July 29, 2024 • 51 mins
Ready to geek out? Celebrate with us as the Marvel Cinematic Universe smashes the $30 billion mark at the global box office! We'll dive into the blockbuster success of "Deadpool and Wolverine" and reveal all the juicy details from San Diego Comic-Con, including the exciting announcements of "Avengers Doomsday" and "Avengers Secret Wars," helmed by the Russo brothers. And here's a twist you won't see coming: Robert Downey Jr. stepping into the shoes of Dr. Victor Von Doom! Plus, get a sneak peek at the scoring of "Daredevil Born Again" by the Newton Brothers and the upcoming "Fantastic Four: First Steps" film. We also touch on the political shift with Kamala Harris securing the Democratic nomination, signaling renewed optimism for America.
Laughs are guaranteed as we go through the big comedy reveals from Comic-Con, starting with "Captain America: Brave New World." Anthony Mackie, Tim Blake-Nelson, Danny Ramirez, and Giancarlo Esposito are set to light up the screen, with Harrison Ford confirmed as the Red Hulk. Kevin Feige promises a gritty, Winter Soldier-like experience, and Esposito's role as Sidewinder in the Serpent Society only adds to the excitement. We also chat about the promising cast of "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" and the new live-action comedy collaboration between Tawny Newsome and Justin Simeon. Wrapping up, we touch on James Gunn's much-anticipated "Superman Legacy" film, starring David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan.
For comic book, Star Wars, and general geek culture enthusiasts, this episode is packed. From DC's announcement of a new Fourth World and New Gods series by Ram V and Evan Cagle to the climax of the High Republic era in Star Wars with "Fear of the Jedi." Marvel's new titles set between "Return of the Jedi" and "The Force Awakens" also get their spotlight. We discuss the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike against major video game companies over AI issues, affecting titles from Activision and Epic Games. Plus, updates on "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" season two with Daniel Dymere as Tyson, and Mark Hamill's voice role in the upcoming "SpongeBob SquarePants" movie. To honor a legend, we pay tribute to Bob Newhart, reflecting on his illustrious career and his recent passing at 94.
Thanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Tonight.
The MCU strikes back, star Trekmakes laughs, the High Republic
starts to close, more Comic-Connews plus remember Bob Newhart
All that and more on thisedition of Multiverse tonight
Comic books, sci-fi, fantasy andmore.
(00:23):
If you're looking for a roundupof geeky news, you're in the
right place.
This is Multiverse Tonight.
And here's your host, thomasTownley.
(00:54):
Well, hello everyone andwelcome to episode 220 of
Multiverse Tonight.
And it's been a day for mealready.
I had to go into wichita to getsome salt or the water softener
, and oh boy it it.
(01:15):
It took me a while, but that'sa personal thing, so I think I I
really want to relay that story.
That's a let's just say it waskind of scatological in nature,
if you catch what that word is.
Other than that, it's been anamazing week this past week here
(01:36):
in America, with Kamala Harrisgetting the nominee, getting
enough delegates to be nominatedfor the Democratic ticket, and,
you know, hope is alive againin America.
So other than that, we haveplenty to cover today.
(01:57):
So let's get on, starting withthe Marvel Comics News.
And that's an appropriatesounder to start off with,
(02:30):
because Disney's MarvelCinematic Universe has become
the first film franchise inhistory to cross $30 billion at
the global box office, disney'ssuperhero sequel Deadpool and
Wolverine has collected $205million in its opening weekend,
ranking as the eighth best debutof all time, ahead of 2018's
(02:51):
Black Panther and behind 2015'sJurassic World and 2012's the
Avengers.
Only nine films in Hollywoodhistory have crossed the $200
million milestone in theiropening weekends.
Ticket sales also easilysurpassed 2016's Deadpool to set
the record for the biggestR-rated opening weekend ever.
The 2018 sequel, deadpool 2,now stands as the third biggest
(03:16):
R-rated debut, with $125 million, and, among the installment's
many benchmarks, deadpool andWolverine landed by far for the
biggest start of the year,overtaking another Disney movie,
the Pixar sequel Inside Out 2,which made $155 million in its
debut.
Internationally, deadpool andWolverine captured $233.3
(03:38):
million for a staggering globaltally of $438 million.
After three days of release,the film starring starring Ryan
Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, isalready sixth highest grossing
of 2024.
Now, disney spent $200 millionto produce and roughly $100
million to promote the movie.
So let's just say they morethan made their money back
(03:58):
opening weekend.
On to other movie news,avengers the King Dynasty has
been retitled with a full-titledpivot.
The next Avengers films willnow be called Avengers Doomsday
and Avengers Secret Wars, andthey'll both be directed by the
(04:18):
Russo brothers Directors.
Joe and Anthony Russo, whohelmed four titles in the MCU,
including Avengers Endgame, areagain uniting with Marvel
Studios to helm the nextsuperhero team-up feature.
On Saturday evening they madethe return official by taking
the stage at Hall H at San DiegoComic-Con.
Joe Russo told the crowd quotewhen we directed Avengers
(04:39):
Endgame, we really believed itwas the end for us in the MCU.
That four-movie run wasincredible and it left us
creatively spent.
However, in the time since, theduo found a very special story
that convinced them to come back.
In fact, it's the biggest storythat Marvel Comics ever told.
It's the reason that Anthonyand I are standing up here, and
that film is Avengers SecretWars.
(05:00):
But to build towards the epicbalance is Secret Wars.
The story would need that kindof instrumental character that's
required to do Secret Warsjustice.
So also unveiled at the panelwas Dr Von Doom, dr Victor Von
Doom, who was unmasked to beplayed by none other than a
(05:21):
returning Robert Downey Jr, theman who helped put the MCU on
the map as Iron man slash TonyStark.
Now the first film is AvengersDoomsday, which will premiere in
May of 2026, with AvengersSecret Wars following May 2027.
And that was big news, I tellyou.
(05:42):
The Russo brothers step in forDestin Daniel Creighton, who
left Kang Dynasty in November of2023 to focus on other Marvel
projects on his docket,including the prospective sequel
to Shang-Chi and the Legend ofthe Ten Rings.
Again, that was justjaw-dropping news to hear that
(06:05):
not only did they change thetitle of the entire movie, but
they're bringing in doom to, ofcourse, replace what they lost
when the King the Conqueroractor was arrested and sent to
jail.
(06:25):
So this might be the correctway to pivot, because they kind
of killed off the King characteror got rid of him a bit in Loki
season 2, which if you haven'tseen Loki season 2, go watch
that.
You'll get informed on whathappened but they did a pretty
(06:48):
good job of kind of softening itup, so Kang doesn't need to be
there Now.
He's just more of an element inthe background rather than
being the main baddie.
Anyway, post-production onDaredevil Born Again is still
(07:10):
underway and it's found itscomposers in a surprising
fashion.
Andy Grush and Taylor NewtonStewart, best known as the
Newton Brothers, are activelyscoring this series, according
to a new report from Film MusicReporter.
Now the duo reportedly handledX-Men 97 for Marvel Studios, but
before that the pair scoredvirtually only horror projects.
The horror projects the Newtonbrothers scored include Doctor
(07:31):
Sleep, the Haunting of HillHouse, five Nights at Freddy's
and the Fall of the House ofUsher, among others.
Now the series wrappedproduction on its first nine
episodes earlier this year.
After a major creative overhaulsaw the series turn into a
spiritual season four ratherthan a soft reboot, marvel's
(07:52):
first family assembled at SanDiego Comic-Con.
Saturday evening, a conceptreel for the inaugural Fantastic
Four installment in the MCU wasunveiled at Hall H, with an
introduction by director MattShaikman, given fans a taste of
the space-age aesthetic thatwill be incorporated into the
superhero feature.
An expanded title was alsorevealed the Fantastic Four
First Steps.
(08:13):
Shakman told the audience,expanding on the film's period
setting while referencing theinfluential designer.
We're doing a retro-future 60s.
Cy Mead was an inspiration.
The 60s, to me, is all aboutoptimism.
I love the Fantastic Four, Ilove their power set.
We want to be true to thecomics but we want to be true to
(08:34):
life, unquote.
Shackman then stepped aside toshow a video meant to give fans
a taste of the flavor of thesuperhero film.
The footage had a tone of anewsreel, featuring moments such
as Mr Fantastic speaking to avery bored classroom under a
banner for Fantastic Science,the superhero team's flying
Fantasticar spacesuits, a rocketlaunch and the Thing being
(08:58):
featured on a dating show as amystery contestant.
The sequence was capped offwith a shot of Galactus, the
villain of the film.
Also announced at the panel,michael Giacchino, who had
scored up and lost, will bescoring the music for First
Steps.
The panel of actors are flyingback to the UK today, on Monday,
(09:22):
with production starting soonafter.
Despite several voyages into theMarvel cosmos and the
introduction of the Nova Corps,the MCU has yet to bring in one
of Marvel's biggest cosmiccharacters from the comics,
richard Rider, aka Nova.
Now, that's not to say therehaven't been attempts to bring
(09:42):
him into the universe and therehave been plenty of rumors in
the past that he was on the way.
Comicbookcom's Brandon Davisrecently received some clarity
on Nova's MCU future in aninterview with Kevin Feige.
Feige confirmed that not onlyis the Nova project featuring
Richard Rider in development,but it will be a TV series and
will be happening in the nextthree to four years.
In development, but it will bea TV series and will be
(10:04):
happening in the next three tofour years, so perhaps we'll
finally see Ryder make his MCUdebut.
In the interview, davis askedwhat was happening with Nova.
Feige said it's happening, it'scoming together.
Richard Ryder yep.
Then he was asked where it willbe a movie or a show format?
He said a show, yeah, yeah.
And then of course, he said youknow, it's three or four years
(10:28):
out now.
It was previously learned that aNova project was in development
, thanks to an interview withMarvel's head of streaming
animation and television, bradWunderbaum, quote we love Nova.
We are in really earlydevelopment on Nova.
We have a new system behind thescenes.
As Marvel Studios, we're morelike a traditional studio now.
We're developing more than weactually will produce.
There are plans to develop Nova.
I love Nova too.
(10:48):
I love Rich Rider too.
I hope it gets to the screen.
The world is always chaos.
There's always things.
You've got to conjure thesethings to make them happen.
But I would love to see a Novashow one day.
And speaking of Kevin Feige,marvel Studio president Kevin
Feige has received his star onthe Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In attendance were numerousactors from the course of the
(11:11):
MCU, including Chris Evans, ryanReynolds, hugh Jackman,
catherine Han, simu Liu, hughJackman, sebastian Stan, david
Harbour, chris Pratt, keihe Wan,brie Larson and more,
introduced by his longtimecreative partner Luis De
Cepesito, feige stepped up tothe microphone to deliver some
(11:32):
remarks of his own.
He had some kind words for hismentor, laura Schuller Donner,
and celebrated the presence andpassion of nerds from every
fandom.
His speech was something wasquote.
Until this day I thought themost nerve-wracking thing was
public speaking.
Now I know the mostnerve-wracking thing is just
standing up there while otherpeople speak about you.
(11:54):
Thank you everybody.
Thank you to the City ofHollywood, to the Chamber of
Commerce.
Obviously this is a dream cometrue.
My parents I'm so thankfulthey're here today.
They would bring me out hereand my sister when I was a kid,
from New York.
And if you'd like to read therest of his speech, you can find
it on the web.
(12:15):
Now let's go on to a littlemore Marvel news.
There's a ton today, folks.
