GeekVisionz
GeekVisionz
News Drop Ep. 44: Cap 4, State Of Play, Marvel Rivals, SNL50 & More
This episode delves into the box office performance of Captain America: Brave New World, exploring its mixed critical reception versus positive audience responses. We also cover upcoming film projects by prominent directors, major updates from the gaming world, television casting news, and the impressive ratings from SNL's recent anniversary special.
• Examination of Captain America: Brave New World box office results
• Discussion of upcoming films by Christopher Nolan and Rashida Jones
• Overview of announcements from PlayStation’s State of Play
• Insights into the challenges faced by Elden Ring NightReign
• John Lithgow in talks to star as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series
• SNL 50th Anniversary ratings reveal significant viewer interest
Music Produced by BlackOutBeatz414: https://www.youtube.com/@BlackOutBeatz414
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hello, all you awesome people out there, welcome, welcome back to geek visits entertainment. I am your host, as always, hoover, and we return yet again with another brand new episode of news drop bringing you the news from our big three, uh, this one coming from about the, uh, mid february, coming off of, uh, valentine's day and president's day weekend, uh, so yeah, they're not, not, not, not the most news out here today. Of course, things a little slower because of the holidays and whatnot. Of course, you know all the massive weather stuff happening in the world, uh, but yeah, but we got some news right here for you today, um, so yeah, so a couple of things we're gonna be talking about here on this episode of News Drop Episode 44, the third episode of year five here this year. So let's talk about what we're going to be talking about a little bit here for this episode of News Drop. We got Captain America Brave New World just opened up, so we're going to talk about its week in gross. Rashida Jones is now attached to a brand new project. We got our first look at Steven Spielberg, chris Nolan's uh newest film coming up, but we do have some news on Steven Spielberg's next film as well, as well as the Daniels.
Speaker 1:Um, on the video game side, playstation Sony, I should say held a state of play, so we're going to talk about that a little bit. Uh, we got some marvel rivals news. Uh, we got a brand new development for a crossover between final fantasy 7 and magic the gathering, and we got an update on elder ring night, elden ring night rings uh, network test that they've been throwing out there these last couple days. And then on the tv side honestly a little bit slower so a little older news here on this side but we got, um, an update on a casting for dumbledore for the harry potter series. Uh, we got our location for true detectives, the next season of that. We also have some more casting news for dexter resurrections, oh, and there's a casting from Kevin Hart's newest animated project. And then we've got the ratings for SNL's massive 50th anniversary special that was held over the weekend as well. And then, of course, we got a bunch of trailers we gotta watch at the end. An update on that. I think once we get to the state of play stuff, I think once we get to the state of play stuff, I think I'm going to just read the stories and the headlines and show y'all and tell y'all, especially from our audio listeners, what was revealed on there. We'll save the actual trailer watching for the very end, with all of the other trailers at the end there too, and that includes some of the Marvel Rivals stuff too. So that is what we got here today for this episode on news drop.
Speaker 1:So, without further ado, let's go ahead and get into this news, shall we? I think we shall. All right. So, starting things off, captain america, brave new world has made about 100 million in the us and is up to 192 million globally. Um, if y'all don't know, this announced, this announced.
Speaker 1:This was released over over the president's day weekend and the valentine's day weekend. Um, it's the first, yeah, it's the pretty much the first big, massive tentpole movie of the year so far. Uh, domestic openings gave it 100 million over the long weekend. Uh, it really helped that it connected the valentine's day and president's day stuff, um, and it included 8, 88.4 million for those three days, and, of course, they haven't put in these sunday returns just yet, but the the biggest news that it's coming in ahead of expectations. Um, it started off with 192 million after launching to 92 million, uh, internationally, and pretty much the biggest thing about this movie is that, uh, this movie has been I guess you could say it's been pretty.
Speaker 1:It's been pretty divisive, um, amongst fans and critics. Um, I think, uh, let me see if they show it here. Um, there's no small fee, considering that many critics dissed the movie. Nor were some movie guards impressed. It received a b minus cinema score, which is crazy that they're calling this like it is. It's one of those things and it connects with kind of like all of our big three here, especially in terms of, like video games. The fact that we now kind of live in a world where like a b minus is a mix is a miss. I get it. It's marvel. They've had a lot of, they've got a lot of stuff, a lot of highly successful movies, but the fact that they're calling like a b minus a miss is kind of crazy.
Speaker 1:It's the worst grade given to any title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is absolutely, absolutely ridiculous. If y'all don't know, I watched this. I went to go see it on Sunday it's currently Tuesday. I went to go see this on Sunday you can check out my impressions review on here on the channel and I thought the movie was pretty solid. It's not the best thing Marvel's done. It's not the worst thing Marvel's done. It's not the worst thing marvel's done, but I enjoyed the movie. I liked it for what it was. I enjoyed myself. It's a pretty good, it's a pretty. It's a really good movie with some pretty nice action set pieces, some, uh, some really intriguing plot points, some interesting twists.
Speaker 1:I enjoyed the movie. I thought it was actually a very well done movie and the fact that apparently the this has the lowest cinema score, um of the cinematic universe is absolutely ridiculous. I definitely put this movie uh, it might be recency bias again, I've only seen the movie once, but I'm definitely putting this movie ahead of like thor the dark world, um, eternals, black widow. It's definitely like better than those, like some of the some of the bottom barrel Marvel movies. I feel like it's a lot better than those. Quantumania, it's better than that one, uh. So the fact that it's this, that it's crazy, but not all viewers feel the same. Of course.
Speaker 1:New World boasts a pleasing 80% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and that was, um, I think the critic score gave it like a 50, and that was. I think the critics score gave it like a 50. So it's rotten amongst critics, but it's pretty. It's been doing pretty well amongst fans, which I will agree. Like I said, it's a really good movie.
