The 2025 Hype Draft
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A Ringerverse podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network. I'm Mallory Rubin. Joining me today with a tantalizing asterisk at the end of her name, it's Joanna Robinson. Joanna Robinson colon Dark Avengers, perhaps? Oh, my goodness. Joe, we are here for, we have a lot of cherished annual traditions, but this is one of the most cherished annual traditions. It is

The annual hype meter, the third annual House of R hype meter, the 2025 House of R hype meter, and for the third January in a row, Ben, old Ben Lindbergh and Sean, the Nuzler fantasy are here to draft with us. Hello, gentlemen. Hi, as usual, almost as hyped for the hype draft itself as I am for anything we'll be drafting. As a young man, I was a Nuzler fan.

of my wife and as an old man I am a nuzzler of takes so I will have takes for this discussion today you're gonna nuzzle those takes Sean? I'm gonna nuzzle them right up guys can we clip as a young man I was a nuzzler of my wife and just save that for the soundboard please and I feel like House of R alone is keeping the nuzzler inside joke alive and I consider that an honorable goal for us honestly I would say it comes up

way more often than Sean joins us on the pod. Correct. Yeah. Way more often. I think this is my first time in one calendar year. Yeah. Yeah. You come out once a year for your dominant performance in the hype draft. Speaking of which, I think we should have been greeted not with a hello, but with a hail the conquering heroes.

Uh, no, no, no. Well, it's your show. It's your prerogative. That's right. Exactly. Just so we're the results official. So Ben dominated two years ago and we last did this. So last year, did I win? I won two years ago. Last year, Ben won on Twitter and Instagram was a tie.

Between who? I think you and me with Ben one point behind us, but we never got a final tally of votes. And the main point is this. The main point is this. I have never won. So I'm here for vibes alone.

And that's how I've always approached this exercise. Let's be honest. The main point is that the hype draft is about fun and not about victory. And that's definitely something that Joanna and I feel strongly about putting on the public record since neither of us won last year. Correct.

There's always debate about what constitutes victory. Is it winning in the moment or is it winning in retrospect? Which I know you have strenuously argued it is not. Yeah. And I'm sure that has nothing to do with how you have fared. It's not about predicting the quality. That's a different exercise entirely. We call it the hype draft, not the will it definitely be good draft. This is about excitement and anticipation. And

does it help if we think something is going to be good because does quality lead to enthusiasm? I think that's a fair correlation and you're welcome to factor that into your strategy. However you should choose. Um, but just as we don't dock you and, and, and vacate your championship NCAA style because multiple years in a row, something you drafted didn't come out that year.

it doesn't matter if something one of us drafted ended up sucking. I would give Ben the win last year if this were about winners and losers. I would give Ben the win last year if Mickey 17 had come out last year, but it didn't. So you've got to... You can take it again now. Yeah. I mean, you could try.

I have not missed on quality, I would say, in the past two drafts. I have missed on timing. Ben, we're in the intro still. It's not time to start rehashing the results yet. We got to do programming reminders, etc. Please proceed. Before we refresh everybody on today's rules and Ben finds 27 more ways to remind us that he kicked everybody's ass last year, except Sean's.

Let's do some quick programming reminders because we're back. It's been a quieter last couple of weeks. Once again, we appreciate everybody's patience as our scheduling ramped down a bit as we focused on everybody in LA staying as safe as possible. House of R, obviously you're here with us right now for the hype draft. End of the week, House of Recommends. This is another annual tradition that will be coming out a touch later than usual, but you can't stop us. We'll still be doing it. And then next year,

Not hooked to a day or a month, but hooked to a year. Oh, okay. Next week, we will be doing 10 Years Later, Ex Machina Pod, one of our shared favorites. We're very excited to revisit that film, which we adore. And then we will be doing a little 2025 IP risers and sliders chat, which we're looking forward to. Over on the Ringerverse, the Midnight Boys. Pew, pew, pew.

They're talking about Wicked this week. Van insisted it's happening. I can't wait. What a disgrace. So Sean is offended. Everyone else is thrilled. Would you rather listen to the Midnight Boys talk about The Brutalist? Is that something that you would enjoy, Sean? Only if they are AI Midnight Boys, then I'd be interested in hearing their takes. Ben...

In a couple of weeks, you're going to be chatting about the return of Mythic Quest. Anything on the button mash front that you want to make sure people catch up on that came out recently or anything else you want to tease that's coming up soon that people should look forward to?

We talked about the new Nintendo Switch announcement. We talked about the games that we're hyped about for this year, some of which might be mentioned on this podcast, but perhaps not. Perhaps I'll go easy on you all. And we'll also, next month, we got a busy slate of releases and action-packed February. So stay tuned.

Delightful. I have a lot of space in my February now that the Ravens have been eliminated from the postseason. Joanna, on the Prestige TV podcast, you and Rob Mahoney are covering Severance every week. Correct. The show has begun. It is wonderful. Anything you want to tease on that front or the trial by content front or any other front? Oh, yeah. Listen, listen, listen.

There's a lot going on the Prestige feed. Sean Fennessy and I are going to be covering, in honor of the great David Lynch, we'll be covering the Twin Peaks pilot. So we'll be doing like a look back at Twin Peaks and the Lynch legacy on television. Rob and I are also wrapping up the agency and also Breakaway Hit the Pit is also something we're covering with not weekly frequency, with some frequency on the Prestige TV podcast feed.

I've had some very visually distressing Instagram reels from the pit surfaced to me. Did the degloving, did you get the degloving? Uh, something about a collapsing face and then someone shitting in a pan. Oh, the, when they reset the face. Yeah, guys, the pit is something. Also, by the way, and then we're going to move on. This has nothing to do with house of R. Um,

I just am really gratified by the fact that like we're, we have a ton of people who are watching the pit and then a bunch of people are now rewatching ER because of the pit. I'm always here for nineties nostalgia. So what a moment to be Juliet Lipman, the chief ER enthusiast on planet earth and probably beyond. Absolutely. Sean fantasy, the Nuzler. What about you? Big pick. Always crank him with the apologies to the crank daddy, Chris Ryan. You're always cranking to anything coming up that you want to tease.

Well, it's award season. So it's been award season for roughly seven consecutive years. And I'm doing my best to power through this one. A lot of uncertainty in the races this year. Joanna Robinson has been joining me on a number of episodes. She'll be joining us soon once more to power rank movies that may or may not win Best Picture. And I don't know, maybe we'll talk about some other movies. Wolfman, that's a movie that came out. That sure is a movie. Yeah, one of them days starring SZA.

Better Man. Yeah. Starring a CGI monkey, Robbie Williams. That's right. Yeah. So, you know, just a thrilling time at the cinema these days and a thrilling time at the big picture. Please come aboard the train. Beautiful. Beautiful. Joanna, it's a lot. How can everybody follow along? I'm so glad you asked. Listen, first of all, why don't you just follow the podcast? Our podcast, House of R, The Ringerverse, Big Pic, Prestige, everything. Yeah.

The ringer, I'll ring her all the time in your ear balls. Why not? Follow us on socials. We're on every cursed social media app that exists here in 2025. You can find us proudly waving the flag of content. So, yeah, follow us on the various social media platforms of your choosing. And then last but not least, HobbitsAndDragons at gmail.com. Yeah.

Also, and I forgot to say this, and I always forget to say this, we're on video. That's right. You can watch us on YouTube. You can watch Big Pick on YouTube. This is on video? Yep. You're on video, baby. And you can watch full video episodes on Spotify.

Ben's got his puppy here. If you're just listening and you're not watching, you're missing a puppy cameo. You're missing Sean and his glasses. It's a whole smorgasbord of visual delights here on the podcast today. So you can watch us on the Spotify app or on YouTube. Subscribe, watch all of the above. HoppisonDragons.gmail.com is the email where you can reach us. And that is that for me.

Spoiler warning, the Friendly Neighborhood one, we don't really have one today. We're talking about stuff that has yet to come out. So will details from prior installments and giving franchises surface during the next two hours? It's entirely possible. But we're not going to be talking about the plot particulars of things that have not yet aired, just our enthusiasm for them. And on that front, let's refresh on the rules. This is...

Again, the third year we're doing the hype draft, and so we are familiar with the process. The bad babies are now familiar with the process. We have one tiny, tiny, tiny, it's not even a tweak. It's like an amendment to a category that we will run through, but we'll just refresh on how this goes. Four drafters, the four of us who have been talking for the last 11 minutes about absolutely nothing. The format.

Snake draft. Steve will establish the draft order live on the pod. We do not yet know the order in which we will be drafting. There are five categories. They're the same five categories as the last couple of years, which means 20 picks in total. There's a lot of stuff coming out this year. 20 picks is actually not that much in the grand scheme of how many things are set to air. TV show, movie, animated, sequel, and wild card.

Let's offer a quick refresher on some of the particulars of those categories. A couple of them are self-explanatory. A couple require some detail. For our purposes, once again, a subsequent season of a television show is eligible in the sequel category. We want to state that for the record because that is frequently how people use that category. You can take season two or season three of a show as your sequel. Question. Yes, ma'am. Okay.

What about an installment in a larger franchise? This isn't a direct sequel of another film in that franchise, but is part of that franchise. Hmm. If it's part of the franchise, I think it would count as a sequel, right? Yeah.

Are we talking spinoff? Characters are carrying over from other movies into this movie, but it is not a direct sequel to another movie. Right. I'd allow that. I think based on how loose – we often have very strict parameters here on House of R drafts, and the hype draft is not one of those times. I think that feels reasonable. Because it's vibes only, and we don't care who wins. We can litigate it in real time, certainly, if people want to push back. That's their prerogative, and we can hash it out. But that seems permissible, I think. Yeah.

Also, point of order, is sequels inclusive of prequels? Does it have to be a narrative sequel or can it just be a sequel in the sense of this is an ongoing IP issue?

I think prequels count as a sequel. I think by our definition here, yeah. Yeah, exactly. A 12 of some kind. Exactly. Okay, the tweak is in animated this year because last year after much debate and mockery, we did ultimately allow Sean to select Planet of the Apes as his animated pick. We thought this was astonishing and then the public clearly supported it because Sean won. Do it your fault.

He has a mandate. So while I think where we landed here is that while like any story that just has some CGI in it does not count as animated, if it is primarily a CGI or mocap story or if like CGI or mocap are a driver of the film or show –

It apparently can be selected and animated. Are we all on the same page about that? It feels like it could come into play this year. Are we all aligned?

I'm totally fine with it on the one hand. And on the other hand, I would just like to rejoice in a couple of the hills that people died on last year. For Sean to die on the hill for Came to the Planet of the Apes, a movie that doesn't really feel like it existed at all. And for Mallory to die on the hill for Gladiator 2. Yeah. Those are two things that happened last year on this very podcast. But Sean had the dignity to do it in the last round.

I did it in the second round. It's astonishing. What's wrong with me? I think I only did it out of desperation, not knowing any other potential animated contenders that I could have selected. So I'm happy that the rules were bent around my will. And I do have a mandate, as Ben said, and so I will be issuing other executive orders throughout this episode.

I just remain excited for Sean finding a way to go five for five on movies and just even in the TV category, picking a movie. I await the day. Can it be done again? We shall see. As I recall, Mal tried to sneak Stranger Things season five in last year's draft, which still does not have a release date as we speak. It's coming. Q4. It's eligible. It's eligible this year. It's coming. Q4. That gets us to our what is eligible for selection. Any

Anything that is confirmed for a 2025 release or reasonably expected to come out in 2025 is eligible for selection today. Now, if you push the bounds of reasonably expected, as I did last year when I tried to select Stranger Things, knowing you guys wouldn't allow it, but I had to test the waters. I had to at least try. Hmm.

Your fellow drafters can push back and they can decide that it is not a permissible pick, as you all did when I attempted to draft Stranger Things in 2024. So that could definitely happen again because there's a lot of stuff that is like, oh, I think this will come out, but we don't know for sure.

I think what we tend to do with this is if it has the year against it, but not like a firm month and something ends up moving because studios move things around all the time, we can't control that. That's not what we mean. But if you're like, hey, it's the beginning of 2024 and I'm trying to take Stranger Things season five, everyone else would say, fuck you. Which hasn't even begun shooting. I think they had posted one picture from set. Like a group photo, yeah. A group photo of like- They had done like an outfit fitting or something. I was like, let's do it. Also-

You can pick something that has already begun airing before we recorded this podcast. It just has to have started airing in 2025. So, for example, Severance is eligible to be selected today, even though it has already begun. You cannot, however, take something that

which continued to air in 2025, but started in 2024. So Skeleton Crew, which began in December, but continued in January, is not eligible for selection. That is, for our purposes, a 2024 release. You hear that, Sean? No playing Skeleton Crew. I know you're playing too, but great show. I don't really agree with this rule, but I'll keep going. That's great. I'll send you my notes on the auction. The auction is flawless. Okay.

