What Did I Miss? (December 2025)

We unpack the Claire Obscur award reversal, the messy line between tools and authorship, and what “indie” really means when budgets, teams, and outsourcing blur the edges. Then we reflect on My Hero Academia’s impact and John Cena’s farewell, trading favorite arcs, rivalries, and why communal hype still matters. We wrap it up with a rapid fire Discord round up of topics from the entire month!

• Why the Indie Game Awards rescinded Claire Obscur’s top honor
• My Hero Academia’s highs, lulls and enduring characters
• John Cena’s final run, legacy and defining rivalries
• Quick hits on Helldivers, AC Black Flag, Fallout TV links
• 2026 movie hype: The Odyssey, Dune 3, and Avengers

🔻You can find all important links for the podcast over at https://linktr.ee/waitforitpodcast🔺

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Chapters

• 0:12 Setting The Stage For 2026
• 2:39 Why Claire Obscur Lost An Award
• 9:49 The Ethics Of AI In Games
• 14:49 What Makes An Indie Game Now
• 22:49 My Hero Academia’s Lasting Legacy
• 31:17 Spin‑Offs, OVAs, And Concerts
• 39:12 John Cena’s Final Run And Legacy
• 58:08 Rapid-Fire Pop Culture Headlines

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:12

This is the Wait For It Podcast.

SPEAKER_02: 0:16

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Wait For It Podcast. I am your co-host, Phil Barrera, aka Phil the Filipino.

SPEAKER_03: 0:22

And I'm your other co-host, Mr. Eric Almighty, and the holidays have passed us. We're about to enter the new year, but before we do that, we have come together one more time in 2025 to go over what you might have missed this month in the world of pop culture. It's just two of us, just like it used to be way back when. So this may be a shorter episode, but still will be a great one.

SPEAKER_02: 0:46

Ah, and there it is. Eric says this may be a shorter episode, so it will be the longest of the year as he continues to jinx us and say crazy things. So yeah, uh, yeah, back to uh kind of uh all where it started when it comes to what did I miss. Uh, we we wanted to just kind of give everybody uh a break and we'll bring back, you know, the the horses and the wheel and the games and all that stuff in 2026, and we'll continue with guests in January. So I want to thank you guys for hanging out with us. Uh this is the first episode you've ever listened to of the Wait 4 podcast, Wild Pull, Mythical Pull. Actually, if you if some some uh you if you uh ask the two of us, but uh this is our very uh our most casual episode where we uh sit back typically with friends and talk about any news you may have missed from the month before. Of course, with it being December, that's a little bit lighter. So we still have a couple of things that we wanted to discuss here in the world of pop culture uh to wrap up the year and the very last episode of 2025. What a crazy year, you guys. Uh, between Eric and I, both uh here on the podcast, and also individually, as far as what we've been able to do, um really not attainable without the support from you guys. And we have so much cool stuff planned uh between guests and episodes and streams and all that kind of stuff in 2026. So thank you so much. Uh, this is our opportunity to say thank you, and we appreciate the hell out of you guys. So if you need a reminder as to where to keep up with the Wait for podcast in 2026 and beyond, make sure you stick around to the very end of the episode and uh we'll let you know where you can find all of that. But Eric, let's jump into it. December 2025, what did I miss? No wheel, no frills here today. Sorry, uh, as far as production value. I apologize for the for the three of you that watch on YouTube, I guess. I don't know what to tell you. Uh Eric, I'll go with my story first here because um we'll see if we did pick the same story, uh, and then we'll just talk about this at length. And it is the Claire Obscure story. Is that the one that you had pinned or no?

SPEAKER_03: 2:42

No, this is perfect. That was gonna be my backup in a sense. So there we go.

SPEAKER_02: 2:47

It all works out. So, for those of you that do not know, it's kind of a meme at this point. Claire obscure Expedition 33 won a lot of Game of the Year Awards and won a ton of awards at the official Game of the Year Awards, and it also won Game of the Year at the Indie Game Awards. Well, at least it did until very recently, where the Indie Game Awards announced that it was rescinding the top honors award uh awarded to RPG Darling Claire Obscure due to the use of generative AI during development. Sandfall Interactive recently sat down with a group of influencers for a private interview session where the French studio was probed about recent AI controversies. Game director uh Gallium Broche, uh, I'm sure I'm butchering the hell out of that French name, uh, clarified some of the misinformation surrounding the studio and reiterated what other Sandfall developers have said about generative AI usage during interviews held earlier this year. Uh in the transcript, uh which comes courtesy of gaming content creator Sushi, uh, they asked, uh, you know, quote, to what extent was generative AI used in Claire Obscure? How is it beneficial, and how do you plan to use it in the future? Uh Broche responded, everything in the game is human-made. When AI first came out in 2022, we'd already started on the game. It was just a new tool. We tried it and we didn't like it at all. It felt wrong. Broche went on to say that the studio did experiment with using AI specifically to cover up textures that the studio had missed, but that it was an extremely briefed alliance. Quote, we took it out as soon as we found it. But yeah, the concept art, voice actors, everything is human made. Drew a sign uh a line in the sand stated, but everything will be made. Uh oh uh he said, uh, you know, it'd be hard to predict how AI might be used in the gaming industry in the future, but declared, everything will be made by humans by us. Um, part of what uh this continued article from Polygon, um, part of what's fanned the flames surrounding the otherwise niche award show is that Sandfall Interactive has not been furtive about how it used AI in the first place. Interviews conducted earlier in the year saw other Sandfall Interactive developers openly discussing their attempt at using AI generated placeholder art. Once the game is released, some players notice textures that appear to be AI generated. However, those assets were limited to one specific object object in the game full of countless assets. Sandfall Interactive has not responded to Polygon's request, but the immediate patching of those assets coupled with previous statements make it sound like it was an oversight back to when the studio was merely checking out this technology. Um arguably trying the tech at all crosses a moral threshold for people who feel strongly that AI generated assets have no place in the creation of art. But like many industries, gaming studios are being pushed by leadership to explore AI technology, regardless of how workers might how workers might feel about it. Um this was this was a big uh conversation in one of our group chats, Eric. And you know, we've been we've been very clear, especially having many creative and artist friends, how we feel about AI when it comes to the creative space. And it is a very, very it's something we have to approach very, very it's it's I don't want to say touchy, but like we have to be strategic about how we talk about this. Um, because again, this it's not like they went out and used generative AI to create the story, to create the player models, to put create a lot of the you know, most of the things that are that were most important when it comes to clear obscure was also your game of the year pick uh here for the Way Forward Awards. And use it, and it seems like what a lot of the things that they were using were like textures in um some like newspaper articles that were like just posted on a wall, like stuff you really wouldn't even recognize unless you were really, really looking for it. Does that make it, you know, the use of it uh, you know, not any less icky? No, not necessarily, but we have to pick and choose these battles when it comes to AI. AI is here to stay, it's going to be part of what we have to deal with going forward, which is unfortunate when it comes to people using it in their incorrect manner. But this was just something that just seemed like the indie game awards, who I don't I don't know very much about them as a uh as an award show and and as a publication, uh, but it just seemed like something they could have looked into a little bit more before jumping to such a what seems like um really extreme um response. So, Eric, what did you think about all this when it came through, uh, especially for a game that we hold in such high regard?

