This week, Phill and Nick indulge as they talk at length about Spider-Man and Hawkeye.

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Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

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Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Phill

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:50

Discussion 1: Spider-Man: No Way Home 0:04:38

Phill and Nick discuss Tom Holland’s third outing as Peter Parker as they review Spider-Man: No Way Home (SPOILERS from 0:23:48).

Discussion 2: Hawkeye Episode 1-5 + Finale Speculation 1:01:29

Phill and Nick talk about Disney+’s Hawkeye (spoilers throughout but the show is reviewed in episode order).

Outro 1:40:47

Have a great Christmas all!

This week, Phill and Nick take a note from Multiversus and decide to pitch their own fighting games.

Other news includes Activision-Blizzard’s continual controversy, and the good recent comments of Xbox’s Phil Spencer.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Phill

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:38

TV/Film news 0:02:32

- Downton Abbey: A New Era trailer released

- Dave Bautista and Jason Mamoa cast in new buddy action movie

- Nick’s mini Red Notice review

- Harry Potter reunion with Daniel Radcliffe, Ruper Grint, Emma Watson, Chris Colombus; no JK Rowling

- Jurassic World Dominion prologue

- DC’s League of Superpets trailer; Dwayne Johnson is Krypto the Superdog

- Star Wars: Kathleen Kennedy interviewed by Empire magazine talking about Book of Boba Fett and Obi Wan Kenobi show - “emotional reunion” between Ewan MacGregor and Hayden Christiensen

- Star Wars sequel characters will possibly be getting more stuff at some point

- Scarlett Johansson producing top secret Marvel project in liaison with Kevin Feige

- Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer 2 discussion

Gaming news 0:27:15

- Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick knew about sexual abuse and other problems in the company; won’t leave

- Over 1000 contractors and staff sign petition to remove Kotick, as well as some shareholders

- Girls who Code breaks links to Activision-Blizzard

- Call of Duty sales down

- Activision announces “Workplace Responsibility Committee” led by board of directors

- Xbox, Nintendo and Sony address Activision-Blizzard controversy

- Sony accused of gender discrimination in new lawsuit

- Phil Spencer worries NFT games could be “exploitative”

- Phil Spencer endorses need for legal emulation and the ability to play old games on newer consoles

- Netflix hire VP of game studios

- Niantic raise $300m at $9bn valuation for “real-world metaverse”

- Rockstar apologises for launch of Grand Theft Auto trilogy and promises updates to improve it

- Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic expanding following Tencent investment

- A Hat in Time getting new DLC infection mode

- EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 confirmed to have had Clone Wars content planned before it was cut from the game

- Fall Guys getting a Ghost of Tsushima skin

- Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon to release 13 December

- Dragon Ball: The Breakers announced as asymmetric action multiplayer game

- Ed Sheeran hosting a concert in Pokemon GO

- Weird Product of the Week: Disney World DLC pack in Minecraft

Discussion: Pitch a Fighting Game 0:47:57

Phill and Nick take turns pitching their own fighting games - the results are… well, you’ll hear them!

Outro 1:18:04

This week, Phill and Nick talk about the latest part of MCU Phase 4, Eternals.

Other news includes a delay to Patty Jenkins Star Wars movie, COD religious controversy, and Spider-Man in the Avengers game.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:28

TV/Film news 0:03:07

- Disney+ day news

- Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars film delayed

- Squid Game season 2 announced

- Matt Smith talks about his cut role from Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker

- Donkey Kong movie rumours

Gaming news 0:43:36

- EA, Sega Sammy and Zynga all looking at NFT games

- Discord’s NFT U-Turn

- Nintendo Switch sales slowly catching up to the Wii

- Nintendo still keen on using IP for films, theme parks and mobile games so more expected

- Gary Bowser pleads guilty to piracy in lawsuit with Nintendo

- Niantic have begun licensing their AR tech

- Crystal Dynamics release trailer showing Spider-Man in the Avengers game

- Assassin’s Creed writer returns to Ubisoft

- Shovel Knight Dig coming in 2022

- SteamWorld HeadHunter has been announced, it will be the first 3D SteamWorld game.

