Brian Truitt

USA TODAY

There's still some magic in supernatural con man John Constantine for British actor Matt Ryan.

In a very special episode of USA TODAY's geek culture podcast The Mothership, Ryan comes on board to talk about reprising his DC Comics TV role for the new animated movie Justice League Dark, which teams Constantine with Batman and other do-gooders such as Deadman and Zatanna. (USA TODAY also is premiering an exclusive clip from the project, out now on digital HD platforms and on Blu-ray/DVD Tuesday.) The actor also remembers his time on the cancelled Constantine show and the video game Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, discusses his upcoming new digital series and the British show The Halcyon, and even makes a Super Bowl pick.

Speaking of Sunday's big game, in our weekly Nerd Alert segment, Brett and Brian check out the new Ghost in the Shell spot that will play during the swath of Super Bowl commercials.

Have thoughts about the podcast or disagree with us? Reach out to us on Twitter at @brettmolina23 or @briantruitt. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe to and review The Mothership on iTunes here. Your ratings, reviews and feedback help keep us on the air.

The Mothership is USA TODAY's podcast that covers all things nerdy in pop culture. Hosted by tech reporter Brett Molina, film critic Brian Truitt and entertainment writer Kelly Lawler, each week our roundtable of experts dissects the latest in geek culture, from superhero movies to sci-fi TV shows to the latest and greatest video games. We're saving the world from bad comic-book adaptations every Friday on iTunes, Soundcloud and Stitcher.