It's not... I don't have an issue with the skeleton crew note. It's more that once something has started already and we've gotten a look at it, I don't really understand...

the hype aspect of it but continue i think in this particular case because last year in the year before we recorded a little earlier it was like really only applicable to like echo it didn't seem like it was going to come into play i think it's a bigger deal this year with severance on the table but we moved the pod the pod was scheduled to come out before severance was set to air doesn't seem reasonable that that should come off of our hype board with it out and i would say i i'm

largely agree with Sean, but I would say I think because we've only seen one episode of Severance, it feels less squidgy to me. It will be generating hype throughout its run. No doubt. I would say the hype is higher, but I guess that's Sean's point. Now you know you can take it with confidence. Yeah, there's greater certainty. Yeah, but again, is it about certainty? I think so. I heard it was about vibes. That's what I heard. Vibes only. It's the rumor on the street. Vibes only.

Any nerd culture, any genre release is eligible. It does not necessarily have to be something that we have covered on House of R or Ringiverse or will cover on House of R or Ringiverse. It just has to be something that we could cover on House of R or Ringiverse, something that in any way fits into our universe. We call this the gladiator role. This is the – no, no.

This is also the horror movie rule because we don't cover horror on this show, but it is genre. I think multiple horror titles would be selected today. Multiple. Yeah. I maintain that you have an unfair edge here in the sense that you are the ones who decide what gets covered on this podcast and therefore you can make whatever you want to be eligible. But

But those are the rules. That's the home field advantage. Ben, you host a Ringerverse podcast. What the fuck are you talking about? We did something paid to challengers last year. So I think... I was just thinking about that. That was fun. Thruples. That was a bad one. Yeah. Great movie. But I worry about eligibility creep. That's all I'm saying. I'm not.

Your feedback has been received and ignored. Next, any type of media is eligible. This will most likely, as usual, be a film and television draft. But if you would like to select a video game, a novel, a comic book, you absolutely can, as long as it is eligible in one of our categories, which it would be. When you pick, you must not only say the title, but the category. Let us know what category you are selecting inside of.

What's the goal, guys? Ben thinks that it is to dominate and humiliate. The rest of us think it's vibes. The goal is to have fun and to celebrate what awaits. There's a lot of shit coming out in 2025, and we want to assemble the most hype-tastic rosters of impending releases. The question of what hype means to you is ultimately up to you. Is it about...

Certainty that it's going to be great. Maybe. Is it about likely popularity? Maybe. Is it about your own personal enthusiasm? Maybe. Is it about what you think people will be impressed by when they see a graphic and spend two seconds thinking about it before voting on Twitter and Instagram? Maybe. It's really up to you. And that is part of the strategy and part of the fun. That's it. Any questions on the rules, the eligibility, anything we want to try to adjust in real time before we start?

I'd just like to point out that the ringer verse mission is currently incoherent, but I support you fully. Thank you. Appreciate it. It's a lot to us as, as usual, uh, your, your support and encouragement is how we find the strength to do what we do. It's our lifeblood.

Opening snapshot before we set the draft order. We always try to do this without tipping what we're all going to try to target in the draft. But just generally, as each of you was prepping, putting your draft board together, thinking about what you were excited about in the calendar year 2025, did anything stand out to you about this impending content year? Joe, let's start with you.

There's so much stuff coming. It's very exciting. I think particularly on the... This is going to be a particularly strong TV... House of Art TV year. And I'm really excited about that. It's a little thin on the ground here at the start of the year. Sort of what...

Sean was alluding to over on The Big Pick, we're having to get a little creative with some of the things that we're doing at the top of the year. But once it starts, it's not going to stop for us. And that is both daunting and exciting. So, yeah, this is a map of my sleepless nights coming up this year. So, yeah, it's exciting. I saw my coffee budget creeping up as I confronted the calendar. Sean, what about you? Because, you know, you're...

covering a lot of the things that we cover on Big Pick, but also a wider universe of prestige film. That's also obviously the case for Joe over on the Prestige TV pod. Ben is talking about video games all the time. So everybody's got like this focus and then beyond. What did you see when you prepped for the House of

our hype draft in particular compared to maybe prepping for your 25 most anticipated movies for big pick or the auction draft for big pick? Good question. I think obviously survive till 25 was a mantra that we heard a lot in 2024 when everyone felt very low about

We did survive. I do think that we survived into a future full of more sequels and IP. And there's like upsides and downsides to that. And some of the sequels and IP that we'll pick today and we'll talk about are exciting. Or at least there is an air of mystery around a lot. It's essentially like a lot of relaunching going on right now that I think at least hope will spring eternal in that direction.

But movie-wise, I don't know. Movies are good. They've been good for a really long time. They're better than ever. We're making movies great again here on The Ringiverse today, hopefully. And there's a lot to choose from. Last year, I didn't watch a lot of TV. And I'm not sure how much I'm going to watch this year, if I'm being honest with you. So it'll be interesting as I try to navigate a category that I am certainly less sophisticated in.

than Joe and you guys as well. So I don't know. I guess mixed, but there's a ton here that I'm excited about. I didn't have a hard time making long lists. I was wondering about the TV for you in particular because one of the really fun experiences that Joe and I had not potting with you but just chatting with you last year was when you texted us when the Rings of Power season two trailer came out and you were like, this looks sick.

And then you're like, I don't have time to watch this. And it was just a real emotional seesaw for us. But are you feeling, are there things on the TV front that you're like, this actually, I might have to make an allowance to find room for this in my life? Or is the TV not going to make its way into your viewing calendar? No, I still, I mean, I still watch somewhere between 10 and 20 series a year every year anyway. So like I'm watching Severance and I will continue to watch Severance because my guy, Nick's fan, Ben Stiller is behind that B2B.

beast. Yeah, I mean, I've got 10 shows here and in theory, I'm watching all 10 shows on my long list. We'll see if I get there, but I don't want to give anything away. But there's a couple that are just no brainers that are among the best shows on TV. So I'm not too worried about it. Okay, Benjamin, anything overall that stood out to you? Last year, you made a bold declaration that you would not be selecting any video games. Are you feeling similarly?

I will not make the same pronouncement this year, but I do. I tend to be sparing in my video game picks just to be sporting for those of you who are not availing yourselves of that very vital and popular aspect of popular culture. But I think this is the deepest my draft board has been in the three years that we have been doing this exercise. So my sequel category goes 27 points.

which is possibly a sign that I overprepared because that is more picks than we will make in the entirety of this draft. Okay, good. I mean, at a certain point, you're just writing shit down, but like... Right, yeah, okay. That makes me feel better. If you've prepared more than mouth, that's a bad sign. I'm not prepared to talk about all of them, but there's a lot of stuff coming out. Yeah. Yeah, but as Sean said, I think I have one...

Right. Right.

I'm always like looking in the corners. Like, you know, we did on Trial by Content, we did a sort of like our big movie bed episode where I was looking at all of the movies that were coming out. And I'm every year I tried to like, where is it? Where is the movie that I do not see coming? That's going to hit me and I'm going to love it out of nowhere. And I'm very bad at finding that movie. But yeah, I, I was thinking a lot about Nosferatu as I made this because Nosferatu wound up being one of my favorite movies of 2024 and just like,

Not having it on my radar because as a filmmaker I liked and a subject matter and a cast I was interested in, but not knowing how much that was going to wallop me last year. So it's exciting. Yeah.

It is. Well, at the end, after we finish our selections, you know, we can, if we have time permitting, we'll spend a few minutes maybe talking about some of the titles that were not selected that we all are nonetheless excited for. And maybe some of them will be the, did I feel like I could pick this and people would know what it was? Well, maybe not, but I think it's going to be great. Here's why. We'll try to reserve a few minutes for that at the end. Okay.

Should we set the draft order? Everyone ready to find out where you're picking? I have selected third two years in a row. I wonder if that will happen again. Steven. I think.

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Ooh. Wow. Okay. All right. I got a take on this year's order. You ready? There's no bad place to draft. Truly. I'm happy with fourth. I actually didn't want number one. I was going to try to trade down because I don't think there's a... I didn't want two or three. I wanted one or four. Number one kind of screwed me last year is how I feel about that. It's a long time to wait for the second pick. A really, really, really long time to wait for the second pick. I'm not going to lie. I'm...

I think there's a clear number one, so I'm elated. And I think the field is deep enough this year that I'll be okay when it comes back to me. But I mean, eight is like, yeah. I actually don't think there's a clear number one. I'm so excited to find out what you think it is. That'll be, I don't know that you guys will agree with what I pick, but for me, there was a clear number one. I

one. I should put it that way. But I also would have been honestly thrilled to pick a two, three, or four. Truly. Genuinely. And sort of what's interesting is that if you think we don't agree, which now I kind of think I know what you're talking about, then it's not something you need to pick with urgency. You know what I mean? And yet, at number one, you can't afford not to because it's number one, which is why number one is not a great place to pick in these drafts, historically. It's true.

The good news is this is just a game. There are no consequences and life is meaningless. So no worries. I agree with the first couple notes there. I'm going into 2025 trying to rekindle my faith and find meaning all around me. Survive till 26 doesn't really have the same ring to it. Exist until 26 something like that. That's good. Yeah, that's good, Joanna. Okay. Okay. And guys, you will be tracking our picks.

in the draft tracker over in the doc. So I'm sure everyone's tracking on their own, but if anybody needs to reference that, the squad will be updating that for us. Oh boy. Okay. Should we draft? Is everybody ready? Let's do it. Ready. I will kick us off with a pick I have never had, the number one pick in the House of R Hype draft. Crypto, take me home!

It's Superman. Come on. Come on. Again, I think you will all be taking excellent properties with your first round pick and I will not be critiquing any of them. I have no doubt they will all be astonishingly wonderful and things I'd be happy to have as well. Great teammate, positive vibes only.

Superman, little movie you might have heard of. It's coming out in the summer, July 11th. I believe based on the discussion on the big pick auction draft and the most anticipated movies draft, Sean is forcing Amanda to take her leave in July. And perhaps one of us will be asked about this movie instead. No one will be forced to do anything. That's not how this works.

In the event that she chooses... We're standing by. We're ready. The real question... I would absolutely love to have you, Mallory, on an episode to discuss a film like Superman. I'm ready. I'm ready. But my question is, will Mallory...

like, I think you're going to have to take Van as well. Like, I don't know that you can leave Van out of this conversation. It's going to be a Mallory, a Mal and Van. Honestly, I would love to recreate the energy of the 1999 movie draft for the Superman episode, but we just slot Ben Lindbergh into Amanda's spots and she'll be on leave. How does that sound? It sounds great. And I also would like to thank you for reinforcing what a monumental event this is because

Because the 99 big pick draft led to you assembling seven people in person in Los Angeles, including people traveling in from out of town for that moment. It was so huge. The arrival of Superman on July 11th is just such a monumental moment. Written and directed, of course, by James Gunn. It's the launch of the new DCU, Undergone the Gunn Era. I'm excited about basically every single part of this. I love James Gunn.

I love James Gunn's movies. I love James Gunn's superhero fare. I am so curious about his particular spin on Superman and in general, like how Superman plays in 2025. I think it will be...

balm, hopefully, for many of us. And in terms of what we're establishing with this new era for DC movies, I'm hyped. Like, I want the DC canon to be good. I want it to be great. And I have a lot of confidence and faith in Gunn's vision. Also, patron saint of House of R, Nicholas Holt, is playing Lex Luthor in this movie. And my wife, Rachel Brosnan,

Playing Lois? Like, I don't know. There's a super-powered dog in this movie. This first trailer was fucking sick. When the John Williams score came in on electric guitar, I fucking wept. Like, this trailer just on one YouTube channel has like 52 million views. I think there are a lot of other things that will be excellent and anticipated. I think it's hard to argue in our universe that there's something that there's more heartless

hype and anticipation around. And so for me, in addition to my personal enthusiasm, that's why it was my number one. It's a great pick. It makes so much sense, all the sense in the world for you to pick it. And when we did the movie Bad Episode on Childlike Content, which I have won two years in a row... You're killing it on that. Thank you. I picked Superman...

slightly cynically because I do think it's going to win by the metrics that we put up in terms of like, critics are wanting to like this, it feels like, and audiences are excited about it. And there is a lot of optimism around it. I have some personal skepticism around it, but I want to like chip away at that personal skepticism because I want to join you in your enthusiasm, Mallory. And I have shown no fewer than five people that photo of Nick Holt as Lex Luthor with a gun. Yeah.

He is the patron saint of House of R, so that is important to me. It's true. I should say also I'm picking that in movie. That seems obvious, but I should state it for the record.

