Marvel Skips the Super Bowl, Star Wars Plays Cute & AI Shakes Hollywood (Ep. 11)

The Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Jim Hill Media Podcast Network

Places & Travel, Society & Culture, Tv & Film

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Marvel sits out the Super Bowl for the first time in over a decade, Star Wars leans into nostalgia with a Grogu-powered parody, and an AI-generated Tom Cruise vs. Brad Pitt fight clip sends shockwaves through Hollywood. Jim Hill and Dan Graney unpack what Disney’s marketing restraint really signals for Avengers: Doomsday, how The Mandalorian & Grogu is being positioned for theaters, and why a 15-second AI video may have just changed the rules of the game. HIGHLIGHTS • Marvel breaks a 14-year tradition by skipping a Super Bowl spot for Avengers: Doomsday, signaling a long-term narrative strategy rather than a short-term hype spike. • No Super Bowl presence for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, despite mounting online speculation and leaks. • Disney pivots to nostalgia with a parody-style ad for The Mandalorian & Grogu, complete with Tauntauns and clear Clydesdale-inspired staging. • The economics of Super Bowl advertising - including the staggering production and airtime costs behind the Jurassic Park-inspired Infinity commercial. • Disney’s multi-year theatrical roadmap and how Sony’s Spider-Man releases help build runway toward Avengers: Secret Wars. • Daredevil: Born Again undergoes a major creative reset after six completed episodes, with Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reportedly pushing for tonal recalibration. • Legal guardrails surrounding Sony’s Spider-Man film rights continue to restrict Kingpin’s potential big-screen appearances. • A hyper-realistic AI-generated Tom Cruise vs. Brad Pitt fight ignites industry-wide concern from SAG-AFTRA and studio executives. • What AI disruption could mean for blockbuster filmmaking, union protections, and the future of human performance. HOSTS • Jim Hill - IG: @JimHillMedia | X: @JimHillMedia | Website: JimHillMedia.com • Dan Graney - YouTube: @TheHubbubbery | Facebook: thehubbubbery FOLLOW • Facebook: JimHillMediaNews • Instagram: JimHillMedia • TikTok: JimHillMedia SUPPORT Support the show and access bonus episodes and additional content at Patreon.com/JimHillMedia. PRODUCTION CREDITS Edited by Dave Grey Produced by Eric Hersey - Strong Minded Agency If you would like to sponsor a show on the Jim Hill Media Podcast Network, reach out today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:49.9	Welcome back to Marvelous Disney, the podcast where Dan Graaney and I talk about Marvel, Disney,
0:56.6	theme parks, movies, and the moments where the company quietly tells you, oh, what, and they think they are now.
1:04.9	I'm Mediterranean writer Jim Hill, and I'm joined, as always, by the dynamic, Dan Greeney.
1:11.5	He and I are recording this episode on February 15th, which means Valentine's Day is officially in the rearview mirror, and what?
1:20.2	That also means that the price of roses goes down to something reasonable at this point, right, Dan?
1:25.5	Mm-hmm.
1:26.1	So I have to ask, did you and Paula do anything special, anything fun on Valentine's Day?
1:31.7	Well, you know, not really, Jim.
1:34.5	We spent a lot of the day just running around.
1:37.4	I had to drive my daughter to a friend's celebration.
1:41.8	Paula started refinishing the kitchen cabinets. We did, you know, cap things off
	...

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