It’s another Star Wars double shot! This time around, Seth talks about Chapter 21 of The Mandalorian. From there, it’s on to The Bad Batch finale and predictions for the next season.

1:22 – The Mandalorian Chapter 21

The showdown with Gorian Shard brought the classic swashbuckling vibe that space opera is known for. Plus it had many of the Western movie tropes. You had the outlaws wreaking havoc on the innocent townspeople and the heroes ride into town to run the outlaws off.

15:00 – The Bad Batch Season Two Finale

This brought together many of the stories from what seemed like the “one-off side-quest” episodes. This season was definitely more like ESB in that the heroes’ only win is survival.

We have news on the villain for X-Men ’97. Kevin Smith talks James Gunn. First on-set images of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn! Plus a review of The Mandalorian Chapter 20!

1:00 – X-Men ’97 Update

Sinister is the main villain for X-Men ’97. Christopher Britton reprises the role he voiced in the 1990s.

“A very, very, very, very favorite character of mine and many others, Mr. Sinister, will rear his ugly head from the past with a pretty foolproof plan to destroy the X-Men once and for all.”

X-Men ’97 writer Beau DeMayo

Uncanny X-Men #221, the first appearance of Mr. Sinister.

X-Men ’97 is a sequel/continuation to X-Men: The Animated Series, which aired on Fox from 1992-1997. It is set several months after the original series ended. The finale saw Professor X travel into space, leaving Magneto taking his place as the X-Men’s mentor.

How Magneto will look in X-Men ’97

Fans of the original comic may remember that Magneto did lead the X-Men for a while in Xavier’s absence. However, he soon returned to his villainous ways and became the team’s enemy once again.

4:00 – Kevin Smith Talks About James Gunn’s DCU

Kevin Smith believes James Gunn will have a great take on Superman: Legacy. On his Fatman Beyond podcast he mentioned having the utmost confidence in the writer/director.

I can’t wait to see what he does with Superman. Pun intended, he will make Superman soar. I have the utmost confidence in him.”

Kevin Smith from his Fatman Beyond Podcast

It’s an interesting opinion because Kevin Smith wrote his own Superman movie in the 1990’s that never got made. It has since become the subject of discussion and ridicule in Smith’s live appearances.

6:55 – The Mandalorian Chapter 20 Review

Fans definitely noticed the lack of Mandalorians in last week’s episode. This week was “All Mandos All The Time”!

We got some updates regarding The DCU, and the obligatory review of The Mandalorian!

0:50 – James Gunn Directing Superman: Legacy

James Gunn confirms that he will be directing Superman: Legacy. Previous reports only confirmed that he will be writing the film.

Yes, I’m directing Superman: Legacy to be released on July 11, 2025. My brother Matt told me when he saw the release date he started to cry. I asked him why. He said, “Dude, it’s Dad’s birthday.” I hadn’t realized. pic.twitter.com/ohQNV8nI4g— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) March 15, 2023

Gunn was named co-CEO of DC Studios along with Peter Safran. He announced several series and films last month as Chapter One of his DCU Reboot. The first chapter will be titled Gods and Monsters.

5:05 – Tom Cruise Loves The Flash

Tom Cruise has seen The Flash movie and likes it. Cruise allegedly said it’s “everything you want in a movie” and “this is the kind of movie we need now”. Gunn himself confirmed that the film will lead directly into his reboot. As of this writing, there has only been one trailer and one TV spot that ran during The Super Bowl.

8:20 – The Mandalorian Chapter 19: The Convert Review

This episode will likely cause some controversy given that The Mandalorian himself took a backseat in his own show. But comic book fans have seen this happen in comics for years. Plus, the morally questionable ethics may draw comparisons to last year’s Andor series.

At least this phrase can now be considered canon…

Seth talks about the news of LucasFilm apparently scrapping two Star Wars movies, plus gives a review of this week’s The Mandalorian.

0:35 – Star Wars Movie Shakeup

Variety reports that the previously announced Star Wars movies from Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins are no longer in development. Jenkins previously directed both Wonder Woman movies and was tapped to do a Rogue Squadron movie originally set for a December 2023 release.

No plot details have surfaced regarding Feige’s movie, but Michael Waldron had started writing a screenplay. He was later hired to write the Avengers: Secret Wars screenplay. A previous quote from Waldron implied that it was also a standalone film

Taika Waititi’s film is still allegedly in development. A separate film with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in the director’s chair is also rumored to be in the works.

Star Wars Celebration is next month, which traditionally is when major Star Wars projects are announced.