Sean. Yeah, that's a great pick. Yeah, the stakes are high from a franchise building perspective. Can't get higher than that. You're talking about me having the number one overall pick in the high draft franchise building. I'm reinforcing. Yes, I'm corroborating that this was a worthy number one pick. Certainly would have selected it if it had somehow fallen to me. And even if you don't care about Warner and DC's bottom line, just the stakes for the character. It feels like a little bit of a make or break moment, at least offensively.

on screen. And I believe in the track record. So I am hyped. Sean? I probably would have selected it number one overall as well. Not necessarily...

I am very excited to see the movie. I too am a huge fan of James Gunn. I had to have had my enthusiasm dimmed ever so slightly by talking about it with Joanna on a podcast in the past. But I think that there's something exciting about a refresh and we just have not had a refresh in these two mighty superhero storytelling modes yet.

in a very long time. Man of steel. And so this seems like the beginning of something new and that in and of itself justifies the hype. For my pick, the number two overall pick, I am not taking a movie. I'm taking a television show. I...

I am taking Andor season two. That hurts. You just put a heart, a stake through Ben's heart. That hurt. Now, this pick is informed in part by knowing the blow that I could deliver to my co-drafters. But obviously, this may be the best show of the last 10 years, the first season. And so there's been a hilarious amount of hype

around the production of the show, which I guess cost hundreds of millions of dollars, despite not being amongst the most popular Star Wars franchises. Nevertheless, Tony Gilroy, the goat, the man behind Michael Clayton, among many other great things, is steering the ship, creating a story about rebellion and class warfare in dystopian times. I wonder if this show will resonate in any meaningful way for us here in 2025. I do believe it will. Um...

I'm very, very excited. I have not revisited Andor Season 1 since it concluded. I think I'll have to do that. How long has it been now? Two years? Two and a half. Two and a half. So that's obviously something we're contending with with Severance right now. The remembering of what just happened, which isn't easy, honestly. And so I guess I probably will have to revisit Andor Season 1. But I remember being in the chorus of people

claiming its greatness when it was around the first time. So I'm so excited to have it back and I'll be taking it as my TV show. TV show, cool.

Well, I'm no longer happy to have the fourth pick in this draft. That hurt me personally, honestly. There were two TV shows I thought could be the first TV show taken off the board. This was one of them. So I'm not surprised, but I did think, Sean, when you said TV show that you were going with something else. So interesting. Ben, you thought you'd have the chance to take this at four? I don't think it was getting to you at four. I don't think so.

I might have taken it number one overall if I had had the option to do that. But I think it's a few things, obviously, my personal affection for it and for the franchise. Also, it's 12 episodes, which qualifies as a long season these days. So just in terms of cumulative hype, just how long we're enjoying these things, you're going to go to the theater and watch Superman and then you're going to go home.

And your hype will hopefully be sated, but you will have seen it, whereas Andor will be with us for a few months. Also, I am not looking forward to any particular reveal in Andor season two, because again, we kind of know what's going to happen to our pal Cassian. But just a well-written, well-acted, well-shot show, which is refreshing. Just looking forward to the storytelling, not any particular plot points or reveals.

Listen, I don't think Sean needs our help given his past performances in these drafts. But I think that if we, the collective podcasting group here at The Ringer, are going to spend two and a half years uninterrupted comparing every single other television release to Andor, it deserves to be taken in this spot, which is what has happened. There's not a thing that has come out in the IP world that has not been compared to Andor and failed to live up to it.

Ben, you just like lit a fire of hope in my heart when you said 12 episodes. And I am here- The billions are built on hope. I know. This is the spark. But-

I am here to implore Disney, which I'm sure is listening, to not drop three episodes of Andor together in the first week. Yeah. Let us have 12 weeks of Andor, please. Please, please, I beg of you. Yeah. Those first three, it was a slow start. It was a little slow out of the gate. So I understood the strategy the first time around. I understood why they did it. I'm just saying don't do it to us this time. Thank you. Actually, I do wonder whether this time that's elapsed will lead to a popularity leap because

Because in a lot of cases, as Sean was saying, as I just wrote for TheRinger.com, what a great website. It is sometimes tough to pick up where you left off. But could this be a Breaking Bad sort of situation where between seasons it takes a leap because people find it? It didn't go to Netflix or anything, but even so, just the awards and the word of mouth for all this time.

I wonder whether it will come back bigger than it left because it was a mid-tier Star Wars show. It's obviously, even what it did season one, I think would be a boon to Disney and Lucasfilm after the Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, but it was below Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. And I wonder whether it will come back bigger than those shows or as big at least. Can I just ask you, I don't want to derail the conversation because you probably could do an entire episode about this, but

i'm curious ben and and joe now as well do you feel that the opposite could happen that the erosion of the star wars brand very slowly over the last five years could make a show like this seem even more inessential even less big than you would have thought it would have been 25 years ago

Maybe, but I think everything since Andor has been held up against Andor and found wanting in a way that I think all the people have said this isn't Andor, which I think is an unfair standard to hold anything to. And they shouldn't all be Andor, as I've written in the past. There are other kinds of shows that can be Star Wars shows and can be good. But...

I think because it has been celebrated as this beacon, this light shining in the darkness. And I do think the pressure is on in a way that maybe is unfair because I don't think Andor can save Star Wars. It's kind of like Guardians of the Galaxy 3, right? When that was coming out and the MCU was slumping and we talked about that at the time, like even if this is good, it's actually just going to be a reflection on James Gunn who has already left

to run the rival more so than the MCU itself. So in this case, it'll be all hail the god Gilroy. Right. But now Star Wars is without him. Who loves to tell us that he doesn't like Star Wars. Yeah. Right. I think the only thing that can hurt Andor season two is the way we all talk about and think about Andor season one. Because it's just like, it is kind of an impossible standard, even though it was so well-earned.

it feels to me like when you have a really great meal or like great sex or something, and then you think about it and then you go back and you're like, this was just like, frankly, not as good as I remembered and thought it would be again. But I don't anticipate that happening because we're in the hands of a master. I actually hadn't, I hadn't thought about it that way, Sean, and thank you for bringing your brand of anti-hype to my podcast after I brought mine to yours. But I think that like,

I was thinking, we were talking about this in the context of Skeleton Crew and whether or not it should get a second season and whether or not the low ratings, you know, we should give shows chances to flourish in second and third seasons. We should give audiences chances to grow, something we've been banging the drum on on the TV side of things for years and years. And so I was holding up Andor season two as something that I really expected not to make maybe necessarily a Breaking Bad level leap, but a leap, a considerable leap in

in its second season. But Sean makes a good point in terms of like overall essential, how essential does a Disney Plus subscription feel to people? You know what I mean? Like that's, that's a question that I do have about the platform.

And I always love to be skeptical about things. So thanks, Sean. I appreciate that. But I would have picked Ender Season 2 as my number one pick. I drafted it. I'm just curious. Yeah. I would have taken it too. Not to be the Andy Greenwald of this episode, but there is more new Bluey coming soon. So Disney Plus is quite essential in my household. Big Marbley are coming. Maybe that'll...

Emerge as a talking point here shortly. Okay, Joe. Yeah. You're up. You have some damn good choices here at three. Excited to see what you do. Thanks. My tendrils are yearning for The Last of Us Season 2.

That is, as Sean mentioned, there are some TV shows coming out this year that are just sort of like the best that TV, not just genre TV, but TV has to offer. And we feel that way about Andor and we feel that way about The Last of Us, a show that we loved.

And I think about all the time and I'm, uh, particularly excited for season two, which, um, is based on the second, the, the sequel game, but only adapting part of that sequel game. So, um, it'll be interesting for people like Ben who know the game inside out. Um,

as an active adaptation. What do we keep? What do we lose? Where are we putting our stopping point? All that sort of stuff. How do we deal with some of the twists and turns that happen in that season is something I'm very curious about because I do know some things that happen in that game. And then also...

Caitlin Deaver is here and as like an ardent justified hive rise Deaverite I am I am here for what she's going to do with a character that as I understand it has been quite controversial so like the controversy kind of excites me and and knowing what

Craig Mazin as like an expert TV storyteller did with the first season. I'm really, really excited for this second season, which is coming in April. And I can't wait. It's going to be not as many episodes as we're going to want. We're going to be feel bereft, but I'm very, very excited for it. So what category, Joe? Oh, thank you so much for asking. It is in TV. I thought this was going to be what Sean picked at number two.

This would have been my third pick, probably. This would have been my second or third. I think the top three have been the top three that everyone expected them to be. The question was really the order, not really the pick. So there's one other thing that I thought could go in the top three. Joe, this is a fantastic pick. I'm going to tell you guys a story. Here it is. It's going to take 10 seconds. Prepping for this pod last night, I rewatched the first trailer that they put out for this season of television 47 times in a row and cried like a baby. Yeah.

I can't wait for this season. I just like when that future days hits, oh my God. I mean, this is going to be like not only great, but obviously very emotional and intense. Covering season one of Last of Us with Joe was like one of my favorite podcasting experiences ever. So I just, I can't wait to watch it as a fan and be back in the world. And I really can't wait to talk about it together. I'm just like so excited. It's a great pick. The mushrooms love too, Mallory. They love too. They love too.

I took The Last of Us two years ago. Yeah, you did. And I was pleased with the way that turned out. And I'm not pleased with the way this is turning out thus far. But I am more hyped for the second season for reasons that I will not specify than I was for season one. So it's a strong pick. All three of these picks have been great. I can be a team player here. I'm in it to win it, but I can recognize. You've been a real dick so far. Good drafting. Oh!

This is tough. Nice face turn from you here. These are my top three picks in some order, and they are unavailable to me. So what will I be doing with my wealth of picks? All right. With my first pick, I will be selecting Stranger Things Season 5.

And I will be doing that. Yeah, I am actually quite hyped. And I've made the mistake of underestimating Stranger Things before when it came back from a big break. And I thought, has the moment passed? Has it fumbled the bag? Do we still care about Stranger Things in whatever year that was? 2022? We were so young.

Now, I feel like Stranger Things can't be stopped. And it was, in a way, maybe the bellwether of just the normalization of waiting forever for shows to come back. And I think we just have a deep enough investment with this story and with these characters that we are willing to wait. And I personally don't feel that there has been a dramatic downturn in the quality of the show. I continue to enjoy it quite a bit.

Are some of the individual episodes slightly on the House of R length podcast side? Yes, perhaps. The Duffers coming out and promising that every episode is the length of a movie is really something. Yeah. Netflix, release it week to week. Do it. I dare you. That would be incredible.

Yeah, it's going to require an investment in time. But I'm personally willing to make that investment. And I think other people will be, too. I think this is one show that we've just been with these kids. You know, we've gotten older. They have not, even though it certainly looks like they have. And it just it feels like such a landmark show for Netflix, for streaming. That's the grand conclusion here. I think it's going to be pretty big and I'm personally pretty excited for it.

Last night, I declared in my home that I thought there was a chance I could get this in the second, potentially even the third round, just based on my fellow drafting pool here. And Adam said, you're drafting with Ben. What are you talking about?

So Adam called it. He called you taking Stranger Things. I knew that you would take it if I didn't take it. So I felt like I had to take it. If it had made it to me with the next pick, I would have taken it without question. I agree with what you said. I think like a lot of the narrative heading into season five feels really similar to me, to the way people talked about it in season four. Like it's been so long. Will people care anymore? And then it was a behemoth. So I think the bankability of it coupled with the fact that it is finally at last the end, I do think it'll feel like an event and then like an emotional goodbye. Ben, did you take that in –

TV or sequel or where are you taking that? That's a really great question, Mallory. It is one that you are required to answer based on the rules of the exercise. There's a lot of overlap between every other category and sequel. Vibes are good, guys. Vibes are not at all rancid. Real good vibes. Great vibes. I suppose. Those are great picks. Okay. I'm going to – I'll take it in – I'll take it in.

No, I'll take it in TV show. Okay. Okay. All right. You're back up on the turn. Anyway, anyone else have thoughts on stranger things before Ben makes his next pick? I haven't seen the show in like seven years, so I'm good. I'm less skeptical of it than I was of the previous season. And even, even though I did feel like the previous season was a mixed bag, the highs were high enough that, um,

I think we're going to have a great time with, you know, whoever your faves are, be it Steve or Dustin or whoever it is. And even if you don't care about Eleven anymore, which I kind of don't, then, you know, there's something here for you. Just can't wait to be back with my guy, Hopper.

Everyone else is like, how are the kids? I'm like, I need to know how Hopper's doing. What is Hopper wearing this season? Great question. Yeah, I'm still, we've never really matched the highlights of the Hawaiian shirt in season three. I know. With the mustache, it just was iconic and essential. This shirt is one of the only things in popular culture that

has existed during the entirety of the ringers lifespan debuted in july of 2016 that's true we got a lot of in our rookie season we got a great content out of stranger things season one barb barb all over the hell fuck barb i do think i think it's representative of our culture so much like it it is it is really the signature show

Of the last decade. For better and for ill. And I do mean for ill in some ways. But I hope you guys enjoy the next season. I can't wait. Eight episodes, all of which sound like they're going to be two and a half to three hours. It's a lot of content. The Duffers think they're Christoph Kieslowski. Like, it's fucking ridiculous. I think that my guess about when this is coming out, based on...

