He did resign for another year. I saw that news. I'm happy for him.

[A]

How confident are you that this is coming out this year?

[C]

Oh, we have our first time frame challenge.

[D]

I'm pretty confident.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Now, it wasn't much of a challenge.

[A]

I don't think it is.

[D]

It feels like post Mando and Grogu Act Winter 2026.

[C]

I don't think we should push because I think if it doesn't come out this year, it helps the rest of us and hurts him. His team is incredibly strong.

[A]

I know it is.

[D]

Here's the other thing. First of all, don't care about winning. I think this is just fun to talk about.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Two, so this is a hundred year old character. Do you know anything about this Rabbit?

[D]

A terrible character. Like not interesting. The whole idea.

[C]

Not interesting.

[D]

The whole idea is that it's like a who Framed Roger Rabbit style thing. Sure. This character is going into the world and is going to have a very metatextual approach. Who frame Roger Rabbit? One of the most important movies in my life.

[C]

Very great.

[D]

Absolutely. And frankly, I just need Jon Favreau to do something different. I just really need him to try something different. And this feels different. The cast includes Amy Sedaris, Katherine Hahn and Steve Martin.

[B]

I mean that's great. So your pick is Jon Favreau. Get a hobby and it's this movie?

[D]

No, it's the meta nature of Hollywood history intersecting with IP on Disney.

[A]

How sharp do you think Jon Favreau's pen is?

[D]

Well, we'll wait and see.

[A]

You're looking for the studio from Jon Favreau. Is that what you're looking for?

[D]

I think Disney's the studio is a good idea.

[B]

Everything you're describing feels like. Didn't they do like a Chip and Dale reboot? That was basically what you're describing.

[D]

They did it Wasn't great. It wasn't bad.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

It was fine. Yeah, it was fine.

[A]

I liked it fine.

[D]

I'm just mixing it up here, guys. Just trying to bring something new to the.

[A]

And I love that. Thank you so much for doing that.

[C]

I definitely thought you were going to pick.

[D]

So patronizing.

[C]

Clay. I definitely thought you were going to pick Clayface.

[A]

Is it the.

[D]

I already have a D.C. property, but I am excited for Clayface.

[A]

Was it the same tone when you were like, I'm so glad you guys found each other.

[D]

It's the same one. It was the same one that I referred to in our hamnet discussion. You know, that's nice. You like that?

[A]

Oh, that's nice for you. Great. All right, Molly Rubin, we are running out of time. What do you got?

[C]

I'm torn between three, but really two things. And I know what I want to pick and that is what I'm going to pick. I just have some reservations about frankly leaving the other thing on the board for Rob, who I assume will take it, which is annoying. But I guess you don't want him.

[A]

To have Spider Noir.

[C]

Not bad, actually. You're welcome to take Spider Noir. I'm excited for Spider Noir. I'm not going to say the other thing that I am considering until after everybody picks and then we can talk. We'll do a very like a lightning round. Well, oh my God. We can't believe X didn't get taken. So I am going to pick a pending as my wild card. A pending television show coming to Amazon in a fictional universe that is one of the dearest to me. I will be selecting Blade Runner 2099.

[A]

Sure.

[C]

Which is the ultimate. If this is good, we're just thriving. We're living how wonderful to be us. And if it's bad, that would really suck. But the original Blade Runner film is, I would say, the seminal text in my home and my marriage.

[A]

H phrasing.

[C]

Indeed.

[A]

Indeed.

[D]

Pegasus. Indeed.

[C]

And I I think the the vil new follow up film is quite good and underrated.

[B]

I masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.

