Geek Freaks

Geek Freaks
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Marvel, Star Wars, and Gaming News: Deep Dives & Exclusive Interviews Welcome to Geek Freaks—your ultimate weekly briefing on pop culture, gaming, and fandom news. We cut through the noise with fast-paced recaps, spoiler reviews, and deep-dive breakdowns across the MCU, Star Wars, Nintendo, PlayStation, and DC. Featuring expert analysis and exclusive interviews with industry creators and voice icons—like Lenore Zann (Rogue in X-Men '97)—Geek Freaks keeps you ahead of the curve on everything geek. Hit follow to join the Freak Nation, and visit GeekFreaksPodcast.com for more.

  1. 3d ago

    Eric Bauza, Hickman's Doomsday, and BioWare's Last Save

    Thomas joins Frank to remember Eric Bauza, the modern voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and tells the story of meeting him at DreamHack San Diego and running into him again at WonderCon this year. Then the news: Jonathan Hickman is consulting on Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, and EA has shut down BioWare and canceled the next Mass Effect. Thomas calls Hickman the Christopher Nolan of comics, pointing to House of X/Powers of X, while Frank goes back to the Council of Reeds in Hickman's Fantastic Four. Both want the Reed and Doom friendship at the center of the movie. On BioWare, Frank lays out Andromeda, Anthem, and Veilguard alongside the $55 billion buyout, and the two talk about the mid-budget games that disappeared and the indie studios filling the gap. Frank closes with his Clayface review: a small, dark DC movie with rough CGI late, a big turn from Tom Rhys Harries, and a villain you end up rooting for. Plus picks for Blade Runner 2099 and Prime's Carrie. Chapters 0:00 Remembering Eric Bauza 5:30 LA Comic-Con Plans 8:45 Jonathan Hickman Joins Doomsday and Secret Wars 25:27 EA Shuts Down BioWare 32:19 Triple-A Risk vs. Indie Games 41:55 Clayface Review (Spoiler Free) 43:34 Clayface Spoiler Talk 51:29 Around the Geek Freaks Network 54:40 Thomas Recommends Blade Runner 2099 57:44 Frank Recommends Carrie Key takeaways Thomas spent 20 to 30 minutes talking with Bauza before a WonderCon panel, and Bauza kept the conversation going from the stage as the room filled. Frank wants to see how Steve Rogers reacts when someone pulls him out of the life he finally got to live, and wonders if he still feels the same duty to this Earth. Frank's theory: Marvel is stretching the multiverse mess on purpose (two Caps, multiple Spider-Men) so the Secret Wars reset lands harder. A story-driven Triple-A game takes five to ten years, so one flop can sink a studio. BioWare had three in a row. Frank would rather spend ten dollars at a time on Marvel Rivals skins than $70 on a game he finishes in eight hours. Clayface's cop love interest could be cut without changing anything, and darker characters like Swamp Thing, Etrigan, and Constantine suit the same mid-budget approach. Quotes "I stand by he's kind of the Christopher Nolan of comic books." (Thomas) "That story is so big and yet that question is so small." (Frank) "Not everything has to be $200 million." (Frank) "He's a man who's lost his identity. He's gaining a new one. He's desperately trying to reach the old one. And when he finally accepts the new one, he's Clayface." (Frank) "My peak of high school and social media together was figuring out your top eight in Myspace." (Frank) Source All news discussed in this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com. Support the show Follow Geek Freaks on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, leave a five-star review, and send this one to the friend still waiting on another Knights of the Old Republic. #GeekFreaksPodcast Follow Geek Freaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Instagram and TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Listener questions Which BioWare game are you going to miss most? Send that, plus questions and topic ideas, to thegeekfreakspodcast@gmail.com.