The Squid Game release and how they're straddling quarters in order to juice numbers. Squid Game is straddling Q2, Q3 for them. So I think this is going to be another, it's going to be an end of year, Q4, Q5 straddle pick. Love it. Love a smuggle, love a straddle. Do we love the way that Squid Game came out and sort of fucked with my holidays this year? And will we love it if Stranger Things does that? I don't know. It's true. I don't love the holiday release. Maybe if we get screeners.

All right, Ben, you're up again on the turn here. All right. What are you going with? I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. I'm going to do something here that could be controversial, but after a thorough review of the draft rules and bylaws, I believe it should be completely permissible. We'll see if opinions vary. I'm pissed. I was going to do this. In animation. Yep.

I will be selecting Grand Theft Auto 6. I was going to do this at 8 if you hadn't done it. I feel great about the fact that I did it.

I think it had to be done. My hope was that because you were so weird last year about insisting on not picking the thing that you have unmatched expertise in, that you would stand on the same weird corner this year and I would get to select the, not to make your case for you, but without question, most anticipated release of the year. I think the thing we could push back on here is that the year is crazy.

a big question mark. Like, is this coming out this year? It has been officially announced for this year, however, so I feel like I'm on safe ground. Now, will it be delayed? Quite possibly. But since they have said and they have reaffirmed that it is coming out, and as far as we know, it is still coming out.

I think I'm on solid ground here. I was anticipating pushback about the category. Yeah. But... I think it's, you know... I think it's fine. My question is, how is it related to Grand Theft Hamlet? Is it a direct sequel or... Oh, God. No? No.

There is, yeah. There are people who have done Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto. That's what that documentary is about. So you shouldn't... Wait a second. So every video game is eligible and animated? Yes.

Well, I have not tested that contention in the past. You took games in sequel and wildcard. I took games in sequel and wildcard the first year. And then last year I went easy on you. But this year... Sean, do you want to fight this? You can push back, Sean. You took Planet of the Apes in animated last year. What could be more animated than a video game? Should the category just be video games? Because there's a significantly larger number...

of video games eligible to be drafted than animated series or film. If we want to expand next year. We could add a category. I don't think that would be something that Joanna and I chose to do in the House of Arhive draft, but we could. Yeah. I literally don't know what I would choose in video game. Just use your veto. Um...

This is going to be the biggest thing that comes out this year if it comes out this year. There's no question. Yeah. And even if it doesn't come out this year, there will be a full year of hype, which is my way of justifying. That's the silver lining if a thing is delayed, which I've had happen twice with Dune Part 2. It's a good trend for you. And also Mickey 17. I get a full year of hype out of that. The hype is undiminished.

I am going to, I don't like to let people see me quake, but I'm going to admit that I think people seeing this on Ben's graphic is powerful. I do.

I'm glad I went with this because I thought given present company, I could maybe that this would fall. And then I thought, no, somebody's going to block me just to spite me, if not anything else. All right. I feel good about this. I thought we were playing for vibes, not who wins, Mallory. Remember that? I learned from Mal. It's the vibe of the most anticipated release in the history of games, or at least since what, Ben? Like Halo 2? I mean, it's... No, I think it will out-revenue...

Whatever else you're picking. Not that that's the metric we're going here by, but that's a data point in its favor. Yeah. God damn it.

All right. Grand Theft Auto 5 was released in 2013. Is that accurate? Yes. Yes. And it's been released several times since for every possible system and every possible incarnation. That's the one thing I think we have here is to push back on just like this game's never coming out. There's no reason to believe it's coming out this year. People said it was going to come out last year. They're saying it's going to come out this year. What does that really mean? That's the only thing we can do here if we want to buy this.

No, as someone who is really committed and stays committed to vibes only, if this brings happiness and joy to Ben's heart, then I think you should have it. That's great. Ben, are you sure you don't want to take Dune Awakening as your video game instead? Looking forward to it. Those sandworms look really cool. That is probably the last video game that I will select today, but we will see. Okay. All right. Jo, it's back to you. I don't like this because...

You've got great options here. I know. I have so many good options and I kind of want to play something where you guys are going to make fun of me for picking it so early. No, do it. But I don't want a chance of losing it. Yeah. Because this category is so thin. And it might possibly hurt Sean the way that he hurt me with Andor season two. So in case it does. Fives only. Fives only.

In animated. Oh, don't you dare. Don't you dare. Take it. This year's like a release Wildwood. Um, okay. Okay. Good. Great. Okay. We're okay. Uh, I could have waited so many rounds to take this. Um, I do have it on my list, but that's not where I was going. Uh, I love a, like a movie, like a stop, uh, stop motion animation. It's been a long time since the last, like a movie. Um,

This is directed by Travis Knight, who directed Kubo for Laika and is also, you know, obviously head of the company and based on a great book by Colin Malloy that I quite love. And so when they announced this project, I was just like, for me? Laika? Thank you. Wildwood is a very classic, like, my baby brother has been kidnapped and I have to go into the woods to find him sort of story. And I

I prefer Laika movies to almost any other kind of animated movies. That is very much my thing. I think the animated landscape is, you know, we do have a Pixar coming. There are some other things happening this year, but I do think animated is one of the thinner categories on offer here. So even though I probably could have waited, I wanted to make sure it was mine. So, Wildwood.

I love that. I don't want to say what I thought you were going to take when you said it was to wound Sean because now that's back in the mix. I also had something else in mind. Yeah. Yeah. Great pick. Wonderful. This movie is undated, right? No, it's got 2025 next to it. It doesn't have a release date. You don't think it's coming out this year? Well, what studio is releasing this movie? I don't think it has distribution. You don't think it's going to be able to find distribution? No.

It's not that. I think I'm a little bit confused because Travis Knight is, I believe, about to start directing Masters of the Universe. And I don't know if Wildwood is done. So it's a movie that's been in the ether for a couple of years now. It's a good pick. It's more just like I genuinely don't know if it's going to come out this year. The reason I think it will... By the way, Masters of the Universe 2026 hype draft directed by Travis Knight. Yeah.

I think it should, I think Joe should be allowed to pick it. Yeah. I'm fine with giving her this one. Absolutely. It's all yours. This is not a present to any competition to us, so we don't really give a shit. Let her have it. Let's move on. Quiet, please, Sean. Don't, don't let her take something else from us. You can eat shit in the voting by selecting a film no one has heard of except for the four people on this call. Um, um,

I think that was a phenomenal pick, Joanna. Thanks, Sean. Following your heart. I appreciate your support always. The public. Oh, bad. You know, there's a sick part of me that wants to only take TV shows in the other categories. Don't do it.

don't do it. I'll be mad. Yeah, well, that's why I want to do it. It's part of the appeal. You know what? Do it. Because if you don't take the movie, here's the thing. If you don't take the movie that you know you should take here because you want to spite me on the TV front, I get to take that movie and I think that might be better for my polling. I don't even know what movie you're referring to. Great. Let's find out. Take the show you want to take. I'm fine. Vibes only. Genuinely.

I don't even know. Are you referring to the Fantastic Four? Nope. Maybe. Could be. I'm hyped for Fantastic Four. I might even just be forgetting that there's a film in the world right now. Just to have a laugh, I'm taking A Night of the Seven Kingdoms. You're honestly like a cruel person.

person but I love you I love you this is hysterical that you're taking two TV shows you love movies you hate TV what if there's a third what if there's a third on my docket that's great I love it just spike picks all the way down starting with Ahsoka in a previous draft I have 40 movies on my movie list like I could I could do I could pick movies all day long you're not worried about movies later I think that's great okay so you're doing Night in the Seven Kingdoms as your sequel positional scarcity it's important yes which is technically a prequel well and I don't really know anything else about it yeah

And yet you're taking it. I'll tell you what. I will watch everything Game of Thrones related. And that's not something I can say is true of other franchises at the moment. You know, Star Wars, I have fallen off. Marvel, I have fallen off. To this moment, I've watched every Game of Thrones related minute.

Two for two. Content-based. Yeah. So I will continue the trend with this series. Yep. Which I guess is... This is like a Dunkin' Egg thing, right? Yes, this is correct. Yeah, great. Fuck! God damn it! This is a Dunkin' Egg thing, right?

Wow. I actually just felt... I've tried really... You know how, like, people train to control their heartbeat and their body temperature and stuff like that? I might need to do that because I was doing okay until you said that and then that hurt. Mallory, the fact that you think your eyes haven't been gleaming with, like, competitive zeal this entire time... Well, I'm supporting everybody's picks this entire time. And Sean not knowing what this is and tailoring it just so wound us. You know what, though? I think this is a fantastic pick and I genuinely...

I am enraged, but also happy for you and proud of you. And here's the thing. At the end of the day, people being excited for a new throne show is just great news for me. Great news for Joe. Great news for House of R. Great news for Talk the Thrones. These novellas are wonderful. I think this is going to be even better than House of the Dragon. I genuinely do, just in terms of like the quality of story that is being adapted here. This is a perfect story to adapt because the novellas are like,

There's enough meat on the bone that they don't have to, like, get as inventive as House of the Dragon has had to get in order to sort of draw out the story. But it's not as weighty as A Song of Ice and Fire. I love a novella adaptation. I think it's, like, the perfect medium to adapt. And so these stories, which are so appealing, full of wonderful characters and, like,

Not like CGI mush. Not that actually I think the dragons are wonderful in House of the Dragon, but like, you know, it's like this is a lot of like on the ground character stuff. Dragon dreams. Dragon dreams. Very exciting for us. I think it's going to be, I don't know that it's going to be as popular as the other Throne shows, but I think it's going to be better. And I'm really excited for it. I cannot wait for the wider viewing public to meet.

Bail or break spear. One of my favorite characters in the entire canon. I'm thrilled. Great pick, Sean. The Laughing Storm. Can't wait for there to be some secret prophecy in Night of the Seven Kingdoms that changes everything we know about Game of Thrones. But this time it doesn't have that. Yeah. If it's a lighter...

Watch. That would be great. And often I have misgivings about six episode seasons just because I feel like it's often this awkward in-between land where it's just it should have been a movie or it should have been at least eight episodes. But this is an exception because, as Joe said, novellas. So six episodes feels novella length. The source material definitely supports this. Also, I was not familiar with Peter Claffey, who has been cast as our beloved Dunk the Lunk, thick as a castle wall.

But he was in the second season of Bad Sisters. This was my first experience watching him. He's fantastic. Oh, good. Oh, good. Because he looks perfect, but I'm glad to know he can act. Extremely charming and kind of doofy in the way that Dunk needs to be. So my hype was already super high, and that put it higher. Okay. Sean took two shows. Here we are. That's a thing that Sean did. Yeah.

You know what, though? Fuck it. I'm thrilled. I have great – this is a loaded year, guys. A lot of good stuff here. No bad picks. I think that's true. I wonder when we'll feel like we're making bad picks. Maybe not until like round five, honestly. And maybe not even then. Okay. I know what I'm doing, certainly with my first pick on the turn here. In sequel. Mm-hmm.

Sean, do you have the key in your hand? Because I will be taking Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning. I thought for sure you would take this. I thought you would take this in the first round. You know, I got it in two other episodes of two other pods. That's fair. So I'm on the board. Spacing it out. I don't mind it. This is not a ringer-verse thing to me, in my opinion. And we can debate it here if you'd like, but I just don't think that it is. This is my tradition in the second round? Yeah.

And I think this one is a much easier case to make, frankly, than Gladiator was last year. It's not just the action movie genre that we're considering. Ethan is a superhero. This is how we've always treated these movies. John Wick has been selected. This is the John Wick rationale. You can take the Fast and the Furious movies. That's always been the case. So I think this is very much at home in that respect.

And now that we have the entity and this has become an AI story, it's also dystopian sci-fi. I think I'm covered here. I might push back on the superhero side, but the AI antagonist does feel...

That is very much real life, unfortunately, at this point. There's nothing sci-fi about that aspect of the story. Is this when we're talking about The Brutalist, Sean? This movie cost $400 million. Yeah. I would object, but it has been covered on Midnight Boys and Mint Edition. That's right. By definition, I suppose it is Ring of Earth's property. Exactly. It's an easier sell than Gladiator when then we had to build it.

etch and stone our future coverage plans to support it. To be clear, it is not actually announced to be the final reckoning, correct? It could be the final reckoning for this cast, perhaps, because that would have some bearing on my level of hype for this project. So I think that it feels like it's going to be the final one for now, right? And just like with like, isn't like Indy the comp that they've cited? Like, who knows?