- Date Night Bowling has been announced as a new indie game - looks cute

- Rockstar have released the GTA 3 trilogy to mixed reviews

- Skyrim released again

- Activision apologies for disrespectful use of Quran in Call of Duty: Vanguard

- Diablo IV and Overwatch 2 both delayed

- Steam Deck has been delayed to February 2022

- Playdate delayed to early 2022.

- Jump Force is shutting down

- Weird Product of the Week 1: you can now get Smash Bros envelopes like the ones in the reveal trailers for the game

- Weird Product of the Week 2: Cuphead has been adapted into a really cool looking dice game - Cuphead Fast Rolling Dice Game.

Discussion: Eternals 1:05:07

Phill and Nick talk about the many, many heroes and many, many villains that make up the Eternals movie (spoilers from 1:13:56).

Outro 1:36:15

This week, Phill and Nick talk about Dune (2021).

Other news includes the new trailer for The Batman, God of War on PC and Valve banning NFT games.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Phill

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:39

TV/Film news 0:02:50

- Lightyear trailer and speculation

- Uncharted trailer

- DC Fandome: First Look at “The Flash”

- DC Fandome: “The Batman” trailer

- The Book of Boba Fett trailer

- Dune: Part Two greenlit

- Dune director wants three movies

- Ana de Armas cast in John Wick spin-off

- Ryan Gosling cast in “Barbie” movie alongside Margot Robbie

- Hayden Christensen to appear in “Ahsoka” Star Wars TV show

- Bill Murray to appear in “Ant Man 3”

- Idris Elba will not be playing a sexy “Knuckles” in Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Gaming news 0:32:34

- Apple appealing ruling of Epic lawsuit

- Google countersuing Epic for breaching terms of service

- Dutch antitrust regulator finds that Apple App Store payments are anti-competitive

- Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass has a poor launch due to bad emulation and laggy online play

- Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass trailer becomes Nintendo’s most disliked YouTube video

- You can’t play a mix of local and online players on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass

- Nintendo Switch OLED outperforming Nintendo Switch Lite for launch sales

- Advance Wars remake pushed to Spring 2022

- Pikmin Bloom soft-launching worldwide

- Sony State of Play for October focuses more on partners and smaller titles

- 2018’s God of War is coming to PC

- Sony launch “Playstation PC” label for PC ports

- Xbox hardware revenues up despite supply chain difficulties

- Phil Spencer: Xbox will acquire more studios

- Xbox turns 20, having birthday stream on 15 November

- Valve bans NaFT games

- Epic emphasises they will allow NFT games

- Ubisoft getting involved in NFT games

- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla turns Ubisoft’s second largest profit in their history

- Esport added to the Duke of Edinburgh Award

- A Warner Bros. platform fighter in the works

- Rockstar announces GTA Trilogy to launch this month at $60 (or local equivalent)

- Pokemon partners with Universal Studios - new attractions expected from late next year

- Weird Product of the Week: LEGO Luigi’s Mansion

Discussion: Dune 0:54:24

Phill and Nick review Dune… part one. Of two. Or is it three? (Spoilers, kinda, from 1:10:00).

Outro 1:18:31

This week, Nick’s away so Phill is joined by guest and CynOpt composer Idris to discuss the Epic vs Apple trial and the potential fallout. Plus: what exactly is a game?

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Thanks to our guest Idris for joining us for the discussion.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:03

Discussion: Apple v Epic 0:01:45

Phill and Idris go over the details from the recent Apple v Epic trial. Are Apple keeping you safe? Are Epic the underdog?

NB: neither of us are legal experts - these are just our two cents on the matters! Let us know @holoprojectors on Twitter if we’re completely off-base.

Outro 0:30:21

Thanks again to Idris for joining!

This week, Phill and Nick review Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007 in No Time to Die.