Speaker 1:The movie's opera performance underscores a pent up demand for a big event pick. Also underscores the value of appealing to an ethnically diverse cast, as well as kids and parents, who love the film. According to post-track, uh, this gives captain america the advantage of playing as a family film. Uh, black moviegoers make up 23 percent, uh, caucasians 35. Uh latinos 23 ages 10, natives and others. Uh, per exit polling track, um, we got 62 percent male, 48 percent female, which is actually pretty damn good. Another time that it's played to a broader audience than just the fanboys, who could often represent as much as 70 of the ticket buyers.
Speaker 1:And again and I think it's setting to start this also kind of this also really benefits from being like the first big major tentpole movie of the year. Again, uh, this, uh, our country is in a weird spot and shit's about to get real pricey, so it's about to get harder, especially, uh, once these uh good tariffs kick in due to our cheeto in chief. Uh, once these, once these tariffs kick in, things are gonna get more expensive, so money's gonna get harder to go by, so getting people to get out to the theaters is probably going to be a lot harder to do. So I think this movie really benefits from the fact that, um, it's one of the first ones of the year before all that stuff really starts getting entrenched. Uh, it really helps out. So, yeah, um, of course we know anthony mackie and sam willis takes up after chris evans played it, uh, took about 80 million to produce before going into marketing. Of course, the movie did go through some reshoots very early on, so there was kind of that stigma too, probably coming from more of the, the fanboys like me who actually know shit like that. Uh, it's directed by julius ohan, of course. Uh, you know harris before and all that. So, basically saying that the movie is actually doing pretty damn well, despite what the critics are saying or how some, uh, some critics are feeling, the movie is doing pretty damn well. Uh, poor.
Speaker 1:First good news for marvel, which had to take a serious stock of its strategy, of course. Um, uh, of course they have put over reading was a massive success last year. It grows 1.3 billion, uh, so it's open to kind of change things here. Uh, this year, uh, if you're wondering, from some more stuff in the box office. Number two was patenting in Peru. Uh, in peru, uh, uh, estimated four day launch 16 million north of 13 million for the three days. This is doing pretty well. Bridget jones uh, what the heck? What went straight to universal streaming service in peacock, the us, in a valentine's day? Okay, whatever. Um, dog man is still in there. Uh, spy glasses, heart eyes is doing in there too. Uh, chinese film and then the complete unknown still popping up in the box offices as well. So, captain america, brave new world is doing pretty damn well in the box office.
Speaker 1:Of course, this is just opening weekend. Uh, we'll see what the drop up there's going to, because there will. There will be a dropoff, and now the question is just how big of a drop-off I'll be talking about as we go into its second weekend. Um, I guess it'll kind of determine which way the people are actually going. Are they more swaying to, uh, the people who have the negative perception of the movie? So it'll be a massive drop-off, or are people more leaning into more of the positive word of mouth that that's been going on around the movie, and will the drop-off not be as steep as it might be projected to be, but that there's definitely going to be a drop-off. So don't be surprised when you see headlines talking about how much Captain America has had a drop-off in its second weekend. It's just a natural thing. People who go out to see it are really going to front line see it in the opening weekend. And then, of course, people who are on the fence or something like that, or interested, but not really that interested, kind of waiting to see what the returns are like, are going to wait till like the second or third weekend to go see, or even like the the the actual week, the work week, to go see it. So we'll have to see what the returns are for it. Next we get all right.
Speaker 1:Next up, uh, the odyssey. We got the first look at matt damon. Uh, is odysseus in christopher nolan's next epic, which is the odyssey. Um, the matt damon will play odysseus, the christopher nolan's upcoming epic, the odys Odyssey, who will appear alongside an expansive class, an expansive cast which includes Tom Holland, mia Goff Zendaya, anne Hathaway, lupita Nyong'o, robert Pattinson, charlize Theron, benny Safdie, john Bernval and John Leguizamo. That is a very stacked cast. Uh, it's a role to reveal Monday through the film's official Twitter account. Uh, I am not calling it x because, fuck, elon um, matt damon is odysseus, a film by chris nolan, a hashtag, obviously. The movie is in theaters july 17th 2026, so we don't know.
Speaker 1:The odyssey follows the greek champion odysseus on his journey home after the trojan war. Uh, it's a greek, it's a ancient greek poet, over 2 000 years old, one of the oldest stories in existence here by modern readers. Uh, so of course, it's going to be universal to him and dim. And nolan was like that. Uh, you know, again, he wrote the script. He's going to direct. His wife, emma, is also a producer. Uh, so, yeah, let's see his third, third collaboration with Nolan and Damon. Um, of course he's coming. Of course Christopher Nolan's coming off the Oscar winning film Oppenheimer, so that's pretty cool. So, yeah, this is definitely a? Um, I'm definitely.
Speaker 1:I will say I am interested to see how this does, because these historical, epic, period piece dramas like this uh tend to be, you know, hit or miss um. Lately they haven't been doing too well, I think, like gladiator 2 was probably the last one, but that's because that was an original story, that was just a period piece, as opposed to something like this, which is just like a, like an older story, an older and older story, like you see you, like you typically see things like this on like stage plays. So I'm interested, uh, in how much christopher nolan's name being attached to this is gonna boost up, uh, viewership. Because, like I was honestly surprised oppenheimer did as well as it did because, again, it was a, it was a um, it wasn't just a drama, it was more of a, it was more of a, it was more of a biopic um about oppenheimer and the fact that it did so well with the cast and the fact there was chris nolan. Uh. But of course, now you have an even older period piece which I do feel like most general audiences might be a little more turned off to that as opposed to Oppenheimer. So I'm very interested to see how much Chris Nolan's name being attached to this really boosts it up. Of course, marketing might really hone in on the fact that it's an epic and really hone in on that. So we'll see. I'm definitely interested to see what the box office returns for the Odyssey will turn out to be alright.