No franchise is final. Maybe you'll come back one day. But there at least feels like a note of finality in this particular moment in time with this era of the franchise. And so, you know, the other thing about Mission Impossible is like,

I did not adore – I was extremely excited for it, but I did not adore Dead Reckoning Part 1. But that doesn't genuinely in any way dampen or diminish my enthusiasm for the final Reckoning because one of the things I actually love most about the Mission Impossible franchise is that if there is ever a small setback, it has no bearing on the quality of the next movie. Like, you're always going to have that just –

zeitgeist animating true, true, true blockbuster that like feels like it stands the test of time. It's always one of my favorite rewatches to do ahead of a new release. My wives, Hayley Atwell and Vanessa Kirby continue to crush it. So that's obviously thrilling. I, you know, I'm always not so much your wife, Rebecca Ferguson, though.

Well, very sad, very sad. Always alarmed and concerned when we hear about the things Tom Cruise is doing on the stunt front to bring us these films. But, you know, here we are fortunate enough to be able to receive them. And so, yes, I am thrilled to select Mission Impossible, The Final Reckoning as my sequel. I had this number three overall on my draft board and I got to take it at eight. So I'm pretty hyped. What do you guys think?

It's a good pick. The submarine is back, which is I'm always in. It was actually delayed due to a submarine malfunction, which in my mind is a plus because any involvement of a submarine, I'm very much in the Chris Ryan camp of if there's a submarine, I will be watching. Also, director Christopher McQuarrie just this week, I believe, said that at a test screening for this film, an audience member had a heart attack, which seems like

what we want with an early round picture. I mean, it's a shame for that person, but I think it does indicate what awaits for us in terms of the memorable nature of the viewing experience.

Unreported in that story was that the man was 117 years old. So just unusual that they got him out to that test screening, but unfortunate for him. Yeah, I guess I just never thought I would have taken this movie in this space, but I do, I understand and accept your rationale. It just wasn't on my board, even though I may be the noisiest and most annoying Mission Impossible fan on God's earth. So if that had been clearer to you,

based on how the last two drafts had gone and the fact that it's been covered on these feeds before. Would you have taken it in the first round? Would you have taken it? It was not a rules-bound choice. It was a philosophical choice. Where would you have taken it? Like Ethan, I live by a code. And that code is about honor and about following through on my mission. And my mission is to win. That's why you took a night of the seven kingdoms even though you said you knew nothing about it. I am honoring this show. Bites are off. Not for me!

Not for me. Okay. So I have taken two movies, which I have to say is a bit of a twist. I usually go a little bit more TV heavy in my hype drafts, but tough to pass on my top two movies in the first two rounds. Now I will be taking, you know, I am tempted to go movie again. I have to be honest because there are a couple great ones here still and I could take them in wild card, but...

I am going to take a television show that I am genuinely elated to get to watch and cover, and it's still here. I wasn't sure that it would make it to me at all on the turn, and it's here at the beginning of round three.

The devil's work is never done and neither is the drafter. I am truly overjoyed to be able to select Daredevil Born Again, though I do want to apologize to Joanna because I assume you would have taken this. So you have another thing I know you're incredibly excited about that you get to pick here. So I'm happy for you about that. March 4th, Disney Plus, nine episodes, not 18, thankfully. Nice little nice little reset on the Daredevil Born Again front.

Obviously, the title not only referencing the iconic comic arc, but also our beloved Netflix series, Born Again, for years on Ringer Podcast. Years. When any sort of prompt before the Netflix canon actually started making its way into the MCU, like if you could bring any character, any performer over from the Netflix Marvel era into the MCU, who would you pick? What would you do? Always picked Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio as Kingpin. Always. And now here we are.

Fisk is running for mayor. That moment in the trailer where they sat down at the table together and we got the like, it's not entirely unpleasant seeing you again moment.

I got to tell you guys, the trailer was so good. My hype was already high, but the trailer that just came out was so good that it pushed Daredevil up on my rewatch schedule. Like I have, I've started rewatching season one already. I have to rewatch White Lotus. I have to rewatch Yellow Jackets. I have to rewatch all the Captain America movies. Like those things come out in a couple of weeks. I have more time for Daredevil. Don't say that. Well, that just upset me. I know, sorry. A few weeks, but yeah.

I just loved the Netflix era of this show. The Charlie Cox daredevil experience is one of my favorite things. Bernthal's back. We're back with Frank Castle's Punisher. Anytime Bernthal's doing something on people's television screens, it's a moment for Chris Ryan and The Ringer to celebrate.

Joe's guy, Wilson Bethel, is here. I mean, a good time will be had by all. I'm just really looking forward to this television show. And the trailer really, I think, assuaged one of my worries, which was like, will it be tonally dark enough and violent enough? And then Guy's arm got snapped in half in the trailer. And thus, I will be taking Daredevil Born Again as my television show. I'm personally devastated, and I think you know that about me. I'm sorry, Pally. Do you feel bad? It's my... It's just my... It's a thing we get to share. Yeah.

my own choice for picking Wildwood in round two. But I'm thrilled and excited for this. Mal and I have been talking about the fact that, like, anytime Matt Murdock has shown up in an MCU property, it has just been pulse-pounding excitement from us. That She-Hulk walk of shame. Oh, my God. The bright spot in the sea that was Echo, like, all of that. It's just, like, it's...

he doesn't miss, he doesn't miss at all. And so, um, and I loved, you know, not everyone loved Daredevil season three. I love Daredevil season three. I'm, I'm really thrilled. Um, I'm thrilled about this like hyperversal because I was so worried about this show. It was so embattled. Um,

you know, the, the long episode run, all of that sort of stuff made us quite concerned. And it really feels like in that sort of retrench year that Marvel took, that this is one of the things they really focused on wanting to get right. And, um, I, uh, I just feel really optimistic that they will. Um, Marvel has a huge challenge in front of them this year in terms of,

riding the ship. And this is going to be a really big part of it. So, yeah. I mean, we loved Agatha. You know, Deadpool and Wolverine made a metric shit ton of money. But like, you know, we want the critically acclaimed and the popular to join hands again. And that's what I hope Daredevil will do. Yeah. As the other former Hell's Kitchen resident on this call, I endorse this decision. Yeah.

I was thinking about you, Ben, because Ben and I used to live in apartment buildings across the street from each other in Hell's Kitchen before we knew each other and worked together, but literally directly across the street from each other. And that block of Hell's Kitchen was prominently featured in the Netflix Marvelverse. So I always think of Ben whenever I revisit the canon. We moved, of course, because it's such a lawless, seedy area where...

Crime is rampant and superheroes have to save us. To this day, still an accurate representation of that neighborhood. Who's the Wilson Fisk and who's the Matt Murdock in that showdown in those two buildings? I'd just like to appreciate you asking it that way and not asking which of us was Foggy and which was Karen, you know? I mean, boy, to get to be Kingpin and Daredevil, what a thrill.

Gotta say, Debra Ann Wall, wow. Very high on my list, personally. I mean, that's a fastball down the middle for you. Loves a redhead. Loves a ginger. Just one of the most important living humans. I'm so excited she's going to be back on TV. Yeah, so I'll watch that show for that reason. Okay, I have a pick, right? Yeah, you do. They can't keep me away from movies, can they? I don't know. Be yourself, Sean. Can they keep me away from movies? Are you going to pick another TV show? I don't know.

If I did, it would just be an honorarium to a loved one, but I'm not going to do that, honestly, because fuck them. Hmm. What should I do? I really don't know what to do. There's certainly... There's movies that I am excited about more than this movie, but I see this movie as hugely important. And so...

I, and I, I do really, really want to see it. And I do really want to see this movie done. Right. The movie is the fantastic four first steps. Yes. Yeah. That was going to be my pick. It was time for this to come off the board. Great pick. Yeah. So this is a story that we've already seen three times attempted in the last 25 years. That has their time for charm. Um, and,

And it's going to be directed by Matt Shackman, who is one of the most accomplished TV directors alive, but has never made a feature film. Correct. It does have an insanely cool cast. The best. And I'm very hopeful almost entirely because of that. It is a period piece, which I think is a good choice. But it feels like it's going to be pretty critical to setting up. You know, as much as there's two other Marvel movies that are coming before this this year, this movie feels...

pretty big. And like, if I'm being honest, I would just love to get back into Marvel. I would love to care again. When I cared, I was so happy. I was, I loved those movies from, you know, roughly 2013 through 2019. And even the, the, the lesser movies didn't make me feel bad. And I felt bad a lot watching a lot of Marvel stuff in the last few years. So this is one that, um, I have a lot of hope for and I'm excited about. And, um,

It has a chance to be a movie movie, too, as opposed to something that just feels stitched together and secondary characters and not really pushing the story forward. Like something consequential has to happen in this film. And the introduction of these characters to the MCU feels like a big deal. So I'll take that one movie. What do you guys think?

That's a great pick. Great pick. I, for all the reasons you mentioned, like, we want this to be great. We want to all care about Marvel movies. Not just, like, between us, but we want...

I want that same feeling we had, and I've talked about this a couple times, when we all got out of Dune II together in the lobby and, like, Sean and Amanda liked it and we all liked it. Like, everyone likes it and everyone's having a great time. That's what I want to feel. Not the way I felt when I walked out of Venom 3 and was standing in the lobby with you guys. That's not the feeling I want. We had fun. And at the movies. We had a great time. So I think that, like, I think for...

something like Fantastic Four and Matt Shackman, who did such a great job with WandaVision. That idea of, like, something stylish, you know, is something that I'm really excited for. This idea of, like, an era and, um...

A genre outside of just superhero, which is something that Marvel has done well in the past and can do well again in the future, but has sort of lost the thread on from time to time in the last few years. So, yeah, I'm really excited and hopeful. Hopeful. Not sure, but hopeful for this movie. Yeah.

I badly want this movie to be not just good, but great. Great. Like, what a wonderful shared experience that would be. What a wonderful feeling that would be. The cast is incredible. I mean, it's incredible. How many years did we all spend, like, fan casting the inevitable new Fantastic Four? And, like, they somehow beat anything you ever saw on anybody's pod or Twitter. Like, this is just dynamite. I think also it's reasonable. On the hype front, it's reasonable to assume that

Downey's Doom will debut and The Stinger, right? So that's obviously something that's going to generate just an incredible amount of conversation and discussion if that... Conversation, yes. Conversation, yes. Measured, sensible conversation on the internet. I think this is also a somewhat unusual style of storytelling that the MCU has never totally pulled off or attempted, maybe is more accurate, that...

Obviously, you've got four super cool actors in the key parts, right? Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Evan Moss Bacharach. Very clever casting across the board. Seems like very zeitgeisty, very smart. But then it's a Galactus story. Ralph Innocent has been cast as Galactus. It seems like Julia Garner is playing Silver Surfer. Is that right? Yes. Which is pretty cool and ballsy. Awesome. And then Paul Walterhauser and John Malkovich and Natasha Leone are in this movie.

That's just a better supporting cast than is in most Marvel movies. And so I hope that indicates that there's something for those folks to do. Is Paul Walter Hauser going to be Mole Man? I hope so. That would be sick.

So I don't know. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm reasonably excited for this in a way I have not been for a Marvel movie in a very long time. It's just also really fun that Superman and Fantastic Four come out two weeks apart. It just feels like the like entire nerdverse hinges on July. Yeah. You guys are back. You're so back. I hope, I hope we're back or we need to find some other stuff to podcast about after July. We'll check in then. It's a great pick. We,

We've maybe already equaled the number of superhero properties we drafted last year, because I remember counting them. Last year was a thin slate. It was. We had Deadpool and Wolverine, of course, and X-Men 97 was redrafted. And then The Boys, if you count that, was on the board. And I guess Penguin, technically, but not really, right? But that was about it. So we've already got three and maybe more to come. I think they're...

Marvel releases this year, counting video games last time I checked. And I think we took the right top two. I think there's another strong contender and I suspect it's about to go. Here it comes.

When I was at D23 a few years ago with Van and Charles, and they announced this property, and they announced who would be in it, I was clutching our beloved Midnight Boys, and I kept clutching them tighter as the cast was revealed. We are here today to talk to you about Thunderbolts Asterisk starring not just...

Like genuinely the most potent shot of adrenaline to the MCU in the post end game era, which is Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. Just pure joy, pure crystalline joy. But Golden Globe winner Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, my favorite.

Hard fave. My fave. And then we've got David Harbour, who I quite loved in the Black Widow movie. Wyatt Russell with a chance to turn us around on John Walker, U.S. agent. So we shall see.