    Eric Bauza, Hickman's Doomsday, and BioWare's Last Save

  2. Oct 22

    Kilby of Survivor 51 on Balatro, Board Game Tests, and Starting Noodle Goose Games

    Survivor 51 castaway Danny "Kilby" Kilby joins Frank to talk about Noodle Goose Games, the Canadian studio he co-founded with Karen to make games for autistic youth and now games for everyone. He breaks down why a good video game should be fun as a board game first, how Balatro found its audience through a Big Brother streamer, and why he thinks the current wave of industry layoffs opens a door for indie developers. The studio started over a bowl of noodles and a three-day sprint to incorporate before a funding deadline. From there, Kilby explains how Noodle Goose funds development with profits from live events instead of loans, why social deduction games like Among Us and Mafia help teach kids to spot a scam, and what he learned at game developer conferences about getting people to care. He and Frank also swap notes on Switch 2 versus PlayStation Vita loyalty, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's long road to a publisher, and the studio's next release, a Scribblenauts-inspired word puzzle game headed to Kickstarter. Chapters 0:00 Meet Danny "Kilby" Kilby 0:57 How Noodle Goose Games Started Over Noodles 5:36 Designing Games for Autistic Youth 10:40 Growing the Team and Funding Games Without Loans 13:47 Why Indie Devs Have to Market First 19:07 Is It Fun on Paper? Playtesting with Balatro and Breath of the Wild 26:45 Switch 2, the PlayStation Vita, and Where Indies Sell 33:00 Discoverability Tips for New Developers 43:29 Layoffs, A24, and Why Now Is a Good Time for Indies 55:55 What's Next for Noodle Goose Games Key Takeaways Noodle Goose Games went from a dinner conversation to a fully incorporated studio in about a week so Kilby and Karen could make a funding deadline. Their first game was a crisis-skills escape room for autistic youth, and its life-balance point system now forms the base of a coming-of-age time travel game in development. The studio funds games with profits from large live events, like a boat party, plus government grants, so a game that sold zero copies would not sink the company. Kilby's playtest rule: strip out the art, sound, and animation, and if the core loop still works as a board game, the game is worth building. Indie hits often grow from small, devoted audiences. Balatro took off after its creator kept sending it to Big Brother legend Dan Gheesling, who played it on stream. Kilby sees layoffs and big publishers abandoning mid-size games as an opening, since players still want games and fewer studios are serving them. Quotes "If you don't book it, it don't happen." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby) "We are funding a game with our profits, rather than hoping the game is the only profit." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby) "If the game would make a good board game, it'll make a good game." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby) "You can make the best game of all time, and if no one knows about it, no one's gonna buy it." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby) "The minute someone stops appealing to a market, that's when you jump in on that market." (Danny "Kilby" Kilby) Links and Resources GeekFreaksPodcast.com is the source of all news discussed on Geek Freaks. Noodle Goose Games, including the playable prototype of its upcoming word puzzle game Arcade Pizza, Kilby's video game podcast Watch Kilby on Survivor 51, Wednesdays on CBS Support the Show If this one got you thinking about your own game idea, subscribe so you catch the next interview, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Then send this episode to the friend who has been "about to start" their indie game for three years. #GeekFreaksPodcast Follow Geek Freaks Instagram: @GeekFreaksPodcast TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Send Us Your Questions Got a question for a future guest, a reaction to Kilby's "fun on paper" rule, or an indie game you think deserves a spotlight? Send it our way at Info@GFPods.com or drop it in the comments, and it might make it onto a future episode.

    Kilby of Survivor 51 on Balatro, Board Game Tests, and Starting Noodle Goose Games

