"Got it!"
Rob's voice snapped with fresh energy after Cassius laid out the new play. "I'm rebooking the flight back to L.A. right now. We're flipping the script on Warner. They want to play dirty? Fine. We'll outplay them at the bigger game."
Rob rushed off, leaving Cassius alone in the quiet corner for a minute. The noise of the set washed back in around him. He stared across the stage at the green screen setup for the next shot, eyes calm and steady.
Warner really thought he was worth all this effort.
Good.
If they saw him as a threat big enough to sabotage, he'd damn well give them a performance that earned it.
Cassius took a slow breath, straightened his costume, and let Peter Quill's cocky smirk slide back onto his face as he headed back toward the cameras.
Rob landed in L.A. and moved fast. Within days, major outlets started running pieces that shifted the whole conversation.
The New York Times ran a deep dive: "Peeta's Resonance — What Kind of Hero Are Global Young Audiences Looking For?"
It broke down how Peeta wasn't some invincible savior but a quiet protector who held onto dignity and kindness in hell. The piece argued that his massive appeal with teens worldwide showed a real shift in how the next generation defined heroism — strength through vulnerability, loyalty through chaos, not god-like perfection.
"When Hollywood keeps recycling the same untouchable superheroes," the writer asked, "maybe it's time to ask what the world actually wants to see."
The Hollywood Reporter followed with a piece on non-white stars breaking through in commercial blockbusters. Cassius was the centerpiece.
"His path is different," the critic wrote. "He didn't get in by playing some exotic side character. He landed a core role in a global IP and made it feel human. That might be the real blueprint for Hollywood's future — not just changing skin color, but creating characters that actually connect across cultures."
Variety even hosted an online roundtable titled "The Oscars and Hollywood's Changing Face."
A young Asian producer on the panel didn't hold back. "We talk diversity like it's a slogan. When someone like Cassius proves himself through mainstream hits, the industry and the Academy have to decide — embrace the shift or cling to the old rules? That choice is a signal."
None of the articles named Warner or begged for votes. They just reframed the entire debate around bigger questions: old guard versus new blood, traditional taste versus global markets, yesterday's heroes versus tomorrow's.
It started working.
Academy members who'd been on the fence — especially producers, younger directors, and international voters — began rethinking their ballots. Supporting Cassius suddenly felt less like picking one actor and more like voting for where Hollywood was headed.
That move neatly flipped Warner's "pure art" talking points into sounding like resistance to progress.
Then the anonymous leak hit.
Someone dropped detailed intel to several outlets and film forum mods at once — Warner was quietly working the phones and back channels to make sure Cassius stayed at the nomination and didn't win. High-level meetings, specific talking points to older voters, even hints of future project favors for anyone who played ball.
No smoking-gun evidence, but the level of detail made it feel real to people who knew how the game worked.
The timing was perfect — right when the media was already talking about the future of the industry.
Twitter, Reddit, and fan forums went nuclear.
"Warner really this pressed they can't stand the guy they dumped winning? Pathetic."
"This is Hollywood's ugly side. Capital and connections trying to bury one actor?"
"Those 'art purity' speeches were bullshit all along. It's all business and ego."
"Heartbroken for Cassius. Dude earned that nomination on talent and they still hit him with this?"
"Of course the water army showed up right after. Same tired script every time."
Some cooler heads pushed back. "Anonymous leaks during awards season? Come on." Others tried to downplay it. But the damage was done — the narrative now had a clear villain.
Warner issued the usual corporate denial: "We respect the Academy's independent process and focus only on promoting our films and filmmakers. We do not comment on baseless rumors."
Water army comments flooded in right after, calling Cassius a commercial hack, accusing him of manufacturing victimhood, claiming the leak was his own team's PR stunt. The usual noise.
Cassius caught the updates between takes on set. Gunn wandered over during a break, half-joking but watching him carefully. "Earth drama bleeding into our galaxy, Star-Lord? Need me to call in the Nova Corps?"
Cassius smiled and pocketed his phone. "It's handled, James. Earth problems stay on Earth. Up here I'm just Peter."
He paused. "Honestly? It's making the character feel more real."
Gunn raised an eyebrow.
"Quill's the guy the big powers keep chasing and the mainstream never fully accepts. Sound familiar?"
Gunn laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Use it. Tomorrow I want that exact mix of pissed-off and cornered."
The pressure from L.A. was actually sharpening his work on set.
Rob called later that night, voice rough from lack of sleep but excited. "The narrative's flipped hard. Warner's stuck in the mud now. Their old 'he's just commercial' line looks weak next to the Fast 6 trailer they just dropped."
Cassius sat up. "They released it?"
"Ten minutes ago. Global drop. Two and a half minutes of pure adrenaline. Your action scenes are front and center — that London car chase, the hand-to-hand, the cold-cop intensity. They didn't bury you in the edit. They made you look like the new blood in the franchise."
On set, the trailer played on every phone within minutes. Dave kept rewinding the driving sequence, yelling about how clean the stunts looked. Zoe nodded at the fight choreography. "That's real fighting, not choreography for show."
Gunn watched over Cassius's shoulder and grinned. "Universal knows how to cut a teaser. And you? You look like you belong in both universes."
Cassius checked Twitter. #Fast6Trailer was already trending hard. Fans were losing it over his scenes. The water army tried to spin it as desperate timing, but the positive noise was louder.
Rob's voice came back through the phone. "This trailer just handed you serious ammo with the swing voters. It proves you can carry hard action in a billion-dollar franchise. That undercuts half of Warner's arguments."
Cassius leaned back, watching the cast still buzzing over the footage.
The war in L.A. was ugly, but the work here felt alive.
And right now, alive was winning.