I love Wyatt Russell and other things. I do not think that was the strongest debut for US Agent, but he has really interesting comic book storylines, and so I'm hopeful that they sort of turned that around. I do not think...

that olga kurylenko as taskmaster is going to be in much of this movie is my uh just based off trailer vibes alone and lewis pullman who is just crushing it in everything that he has done before top gun maverick but certainly since as bob slash maybe someone else uh we'll see bob

so excited for this movie. Unreasonably excited for this movie. Disproportionately excited for this movie. This is a hype

This is a hype situation. I don't have all the facts that this is going to be a great movie. I have only my fond, fond belief. You have what's in here. I have my heart. And my heart is doing what it can do for me. Jake Schreier, who made Robot and Frank, a movie that I really, really liked, and Paper Town's a movie that I kind of liked, is here. And I...

I'm hopeful that based on the, like the enjoyable premise alone, which is of course like Suicide Squad-esque. Yeah. And the charisma of the,

Sebastian Stan and Florence Pugh, this is just going to be a fun, fun time at the movies. I don't think it's going to be as artistically tight as I hope Fantastic Four is. I don't think it's going to feed our nostalgia engine the way that Daredevil does, but it is like...

unbelievably the one I'm most excited for and I just have to be myself. So here I am. Thunderbolts. There's a reason that you were introduced today with the reference to the title of this movie. I know that this is the thing you're... I honestly like...

Once Last of Us was there for you at three, I knew you were going to take it, but I did consider that you would take this in the first round because I just know how much you're looking forward to this. I think that's wonderful. It looks great. Also, eat shit Valentina is a line in the trailer for this movie, and we're lucky to be alive to hear Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova say eat shit Valentina in a Marvel trailer. That's great.

This is my squeak. Well, this is I'm picking it in the sequel category. And this is what this is what you were asking about earlier. Presumably. Yes. Sean, what's your what's your Mr. Movie Man?

Take on Thunderbolts. Mr. Movie Man? Yeah. I don't like it. Well, then that's where we snuggle it up. Go back to the book liner. You know, Florence Pugh, my favorite fire hydrant of charisma. Very excited to see her again. And Jake Schreier, who also made Beef, which was a series that I liked quite a bit. Yeah.

And frankly, I've shared beers with Jake Schreier. So I wish him very well. It's been a long time since I had those beers, but I hope he has great success. I don't really know a lot about Thunderbolts. This is a little bit outside of my comic book reading interest. Obviously, I've been following all the characters that have been slowly introduced across the series and films that are coming together in this story. But I don't come to the story with much expectation. So if it's that fun time with the movies that Joe is describing, I'll be stoked. Wonderful story.

This is tough for me. I've got two picks and I do not know what to do with them. So you have taken your television show and your animated. Correct. Hmm. Okay. And your next pick after these two will be the last pick of the draft. Okay. Which direction am I going to go? A lot of Marvel IP still out there and I think I'm probably going to bypass it for now.

Does no one want to spend Valentine's Day with Harrison Ford? What's happening? That's all you, baby. No one person who does. Are you going to get Harrison in Thunderbolts? I guess that's the question. That is all you, baby.

All right. I'm going to take something that I think would have been an early pick if we had drafted a week ago, if not for a natural disaster. And I'm still hyped for it. So I'm going to take Severance. I'm taking Severance season two, which is my favorite show on TV right now. One of my favorites of the past few years. Yeah.

There's a lot of good stuff coming in the next few months, but at least for the next month or so, Severance kind of has the culture to itself to some extent. And it has a 10-episode season. So most of the hype has not been exhausted here. And if anything, as Mal said earlier, the hype was justified by a premiere that was up to our usual Severance standards. Felt like this was the show that we knew and loved and missed.

Did I forget some of the events of Severance Season 1? Perhaps. Perhaps I did. But I did my prep. I did my homework. And it felt great to be back in Lumen. And once I did a little rewatching, I felt a little less separated from the severed self that watched Season 1 in 2022 or whenever it was. I have melded my two psyches. And I'm really excited. So...

Apple TV+, which is, of course, the best of all streaming services. Not everyone has caught on to that fact yet. That limits the reach slightly, but I don't care. Quality.

Quality-wise, Severance is good. And you know another thing that is great here is that we were talking about how sequels and adaptations and reboots and prequels, nothing but that on our boards, right? Severance is the exception. It's an original story. It's not based on anything. I can't read anything and know what is happening next. And that is a rare, precious gift in the culture these days. And it should be celebrated today.

by drafting Severance in this round. Are you going to celebrate it? Does that mean you're taking it as wildcard instead of sequel after that? It's a season two, Ben, settle down. Much like Andor, season two. Yeah, I will be taking, let's see, I took Stranger Things as a TV show, right? So I will be taking it, I suppose, as a sequel? Yeah.

Yeah, I'll take it as a sequel. He says immediately after praising its originality, are you going to celebrate it with... It's a sequel to itself. It's an original. Are you going to celebrate it with an egg bar and a melon bar or a waffle party or pineapple bobbing? What's your party? I think I'm going to go bobbing or I'm going to check out some of those new dispensing machines, some of those new snacks that we have as perks at Lumen these days. Looking forward to sampling those. Beans? Yeah. Great.

Yeah. Look, I know you're all hyped for Severance. You're all with me, or at least two of you. It's a great show. Great program. Sean did not think it should be eligible to be selected, so he's not going to support you here. But it's a wonderful program. You know, whatever you guys want to do, you're making shit up as you go along. All right. So I have a movie remaining and I have a wild card. Yeah. Wow. You still have the option of spending Valentine's Day with Harrison Ford.

I know, but I don't think I can go that route. I don't know. For the popular appeal, it's certainly tempting. There are just movies that I am personally more excited for, and I just have to be true to myself. I think I have to be sincere and authentic here, and hopefully the voters will reward that. So I am going to select with my movie...

This is a fraught category. And of course, William Goldman famously said, nobody knows anything, but he never met me. And so I am going to go with 28 Years Later as my movie selection.

Reuniting the team of Boyle and Garland. I know you're celebrating a Garland joint on an upcoming House of R episode with Ex Machina. These two made one of my favorite movies of all time, Sunshine, which was not great for their working relationship, seemingly, but was great for my viewing relationship. Totally.

despite some quibbles with some story choices made in that film. And they're returning to this franchise that they began with 28 Days Later very well. And they must think they have a good story to tell to want to come back to this thing. And so I'm excited to see what they have in store.

The thing that I'm most excited about with 28 Years Later is I think it has something to do with the fact that you can finally watch 28 Days Later on streaming, which wasn't true for several years. And even though I own it on DVD, it made me absolutely bonkers because I think it is the best zombie movie that exists and I couldn't recommend it to people anymore.

And that was really frustrating to me personally. I'm really excited for this. And I'm really glad you picked it. You know, there's obviously been other installments in this franchise, but this feels like the real spiritual successor to the original. And the fact that...

Ralph Fiennes is going to be in this film as a classic Alex Garland creep is my understanding. A classic is humanity a bad idea? Question mark character thrills me to my core. So I'm I'm really excited for this movie.

Obviously a sick trailer start to finish, but seeing Ralph Fiennes with a shaved head walk through a garden of bones was just a treat for all ages. A treat for all ages, honestly. That one got incredible. Ripped Ralph. We love him. I mean, I love all versions of Ralph Fiennes. It was a great pick.

I'm fired up about this movie. This movie has to be good. If it's not good, I'm probably going to spin out a little bit. Exist till 26. Godspeed, Ben. You will be infected with the rage virus. I was hoping to get to take this, but I thought it was impossible that it would make it past Sean. And it didn't even get to Sean. Are you a big 28 Days Later fan, Mallory Rubin? Yeah. The rage zombies don't scare you? No, I love zombie fare. Okay. Even when they're fast zombies? Okay.

I mean, I prefer certainly for thinking about my own survival for them to be slow. A slow zombie? Okay. But in terms of what I'm watching on the screen, I actually find it sort of annoying when they're slow because I'm like, just walk faster and then don't get killed. I maintain that of the many things that did in The Walking Dead, which I continue to watch every incarnation of for some incomprehensible reason, it's that the zombies were too slow.

After Frank Darabont got removed from the series, they slowed down the zombies, which were sort of smart in season one. And that forced them into making all sorts of ridiculous storytelling choices in order to make the zombies a threat. It basically forced them to dumb down all the characters. That will not be a consideration with 28 Years Later. Great pick.

Joe, back to you. Here we are. It's round four. I cannot... I'm going to pull them out of the room and I cannot believe this is still on the board for me. I cannot believe I still have the opportunity to draft this. It's been on...

hype draft before and perhaps the reason it is not been selected earlier is because of the long delay and the rumors of perhaps behind the scenes drama but Mickey 17 has to be my movie pick here at number four I refused to have my hype diminished by the delay in fact let's just say the delay only made it better anytime

Our guy, Robert Pattinson, makes a capital C choice. I've had a great time at the cinema and he is making, it seems like 17 choices in this film. And I am thrilled and excited for it. And in terms of originality of presentation, if not concept, is something I'm really, really looking forward to in Mickey 17. So.

Yeah. 17th film in the Mickey franchise. Can't believe it's gotten this far. Yeah, I'm excited too. I drafted this last year, of course. Jumped the gun slightly. And yeah, it's kind of concerning that it was delayed the way it was. But Bong has Final Cut, which reassures me. So it seems like maybe the delay was due to this perhaps not being the most accessible film. Perhaps the studio having...

Some reservations about that, but that maybe makes it even more appealing to me personally. I just want to see him let his freak flag fly. We don't get the Batman for a couple of years. We get clone our pets. It's not a bad stopgap. It's a really interesting release date. This is out in six weeks. It does feel like we've been waiting 10 years for it, but it's out very soon.

And on the one hand, I would say the trailer left some people wanting. I obviously love Bong Joon-ho. This version of Bong is not my favorite. The Okja brand of storytelling. Feels very Okja. Yeah. Feels very Okja. Doesn't mean I'm not going to like it. I probably will like it. And I love...

Pattinson as well. It's got this weekend all to itself. This is the first weekend after the Academy Awards and there are no other wide releases of note up going up against it, which is really interesting because it's not usually a big box office weekend historically. I think movies almost never cross like $20 million on this opening weekend. But I don't know if the power of Pattinson and it having all this space to itself means that

It could be a bigger deal culturally than I'm thinking it will be. I'm very curious to see. I can't wait to see it. It just feels like we've been waiting so long. I do think it's going to be more of an Oaksha-level hit and with perhaps some Snowpiercer legs to it, possibly. But I feel like I can only make this draft personally appealing to myself. And thus far, I am thrilled by everything that I have here. But I don't know. I don't think...

I would pick this thinking of it being a massive blockbuster because I don't think it's going to be. But I think it's going to be something that lingers. It was at one point a January dumpuary release, right? Yeah, yeah. So maybe that was a worrisome sign. This is slightly less worrisome. But the trailer was tonally tough to pin down, perhaps, is the way I would say it. I don't know whether the movie will be, and I don't know whether that's a bad thing necessarily, but...

Yeah, this could go in any direction. I'd love to see it cut with a different song. Just using Ain't That a Kick in the Head gave the movie a really antic feel that I'm sure it will have, but it made it seem almost like a pure comedy. And I'm curious if that's what it's going to turn out to be or something just slightly more satirical, dystopian. Anyway, we'll see.

How do you think, what kind of musical genre would have paired better with that particular bit of accent work from our pets?

Yeah. Like some sort of ballad. Do you not love a big R-pass choice? I do. Love. Love. Can't wait for this. I do. It's a slippery slope. You know, it's a slippery slope. And if you want to live inside, we're going to be with not just that character, but that character 17 times. So you really got to like that choice. But we'll see. Okay, I have a choice, right? Yeah. I've chosen TV show, movie, and sequel.

So I need animated and wildcard. In animated, I'm taking Avatar Fire and Ash. This is the third Avatar film. It fits under the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes rules. It does. In fact, probably fits even better than the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes does. And Big Jim don't miss. We know that. We have come to accept that. James Cameron, former guest of The Big Picture, thanks in part to Joanna Robinson, who helped broker that deal. And he was...

Radiant is always wearing what looked to be a BMX training outfit and had incredible insights into the making of the Terminator. Oh, man.

And one of the things about me that you guys should know is that I like Avatar and I always have. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think I'm a normal man and I feel good about it. Avatar film, I think, could be insane based on the very small bit of information I've heard about it. But I look forward to it nonetheless. I think it will be interesting if this movie doesn't hit.

We've been saying, will this James Cameron movie not hit for the last 40 years? And they keep hitting. Yeah. This one feels like it has the likeliest chance to not make $2 billion. Yeah.

But it's got that prime December release date. Yeah. We've never known an Avatar film to miss a release date. I mean, well, this one's shot simultaneously, right? So like, we're not going to have to wait a decade and a half. There's confidence that it'll be ready in the first two or two of the three highest grossing movies ever made. And this one features a significantly larger contribution from Kate Winslet.

than in the last film. She's apparently a primary character in this movie, which is interesting to me. That's a plus. Yeah. The thing I love about Sean fantasy is that, um, we so often align in our tastes, uh, in general, uh, this is where our paths diverge. And, um, as most people know, I loathe the avatar franchise, but I'm glad that this works for you. Um,

Yeah, I don't doubt that this will make multiple billions of dollars once again. Not in 2025, to be clear, but all time. December 19th does not allow a lot of leeway. Not a big buffer there, but I'm semi-confident that this movie will actually come out this year. But this does rekindle the age-old debate of whether anyone is actually hyped for Avatar, despite the fact that many of them will see it. Do people care enough to get excited? Clearly, Sean Fennessey does.