8:30 – Mandalorian Chapter 18 Review

As said in my written review, this was better than the premiere, but the premiere was still pretty good. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the Mandalorians will react to the discovery of the Mythosaur.

Also, this week’s episode of The Bad Batch would probably be heralded as one of the greatest episodes of anything if it was filmed in live-action.

It’s a double dose of Star Wars in this edition of Geekville Radio! Seth talks about the Season Three premiere of The Mandalorian, with thoughts on where the show might be going. Then, he runs down the second season of The Bad Batch!

1:30 – The Mandalorian Chapter 17: The Apostate

The Mandalorian made its highly anticipated return to Disney + this week. As the trailers implied, this season’s main quest involves Din Djarin seeking atonement for the sin of removing his helmet.

Attack of the Turtlegatorsaurus!

The city of Nevarro has blossomed into a thriving city far removed from its hives of scum and villainy it was in the first season. Greef Karga is now a High Magistrate and the Bounty Hunter Guild building is now a school.

Vane and his fellow pirate thugs stir up some trouble on Nevarro

We got the introduction of two new villains. A pirate named Vane and his Captain Gordian Shard. Gordian looks like The Chia Pet From Hell.

Gorian Shard, aka Seaweed Beard, The Chia Pet From Hell

We also find out what Bo-Katan has been up to. unfortunately for her, she has no Mandalore to rule over because Mandalorians are scattered about and fighting with each other. Still, she permits Din to explore Mandalore and search for the Living Waters. And, of course, we got some glues and hints for some of the other upcoming Star Wars shows as well. All in all a fine season premiere!

The episode ends with Din and Grogu zipping off to Mandalore.

13:30 – The Bad Batch Season Two So Far

Meanwhile, on the animated front, The Bad Batch is in the latter parts of its second season. Clone Force 99 is still at large, even though The Empire believes them all to be dead.

One of the main season plot points is how The Empire is phasing out clone troopers and casting them aside. Plus, the clones are slowly wisening up to the truth that Kamino was destroyed by The Empire, and not by a massive thunderstorm as claimed.

A submersible city getting destroyed by a rainstorm is about as likely as this happening…

We’ve got a few surprises as well. Rex has popped in to help the team, and we got the return of the Wookiee Jedi Gungi. And Emperor Palpatine made a cameo voiced by Ian McDiarmid himself!

Was there anything you liked or didn’t like about The Mandalorian premiere or the second season of The Bad Batch? SOUND OFF BELOW!

We’ve got some MCU news including Harrison Ford commenting on why he’s joing The MCU. Kevin Fege gives some updates on Phase Five. Finally. Seth gives his podcast review of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

0:55 – MCU News

Harrison Ford commented on why he’s taking the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the MCU:

“I don’t know. I can’t explain myself to myself, I just work here. (Laughs.) I thought, Everybody else seems to be having a great time. I watch all these terrific actors having a good time. I like doing something different to what I’ve ever done and pleasing people with it. So I’ll try a piece of that.”

Kevin Feige revealed that Ross will be The MCU’s President of the United States in at least two films, Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts. No confirmation on whether he will be part of the Secret Invasion series on Disney+ this summer.

Speaking of Thunderbolts, Feige also confirmed the leader will be Bucky/Winter Soldier. He referred to Bucky as the de facto leader because he’s probably the most heroic one it the group, and even he has done terrible things. Fans recall The Thunderbolts began as The Masters of Evil masquerading as heroes. While there have been heroic incarnations, the group was usually a team antiheroes that had questionable tactics. One incarnation did have The Red Hulk as their leader, so that may be what happens in the MCU as well.

Feige also touched on a few other projects including Deadpool 3, The Marvels.

9:05 – Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Review

Our written review is here, but Seth dives more into what could happen based on the post-credits scenes. Was that the OG Kang? Who is Immortus? What powers does Kang have? All those questions and more are addressed!

Over-the-top and overpriced TV commercials are a tradition for The Big Game. Let’s take a look at the spots companies paid millions to air.

1:20 – The Flash

The full-length trailer dropped shortly before the game.

Many fans already know that this movie is a big-screen adaption of the Flashpoint storyline that rebooted the entire DC Universe. Barry went back in time to prevent his mother’s murder, only to return to a very different reality than the one he left.

Is the Keaton Batman in the past or in the Flashpoint present? Will Flashpoint Barry gain powers? How does Supergirl fit into all of this? Why would Batman change from Ben Affleck to Michael Keaton? Could Keaton be playing Thomas Wayne and not Bruce Wayne?

