Recorded live at Fan Expo Philadelphia 2025, Hudson Thames plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 2025 Disney+ release “You’re Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.” The actor/musician began playing Peter Parker in the 2021 Marvel animated series “What If?” Thames is also set to voice Spider-Man in the upcoming Marvel Zombies series.

Thames is also a musician. He released his debut album Bambino on January 24, 2025.

In this episode, Thames explains how he landed the iconic role. He talks about criticisms of the series, including some arguments that the show has overdone its political correctness. He discusses how the show was originally a prequel to the Tom Holland Spider-Man character in the MCU, but then deviated to a different storyline altogether. He also gave hints about the upcoming Season 2.

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Claudia Wells played Jennifer Parker in the 1985 iconic film Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox. She played Marty McFly’s girlfriend in 1985, both before and after his famous time travel to 1955. Since then, Wells has met with fans through various comic cons. She recently appeared at both Fan Expo Philadelphia and Fan Expo Dallas. She is the owner of a successful business in California, entitled Armani Wells, where she sells and dresses high-end, second-hand fashion to men.

In this episode, Wells discusses her connection to fans of the film and how she developed her business. She also explains why she does not appear in Back to the Future Part 2 and 3, as Jennifer was played by Elisabeth Shue. She also talks about working with Michael J. Fox and how she has stayed in touch with the actor during his battle with Parkinson’s.

For more information about Armani Wells, visit www.claudiawells.com.

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WARNING: Do not listen to this episode unless you have seen the 2025 Amazon Prime Video release "Reacher" (Season 3) or do not mind hearing key plot points.

Reacher recently finished its 3rd season on Amazon Prime Video. It stars Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher, and each season is an adaptation of a novel by the creator of the Jack Reacher book series, Lee Child. The third season of Reacher is based on the 2003 novel "Persuader."

Joining the show to review Reacher Season 3 is Tushar Saxena, a longtime radio host and producer, who is a co-host on the podcast “No Wrong Choices.”

In this episode, Tushar discusses what worked in Season 3 and how it started with a major plot twist. They discuss aspects of the production and writing, and how they embody what the Jack Reacher character looks and feels like. They also discuss the idea that the two Tom Cruise Jack Reacher films are in continuity as they are also based on books and are referenced in the series.

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Acclaimed voice actor James Arnold Taylor was a guest on this show on Episode 381. That interview was recorded at a Fan Expo Comic Con and was cut short by the Con event coordinators. Taylor vowed then to return to the podcast and made good on his promise in this episode.

Taylor has famously played Obi-Wan Kenobi in all Star Wars animated properties, including The Clone Wars, Rebels, and numerous others. He has voiced hundreds of characters in numerous properties, including Ratchet and Clank, Final Fantasy X, Drawn Together, and Johnny Test. He played Fred Flintstone in various commercials after the original voice actor, Henry Corden, passed away.

He is starring in a new 2025 animated film entitled “The King of Kings.” In it, Taylor plays eight different characters! The film stars many Star Wars alums, including Mark Hamill, Oscar Issac, Forest Whitaker, and Vanessa Marshall. The film also stars Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Roman Griffin Davis, and Ben Kingsley.

In this episode, Taylor tells the incredible story of having voiced the entire movie for a scratch track to help the animators. He explained why The King of Kings is such a passion project for him. He also discusses how streaming has not helped create more opportunities in animation.

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Longtime TV and film animation writer Ernie Altbacker rejoins the show to discuss his new comic book project, Area 51 Studios. The comic book is written by Altbacker with art by Josh White.

Altbacker is an Emmy-nominated writer with over 30 years of experience.

Area 51 Studios Synopsis: It turns out Area 51 is a secret government site, but not for storing alien corpses or crashed spacecraft. It’s actually a studio lot where aliens come to shoot low-budget galactic reality shows. Our story centers on Zephril Boon as he tries to save his once-great career from the flaming dumpster fire that it’s become. The tone is Douglas Adams meets Men In Black, with a pinch of Jabberwocky.

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The Star Wars series Andor recently completed Season 2. It was reviewed on this podcast in Episode 423. The second and final season has received universal praise for its storytelling. Brian Roberts composed Season 2 of Andor and joined the show to discuss his work on the series. Roberts designed new themes for Season 2 while building on the work done in Season 1, the film Rogue One, and Star Wars lore.

Brandon Roberts is an award-winning composer behind some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films and series today. He won an Emmy with legendary composer Marco Beltrami for co-writing the score of National Geographic's Oscar and BAFTA-winning documentary Free Solo. He has scored blockbuster films including A Quiet Place I and II, Logan, World War Z, and Chaos Walking, as well as Netflix's Fear Street trilogy, and Jordan Peele's The Twilight Zone series for Paramount+, among others.

In this episode, Roberts discusses his thoughts on all facets of Season 2 and how he watched all 12 episodes before composing the score. He also discussed his love for Star Wars and how John Williams’ iconic score was an inspiration for this project.

Walt Disney Records released the Andor: Season 2 soundtrack in four volumes. Each volume includes music from three episodes. Volume 2 includes music by Nicholas Britell.

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Axel Alonso is a comic book creator and a renowned comic book industry executive. He is currently the Chief Creative Officer of AWA, which he co-founded with Bill Jemas. Axel is well known for his tenure as Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief from 2011 to 2018 where he oversaw all story development, and several important milestones in adding diversity to the industry including the introduction of Miles Morales as the first half-black, half–Puerto Rican Spider-Man, the makeover of Jane Foster into the new female Thor and the installation of Carol Danvers as the new female Captain Marvel.

Previously, Axel was an Executive Editor at Marvel from 2001-2011, Senior Editor at DC Comics, and at Vertigo.

In this episode, Alonso details the newest offerings from AWA as well as comments on his run as Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics. He also comments on the idea that AWA stories are creator-owned. He also offers insight on the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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WARNING: Do not listen to this episode unless you have seen the 2025 Star Wars/Disney+ release "Andor" (Season 2) or do not mind hearing key plot points.

The story of Andor is a prequel to the 2016 film “Rogue One.” The first season of Andor took place five years prior to Rogue One. This season covers the four years and leads directly into the event of the film. It follows Cassian Andor and his evolution through incredible trials. It also shows the formation of the Rebel Alliance and how the tyranny of the Empire presses its might on the people of the galaxy.

JC Reifenberg, Star Wars insider for the Hall of justice, filmmaker and owner of the Scum and Villainy Cantina, rejoins this show to recount the many storylines depicted in Season 2.

In this episode, they discuss the extraordinary arc of key characters and the incredible performances from the cast.

Finally, this show differs from other Star Wars films and shows, and it's difficult to compare to other episodes in the Star Wars saga.

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