Tom Welling Returns To Smallville For CW’s Crisis

Rumors started a few months back. Speculation ran wild ever since, but now it is official. Tom Welling will indeed be returning to the role he played on Smallville for ten seasons.

Deadline reports Welling will appear in this winter’s Crisis On Infinite Earths with his Smallville character intact. He joins the list of three actors playing different incarnations of Clark Kent, aka Superman.

Continue reading Tom Welling Returns To Smallville For CW’s Crisis

Wizard World Chicago Report

Geekville Radio #244: Q&A Clips from Wizard World Chicago

NOTE: The wrong episode was previously uploaded,

Wizard World Chicago took place on the last weekend of August, the same weekend as Disney’s D23 Expo. Several celebrities participated in panels and Q&A sessions for fans.

First up, Jeff Goldbum talks The MCU, Thor: Love and Thunder, tooth decay, and Buckaroo Banzai.

Kevin Conroy quotes about (what else?) voicing Batman, working with Mark Hamill, and getting in front of the camera again for Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Dean Cain answered questions about playing Superman and gives his opinion of Henry Cavill.

Teddy Sears tells about what he knew ahead of time when playing Jay Garrick in The Flash.

And finally, Matt Ryan talks about his inspirations when playing Constantine in Legends Of Tomorrow.

Disney vs. Sony, Plus D23 News

Geekville Radio #243: Disney vs. Sony plus D23 News

A ton of news to go over in this jam-packed episode! In the first segment, Seth and Crazy Train talk about the problems between Sony and Disney over Spider-Man. The second half is devoted to Star Wars and Marvel news coming out of D23.

(3:03) Sony vs Disney and Marvel

Unless you’ve been out in deep space for the last week, you’ve probably heard of the split between Disney and Sony over Marvel’s Spider-Man in The MCU. To fully comprehend what happened, we have to take a step back and look at how we got to this point in the first place.

Attempts at making a Spider-Man feature film date back to the 1980s. But over the years, the film companies set to make the picture would go under or were bought out. This made deciding the film rights a real nightmare. Eventually, Sony got the rights in the late 90s.

Around this time, Marvel opened their own film studio. Once Marvel Studios was created, Marvel no longer needed to shop around film rights. They could control their own properties when it came to the big screen. This is one of the reasons Marvel was able to make successful films that pleased fans and critics alike.

So here are the main talking points of the Disney vs. Sony fiasco.

The previous deal between the two had expiredWhen Sony and Disney agreed to share Spider-Man, it was for a certain number of films. Sony would produce the stand-alone films, with Marvel and Disney helming Avengers and other crossover films.

Sony was happy with the previous deal – It looks like Sony would have been happy with a continuation of that agreement. They weren’t necessarily looking for a bigger or better deal.

Disney was asking for a larger cutUnder the old deal, Sony got the profits from the stand-alone Spider-Man movies, while Disney kept profits from any cross-over. The 50/50 deal proposed by Disney would see both companies sharing equally in cost and profits.

Sony has tried to control Spider-Man films beforeSam Raimi walked away from making Spider-Man films after clashing with Sony over Spider-Man 3. The reboot with Andrew Garfield also saw issues with Sony trying to guide the franchise away from how directors wanted it. If Sony and Disney do not agree to terms, it would mark the third time Sony would be guiding Spider-Man on their own.

Sony has several Spider-Man related characters – Most, if not all of the Spider-Man rogues’ gallery, are within Sony’s rights. Sony is making Venom 2, and an Into The Spider-Verse sequel seems likely. Plus, there is the Morbius film, as well as other Spidey movies that would pave the way for a Sinister Six movie.

It’s not over yet– It is very possible that Disney and Sony may mend their fences and work out a deal. It is also possible that Sony may have learned their lesson when it comes to producing a Spider-Man story. This story will likely have a few more chapters before it’s over. Spider-Man is the last remaining property that Marvel Studios has yet to regain control of when it comes to feature films.

As discussed during the show, The Geek Twins have this handy chart which shows the characters Marvel has direct control over vs. Sony and Netflix. Sucks to be Rick Jones…

Please include attribution to TheGeekTwins.com with this graphic.

Marvel Movie Rights Infographic

(36:30) D23 News

Disney held its annual D23 Expo where, as expected, future Star Wars projects were officially announced. Plus, new Marvel shows were also revealed.