Captain America Brave New Worldcame to Comic-Con Saturday with
cast members Anthony Mackie, timBlake-Nelson, danny Ramirez and
Giancarlo Esposito all hittingthe San Diego fan event to tease
the superhero sequel.
But it was the late panelsurprise arrival of Harrison
(12:38):
Ford that left the biggestimpact as he took the stage to
massive applause.
Footage from the movie wasscreened during Marvel's
presentation and confirmed thatFord's Thunderbolt Ross will
indeed be transforming into theRed Hulk in the film.
Ford gave the crowd exactlywhat they wanted, mimicking the
Hulk's mighty roar.
Marvel Studios president KevinFeige called Brave New World a
(13:00):
return to the gritty action ofCaptain America the Winter
Soldier, which put a spandexspin on the kind of paranoid
thrillers that were socommonplace in 70s cinema.
While Mackie teased that Marvelfans will be seeing a version
of Captain America that is morecerebral, mackie noted that Sam
Wilson is not much of a musclebound guy like Steve Rogers, the
original Captain America.
Esposito also arrived with abit of news revealing for the
(13:23):
first time that he's playingSidewinder the king of the
Serpent Society.
See, that's three times fast.
The new footage from CaptainAmerica Brave New World at Play
in the Hall H began with ForceThunderbolt Ross, who is now
President of the United States,addressing the ending events of
Eternals and meeting with worldleaders at what's called the
Celestial Island Summit.
It turns out Adamantium hasbeen discovered in the ruins
(13:46):
where the dead celestialappeared in the ocean and is now
the most valuable element onthe planet.
Ross recruits Sam Wilson tobuild a new Avengers team.
But things don't go accordingto plan, and by far the biggest
reveal of the footage wasconfirmation that Ford's
President Ross will be ditchingthe Resolute Desk to become the
Red Hulk.
The previous trailer confirmedthe Red Hulk's presence in the
movie, but now Marvel fans aresure that Ross is the man behind
(14:09):
the muzzle.
And with that, let's go on tothe Star Trek news.
And now let's go on to the StarTrek news.
Star Trek news starts off withStar Trek Starfleet Academy, and
its cast is really shaping up.
(14:30):
On Thursday, paramount Plusrevealed that it had cast Kareem
Dayan and Zoe Steiner and theupcoming exploits of a new class
of Starfleet cadets coming toage in one of the galaxy's most
storied institutions.
Now they just began productionon it this summer, as cadets
Diane and Steiner joinpreviously announced castmates
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Carice Brooks, bella Shepard andGeorge Hawkins.
Star Trek Starfleet Academyalso stars Holly Hunter as the
Starfleet captain serving asChancellor of the Academy, and
Paul Giamatti as the firstseason's villain.
According to the series'official synopsis quote, star
Trek Starfleet Academyintroduces viewers to a young
group of cadets who cometogether to pursue a common
(15:14):
dream of hope and optimism Underthe watchful and demanding eyes
of their instructors, theydiscover what it takes to become
Starfleet officers as theynavigate blossoming friendships,
explosive rivalries, firstloves and a new enemy that
threatens both the Academy andthe Federation itself.
Star Trek Starfleet Academy hasalso added some alumni to its
facility.
(15:34):
Tig Notaro from Star TrekDiscovery and Robert Picardo
from Star Trek Voyager will bereprising the respective roles
of Jet Reno and the Doctor asseries regulars in the newest
iteration of the venerablesci-fi franchise.
They join Mary Wiseman andOdette Fier, who will return as
guest stars, playing SylviaTilly and Admiral Vance, and
(15:56):
Gina Yashiri is also recurringas another member of the
facility.
I might give that a watch.
I might give that a watch Again.
The Discovery stuff was nevermy cup of tea, but I'm willing
to give the new show a shot Atbringing me in.
(16:19):
But there's more news.
Star Trek is preparing to beamup some laughter.
Actor-writer Tawny Newsome andwriter-director Justin Simeon
are developing a new live-actioncomedy set in the world of Star
Trek.
The show will be set in the25th century and according to
the official logline it willfollow quote Federation
outsiders serving a gleamingresort planet find out that
(16:41):
their day-to-day exploits arebeing broadcast to the entire
quadrant resort planet find outthat their day-to-day exploits
are being broadcast to theentire quadrant.
Now Newsom and Simeon announcedthe project, along with
executive producer Alex Kurtzman, during the Star Trek Universe
panel at San Diego, which Simeonmoderated.
Newsom was there with the castof Lower Decks to discuss the
fifth and final season of theanimated comedy in which Newsom
(17:02):
voices Beckett Mariner, one ofthe junior officers of the USS
Cerritos.
Simeon, newsome and Kurtzmanalso wrote, or go write for the
show.
Aaron Byers, rod Roddenberryand Trevor Roth will executive
produce.
Newsome did not specify whethershe would act on the series as
well, but she's already workedas one of the writers of the
live-action Starfleet Academyand she also played Mariner as
(17:27):
live-action in a crossoverepisode of Star Trek Strange New
Worlds.
One of the beans spilled at theParamount Plus Comic-Con panel
by Akiva Goldsman was thepossibility of a Star Trek stage
musical.
In regards to what part of theuniverse would get the
showstopper, that wasn't reallydetailed.
However, the stage musical willlikely center around the
(17:49):
streaming series Star Trek,strange New Worlds.
Alex, kurtzman and Goldsmanwere asked by a fan if there
would be more musical episodeslike Subspace Rhapsody, which
reaped the sci-fi franchise'sfirst ever music-filled episode.
Goldman answered we're in thevery early stages of figuring
out whether we can bring aversion of that to the stage.
(18:11):
So, hmm, star Trek the musical.
Now let's go on to the DCComics News, and we begin DC
(18:36):
Comics News with, of course,james Gunn providing yet another
update on Superman, previouslyknown as Superman Legacy.
The film, which stars DavidCornsweet in the title role and
Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane,is getting close to being done
with filming after wrapping itssix-week Cleveland shoot this
past week.
The director and co-head of DCStudios has been sharing updates
(18:58):
with his fans on threads, wherehe posted a lengthy thread on
the social media platformpraising the city of Cleveland
for its hospitality while theywere in production.
Quote hashtag Cleveland the daywe are leaving you after six
amazing weeks of shooting.
From the moment we first cameon as a scout a tad less than a
year ago and Terminal Tower waslit up with the colors of
(19:20):
Superman, I knew you were aspecial place.
I would walk down your streetsand someone would stop me and
tell me how grateful they werethat we were shooting in their
city, not once, not twice, butdozens of times.
The wonderful background actorson the film were always so fun
and funny and they clapped aftertakes something that reminded
us of Hollywood cynics why wemake movies in the first place.
(19:41):
That reminded us of Hollywoodcynics, why we make movies in
the first place.
The pride you feel in beingwhere Jerry and Joe, siegel and
Schuster first created Supermanwas invigorating.
You exemplify his spirit, butjust as much as the pride you
have in your community, yourhometown, your radio stations
and restaurants and gatheringplaces.
That touched me Unquote.
Now, when asked by a fan ifthey had finished shooting the
(20:02):
film entirely, gunn shared thatthey had a couple of weeks left,
adding it's a long shot butwe're getting close.
Superman began production inFebruary and marks the first
feature film under Gunn andPierre Saffron's reign at DC
Studios, which now has a newlogo.
So I guess I'll have to replacethe logo in the video here.
(20:24):
Good, because it goes back tothe original, the old logo from
the 80s.
That says DC Comics to me.
Yeah.
However, there was some tragedy.
Sources tell Deadline.
A female member of theTeamsters Union yeah, however,
there was some tragedy.
(20:44):
Sources tell Deadline that afemale member of the Teamsters
union working on the JamesGunn-directed Superman died by
suicide this past Wednesday atTrillis Studios near Atlanta.
Reports say the officers andmedical personnel responded to a
report of an unconscious adultcontractor inside a vehicle on
the studio property around 6.47am Wednesday.
According to the policestatement, the person was found
dead from an apparentself-inflicted gunshot wound.
(21:07):
Police say foul play is notsuspected and the investigation
is not connected to any ongoingstudio projects.
The vehicle was located in thecrew parking lot and we hear
filming was not occurring at thetime of the shooting, which
happened overnight.
Sources say when the crowd,when the crew was aware of what
had happened, james Gunngathered everyone to inform them
(21:27):
.
Counselors would be availableif they were needed and said
production would be stopping forthe day and sent everyone home.
Filming resumed later.
Located south of Atlanta,trillis Studios is comprised of
a 700-acre site with a 400-acrebacklot and 32 sound stages.
Originally known as PinewoodAtlanta, trillith has been used
(21:48):
to produce many televisionseries, including WandaVision
and Loki and Avengers, infinityWar and Avengers Endgame.
The first production to film atthe studio was Marvel Studios'
Ant-Man.
The studio was named TrillithStudios in October of 2020.
Marvel Studios' Ant-Man thestudio was named Trillis Studios
in October of 2020.
Wiz Kids has announced DCForever, a new asymmetrical
(22:08):
deck-building game based on theDC superhero universe.
The new game, made for two tofour players, pits rogues and
heroes against each other, withrogues attempting to complete
various schemes and heroestrying to rescue citizens and
thwart the rogues' scheme.
The game contains a total of 18heroes and villains, with each
side picking up to four heroesor villains to use in the game.
Each character has a uniquestrategy, so players can decide
(22:29):
which characters sync up welltogether and can be used in
different scenarios.
Heroes in DC Forever includeBatman, wonder Woman, superman,
aquaman, the Flash, blue Beetle,cyborg their side to create a
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starting deck of characters andother characters going into a
reserve area on their player'sside of the board.
Each round consists of threephases, with the rogue and hero
characters spending resources ontheir player's side of the
board.
Each round consists of threephases, with the rogue and hero
character spending resources ontheir respective phase to
activate trace abilities, attachcards to their characters or
recruit additional characters.
Followed by confrontation phase, where players battle for
(23:12):
control over locations andattack opposing characters.
During the confrontation phase,rogues can choose whether to
advance their schemes byclaiming citizens or attacking
heroes at a location.
If they choose to advance ascheme at a specific location,
they pull citizens from thatlocation onto the scheme with
the hopes of completing thescheme at the end of the round.
Once the rogue is gone, heroescan choose whether to rescue the
(23:34):
remaining citizens or attackthe villain and attempt to
capture them.
That sounds unusual.
More Comic-Con news.
Jeff Lemire has had a prettygood weekend at the con.
Friday was revealed that thewriter is returning to DC later
this year on Absolute Flash, anew series he's making with
(23:54):
artist Nick Robles.
The series is part of DC's newAbsolute Universe.
The publisher's take onMarvel's Ultimate Universe
Saturday was revealed.
Lemire will also be writing adifferent series in DC's primary
continuity, justice Society ofAmerica.
In teaser art released for theseries, characters from both the
JSA and Infinity Incorporatedcan be seen teasing the title's
(24:16):
white ensemble.
The series is being drawn byDiego Orletogi.
Quote In addition to AbsoluteFlash, I'm also drawing my
all-time favorite superheroes ofJustice Society of America.
He wanted to reveal that he'sdrawing connecting variants for
Justice Society of Americanumber one and number two.
(24:38):
At today's what's Happening inthe DC panel at San Diego Comic
Con, the publisher gave somewelcome news on the upcoming
Elseworlds version of GreenLantern titled Green Lantern
Dark.
Green Lantern Dark is a newproject from the Something is
Killing the Children and Houseof Slard team of writer Tate
Brombell and Werther Del Ederathat will be making their
(24:58):
Elseworlds debut with GreenLantern Dark, and while they
didn't share a ton of details,they did reveal that this
version was inspired by DC'sTangent version of Green Lantern
.