SPEAKER_03: 7:02

Yeah, you know, unfortunately, this gave a lot of uh uh to sound very woke here, I guess, uh very gave very cancel culture vibes. Like this game won all the awards, and somebody was like, found a tweet. There it is, I found it! Cancel! Um, I don't know, it just gives off that vibe very, very strongly. And you know, that also, uh, not to get too off topic, but that also then stretched into the runner up getting the award for game of the year, which was Blueprints, and I believe it was the Escapist give sending an article without context with the headline Claire Obscure ripped of a title and game of the war, game of the year award given to another game that used AI, and that isn't true at all. That was debunked very quickly by both the dev and beyond. So, like it just feels like it was a story that started to have a whole trail behind it runaway, and it was like a run array, uh runaway train uh in the news cycle. And it's hard to kind of keep up with what really the cause of all this was until you kind of broke down a little bit of the background. It's something I don't necessarily have a problem with from like and James Cameron is not the person you want to attach to for like ideas, but he's mentioned this too. Like, when it comes to storyboarding, that could be a good place for like AI to take place, but I I would also kind of disagree with that take a little bit because I think that might be better than using it in a final product, but even then, that's pretty shaky. So, like, any AI use I think is just a bad call right now. But if it's in the pre and the scheduling of like creating storyboards and all of that type of stuff, I'm a little bit more forgiving. It being in the final cut in the game and then being taken out or being called out, I think is a big issue in the gaming industry and will be as time continues to judge AI and its usage.

SPEAKER_02: 8:59

I think one of the things that that is kind of mentioned here in this article is that they weren't like totally forthcoming in the beginning. If they had said, oh shit, there were some AI assets that we left in the game that we that went unnoticed, we went in and patched them. Thank you to those of you that like brought this to our attention. So I think that I mean that's definitely like making uh again making it worse than what it seems and what happened here. Um, so again, when it comes to like the actual integrity of the game in the studio, I still think that's very much in place. I I'm not going to write off this studio because of uh what seems to be uh a pretty uh easy mistake. I can't even imagine what it's like to go through the endless code of a video game as intense as Clear Obscure Expedition 33. So that's why again, like a lot of people pointing out, like, you know, you gotta pick and choose some of these battles. Like it does like the the these people, like this studio doesn't deserve to be like why were they lambasted to be like the face of uh of generative AI being used in the game? And and really it is because like you kind of alluded to Eric, like people are on the sidelines waiting to hate this game. And and I don't know why. Uh maybe because call of your Call of Duties or your whatever triple A games didn't win a game of the year award and it was dominated by this the studio that kind of came out of nowhere and uh made this happen. So I I don't know what it is, but I mean it's kind of like um just forcing hate, like people hate K-pop demon hunters, like it's just you know, hating the thing that's really, really popular, and that seems to be what happened. So um, but yeah, if they had just come out and said, We fucked up, sorry, here's a free update, here's a cool outfit for everybody. Sorry about that. I think everyone would have just swept this under the rug.

SPEAKER_03: 10:47

Yeah, and I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but it being the indie game of the year, especially considering so many people are criticizing the fact that Claire Obscure is being advertised as an indie game, like the definition of what makes an indie game in 2025 is still seemingly undefined from what I can tell. I tried to do a little bit of research when this story dropped to kind of understand like, was this a double A, a triple A title? Like, what what exactly what is this company? What is this publisher? What is this? And there's not really a real answer, it doesn't always come down to budget. Uh, but when you look at maybe the size of some of the outsourcing for this game and the cast that this game garnered, I don't know. Like, I kind of see both sides of the coin in the argument, and I have no idea if again that maybe pushed the agenda of getting this to happen. Uh, it's unfortunate nonetheless. I mean, Claire Obscure, I don't think this will be what it's remembered for because it was so minimal, but in the short-term memory of gamers, this is definitely a notable one.

SPEAKER_02: 11:50

Yeah, and and again, no disrespect to the indie game awards, who is uh again something I wasn't as familiar with. But if you know, if what's his name? What's the guy who does the game awards? What's that guy's name?

SPEAKER_03: 12:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 12:03

The dude, the game awards host, why are we game awards host? Oh my god, hold on. If Jeff Key if Jeff Keeley came out and and said he was gonna strip, you know, uh uh Claire Obscure of their game of year, game of the year award, then I I think you know it would have been maybe then that's a bigger stain on their legacy. Um, but but for this, I do think we'll uh eventually forget about it. For a game that again I fully intend on eventually going in and finishing, and very excited to see what is next for this studio. And uh, you know, hopefully to just learn from what was hopefully a pretty innocent mistake um or an unfortunate mistake, both probably. So, yeah, that was my story, and um yeah, Claire Obscure stripped of its indie game of the year war, but still has plenty of others, so I think they're doing okay.

SPEAKER_03: 12:52

Yeah, and I mean, like I said, this is gonna be a conversation we continue to have for a while. Uh Larian, who did Baldur's Gate 3, immediately got into some hot water about if there was any AI use in the trailer for Div uh Divinity, and they came out and talked about how they want everything they work for to be a benefit towards their team, their games, and that it would be irresponsible not to evaluate new technologies. However, processes are still always evolving. Uh, and if you know they don't align with who they are, they will make changes. So, not exactly a step away from we won't do this, but uh again, it's gonna be something of a tightrope for these publishing companies to figure out and these gaming developers to you know announce very clearly to people because they want to know if it's in their game or not.

SPEAKER_02: 13:43

Yeah, exactly. Um, so yeah, Eric, what did what was your story that you penned for December? What did we miss?

SPEAKER_03: 13:50

Yeah, so we're gonna have uh kind of a lengthier didn't make the cut section since it's just the two of us. So I figured I'd go with the most broad story, which actually covers two things that happened, not only in the same month, but on the same day. December 13th has come and gone, and in that day, we got both the final episode, quote unquote, for my hero academia, and the final match for John Cena. And I just thought, Phil, although you are still finishing the final season, I've been caught up since the manga finished the final episode here uh today in dub. I wanted to get our thoughts on both legacies for my hero academia and for John Cena as really big fans of anime, but specifically big fans of my hero, and then of course the wrestling side of things and you being the John Cena fan that you are, and me hating him on the opposite end of all of the villain characters that he thwarted. I wanted to bring this story up as a two-for-one for us to really just kind of dive into both sides of the coin and reminisce a little bit about two of the biggest endings to happen in quite some time in both of these genres. So, Phil, whichever one you want to start with, I'll let you kind of take it away and we'll continue the conversation from there.