Speaker 1:Next up, rashida Jones is to direct Playdate from Maria Austenberg. It's a blacklist script, which is what I feel like is the main takeaway from this story. So, uh, rashida jones uh is teaming with gloria sanchez on playdate. The feature adaption of marie osten ostenby's original script was later at number two on last year's blacklist. Jones will direct with jessica elbom and will ferrell producing for gloria sanchez. So if y'all don't know, um, blacklist is actually like an online, um, it's like an online novel and screenwriting uh site. I should look it up right before this, don't just do that. But uh, yeah, so it's just a site where writers can upload their uh their writings for, like, like I said, anything books, uh, theater and, of course, film and tv, and you can get it looked at by industry professionals, you can get feedback and things like that. So that's kind of like the biggest hook for this story here, the fact that it's a script that was on there and has been picked up to finally go into actual production.
Speaker 1:In the film, a play date erupts into a full-scale psychological warfare as two mothers confront the damage of childhood bullying, where their daughters engage in mind games of their own. All right, uh, previously co-directing the emmy nominated documentary. All right, uh, sorry about that. Some technical difficulties, as if you know my damn day, couldn't, you know, couldn't go any worse. All right, uh, where were we all right? Um, yeah, so, uh, rashida jones is coming off of this after she co-directed the documentary quincy, which is, of course, about her father, quincy jones. Uh, jones has also helmed episodes of series like roar, hashtag, black af and andrew tribe becca, which she also starred in. Oh, it says right there.
Speaker 1:Well-known actress, writer and producer. She co-wrote the acclaimed rom-com Celeste and Jessie Forever, wrote on Black Mirror, helped conceive the story for Toy Story 4, and co-created the Hulu series the Other Black Girl Due to do. Most recently on the writing front, she was tapped to pen Tom and Jerry for Warner Brothers Animation, alongside Will Cormack and Michael Govier. She also executive produced and starred in Sunny for Apple TV. She'll soon be an episode of Netflix's Black Mirror. She starred opposite Tracee Ellis Ross Da-da-da, all right.
Speaker 1:Gloria Sanchez recently re-teamed with Dead to Me, okay, dark comedy for Netflix. Uh, was sorry, ramona, lisa kudrow, many more. The company also produced your cordially invited that's that recent thing with real feral yeah, real feral. And renee witherspoon all right. So the writer is a danish screenwriter for her work on all seasons of netflix's rita, uh, including the fifth and final, for which she acted as the showrunner. Uh, she's also written and consulted on tv shows such as the nurse, the rain, uh, when the dust settles, snow angels and splitting up together. She's a co-creator and a showrunner for deliver us. So even though so even she has some, some stock in there. So good news for rashida jones, uh, you know.
Speaker 1:And next up, this is where I messed up at last time. But, uh, this is steven spielberg's next movie. So we got, so we got a little little shifting dates here. Uh, steven spielberg's next movie is moving from may 15th to june 12th, 2026. Uh, to provide more distance away from DSD's Avengers, doomsday and the Mandalorian and Grogu. That seems smart, that's a smart move. That's something you probably should do.
Speaker 1:The untitled film takes the date which previously belonged to filmmakers. The Daniels of the duo behind Everything, everywhere, all at Once. Love that movie, absolutely. Love that movie, absolutely love that movie. Uh, universal said that the project is moving forward as planned, that a new release date will be announced shortly. Uh, so that's cool. Of course, it seems like both, uh, both details in the movies are being kept under wraps. Uh, a high profile cast to date includes this is for a Spielberg movie Josh O'Connor, emily Blunt, coleman Domingo, colin Firth and Eve Hewson. Christy Moscato Krieger will produce for Amlin. It's based on a story by Spielberg, with the screenplay is written by his collaborator, david Coen, who worked with him on Jurassic Park, indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Speaker 1:So just some small movements. The Daniels feature is the first stemming from a long-term pact. The duo linked with Universal in 2022. This was way before they won Best Picture, best Director, best Director of the Screen, basically before everything ever all at won at the Oscars. So, um, we'll see if, um, I wonder if, how successful that movie was. It's kind of probably made the Daniels maybe even go back to the table to kind of renegotiate some stuff. Like I said, it was a long-term pact. That happened before that. So you know, maybe they can go ahead and there's a long-term path to happen before that. So you know, maybe they can go ahead and, you know, get a little bit more money up out of that. But yeah, so we'll have to see what the what the future of that brings.
Speaker 1:Anywho, that is it for our film section. Now we'll be moving onwards to video games. All right, all right, all right. So, as I mentioned before, sody had a state of play earlier this week or this week, earlier this month. Um, like I said, I'm not going to look at every video that was shown. We'll do that, uh in the trailer section, but for my audio listeners I am going to talk about just kind of what they showed off and things like that. All right, so let's see what they talked about.
Speaker 1:First off, they have borderlands 4 gearbox on the spotlight on the upcoming looter shooter. Uh confirmed to be releasing uh on the ps5 on september 23rd. I would guess that's other uh platforms as well, xbox and pc probably as well. Uh trailer gets some insight on the action. Uh, the action skills. There's some new movement abilities. Um, on the planet kairos. Is that the? That's not the usual planet, right? Yeah, the usual planet is pandora. Um, and and we will have a full borderlands gameplay reveal uh during a state of plague later in the spring.