As for what attracted them tothe project, the duo decided the
opportunity to work outside ofDC's main continuity and getting
a chance to be part of thenewly relaunched Elseworlds line
.
Del Adira is the main artist ofBoom Studios.
(25:21):
Del Adira is the main artist ofBoom Studios Excellent.
Something is killing thechildren and is a perfect fit
for the darker take on GreenLantern.
Having the bright green lightof the lantern piercing the
darkness creates an unexpectedvisual and immediately sets this
version apart from anythingelse.
Dc is returning to the fourthworld.
By the end of the year, ram V,one of the hottest names in
(25:42):
comics, is penning a fourthworld.
By the end of the year, ram Vone of the hottest names in
comics, is penning a freshseries featuring the new gods,
with Evan Cagle making his DCdebut on interior artwork,
announced Saturday during SanDiego Comic-Con.
The series is part of DC'snewly announced all-in
initiative set to debut laterthis year.
And with that news, let's go onto the Star Wars news, roger
(26:07):
roger.
Star Wars news begins with theHigh Republic coming to its end
with Phase 3 and theannouncement of a new upcoming
project, fear of the Jedi.
The Marvel Comics series willserve as the finale to the High
Republic Phase 3 Trials of theJedi, which began late 2023.
(26:29):
Star Wars, the High Republic'sPhase 1 and 2 chronicled the
Jedi and Republic's century-longmission to expand into a sector
of the Outer Rim territoriesthat was rife with civil
conflict between plants and ordifferent force-user religions.
One of those religionssplintered off and became the
army of galactic raiders knownas the Nihil, who inherited the
(26:50):
ancient race of force-eatingbeasts known as the Nameless,
able to kill Jedi with ease.
Now, phase three of the HighRepublic has been the darkest
chapter yet, as the Nihildestroyed the Jedi and
Republic's grand achievement inthe Outer Rim Starlight Beacon
and used the Nameless to killoff some prominent and powerful
Jedi of that era.
The bright and hopeful heroes,both young and old, who began in
(27:11):
the series the Acolytes,vanestra Roja, jedi Knights,
keeve, trannis, bel Zetafir,wreath Salas, masters Avar,
chris and and Elzar Mann arequickly becoming more
complicated and becomingbattle-scarred warriors fighting
to free their allies andinnocents from a sector of space
that Nihil have sectioned offas their own.
Meanwhile, the High Republichas turned non-Jedi characters
(27:33):
like Nihil, turncoat, lorena Deeor Thief Teya Sirik have broken
out into bigger roles, havebroken out into bigger roles.
All in all, the High Republichas distinguished itself as its
own era of Star Wars, but couldbenefit from wrapping this
particular saga, which began in2021, sooner before, later.
Now, the current timeline ofStar Wars comics takes place
(27:56):
between events of the EmpireStrikes Back and Return of the
Jedi, but with those stories setto conclude, marvel Comics has
confirmed new titles will betaking place in the space of
time between Return of the Jediand the Force Awakens, starting
with the upcoming miniseriesStar Wars.
The Battle of Jakku InsurgencyRising will focus on a pivotal
(28:16):
battle in the wake of the fallof the Galactic Empire, a
conflict which has largely beenshrouded in secrecy since it was
alluded to.
In the wake of the fall of theGalactic Empire, a conflict
which has largely been shroudedin secrecy since it was alluded
to in the 2015 movie.
The first issue of thefour-issue series hits shelves
on October, the 2nd.
Now let's go on through somegood, old-fashioned geek news.
(28:52):
And Geek News begins with SegaAfritra going on strike again.
This time, the union called fora work stoppage against major
video game companies after twoyears of trying to renegotiate
its interactive media agreement.
The decision to hit the picketlines comes 10 months after the
union's initial strikeauthorization vote.
The strike went into effectJuly 26th at 12.01am.
(29:13):
The 10 companies facing thestrike are Activision
Productions, blind Light LLC.
Disney Character VoicesIncorporated.
Electric Arts ProductionsIncorporated.
Epic Games Incorporated.
Formosa Interactive LLC,insomniac Games Incorporated.
Take-two ProductionsIncorporated.
Voiceworks ProductionsIncorporated.
And WB Games Incorporated.
Sag-aftra President FranDresser said in a statement
(29:36):
quote we're not going to consentto a contract that allows
companies to abuse AI to thedetriment of our members.
Enough is enough.
When these companies getserious about offering the
agreement our members can liveand work with, we will be here,
ready to negotiate unquote.
In a press briefing followingthe announcement of the strike.
Being called, sara Elmaleh, theunion's interactive committee
(29:58):
chair and an actor in games likehi-fi rush, addressed the
timing of the work stoppageduring comic-con, so that after
members were allowed to takepart in the convention despite
the strike order.
Now, that flexible stance, shesays, stems from the fact that
quote this is happening veryquickly and our members are
going to no doubt take some timeto absorb the full scope of the
strike order and the rules andall of that other stuff.
(30:21):
We feel very passionately thatbeing at ComCon in order to
share what it is we need and whywe need it is the best way to
serve this action, to be visible, to be loud and to be open to
conversation".
So this, of course, willprobably cause salvages to some
upcoming games, so if you have agame from any one of these
(30:44):
companies that you're reallyinterested in, you might have to
wait just a wee bit longer.
Next up, percy Jackson and theOlympians has found its Tyson.
Daniel Dymere has been cast inseason two of the Disney Plus
series as the lovable Cyclopswho is also Percy's paternal
half-brother, the son ofPoseidon and a nymph.
(31:05):
Arthur and series co-creatorRick Reardon announced the news
via video message at the show'sSan Diego Comic-Con panel this
past Thursday.
Daniel Daimyr's enthusiasm andtalent brings a whole new
dimension to Tyson, and it'sgoing to be an incredible seat
to see him in the second season.
I can't wait for you guys tomeet him and welcome him to the
(31:25):
Percy Jackson universe.
Unquote.
Mark Hamill will voice theflying Dutchman in Paramount
Nickelodeon's upcoming SpongeBobSquarePants movie, the
SpongeBob movie the Search forSquarePants.
The announcement was madeduring their Comic-Con
presentation in San Diego.
Celebrating the franchise, whichturns 25 this year, makes you
(31:46):
feel old, doesn't it?
Alien Rhyme List will bereleased in theaters in August,
but come October comic readerswill get even more insight into
the tragic doom awaiting thecharacters that board the Rhyme
List space station.
Alien Rhyme List number onewill will be one shot that
answers the one question thatviewers won't get from the
actual film what was going onaboard the RhymeList to make all
(32:07):
hell break loose?
The Marvel press releasereveals that, quote Alien
RhymeList number one will bewritten by horror master Zach
Thompson and drawn by risingstar Daniel Picado, a creative
team that is clearly familiarwith action horror material.
Now Zach Thompson said in astatement quote the Alien
(32:29):
franchise is responsible for mylifelong love of body horror, so
, needless to say, I'm ecstaticto be contributing a small piece
to the canon.
Working with Fed Alvarez tocraft a prequel to Alien
Rhymelous was a genuine dreamcome true and a responsibility I
don't take lightly.
The result is a thrilling,terrifying story that slowly
gestates into something whollyunpredictable.
(32:52):
Amc is selling more shows,including a trio of the Walking
Dead spinoffs, to third parties.
The company has closed a dealwith Netflix in the US to bring
15 shows to the streamer as partof the curated selection of
AMC-branded shows.
It comes after AMC didsomething similar to Max last
year, a move that saw Fear ofthe Walking Dead and A Discovery
of Witches air on the WarnerBros streaming service as part
(33:14):
of a two-month pop-up experiment.
Back in November, amc Network'sCEO, christian Dolan, said that
she was actively exploring moredeals along these lines.
Some 13 AMC shows will launchon Netflix for a year beginning
August 19th, including the firstseasons of the Walking Dead,
daryl Dixon, anne Rice'sInterview with a Vampire, anne
Rice's Made for Witches,Monsignor Spade, that Dirty
(33:35):
Black Bag and the Terror, threeseasons of Discovery Witches,
two seasons of Dark Winds, eightseasons of Fear the Walking
Dead, two seasons of Gangs ofLondon, three seasons of Into
the Badlands, two seasons ofKevin Can't Beep Himself and
four seasons of Preacher.
You know that's a pretty fairamount.
(33:55):
Two additional series the firstseasons of the Walking Dead,
dead City and the Walking Deadthe Ones who Live will be
launched on Netflix in Januaryof 2025.
Eleven seasons of the WalkingDead are currently available on
Netflix.
Master Chief has fought his lastbattle at Paramount+, the
(34:16):
streamer has canceled the videogame adaptation after two
seasons.
The series, based on the Xboxfranchise Halo and starring
Pablo Schreiber as Master ChiefJohn-117, finished its second
season in March.
Quote we are extremely proud ofthis ambitious series and would
like to thank our partners atXbox, 343 Industries and Amblin
(34:36):
Television, along withshowrunner and executive
producer David Weiner, fellowexecutive producers, the entire
cast led by Pablo Schreiber asMaster Chief, and the amazing
crew for all their outstandingwork.
We wish everyone the best goingforward.
Sources say the show'sproducers, amblin, xbox and 343
Industries, will look to landthe series at another outlet for
(34:58):
a third season.
Paramount Plus is said to besupportive in that move.
And now, since there is so muchnews at Comic-Con, here's some
quick hits.
Invincible was renewed forSeason 4 at Prime Video.
(35:18):
The timey-wimey, wibbly-wobblyworld of Doctor who is expanding
with a new spin-off announcedinto the Into the Who-niverse
panel at San Diego Comic-Con onFriday panel at San Diego
Comic-Con on Friday RussellTovey and Gugu Mothwa-Raw will
lead the cast of the five-partseries the War Between the Land
and Sea.
They'll be joined by returningDoctor who cast members Gemma
(35:40):
Redgrave as KateLethbridge-Stewart and Alexander
Deverant as Colonel Ibrahim.
The series picked up as afoursome and ancient species
emerges from the ocean,dramatically revealing
themselves to humanity.
An air-shell crisis istriggered and the entire
population at risk units stepsinto action as the land and sea
wage war.
The Boys universe is expandingwith a prequel series titled
(36:03):
Vought Rising.
It will star Jason Eccles andAya Cash reprising their boys
roles as Storm Soldier Boy andStormfront respectively.
The series will be set in 1950sNew York.
In a story trailer for Funko'sfirst ever console game, funko
Fusion, the brand's titularFreddy Funko is introduced to
the title's supervillain, hisevil copycat Eddie Funko, the
(36:28):
quote deeply twisted andimmensely powerful shapeshifting
counterpart to Freddy's, voicedby Invincible star Clancy Brown
, who promises Freddy andcharacters from Shadow of the
Dead Five Nights at Freddy's,the Umbrella Academy and more
NBC Universal franchisesscattered across the game.
Quote your worlds will fall,your people will suffer and I
will have infinite power.
Per Funko's description for theAAA game developed by Tintin
(36:50):
Games.
Quote With dreams of totaldomination, eddie wields the
dark abilities possessed in theinhabitants of Funko Fusion pop
culture-inspired worlds,building an army of corrupted
characters inspired byfranchises including Jurassic
World, back to the Future, thing, chucky and many more.
As players strive to fight back, they'll build their own team
of playable heroes, each withunique talents for use in combat
(37:13):
and puzzles.
Fox just made the San DiegoComic-Con a richer experience
for one lucky attendee.