  3. Oct 20

    Street Fighter and Vision Quest: Ken Punches a Car, Ultron Considers Art

    Phil from Distance NERDing saw the new Street Fighter movie and thinks the critics got it wrong. He makes the case that it plays like a fighting game's story mode, and that the people calling it disjointed are mostly the ones who stopped playing after Street Fighter II. Episode Summary After the spoiler warning, Phil breaks down the Ryu and Ken rivalry, Akuma's pull on Ryu through the Satsui no Hado, David Dastmalchian's unhinged Bison, and the one thing he can't forgive: Cody Rhodes' Guile fights Vega off screen. Frank, who hasn't seen it yet, pushes on whether the camp works for casual viewers and lines it up next to James Gunn's Superman. The second half moves to Vision Quest episodes 1 and 2. Frank and Phil talk about the Jarvis moment, James Spader's return as Ultron, Tommy's two sets of memories, and who could be paying Paladin. They close on Marvel scaling back Disney+ budgets, what's coming up for Distance NERDing and its D&D actual play, and a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign recommendation. Chapters 0:00 Phil from Distance NERDing Joins, Is Vision Quest Rebuilding Marvel Hype? 1:30 Street Fighter Spoiler-Free Review: Better Than the Reviews Say 3:57 Street Fighter Spoilers: The 1993 Setting, Ryu, Ken, and Akuma 15:35 Chun-Li, Bison, Guile, and the Game-Accurate Moves 22:34 Embracing Camp: Street Fighter, Gunn's Superman, and Adaptations as New Runs 26:12 Street Fighter Verdict: Theaters or Streaming? 28:28 Vision Quest Episodes 1 and 2: Jarvis and James Spader's Ultron 41:03 Paladin, Tommy, and Who's Pulling the Strings 55:13 Is Marvel Pulling Back on Disney+? 57:45 What's Next for Distance NERDing 1:00:14 Recommendations: Modern Warfare 4 Campaign and a WoW Guild Key Takeaways Phil argues Street Fighter is built like arcade story mode, with separate character arcs that converge on one fight. Viewers who don't know that format read it as disjointed. The movie pulls deep from post-Street Fighter V lore: Gouken and Gouki, Ryu and the Satsui no Hado, and Bison draining fighters to fuel his Psycho Power. Phil's two gripes are Guile's off-screen fight with Vega and Ken never landing the flaming Shoryuken. His verdict is theaters, with a crowd. Moviegoers with no attachment to the games are the most likely to bounce off it. Frank found Vision Quest episode 1 slow and episode 2 the payoff, while Phil was hooked from the start. Both rank James Spader's Ultron as the best thing in the show so far. Both hosts read Marvel's TV slowdown as a budget decision, since big-budget series didn't pull in enough new Disney+ subscribers. Frank sees Zodiac as a test run for cheaper, Arrow-style shows. Quotes "The way that they did this entire movie was almost the same way that you play a fighting game." (Phil) "Every single character in this movie performs something that they're known for in the game." (Phil) "If you want the blood and gore, Mortal Kombat. If you want the dude beating up a car in the middle of the street while people cheer, Street Fighter." (Frank) "Could it be anybody else but Jarvis? He's just been with us since the beginning." (Frank) "I can listen to that dude read the dictionary." (Phil, on James Spader) Sources GeekFreaksPodcast.com is the source for all news discussed on the show. Support the Show Subscribe wherever you listen and leave a rating or review, since it helps new listeners find us. If you have a friend who skipped Street Fighter because of the reviews, send them this one, and if you disagree with Phil, go tell Distance NERDing. #GeekFreaksPodcast Follow Us Instagram: @GeekFreaksPodcast TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Send Us Your Questions Did Street Fighter work for you, or did it land as disjointed? Who do you think hired Paladin? Send your reactions, questions, and topic ideas to Info@GFPods.com or drop them in the comments, and we may read them on a future episode.