SPEAKER_02: 15:09

Yeah, let's start with My Hero Academia. We actually had this conversation a couple maybe a month or so ago. I was I asked you, like, what do you think the ultimate legacy of My Hero Academia is going to be? And regardless of how things went there towards you know, 75% of the way through with the movies and you know, not being big fans of those here on my end, and also the downgrade and animation because they were so focused on the films, and of course, you know, the toxicity of this of the fan base, and and and I don't think that's that's certainly not exclusive to my hero academia or anime specifically. We're part of other fandoms that can get pretty pretty nasty. But ultimately, I think that if there is a as as only an anime watcher since 2017, when Eric put me on, I think if there is a uh if there's a new generation of like a big four or a big three, I don't know that you how you can leave my hero academia out of it because of the legacy that it's had and because of the impact it's had on pop culture, um, because of the performances, because of the the names that are that were included, and and because of my hero have launched them into other things, and they are now uh prominent voice actors in in other things, and um between the familiarity of those characters and it it um covering so many different bases, like is it basically X-Men? Sure, but you know why? Because that's a good story, like that's a good story to tell. I think the only and and you mentioned this actually when you had discussed it with me. I think maybe the one thing that didn't age as well is that it does take course over a very short period of time when I think they could have elongated it a little and made the characters a little bit older and stretched out the story a little bit. I think that probably would have been a better route to go, and maybe in hindsight, maybe they wish they would have done that. But ultimately, when I think about my hero academia, uh it will hold its place as one of my favorite anime of all time. Um, it's going to be uh it holds some of the some of my favorite characters in pop culture ever. And I I I'm very excited to see what's next when it comes to I want to start watching vigilantes, and I I endless spin-offs can come from this world specifically. And if they continue to cast the right people and put stories out there that uh really connect with people and touch people, then uh this is an IP that's gonna be around forever. So um, you of course are the one again. You put me on to my hero. Uh, this has been this has been a show that's been part of uh your life in a big, big way. Um, so what do you think? What do you think my hero's legacy is going to be when it's all said and done as somebody who, again, who you're you're fully caught up? And also told me that I'm gonna have to wait a little bit longer for the actual ending for this fucking thing.

SPEAKER_03: 17:52

Yeah, so you know, obviously, my thoughts into my hero span quite heavily into so many different feelings and emotions. I've talked about it a lot before. The one thing I'll harp on and reiterate for those of you that haven't heard uh, you know, my opinion on this series, there has been very, very minimal amount of content for as much as I consume. Uh, there's been a very small amount of franchises and materials that have really impacted me the way from a character standpoint, especially, than what I've experienced in my hero academia. The highs are so high. There are definitely a lot of lulls and lulls in this particular series that you could criticize and you could talk about, and I definitely have my pick of the litter from that. But when it comes down to it, like some of these core characters to this show are my favorite in all of pop culture. I'm a big fan of Deku, but Bakugo is like he's coming to his own, like, that's one of my favorite character arcs ever. Hawks is one of my favorite fucking characters just in general. I just love his whole fucking vibe, his quirk. Like, there are so many things. The endeavor arc was really strong in in that character work. So, a lot of stuff that I really enjoy, a lot of scenes that mean quite a lot to me, and I think back to reminisce a lot. And for somebody who doesn't watch stuff a lot multiple times, my hero academia has several, several instances where I have to put it on annually, check it out. I might just be bored and pull up a YouTube clip of a scene. I don't just do that with anything, and my hero will have always made a really strong impact on me for that reason. But the fun isn't exactly all over. There is going to be a OVA that was announced for May of 2026, uh, titled More. And it is uh heavily implied at the end of the first uh end of the final episode of My Hero Academia that the story will continue on, and that is because there was an additional chapter that is the manga's official. Ending that did not get adapted into this season of the anime. So they're gonna be bringing that back, finishing that up. There's also gonna be My Hero Academia, the concert. Phil feels like we're gonna end up having to go to that. Uh, if I could say, yeah, listen, play you say run back to back to back, and I'm happy as fuck. Let's do that. So there's a lot of fun stuff.

SPEAKER_02: 20:22

You know that gif of speed, like crying, or no, no, no. It's the kid with the headphones in, he's like crying in his in class, and he's like throw slamming the table. That's gonna be that's it's gonna be Eric. You're gonna get thrown out.

SPEAKER_03: 20:34

That's gonna be me. I'm gonna be extremely tearful. Uh, but you know, as far as my hero goes, Phil, uh, the thing I'll kind of bring up really quick is uh with my hero now ending, and obviously that OVA coming up, and you never know, they could always do a movie that nothing's stopping them. There is something going on right now, uh, My Hero Academia Vigilantes, which is a spin-off series that had a pretty promising first season. Someone as someone who has not watched the first season but has read the manga, it's probably gonna be my next step to check out. I heard animation-wise, it was kind of a precursor to what we got in the final season of My Hero, which is crazy. Phil, any interest at all to check out Vigilantes with what you've heard about or seen about so far? Or is this the first time you're even hearing this thing exists?

SPEAKER_02: 21:21

No, I'm definitely gonna check out Vigilantes. I mentioned Vigilantes, so just a moment ago.

SPEAKER_03: 21:26

No, no, I don't believe you.

SPEAKER_02: 21:30

Yeah, no, I'm definitely gonna check it out. It's something that I heard about a while ago because of you, and you know, letting me know kind of like what that was about. I assume it's just like the spin-off for Attack on Titan, uh, where they're all chibi and they cook, right? Is that what it's all vapors?

SPEAKER_03: 21:45

No, that is not it, but uh you might you might see a little bit more ass.

SPEAKER_02: 21:49

Oh, okay, interesting. Uh yeah, no, I'm definitely gonna check that out. Uh, again, as I mentioned, like this is a universe that you could make tell infinite stories in. Um, people are always gonna be interested in heroes and this type of content. And again, for a IP that has already introduced a lot of characters that people are very much uh enamored with. Um, I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. So definitely want to be there for uh the concert. Yeah, that that's definitely something we'll have to make time for if we get an email from the Florida Theater, not the Florida Theater, but the Times Union uh Center, and uh we'll have to make sure that we talk to that composer if uh it is possible. So and also, I mean, Eric, I mean, selfishly too, just with us with the podcast, getting opportunities to talk with basically every single voice actor that has voiced these characters that we love is an incredible, uh like just humbling experience. So and that only just brought us closer to this series, uh, which is um pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_03: 22:47

Yeah, and and my hero is gonna hold a special place in both of our hearts. Uh, I can't say the same for John Cena. You know, I can't, I can't, I can't really say the same. But what I will say is that no matter what you thought about his final run, his year-long retirement run, I think it's still bittersweet and still something we're processing with the way it ended. I don't know if the wound is too fresh, Phil, but thinking about this final run, his final match, and then reminiscing about his career, uh, where do you want to take it in your thought uh about John Cena and the fact that it's all over? You you say never say wrestling, uh never say never in wrestling, uh, but this might be never ever again.