[C]

So thank you. I'm looking forward to this. Interesting cast. Tom Burke, Hunter Schaer. Michelle. Yo. I hope this is dynamite. Yeah, that would be amazing. I'm looking forward to. I I think on the one hand the fact that like IP Creep has not totally come for and claimed Blade Runner is like kind of a blessing. But on the other hand, it is an under explored and undermined universe compared to some of the other things that we spend a lot of our time Talking about watching. So I hope this is good. I think that would be great. So that's my pick to close out my team. So I have the Odyssey as my adaptation, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as my television show, the Mandalorian and Grogu as my movie, Toy Story 5 as my sequel, and Blade Runner 2099 as my wild card. And honestly, I'm excited, genuinely excited about all of those.

[B]

I like this pair.

[C]

I feel good.

[B]

I also really hope this is good. I mean, just the idea of a co headlined Michelle Yeohunter Schaeffer sci fi series, very appealing to me. And you have to like shoehorn it into IP because this is what we do now. But like, I. I feel like it could be good. It's just so tough to pull off the tone and the scale and the specifics of the visuals.

[C]

Like we've got the Amazon money behind it.

[B]

I mean, that's really the saving grace, I hope.

[C]

Let's try.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

Just somebody who saw Alien Earth and also saw what was the other joint that was trying to do the Dune Prophecy.

[C]

Like your prophecy was tough. Alien Earth was uneven, but much more successful than Dune Prophecy.

[B]

And this is where you're hoping like it's more really hard, right? Like, like at least get some of the future.

[A]

We like Rings of Power a lot. But I will say outside Rings of Power, I think Amazon's track record of these big shows has not been huge. I mean Fallout season one was really.

[C]

Like dynamite, well regarded, but season was famously canceled.

[A]

Wheel of Time, tough. Okay, my last pick, because Nosferatu is one of my favorite films. I'm picking Werewolf by Robert Egers.

[B]

Are we sure it's not Werewolf Werewol?

[A]

It is Wolfie Aaron Taylor Johnson back for the the Craven vibes here. Lily Rose Depp off of Nosferatu. Mom Defoe. Couldn't do it without him. Ralph Innocent. I hope this is as. I mean, listen, Robert Eggers is not always, always, always my like favorite. Like the Northman was a challenging endeavor and this could be more Northman than it is Nosferatu, but I'm hoping it's more Nosferatu and. Or the Vovovitch, you know, something like that. So I just love Nosferatu so much that I'm really hopeful that this is like, this has me more excited than the Mummy movie that's coming out.

[C]

With love and respect to Jack.

[A]

Jack Rainer, who I love and I'm always rooting for, but Werewolf, I think.

[C]

It'S great that you still found a way to connect it to a vampire. Thank you.

[A]

Honestly, witches and vampires and aliens.

[D]

Am I. I'm excited about this movie too. I'm not nagging the pick at all. It's werewolf movies are hard. Yeah. There's not a lot of good werewolf movies. It's a very challenging.

[A]

Again, it's on the digital effects like front. That's going to be really tough. It's true. So my draft is disclosure day for a movie. Vampire Lestat for television. Chronicles of Narnia for adaptation. Practical Magic 2 for sequel. And were Wolf or Wild Card good influencer, Rob.

[B]

I appreciate that.

[D]

It does.

[B]

I had Verwolf on my list as well. I think it's very appealing, especially in the SO spot. So everyone is selected, right? Yeah, I can kind of talk it out. To be honest. I'm stuck between two things, one of which is a movie I have been assured is good. And that's Coyote versus Acme.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

A movie that I'm excited for, that the people have seen.

[C]

I think that'd be a good pick.

[B]

Like now has this mythology behind it. I'm excited to see some of the.

[D]

People who've seen it made it. For the record, they're the ones who are telling you it's good.

[B]

But I like those people and I trust. I trust their taste. If Will Forte tells me something is.

[C]

Good, you believe him.

[B]

I am inclined to believe it. But I think I'm going to go in the other direction and really follow my heart on this. And I say this because Godzilla has scared me.

[C]

That's. I should.

[A]

That was.

[D]

This was my other choice. Yeah.

[B]

Godzilla has scared me. He has thrilled me. He has only once made me cry. And that was Godzilla minus one. So I simply have to take Godzilla minus zero, the direct sequel in Wild Card.