    Street Fighter and Vision Quest: Ken Punches a Car, Ultron Considers Art

  4. Oct 13

    Vision Quest Prep, A Doom Theory, Xbox Goes Hollywood, and LA Comic Con's CEO

    Episode Summary Vision Quest premieres today, and we're getting you ready with a full primer on Vision's MCU story, from Age of Ultron and his death at the hands of Thanos to the White Vision who flew off at the end of WandaVision. Then Thomas and Frank sit down with Chris DeMoulin, CEO of LA Comic Con, to talk about how the biggest convention in Los Angeles gets built every year. Squeaks and Thomas join Frank to break down what the Vision Quest trailers have already given away, why Ultron living in the "basement" of Vision's mind could drive the whole season, whether Billy and Tommy are being set up for a Young Avengers team, and one wild theory connecting Wanda to Doctor Doom's three witches. In Headlines, the crew reacts to the NYCC announcements for Marvel Zodiac and DC's Absolute Justice, Avatar: Seven Havens getting renewed through Book Four, a comedy series about a young Avatar Kuruk, and Xbox launching its own film and TV studio. Chris shares why he put the LA Comic Con main stage in the middle of the show floor, what it took to land first-time convention guests like Bob Odenkirk, and why 350 fans now own a piece of the show. Chapters 0:00 Intro and Catch-Up 1:37 Vision's MCU Story So Far 9:03 Vision Quest Hype Check and Predictions 17:36 Wild Theory: Wanda, Doom, and the Three Witches 19:28 Headlines: Marvel Zodiac, Absolute Justice, Avatar, and Xbox's New Studio 34:32 Interview: LA Comic Con CEO Chris DeMoulin 48:07 Network Roundup and Patreon Shout-Out 50:14 Picks of the Week Key Takeaways Vision Quest's first episode is titled "No Strings," a nod to Ultron's song from Age of Ultron, and Ultron appears to be locked deep inside Vision's mind, setting up a power struggle for control of the body. Frank thinks the moment Vision does something irrational to protect Tommy will be the moment his inherited memories finally connect to real emotion. Marvel Zodiac looks like a grounded spy series with Secret Warriors roots, and the Scorpio connection could bring in Nick Fury's brother as a future successor to Samuel L. Jackson's Fury. Absolute Justice brings DC's Absolute universe together in five issues starting April 2027, written by Jason Aaron, with no tie-ins required. Xbox's new studio will handle the Call of Duty movie, a Diablo series, and Fallout Season 3, and Squeaks sees it growing into a fan event in the style of BlizzCon. Chris DeMoulin starts booking talent up to two years ahead, works from yearly fan surveys, and keeps adding panelists right up until the week of the show. Pull Quotes "Just slap Spider-Man up somewhere. You don't need to show me. We're gonna go see it." (Squeaks, on trailers that give away too much) "I think he's a brutally underappreciated villain that I would argue is just below Doctor Doom in importance." (Frank, on Ultron) "If this Vision dies, then all of Ultron dies." (Thomas, on why Ultron might protect Vision) "A fan show has to be about the fans." (Chris DeMoulin, CEO of LA Comic Con) "We want you to come and be a fan, but we also want you to feel like it's your show." (Chris DeMoulin, on the 350 fans who invested in LA Comic Con) Sources All news discussed on this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com. Subscribe and Share If you're watching Vision Quest this week, subscribe so you catch our episode-by-episode reactions on YouTube, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Share this one with the friend who still hasn't gotten over what Thanos did to Vision. #GeekFreaksPodcast The full Chris DeMoulin interview is available now on YouTube and on the GFI (Geek Freaks Interviews) feed wherever you get podcasts. Follow Us Website: GeekFreaksPodcast.com Instagram: @GeekFreaksPodcast TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Listener Questions What's your Vision Quest prediction? Tell us whether you think Wanda shows up, who the end-of-season cameo will be, or which Xbox franchise deserves a movie next. Send us your questions, reactions, and topic ideas on any of our socials, and we might read them on a future episode.