You know, I hadn't even considered that it would be moved because it was shot simultaneously. And I always assumed... And I'm looking at the Disney slate for the end of the year. You got Zootopia 2 on Thanksgiving weekend, right? I guess I could still be drafted. I'm sorry to spoil titles. And another title as well. Some of us still have our animated pick coming. Yeah. I don't want to take that away from you. Another one too that could fit into that category is coming in October. So it's possible that Disney feels like its slate is full, but...

Also, shot is kind of a nebulous term when it comes to this franchise. So post-production is production, more or less. Film, story, character, all nebulous terms when we're talking about The Avatar. What do you mean? These are mythic tales. Yes. Using frameworks that we've been following for centuries. It has not only a month, but a day. So if it moves, it moves. But for now, it's a month.

There it is. I like that the Na'vi are kind of dicks this time around. I'm given to understand that's the wrinkle here. This is the fire Na'vi. This is the portion of the world that we haven't seen to this point. So it's all right there in the title. Yes, you're right. It is pretty, pretty descriptive. Okay. So Sean waited on his movies, but then wound up getting Fantastic Four and Avatar.

Blockbusters. Not done yet. True blockbusters. No, you're not. You have your wild card. You can do whatever the fuck you want in the final round. Great place to be. I'll be going with my wild card pick now in round four. So there's no real difference because my picks are back to back here. There's actually a lot of stuff here that I'm tempted by because there's a lot of really good stuff here still. But...

I had this really high on my overall rating and it is still here. And so I will be selecting as my wild card Squid Game Season 3. And I will be doing so with enthusiasm and joy. Season 2 was hugely...

popular still. The third most watched season of television in the history of Netflix. And the fact that it was not the like, oh my God, everybody is talking about one thing the way season one was, is like that was a historic phenomenon possible to match. And also this came out, as Joanna previously referenced, over the holidays. And it's harder to talk about stuff on the internet over the holidays. So not an ideal slot. This will be coming out, sounds like, early

earlier in the year. So that would be nice. And the fact that season three is definitively the final season, I think again, does really amplify the hype because if anybody waited for season two or is going to be catching up on that on delay, I think season three will have a level of not only quality and a compelling story and that like fever pitch of anxiety and tension that only a squid game season can bring as you're sitting down and binging season

X number of hours in a row, it will have a level of urgency around it. I think people will be eager to and interested in and compelled to watch it in real time the weekend that it drops so that they can talk about the conclusion of the story together with their pals. And that's always something to look forward to. So Squid Game season three is my wild card. Thoughts, feelings? I support you in this. I think it is your first sort of week pick. No.

Squid Game? Yeah. I feel like people did not really enjoy season two. They watched it, but I don't feel like people really loved it. I had a great time. Okay. I enjoyed it. I wasn't hyped, but I enjoyed it. I had a great time. It's nice also that it's not going to be a three-year gap. Yeah, exactly. You can build the momentum. The gap between seasons one and two was so long. Also, when I'm looking at the board here and what's left, this feels like it could be like

a thing and a big thing. And a lot of the other stuff that I would consider picking here is like a show I like. That's my vibe. A thing I enjoy. But this is a show I like and a thing I enjoy and also something that I think could be a zeitgeist animator and that's always fun. That brings me to my final pick of the draft, which is my animated pick, thwarted in my dream of taking GTA 6 late in the game in animated. I'm going to...

attempt to draft something here and we're going to see if you guys allow it because it is the Nuzler rule. The Fenrock rule.

Mocap CGI plays a big, prominent role. But I can't claim that every character in the film falls into that bucket. So just a free exchange of ideas. And curious if you guys think that I should be allowed to take this in animated. I'd love to. I think it would be great to have it on our hype draft. I would like to select Paddington in Peru. No. Thoughts, feelings? No. It was on my board in the animated category. There you go. Okay.

That's one yes and one no. Sean? Under normal circumstances, it would be fun to harsh your mellow here, but I did in fact draft Paddington in an animated category on the big picture some years ago. And so I...

I have to allow it. Now, Joanna is the co-host and I think should have more weight in the decision making than Ben or I. I'm just going to put that on the record. Nevertheless, I will reverse on this and say I know people have seen Paddington, Peru, and they said it's not mid quite mid. So you can have it quite mid. You can have you can have this mid Paddington. Yeah. This is all yours. Our friends across the pond. It's out across the pond. But yes, not here. Yeah.

So we're going with yes? We're going with no? Take the mid movie. You can have it. People love Paddington. I believe this third film is called Middington. I just said. Love it. This is actually what I thought Jo was referencing earlier when she, like, I thought the Daddingtons were under threat. Yeah. But no, not so. I feel great about this.

Love that guy. Love that guy. And that takes it... That's a wrap for my squad, so that takes it to back to Sean. Not Zootopia? You're not in the Zoo Hive? No, Zootopia was on the board. It was on the board, but if Paddington was going to be allowed, I couldn't pass up having that sweet little face on my graphic here in the draft. It's a good image. That's true. Yeah.

It carries weight. I thought this was of the three years we've done. We've done this. I thought this was the trickiest year for the animated category. I agree. So not for me. True. Not for you, Sean. Back to you for your final pick. Let me blow your mind. Wildcard. I'm taking another television show. I'm taking Alien Earth. No, don't do that.

Clearly. Which clearly was the right pick based on the reaction from the peanut gallery. And as a show, I'm tremendously anticipating, probably anticipating too hard. This is the new Alien series from Noah Hawley, which apparently is in keeping with the mythology from Prometheus and Alien Covenant. If you have listened to me talk about the Alien films, you know I love both of those movies. Noah Hawley as a creator...

I'm mixed positive. Mostly like everything he does. And I like how daring he is with a lot of things. I loved how daring Legion was even when it didn't always work for me. So I'm really looking forward to this. I love all things Alien. I found ways to apologize for the stuff I hated in Alien Romulus on like five different podcasts. And so... And then this is an FX series. And just feel... I think like high-toned, creator-driven IP is just the sweet spot for me. Yeah.

And I think is reflected in a lot of my picks. And I'm very, very hopeful about this series, which has a pretty cool cast and frankly puts the alien story on earth. That is in the title. And it seems like xenomorphs are going to be on earth. And that feels important because aside from the alien versus predator movies, I don't think that has happened before. And so because of that, I've got an unreasonable amount of excitement about it. Um,

FX, my fave, always. Timothy Oliphant, as a synth, who says no. Alex Lothar, our nemic, always in our heart from Andor's in this.

And David Rizdal, who was, in my view, the breakaway star of the last season of Fargo, Noah Hawley's last season of Fargo. I'm so excited for this show. Alien, I am higher on Prometheus and Covenant than most people. I also found ways to sort of

tamp down my anger around some of the things that happened in Alien Romulus in order to appreciate the things that worked. I'm really, really excited. I'm really excited for this. And I guess my only question is like, I know they announced a 2025 date. There is like some...

part of my mind that wonders if this is actually coming out this year. But given that you let me get away with mine, I will easily let you get away with yours. So, yeah. Do you guys think that the – I think there's a fever pitch of excitement inside the ringer. Do you think there's like an excitement among the masses and anticipation level among the masses that this is coming? Yeah.

I think it will be a little confusing coming so quickly after Romulus. Whereas if it had had three or four years, it would feel much different. And because it's in a different timeline, it's going to seem even more confusing. That being said, if they cut a great teaser, I think all those fears will be alleviated.

Yeah, the fact that it's a FX show is a positive, but it also feels like an unusual fit for FX, I guess, just genre like this. Then again, HBO Sunday Night is now genre and superhero stuff. So we've conquered the culture for better or worse.

But yeah, I am very excited for this. I don't know plot-wise how it works exactly that they're xenomorphs on Earth as a prequel to the original Alien, but I'm willing to take that journey with Noah. He seems passionate about it. And I think that any Alien property that uses the original film as its inspiration, that's generally a good sign. However you feel about Romulus, if it's Alien isolation in the video game realm...

I think it's just nothing against Aliens and other installments in that franchise. But going back to the beginning, to me, is always the most compelling incarnation of Alien. I think it represents an interesting gambit, too, that's happening amongst, for lack of a better phrase, prestige distributors. There's been this big push for A24 and Neon to slowly up their budgets and their

exposure and subsequently their box office receipts. FX with Shogun, that's obviously like a big leap forward in terms of the scope of the production that they make. This feels like just a continuation of that, that they're going to make bigger and bigger things and try to reach more and more people and stop being less boutique. That's actually kind of insidious long-term. I think that's actually quite bad to try to be more like the big kahunas, but...

The middle ground of that, that transition tends to create really interesting, frictive art. And so I'm curious to see what a place like FX, which is known for being so curated and boutique in prestige television, you know, reaching further in IP. Speaking of frictive art...

And speaking of actors, we love playing multiple roles. I would like to draft on my final spot a new film from Ryan Coogler called

A first non-franchise film from him in a long time, Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan. This is the trailer of the year for me so far. This is the trailer that I have rewatched the most. I love that it gives...

not much away plot wise and is much like my draft vibes primarily. And the vibes are strong. It looks so spooky. Yeah. So good. Um,

Uh, Wunmi Masako, who, uh, an actress who I love, who has been not utilized, I think properly by Marvel is released back into the wild to do some great stuff. I hope, uh, Jack O'Connell, who is wonderful always. And Haley Steinfeld is here. And then Michael B. Jordan is playing twins, uh,

double michael b jordan who says no not me um so i am i'm really really excited for this i don't really know this is the premise uh trying to leave their troubled lives behind twin brothers both played by michael jordan return to their hometown to start again only discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back

I don't know what this is about. I'm so excited to find out. So my wildcard pick is Sinners. Do we know that this is ringerverse fair? Do we know enough to say that it's ringerverse? It's horror. Yeah. Okay. In the deal making, the suggestion was being made that this was a potential future franchise.

Does that make it more ringerverse? I think it creates more opportunity for it to be considered that, yeah. For it to be genre-forward franchise. What is not a potential franchise now. True. But... True. I definitely think this is eligible. This was on my board. Yeah, absolutely. Multiple horror selections made today, as anticipated. Big horror, you're coming. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. We're down to the last pick of the draft. Ben, you have one pick to go. It's your wild card. You could take absolutely anything. You could take another game. Good. Yeah. You could take Onyx Storm. Comes out today. Big moment for the Romanticist heads. Yeah.

What's Onyx Storm? It's a book. I know a lot of people. I've heard from several people in the world that they're taking the day off to read Onyx Storm. It's like the publishing event of the year. Yeah. Are you familiar with Fourth Wing, Sean? Dragon porn? Can I interest you in dragon porn? No? That means dragons who fuck? No, unfortunately. Well,

Yeah. Okay. Meaning people fuck amidst dragons. Dragon riders fuck. And also the proximity to dragons. Yeah. There's just a lot of sex. Is that like a dragon voyeurism situation or? There is a sequence actually where like learning to cut off your mental bond to your dragon so you can't

the dragon's fucking is a prominent plot point in the first book. This is book three. You have some catching up to do. You can check back in with us when this becomes one of the biggest films in our TV shows of all time. As it will. Sounds good. Sounds bad, honestly. But, you know, here we are. Well, I'm glad you vamped for a while because I do not know what to do with this final pick. You can still spend your Valentine's Day with Harrison Ford.

I believe that many people will do that. I think that movie will make money, but will it make us happy? Aside from seeing Harrison. You love? You're genuinely just excited about? That's kind of what I'm torn, just because there are definitely more popular picks. There are still blockbusters on the board. There are still shows that will be immensely popular, but...

Not for me, necessarily. So I'm torn between currying favor with the public and following my heart. Follow your heart, Ben. Yeah, I'm going to follow Joe's lead and my heart. And I'm going to take a show that is also near and dear to Joe's heart. And that's Star Trek Strange New World Season 3. Yes! Yes! Yeah.

So good. Yeah. Doesn't get better than Strange New Worlds. I thought you were going to take a Minecraft movie. It really did. Near and dear to my heart, Minecraft. We will be covering that film, I'm sure, on ButtMash. But I have my doubts. It may make a zillion dollars. In fact, I'm sure it will make a zillion dollars, regardless of how good it is. But yeah, look, we can reel off some other options that were available to me and all of us with our final picks here. And there are some strong ones that might have gotten me more votes, but...