During the Thursday night panelpromoting the network's
upcoming animated series,universal Basic Guys, fox passed
out swag bags to everyone inthe ballroom.
One of those bags had a specialsticker randomly awarding that
winner $3,000.
(37:34):
Actually, because it was shapedlike a hot dog, the sticker
announced you are a wiener.
The $3,000 prize is in linewith the concept for Universal
Basic Guys, which stars on twobrothers who work at a hot dog
factory until they lose theirjobs to automation and are given
$3,000 a month in a new basicincome program.
The series follows them as theysuddenly have a lot of free
(37:55):
time and money to pursue someridiculous adventures.
Fresh off the show's first Emmynomination, fox is piling on
more.
Crapopolis, the mythicalanimated comedy set in ancient
Greece, has been picked up for afourth season, which was
revealed by Dan Harmon at ComicCon.
(38:19):
What we Do in the Shadow?
Stars and producers showed upat San Diego Comic Con this past
Thursday to preview the sixthand final season of the FX Emmy
nominatednominated comedy.
The footage before the panelwas the entire first episode of
season six, which introduced anew vampire, played by Michael
(38:40):
Patrick O'Brien, named Jerry.
Who is Jerry, you ask?
He's a former roommate ofNandor Naja and Colin Robinson,
who they all remember with greataffection as the Vampire's
Vampire, until they realize thatthey've forgotten to wake him
from his deep slumber that heentered in 1976.
Wah-wah, netflix's filmadaptation of the seminal video
(39:02):
game Bioshock with directorFrancis Lawrence is being
reconfigured to be a morepersonal film with a reduced
budget.
Producer Roy lee revealed atcomic-con this past thursday.
The adaptation was firstannounced back in february of
2022 as a partnership betweennetflix and producers 2k and
take two interactive solaropposites has been renewed for a
(39:24):
sixth season at hulu.
The cast of the show alsorevealed during the pat, during
a panel at Comic-Con, that theshow will release a Halloween
special on Hulu later this year.
Season 5 of Solar Opposites isdue to debut on August 12th.
Ghost is adding some newcharacters for season 4.
Mary Holland and Dean Norrisare set to guest star in the
(39:46):
series.
Holland has joined the cast asthe recurring role of Patience,
a character that has been highlyanticipated since last season,
and Norris will play Frank,samantha's father.
Now Patience is the ghost of aPuritan woman who died in the
late 1600s.
While alive she was exceedinglysevere and judgmental, even by
Puritan standards.
As such, she was expelled fromher village for being a bit too
(40:09):
much.
Sausage Party Foodtopia hasannounced its returning for
season two.
Sausage Party Foodtopia isalready a surprising project in
and of itself, as the series wasa sequel to the animated film
by Seth Rogen and Evan GoldbergMaking its debut with Prime
Video this month.
The animated series seems tohave done well so far to get a
(40:30):
second season already confirmedto be in the works, but
unfortunately there is verylittle about what to expect in
new episodes of the series inthe future.
Hulu has revealed that FuturamaSeason 12 will guest star the
likes of Danny Trejo, reneVictor, tom Kenny, anna Hortiz,
cara DelVigne, tim Gunn, billNye, kyle McLaughlin, levar
(40:52):
Burton and Neil deGrasse Tysonand is out now.
Hellboy the Crooked man takesus to 1950s Appalachia where
Hellboy, played by Jack Kessie,and rookie BRPD agent Bobby Joe
Song investigate the sinisterCrooked man.
Now Kessie is the thirditeration of Hellboy, who has
(41:15):
been portrayed by Ron Perlman inthe Guillermo del Toro duology
and David Harbour in the rebootin 2019.
The movie is due in September.
Udon Entertainment revealedthat they have acquired the
Master Comic Book license forMega man across the board, from
the classic series to X Legends,zero and ZX, battle Network and
(41:35):
Starforce.
However, they will not beincluded in any comic books
published under the licenseagreement as the publishers and
owners, capcom, do not have thesole rights to these particular
entries and the two titlestaking place in separate
universes from the mainstoryline and universes will be
featured in the previously notedtitles.
(41:56):
Next up, idiocracy is getting aspiritual sequel.
The Mike Judge-directed sci-ficomedy has become a cult classic
over the years, finding newaudiences thanks to the Power of
Home video and a very orangepresident.
Despite this delayed success,follow-ups for Idiocracy never
got off the ground.
That changes.
This past weekend has starTerry Crews, who played
(42:18):
President Dwayne Elzondo.
Mountain Dew, herbert Camachoin the film, is releasing a
one-off comic that revisits theworld of Idiocracy.
And finally, tonight, bobNewhart, the beloved stand-up
performer whose droll, deadpanhumor showcased the two
(42:40):
critically acclaimed CBS sitcoms, vaulted him to the ranks of
history's greatest comedians,died Thursday morning at the age
of 94.
The Chicago legend, who wonGrammy Awards for Album of the
Year and Best New Artist for his1960 breakthrough album.
The buttoned-down mind of BobNewhart died at his Los Angeles
home after a series of shortillnesses.
(43:01):
According to his longtimepublicist, the former accountant
famously went without an EmmyAward until 2013, when he
finally was given one for gueststarring as Arthur Jeffries, aka
Professor Proton, on CBS's theBig Bang Theory.
In 1972, mtm Enterprises castthe modest comic as clinical
(43:23):
psychologist Bob Hartley, whopracticed in the real-life
Newhartburg of Chicago.
The Bob Newhart show wouldbecome one of the most popular
sitcoms of all time, featuring awonderful cast of supporting
characters Suzanne Plagette,pierre Boners, marshall Wallace,
bill Daly and Jack Reilly amongthem.
Newhart ended in 1978 after 142episodes and credibly no Emmy
(43:46):
nominations for him and no winsfor the show, feeling he had
exhausted its bag of tricks.
But he was back at CBS in 1982in front of another MTM comedy,
this time in New Heart.
He portrayed Dick Loudon, a NewYork author, trained proprietor
of the Stratford Inn in Vermont.
The show was a mainstay foreight seasons, and this one also
(44:07):
featured a great cast of MurrayFran, tom Poston, julia Duffy,
peter Scolari and the handymanof Larry Darrell and the other
brother Darrell, in one of themost admired series endings in
history.
Newhart wrapped itseight-season run with a cheeky
final scene in which Loudonwakes up in the middle of the
night as Bob Hartley in bed withSuzanne Plachette in their
(44:29):
Chicago apartment, suggestingthat the whole series had been
one long dream.
Newhart's pauses and stammeringwere among his trademarks and
his wry observations were aresult of his observant nature.
Quote I tend to find humor inthe macabre.
I would say 85% of me is whatyou see on the show and the
other 15% is a very sick manwith a very deranged mind, he
(44:52):
said in a 1990 interview withthe Los Angeles Magazine.
He was inducted into theAcademy of Television Arts and
Sciences Hall of Fame in 1992.
He was born on September 5, 1929, in Oak Park, illinois, and
grew up a Cubs fan andparticipated in the team's
victory parade during LaSalleStreet in Chicago after they
(45:14):
took the National League pennantin 1945.
He was quite naturally thrilledwhen the Cubs ended their
108-year World Series drought bywinning in 2016.
Newhart never dreamed of beingin show business.
In fact, he was against thegrain of being in the Midwest.
After attending St IgnatiusCollege Prep, he earned a degree
(45:35):
in commerce from LoyolaUniversity and spent two years
in the Army and then flunked outof law school.
He then worked as an accountantwith US Gypsum and then the
Glidden Company which sold paint.
Quote.
Somehow there's a connectionbetween numbers and music and
comedy.
I don't know what it is, but Iknow it's there.
I know it's a case of two plustwo, and two equals five in
(45:56):
terms of a comedian.
You take this fact and you takethat fact and come up with this
ludicrous fact, unquote.
Now, to combat the tedium ofwork, newhart and his friend
would amuse themselves by makingprank phone calls.
You'd find that in hissignature comic bit having the
one-sided phone conversationwith someone at the air end.
He and his pal also sold asyndicated radio program which
(46:20):
did five-minute comedy routinesfive days a week for $7.50 a
week.
In 1959, their friend, who wasa disc jockey in Chicago,
introduced Newhart to a WarnerBrothers record exec.
The accountant, now acopywriter, had just three
routines at the time but woundup with enough material to land
a contract with the recordcompany.
Quote.
(46:40):
Keep in mind, when I started inthe late 50s I didn't say to
myself oh, here's a great voidto fill.
I'll be a balding ex-accountantwho specializes in low-key
humor.
That's simply what I was andthat's the direction my mind
always went in, so it wasnatural for me to be that way.
The buttoned-down mind of BobNewhart was recorded live in a
(47:00):
nightclub in Houston and becamethe first comedy album to reach
the top of the album charts,selling 1.5 million copies as
one of the biggest selling talkalbums.
The Bits includes such classicsas Abe Lincoln vs Madison
Avenue and Driving InstructorComing.
At a time when harder-edgecomedians like Lenny Bruce and
Mort Sahl were taking hold, thebutton-down mind earned Newhart
(47:23):
a third Grammy for Best ComedyPerformance and he got booked on
the Ed Sullivan Show.
Following two more successfulalbums, newhart was offered a
weekly TV variety series for the1961-1962 season.
There, the Bob Newhart Show wonan Emmy for the year's
Outstanding Program Achievementin the Field of Humor, as well
as a Peabody Award.
(47:44):
Newhart soon found himselfexhausted, taking on the
responsibility of a programseven days a week, 24 hours,
despite a full production team.
He was offered some sitcoms butturned them down and returned
to nightclubs to sharpen his actwith TV guest spots, in film
work and in TV shows and movies.
(48:06):
So he went to do that.
In 1992, he embarked on a newseries called Bob, playing a
comic book artist, but it neverfound an artist.
There's a George and Leo inwhich he played a bookstore
owner opposite Judge Hirsch,opposite Judge Hirsch.
(48:30):
More recently, newhart playedJudson on a trio of the library
and telefilms and then a seriesfor TNT.
Newhart also co-starred inLittle Miss Marker as the
president of Buck Henry's firstfamily, with Gilda Radner as his
frisky daughter, and has PapaElf in Will Ferrell's Elf and in
Horrible Bosses.
He brought his flat Midwesterncadence to voice work on the two
(48:53):
Rescuers films.
Chicago honored Newhart with astatue on Mason Avenue near the
office building seen in theopening credits of the Bob
Newhart Show with his likenessin a chair and an empty
psychiatrist couch at his side.
It was later moved to the NavyPier.
In 2002, he became the fifthrecipient of the Kennedy
Center's Mark Twain Prize forAmerican Humor and four years
(49:14):
later published his memoirs IShouldn't Even Be Doing this.
Newhart was married to VirginiaGinny Quinn from January 6th of
1963 until her death in April of2023 at the age of 82.
They were set up on a blinddate by comedian Buddy Hackett.
Quote Buddy came back one dayand said in his own immutable
way.
I met this young guy and hisname is Bobby Newhart and he's a
(49:37):
comic and he's Catholic andyou're Catholic.
I think maybe you should marryeach other, she recalled in a
2013 interview.
Now, she was the one who cameup with the idea for the
brilliant ending of the Newhartshow during Christmas party that
Plachette happened to also beattending.
The Newharts were great friendswith Don Rickles and his wife,
barbara, and the couples oftenvacationed together.
(49:57):
Survivors include his children,robert Jr, timothy, courtney
and Jennifer, and 10grandchildren.