SPEAKER_02: 23:34

Yeah, so I actually had this conversation with our buddy Brock recently um on the way down to Hallmat, and the issue was not him losing to Gunther, and that's not the problem because Gunther was the right guy. It's the complexity of the sum of all parts because one Gunther it goes back to why the fuck do you have him tap out to Jay Uso? Like, that's also an issue in and of itself, and then you hear now John is saying, like, I wanted to do like 200 dates, you know, and I wanted to do uh and me and Cody were left with our dicks in our hands after The Rock and Travis Scott never showed up again. So that's gonna be part of Triple H's legacy now. So that but that final run that's that's gonna be associated with him forever, and it it's really a bummer that it pretty much it trumps a lot of what he did in NXT, which is a huge bummer because that's what got us back into wrestling. Um, a lot of what happened on that final run is a reason why we're not really paying attention to wrestling as much now. Um, but John Cena ultimately will be um uh he will be on my Mount Rushmore of not only just wrestlers but just pop culture, people in general. Uh, he was my hero growing up as a kid, as a teenager, when I really, really first got into wrestling. It was the first ever pay-per-view I went to. It was a survivor series where he was oh, never mind. I was about to say which team he was on, but uh we don't mention the name of that wrestler. He was not on team angle. I'll just say that. Um, and that was when he was really starting to gain momentum. It was the first t-shirt I ever owned was the the white and blue ward life t-shirt with the the brass nucks, and um, you know, you make all the jokes about the Super Cena, and it was just so funny that Eric and I like uh uh this friendship started because he was this hardcore Randy Orton fan, and I was a John Cena fan, and um it's led to so many amazing moments getting him to see getting to see him live. And me and my sister paid for uh the photo op opportunity at MegaCon this coming March, so cannot wait to uh even interact with him for just a moment because I never got to do that while he was an active wrestler. Um, he is somebody that has given so much. Uh, you know, a lot of people know, of course, about his record amount of make-a-wishes. He was doing make-a-wishes on the day of his final match, guys, which is fucking crazy. That guy does not stop. But you also see like the behind-the-scenes stuff, you just see his body is beat up, man. And it is time for him to step away. Uh, I threw out the idea of like maybe he would have a run in AEW, but I just think he's too much of a corporate guy for WWE to ever do that. I think he would he would be open to it, um, but I just don't think he would, his heart would allow him to do that, even though there would be a lot of really great matches to see in AEW. But um, he is a person who has given so much to us as fans, and will continue to do so. Uh Peacemaker season two, I have not finished, but he has unlocked a different level when it comes to his acting there, and it is outstanding. Um, I will always love him and and thank him for that. And uh yeah, as frustrating as some of those times were as a trying to be a level-headed wrestling fan, when you think about the times that he, you know, the Nexus specifically comes to mind, um, some of those things that get really frustrating, but his overall legacy on the game will will never be forgotten. And um uh yeah, man, I I can't wait to meet him in in MegaCon, put on some jorts, and take that photo. So uh yeah, uh he will um he's the greatest of all time, and uh we'll have more championships than Randy Orton ever will. Uh uh overall.

SPEAKER_03: 27:03

So well, yeah, because Randy Orton just doesn't get put on fucking TV anymore. Like we just we have Randy Orton.

SPEAKER_02: 27:12

You triple A. We fucking hate you, triple H.

SPEAKER_03: 27:15

Dude, I just uh I'll never get it. I'll never get it. Um to wrap up this conversation though, uh, because I know not everyone uh that listens to the podcast is the biggest wrestling fan, but man, wrestling is such a big part of pop culture, and it starts and stops these days with uh names like John Cena. Phil, asking for your favorite matches hard. If you have that answer, let me know. But what I'd ask instead is your favorite rivalry of John Cena's, especially just considering you and me. I know it's easy to say Randy Orton, but I actually might have some different answers here. So I'm curious what yours is.

SPEAKER_02: 27:52

I think it's Edge. I I think Randy is because they're so tied together. Um, but I think because Edge, that's when like you really started to take him seriously when he had that heel turn, and it's such a bummer they didn't get to have like one more match before he was out, before Edge had left. Um, I I do think that Edge is is right up there. Um, I really like enjoyed his rivalry with JBL. The the early days were really, really good too. Um, I think it was maybe a little bit of a underrated um match with matches with Umaga, uh Umenga, as uh William Regal would say. So those ones were also great. And um, yeah, man, just him going back and forth. It's hard to think of like who else he really feuded with because it was it seemed like it was always Randy Orton or Triple H. Shawn Michaels, probably. The Shawn Michaels rivalry was excellent. Um, and then also all the shit he did with Batista. Whenever those two link up, it was always so good. Batista is so good as a heel, and I look at them now. I don't know, it's no surprise that those two have had the success that they have gone on to have. Um, favorite match is really, really tough. Um, you know, one is gonna be the Royal Rumble return at Madison Square Garden, Eric's favorite match of all time.

SPEAKER_03: 29:06

Feels like that didn't count. You didn't have to bring that up.

SPEAKER_02: 29:08

I don't know, he won. So that one was really, really great. And then probably some of those matches that maybe that one of those uh that those triple threat matches with uh Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, and John Cena, uh summer was that SummerSlam, those were good, and then any of the AJ Styles matches. Um the fact that those two AJ Styles in his own right uh he deserves that type of run. Will he get it? We'll see. Um, but those the fact that those two faces of the comp of comp two different companies got to have multiple matches um is outstanding. Uh, and they brought out the best in each other. So yeah, one of those AJ Styles John Cena matches is pretty high on the list.

SPEAKER_03: 29:46

Yeah, those are actually gonna be my recommendations for uh match uh is any of the the AJ Styles ones, and specifically, I probably would do the Royal Rumble 2015, the triple threat you were talking about. Uh, that was the one where I knew Seth Rollins was like a star. Like he I mean, I I had already known, but like man, he he held his own and it was a great, great match. The uh one rivalry I'll bring up that probably is uh you right on the tip of your tongue and might be my top one just because I don't think I don't think it we get to the heights of this other wrestler without John Cena and their rivalry. Uh, but no, CM Punk.

SPEAKER_02: 30:23

Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 30:24

Yeah, CM Punk's. CM Punk's probably the biggest one.

SPEAKER_02: 30:27

He's wrestling soulmate, they are soulmates.