(37:30) Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi Series

Ewan McGregor confirms his return to Obi-Wan Kenob

The long-rumored Obi-Wan Kenobi series was confirmed at last, with Ewan McGregor reprising the role. No premise was given, but fans have assumed it would be about Kenobi’s time on Tatooine between the prequels and the classic trilogy. With it being set approximately 8-10 years after Revenge Of The Sith, it would be taking place at approximately the same time as Solo and Star Wars Rebels.

(39:34) The Mandalorian

The first official trailer for The Mandalorian

The highly anticipated series The Mandalorian finally got an official trailer. To say it felt like a Western would be an understatement. Ming-Na Wen, who played Agent May for all seven seasons of Agents Of SHIELD, has joined the cast.

Not only that, IG-88 saw some action almost 40 years after his debut in Empire Strikes Back. Could more bounty hunters be on the way? 4-LOM? Zuckuss? Dengar?

It’s also worth noting that Disney will be releasing one episode per week, rather than all of them at once.

(50:25) The Rise Of Skywalker

Of course, it would not be a true Star Wars event if it didn’t have footage from Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker. We covered that in detail in our last show. Seth does make two bold, albeit unoriginal, predictions about the Skywalker Saga finale.

(55:45) Marvel

Black Panther 2 will hit theaters in May of 2020, making it right in line with the end of Phase Four. For The Eternals, Kit Harrington (Game Of Thrones) has signed on to play Black Knight

Not one, not two, but THREE more Marvel series will be added to the lineup. No casting or release dates were announced.

Moon Knight: Arguably the most fitting of the three shows. We had speculated before how Moon Knight would make for a perfect addition to a Netflix or TV lineup.

Ms. Marvel: The current Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, will do double duty between her own show and appearances in films.

She-Hulk: Possible the biggest surprise was the announcement of She-Hulk. It will be interesting to see how she is handled for a TV show. Would it be ab actress? Or a CGI created character?

While not a new series announcement, the character of John Walker (US Agent in the comics) will be introduced in Falcon & Winter Soldier.

Spidey and His Amazing Friends: Clearly aimed at children, this show will be a comedic take on the classic 80s series Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends.

Finally, unrelated to Disney or Sony, Supergirl will don a new costume for her fifth season.

Supergirl’s new costume for Season 5

As stated in the show, Crazy Train has a new Playlist called “Chicks That Rock“. You can find it on Spotify.

Terrance Dicks (1935-2019)

It is a sad day for fans of Doctor Who and science-fiction. Terrance Dicks, a prolific writer who wrote several TV stories and novels, passed away at the age of 84.

Dicks broke into TV by writing episodes of The Avengers (the BBC show, not the Marvel superheroes). For Doctor Who, he and friend Malcolm Hulke wrote The War Games in 1969, a 10-part finale (?!?!?) to Patrick Troughton’s run as The Doctor.

Other Doctor Who TV stories to Dicks’ credit include the Tom Baker stories The Brain Of Morbius and The Horror Of Fang Rock. And of course, the 20th Anniversary story The Five Doctors.

In addition to writing stories, Dicks served as script editor for Doctor Who under showrunner Barry Letts. He was also frequently chosen to adapt TV stories to novels for Target Books.

While he will probably be best remembered for his Doctor Who contributions, his work was not limited to just that. He wrote dozens of children’s books and original novels.

We at Geekville Radio send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Terrance Dicks.

Teddy Sears Talks Being Jay Garrick in The Flash

Wizard World Chicago held an Arrowverse Panel this past August where actor Teddy Sears talked about his recurring role as Jay Garrick in Season Two of The Flash.

SPOILERS for fans who haven’t seen the second season of The Flash!

As fans of The CW show know, Season Two saw the addition of Jay Garrick to the cast of characters. Jay was, of course, the original Golden Age Flash in the comics dating back to 1941.

Season Two also introduced Zoom as the main villain. However, it wasn’t until the latter half of the season that fans saw that Jay and Zoom were one and the same.

So how much did Sears know ahead of time? Did he know he’d turn bad when he was cast?

“I knew that it was going to happen, yes,” answered Sears. “I was told before we started filming ‘here’s the idea for the season. You’re going to be this, and then you won’t be.’ And so what happened is I began to shoot all my stuff as Jay Garrick and I loved it. And I loved it so much that a lot of time went by, and I convinced myself that the writers had changed their minds because they hadn’t talked to me in a while.”

Sears continued, “I was going to be this character, as Jay, for the whole season. And then a few months went by, and I remember opening a script and seeing… [the reveal] is going to happen like they said. I was disappointed.

“But then when I began to play Zoom, I was very excited,” he added. “One, because it was so different than playing Jay. Jay is so much closer to me as a person, so that was easier for me to sort of do. And Zoom was so different for me, and it was very scary.”