Bob Newhart was 94 years old,was 94 years old, and that
brings us to the end of thisedition of the show.
Now, please be sure to check usout on social media.
We're on Blue Sky and Twitter,at Multiverse, tom Threads,
(50:19):
facebook and Instagram atMultiverse Tonight, and if
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it back, please head on over tomultiversetonightcom where you
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Check out our show notes, visitthe TeePublic store and, while
you're there, why don't youleave some feedback and check
out articles, other things?
(50:41):
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subscribe button.
Share it with friends andfamily.
Special thanks to Shane Iversfor the intro music and Lobo
Loco for the outro theme music.
Thanks for watching thisedition of Multiverse Tonight.
We'll be back in two weeks withmore sci-fi and comic book news
.
Goodness, now please exit theuniverse in an orderly fashion.
(51:01):
Good night.
Multiverse Tonight is aproduction of Half-Baked Genre
Productions.
Copy copyright 2024, all rightsreserved.
This podcast is part of the PopGoes the Culture podcast
network.
Tonight.
The MCU strikes back, star Trekmakes laughs, the High Republic
starts to close, more Comic-Connews plus remember Bob Newhart
All that and more on thisedition of Multiverse tonight
Comic books, sci-fi, fantasy andmore.
(00:23):
If you're looking for a roundupof geeky news, you're in the
right place.
This is Multiverse Tonight.
And here's your host, thomasTownley.
(00:54):
Well, hello everyone andwelcome to episode 220 of
Multiverse Tonight.
And it's been a day for mealready.
I had to go into wichita to getsome salt or the water softener
, and oh boy it it.
(01:15):
It took me a while, but that'sa personal thing, so I think I I
really want to relay that story.
That's a let's just say it waskind of scatological in nature,
if you catch what that word is.
Other than that, it's been anamazing week this past week here
(01:36):
in America, with Kamala Harrisgetting the nominee, getting
enough delegates to be nominatedfor the Democratic ticket, and,
you know, hope is alive againin America.
So other than that, we haveplenty to cover today.
(01:57):
So let's get on, starting withthe Marvel Comics News.
And that's an appropriatesounder to start off with,
(02:30):
because Disney's MarvelCinematic Universe has become
the first film franchise inhistory to cross $30 billion at
the global box office, disney'ssuperhero sequel Deadpool and
Wolverine has collected $205million in its opening weekend,
ranking as the eighth best debutof all time, ahead of 2018's
(02:51):
Black Panther and behind 2015'sJurassic World and 2012's the
Avengers.
Only nine films in Hollywoodhistory have crossed the $200
million milestone in theiropening weekends.
Ticket sales also easilysurpassed 2016's Deadpool to set
the record for the biggestR-rated opening weekend ever.
The 2018 sequel, deadpool 2,now stands as the third biggest
(03:16):
R-rated debut, with $125 million, and, among the installment's
many benchmarks, deadpool andWolverine landed by far for the
biggest start of the year,overtaking another Disney movie,
the Pixar sequel Inside Out 2,which made $155 million in its
debut.
Internationally, deadpool andWolverine captured $233.3
(03:38):
million for a staggering globaltally of $438 million.
After three days of release,the film starring starring Ryan
Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, isalready sixth highest grossing
of 2024.
Now, disney spent $200 millionto produce and roughly $100
million to promote the movie.
So let's just say they morethan made their money back
(03:58):
opening weekend.
On to other movie news,avengers the King Dynasty has
been retitled with a full-titledpivot.
The next Avengers films willnow be called Avengers Doomsday
and Avengers Secret Wars, andthey'll both be directed by the
(04:18):
Russo brothers Directors.
Joe and Anthony Russo, whohelmed four titles in the MCU,
including Avengers Endgame, areagain uniting with Marvel
Studios to helm the nextsuperhero team-up feature.
On Saturday evening they madethe return official by taking
the stage at Hall H at San DiegoComic-Con.
Joe Russo told the crowd quotewhen we directed Avengers
(04:39):
Endgame, we really believed itwas the end for us in the MCU.
That four-movie run wasincredible and it left us
creatively spent.
However, in the time since, theduo found a very special story
that convinced them to come back.
In fact, it's the biggest storythat Marvel Comics ever told.
It's the reason that Anthonyand I are standing up here, and
that film is Avengers SecretWars.
(05:00):
But to build towards the epicbalance is Secret Wars.
The story would need that kindof instrumental character that's
required to do Secret Warsjustice.
So also unveiled at the panelwas Dr Von Doom, dr Victor Von
Doom, who was unmasked to beplayed by none other than a
(05:21):
returning Robert Downey Jr, theman who helped put the MCU on
the map as Iron man slash TonyStark.
Now the first film is AvengersDoomsday, which will premiere in
May of 2026, with AvengersSecret Wars following May 2027.
And that was big news, I tellyou.
(05:42):
The Russo brothers step in forDestin Daniel Creighton, who
left Kang Dynasty in November of2023 to focus on other Marvel
projects on his docket,including the prospective sequel
to Shang-Chi and the Legend ofthe Ten Rings.
Again, that was justjaw-dropping news to hear that
(06:05):
not only did they change thetitle of the entire movie, but
they're bringing in doom to, ofcourse, replace what they lost
when the King the Conqueroractor was arrested and sent to
jail.
(06:25):
So this might be the correctway to pivot, because they kind
of killed off the King characteror got rid of him a bit in Loki
season 2, which if you haven'tseen Loki season 2, go watch
that.
You'll get informed on whathappened but they did a pretty
(06:48):
good job of kind of softening itup, so Kang doesn't need to be
there Now.
He's just more of an element inthe background rather than
being the main baddie.
Anyway, post-production onDaredevil Born Again is still
(07:10):
underway and it's found itscomposers in a surprising
fashion.
Andy Grush and Taylor NewtonStewart, best known as the
Newton Brothers, are activelyscoring this series, according
to a new report from Film MusicReporter.
Now the duo reportedly handledX-Men 97 for Marvel Studios, but
before that the pair scoredvirtually only horror projects.
The horror projects the Newtonbrothers scored include Doctor
(07:31):
Sleep, the Haunting of HillHouse, five Nights at Freddy's
and the Fall of the House ofUsher, among others.
Now the series wrappedproduction on its first nine
episodes earlier this year.
After a major creative overhaulsaw the series turn into a
spiritual season four ratherthan a soft reboot, marvel's
(07:52):
first family assembled at SanDiego Comic-Con.
Saturday evening, a conceptreel for the inaugural Fantastic
Four installment in the MCU wasunveiled at Hall H, with an
introduction by director MattShaikman, given fans a taste of
the space-age aesthetic thatwill be incorporated into the
superhero feature.
An expanded title was alsorevealed the Fantastic Four
First Steps.
(08:13):
Shakman told the audience,expanding on the film's period
setting while referencing theinfluential designer.
We're doing a retro-future 60s.
Cy Mead was an inspiration.
The 60s, to me, is all aboutoptimism.
I love the Fantastic Four, Ilove their power set.
We want to be true to thecomics but we want to be true to
(08:34):
life, unquote.
Shackman then stepped aside toshow a video meant to give fans
a taste of the flavor of thesuperhero film.
The footage had a tone of anewsreel, featuring moments such
as Mr Fantastic speaking to avery bored classroom under a
banner for Fantastic Science,the superhero team's flying
Fantasticar spacesuits, a rocketlaunch and the Thing being
(08:58):
featured on a dating show as amystery contestant.
The sequence was capped offwith a shot of Galactus, the
villain of the film.
Also announced at the panel,michael Giacchino, who had
scored up and lost, will bescoring the music for First
Steps.
The panel of actors are flyingback to the UK today, on Monday,
(09:22):
with production starting soonafter.
Despite several voyages into theMarvel cosmos and the
introduction of the Nova Corps,the MCU has yet to bring in one
of Marvel's biggest cosmiccharacters from the comics,
richard Rider, aka Nova.
Now, that's not to say therehaven't been attempts to bring
(09:42):
him into the universe and therehave been plenty of rumors in
the past that he was on the way.
Comicbookcom's Brandon Davisrecently received some clarity
on Nova's MCU future in aninterview with Kevin Feige.
Feige confirmed that not onlyis the Nova project featuring
Richard Rider in development,but it will be a TV series and
will be happening in the nextthree to four years.
In development, but it will bea TV series and will be
(10:04):
happening in the next three tofour years, so perhaps we'll
finally see Ryder make his MCUdebut.
In the interview, davis askedwhat was happening with Nova.
Feige said it's happening, it'scoming together.
Richard Ryder yep.
Then he was asked where it willbe a movie or a show format?
He said a show, yeah, yeah.
And then of course, he said youknow, it's three or four years
(10:28):
out now.
It was previously learned that aNova project was in development
, thanks to an interview withMarvel's head of streaming
animation and television, bradWunderbaum, quote we love Nova.
We are in really earlydevelopment on Nova.
We have a new system behind thescenes.
As Marvel Studios, we're morelike a traditional studio now.
We're developing more than weactually will produce.
There are plans to develop Nova.
I love Nova too.
(10:48):
I love Rich Rider too.
I hope it gets to the screen.
The world is always chaos.
There's always things.
You've got to conjure thesethings to make them happen.
But I would love to see a Novashow one day.
And speaking of Kevin Feige,marvel Studio president Kevin
Feige has received his star onthe Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In attendance were numerousactors from the course of the
(11:11):
MCU, including Chris Evans, ryanReynolds, hugh Jackman,
catherine Han, simu Liu, hughJackman, sebastian Stan, david
Harbour, chris Pratt, keihe Wan,brie Larson and more,
introduced by his longtimecreative partner Luis De
Cepesito, feige stepped up tothe microphone to deliver some
(11:32):
remarks of his own.
He had some kind words for hismentor, laura Schuller Donner,
and celebrated the presence andpassion of nerds from every
fandom.
His speech was something wasquote.
Until this day I thought themost nerve-wracking thing was
public speaking.
Now I know the mostnerve-wracking thing is just
standing up there while otherpeople speak about you.
(11:54):
Thank you everybody.
Thank you to the City ofHollywood, to the Chamber of
Commerce.
Obviously this is a dream cometrue.
My parents I'm so thankfulthey're here today.
They would bring me out hereand my sister when I was a kid,
from New York.
And if you'd like to read therest of his speech, you can find
it on the web.
(12:15):
Now let's go on to a littlemore Marvel news.
There's a ton today, folks.
Captain America Brave New Worldcame to Comic-Con Saturday with
cast members Anthony Mackie, timBlake-Nelson, danny Ramirez and
Giancarlo Esposito all hittingthe San Diego fan event to tease
the superhero sequel.
But it was the late panelsurprise arrival of Harrison
(12:38):
Ford that left the biggestimpact as he took the stage to
massive applause.
Footage from the movie wasscreened during Marvel's
presentation and confirmed thatFord's Thunderbolt Ross will
indeed be transforming into theRed Hulk in the film.
Ford gave the crowd exactlywhat they wanted, mimicking the
Hulk's mighty roar.
Marvel Studios president KevinFeige called Brave New World a
(13:00):
return to the gritty action ofCaptain America the Winter
Soldier, which put a spandexspin on the kind of paranoid
thrillers that were socommonplace in 70s cinema.
While Mackie teased that Marvelfans will be seeing a version
of Captain America that is morecerebral, mackie noted that Sam
Wilson is not much of a musclebound guy like Steve Rogers, the
original Captain America.
Esposito also arrived with abit of news revealing for the
(13:23):
first time that he's playingSidewinder the king of the
Serpent Society.
See, that's three times fast.