SPEAKER_03: 30:30

You know, listen, say what you want to say. The stuff with The Rock was huge at the time, and then uh JBL's great pull. I think people forget about that all the time. JBL and Eddie had the best rivalry for JBL for me, but uh, I would say if it's not gonna be Edge, uh, an honorable mention would be Kevin Owens. I think that rivalry when he first came up as NXT champ uh was very, very slept on. And again, say what you want about John Cena, but I don't think Kevin Owens makes enough of a splash, maybe when he first jumps onto the main roster. If it's not for Cena, and then for CM Punk, I just think again, his career trajectory looks a lot different if he's not involved in in the match with Cena and the storyline he was in leading up to that money in the bank match. So those are uh my thoughts. Very bittersweet to see John Cena go out, but man, I I I was rooting for Gunther. Uh I felt the the air come out of the room. It was uh it was a tough night for everybody. I was sleeping good though. I was sleeping good, and just remember guys, he made that little bitch tap.

SPEAKER_02: 31:38

God, nobody again, just a man, just a modern day old school heel is exactly what we need right now. So again, Gunther earned that victory.

SPEAKER_01: 31:50

Uh, it's just, you know, we fucking hate you, Triple H. So that is what we will say about that.

SPEAKER_02: 31:55

But uh yeah, Eric, uh what do we have in the uh oh did make the cuts. I guess we'll just do that really quick. Mine again, I don't even really like want to spend too much time on. One of them was incredibly, I think I actually oh yeah, one of them was incredibly annoying.

SPEAKER_03: 32:08

Yeah, go, and I figure we'll we'll just well did make the cut will be this whole segment here, guys. And we'll just go one story at a time. And if the other person has anything to kind of go back and forth on, we'll do that. They'll still be fairly short, but uh again, I think uh we covered our our biggest, those definitely were the two biggest stories of December, uh, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02: 32:26

And um, and two of these are from the Discord roundup, so you'll just you'll just cut them whenever. Um one of them is like, what the fuck? Like, why is there a live action gaston movie coming out from this of all the things? Like, you you they think you're you know you're gonna take a step back from the live action shit, and then I think what Lilo and Stitch did pretty good, and they're like, fuck it, we're back in. Let's let's let's run it back. I if we're gonna get this, like who who's guest on Eric?

SPEAKER_03: 32:55

If this is going to happen, not Luke Evans again? Is that not what they're gonna do?

SPEAKER_02: 32:59

Is this a different way because there already is a a live action guest on? Let's see.

SPEAKER_03: 33:04

But I'm a but see, here's the thing in the title, and you could confirm this, I didn't see that mentioned. You feel like that it would feel like that'd be the biggest thing you'd advertise because he was a great Gaston.

SPEAKER_02: 33:15

Yeah, I haven't seen it.

SPEAKER_03: 33:16

So yeah, I haven't seen anything like exactly confirming that that's the case. If it's not the case, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_02: 33:24

Yeah, I if it's not him, then Gaston Live Action Fancast. Let's see. Oh, that's Beauty and the Beast. This is from 2018. Oh, here we here's just a list of fan casts from 2018 from when Beauty and the Beast was about to come out. Um who's the current? It's Luke Evans, right? Luke Evans. Yeah, okay, so he was second on this list. Um, Henry Cavill, Hugh Jackman, James Marston. Trying to find names we know.

SPEAKER_03: 33:54

Don't want to see any of those.

SPEAKER_02: 33:55

Glenn Powell. No. John Cena. No. John Cena? No. You thought we were done talking about John Cena. I thought we were. Joe Manganello.

SPEAKER_03: 34:07

Listen, argument can be made. We've talked about this too long.

SPEAKER_02: 34:11

Patrick Warburn.

SPEAKER_03: 34:12

Phil? Wait, hold on. That one. I know I can't get with Phil. I like it. I like it.

SPEAKER_02: 34:20

I know I can't read. Uh, Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

SPEAKER_03: 34:25

Phil, what was your other story, please?

unknown: 34:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_03: 34:29

This is why we can't end the episode on time.

SPEAKER_02: 34:32

The other one was that Justin Lynn is gonna direct the Helldivers movie, uh, which Justin Lynn is associated with Fast and the Furious. And you know what? I want Helldivers to be a campy, fun, explosive, gory fucking time. Make it rated R, make them cuss a whole bunch, and make it really, really fun. And uh, you know, Justin Lynn, he knows how to make a fun movie that makes that made a billion dollars.

SPEAKER_03: 34:55

So, you know, they can't get that last one up and running, so uh, you know, I don't think he's directing that. So he's moving out the hell divers. Uh Gary Doberman is the scribe behind it and Annabelle, and I don't know how I feel about that when it comes to the script for this project, but I mean, I'm I'm I'm open to seeing what we do.

SPEAKER_02: 35:18

The movie, not Welcome to Dairy, because people love Welcome to Dairy.

SPEAKER_03: 35:21

I I don't know, but listen, if if he was involved with it chapter two in any way, shape, or form, then there are gonna be concerns. That is that's fair, quite arguably the worst movie I've seen that isn't uh that isn't the Bruno.

SPEAKER_02: 35:35

It's pretty bad. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 35:38

Hated hated that movie. I will go down the line, we'll start in the gaming stratosphere, and then we'll transition nicely into the world of TV and entertainment uh and movies. Phil, the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake relay uh release date has reportedly been leaked. Uh, it's gonna be coming out before the end of Q1 2026, so before March 31st. What are your thoughts about that release? Is it too soon? Is it sooner than you expected? Uh, quick thoughts on that.

SPEAKER_02: 36:07

Yeah, um the black flag remake is becoming like this like mythical creature of like gaming. Like, even even up there with like a GTA 6, is like, is it gonna is it real? Like, we're not 100 sure. Um, but I think they are in desperate need of a win over at Ubisoft, and this is one they can get in there, they can kind of reset Assassin's Creed. I've been playing Assassin's Creed Unity, um, which has just been a night and day experience between Assassin's Creed Shadows, uh, which I did not enjoy, didn't even finish. And Unity going back to like what Assassin's Creed was at its roots has been really refreshing. So for them to get in there, get a win, be like, hey guys, remember Black Flag? You guys like this, right? So maybe they can, you know, write the ship down the world, uh down the road with whatever this horror Assassin's Creed game is gonna be that maybe comes out in 2026, and starting off early with uh a Black Flag remake is a good call.

SPEAKER_03: 37:05

Yeah, and it's the first of many games that are already announced for 2026. The biggest one that probably won't be a 2026 game is GTA. Phil, you very much believe it's a 2027 game, as does our friend of the show, Andrew. But in 2027, we might also be getting Intergalactic the Heretic Prophet, and that is obviously Naughty Dog's next game coming up, uh allegedly mid-2027. Phil, is this game on your radar at all? I feel like when we did get the initial trailer, you and me didn't really talk very much about it, but talk's now heating up on a release date. What are your thoughts on that one?