Speaker 1:Um, darwin's paradox a puzzle platformer releasing in 2025. Uh, you play as darwin and octopus, snatched from the sleep, from the sleep from the sea and thrust into a mysterious food factory. Okay, so it's a puzzle platformer. Uh, day of the divers ichiban holidays. Uh, day of the divers forces, with like a dragon uh, when uh, ichiban decides to take a well-deserved break at the blue hole and stow us on to dolphin potent syndicate, forcing ichiban and dave to dive into the action that releases on april for the ps4 and the ps5. It's a dlc. Uh, a days gone.
Speaker 1:Remastered is happening. Um, that's coming april 25th 2025. Uh, improved graphics. Uh, 3d audio, dual sense features. Uh, there's also new content, including a survival arcade mode, horde, permadeath mode and more. If you own the PS4 and PC versions, you can upgrade for just $10. This is like getting that Last of Us Part 2 remastered treatment.
Speaker 1:Digimon Story Time Stranger. Latest installment of the Digimon Story series, time Stranger sets release in 2025. In this JRPG, players will travel between the human world and the digital world. If it's improved battle system, fan favorite characters like agamon and omegamon, who we know as omnimon here in the states, as well as other digimon and brand new roles. I have not played any kind of digimon game like at all. Sounds like rumble arena 2 for the ps2. I might have to get down on one of these digimon games.
Speaker 1:Uh, we got a story trailer for directive 8020. Um, this is that new game coming from. Um, their name here super massive. They're the ones who do those? Um, dark picture movies, uh, games? Uh, it's coming for october 2nd sci-fi horror movie uh, astronauts of the cassio cassiopeia embark on a deadly mission to save humanity where every choice could be their last. Uh, dreams of another q.
Speaker 1:Games introduction uh, the newest addition to the pixel junk series. What the hell is that? Uh, oh, it's a vr game. No wonder we probably ain't gonna watch that one. Five nights at freddy's they're still doing five nights games uh, still will. Games are bringing another excursion into the five night series secret of the mimic all new adventure launching on ps5 on june 13th. And it's a gameplay teaser. Uh, what hell is this release trailer? I remember this game. Uh, new gameplay teases some characters of combat. What hell is this release trailer? I remember this game. Uh, new gameplay teases some characters of combat. Uh, hell is us reveals. Release date on september 4th. I'm actually very interested in this. I'll be interested when we watch that one.
Speaker 1:Uh, we got a lots of p dlc. Um, it received a people deal, a prequel dlc entitled lies of pverture and takes you to the city of Krat back in the time of his grandeur before the collapse, on the brink of the puppet frenzy massacre. You follow the legendary stalker, through untold stories and chilling secrets as your pet old deadly puppet. Your journey through Krat and its surroundings, uncovering secrets and epic battles that shape the past and future of Lies of P, so any Lies of peace, so any lives of peace. And, uh, you know, as a P fans up there, we got some DLC coming for you. Oh, that's a show more off of like a dragon pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Uh, is that the motherfucker? What the fuck is that to do from? Uh, days gone, what the hell? Uh, if you've been ready to head into the seas for Ryu Ga Gotoku's studios, it launches next month Studio surprise for you. The PS5 demo is available now. It's a perfect opportunity for newcomers to experience this spinoff featuring the fan favorite character Goro. So that's cool.
Speaker 1:Lost Soul Aside, ulti Zero games that's cool. Lost Soul Aside, ulti Zero Games welcomes you to Lost Soul Aside, an exhilarating sci-fi adventure that features stylish combat With customizable loadouts, synchronized synergistic combos and diverse environments, enemies, fantastic characters and a compelling story, creating a world full of tension and exploration. It launches on PS5 and PC on May 30th. Metal Eden, an adrenaline rush sci-fi FPS from the creators of Raycon Games, is set in the future of a space colony that's under threat, a combat-ready android, asuka the wrestler, is deployed to protect the colonists. It launches on PS5 on May 6th. We've got a release date trailer for Metal Gear Solid Delta Snake Eater. It is coming to PS5 on August 28th.
Speaker 1:That's the remake of I believe it's 3, right, okay, remake, including the first. Look at the cobra unit. Oh, reveal the remake. Yeah, I think it's uh. For three uh, mine's eye joined jacob diaz on his journey to find answers to his past and the action adventure mine's eye. Uh, these trailers see some of the story beats and the encounters and the fictional near future americana city of red rock targets a launch this summer. Uh, we got monster hunter wilds, capcom, so I think it's the whole capcom section here. Then, huh, yeah, so capcom came. At the end they released some stuff for monster hunter wilds, which is just like 10 days away from launch at this point. Uh, short off stuff from the onim onimush launch at this point. Uh, short off the stuff from the Onimusha. I think it's a remake.
Speaker 1:The way of the sword that's a remake, right, uh, firstly, unveiled the new gameplay trailer for Onimusha way of the sword confirmed late iconic Japanese samurai movie. Uh, toshiro Mifune is to serve as the face and model for the protagonist, miyamoto Musashi. Well, the game is slated for 2026 on the PS5, so it's a whole new game. The newly remastered uh the newly revealed remaster of Onimusha 2 Samurai's Destiny is coming to the PS4 and 5 on May 23rd this year. So that's cool, all right. And then it looks like I wrapped up with some playstation plus news.
Speaker 1:Uh, jedi survivor. Uh, top spin 2k25. Uh, first episode of lost taste. Bloom and rage. That's the people who made. Uh life is strange.
Speaker 1:Two indie titles also launching into the catalog the architectural adventure blueprints, six-player survival crafting game. Abitonic ab, abiot, abiotic factor I struggle to say that shit. Uh, what's this house mark? Uh, sorrows. House mark announced its new title, sorrows, which is on the psl in 2026.