    Vision Quest Prep, A Doom Theory, Xbox Goes Hollywood, and LA Comic Con's CEO

  5. Oct 6

    Lanterns Season 1 Review and the Finale That Saved It

    Frank and Thomas break down the full first season of HBO's Lanterns the night after the finale, from John Stewart's new oath to Hal Jordan's "I love you, Junior" goodbye. Frank had the season sitting at a six until the last episode pulled it up to a strong eight. The conversation keeps splitting along one line: how the show plays for a comic reader versus someone who only knows the DCU on screen. That split shapes the read on John embracing fear, the lantern that looked more yellow than green, his choice to let Noah live, and a villain lineup that gave Sinestro too little screen time and Antaan almost nothing to do. The back half looks ahead to Man of Tomorrow, what a second season should be about, and the questions about Hal and Sheriff Kerry Kane the finale left open. Full spoilers start at 11:12. Timestamps and Topics 00:00 Housekeeping and the John Stewart Patreon Statue 01:53 Finale Gut Reactions and Season Scores 11:12 John Stewart as the Cowboy Green Lantern (Full Spoilers) 17:22 The Yellow Lantern Tease and the Noah Decision 26:23 John's Family and the Hal Jordan Goodbye 39:53 Where the Villains Fell Short 46:29 Lanterns in Man of Tomorrow and Season 2 49:57 Final Thoughts 55:44 Side Quest and Patreon Shout-Out Key Takeaways The finale changed Frank's score for the whole season. Knowing where the story lands made earlier weak spots, like the limited Sinestro time, play as setup. John's new oath includes "I embrace fear." To a comic reader that sounds like Parallax. Taken on its own, it gives the Green Lanterns the thing Frank and Thomas said they were missing back in their episode one review: admitting fear exists and overcoming it. Frank compares the repaired lantern to kintsugi, the Japanese practice of mending broken pottery with gold, as a way to read the yellow in it as a flaw being honored. Sparing Noah is the choice that sells John as a superhero. He takes on the risk of a young Manhunter and commits to becoming strong enough to stop him if it comes to that. The villains were the weakest part of the season. Zoe is gone by the midpoint, Antaan's crew never returns, and Ulrich Thomsen's Sinestro needed more scenes. For Man of Tomorrow, Frank wants John in a role as active as Mister Terrific's in Superman, plus a clear signal of what Lanterns season two is about. Quotes "This John Stewart is a superhero. He's not a cop." (Frank) "Before that finale, I had the season sitting closer to a six. With that, I have it at a strong eight." (Frank) "Antaan. What a waste of a character." (Frank) "They've left us wanting a little bit more than they should have." (Frank) "If it wasn't for this ending, it would have been an unsatisfactory show, no doubt." (Frank) Links and Resources GeekFreaksPodcast.com is the source of all news discussed during the podcast. Call to Action Follow or subscribe to Geek Freaks wherever you listen, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so more DC fans can find the show. If you have a friend who was sure that lantern was turning yellow, send them this episode and tag your reaction with #GeekFreaksPodcast. Follow Us Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Instagram and TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Listener Questions Did you watch Lanterns without reading a single Green Lantern comic? Frank and Thomas want to know how the season played for you, since neither of them can watch it that way. Send your take, your season two theories, or a topic you want covered on a future episode.

    Lanterns Season 1 Review and the Finale That Saved It

  6. Sep 24

    Endgame's New Ending, Danny Trejo's Year of the Devil, and Mark Hamill's Darkwing Duck