Other news includes the cast of the Mario Movie, the PlayStation 5 showcase and the remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Thanks to our guest Jacques for joining us for the discussion.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:39

TV/Film news 0:02:25

- Shang-Chi breaks domestic US box office Labor Day record (and our mini-review of the film)

- Disney settle lawsuit with Scarlett Johannson

- What If Episode 7 very short non spoiler discussion

- Fantastic Beasts 3 coming 15 April 2022; gets subtitle “Secrets of Dumbledore”

- Broccoli: Search for a new James Bond will begin next year

- Super Mario animated movie gets its cast announced

- First look at The Last of Us HBO show with Pedro Pascal

- Haylee Atwell will voice Lara Croft in Netflix’s Tomb Raider anime

- Russell T Davies returning as showrunner to Doctor Who

- Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett gets 29 December release date

- Weird Product of the Week:

Gaming news 0:38:04

- Apple v Epic case concludes

- Blizzard’s Chief Legal Officer departs the company

- PS5 showcase gives updates on key new titles

- New look at Guardians of the Galaxy game

- Insomniac announce Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine, the former coming 2023 and due to be a “darker sequel”

- Gran Turismo 7 getting 25th anniversary steelbook

- Current console manufacturing shortage to last until 2023; Phil Spencer says earliest in 2022

- More shown of God of War: Ragnarok

- Remake of Knights of the Old Republic announced for PS5 and PC

- Star Wars: Hunters coming to iOS, Switch and Android

- Port of Knights of the Old Republic announced for Nintendo Switch

- September Nintendo Direct

- New 3D Kirby announced

- Bayonetta 3 and Splatoon 3 receive new trailers

- Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online under the “Expansion Pack”

- Nintendo denies rumours of 4K Switch dev kits

- Nintendo Switch base model receives price cut in Europe and UK

- Paradox Interactive employee survey alleges claims of gender discrimination and mistreatment

- Bandai Namco reveal new rebrand and slogan

- Capcom to focus on PC as main platform

- Gotham Knight shows teaser at DC Fandome

- Cool Product of the Week: LEGO Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block

- Universal Studios Japan expanding to include Donkey Kong themed area in 2024

- Weird Product of the Week: IKEA creating new line of gaming furniture including desks, chairs and accessories

Discussion: No Time to Die 1:12:34

Phill, Nick and Jacques discuss the new James Bond film, No Time to Die. (Spoilers from 01:24:50).

Outro 1:49:18

This week, Phill and Nick are joined by a special guest to discuss the teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and it's multiversal repercussions.

Other news includes the new trailer for No Time to Die, The Matrix 4, the Activision/Blizzard controversy, Fortnite's strange history lesson, Gamescom.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:20

TV/Film news 0:08:49

Gaming news 0:24:43

Discussion: The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse/No Way Home Trailer 0:52:12

Outro 1:11:30

This week, Phill and Nick talk about the latest Pokemon Presents stream, including their expectations for Diamond and Pearl remakes and Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Other news includes the new trailer for The Eternals, Google reportedly wanting to buy Epic Games, and Fortnite’s “Among Us” rip-off.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:39

TV/Film news 0:03:21

- Remembering Una Stubbs and Sean Lock RIP

- Anthony Mackie confirmed as signed on for Captain America 4

- New Eternals trailer speculation

- Venom is pushed to October

- Idris Elba is Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic 2

- Free Guy is getting a sequel

- Emma Stone confirmed for Cruella 2

- Wes Anderson casts Scarlett Johansson in new live-action film

- No Time to Die confirmed as releasing in September

- The Bad Batch season 1 finale mini-discussion (spoilers - skip to Gaming News to avoid)

Gaming news 0:28:01

- Nintendo’s Indie World showcase

- New trailers for Metroid Dread

- Nintendo v ROMUniverse: injunction against ROM distributor

- Google reportedly tried to buy Epic

- Fortnite release new “Impostors” mode which seems suspiciously like Among Us

- Epic launches new beta game self-publishing on its store

- Niantic’s Pikmin Mobile Game still due in 2021

- Niantic acquire Scaniverse, an app which enables capture and editing of 3D object scans on a smart phone

