Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Awaiting A News Explosion
Ready for a geeky ride through the universe? Buckle up as we navigate through the dazzling world of sci-fi, fantasy, and everything in between! I share my personal journey with the COVID-19 vaccine booster and then we're off to the races with a review of Ahsoka, Loki season 3, Wonder Woman’s Daughter getting her own one-shot, and James Gunn’s foray into DC Comics. Plus, I give you my take on the upcoming 200th episode of the podcast. Stay tuned - it's going to be a wild ride!
In our second chapter, we're jumping hyperdrive into the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. We’ll dissect the new Disney Plus and Turner Network deal for the 11 live-action Star Wars movies and speculate about the direction Star Trek: Lower Decks might take. A curveball from the real world - California's ban on Skittles and other popular candies. I'll discuss that, plus Netflix's decision to renew Castlevania Nocturne and a strange commercial featuring an unauthorized use of Tom Hanks' AI likeness. Come along as we unwind the mysteries of the multiverse!
Thanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/
Tonight, wonder Woman's Daughter gets a one-shot. Loki Season 3, star Wars games to get a bundle. Will Lordecks get another season? And remember costume designer Shana Tropic. All that and more on this edition of Multiverse tonight. Books, sci-fi, fantasy and more. If you're looking for a roundup of geeky news, you're in the right place. This is Multiverse Tonight. And here's your host, thomas Townley. Well, hello everyone and welcome to Episode 199 of Multiverse Tonight. In 199, or next one will be a big one. 200 episodes, that's pretty good for any podcast, but it's pretty good for anything.
Speaker 1:I guess let's start off tell you a little bit about my week. I got my flu and COVID shots over this past week and yeah, the COVID booster still lays you under for about 12 hours. Well, actually I got the shot 12 hours later. It kicked in and kicked my ass for another 12 hours and then it went away. Figure that one out. So you know, it's just whatever. You know, I got about one. I got about one o'clock kicked in about one o'clock, went away about one o'clock, you know, and I learned that.
Speaker 1:I got a few thoughts on Ahsoka and there's seasons, slash series, finale. Ahsoka was a very good series. I'm not someone who's watched the Clone Wars or Rebels or basically any of those. And I was still able to get it thanks to some explainer videos on YouTube. So you know it was a very good show and they left it on position where you know it's like you know how does this get resolved? Does this get resolved in another season? Does this get resolved in the suppose, a Dave Filoni movie that's out there? You know how does this get resolved.
Speaker 1:And then we got the return of Loki this past week. Loki season two, very Good episode I thought you know highly recommend watching the first season, which is now out on blu-ray, and, you know, watching the first, you know, first episode of the sexes because it's, yeah, it's thought provoking, it's funny, yeah. Anyway, let's get on. And, by the way, before we begin, I will know that this will be a rather short episode. There just wasn't that much news these past couple weeks. Anyway, let's get on with the DC Comics news.
Speaker 1:And we begin DC Comics news with DC kicking off a new era of Wonder Woman adventures this past week. And now DC is sending Wonder Woman number one act print. Tom King and Daniel Semper is hit issue is getting a second printing and the Wonder Woman number one. Second printing will hit stores on October 24th for the sum total of four dollars and 99 cents plus tax. The final order cutoff date is has already passed, but the new printing will feature new artwork by Jim Lee, scott Williams and Alex and Claire, and There'll also be a foil printing of Wonder Woman number one for $9.99, which will be part of the Jim Lee icon series. Now, as part of that series, the new foil cover will fit into a in has the middle tryptic image of the DC trendy, which includes Superman number seven, batman number six, oh eight and and Batman over six way. It was published back on September 5th and Superman number seven, legacy number 850, will be re will be released on October 17th.
Speaker 1:From his work on the Suicide Squad and peacemaker to his current job, co-running DC studios, james Gunn has helped highlight some of the weirdest and best characters of the DC Comics canon. Gunna announced in a tweet on Tuesday that he will play a new role in spot-lying the DC's heroes and villains with the help of a new official book. The book titled strange and unsung, all stars with DC multiverse a visual encyclopedia, will be, as it says, visual encyclopedia written by Nubia and the Amazons and Wakanda comics writer Stephanie Williams. The book will also feature a forward by James Gunn himself and is now available for pre-order. Have its November 7th release date. In the tweet Gunn wrote, quote Many know I have a special fondness for the wilder corners of DC Comics, the forgotten or outlandish characters who I grew up laughing With or at, but who in every case fired up my imagination and my love of odd cast and out ball, odd balls. Now there's finally a book for folks like me. Yes, including forward by me. Join it 40 pages of guilty goodness with arm falloff boy Colonel come putron and mod gorilla boss, and so so many more unquote. That sounds interesting and interesting and a probably good companion to the DC Comics encyclopedia.