SPEAKER_02: 37:41

Yeah, I'm always gonna be game for whatever Naughty Dog's next project is, as long as it's not uh, you know, some sort of online multiplayer live service game, which they were working on for a little bit with that that Last of Us multiplayer thing, which unfortunately got scrapped, but um, yeah, I am down uh take your time when it comes to uh when it comes to these games, but it it is just like man, it's taking longer and longer to make these games, and I get like so much is at stake when it comes to these studios putting out new properties, and you just have to like take your time. But we're getting to the point where like you get one game, a life cycle from a studio, and like how long is that like thank god for the for that indie gaming is in such a great state right now because they they can put out a game a little bit quicker, and it's holding us off in between a Last of Us Part 2 and then Heretic, right? And this new game, and then you know, wait waiting years for Elder Scrolls and waiting years for Grand Theft Auto. Thank goodness there are other games in between there that we've been able to play, but like man, I mean, how how much like longer are these processes gonna take when it comes to these triple A studios? You know what I mean? Because pressure is so high. What's the breaking point?

SPEAKER_03: 38:55

Team Cherry with the with Hollow Knights in there, like this guy, what is this guy talking about? We're supposed to be releasing games quickly, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 39:03

Half-Life 3 maybe coming out. Like, is that is that a thing?

SPEAKER_03: 39:07

Like one day, one day. Uh speaking of which, you bought those recently on Steam. I was considering buying Portal 2.

SPEAKER_02: 39:13

Well, there we go. We're we're Valve, we're diving back into Valve. We're diving back in 2026.

SPEAKER_03: 39:18

The game room is back, baby. We're bringing it back. The reboot band. All right, anyway. Uh transitional news. Todd Howard says the Fallout TV show will have an impact on the next installment of the Fallout franchise Fallout 5. Phil, I wanted to ask because we were fans of season uh one. You did watch season one, right?

SPEAKER_02: 39:41

Yeah, did we cover it? Or we just watched it?

SPEAKER_03: 39:43

I think we just watched it, which is why my brain shut off right there. But I wanted to make sure I got it right. I have not started season two, which is ongoing right now, but I definitely plan on doing it. Is this something considering that we tried Fallout 76? You enjoy the show. Any way we're gonna get you on board to try out Fallout 5?

SPEAKER_02: 40:05

No. Okay. I I don't think that I would enjoy Fallout if if I'm not playing cooperatively with other people. Um I I'm definitely gonna watch the show. Love those characters, love that they're adapting New Vegas. I'm not the biggest fan of like the lore tying into the game. It gets all very like messy. Because one of my thing favorite things about the show is that is it's it's its own thing, which is like what they should do with with Halo and what they should have done with The Last of Us, you know, and and that's why I think it's been so successful. So I'm not the biggest fan of that decision, but single-player Fallout, I just don't think is my bag. If they continue to make a new update to like Fallout 76, that in entices us, maybe, but I think that's the extent of my my Fallout gaming.

SPEAKER_03: 40:50

Yeah, no, that's completely fair, especially in the gaming space. You know, Phil uh, you know, is uh very, very selective. But when it comes to movies, Phil, you're actually uh very even more selective because the actress we're gonna talk about next is your favorite. I think you go to all of her movies. Scarlett Johansson talks to be in the Batman 2, uh, opposite Robert Pattinson. So, Phil, again, I know single line of sight here. You're gonna go see it. Phil, Phil has disappeared. Phil, Phil, please tell me. Uh, what do you think about this news and who could she possibly be playing?

SPEAKER_02: 41:26

Let's see. Who's the Asian character in in Batman? Okay, don't do this, don't do this. She is going to play uh a gender-bent Raja Ghoul.

SPEAKER_03: 41:46

Alright, we're gonna move on. We're gonna move on, guys. Maybe the bigger news that happened in December in the world of pop culture. Uh, Netflix is buying Warner Bros. for 83 billion dollars. Phil, uh, thoughts here? The uh thoughts here are that it was gonna go to Paramount, and then there were a couple of other bidders. It looks like Netflix has taken the cake here. There's still a lot of stuff this has to go through before officially happening. But what are your initial thoughts, especially considering everything we hear about Netflix and movies in the theaters?

SPEAKER_02: 42:20

Yeah, well, first off, apparently, excuse me, they didn't get our bid of$50 and tickets to Boldman, Surrey, so uh that wasn't enough to entice them. But yeah, it is from everything that you hear, you know, they're trying to say all the right things, like films are gonna stay in theaters, like the movie theater isn't gonna like the movie theater experience is important, all that shit. But like if anybody's gonna benefit from movies coming straight to Net to straight to streaming, it's fucking Netflix, right? Like, they now own, they paid$80 billion for the nemesis system. Like they they own Shadow of Mordor, and like they're gonna add the nemesis system to Stranger Things, like that's what they're gonna do. Like, imagine imagine if you could have put the nemesis system into like Batman. You know what I mean? And and now we're probably and not that we're ever gonna see the nemesis system ever again, but like Warner Brothers was just sitting on that doing nothing. But I I don't think this is a good thing just because people that are more knowledgeable than me are telling me that it's bad. I have to do some more research myself, but like get ready to pay more for Netflix, I guess. I don't know. I already pay the most for Netflix than any other streaming service, and I use it the least. So what do you mean?

SPEAKER_03: 43:36

We're in the middle of stranger things right now, bud. Okay, Phil, that's fine, that's fine. I get it, I understand. I'm I'm striking nerves. Uh one thing that might not strike a nerve, in fact, I don't really know that you care at all. The Oscars are heading to YouTube in 2029. Uh, thoughts.

SPEAKER_02: 44:03

Coming up next, the award for best picture, brought to you by Squarespace. Yeah. No, that's oh in this film, Robert Downey Jr. struggles with his mental health, which is which would be a lot easier for him to manage with better help.

SPEAKER_03: 44:23

Better help. Not better help. Are they still uh are they still advertising Ray's uh call modes? What are those called again? Are they called they're not called Ray Bans? Hold on, they're Ray something. Ray J's we gotta get we gotta get the info.

SPEAKER_02: 44:43

They're called Raycons. Raycons, yeah. Hey, honestly though, Ray J hit us up, man. We will take we'll take we'll do pretty much anything. I've never seen anybody wearing a pair of Raycons in the wild ever.

SPEAKER_03: 44:57

Not one person that that gave those as a Christmas gift.

SPEAKER_02: 45:03

Yeah, it's just like when you see Cindy Sweeney like using a Google Pixel, like I know you're not using a Google Pixel, you don't have to lie.

SPEAKER_03: 45:10

Um, so yeah, that that that's what uh that's what we should have expected from that news. Uh, even more on the do not care list, though. Uh Paul King, the director of the first two Paddingtons, is set to direct the Laboooboo movie for Sony Phil. Is it is it possible for a movie to be made where we cry in a Laboooboo film? Is it possible that it could be Paddington 2 but Laboo Boo?