[C]

When I said a couple minutes ago, I'm torn between two things. It was Blade Runner and. And Godzilla minus zero. And I knew you would pick it. I knew it.

[B]

It's. Cause it speaks to us.

[D]

If I wanted to win and destroy you guys forever, I would have taken Godzilla. But I wanted to just talk about Oswald, the lucky rabbit.

[C]

That's beautiful.

[B]

That's big of you.

[D]

You're welcome.

[C]

I think that's an excellent point.

[A]

Rapid fire. Anything that anyone wants to shout out.

[C]

It would have sucked if that didn't get taken.

[B]

You had to get it off the board.

[C]

I think it's. So the Boys. The final season of the Boys. Well, no one took House of the Dragon. We talked about that a lot already. But let's just remark that no One took it. Which on a house of our draft is frankly pretty weird.

[A]

Supergirl, Clayface, the final season of the Boys.

[C]

No one took the two DC movies. Supergirl and Hunger Games.

[A]

Sunrise on the Reaping.

[B]

That cannot be the name of that movie.

[C]

It might be good.

[D]

Honestly. Looks good to me.

[A]

I liked the last Hunger Games.

[D]

I didn't. But I. I thought this one looked good cuz it's like doing fake Midsommar and I thought that was a good idea.

[C]

No one took Bone Temple, which they could have.

[B]

Obviously that feels against the spirit. Like I guess Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is at least ongoing. Bone Temple is in the past.

[A]

If someone wanted money, the Super Mario sequel would be money. If there was still an animation category, that's.

[D]

I have my doubts about that one.

[C]

I think it's going to be money wise.

[D]

No, I think it's going to be money.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Is Rings of Power Season 3 coming out this year?

[A]

I don't know. I don't. I wouldn't put any money on it.

[C]

It's. It's hard to. Hard to know. Ahsoka Season 2. Ahsoka Wonder Man. Wonder Man.

[D]

Which is legitimately good trailer. Legitimately good trailer.

[B]

I'm hopeful.

[C]

It's good.

[B]

It's good. Good.

[A]

It's good.

[B]

I'll take that.

[C]

I was very charmed.

[B]

I'm a little surprised neither of you guys picked the mall show.

[C]

I thought Joanna would take the. The mall show.

[D]

I need a little help on mall temporality.

[B]

Oh, he's a robot trash spider now.

[D]

Is. Is that.

[A]

Did you say that?

[C]

That's correct. I mean that is correct.

[A]

Learn that from us.

[D]

I ruin this series in mall. Shadow Lord.

[C]

Once you do what you said you would do earlier. This pod and you watch all of the Clone wars and Red.

[D]

I didn't say I would do that.

[C]

After you finish playing Elden R. I.

[D]

Was thinking about watching Clone War.

[C]

You'll know all you need to know about comics too.

[D]

I never agreed to Rebels subtitles.

[A]

How do you feel about Ready or Not to Colon. Here I come.

[D]

We got. Now you see me, now you don't. Now we got. Here we come. I doff my cap. Obviously.

[A]

I really loved Ready or Not.

[D]

The first one's really good.

[B]

And now with more Sarah Michelle Gellar than ever.

[D]

That's true. The problem is that one of the reasons why Ready or Not is so good is because it ends magnificently and it did not cry out for a sequel. But I will watch the sequel, of course.

[A]

Vision Quest. Vision Quest.

[C]

Daredevil Born Again. Season Two Invincible Season four, One Piece.

[D]

We're getting.

[B]

We're getting Jessica Jones on Daredevil.

[A]

Right?

[B]

That's the thing that's happening.

[C]

Correct, Correct.

[B]

That's exciting.

[C]

The Legend of Aang. The Last Airbender. We're getting an Avatar movie.

[D]

Well, it's a Punisher special. Draftable.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah, the Frank Cassidy one off. Okay.