Speaker 1:Action game tells the haunting story of an off-world colony on carcosa under an ominous eclipse. You play as arjun devraj, a sultarian forcer who will stop at nothing to find out who he is. Uh, more gameplay expected later this year. Uh, shinobi, art of revenge is uh, oh, the shinobi games like shinobi? No, I'm thinking. I'm thinking that's strider. It's strider from the strider from the shinobi games. I don't remember. Uh, that's coming. Uh, august 29th 2025. It's a duty, a duty. It's a 2d action, side-scrolling platformer. Uh, it's coming for the four and five.
Speaker 1:Sonic racing crossroads, cross worlds uh, sega reveal racing game from sega. Uh got a split fiction trailer. Uh, split gate 2 uh, that's coming, uh, pretty soon as well, uh, february 27th. Uh, what's the silver blade? Oh, just a crossover, just some crossover dlc for silver blade. Uh, the midnight walk uh.
Speaker 1:Tides of annihilation announcement trailer. Eclipse gold studio unveiled tides of annihilation, a single-player action adventure game that thrusts you into a shattered, mythical london. Players take on the role of gwendolyn, who wields the power of a mysterious gray mist that can manifest two spectral knights at her side, with players required to exclusively choose which knights to summon, based on their gameplay style and the challenges they face. Okay, uh, holy shit, this is a lot. Warriors of abyss uh, dynasty warriors gets a roguelike twist in warriors abyss, which launches today. Okay, uh, plays over a hundred heroes while battling hordes of enemies in hell, requiring you to change up the combination of heroes and items to discover new strategies to overcome obstacles and plunge deeper. Okay, um, wwe 2k25 the welcome to the island reveal.
Speaker 1:Jay paul hayman joined us to announce a new look at 2k. Wwe 2k25. The trailer introduced the island, which will feature the end game, which will feature in the game when it launches on the 4 and the 5 on march 14th. What the fuck is this? The island is an online open world environment filled with wwe themed landmarks, quests, live events and shops with other 50 players at a time. Obviously, because the time I received customer personalization, bro, did these? Did these motherfuckers just make the city for ww? We're gonna save it for. We're gonna save it for when we watch the trailer, but sound like these motherfuckers just made the city for the ww2. Wow, wow 2k. Really, all right, that's the state of play. We'll look at the actual gameplay when we get to the trailer section.
Speaker 1:But moving on, uh, final fantasy, commander decks reveal feature for clouds, titus and more. So we got an exclusive look at a magic the gathering and a final fantasy 7 crossover. Um, so, magic the gathering has had numerous video game crossovers in recent years fallout, tomb raider and assassin's creed but today we know we're getting final fantasy 7. Uh, and not just one final fantasy. Uh, from terror to what the fuck? I don't even know what that is four different mainline games are represented across the commander decks. Okay, so that's cool. So it's more than just. It's more than just seven, it's actually just final fantasy, just like overall set to launch this june.
Speaker 1:Magic's final fantasy crossover will be a fully draftable standard legal set accompanied by four pre-constructed decks, each one cool. Hundreds of cards made up of both reprints and existing, with a new final fantasy art and brand new cards designed with magic's most popular format, commander, in mind. While the commander pre-cons are always themed around certain characters, codes and strategies, the twist with these is that each one is built around a single final fantasy game, specifically six, seven, ten and fourteen. That's cool. I've only played I still haven't fully played seven, I just played the remake. Uh, I didn't play 14, though 14. No, 14 was the um, 14 is the online one. I'm thinking of 15. Those are the ones we played. So, yeah, we got a final fantasy. So, let's see, we've got, uh, revival trance, which is based off of final fantasy 6, limit break, which is final fantasy 7, final fantasy counter blitz, which is Final Fantasy 7, final Fantasy Counter Blitz, which is Final Fantasy 10, and Psions and Spellcraft, which is based off Final Fantasy 14. So that's cool.
Speaker 1:I thought this was very interesting because a friend of mine just asked me to join like a Magic League. They got, which is funny because I've only played Magic the Gathering one time, when I was over their house house. I played that one time. It was like, hey, you want to join a, a league? I'm like, okay, sure, why not? I've only played that one time, but sure. So it's funny that like after I do that, the reveal of these decks comes out and of course, it's a crossover with some video game stuff, which makes me more interested, even though final fantasy isn't a game I know a ton about.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I've only just played it for the first time With 7 and 15. I did play what's the one that had? What's the one that had lightning on it? Was that 13? Final 13? No, 12, oh, I don't remember which one it was. Whichever one it was, they had lightning. I think it was 13. Yeah, that kind of makes sense, because that was for like the, the 360, ps3. Then I know like 15 was a was a massive gap between them. So, yeah, those are the only ones I played. The only one I've actually beaten is 15 so far, that's. You know, I still haven't been seven, because now I gotta wait for the next game to come out, and I never beat a 13 either, so that's cool. Final fantasy match with the gabon crossover, so that's pretty cool, all right.
Speaker 1:Next up uh, elder ring night reigns. First network test isn't going well at all from software, as night rains moved to be a nightmare, with no players able to get past the main menu. Uh, so if y'all don't know, elder ring is releasing a online co-op spinoff. Um, they announced that the game awards back in december. Uh, I said it's all gone rather wrong.
Speaker 1:Back in january, soon after the announcement of the three-player incarnation from software souls, like a series of three-hour long test blocks were scheduled for the weekend. Fans are asked to register for a chance to play. Um, and well it sucks if you were selected for the February 14th 6 am slot. It's now entirely abandoned. Uh, they announced that. Um, we are currently restarting the Eldering Nightmarine game server. Read a message from Soph. From players support Twitter account. We will provide an update once the restart is complete. We sincerely apologize in uh for any convenience calls to our players and via a new post in the last minute at the at the time of this writing, it seems the first sessions are now entirely abandoned as from software, proceeds with improved network. Here's a tweet uh, it's all in japanese, of course, so I just gotta take what they say as law. Uh, that's just the latest in a string of updates which began with report that the game game's servers are congested. No surprise there, elden Ring has a massive following.