SPEAKER_02: 45:36

There would be a situation where we cried is if we like had to go watch it. Like, what if it's good?

SPEAKER_03: 45:42

That's what I'm saying. What if it was good?

SPEAKER_02: 45:44

I can't imagine because Leboo Boo, they don't have like a cartoon or anything, right? It's just a collectible. They don't talk, do they? Like, do they have is there an animated Laboo Boo show?

SPEAKER_03: 45:55

I don't think so. I I don't think so. I again I could just see us being asked what's your what's your number two favorite movie ever of all time? What you could yeah, see, that's what I'm saying. That'll be us. Um, now we're gonna go back to back to back to wrap up didn't make the cut and finish this up with uh the biggest news going into next year, Phil. Uh the Odyssey trailer officially dropped. I don't know if you had a chance to check this out. I'm assuming you did. I gotta get your thoughts because man, I was stiff as hell in the theaters.

SPEAKER_02: 46:32

It made for a very uncomfortable experience for everyone else that there was uh that was involved.

SPEAKER_03: 46:37

But people in the back were like, move it out of the way, I can't see the screen.

SPEAKER_02: 46:44

Eric has been very unfiltered this whole weekend. I just want to let you guys know it's been bad, guys.

SPEAKER_03: 46:48

Um talking about canceling. I am done for if anybody was recording.

SPEAKER_02: 46:53

Yeah, man. Um, and didn't we miss our opportunity to get tickets, or did you get your tickets?

SPEAKER_03: 47:00

No, I didn't get the early IMAX tickets. Oh yeah, IMAX.

SPEAKER_02: 47:04

We don't have IMAX theaters in Jacksonville for the city. We're screwed.

SPEAKER_03: 47:06

Yeah, no, I would have traveled out of town to see this film. Like I was I was looking at tickets in New York in fucking California. I would have gone, man. Calm the fuck down, Jesus.

SPEAKER_02: 47:14

I would have gone to a problem. Yeah, it looks it's going to be if it's less than a four and a half, then I think if it's a four, I think we're disappointed, to be honest with you. If it's anything less than a four and a half, then I think we walk out of the theater disappointed. If I don't want to see it again, I think I'd be disappointed based off of the expectations and who is involved. Um, I am pretty disappointed that I think Tom Hall, uh Tom Hall Hillston. Nope. Tom Holland, nope. Which Tom? Which Tom is in it? Tom Holland. Tom Holland is wearing pants. There's no pants. What is listen?

SPEAKER_03: 47:51

We're not gonna talk about the historical accuracies of uh of what was going on. Like the like the knight in the full black armor. We're not gonna we're not gonna we're not gonna talk about that. Um, I the only concern I have is how they're gonna handle the mythological stuff. Um, I don't know how much they're gonna lean into it. Uh, you get a little glimpse of the uh, for those of you that don't want to hear the spoilers, skip ahead, but it's the fucking Odyssey, so you probably know. Uh the sun they showed the Cyclops, so I mean, like a quick glimpse. So I think they're gonna stick with it, but like again, I'm really interested to see how they're gonna handle some of the gods, some of the monsters in this story. Like, I'm very curious how much he's gonna lean into it. I really hope we're not trying to make this too realistic. Let's have fun with this.

SPEAKER_02: 48:38

Yeah, no, I I think it's going to uh that there it's the most 1A, 1B highly anticipated film of the year. The other one is for other reasons. We'll see what happens there. But yeah, uh if if we don't walk out of that thing as a life-changing, this goes into my this gets slotted into number one immediately on Letterboxd, then I will be very surprised. It it needs to end up in our top three for 2026. It's there's no leeway. If it lands at four, disappointment. Straight to jail.

SPEAKER_01: 49:13

Straight to jail.

SPEAKER_03: 49:14

Yeah, I mean, it should it should be, unless these next two movies and our final didn't make the cut topic, actually make it worth our while because they're not only dropping in the same year, they're dropping on the same day. Dunes day, baby is coming. Uh Warner Bros. is reportedly going to be. With uh Dune 3 having the same release day as Avengers Doomsday. Phil, if this sticks, I cannot imagine that one of these films don't budge. But it's already honestly, like a week or two is gonna be such a big move for one of these films. I kind of think there's a possibility they both do release on the same day because it's not gonna matter, really. They're gonna eat into each other.

SPEAKER_02: 50:01

Lean into it.

SPEAKER_03: 50:02

Lean into it, right? So if this happens, are you seeing both of these on the same weekend and or the same day?

SPEAKER_02: 50:12

Yeah, I'll I'll take I'll take PTO for it. Because if we go it comes out on a Thursday, I'll take the day, I'll take the day off. Uh, because as as frustrated as we as we are with Doomsday, and I've seen all the trailers. I don't know if you've seen the X-Men one that came out today. I saw it earlier today.

SPEAKER_03: 50:28

Um, I do not check out any leaks at all. Like, that is not my thing.

SPEAKER_02: 50:34

Yeah, yeah, sure, sure, says the person that knew about The Last of Us Part 2 a year before the game came out.

SPEAKER_03: 50:40

He what? What?

SPEAKER_02: 50:42

Yeah, uh, yeah. So even as frustrated as we are with the MCU, we yearn for that Marvel experience in the theater. Like we yearn for the minds. Like that's not yearn, man.

SPEAKER_03: 50:57

Back down the minds of the kids. Back down the mind. The word yearn, it hurts.

SPEAKER_02: 51:03

Yearn, yearn for it. That cinematic experience. And they're gonna re-release Endgame, I think, right back in theaters as well. So, like, we're just itching for that cinematic experience again for characters that we care about, um, that they are bringing back. We won't fully spoil those here for those of you that have not seen those trailers or don't want to, but yeah, I I think it's gonna be great. I think that they should lean into it just like Barbie and Oppenheimer did. And and listen, that happened organically. That was not everything else feels manufactured since Barbenheimer. Um, but this they should just lean into it. Do like like combine your press stores, put Timothy Chalamet and maybe one of the original Avengers together in a press store. You know, like just do it, you know what I'm saying? Like, I think that is a a really smart way to go about it and just really emphasize coming to the movie theater, right? Like December this year was I don't want to say it was a down, you know, it was Avatar was the big thing here, and then Anaconda came out, and then a bunch of smaller movies that we can't even see here in Jacksonville. So, like next year, hype it up for December 2026 to be like holiday films are back, you have these two major movies coming out of the same day, go see them the same weekend, see them the same day, put on your t-shirts, you know, like put on your your um you know, your Avengers t-shirt and then rip it off and have your you know your Paul Atreides cosplay on, like, do all of that. So I I I hope that it sticks. Um, I do of course have higher hopes and expect Dune to be the better film, but again, I I am just waiting to be an MCU cuck once again, um, because I'm very confident in Supergirl. I think that's gonna be a lot of fun, and they're gonna have their work cut out cut out for them. They got two big chances you're bringing back Spidey and you're bringing back the fucking Avengers. And if you miss twice, it might be cooked, man. Might be done.