[C]

But, like, you kind of drafted the Punisher already because he's.

[D]

He's in Spidey, which I'm very excited about.

[A]

Have you heard anything about I Love Boosters? The Boots Riley movie?

[D]

Nothing Nice.

[C]

Oh, boy, that's tough.

[A]

Noted.

[C]

Nobody took Grand Theft Auto like we joked about. Ben not being here earlier, but that would be a completely defensible pick.

[D]

I really want to see Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat 2.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

I don't know that they'll be good, but they also fit the Cyclops going apesh mold of, like, I was 11 once, and when I was this, this is what was happening in my life.

[B]

Well, if you were a Cyclops, which we've established you are, who are you in a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat sense?

[D]

It's a great question.

[A]

Which X Men is Rob Mahoney?

[D]

Vega. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, Vega's good energy.

[D]

I would say Vega. No, dude, no. You're Vega. You have great energy. Yeah, I'm Vega.

[B]

I'm a. I don't know. I'm a kitty pride, you know? I don't know know.

[D]

Who's to say Kitty pride? Yeah. Absolutely admirable.

[C]

No one took Moana. No one took Live Action Moana.

[D]

Damn, that sucks.

[C]

Iceman.

[B]

That's the meanest thing you've ever said to me.

[A]

That's not true.

[C]

No one took. No one took Cat in the Hat. No one took Hoppers. Moana. The Burrows.

[B]

Moana looks.

[A]

I'm really excited for this year. There's a lot of really exciting stuff for our pod. A lot of books to read. We got Narnia. It's the Lord of the Rings anniversary year. We haven't even, like, fully figured out how we're gonna tackle that. The Odyssey. There's a lot to read. There's a lot to enjoy. Anything else you guys want to say.

[D]

Before we go Masters of the Universe? Let's go.

[C]

That trailer was brutal.

[D]

Let's fucking go, baby.

[C]

That trailer was brutal. He was. He.

[D]

I have the power.

[C]

It's. I thought that trailer did not look very good. I will say that. But Adam seemed pretty.

[B]

You and Jared Leto can enjoy each other.

[D]

You know, I love how they just Straight up, skull faced him like, we just do not see Jared Leto in that trailer.

[B]

Nope.

[A]

What do you think Jared Leto has on all of Hollywood?

[D]

I don't know.

[A]

That's a great question.

[D]

I don't know. I didn't even talk to you guys about my Tron Aries experience in New York where I just bought a ticket to an early access screening. And he just walked out of this into the screen and he was like, welcome everybody to Tron Aries. And everybody was like, who are you? Like, no one cared about him. They weren't there for him.

[A]

I saw the. I saw the footage of him doing that in San Francisco at the imax and it was like a sparsely attended viewing. And I was. And then they posted that video anyway. And I was like, I simply would not have posted that video personally. I went to Tron Airy's at a late night showing with four friends who were the only people in the theater. Had a great time. Bad movie. Really fun time at the cinema.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

If you can find a desert. That's also how I sell Morbius. If you can find a deserted movie theater to watch the Monday morning screening.

[C]

Remember that.

[D]

Where's the Tron Aries episode of House.

[C]

Of We did not do one.

[A]

Buried under the wheels of the light cycle. All right, so that is our hyped raft 2026. Worth the wait. Thank you so much, Rob Mahoney for joining us.

[B]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

Thanks for coming back. Sean Fennesy. We'll see you at every single Lanterns episode. I think you committed to that.

[B]

Lanterns.

[A]

Thank you to Carlos Shirboa. Thank you to our junior Rank Powell. Thank you to Jamia Dinneron. Thank you to Male Ruben.

[C]

Thank you to you. Just the best, my darling.

[A]

And we'll see.

[C]

That's number one of my hype draft. Every year is potting with you.

[A]

I'm so glad we found each other and I mean that sincerely.

[C]

Same same you.

[A]

We'll see you soon. By.