Bandwagon Nerds News Report (8/24/2026): Bautista Is Kratos, National Treasure Lives & DC Goes Bananas

Dave Bautista becomes Kratos, National Treasure 3 finally moves forward and DC orders a true-crime Gorilla Grodd mockumentary.

Apparently everybody saved the weird stuff for the weekend.

Dave Bautista is officially Kratos, National Treasure 3 has somehow become a real movie again, and DC Studios is making a true-crime mockumentary about Gorilla Grodd.

Meanwhile, James Bond is selling millions of games and Gamescom is less than 48 hours away.

It’s the Bandwagon Nerds News Report for August 24, 2026!

Dave Bautista Takes Over as Kratos

Dave Bautista has been cast as Kratos in Amazon’s live-action God of War series, replacing Ryan Hurst after Hurst suffered a severe biceps injury while filming a stunt. Four episodes featuring Hurst had already been filmed but are expected to be reshot, with production scheduled to resume this fall.

Bautista has spent years feeling like one of those fan castings that was almost too obvious.

Now he gets to prove everybody right. The physical part is easy. Modern Kratos requires considerably more than looking terrifying while holding an axe.

He is exhausted. Regretful. Emotionally unavailable. And desperately trying to prevent his son from becoming the person he once was.

Bautista’s post-WWE career has demonstrated that he can handle exactly that kind of material.

National Treasure 3 Is Finally Happening

Director Jon Turteltaub says a third National Treasure movie is finally moving forward, with a screenplay being developed and an intention to reunite as much of the original cast as possible. Turteltaub described the project as “Hollywood real,” acknowledging that development can still change while confirming that the sequel has progressed beyond years of vague conversations.

We have been hearing about National Treasure 3 since Blockbuster Video still seemed like a viable business model.

This is different. Turteltaub is not saying everybody would love to do another movie someday. He is saying they are actually developing one. Which brings us to the only question that truly matters:

What the hell is on Page 47? You do not tease something for nineteen years and expect nerds to forget.

DC Studios Puts Gorilla Grodd on Trial

HBO Max has ordered the eight-episode DC Studios mockumentary The People v. Gorilla Grodd, with Skyler Gisondo reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro playing Grodd. The series follows Olsen investigating whether Grodd was wrongly convicted of murdering his father, with American Vandal creators Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault writing and running the show.

Perfect. Absolutely no notes. This is exactly what an interconnected superhero universe should eventually become comfortable enough to do.

Not every story needs Darkseid. Not every threat needs to destroy Earth. Sometimes Jimmy Olsen should investigate whether a psychic gorilla committed patricide.

The American Vandal creators are particularly encouraging because that show understood the key to this format: Treat the ridiculous investigation with complete seriousness.

Lanterns Starts Extremely Strong

DC Studios’ Lanterns attracted 9.3 million global viewers across HBO and HBO Max during its first three days, including approximately 6.6 million viewers in the United States. That places the series among HBO Max’s strongest recent premieres.

DC needed people to show up. They did. Green Lantern remains one of the most obvious examples of a massive comic-book property that Hollywood has somehow struggled to properly exploit.

A strong premiere does not guarantee Lanterns succeeds. It guarantees DC gets the opportunity to prove that it can. Now the show needs to keep those people watching.

007 First Light Passes Four Million Copies

IO Interactive announced that 007 First Light has sold more than four million copies during its first three months, making the James Bond adventure one of 2026’s fastest-selling premium games. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is still scheduled to follow.

James Bond disappearing from major video games for so long never made much sense. Apparently four million people agreed.

The more important development is what happens next. IO now has proof that Bond can support a modern gaming franchise rather than functioning as a one-off licensed experiment. Considering the studio already built its reputation around stylish assassination, disguises and espionage, that seems like a relationship worth continuing.

Compulsion Games Is Independent Again

Compulsion Games has completed its management buyout from Microsoft, returning the South of Midnight and We Happy Few developer to independent ownership. Microsoft also transferred Compulsion’s intellectual property back to the studio.

The IP portion is the biggest deal. Independence sounds wonderful until the company you just left still owns everything you created. Compulsion actually leaves with something to build around.

Now comes the difficult part. Creative independence is exciting. Paying for independent game development is considerably less exciting.

Yellowjackets Sets Its Final Season

The fourth and final season of Yellowjackets will premiere November 20 on Paramount+, bringing the survival mystery toward its conclusion after four seasons. There are worse things than ending one season earlier than originally imagined.

Mystery shows have repeatedly demonstrated what happens when creators have more television than answers. Now Yellowjackets has a deadline. Every mystery matters more because there is no Season 5 available to postpone the explanation. Time to find out whether all those breadcrumbs actually lead somewhere.

Marvel Snap Launches Draft Mode Today

Marvel Snap launches its long-requested Draft mode today, August 24, introducing a limited-time format built around constructing a temporary deck from offered cards and modifying them through Augments rather than entering with a player’s normal collection.

This could fit Snap ridiculously well. Draft formats reward improvisation instead of collection size. That makes players use cards they would normally ignore and creates games where everybody is solving problems with imperfect tools.

The developers are treating this initial run as a test. If players respond the way Second Dinner hopes, “limited-time” might eventually become the least permanent part of the description.

What to Watch: Gamescom Begins Tomorrow

Gamescom Opening Night Live takes place Tuesday, August 25, beginning the major gaming convention week in Cologne. Confirmed and expected appearances include several major upcoming releases, with additional announcements and surprises likely throughout the presentation.

This is one of those weeks where Bandwagon Nerds could become a gaming show by accident. And that is fine.

Gamescom matters because several games we have spent months discussing as trailers and promises are finally reaching the point where people can actually play them. Marketing departments are very good at explaining what a game is supposed to feel like.

Controllers are considerably less diplomatic. We start finding out Tuesday.

This report includes information from: LATimes.com, Variety.com, TheHollywoodReporter.com, TheWrap.com, IOI.dk, GamesBeat.com, and Insider-Gaming.com.