- Skyrim is being released again for an Anniversary Edition

- Halo Infinite won’t launch with co-op campaign mode or “Forge”

- Saints Row tease reboot, confirming its not a remaster or remake

- Marvel’s Avengers releases “Wakanda Forever” expansion

- Spider-Man still due for Marvel’s Avengers in 2021

- Bugsnax coming to Steam

- Football Manager renames Manchester United following trademark dispute with the team

Discussion: Pokemon Presents August 2021 0:47:05

Phill and Nick talk about last week’s Pokemon Presents and reflect on the current state of the franchise.

Outro 1:03:17

This week, Phill and Nick catch up on recent TV shows including Loki and The Bad Batch.

Other news includes the first still from the Lord of the Rings show, the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch OLED, the Doctor Who Comic Con teaser and Google Stadia’s revenue sharing plans.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: https://twitter.com/holoprojectors

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

Stream Archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx3Pn0XY0g0axDBInXULItw

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

Show Outline and Time Stamps:

Intro 0:00:37

TV/Film news 0:05:12

- Still no Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer

- Doctor Who Series 13 Comic Con trailer

- The Bad Batch renewed for Season 2

- Stranger Things Season 4 releasing next year; teaser trailer released

- Single still released from Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV show

- Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over Black Widow’s dual release on Disney+

- Rumour: Vincent D’Onofrio cast as Kingpin in the upcoming Hawkeye show - this would be reprising his role from the Daredevil Netflix show

- Set photos from Thor: Love & Thunder

- Stunt double for Ben Affleck seen on set of The Flash movie

Gaming news 0:29:07

- Nintendo Switch OLED Edition and Steam Deck announced

- Sonic the Hedgehog Two Point Hospital DLC released

- Playdate opens preorders and sells out quickly

- Google announces revenue sharing with partners on Stadia Pro subscriptions and new revenue sharing policy for games

- Netflix announces move into gaming will start with mobile games; will be a “multi-year effort” starting with mobile

- Australian MP to introduce legislation to make games with loot boxes restricted to over-18s

- Activision-Blizzard is sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing over a toxic culture of bullying, harassment and sexual assault (CW: suicide, sexual assault - skip to 0:52:19 if you would like to move to the next story)

- Phil Spencer emphasises the need for game preservation and preserving the history of gaming

- Horizon Forbidden West delayed to early 2022

- Sonic Colours re-releases to positive reception

- Ex-employees from Playstation, Naughty Dog and Bungie form new studio called “That’s No Moon”

- PES becomes eFootball: now free-to-play and digital only

- “PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds” (PUBG) rebrands as “PUBG: Battlegrounds”

Discussion: TV Catch Up: Loki, The Bad Batch and more 0:58:08

Phill and Nick talk about Loki and The Bad Batch, before talking briefly about the other TV that’s been occupying their time recently. Also some top-level thoughts on Ted Lasso season 2, Monsters at Work, and Rick and Morty season 5. Spoilers for both Loki and The Bad Batch throughout.

Outro 1:21:41

This week, Vicky hosts the latest highly-anticipated* CynOpt quiz!

*Seriously we were anticipating doing this like a year and a half ago.

Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast app!

-FOLLOW THE HOLOPROJECTORS-

Main YT Channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJcv-2uNceRYJCn-4jaVgw

Let's Plays: www.youtube.com/channel/UCGlI8cBeHHGf-8-WjziZiNw

Twitter: twitter.com/holoprojectors​

Instagram: www.instagram.com/holoprojectors

Twitch: www.twitch.tv/holoprojectors

-CREDITS-

The Cynical Optimists is created and hosted by Phill (@holophill) and Nick.

Logo by Nick

Cynical Optimists Theme and Stingers by Idris Hayward

Edited by Nick

No time stamps this week. It's hardcore quizzing for the whole episode.