Speaker 1:The point of the network test is to test the network, and this is very much what's occurring. So, hey, at least it's happening now, as opposed to when the damn game launches. So that's good. It's a good thing they're getting this problem now, you know. It's a good thing they're getting this problem now, you know. Have it happen now so that you can handle it. You know what the problem is, you know. So you gotta fix. You fix it and then, when the game comes out which is definitely gonna have more people trying to get in once the game launches, as opposed to these stress tents, you got the problem solved already. That's what they're for, that is what they are for, and this is very much what's occurring.
Speaker 1:However, what people selected for the trial would have been hoping for was to experience some online co-op, othering goodness, rather than error messages in a broken server. So let's see. Well, the next notification form players. Its plan was to restart the server. They asked to log out. Since then, the entire first three hours since has been completely given up on, with the most recent update explaining that today's network test will end at 11 pm japanese time.
Speaker 1:So, uh, yeah, the next, the next test is because it's to start, uh, which was back back at what? Uh, this is last friday, so I would guess that one went pretty well. So, yeah, but, like I said, it's a good thing. It allows them to sort of test the thing. I guess I guess it's also good news. This kind of shows them that this is going to have a pretty big following, even with the change up of the uh of the status quo. Of course, elder ring was a single player open world game, uh, so now you know this being an online co-op thing and which I think is also the first four from software. So this is this is probably all new to them anyway. So, again, this is what it's for. This is to avoid any problems for the future and get them ready when the game actually launches. So this is all a good thing to be handling now during these stress tests. So hopefully they get it fixed up, they address the problem and hopefully, when the game launches we'll all be good. All right. So that's it for elder ring night rain. So big um.
Speaker 1:Marvel rivals news. Of course, um, I took it off because it was pretty older at this point, but we all know the first half of Marvel Rivals, season 1, eternal Night Falls, is coming to an end. Part 2 is launching pretty soon. I think it's on the 21st, which is like 4 days from today. Actually, it's 3 days from today, so part 2 is launching pretty damn soon. So with that, we've gotten a bunch of news on what the new updates will have. I literally think they just uploaded a brand new dev developer diary today, so we're going to watch that in the video portion, but here's just a small little section of what we might be seeing later.
Speaker 1:So Marvel Rivals competitive players have been embracing the new triple strategist meta. So if y'all been playing the game, y'all probably already know this. But lately the largest meta within the game is to run three healers, um, especially uh, cloak and dagger, mantis and luna, as their alts are extremely defensive and they get them back very fast. Uh, it's somewhat like the most annoying shit to deal with in the game right now, uh, but the devs are not letting it dominate. The higher ranks, thanks to some upcoming nurse. Uh, the new changes are going to affect at the start of season one's second half shouldn't kill the triple strategist meta, but will make it less oppressive. Let's see what kind of we're going to talk about. Yeah, okay, so here's a video I was talking about, uh, so the triple strategist meta becomes very popular.
Speaker 1:Uh, three characters providing healing and support. Uh, vanguards can absorb far more damage, making it hard to slow down attacking teams during convoy games. And then, of course, if you roll, just like uh, you either roll one tank to damage, you keep your tank alive through hell and high water, or you run two tanks and you just take up a bunch of space. And you know hopefully you'll do that that one DPS is good. In the season one midseason updates, the energy cost for frequent up ultimates like Coke and Dagger or Loki's will be increased. Good, certain ultimates will also receive targeted nerfs, and the dads have explicitly stated that Kulkan Dagger will be one of the recipients. Good, we need Luna too, though. We need Luna's ult to get nerfed too, though. Furthermore, some vanguards and duelists such as Venom and Magic, will also get a lower energy cost to their ultimates, allowing them to use it more frequently.
Speaker 1:Changes will go hand in hand with some announced hero balance changes. Uh, reduce survivability of dr strange and magneto. Really, I feel like they're kind of fine buffs to movement speed. Vanguards, cap and venom are getting another boost. Let's go cap. Really, the cap cap needs a damage. Cap is a damage boost. Away from being like one of the best fucking tanks in the game, that's all he needs is a damage boost. And this dude would be like one of the best damn tanks in the game, which is funny because everybody's saying he's the worst. But I think, captain, america has always been very solid. You just need to know how to use them.
Speaker 1:We got Nurse to Storm and Moon Knight, thank God. It's so funny because the beta and season zero well, mostly the season zero, to my knowledge Storm was like one of the worst DPS and characters overall in the game, so they finally gave her a little boost to make her better, and now she's apparently one of the most broken DPS characters in the game. So they have to nerf her little boost to make her better, and now she's apparently one of the most broken dps characters in the game. So they have the nerf for yet again. Moon knights needed their nerf since season zero. He really has all right. So the games lead combat designer said the goal is to not get rid of uh play sets like the triple meta, the triple strategist meta, but only to encourage other play styles and provide an ample amount of counterplay opportunities. Of course they are going to affect on february 21st so cool, so we got.
Speaker 1:The next season of marvel rivals is coming up. We already know, uh, marvel rivals has been massively successful as, of late, one of those private games in the market right now, uh, but in a surprising move, marvel marvel rivals director and others laid off just months after the hero shooter took over the charts. Marvel Rivals game director and others from the development team behind the hero shooter have been laid off. The dismissals have caught many by surprise as NetEase comic book blockbuster continues to dominate the charts. He is comic book blockbuster continues to dominate the charts.