SPEAKER_03: 52:59

Might be done. Uh man, the day we get the Kevin Feige fired post is going to be a crazy day.

SPEAKER_02: 53:07

It's gonna be dropped by Shams. Maybe 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, like the Luka Doncha street.

SPEAKER_03: 53:14

That's crazy work. Um, yeah, I wonder how that will all work though, long term, like if they can make that excitement from the theater. I just had to explain to my child, uh, because we had to, we talked about this a little bit uh in the pre-show. I had to go to a theater we went to back in high school that is now partially a church, didn't enjoy going to do that, but we went to go to this theater and we had to explain to a child what it was like back in our day, where Phil, we would have to go to a theater and buy a ticket at the theater and hope we got there early enough for a good seat, and sometimes you didn't even sit with your party because there weren't enough seats. That's crazy to think back that, like, we would be waiting in line to walk into the theater. That's not something you experience these days. I wonder if, like, again, the closest we got to was Barbenheimer, that communal experience of going to go see a movie. Hopefully, we can do that with this. Uh, but again, I'd be shocked if these both stay on the same date, even if even if it makes sense right now in the moment.

SPEAKER_02: 54:26

Yeah, I remember like people lining up to take pictures in the Barbie box, like at the movie theater.

SPEAKER_03: 54:31

Like, when was the last time that happened, right?

SPEAKER_02: 54:34

What a great, what a great time. We uh we took a group photo in front of the the posters. Like, come on, man. We got the t-shirts uh that we still wear to this day.

SPEAKER_03: 54:41

Like, if we don't get a Timothy Chalamet and uh and uh Tom Holland commercial, I'm we we missed out.

SPEAKER_02: 54:49

It writes itself, man. Put those two together on on Jimmy Fall on Jimmy Kimball. Not Jimmy Fallon, fuck Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Kimmel.

SPEAKER_03: 54:56

I want I want Robert Daddy Jr. saying Lisa Nal Ghaib.

SPEAKER_02: 55:00

Yeah. Lean like come on, have a good time with it and uh invite people back to the movies again. Hopefully, there's plenty of other films between January and November to keep that people are also going to the movies for, but yeah, it is a chance for them to knock it out of the park. But uh with we haven't seen so many of these characters in so long, you know. By this time, by an adventurous film, we would have seen them at least two or three times, and they haven't done that. Are the marvels even gonna be in this movie? Do people care about the marvels at all anymore? Like, what's even happening? Who knows? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03: 55:34

Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see where everything falls, if they can lean on the right amount of nostalgia and give us something new for the future, uh, and see where this is all heading. I I think it's the last hope for a lot of us, and if at the very least, it's gonna be a very bittersweet goodbye for some of us if it's bad. So, yeah, that is didn't make the cut for the month of December. A lot of stuff that was shared in the pop culture news section of our Discord. We appreciate everybody that continued the conversation, talked about a lot of the topics that we shared here today. But Phil, again, a shorter episode. We did manage to pretty much make it across the finish line in a decent amount of time. Next year, we will continue to bring the fun back with games, horses, and guests. But for now, uh, just the two of us wrapping up the year, and we had a lot of fun recapping the year with our end of year awards and looking forward to 2026. So if you haven't checked out those episodes in our catalog, uh, Phil, let everybody know where they can find us and we'll wrap this one up.

SPEAKER_02: 56:35

Yeah, and in 2026, we have those robes coming for returning guests thanks to our Capital One credit. Stop Way4 podcast.

SPEAKER_03: 56:44

We're gonna get in trouble. We can't financially uh this cannot be profitable for Frito Learn. That's gonna be our shout out to Jesse Plemens. That's gonna be our 2026 quote until we watch that movie.

SPEAKER_02: 56:57

This cannot be profitable for the Wave 4 podcast.

SPEAKER_03: 56:59

I've got to write that down now. I keep forgetting. Game night, right? Yeah, we gotta do it.

SPEAKER_02: 57:03

Um, shout out to Jesse Plemens, who is excellent in Begonia, a film that I watched here today. Um, yeah, you can also uh check out. Are we releasing the audio version of the stream on the box as a bonus? Yeah, for the letterbox uh episode.

SPEAKER_03: 57:16

Yeah, that'll probably come out on Friday the second.

SPEAKER_02: 57:19

Cool. So you may be able to listen to it in a few days if you're listening to this on the day it came out, or uh maybe listen to it already. So we'll see. But yeah, if you want to keep up with everything wait for podcast related, you can click the link tree link in the show notes of this and every single episode. You can find us over uh on any podcast player. And if you want to support, leave us those five-star reviews. It's one of the best ways you can support the show. You can also follow us on social media on TikTok and Instagram. Join the aforementioned growing Discord community, follow us on Twitch where we are streaming each and every single week. And also make sure you follow Eric's personal Twitch, where he is streaming multiple times a week. Uh, make sure to follow myself as well at Phil the Filipino. I have some very, very exciting announcements coming when it comes to the voice acting realm for 2026. It's gonna be a big year for both of us as far as a team and individually. Very, very excited. And um, yeah, we thank you guys so much for all the support once again that you showed us in 2025. We have our typical shows coming up in the beginning of the year: Brick City Anime Festival, CollectiveCon, Bold Mitsuri uh, and and of course the two Infinity Con shows uh that we will have in the new year. But um, yeah, guys, uh again, this has been so much fun. Excited to bring back guests for January. What did I miss? And uh, you know, if you find yourself wanting to get these episodes a little bit earlier, have a hand in some of the content that we put out in the new year, Eric will let you know a little bit more about that before wrapping us up for 2025.

SPEAKER_03: 58:43

Yeah, so all of the free stuff that only takes a moment of your time that Phil mentioned is much appreciated. But if you want to go beyond and support us a little bit extra, you can support us monthly on platforms like Patreon, where patrons of the show Briar, T3 Kato, Vintage Macaroni, Corey from the World is My Burrito, Nick As Barrow, the author of the Vidillium series, and Botter from the Short Box Podcast are supporting us every single month in exchange for behind the scenes and early access to episodes like this one. But again, if you're not able to do all the extra stuff, everything at the base level is always appreciated. Helps support the show, keeps us going, and having the lights on. With that all being said, my name is Mr. Eric Almighty. That is my co host Phil the Filipino, and please don't forget we release new episodes every Wednesday on the podcast, and all you have to do is wait for it.

SPEAKER_00: 59:39

This is the Wait for It Podcast.