Sears concluded by saying “So, it’s a long answer to say I knew it was coming. I was kind of hoping it wasn’t, but once it did, it was a great thrill. It was awesome.”

Kevin Conroy On Being In Crisis On Infinite Earths

It’s no secret that this year’s CW “Arrowverse” crossover event, Crisis On Infinite Earths, will feature multiple versions of iconic DC superheroes. Among them will be an older Bruce Wayne, who will be played by veteran Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy.

Conroy took part in several panels during Wizard World Chicago. One panel, which also featured Lois and Clark actor Dean Cain, asked the inevitable question about what this Bruce Wayne will be like.

“Well, I can’t tell you anything because I don’t know anything,” Conroy began “I just know that it’s an older version of Bruce Wayne. I haven’t seen the script. I haven’t seen any sketches, so I don’t know. But I am doing it.

“I think they [the producers] are nervous about actors releasing information,” he speculated.

“Who would you tell?” joked Cain, motioning to the audience.

“They won’t let us see scripts,” Conroy continued, “I honestly don’t know what it’s going to involve.”

One member of the audience asked what it was like to finally be playing Batman in a live-action project.

“I don’t know, it’s a little intimidating,” Conroy began. “I started out in theater in New York, you know. And then I did on-camera television work, and then I sort of stumbled into voice work. Batman was the first animated character I ever auditioned for, and that was in ’91.”

“How’d it go?” joked one audience member, which got a laugh from the crowd.

“But I haven’t done anything on camera… anything really since the late 90s. So a little intimidating. I don’t know what it’s going to be like, to be honest with you. I’ll just approach it like I do any other character. As an acting job.”

Later, when asked about Batman Beyond, in which he voiced an aging Bruce Wayne, Conroy did mention he suspects that he’ll be playing something similar to that version.

“Again, I don’t know because I haven’t seen the script, but I kind of suspect, from what they’re talking about me doing in this, it’s going to be very much like the older Bruce Wayne that I did in Batman Beyond. I think that’s the concept of what the character is going to be, but I don’t know.”

Crisis on Infinite Earths will air on The CW this winter, beginning with the December 8th episode of Supergirl.

New Marvel and Star Wars Shows Announced at D23

The first day of Disney’s D23 Expo has come to an end. A lot of programming for Disney+ was revealed. While many were expected, there were a few surprises.


Official Trailer | The Mandalorian | Disney+ | Streaming November 12 on Disney Video

Disney did reveal the first official trailer for the highly anticipated series The Mandalorian, which will depict a bounty hunter guild shortly after Return Of The Jedi.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series was officially announced Friday

Untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi seriesAs we talked about before, an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off has been rumored for quite some time. Disney finally made their first official public reveal of the show on Friday. As expected, Ewan McGregor will reprise the role. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Ewan himself were present at the reveal.

The premise has generally been expected to be about Obi-Wan’s time on Tatooine guarding Luke. While that was not specifically confirmed, the show will take place a few years before A New Hope, which means it will be in approximately the same time frame as Rebels.

Ms. Marvel – Another rumored series to be confirmed was that of Ms. Marvel. Specifically, this will involve the current incarnation, Kamala Khan. No casting was announced, nor was there a release date given. With several Marvel series on tap for 2020, it’s unlikely that we will see this before 2021.

Moon Knight – One of the surprise announcements is Moon Knight. He has been one of the characters rumored going back to the Netflix days to get a series. Moon Knight may not be one of the first Marvel characters fans might think of, but that’s what makes a streaming service a perfect platform.

She-Hulk – Perhaps the biggest surprise announcement is She-Hulk. Again, no casting or premiere date announced. It will be interesting to see how Jennifer Walters will be handled in live-action form. Could we see a Rbuce Banner cameo?

It’s a pretty safe bet that more content will be announced over the next two days. Even if there isn’t, that still leaves at least 30-40 episodes worth of material to come in 2021.

Geekville Radio #242: Obi-Wan Is Back!

Geekville Radio #242: Obi-Wan Is Back, Snake-Eyes Movie, Crisis On Infinite Earths

Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Back (0:00)

After literally YEARS of rumors, Star Wars fans have confirmation that Ewan McGregor will finally be reprising the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi for Disney+. Disney will likely make its official announcement at the upcoming D23 Expo.

Other rumors persist that McGregor will not only star in the yet-untitled series, but will also direct a few episodes as well.

An Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off feature film has been rumored ever since the announcement of standalone Star Wars movies was made. However, the less than stellar performance of Solo played a factor in those projects getting put on hold.