    Episode Summary Avengers: Endgame is back in theaters with a new ending, and it puts Loki on Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter's doorstep as the MCU's answer to Doctor Doom. Frank breaks down the leaked Encore Edition scenes, then sits down with Keith Arem and Chris Yates, the writers behind Danny Trejo's cursed-conquistador comic Year of the Devil. The Encore leaks include a TVA post-credit scene where incursions multiply into the thousands and a visit from Doom to Bruce Banner's underground lab, and Frank lays out what they mean for Avengers: Doomsday on December 18. In the interview, Keith explains how Danny stopped a recording session to pitch a book they could make together, and the pair talk about building Diego de Rojas from Danny's tattoos, his grindhouse roles, and his love of history. In Headlines, Mark Hamill replaces Jim Cummings as Darkwing Duck, Paramount settles with 12 state attorneys general over its Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Daredevil: Born Again ends with season 3, Alan Ritchson is in talks to replace Jason Momoa in Helldivers, and Brad Pitt returns for World War Z 2. Frank closes with a personal message for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:10 Avengers: Endgame Encore Leaks and the Road to Doomsday 07:58 Interview: Keith Arem and Chris Yates on Danny Trejo's Year of the Devil 19:55 Headlines: Mark Hamill Is the New Darkwing Duck 24:38 Paramount's Settlement Terms for the Warner Bros. Discovery Deal 30:02 Daredevil: Born Again Ends With Season 3 35:01 Helldivers Recasting and World War Z 2 39:01 Network Updates 40:40 Suicide Prevention Awareness Month Key Takeaways The leaked Encore ending positions Loki, now the god of stories, as the counterweight to Doctor Doom heading into Doomsday. The TVA post-credit scene shows incursions spreading from one to thousands, which Frank reads as the setup for Secret Wars. Year of the Devil follows Diego de Rojas, a conquistador who frees the devil from a prison beneath Chichén Itzá and is cursed to hunt the Four Horsemen across 500 years. It's a five-issue prestige series from PCB Entertainment launching September 29. Frank thinks Mark Hamill brings clout to the Darkwing Duck reboot, but a younger lead would have given the series a longer runway. Paramount's settlement requires 30 theatrical films a year, a $1.5 billion investment in California productions, and keeping both historic studio lots open. Frank opposes the merger but calls these terms the best-case version of it. With Born Again ending, Frank pitches three ways forward for Charlie Cox's Daredevil: a Daredevil: Yellow adaptation, a Defenders-style series with a rotating street-level cast, or a yearly special presentation. Memorable Quotes "Loki vs. Doctor Doom, which is a sentence that just screams awesome comic book to me." (Frank Lourence) "We felt like it had to have some dirt under the fingernails." (Chris Yates, on Year of the Devil) "He just kind of literally stopped in the middle of a session and he was like, I want to do a book with you." (Keith Arem, on Danny Trejo) "Number one is jobs. Number two is creativity." (Frank Lourence, on the Paramount and WBD merger) "It's not about blowing up aliens and fighting for democracy. It is about the satire of that." (Frank Lourence, on the Helldivers movie) Sources All news discussed on this episode is sourced from GeekFreaksPodcast.com. Support the Show Follow Geek Freaks on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and leave a five-star review. Frank will shout out new reviewers on next week's episode. If you know a Darkwing Duck fan with opinions about Mark Hamill in the cape, send them this episode. #GeekFreaksPodcast Need Support? If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit 988lifeline.org. Follow Geek Freaks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geekfreakspodcast TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@geekfreakspodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/GeekFreaksPod Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Listener Questions Is Loki the right hero to stand against Doom, and what should Marvel do with Daredevil after Born Again? Send your answers, questions, and topic ideas to Info@GFPods.com or DM us on any of the socials above.