Speaker 1:Um, this is a weird industry, wrote director thaddeus sasser on linkedin, whose job currently reads I help create billion dollar franchises. His posts continue. My stellar, talented team has helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in marvel rivals for netease games and they were just laid off. Uh, marvel rivals lead uh designer jack boros posted a similar message on the job hunting website. Hey folks, he wrote well, just got laid off from my job. Working at marvel rivals with an eighties was an enormous pleasure to work with my american co-workers who joined me in this sad culling. Just couldn't dodge that big boot, I guess, no matter how big the success of the gig. Yeah, this is weird.
Speaker 1:Uh, the size and location of the teams that worked on the hero shooter have been hard to pin down and it's not immediately clear what the extent of the teams impacted were or why. Much of the team working on the game is based in china. Other developers based in north america, including gary mcgee, have appeared to be fired, so it seems like it's mostly just focused on their american branch. Could this possibly be something to do with our uh, previously mentioned uh, cheeto and chief talking real hot on the mic recently and maybe, and you know, continuing to try and ruin a bunch of international relationships we have with some of our allies? Um, because you know he's, he's taxing china with them tears. Uh, and we already know we we don't get this.
Speaker 1:Uh, today's cuts have been alongside a video updating fans on the upcoming changes. Of course I don't get it. Man, wrote veteran game artist dale walker in response to the news you make one of the most successful live service titles of the generation, despite the word telling you live service is dead and still get laid off. What are we even doing at this point? So yeah, it seemed like it's all based on the American side. So, uh, yeah, of course this is. This is still very new. I think this is literally just said. Yeah, this was 23 minutes ago. So this is all very new, all very sudden. So we don't have too much news just yet, but I'll see if we can find any updates on a later thing. Um, also, I didn't put it on here, but uh, of course we all know marvel rivals is being like the biggest competitor to Blizzard's Overwatch.
Speaker 1:Did y'all see that Overwatch is bringing back loot boxes and it's absolutely fucking ridiculous, cause the game is just proving to just slide back into just being Overwatch 1. These motherfuckers. They named it Overwatch 2, but these motherfuckers have just made it Overwatch comma T-o-o. Overwatch 2. It's, it's fucking overwatch as well. They're just going back to doing the shit they've been doing before, which is absolutely insane. All those, the promises they talked about. Uh, the sequel was going to be. We haven't gotten and they've put it back. I think they put it back to 6v6, uh, because it was 5v5 for two. Then it made it back to 6v6 and now we've gotten loot boxes coming back. That's fucking ridiculous. All right, that's it for video games. Now we will move into television, uh.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, this is a little older, but uh, hbo series is eyeing john lithgow to play dumbledore in the series. Uh, john lithgow is in final talks to play albus dumbledore in hbo's upcoming adaption of jk rowling's harry potter books. A variety has confirmed lithgow's intention for the role, with sources though hbo comments. We appreciate that such high profile series draw a lot of rumor and speculation as we make our way through pre-production. We will only confirm details as we finalize deals. So that's cool.
Speaker 1:If you don't know, liz Galvin is a beloved actor for decades he's worked on films like the Ward according to Garp, terms of Endearment and Footloose. He's also worked on TV shows like Third Rock from the Sun, dexter, the Crown and more. He recently appeared on fx's, the old man and focus features the conclave. So this should be pretty cool. You know, dumbledore is the? Uh, the headmaster of hogwarts at the time of the story when harry enrolls in hogwarts? Uh, because one of his closest allies and confidants. So I think that'll be pretty cool to see john luthgow take on that role. But of course, nothing's official, this is all just speculations. We won't know anything till things get pin, gets put the paper, and hbo is ready to reveal more on that front.
Speaker 1:All right, next up, uh, true detectives, season five setting revealed as hbo gears up for production of the fifth season. So the upcoming fifth season of hbo's emmy winning crime drama, true detectives, and the second what? Uh, isa lopez is right as writer and showrunner is moving along. It's also moving to another state, uh, hbo's head of drama series and film, uh, francesca. Or she told that line during an interview at the white lotus season 3 premiere. Uh, it's set in new york, in jamaica bay. Or she said isa has a lot to say, not unlike she did with night country it's it's a different melanoo, but just as powerful.
Speaker 1:Filming on the new season is slated to begin in the coming months, with casting in its preliminary stages. I'm really excited about it. We have a small writer's room going with isa. She's excited. Or she says we just gave notes on the first two episodes, the entire season. Uh, honestly, I can't wait for it to get to it. The new season will launch on in 2027, or she said. Of course it's coming.
Speaker 1:Uh, right, true Detectives, which was the fourth installment of the anthology, with Jodie Foster and Callie Reese as detectives who dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the internal ice in order to solve the disappearance of eight men who operate on the Tassala Arctic Research Station. Yeah, so brand new. It's going to be based in New York, jamaica Bay, so get ready for that. Arctic research station. Uh, yeah, so brand new, it's gonna be based in new york, jamaica bay, so get ready for that. For any, uh any, true detective fans. All right.
Speaker 1:Next up, we've got uh, peter dinklage has joined dexter resurrections and showtime. We've been keeping up on pretty much all of the casting updates for this series and now we have a brand new one. Uh, peter dinklage has joined the cast for dexter resurrections. Uh, he's joining michael c hall with the along. Uh, along the lines of uma thurman, david zayas, james remar and jack alcott.
Speaker 1:Uh, dinklage will play leon. Uh, bratter. Described as a billionaire venture capitalist to the world, leon is a generous philanthropist, but behind his polished interior lies dark intrigue. So it seems like Dinklage is going to be playing the character who's probably going to be Dexter's big target for this show A billionaire philanthropist who, probably who has some really, really dark secrets and probably got a few skeletons in his closet. So that's really cool. Peter dinklage is as great as we all know, uh. So, yeah, more dexter resurrection show.