The format change to a series could be an improvement, since a multiple episode format could lead to more in-depth adventures than a two-hour movie.

In addition to the Kenobi series, McGregor will be portraying the villain in two upcoming feature films, Doctor Sleep, and Birds Of Prey.

Snake-Eyes Movie (18:20)

Actor Henry Golding is rumored to be portraying Snake-Eyes in a spin-off film. This casting seemingly goes against the history of the popular GI Joe Character. In the franchise lore, Snake-Eyes was the lone American student in the Arashikage Clan and did not have Asian heritage.

That said, like with so many other remakes and rebrandings, the original lore is still there. It won’t get erased from existence if a retelling of Snake-Eyes happens.

Crisis On Infinite Earths Update (34:30)

The Arrowverse crossover Crisis On Infinite Earths continues to get more epic and amazing.

Airdates will be Supergirl 12/8, Batwoman 12/9, Flash 12/10. Then Arrow and Legends Of Tomorrow on 1/14. So that’s five episodes in two parts, meaning it will also double as the mid-season cliffhanger.

Here is the list of guest characters we know

Rumors persist that another Arrowverse show may be added in the 2020/2021 season. While nothing has been confirmed, there are several rumors.

  • Titans has Berlanti’s name on it but takes advantage of DC Universe’s uncensored format and has a TV-MA rating.
  • Booster Gold has been rumored for years.

Kevin Conroy To Play Bruce Wayne In Crisis On Infinite Earths

One of the longest tenured voices in DC animation is at last going to step in front of cameras to reprise the role.

Kevin Conroy, who first began providing the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in 1992 for Batman: The Animated Series, will be portraying Bruce Wayne in CW’s hotly-anticipated Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover event. This marks the first time Conroy will play the character in a live-action production.

Conroy is no stranger to onscreen acting, having had roles on various TV shows throughout the years including Tour Of Duty and Murphy Brown.

The five-part series includes an already staggering list of actors who will undoubtedly play variations on their characters from different universes (or Earths as they are called in the series). That list includes Tyler Hoechlin (Superman), Burt Ward (Robin in the 1966 Batman TV series), Brandon Routh (The Atom AND Superman), Jon Cryer (Lex Luthor), Elizabeth Tolluch (Lois Lane), as well as the regular casts from the ongoing “Arrowverse” shows.

While it has only been announced that Conroy will be Bruce Wayne, it’s hard to imagine a Bruce Wayne that doesn’t come with a Batman attached. Could we see Bruce from Batman Beyond? Dark Knight Returns? Or could we see even see a Kingdom Come counterpart to Brandon Routh’s Superman?

The five-part mini-series will begin in December. However, do not be surprised if there is a cliffhanger as the show will take a holiday break and conclude in January.

Geekville Radio #241: San Diego Comic-Con News

Geekville Radio #241: SDCC News

In our previous episode, we discussed the revelations for Marvel’s Phase Four of The MCU. Here we talk a lot of the other news coming out of The Mecca Of Geekery that is San Diego Comic-Con!

Each trailer is listed below with the appropriate timestamp in the show discussion.

(3:45) Arrowverse and Crisis On Infinite Earths

Barry Allen’s death has been teased since the very first episode of The Flash

(25:15) Marvel’s “What If…?”

  • Animated series will air on Disney+
  • Stories from The Infinity Saga will be used
  • Many of The MCU actors will supply the voices
  • The first episode will depict Peggy Carter as Captain America

(29:30) The Witcher

  • This is the project that prevented Henry Cavill from a cameo in Shazam

(33:15) Watchmen HBO Series

  • It is not another adaption of the movie or classic comic
  • It will be an original story set in the same world

(39:20) Top Gun: Maverick

  • The trailer was a surprise presentation
  • Tom Cruise’s Maverick will be the main character, not a cameo
  • It may be a biography or life story of Maverick

(43:20) Terminator: Dark Fate

  • James Cameron is involved again
  • It looks like it ignores all other movies except the first two
  • It may be right before the rise of Skynet

(47:45) Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance

  • Much of the series will utilize puppetry instead of CGI

(50:30) Jay And Silent Bob Reboot

  • A sequel to Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back
  • Looks to lampoon the constant reboots in Hollywood
  • Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and a lot of the other regulars

(55:30) Star Trek: Picard

  • Unlike Discovery, this looks like it is almost universally praised
  • Depicts Picard as he was in the final TNG Episode
  • Also shows Data and Seven Of Nine

We recently got reviewed by Dave Jackson’s Podcast Rodeo Show. Thanks for the kind words!