13:15 – Super Mario Bros. Plumbing

This entertaining viral-style ad doesn’t really have anything from the movie. However, it dusted off the catchy theme music to the classic Super Mario Bros. Super Show that starred the late great Captain Lou Albano as Mario. Seth dials the number on the air so you don’t have to.

14:50 – Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

We examined the full trailer a few weeks ago. We do get a glimpse of Mads Mikkelson as the villain, Jurgen Voller, and a peek at Toby Jones as well.

15:40 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Like Indy, the first trailer hit a few weeks ago. This time around, we have mostly new footage. It mainly deals with Gamora and The High Evolutionary, though we see Nebula have some comic relief moments as well.

17:35 – Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

The first trailer was released back in July. Not much is seen here given how quickly the shots jump around.

18:45 – Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

At first it might seem a little weird to place an all new ad just a few days before the movie opens. But it became clear that this was a custom-made commercial for Heineken and not a clip from the film itself.

19:35 – Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

This looks to be a sequel to Bumblebee. Mirage is the central character who now is a Porsche 911 instead of a Formula 1 race car like he was in the G1 lore. Plus, even though the film is called Rise of the Beasts, we only got a few seconds of Optimus Primal.

As always, we value your opinion. Was there a TV spot that jumped out at you that we missed? SOUND OFF BELOW!!

James Gunn himself updated fans on what projects will be part of his reboot of the DC Universe.

Gunn covered a lot of ground in the six-minute video but here are the highlights.

First off, the DC Comics properties will be in sync not only between movies but also with TV and gaming. This means characters will be portrayed by the same actors over different mediums whenever possible. It’s something Marvel has done since the introduction of the MCU. Fans have criticized DC for the lack of continuity, even with the movie properties alone.

Any movie, TV program, comic, or game that falls outside of this shared universe will be given the Elseworlds label. Anybody who is familiar with DC graphic novels has seen the Elseworlds label before. It was even a crossover story for the Flarrowverse

Shazam: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will all be canon and will lead into this new era. We’ve heard for some time already that The Flash will be the onscreen reason for the universe’s reboot.

Chapter 1 is called Gods and Monsters. That title is taken from an Elseworlds animated movie. That doesn’t mean that story will be used, especially since that movie has nothing to do with the regular DC Universe.

Creature Commandos

This animated series is based on a relatively obscure group dating back to the early 80s. Creature Commandos began as a team of soldiers in World War II that consisted of Frankenstein, a werewolf, and a vampire. This may be the “Monsters” in the Gods and Monsters title. A modern version of the team exists that is made of different but similar charactersm so that may be the version of the group that will be adapted. Either way, that sounds like something right up James Gunn’s alley.

Waller

Viola Davis reprises the role from the Suicide Squad movies. The series will also feature characters from the Peacemaker series.

Superman: Legacy

This is probably the biggest entry given the controversy surrounding Henry Cavill. It is scheduled for a July 2025 release and will NOT be an origin story. It may be a film that spans several years of Supes’s life.

Lanterns

Finally, we have news on this long-rumored Green Lantern series. Lanterns will see Hal Jordan and John Stewart as the space cops of Earth. The “terrifying mystery” they discover will carry over into the rest of the DCU. As much as we would like to see it, don’t expect David Ramsay.

The Authority

The Authority are basically the Justice League of Wildstorm Comics, but they are a bit more ruthless. This film may be a gamble because the characters aren’t very well known.

Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is set in Themyscira, Wonder Woman’s home country. Gunn described the show as a Game Of Thrones-style series. This is the type of show that probably never would have gotten made 30 years ago.

The Brave and the Bold was a long-running comic series that saw Batman team with various other DC heroes in standalone stories. However, this film will be the introduction of The DCU’s Batman and Robin. Gunn specified that Robin will be Damian Wayne, Bruce’s son.

Seth gives thoughts on the final trailer for Shazam: Fury of the Gods and reviews the season premiere of Velma.

1:15 – Shazam: Fury of the Gods Final Trailer

Shazam: Fury of the Gods hits theaters in a little over a month. This final trailer gave us an idea of what the plot will be, as well as the villains’ motives.