Speaker 1:So I feel like all the news I've done keeping up on, I'm gonna have to watch it now. Uh, no, we're not just with my ad blockers, so we've got some exclusive news. Um, did you do? The cast of BET plus and heartbeat adult animated series look have continues to grow, with the addition of Gerald Slink Johnson as a series regular, jamar Neighbors, cree Summers and and Angela Johnson, reyes and Patricia Miss Pat Williams are all joining in supporting roles. The trailer for the show, which premieres on March 6th, is down below. And then we got a bunch of other guest stars Avion Crockett, rick Ingraham, jaden Libran, akio Tanaka. Also appearing throughout the series are Loretta Devine, dj Quick, kyle Irby, malia Mills, nicole Amy Schreiber, clayton Thompson and Doc Williams.
Speaker 1:So, if y'all don't know, little Kev is set in 1993, north Philadelphia and follows a 12-year-old, kevin Hart, whose wild imagination and unshakable optimism constantly collide with his neighbors, with his neighborhood's harsh reality. Um, at the same time, his no-nonsense mother, nancy, who's played by wanda sykes, juggles the night shift at an er nurse while waging a one woman well war to keep kev on track. Uh, he has his older brother, robert, who is going to be voiced by, uh, jamar neighborsors, blazing all the wrong trails, his train work, father Henry's outrageous attempt to win Nancy back, and his ex-con uncle Richard, who's played by Cole, who I'm guessing is do we see him in the? Do we see him in the cast? I don't see him in the cast. Alright, see him in the cast. I don't see him in the cast, all right? Uh, so we got some character descriptions.
Speaker 1:So johnson plays henry, who has a troubled past tainted by addiction. Henry's many vices have doomed his relationship with nancy. Still, despite his many problems and underneath all the liquor, henry is a good man with a good heart. He wants to be a good dad for Kevin, robert. Okay, so that's the dad. Johnson plays Henry.
Speaker 1:The father Davis plays Robert. Kev's much taller, 16-year-old, glass-half-empty older brother. Kev calls him Negative Ned because he constantly shits all over Kevin's dreams and covers up his shitting over us with the catch all the excuse that he's just keeping it real. Robert is hustler, who's all about making cash and money. Uh, summers plays.
Speaker 1:Uh, summer plays gerald kate's larger than life's best friend, known for his sharp humor and constant trash talk. He's really good at playing the dozens. Because he's been talked about so much he had to learn how to fight back. Uh, justin reyes plays marisol nancy's shady best friend and co-worker at the hospital. Williams plays tiki, a short-tempered woman who won't let anything stand in the way of a hair appointment. Uh, she's also a dirty dante's mom who has a gaming addict. And there's a bunch more uh character stuff for you, because I ain't gonna read all this. Uh, kevin hart, brian smiley, jeff. Uh callaghan. Mike Stein and Candace Williams, sherry, serve as executive producers for Heartbeat Productions. Heartbeat's Tiffany Brown acts as co-executive producer. Matthew Claybrooks and Michael Price would be the EP and showrunners, and it's going to be airing on BET Plus, so look out for that. We'll probably we'll also trailer in the uh trailer section.
Speaker 1:All right, and finally for our last tv section snl 50 ratings. Uh, the anniversary special hits 14.8 million viewers on nbc, more than 200 above the season average. Um, yeah, uh, I watched this. It oddly oddly, it aired on a sunday as opposed to as opposed to a um a saturday, which was weird. Uh, that number is 202 percent above the average number for the viewers who tuned in to regular episodes throughout snl. Snl, throughout its 50th season, which is about uh 4.9 million, which is an improvement over the last season. Key Adult's 18 and 49 are the key demographic. This is the network's most-watched primetime entertainment telecast which is not sports and not news. In five years it's the Golden Globe Awards. As well as the fourth-most-watched entertainment telecast of all time on Peacock, only coming behind three Macy's day thanksgiving parade telecast. That's cool. Additionally, it can be expected that viewership for the anniversary special will grow significantly and delayed viewing on peacock, of course, in digital platforms. So that's really cool.
Speaker 1:I watched the snl uh 50th special. It was extremely well done. It had a bunch of bunch of celebrities, bunch of musical guests, bunch of returning cast members. Uh, it was like a three-hour show and it was all great. It blew by like it was done and it was great. I left my ass off most of the entire night.
Speaker 1:Y'all already know I'm a massive snl fan, massive snl head. So I had to watch this when it came out and I'll probably watch it again because I gotta watch all the other. I gotta watch all the other shit they've been doing for the um for gearing up for this. There's like a four-part, four-part documentary series. Uh, they had a homecoming concert, was a big like a whole full, like three-hour concert. Um, they had a special talking about the music of snl, uh, and then they had like a red carpet thing too, and then I finally heard this. So I'm going to watch all those and get back to this. All right, and that is it for this part of the news drop, as we are about to get into trailers which I'm just noticing. I did not put them together, so I'm going to have to put my, put our trailers together here in a little bit. It's fine, because I got a pause and get my, get my voice right, so, yeah, so that is it for this episode of News Drop.
Speaker 1:Thank you all so much for listening. I very much do appreciate it because our audio listeners that is it. If you are interested in the trailers, or especially all the gameplays, we're going to watch for the state of play in the trailers, uh, or especially all the gameplays we're going to watch for the state of play. Feel free to jump on over to youtube so you can watch these with me, as we'll look through them. Of course, if you're watching on youtube already, you know. Hey, that is just exactly where I'm about to get into. So, for all my audio listeners, thank you so much for listening. I very much do appreciate it. Make sure you leave your boy a review on all of the audio realms. You can find this as spotify, google podcast, apple podcast, all that good stuff. We're all on there. So until next time, my audio listeners, I will speak to you all later. Good bye.