The new footage from CaptainAmerica Brave New World at Play
in the Hall H began with ForceThunderbolt Ross, who is now
President of the United States,addressing the ending events of
Eternals and meeting with worldleaders at what's called the
Celestial Island Summit.
It turns out Adamantium hasbeen discovered in the ruins
(13:46):
where the dead celestialappeared in the ocean and is now
the most valuable element onthe planet.
Ross recruits Sam Wilson tobuild a new Avengers team.
But things don't go accordingto plan, and by far the biggest
reveal of the footage wasconfirmation that Ford's
President Ross will be ditchingthe Resolute Desk to become the
Red Hulk.
The previous trailer confirmedthe Red Hulk's presence in the
movie, but now Marvel fans aresure that Ross is the man behind
(14:09):
the muzzle.
And with that, let's go on tothe Star Trek news.
And now let's go on to the StarTrek news.
Star Trek news starts off withStar Trek Starfleet Academy, and
its cast is really shaping up.
(14:30):
On Thursday, paramount Plusrevealed that it had cast Kareem
Dayan and Zoe Steiner and theupcoming exploits of a new class
of Starfleet cadets coming toage in one of the galaxy's most
storied institutions.
Now they just began productionon it this summer, as cadets
Diane and Steiner joinpreviously announced castmates
(14:53):
Carice Brooks, bella Shepard andGeorge Hawkins.
Star Trek Starfleet Academyalso stars Holly Hunter as the
Starfleet captain serving asChancellor of the Academy, and
Paul Giamatti as the firstseason's villain.
According to the series'official synopsis quote, star
Trek Starfleet Academyintroduces viewers to a young
group of cadets who cometogether to pursue a common
(15:14):
dream of hope and optimism Underthe watchful and demanding eyes
of their instructors, theydiscover what it takes to become
Starfleet officers as theynavigate blossoming friendships,
explosive rivalries, firstloves and a new enemy that
threatens both the Academy andthe Federation itself.
Star Trek Starfleet Academy hasalso added some alumni to its
facility.
(15:34):
Tig Notaro from Star TrekDiscovery and Robert Picardo
from Star Trek Voyager will bereprising the respective roles
of Jet Reno and the Doctor asseries regulars in the newest
iteration of the venerablesci-fi franchise.
They join Mary Wiseman andOdette Fier, who will return as
guest stars, playing SylviaTilly and Admiral Vance, and
(15:56):
Gina Yashiri is also recurringas another member of the
facility.
I might give that a watch.
I might give that a watch Again.
The Discovery stuff was nevermy cup of tea, but I'm willing
to give the new show a shot Atbringing me in.
(16:19):
But there's more news.
Star Trek is preparing to beamup some laughter.
Actor-writer Tawny Newsome andwriter-director Justin Simeon
are developing a new live-actioncomedy set in the world of Star
Trek.
The show will be set in the25th century and according to
the official logline it willfollow quote Federation
outsiders serving a gleamingresort planet find out that
(16:41):
their day-to-day exploits arebeing broadcast to the entire
quadrant resort planet find outthat their day-to-day exploits
are being broadcast to theentire quadrant.
Now Newsom and Simeon announcedthe project, along with
executive producer Alex Kurtzman, during the Star Trek Universe
panel at San Diego, which Simeonmoderated.
Newsom was there with the castof Lower Decks to discuss the
fifth and final season of theanimated comedy in which Newsom
(17:02):
voices Beckett Mariner, one ofthe junior officers of the USS
Cerritos.
Simeon, newsome and Kurtzmanalso wrote, or go write for the
show.
Aaron Byers, rod Roddenberryand Trevor Roth will executive
produce.
Newsome did not specify whethershe would act on the series as
well, but she's already workedas one of the writers of the
live-action Starfleet Academyand she also played Mariner as
(17:27):
live-action in a crossoverepisode of Star Trek Strange New
Worlds.
One of the beans spilled at theParamount Plus Comic-Con panel
by Akiva Goldsman was thepossibility of a Star Trek stage
musical.
In regards to what part of theuniverse would get the
showstopper, that wasn't reallydetailed.
However, the stage musical willlikely center around the
(17:49):
streaming series Star Trek,strange New Worlds.
Alex, kurtzman and Goldsmanwere asked by a fan if there
would be more musical episodeslike Subspace Rhapsody, which
reaped the sci-fi franchise'sfirst ever music-filled episode.
Goldman answered we're in thevery early stages of figuring
out whether we can bring aversion of that to the stage.
(18:11):
So, hmm, star Trek the musical.
Now let's go on to the DCComics News, and we begin DC
(18:36):
Comics News with, of course,james Gunn providing yet another
update on Superman, previouslyknown as Superman Legacy.
The film, which stars DavidCornsweet in the title role and
Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane,is getting close to being done
with filming after wrapping itssix-week Cleveland shoot this
past week.
The director and co-head of DCStudios has been sharing updates
(18:58):
with his fans on threads, wherehe posted a lengthy thread on
the social media platformpraising the city of Cleveland
for its hospitality while theywere in production.
Quote hashtag Cleveland the daywe are leaving you after six
amazing weeks of shooting.
From the moment we first cameon as a scout a tad less than a
year ago and Terminal Tower waslit up with the colors of
(19:20):
Superman, I knew you were aspecial place.
I would walk down your streetsand someone would stop me and
tell me how grateful they werethat we were shooting in their
city, not once, not twice, butdozens of times.
The wonderful background actorson the film were always so fun
and funny and they clapped aftertakes something that reminded
us of Hollywood cynics why wemake movies in the first place.
(19:41):
That reminded us of Hollywoodcynics, why we make movies in
the first place.
The pride you feel in beingwhere Jerry and Joe, siegel and
Schuster first created Supermanwas invigorating.
You exemplify his spirit, butjust as much as the pride you
have in your community, yourhometown, your radio stations
and restaurants and gatheringplaces.
That touched me Unquote.
Now, when asked by a fan ifthey had finished shooting the
(20:02):
film entirely, gunn shared thatthey had a couple of weeks left,
adding it's a long shot butwe're getting close.
Superman began production inFebruary and marks the first
feature film under Gunn andPierre Saffron's reign at DC
Studios, which now has a newlogo.
So I guess I'll have to replacethe logo in the video here.
(20:24):
Good, because it goes back tothe original, the old logo from
the 80s.
That says DC Comics to me.
Yeah.
However, there was some tragedy.
Sources tell Deadline.
A female member of theTeamsters Union yeah, however,
there was some tragedy.
(20:44):
Sources tell Deadline that afemale member of the Teamsters
union working on the JamesGunn-directed Superman died by
suicide this past Wednesday atTrillis Studios near Atlanta.
Reports say the officers andmedical personnel responded to a
report of an unconscious adultcontractor inside a vehicle on
the studio property around 6.47am Wednesday.
According to the policestatement, the person was found
dead from an apparentself-inflicted gunshot wound.
(21:07):
Police say foul play is notsuspected and the investigation
is not connected to any ongoingstudio projects.
The vehicle was located in thecrew parking lot and we hear
filming was not occurring at thetime of the shooting, which
happened overnight.
Sources say when the crowd,when the crew was aware of what
had happened, james Gunngathered everyone to inform them
(21:27):
.
Counselors would be availableif they were needed and said
production would be stopping forthe day and sent everyone home.
Filming resumed later.
Located south of Atlanta,trillis Studios is comprised of
a 700-acre site with a 400-acrebacklot and 32 sound stages.
Originally known as PinewoodAtlanta, trillith has been used
(21:48):
to produce many televisionseries, including WandaVision
and Loki and Avengers, infinityWar and Avengers Endgame.
The first production to film atthe studio was Marvel Studios'
Ant-Man.
The studio was named TrillithStudios in October of 2020.
Marvel Studios' Ant-Man thestudio was named Trillis Studios
in October of 2020.
Wiz Kids has announced DCForever, a new asymmetrical
(22:08):
deck-building game based on theDC superhero universe.
The new game, made for two tofour players, pits rogues and
heroes against each other, withrogues attempting to complete
various schemes and heroestrying to rescue citizens and
thwart the rogues' scheme.
The game contains a total of 18heroes and villains, with each
side picking up to four heroesor villains to use in the game.
Each character has a uniquestrategy, so players can decide
(22:29):
which characters sync up welltogether and can be used in
different scenarios.
Heroes in DC Forever includeBatman, wonder Woman, superman,
aquaman, the Flash, blue Beetle,cyborg their side to create a
(22:52):
starting deck of characters andother characters going into a
reserve area on their player'sside of the board.
Each round consists of threephases, with the rogue and hero
characters spending resources ontheir player's side of the
board.
Each round consists of threephases, with the rogue and hero
character spending resources ontheir respective phase to
activate trace abilities, attachcards to their characters or
recruit additional characters.
Followed by confrontation phase, where players battle for
(23:12):
control over locations andattack opposing characters.
During the confrontation phase,rogues can choose whether to
advance their schemes byclaiming citizens or attacking
heroes at a location.
If they choose to advance ascheme at a specific location,
they pull citizens from thatlocation onto the scheme with
the hopes of completing thescheme at the end of the round.
Once the rogue is gone, heroescan choose whether to rescue the
(23:34):
remaining citizens or attackthe villain and attempt to
capture them.
That sounds unusual.
More Comic-Con news.
Jeff Lemire has had a prettygood weekend at the con.
Friday was revealed that thewriter is returning to DC later
this year on Absolute Flash, anew series he's making with
(23:54):
artist Nick Robles.
The series is part of DC's newAbsolute Universe.
The publisher's take onMarvel's Ultimate Universe
Saturday was revealed.
Lemire will also be writing adifferent series in DC's primary
continuity, justice Society ofAmerica.
In teaser art released for theseries, characters from both the
JSA and Infinity Incorporatedcan be seen teasing the title's
(24:16):
white ensemble.
The series is being drawn byDiego Orletogi.
Quote In addition to AbsoluteFlash, I'm also drawing my
all-time favorite superheroes ofJustice Society of America.
He wanted to reveal that he'sdrawing connecting variants for
Justice Society of Americanumber one and number two.
(24:38):
At today's what's Happening inthe DC panel at San Diego Comic
Con, the publisher gave somewelcome news on the upcoming
Elseworlds version of GreenLantern titled Green Lantern
Dark.
Green Lantern Dark is a newproject from the Something is
Killing the Children and Houseof Slard team of writer Tate
Brombell and Werther Del Ederathat will be making their
(24:58):
Elseworlds debut with GreenLantern Dark, and while they
didn't share a ton of details,they did reveal that this
version was inspired by DC'sTangent version of Green Lantern
.
As for what attracted them tothe project, the duo decided the
opportunity to work outside ofDC's main continuity and getting
a chance to be part of thenewly relaunched Elseworlds line
.
Del Adira is the main artist ofBoom Studios.
(25:21):
Del Adira is the main artist ofBoom Studios Excellent.
Something is killing thechildren and is a perfect fit
for the darker take on GreenLantern.
Having the bright green lightof the lantern piercing the
darkness creates an unexpectedvisual and immediately sets this
version apart from anythingelse.
Dc is returning to the fourthworld.
By the end of the year, ram V,one of the hottest names in
(25:42):
comics, is penning a fourthworld.
By the end of the year, ram Vone of the hottest names in
comics, is penning a freshseries featuring the new gods,
with Evan Cagle making his DCdebut on interior artwork,
announced Saturday during SanDiego Comic-Con.
The series is part of DC'snewly announced all-in
initiative set to debut laterthis year.
And with that news, let's go onto the Star Wars news, roger
(26:07):
roger.