    Endgame's New Ending, Danny Trejo's Year of the Devil, and Mark Hamill's Darkwing Duck

  7. Sep 17

    BlizzCon 2026 | World of Warcraft Forever, Diablo 5, and a StarCraft Set for 2030

    BlizzCon 2026 handed out a StarCraft open world shooter that does not land until 2030, a Diablo 5 release window in spring 2029, and a plan to turn World of Warcraft Classic into something called World of Warcraft Forever. Frank and Squeaks were both on the floor for all of it, and they came back with announcement reactions, three hour lines, a Todd McFarlane signature, and Matt Mercer running an Overwatch tabletop game in front of 8,000 people. The Warcraft talk takes up most of the hour, and for good reason. World of Warcraft Forever adds new races, new zones, dungeons and raids to the Classic version of Azeroth, including undead paladins for the Horde, with a beta starting next Thursday ahead of a November 4 launch. Frank played the five man dungeon demo on the show floor and came out talking about how much real communication a slower pace forces back into a group, while Squeaks, who has never touched Classic, walked away planning a warlock. On the retail side, the Eclipse patch and the language Blizzard kept using about closing out twenty years of story push the two of them into a long argument about whether the next expansion ends World of Warcraft and starts World of Warcraft 2 on a modern engine. Elsewhere: Diablo 4 gets Hell's Legacy with Deckard Cain back as the storyteller, a Diablo animated series is coming to Netflix with Overwatch and Warcraft adaptations teased behind it, Overwatch introduces a vampire healer whose backstory and voice were built around the actor playing him, and Wrath of the Lich King Remix only got revealed if you sat through the deep dive panel. The crowd is the one sore spot, with Frank putting attendance near 75,000 against the 40,000 to 50,000 of past years and both hosts stuck in two and three hour lines for the store and the Darkmoon Faire. 0:00 Intro and BlizzCon 2026 First Impressions 3:36 Meeting Todd McFarlane and Watching Matt Mercer Run Overwatch 6:08 Oversold Crowds, Three Hour Lines, and a Dry BlizzCon 10:06 StarCraft Returns as an Open World Shooter 14:22 Diablo 5 in 2029, Hell's Legacy, and Deckard Cain 19:52 The Diablo Animated Series on Netflix 21:28 World of Warcraft Forever and the Classic Overhaul 29:07 Eclipse, the Titans, and the Case for World of Warcraft 2 38:12 Overwatch's Newest Hero and the Wrath Remix Reveal 41:31 Final Day Highlights, T-Pain, and the Arena Championship 48:37 Recommendations, the Patreon Statue Vote, and the Forever Guild Key takeaways World of Warcraft Forever launches November 4 with a beta starting next Thursday, adding new races, zones, dungeons and raids to Classic, plus undead paladins for the Horde. StarCraft is back as an open world shooter set 100 years after StarCraft 2, but the 2030 date landed hard in the room, and both hosts worry about a Warhammer style game with no Protoss or Zerg to play. Diablo 5 arrives spring 2029, with Hell's Legacy bridging the gap in Diablo 4 and Deckard Cain returning to bring old bosses back for another fight. The Diablo animated series at Netflix is the adaptation Frank is most confident in, with Castlevania and Cyberpunk Edgerunners as the track record, and Overwatch and Warcraft projects teased after it. Blizzard's repeated framing about the culmination of twenty years has both hosts betting the next expansion closes the current story, with Frank arguing a true sequel is the only way past a 2004 engine. Attendance was the weekend's biggest problem, with two hour waits just to enter the convention center on Saturday and three hour waits for the store and the Darkmoon Faire. "When they put that 2030 on the screen, the air went out of the room." - Frank "I got to meet my dream comic book creator. I could be gone tomorrow and I would feel like life was fulfilled." - Squeaks, on meeting Todd McFarlane "That kind of communication is peak Warcraft, and that stuff is not said in World of Warcraft today." - Frank, on the Forever dungeon demo "We are reaching the limits of what this engine can do." - Frank, on why he thinks World of Warcraft 2 has to happen "There is a blood knight in Diablo Immortal and I love the hell out of it. I named him Squeaks Belmont." - Squeaks Every story covered in this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com, the source for all news discussed on the show. If you have not subscribed yet, do it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so the next one shows up automatically, and leave a rating or review while you are there. Send this episode to the friend who quit World of Warcraft back in Cataclysm, because Forever is aimed directly at them. #GeekFreaksPodcast Follow us: Instagram: @GeekFreaksPodcast TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Got a BlizzCon take we missed, a WoW Forever class you are locking in, or a prediction about World of Warcraft 2? Send us your questions, reactions, and topic ideas, and we will get to them on a future episode. We are also forming a guild for World of Warcraft Forever in both Classic and retail, so reach out if you want in.