There is almost no show that has brought me more joy than Star Trek Strange New Worlds in its first couple seasons, and I can't wait for it to be back. That's beautiful. Okay. So good. Sean, are you a Star Trek person at all? Love the films. Definitely watched Next Generation quite a bit as a kid, but have not really kept up

With any of the expansion that's been going on in the last 10 years? Strange New Worlds is for you. It's the best of the options. It's really good and does not require you to, you know, have been tapped in. I think it is just for you, but also I understand why it might be low on the list of all the TV shows that you have to watch to be finger on the pulse of the culture.

Yeah. I can't wait to quit covering film and television for a living so I can actually watch more film and television. That's really what I need to do so I can catch up with everything. You don't watch enough movies, Sean. People say that about you often. I'm just doing my job, Ben, just like you. If you stopped watching the Jets formally.

Well, as you know, I'm making a decision on that quite soon based on their head coaching and GM selections. Think of how many more movies or shows you could watch in a given year if you didn't spend... A Strange New World, is this a new season? There have been previous seasons of this show? Yes, this is season three. Try to test it. It's a proven commodity. Can you give me a two-minute or two-sentence logline for it?

It's an anthology. It's not an anthology show. It's episodic more so than the more recent Star Trek serialized stories. It's a prequel, but it doesn't matter. The lore is really extraneous. It is just a very charming cast. It has that next generation sense of this is my family in space. And Anson Mount is just incredibly...

Handsome and charming. And the entire cast is great. And I'm beyond the elevator pitch length here. But they have also experimented. They had a musical episode. It is funny. It's got a great Spock.

I could go on. Here's my pitch to you. Gregory Peck's grandson plays Spock. Carol Kane is in engineering. That's my fantasy pitch. Love it. I'll watch one episode. Okay. Season three? Or season one? Let me pick. Will you let me pick the episode? I actually would love that one. Okay. If you would do that for me. I will do that. Beautiful.

Beautiful. Okay. Here are some of the things that we did not select today, gang. So much. Captain America Brave New World, nobody picked. Yellow Jacket, season three. I almost picked Yellow Jacket, season three. I thought that would be selected. Mm-hmm.

Percy Jackson season two. Yeah. Shocked that neither of you took that off the board. A show that we genuinely adore and love and is coming back. Not necessarily the like, oh, this will win me the hype draft pick, but something we have a lot of enthusiasm for. Peacemaker season two.

I had it on my list. Yeah. Very much looking forward to that. Wicked colon for good. I'm actually genuinely surprised that this one didn't get picked. Listen, I like Sean a lot and I did not need to stress him out this early in the morning. Future best picture winner. Wicked colon for good. Yeah. A Minecraft movie.

Yeah. As mentioned, nobody selected a Minecraft movie that'll probably make a bazillion dollars. Oh, it's going to make so much money. Gen V, season two. You know what I thought someone would take today? The Running Man. I strongly considered The Running Man with my final pick. I had Edgar Wright's The Running Man on here. And also there's a...

I think we could make the case for a Knives Out mystery. Wake Up Dead Man, a Knives Out mystery. I wondered if someone would try to get that to fit, but that might have pushed the bounds even for us. But yeah, The Running Man, I thought someone would take. Yeah, The Running Man's high on my list. Glenn Powell of Summer continues. I'm really looking forward to that. Like Edgar Wright's track record has just been a little spotty, but I am hopeful that this is the thing that like sort of pulls us back around. I recently read The Running Man.

So this is based on the actual Stephen King source material. This isn't just some made-up Running Man. This is true-to-the-text text for anyone who cares about that. The story, too, is very well-suited to what Iker does well as a director. Failed to...

put draft the movie that I'm actually most excited for and Sean already knows this which is The Bride The Bride I am so excited for The Bride it is my number one on my personal hype meter I already texted Sean to ask to be on that episode of The Big Pick I am so excited for that no one took The Bride and no one took Frankenstein no one took Frankenstein we could have done either we didn't

We didn't do either. Black Mirror Season 7, nobody picked. Onyx Storm is mentioned, nobody picked. Despite the 45 minutes of Chris Ryan commentary on a recent big pick, nobody selected Jurassic World Rebirth. Ballerina, Tron Ares, Wonder Man, Ironheart, Invincible Season 3, Elio, a new Pixar movie. Thought about Elio. Marvel Zombies, Eyes of Wakanda, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Wednesday season two. Wednesday season two. Only the second most popular season one. Only the second, the most popular, right? Or second most popular. I can't remember what the order was of that in Squid Game. Then there's like the category of this was kind of the group I was wondering about of like, okay, I bet everyone's really excited for these, but does anyone have the confidence that the voting public will know what they are yet? The like life of Chuck and a big, bold, beautiful journey. Yeah. Anyone? Yeah. Yeah.

A lot of stuff, guys. Welcome to Derry. Nobody picked that. Yeah. Considered responding to Sean's Alien Earth with a Predator Badlands pick. You could have. Predator Badlands was my next pick after Alien Earth. I'm very excited about that. Dan Trachtenberg's second Predator movie, which is excellent. The first one's so good. You know what's got me really interested?

that I don't think has been mentioned and maybe it won't make it in 2025, but lanterns. I think that's 26. Is it 26? Yeah. I think that would have been like a first round pick if that had been this year. Yeah. Yes, definitely. And also. Wendeloff and Kyle Chandler, you couldn't keep us away. I just feel like Green Lantern is arguably one of the most interesting characters in comic book history who's never really been properly adapted ever. Yeah.

And there's not a lot of characters for whom you can say that that are in that kind of first band. And I hope this is it. I hope this is it. Very excited. For all mankind, season five. Anyone else in the fam?

No, but... The Watch supports you. Yes. Great show. Do you have like a tacit agreement with Apple to send you to space? I am the person other than Mallory who has watched almost every Apple TV Plus sci-fi series. So there's that. Mortal Kombat 2. Anyone? No? Yeah.

There are some other animated shows on the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man coming soon. Yeah, so can we talk about that very quickly? My Adventures with Superman, Batman Keep Crusader, Harley Quinn. There's a lot coming. Yeah, Marvel Zombies. Marvel Zombies, yeah. Castlevania, Devil May Cry, Dan to Dan for the anime people. Dogman. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Yeah, Sean. It's an alt-timeline Spider-Man story, right? It's not part of the...

canon that's going in either any of the active movie franchises but it's not like for four-year-olds like Spidey and his amazing friends right it's like somewhere in between there

And I'm wondering if my child will be interested in this show. My child who is developing a massive interest in superheroes like in real time. Sean, can I tell you a quick story? Obviously, I don't live on Daddington Island, but like my 13-year-old nephew turned to me this last weekend and he was like, he doesn't watch a lot of film and television in general. And I was like...

He read The Martian. He loved The Martian. I was like, oh, do you want to watch the movie? And he's like, maybe when I'm older. He's like, I have a lot of other things I want to watch first. I was like, what do you want to watch? He's like, all the Marvel movies. I was like, all the Marvel movies? Should we watch all the Marvel movies? I almost started crying. I was so excited. That's really nice. Yeah. I mean, I'm starting to think on that as we get more and more interested in Batman and Spider-Man in my house. That's like...

It's weird to watch that happen at almost the exact same time when it happened to me. But the things that she's drawn to are all the same things that we're all drawn to, but that I specifically feel like I was drawn to. And the things that you remember and the way that you organize this stuff in your mind is so interesting. So the idea of big projects like that that you're describing is very enticing. I just don't know if you're from the neighborhood Spider-Man...

It's a little bit of a who's this for question that I have, having watched the trailer. I guess it would be for me. Like, I'm interested, but is it like for nine-year-olds? Is it for 38-year-olds? Like, I really don't know. I feel like it is for like nine-year-olds. Maybe not quite for your daughter yet, but like in a few years would be. Right. Kids who can't wait to be teenagers. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think so. And I think a lot of the Marvel animation is actually like...

not that like I mean obviously some of it is but you know X-Men 97 was like quite intense mature quite mature I certainly think Marvel zombies will not be for young children but we'll see it's fun to get the you know I was like originally called freshman year right so very much like a coming of age young adults finding their way with superpowers I think Tron Ares will be a big deal interesting I think that that I think that second film is

It made way more money. Sorry, go ahead. No, go ahead, Jen. Well, it just made more... I think people think of that as...

a flop when it was absolutely not a flop. It was a massive hit. And I think generationally, the generation right behind us loves, loves, loves that second Tron movie. And I think that's a big reason. I think Disney literally is looking at streaming data in terms of greenlighting that movie. And so I'm very curious to see what to make of that. Coming in the fall, it's on that October 10th date where you see Venom, Star is Born. That's a very hot release date and they put the Tron movie there. So I've got my eye on that one.

Interesting. Okay. Your kid is slightly older than mine, so if you figured out how to instill a love of all the things that we love, please let me know. I need a strategy. You can't force it. It has to be organic. They have to find it from someone else. If you give it to them, they don't want it. Yeah. Ben, as long as she's interested in Shohei Otani, it'll be fine.

She is. She has developed a love of my first love. Yeah, then you're set. If the video games and the comics come later, it's a bonus. You have Otani. You're golden. Okay, let's all quickly recap our drafts. Let's go in order of our selection. So I'll go first. I took in round one, Superman as my movie. In round two, Mission Impossible, The Final Reckoning as my sequel.

Round three, Daredevil Born Again as my television show. Round four, Squid Game Season 3 as my wild card. And round five, Paddington for the Daddingtons as my animated. Sean, take us through your squad. In round one, I selected a television show and TV show and or season two. In round two, I selected a television show and sequel, A Night of the Seven Kingdoms. In round three, I selected a film.

Fantastic Four, First Steps. That's in my movie category. In round four, I selected Avatar, Fire and Ash in Animated. Thank you to Big Jim. In round five, I selected Alien Earth as my wild card pick. Also a television show. Incredible. Three out of five TV shows wild. Joanna.

In round one, I selected The Last of Us Season 2 as my TV show. In round two, I selected a film I could have left for last, Wildwood, in Animated. In round three, I selected Thunderbolts Asterisks in my sequel pick. In round four, I selected Mickey 17 as my film. And last but not least, in round five, I selected, despite Ben's objections, Sinners in Wildcard.

Benjamin? I took Stranger Things Season 5 with my first pick. Did I take that in TV show? Yes, I did. And then I selected Grand Theft Auto 6 with my animated pick. I then took Severance Season 2 with my sequel, followed by 28 Years Later as my movie, and Star Trek Strange New World Season 3 as my wildcard.

Not confident that I will win this one, but confident in my quality. Confident that I will not be disappointed. As a generous vibes preserver and distributor, I think this is another fantasy year, honestly. I think so, too. I think he's likely to win. Yeah. Wow. The favorite coming out, certainly. Yeah.

You never know what'll happen on the interwebs. I mean, it suits me fine. We beat him into the dirt on his home turf and he can beat us into the dirt on our own turf. Just a reminder as ever that we won the 99 film draft. And he's welcome to come here and do his best on the hype draft. This is how we keep him engaged with us. First of all, that's not true. Second of all, if I win again, can I make up a rule for the draft?

Yeah, you can submit a rule, certainly, for consideration. Absolutely. Yes, then we will consider it with open minds and open hearts. I think this is a great board, honestly. It's a loaded movie year, a loaded TV year, and there's a lot of good stuff here. So who knows what will happen?

Probably Sean will win. Probably Sean will win, but it's anyone's game except it's probably Sean's game. I do think actually everybody's look good, genuinely. I think this will, yeah. It's a testimony to how much anticipation there is for the stuff that's coming out this year, which is legitimate as opposed to last year, which was quite overwhelming.

when we were trying to do these exercises. Every single team, the thing you could not say last year for sure is like everybody's squad has one thing that it's possible someone will say, I only need to see that one thing. And I'm voting based on that. Like everybody has one of those. So does everybody have five of those? Like Sean, I don't know. Yeah.

It's going to be a good year. I'm hyped, which was the point of this exercise. What a wonderful bounty. Just an absolute embarrassment of riches. We don't always just get to enjoy the most people. We work hard covering them. But that's really fun, too, because then we get to share them with each other and all of you. So what a time to be us. Let's say thank you.

Thank you to all of the bad babies who have listened to this podcast yet again and joined us for the hype meter. Thank you in advance for all of you who vote. You can find the poll on the ringer verse Instagram and the ringer verse Twitter.

Thank you to our fellow drafters, the Nuzler and old Ben Limbergi for joining us once again. We will just ask you guys now to pencil us in for the second or third week in January of 2026. We'll see you then. And of course, thank you to our beautiful, wonderful crew, our hype squad always, Steve Allman on the video and audio edit.

John Richter, video production and video supervision. Arjuna Ramgopal, production supervision. And Jomia Deneron on the social media. We will see you one year from now for the 2026 hype meter. We will see you in the polls in the meantime. And for every single other podcast we do between now and next January. Goodbye.