Fighting In The War Room: A Movies And Pop Culture Podcast · Katey, Matt, Da7e and David

524.4 – Disney’s Panic, Predators, The Aggression Dichotomy

September 25, 2025·1 hr 15 min·3 clips

The FCC chair threatened Kimmel, so Disney nuked the show mid-production.

It opens with a lightning-round question about favorite car chases after a movie in limited theaters sparks the topic. Katie Rich picks Jurassic Park, pointing to the dinosaur chase down the dirt road and the line about going faster. Matt Patches reaches for Death Proof, saying the Zoe Bell-on-the-hood scene stuck with him, and Dave adds Baby Driver, recalling seeing it at South by Southwest after giving himself and his friends way too many edibles. That sets the tone. The point is not just naming the best chase, but the scenes that lodge in your brain and refuse to leave, which gives everyone room to trade dinosaur panic, Tarantino memory, and a screening story that veers off course a bit. Then Disney shows up. The discussion swings into Star Wars, where the panel argues over a new movie that was apparently built from what had been a Mandalorian season and now has to answer for the whole company's strategy. Nobody lands in the same place. One side wants Disney to make more colorful, kid-forward movies and stop chasing adult nostalgia, while the other side pushes back and says this project is being sold as something else entirely. Andor comes up as the recent grown-up version of the franchise, with the sense that there probably will not be another one like it. Grogu gets a laugh. Zeb Aurelius appears in the trailer talk too, mostly as proof that the movie is still leaning on nostalgia, cartoon logic, and familiar faces to get people in the door. The merch math matters. The hosts keep circling the idea that the property has to move beyond vibes and actually move product, so the conversation folds in CG, branding, and whether the trailer looks fine or feels like slop. One host likes it. Another reads it as part of a bigger machine that may involve Mandalorian heroes, Sigourney Weaver, pilots, and Thrawn. The tone stays blunt. It is funny, a little tired, and comfortable letting a disagreement run until it becomes the point of the segment rather than a problem to solve. Then they pivot to Quiz Show. The episode wraps with a reminder about the paid subscription, the free regular podcast, the Blue Sky and Letterboxd handles, the F-I-T-W-R account, and the next week's lightning-round question before signing off.

As heard by us

A car-chase opener that turns into a Disney and Star Wars debate.

The segment opens in a brisk, offhand way, using favorite film car chases as a springboard and landing on Jurassic Park, Death Proof, and Baby Driver. The point is not to settle a final list.

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Why you'd press play

You want a car-chase lightning round that mutates into a Disney and Star Wars argument.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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