    BlizzCon 2026 | World of Warcraft Forever, Diablo 5, and a StarCraft Set for 2030

  8. Sep 8

    Avengers Doomsday Improv Panic, a Darkwing Duck Recast, and a Samurai Redneck Zombie Killer

    Dungeons & Dragons 2 has a finished script, and the studio that made the first one already passed on it. Avengers Doomsday is deep in edits, the Russo brothers just called their script a living organism, and everyone lost their minds about it. Squeaks opens the show with a full report from the Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, where the Moscone Center got taken over by TCG, Pokémon Go, Unite, and the new Pokémon Champions app, and where buying a single piece of exclusive merch turned into a timed-entry website that crashed on everybody. Then Allen Dunford joins Frank to talk about The Samurai Redneck Zombie Killer #1, the Comic Soup book he co-wrote with Kit Wallis that funded its previous record in a single day. Allen gets into the grindhouse and manga influences, why the story stays locked on two survivors instead of a community, and the Geek Freaks variant cover on the Kickstarter. Frank closes with the first News Quickfire, a tighter news segment built on listener feedback. The news run covers D&D 2's script and where the project could land, Netflix developing a live action Ravenloft while Forgotten Realms gets canceled, HBO's Baldur's Gate series with Craig Mazin, the real reasons Honor Among Thieves underperformed, the Avengers Doomsday improv conversation, Jim Cummings losing Darkwing Duck to a recast, and a full status check on Gargoyles, Hey Arnold, Doug, and the 90s reboot slate. Chapters 0:00 Intro: Patreon Upgrades, SideQuest Relaunch, and Show Changes 1:34 Squeaks at Pokémon Worlds: Moscone Center, Pokémon XP, and the Tournaments 5:21 The Merch Problem: Pokémon Center Lines, Resellers, and Scalpers 10:12 Guest: Allen Dunford on The Samurai Redneck Zombie Killer 21:37 Seven Years Indie, the Comic Soup Slate, and the Geek Freaks Variant 27:30 News Quickfire: D&D 2's Finished Script, Ravenloft, and Baldur's Gate 34:14 Avengers Doomsday, the Russos, and the Improv Panic 40:52 Darkwing Duck Recasts Jim Cummings, Plus the 90s Reboot Roundup 48:10 Wrap-Up and Listener Feedback Key Takeaways Pokémon Worlds was an incredible event wrapped around a broken buying experience. The Pokémon Center on site required a timed booking through a site that crashed, the second merch area turned out to be reseller tables selling singles for hundreds, and Squeaks walked out having spent twenty dollars and bought his Worlds backpack online later at roughly four times the price. Next year's Worlds moves to Singapore, so US fans have no idea when it comes back. The Samurai Redneck Zombie Killer started as a title and a cover. Kit Wallis brought Allen the name and the first five pages, posted the cover to Instagram, and the response was so far outside his normal engagement that they fast tracked the whole book. It beat Comic Soup's previous best campaign total in a single day. Allen and Kit built the book around two people instead of a community, borrowing the Leon and Mathilda dynamic from The Professional, right down to naming the samurai Lee. The art uses a manga inspired color scheme with the first five pages in full color before shifting to black, white, and splashes of red. Paramount Skydance passed on Dungeons & Dragons 2 as financially unviable, but Hasbro is shopping it. Honor Among Thieves earned around $205 million on a roughly $150 million budget split with Hasbro's E1, opened four days before The Super Mario Bros. Movie, landed a month after the OGL boycott, and never told non fans it was a family comedy. The Avengers Doomsday improv worry is overblown. The Russos worked the same way on Infinity War and Endgame, their visual reference is Once Upon a Time in the West, and Robert Downey Jr. said he would not have come back without them. Improv on a movie this size gets spent on one on one character scenes, not on Sentinels and VFX plates. Jim Cummings and Terry McGovern are both being recast in the Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Darkwing Duck reboot, seven years after Cummings recorded the pilot that got it greenlit. The 2017 DuckTales storyline he voiced was about an actor destroyed by a Darkwing Duck recast. Gargoyles' live action version is dead but the animated one is alive, Hey Arnold is in conversations, an adult Doug has concept art out, and King of the Hill is the template everyone is pointing to. Quotes "Twenty bucks, because it was a horrible experience when it comes to purchasing anything." - Squeaks "It is a black mark on the Pokémon brand right now." - Frank "He had the title already. It does what it says on the label." - Allen Dunford "We're not focusing on a community. We're just focusing on two people trying to survive this thing." - Allen Dunford "In the indie sphere, you're not just the writer. The book doesn't stop at the script." - Allen Dunford "Improv works better when it's scaled down. It doesn't work super well when it scales up." - Frank All news discussed on this episode comes from GeekFreaksPodcast.com. If the Darkwing Duck recast or the D&D 2 situation got you fired up, send this episode to the friend who is going to have the loudest opinion about it. Follow Geek Freaks on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so new episodes land automatically, and leave a rating or review while you are there. It genuinely moves the needle for an independent show. #GeekFreaksPodcast Follow us: Instagram: @GeekFreaksPodcast TikTok: @GeekFreaksPodcast Twitter: @GeekFreaksPod Threads: https://www.threads.net/@geekfreakspodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegeekfreakspodcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GeekFreakspodcast Website: GeekFreaksPodcast.com Frank asked for it directly on this one, so tell him how the shorter News Quickfire segment is landing. Send your questions, reactions, and topic ideas, and let us know what you want more of and less of going forward.

    Avengers Doomsday Improv Panic, a Darkwing Duck Recast, and a Samurai Redneck Zombie Killer
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About

Marvel, Star Wars, and Gaming News: Deep Dives & Exclusive Interviews Welcome to Geek Freaks—your ultimate weekly briefing on pop culture, gaming, and fandom news. We cut through the noise with fast-paced recaps, spoiler reviews, and deep-dive breakdowns across the MCU, Star Wars, Nintendo, PlayStation, and DC. Featuring expert analysis and exclusive interviews with industry creators and voice icons—like Lenore Zann (Rogue in X-Men '97)—Geek Freaks keeps you ahead of the curve on everything geek. Hit follow to join the Freak Nation, and visit GeekFreaksPodcast.com for more.

Information

  • Creator
    Geek Freaks
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    581
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Geek Freaks