Star Wars news begins with theHigh Republic coming to its end
with Phase 3 and theannouncement of a new upcoming
project, fear of the Jedi.
The Marvel Comics series willserve as the finale to the High
Republic Phase 3 Trials of theJedi, which began late 2023.
(26:29):
Star Wars, the High Republic'sPhase 1 and 2 chronicled the
Jedi and Republic's century-longmission to expand into a sector
of the Outer Rim territoriesthat was rife with civil
conflict between plants and ordifferent force-user religions.
One of those religionssplintered off and became the
army of galactic raiders knownas the Nihil, who inherited the
(26:50):
ancient race of force-eatingbeasts known as the Nameless,
able to kill Jedi with ease.
Now, phase three of the HighRepublic has been the darkest
chapter yet, as the Nihildestroyed the Jedi and
Republic's grand achievement inthe Outer Rim Starlight Beacon
and used the Nameless to killoff some prominent and powerful
Jedi of that era.
The bright and hopeful heroes,both young and old, who began in
(27:11):
the series the Acolytes,vanestra Roja, jedi Knights,
keeve, trannis, bel Zetafir,wreath Salas, masters Avar,
chris and and Elzar Mann arequickly becoming more
complicated and becomingbattle-scarred warriors fighting
to free their allies andinnocents from a sector of space
that Nihil have sectioned offas their own.
Meanwhile, the High Republichas turned non-Jedi characters
(27:33):
like Nihil, turncoat, lorena Deeor Thief Teya Sirik have broken
out into bigger roles, havebroken out into bigger roles.
All in all, the High Republichas distinguished itself as its
own era of Star Wars, but couldbenefit from wrapping this
particular saga, which began in2021, sooner before, later.
Now, the current timeline ofStar Wars comics takes place
(27:56):
between events of the EmpireStrikes Back and Return of the
Jedi, but with those stories setto conclude, marvel Comics has
confirmed new titles will betaking place in the space of
time between Return of the Jediand the Force Awakens, starting
with the upcoming miniseriesStar Wars.
The Battle of Jakku InsurgencyRising will focus on a pivotal
(28:16):
battle in the wake of the fallof the Galactic Empire, a
conflict which has largely beenshrouded in secrecy since it was
alluded to.
In the wake of the fall of theGalactic Empire, a conflict
which has largely been shroudedin secrecy since it was alluded
to in the 2015 movie.
The first issue of thefour-issue series hits shelves
on October, the 2nd.
Now let's go on through somegood, old-fashioned geek news.
(28:52):
And Geek News begins with SegaAfritra going on strike again.
This time, the union called fora work stoppage against major
video game companies after twoyears of trying to renegotiate
its interactive media agreement.
The decision to hit the picketlines comes 10 months after the
union's initial strikeauthorization vote.
The strike went into effectJuly 26th at 12.01am.
(29:13):
The 10 companies facing thestrike are Activision
Productions, blind Light LLC.
Disney Character VoicesIncorporated.
Electric Arts ProductionsIncorporated.
Epic Games Incorporated.
Formosa Interactive LLC,insomniac Games Incorporated.
Take-two ProductionsIncorporated.
Voiceworks ProductionsIncorporated.
And WB Games Incorporated.
Sag-aftra President FranDresser said in a statement
(29:36):
quote we're not going to consentto a contract that allows
companies to abuse AI to thedetriment of our members.
Enough is enough.
When these companies getserious about offering the
agreement our members can liveand work with, we will be here,
ready to negotiate unquote.
In a press briefing followingthe announcement of the strike.
Being called, sara Elmaleh, theunion's interactive committee
(29:58):
chair and an actor in games likehi-fi rush, addressed the
timing of the work stoppageduring comic-con, so that after
members were allowed to takepart in the convention despite
the strike order.
Now, that flexible stance, shesays, stems from the fact that
quote this is happening veryquickly and our members are
going to no doubt take some timeto absorb the full scope of the
strike order and the rules andall of that other stuff.
(30:21):
We feel very passionately thatbeing at ComCon in order to
share what it is we need and whywe need it is the best way to
serve this action, to be visible, to be loud and to be open to
conversation".
So this, of course, willprobably cause salvages to some
upcoming games, so if you have agame from any one of these
(30:44):
companies that you're reallyinterested in, you might have to
wait just a wee bit longer.
Next up, percy Jackson and theOlympians has found its Tyson.
Daniel Dymere has been cast inseason two of the Disney Plus
series as the lovable Cyclopswho is also Percy's paternal
half-brother, the son ofPoseidon and a nymph.
(31:05):
Arthur and series co-creatorRick Reardon announced the news
via video message at the show'sSan Diego Comic-Con panel this
past Thursday.
Daniel Daimyr's enthusiasm andtalent brings a whole new
dimension to Tyson, and it'sgoing to be an incredible seat
to see him in the second season.
I can't wait for you guys tomeet him and welcome him to the
(31:25):
Percy Jackson universe.
Unquote.
Mark Hamill will voice theflying Dutchman in Paramount
Nickelodeon's upcoming SpongeBobSquarePants movie, the
SpongeBob movie the Search forSquarePants.
The announcement was madeduring their Comic-Con
presentation in San Diego.
Celebrating the franchise, whichturns 25 this year, makes you
(31:46):
feel old, doesn't it?
Alien Rhyme List will bereleased in theaters in August,
but come October comic readerswill get even more insight into
the tragic doom awaiting thecharacters that board the Rhyme
List space station.
Alien Rhyme List number onewill will be one shot that
answers the one question thatviewers won't get from the
actual film what was going onaboard the RhymeList to make all
(32:07):
hell break loose?
The Marvel press releasereveals that, quote Alien
RhymeList number one will bewritten by horror master Zach
Thompson and drawn by risingstar Daniel Picado, a creative
team that is clearly familiarwith action horror material.
Now Zach Thompson said in astatement quote the Alien
(32:29):
franchise is responsible for mylifelong love of body horror, so
, needless to say, I'm ecstaticto be contributing a small piece
to the canon.
Working with Fed Alvarez tocraft a prequel to Alien
Rhymelous was a genuine dreamcome true and a responsibility I
don't take lightly.
The result is a thrilling,terrifying story that slowly
gestates into something whollyunpredictable.
(32:52):
Amc is selling more shows,including a trio of the Walking
Dead spinoffs, to third parties.
The company has closed a dealwith Netflix in the US to bring
15 shows to the streamer as partof the curated selection of
AMC-branded shows.
It comes after AMC didsomething similar to Max last
year, a move that saw Fear ofthe Walking Dead and A Discovery
of Witches air on the WarnerBros streaming service as part
(33:14):
of a two-month pop-up experiment.
Back in November, amc Network'sCEO, christian Dolan, said that
she was actively exploring moredeals along these lines.
Some 13 AMC shows will launchon Netflix for a year beginning
August 19th, including the firstseasons of the Walking Dead,
daryl Dixon, anne Rice'sInterview with a Vampire, anne
Rice's Made for Witches,Monsignor Spade, that Dirty
(33:35):
Black Bag and the Terror, threeseasons of Discovery Witches,
two seasons of Dark Winds, eightseasons of Fear the Walking
Dead, two seasons of Gangs ofLondon, three seasons of Into
the Badlands, two seasons ofKevin Can't Beep Himself and
four seasons of Preacher.
You know that's a pretty fairamount.
(33:55):
Two additional series the firstseasons of the Walking Dead,
dead City and the Walking Deadthe Ones who Live will be
launched on Netflix in Januaryof 2025.
Eleven seasons of the WalkingDead are currently available on
Netflix.
Master Chief has fought his lastbattle at Paramount+, the
(34:16):
streamer has canceled the videogame adaptation after two
seasons.
The series, based on the Xboxfranchise Halo and starring
Pablo Schreiber as Master ChiefJohn-117, finished its second
season in March.
Quote we are extremely proud ofthis ambitious series and would
like to thank our partners atXbox, 343 Industries and Amblin
(34:36):
Television, along withshowrunner and executive
producer David Weiner, fellowexecutive producers, the entire
cast led by Pablo Schreiber asMaster Chief, and the amazing
crew for all their outstandingwork.
We wish everyone the best goingforward.
Sources say the show'sproducers, amblin, xbox and 343
Industries, will look to landthe series at another outlet for
(34:58):
a third season.
Paramount Plus is said to besupportive in that move.
And now, since there is so muchnews at Comic-Con, here's some
quick hits.
Invincible was renewed forSeason 4 at Prime Video.
(35:18):
The timey-wimey, wibbly-wobblyworld of Doctor who is expanding
with a new spin-off announcedinto the Into the Who-niverse
panel at San Diego Comic-Con onFriday panel at San Diego
Comic-Con on Friday RussellTovey and Gugu Mothwa-Raw will
lead the cast of the five-partseries the War Between the Land
and Sea.
They'll be joined by returningDoctor who cast members Gemma
(35:40):
Redgrave as KateLethbridge-Stewart and Alexander
Deverant as Colonel Ibrahim.
The series picked up as afoursome and ancient species
emerges from the ocean,dramatically revealing
themselves to humanity.
An air-shell crisis istriggered and the entire
population at risk units stepsinto action as the land and sea
wage war.
The Boys universe is expandingwith a prequel series titled
(36:03):
Vought Rising.
It will star Jason Eccles andAya Cash reprising their boys
roles as Storm Soldier Boy andStormfront respectively.
The series will be set in 1950sNew York.
In a story trailer for Funko'sfirst ever console game, funko
Fusion, the brand's titularFreddy Funko is introduced to
the title's supervillain, hisevil copycat Eddie Funko, the
(36:28):
quote deeply twisted andimmensely powerful shapeshifting
counterpart to Freddy's, voicedby Invincible star Clancy Brown
, who promises Freddy andcharacters from Shadow of the
Dead Five Nights at Freddy's,the Umbrella Academy and more
NBC Universal franchisesscattered across the game.
Quote your worlds will fall,your people will suffer and I
will have infinite power.
Per Funko's description for theAAA game developed by Tintin
(36:50):
Games.
Quote With dreams of totaldomination, eddie wields the
dark abilities possessed in theinhabitants of Funko Fusion pop
culture-inspired worlds,building an army of corrupted
characters inspired byfranchises including Jurassic
World, back to the Future, thing, chucky and many more.
As players strive to fight back, they'll build their own team
of playable heroes, each withunique talents for use in combat
(37:13):
and puzzles.
Fox just made the San DiegoComic-Con a richer experience
for one lucky attendee.
During the Thursday night panelpromoting the network's
upcoming animated series,universal Basic Guys, fox passed
out swag bags to everyone inthe ballroom.
One of those bags had a specialsticker randomly awarding that
winner $3,000.
(37:34):
Actually, because it was shapedlike a hot dog, the sticker
announced you are a wiener.
The $3,000 prize is in linewith the concept for Universal
Basic Guys, which stars on twobrothers who work at a hot dog
factory until they lose theirjobs to automation and are given
$3,000 a month in a new basicincome program.
The series follows them as theysuddenly have a lot of free
(37:55):
time and money to pursue someridiculous adventures.
Fresh off the show's first Emmynomination, fox is piling on
more.
Crapopolis, the mythicalanimated comedy set in ancient
Greece, has been picked up for afourth season, which was
revealed by Dan Harmon at ComicCon.
(38:19):
What we Do in the Shadow?
Stars and producers showed upat San Diego Comic Con this past
Thursday to preview the sixthand final season of the FX Emmy
nominatednominated comedy.