Kalypso (Lucy Liu) with The Wizard’s magical staff

Kalypso growing giant beanstalk-like trees

The humongous vegetation quickly spreads across the city causing massive damage

Hespera (Helen Mirren) literally gives Shazam (Zachary Levi) the boot

A dragon in downtown Philly

Hespera zapping Freddy with The Wizard’s zapping staff

The staff can cancel the SHAZAM powers, reverting the heroes to their normal child selves

The dragon trapped within a forcefield

Shazam spears the dragon through a high-rise building

The youngest sister Anthea (Rachel Seigler) prepares to use her own powers

The forcefield at one point encapsulates the entire city…

…which traps Shazam and separates him from his friends

The wizard Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) second-guesses selecting his champion

Shazam blows his magic fire

Mary (Grace Caroline Currey) getting zapped out of the sky

A baby dragon?

Shazam giving an uppercut Ryu would be proud of

Fans know that one of Shazam’s powers Stamina of Atlas. It looks like Hesperus and Kalypso are after Billy and his family for stealing the powers of their father. However, it’s possible the sisters do not know the wizard is actually the one that gave the powers to Billy. Anthea looks to be opposing her sisters, as she is briefly seen clashing with Kalypso in the trailer.

For those that may not know the comics, the three sisters are NOT in the comics. They are, however, in Greek Mythology, albeit with different spellings of their names. Perhaps the writers felt they would have more creative freedom by using mythological characters as opposed to other DC villains.

Kalypso’s dragon looks to be a focal point since it is shown fighting on its own as well as with Kalypso on its back. It’s a pretty safe bet that when Shazam stands alone in the climax of the film, he’ll have a knock-down drag-out brawl with the creature.

One other interesting point is the return of The Wizard. much like Sean Connery in Highlander 2, he came back for a sequel despite dying in the first film. It’s possible he is only around for a brief cameo since he is only shown talking to Shazam and not taking part in any fighting.

This movie may be a lame duck since James Gunn will be rebooting the entire DCU next year, but it still looks like an entertaining romp. It will be interesting to see what elements, if any, will be carried over into the “Gunniverse”.

11:30 Velma Review

I get weary of reboots and relaunches

We cover a lot of Scooby-Doo ground in our Nostalgia Trip. Just about every version of Scooby has been successful to an extent. Each show ran for a couple of seasons. There were two theatrical films and a series of DVD movies. There’s a reason this property has been around for over 50 years.

The Mandalorian finally returns to Disney+ after a two-year hiatus. What could we be in store for? And how much Grogu will we see?

LucasFilm released the above trailer for the highly anticipated Season Three of The Mandalorian. We looked at the first trailer back in September.

Seven, count ’em SEVEN, Mandalorians looking rather “magnificent”, aren’t they?

The trailer begins with Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) talking about how his people are scattered. This voice over is paired with Din standing with six other Mandalorians in armor.

A return to Nevarro, where it all began…

As we hear Din talk about what it means to be a Mandalorian, we see him return to the planet Nevarro, where the first season began. Greef Carga now apparently runs the town.

Greef Carga got a major wardrobe update

The return of The Armorer?

Din apparently tells The Armorer that he will go to Mandalore and seek redemption for his transgressions. This is paired with shot of a destroyed Mandalorian city.

Mandalore is in ruins. Why would Din want to go there?

We do see some other quick scenes which presumably cover other plot points.

Peli Motto and her eclectic band of misfit droids

Dr. Pershing cruising the skies of Coruscant?

Carson Teva warns Din (we think) of impending danger

Jedi awaiting an intruder? Anakin? AHSOKA?!?

TIE Interceptors chasing what looks like Bo-Katan’s ship

A droid bar? Do they serve humans?

Several Mandalorians, possibly from Deathwatch, dropping over a city that looks very much like the planet Nevarro

Is that Paz Vizsla helping Deathwatch invade Nevarro?

Grogu Force Pushes away a humanoid attacker in the final sequence of the trailer

So what does this all mean?

We already know that a major part of this season is Din seeking out other Mandalorians throughout the galaxy. It looks very much like the show will continue the Space Western vibe to tell Din’s story.

We saw seven Mandalorians, including Din, in the opening seconds of the trailer. Could this be a nod to The Magnificent Seven? We know George Lucas was heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa, and also by classic westerns. Arguably Kurosawa’s most famous film is 1954’s The Seven Samurai. It was later remade in 1960 as a Western called The Magnificent Seven. It was then remade again in 1980, this time as a sci-fi version, Battle Beyond The Stars. Additional Western remakes followed, but you probably get the point by now. In every adaption, seven warriors banded together to defend a community against a hostile takeover.

The iconic cast of the classic 1960 Western The Magnificent Seven.

Each member of Din’s group is dressed a little differently, which implies they are not part of Deathwatch or any other organized unit. They are instead a motley group of individuals who have gathered for a purpose.

When we last The Armorer in The Book of Boba Fe...