The footage before the panelwas the entire first episode of
season six, which introduced anew vampire, played by Michael
(38:40):
Patrick O'Brien, named Jerry.
Who is Jerry, you ask?
He's a former roommate ofNandor Naja and Colin Robinson,
who they all remember with greataffection as the Vampire's
Vampire, until they realize thatthey've forgotten to wake him
from his deep slumber that heentered in 1976.
Wah-wah, netflix's filmadaptation of the seminal video
(39:02):
game Bioshock with directorFrancis Lawrence is being
reconfigured to be a morepersonal film with a reduced
budget.
Producer Roy lee revealed atcomic-con this past thursday.
The adaptation was firstannounced back in february of
2022 as a partnership betweennetflix and producers 2k and
take two interactive solaropposites has been renewed for a
(39:24):
sixth season at hulu.
The cast of the show alsorevealed during the pat, during
a panel at Comic-Con, that theshow will release a Halloween
special on Hulu later this year.
Season 5 of Solar Opposites isdue to debut on August 12th.
Ghost is adding some newcharacters for season 4.
Mary Holland and Dean Norrisare set to guest star in the
(39:46):
series.
Holland has joined the cast asthe recurring role of Patience,
a character that has been highlyanticipated since last season,
and Norris will play Frank,samantha's father.
Now Patience is the ghost of aPuritan woman who died in the
late 1600s.
While alive she was exceedinglysevere and judgmental, even by
Puritan standards.
As such, she was expelled fromher village for being a bit too
(40:09):
much.
Sausage Party Foodtopia hasannounced its returning for
season two.
Sausage Party Foodtopia isalready a surprising project in
and of itself, as the series wasa sequel to the animated film
by Seth Rogen and Evan GoldbergMaking its debut with Prime
Video this month.
The animated series seems tohave done well so far to get a
(40:30):
second season already confirmedto be in the works, but
unfortunately there is verylittle about what to expect in
new episodes of the series inthe future.
Hulu has revealed that FuturamaSeason 12 will guest star the
likes of Danny Trejo, reneVictor, tom Kenny, anna Hortiz,
cara DelVigne, tim Gunn, billNye, kyle McLaughlin, levar
(40:52):
Burton and Neil deGrasse Tysonand is out now.
Hellboy the Crooked man takesus to 1950s Appalachia where
Hellboy, played by Jack Kessie,and rookie BRPD agent Bobby Joe
Song investigate the sinisterCrooked man.
Now Kessie is the thirditeration of Hellboy, who has
(41:15):
been portrayed by Ron Perlman inthe Guillermo del Toro duology
and David Harbour in the rebootin 2019.
The movie is due in September.
Udon Entertainment revealedthat they have acquired the
Master Comic Book license forMega man across the board, from
the classic series to X Legends,zero and ZX, battle Network and
(41:35):
Starforce.
However, they will not beincluded in any comic books
published under the licenseagreement as the publishers and
owners, capcom, do not have thesole rights to these particular
entries and the two titlestaking place in separate
universes from the mainstoryline and universes will be
featured in the previously notedtitles.
(41:56):
Next up, idiocracy is getting aspiritual sequel.
The Mike Judge-directed sci-ficomedy has become a cult classic
over the years, finding newaudiences thanks to the Power of
Home video and a very orangepresident.
Despite this delayed success,follow-ups for Idiocracy never
got off the ground.
That changes.
This past weekend has starTerry Crews, who played
(42:18):
President Dwayne Elzondo.
Mountain Dew, herbert Camachoin the film, is releasing a
one-off comic that revisits theworld of Idiocracy.
And finally, tonight, bobNewhart, the beloved stand-up
performer whose droll, deadpanhumor showcased the two
(42:40):
critically acclaimed CBS sitcoms, vaulted him to the ranks of
history's greatest comedians,died Thursday morning at the age
of 94.
The Chicago legend, who wonGrammy Awards for Album of the
Year and Best New Artist for his1960 breakthrough album.
The buttoned-down mind of BobNewhart died at his Los Angeles
home after a series of shortillnesses.
(43:01):
According to his longtimepublicist, the former accountant
famously went without an EmmyAward until 2013, when he
finally was given one for gueststarring as Arthur Jeffries, aka
Professor Proton, on CBS's theBig Bang Theory.
In 1972, mtm Enterprises castthe modest comic as clinical
(43:23):
psychologist Bob Hartley, whopracticed in the real-life
Newhartburg of Chicago.
The Bob Newhart show wouldbecome one of the most popular
sitcoms of all time, featuring awonderful cast of supporting
characters Suzanne Plagette,pierre Boners, marshall Wallace,
bill Daly and Jack Reilly amongthem.
Newhart ended in 1978 after 142episodes and credibly no Emmy
(43:46):
nominations for him and no winsfor the show, feeling he had
exhausted its bag of tricks.
But he was back at CBS in 1982in front of another MTM comedy,
this time in New Heart.
He portrayed Dick Loudon, a NewYork author, trained proprietor
of the Stratford Inn in Vermont.
The show was a mainstay foreight seasons, and this one also
(44:07):
featured a great cast of MurrayFran, tom Poston, julia Duffy,
peter Scolari and the handymanof Larry Darrell and the other
brother Darrell, in one of themost admired series endings in
history.
Newhart wrapped itseight-season run with a cheeky
final scene in which Loudonwakes up in the middle of the
night as Bob Hartley in bed withSuzanne Plachette in their
(44:29):
Chicago apartment, suggestingthat the whole series had been
one long dream.
Newhart's pauses and stammeringwere among his trademarks and
his wry observations were aresult of his observant nature.
Quote I tend to find humor inthe macabre.
I would say 85% of me is whatyou see on the show and the
other 15% is a very sick manwith a very deranged mind, he
(44:52):
said in a 1990 interview withthe Los Angeles Magazine.
He was inducted into theAcademy of Television Arts and
Sciences Hall of Fame in 1992.
He was born on September 5, 1929, in Oak Park, illinois, and
grew up a Cubs fan andparticipated in the team's
victory parade during LaSalleStreet in Chicago after they
(45:14):
took the National League pennantin 1945.
He was quite naturally thrilledwhen the Cubs ended their
108-year World Series drought bywinning in 2016.
Newhart never dreamed of beingin show business.
In fact, he was against thegrain of being in the Midwest.
After attending St IgnatiusCollege Prep, he earned a degree
(45:35):
in commerce from LoyolaUniversity and spent two years
in the Army and then flunked outof law school.
He then worked as an accountantwith US Gypsum and then the
Glidden Company which sold paint.
Quote.
Somehow there's a connectionbetween numbers and music and
comedy.
I don't know what it is, but Iknow it's there.
I know it's a case of two plustwo, and two equals five in
(45:56):
terms of a comedian.
You take this fact and you takethat fact and come up with this
ludicrous fact, unquote.
Now, to combat the tedium ofwork, newhart and his friend
would amuse themselves by makingprank phone calls.
You'd find that in hissignature comic bit having the
one-sided phone conversationwith someone at the air end.
He and his pal also sold asyndicated radio program which
(46:20):
did five-minute comedy routinesfive days a week for $7.50 a
week.
In 1959, their friend, who wasa disc jockey in Chicago,
introduced Newhart to a WarnerBrothers record exec.
The accountant, now acopywriter, had just three
routines at the time but woundup with enough material to land
a contract with the recordcompany.
Quote.
(46:40):
Keep in mind, when I started inthe late 50s I didn't say to
myself oh, here's a great voidto fill.
I'll be a balding ex-accountantwho specializes in low-key
humor.
That's simply what I was andthat's the direction my mind
always went in, so it wasnatural for me to be that way.
The buttoned-down mind of BobNewhart was recorded live in a
(47:00):
nightclub in Houston and becamethe first comedy album to reach
the top of the album charts,selling 1.5 million copies as
one of the biggest selling talkalbums.
The Bits includes such classicsas Abe Lincoln vs Madison
Avenue and Driving InstructorComing.
At a time when harder-edgecomedians like Lenny Bruce and
Mort Sahl were taking hold, thebutton-down mind earned Newhart
(47:23):
a third Grammy for Best ComedyPerformance and he got booked on
the Ed Sullivan Show.
Following two more successfulalbums, newhart was offered a
weekly TV variety series for the1961-1962 season.
There, the Bob Newhart Show wonan Emmy for the year's
Outstanding Program Achievementin the Field of Humor, as well
as a Peabody Award.
(47:44):
Newhart soon found himselfexhausted, taking on the
responsibility of a programseven days a week, 24 hours,
despite a full production team.
He was offered some sitcoms butturned them down and returned
to nightclubs to sharpen his actwith TV guest spots, in film
work and in TV shows and movies.
(48:06):
So he went to do that.
In 1992, he embarked on a newseries called Bob, playing a
comic book artist, but it neverfound an artist.
There's a George and Leo inwhich he played a bookstore
owner opposite Judge Hirsch,opposite Judge Hirsch.
(48:30):
More recently, newhart playedJudson on a trio of the library
and telefilms and then a seriesfor TNT.
Newhart also co-starred inLittle Miss Marker as the
president of Buck Henry's firstfamily, with Gilda Radner as his
frisky daughter, and has PapaElf in Will Ferrell's Elf and in
Horrible Bosses.
He brought his flat Midwesterncadence to voice work on the two
(48:53):
Rescuers films.
Chicago honored Newhart with astatue on Mason Avenue near the
office building seen in theopening credits of the Bob
Newhart Show with his likenessin a chair and an empty
psychiatrist couch at his side.
It was later moved to the NavyPier.
In 2002, he became the fifthrecipient of the Kennedy
Center's Mark Twain Prize forAmerican Humor and four years
(49:14):
later published his memoirs IShouldn't Even Be Doing this.
Newhart was married to VirginiaGinny Quinn from January 6th of
1963 until her death in April of2023 at the age of 82.
They were set up on a blinddate by comedian Buddy Hackett.
Quote Buddy came back one dayand said in his own immutable
way.
I met this young guy and hisname is Bobby Newhart and he's a
(49:37):
comic and he's Catholic andyou're Catholic.
I think maybe you should marryeach other, she recalled in a
2013 interview.
Now, she was the one who cameup with the idea for the
brilliant ending of the Newhartshow during Christmas party that
Plachette happened to also beattending.
The Newharts were great friendswith Don Rickles and his wife,
barbara, and the couples oftenvacationed together.
(49:57):
Survivors include his children,robert Jr, timothy, courtney
and Jennifer, and 10grandchildren.
Bob Newhart was 94 years old,was 94 years old, and that
brings us to the end of thisedition of the show.
Now, please be sure to check usout on social media.
We're on Blue Sky and Twitter,at Multiverse, tom Threads,
(50:19):
facebook and Instagram atMultiverse Tonight, and if
you've gotten some value out ofthe show and would like to pay
it back, please head on over tomultiversetonightcom where you
can find our Patreon and Ko-Filinks.
Check out our show notes, visitthe TeePublic store and, while
you're there, why don't youleave some feedback and check
out articles, other things?
(50:41):
Now, if you really liked theshow, go ahead and hit that
subscribe button.
Share it with friends andfamily.
Special thanks to Shane Iversfor the intro music and Lobo
Loco for the outro theme music.
Thanks for watching thisedition of Multiverse Tonight.
We'll be back in two weeks withmore sci-fi and comic book news
.
Goodness, now please exit theuniverse in an orderly fashion.
(51:01):
Good night.
Multiverse Tonight is aproduction of Half-Baked Genre
Productions.
Copy copyright 2024, all rightsreserved.
This podcast is part of the PopGoes the Culture podcast
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