Speaker 1:For many Wonder Woman fans, the summer's debut of Trinity, the Duller Wonder Woman from a future timeline that may or may not be the mainstream DCU, was the most exciting thing to happen to the character in the long time, and that excitement has carried over into Trinity getting her own book in 2024. January's Trinity Special Number One is a one-shot issue written by regular Wonder Woman scribe, tom King, with art by King's Wonder Woman partner, daniel Sampre and Belen Ortega, writing stories about Trinity, aka Lizzie, as a kid while also hinting at what lies ahead of the character. Sampre isn't the only regular King collaborator to contribute to the 48-page issue, with both Mitch Gurrens and Evan Doc Shanner offering variant covers. Alongside George Jimenez and Ortega, jorge Jimenez and Hordeca, sampre provides the main cover for the issue. The official description for the issue reads featuring DC's brightest new star, trinity, discover Lizzie's earliest adventures as she takes the world of heroes by storm. Reprinting the character's first appearance alongside hilarious tales of the little Amazon and her Super Son babysitters, this special will be an instant classic for fans, old and new, plus a brand new story from the all-star crew of the team behind Wonder Woman that will tease the future of Diana's daughter. Now, trinity first appeared in Wonder Woman 800, and the story by King and Sampre that also featured a teenage version of the character alongside Damien Wayne and John Kent, or, as the description above describes them, her Super Son babysitters an idea that came from the Between Two Toms panel at this year's San Yoko Komkot. Trinity's special number one will be released January 30th 2024.
Speaker 1:Now let's go on to the Marvel News. During the press day for Loki Season 2, comicbookcom spoke to series co-executive producer Kevin Wright about the possibility of Loki continuing to a third season or maybe beyond. That Turns out it's a subject, sorry, being discussed within the walls of Marvel Studios. We were certainly thinking about how we can continue to tell TVA and Loki based stories. Right revealed, adding that quote. What I would say is season one and season two were always conceived as two chapters of the same book. We want to close this book, and I think there's a lot more books on the shelf though. So there you have it, folks. It's a 50-50 shot whether there's a third season. It's probably Wright and Tom Hilsen's wheelhouse as to whether he wants to continue with the character or not.
Speaker 1:On to some fantastic for news. A number of exciting names have been linked to the titular quartet for the film Reed Richards, ben Graham, sue Storm and Johnny Storm and the parts are some of the most coveted in Hollywood. The date there's been no confirmation in any way for the film and it's been complicated by the strikes. According to the director Shackman, one name linked to the role of Reed Richards has long been John Krasinski, who played the variant of the character in Multiverse of Madness. Herbert Krasinski said he's unlikely to play the role again, as he told the wrap back in 2002.
Speaker 1:Now, as one would expect with a project of this size and scale, plus the marvel of it, all concrete information is hard to uncover. On the Krasinski front, it was noted that the Sackstrike. With the Sackstrike ongoing, it's impossible to announce anything or put a time scale on it. However, they didn't note that there was news to share with fans and that there would be a plan in place to announce the casting as soon as the strike comes to a successful conclusion. For the actor's guild, the movie is scheduled for release on May 2nd 2025. So there you have it, folks. It's just up to the Hollywood producers to get off their butts and give the actors a deal they can live with. You know, I'm grateful that they resolved the writer's strike. Now it's time to get the actors back to work and we can all go home.
Speaker 1:Anyway, let's go on to the Star Wars news. Roger Roger, star Wars news begins with Aspire and Lucasfilm games announcing a release of the physical version of the Star Wars heritage pack in North America, which includes seven classic Star Wars titles From past years. Of course, the physical version will launch on December 8th 2023 and will cost $59.99, and Pre-Horiz are already open at major retailers like Amazon, target, walmart, etc. Now this will be a re-release of the Star Wars heritage pack which launched in the North American e-shop earlier this year. Now there are seven tiles you will pick up in this, in this compilation, and five are on cartridge, while Knights of the Old Republic games will need to be downloaded. Star Wars, the Forced and Leashed, republic, commando, episode 1, racer, jedi Knight, jedi Academy, jedi Knight 2, jedi Outcast, knights of the Old Republic and Knights of the Old Republic 2, the Sith Lords are Are all in the collection and I've played Knights of the Old Republic. You know that is a good game, so you know I recommend Buying it. Well, you know, while the buying is good.
Speaker 1:Anyway, addition to streaming on Disney Plus, all 11 live-action Star Wars movies will also be available on Disney linear networks, including ABC FX freeform, starting this month. The arrangements stems from Disney renegotiating the existing domestic licensing agreement With Waterbirds Discovery's Turner Networks, which will continue to carry the full suite of movies. Now the development Comes as the seven-year term for the Turner Networks deal for the first six Star Wars movies Consisting of the two George Lucas trilogues Expired at the end of the September, with the windows on the newer films staggered as to expire different times over the next couple of years. The new co-exclusive multi-year deal aligns with terms of the 11 films for both the Disney and Turner networks which will end at the same time. Now the fate of the entire Domestic linear TV rights beyond that has not been determined and I know you know you could see TNT this past weekend did show all of the Star Wars movies, but of course I watched all the Matrix movies on on Other networks.
Speaker 1:Anyway, let's go on to the Star Trek news. Will this season of Star Trek Lord decks be its last? That's the reality of the situation, according to series creator Mike McBan, while Star Trek Lord decks has been renewed for another season and the team behind the anime comedy is hard to work on that season. Five man observes in an interview with Cinnablend the seeming contraction of the Star Trek franchise on Paramount Plus Concurrent with the overall cutting back of content by streaming services, which may end up Showing the writing on the wall, and McMahon opens up about how that makes him feel about Star Trek Lord decks future and Encouraged fans to be vocal about the love of their series before it gets canceled so that maybe it can avoid the situation which Star Trek project finds itself in now.
Speaker 1:Man said quote yeah, I mean, listen, we're in weird times. Everything is changing. I think everything is gonna continue to change. I would say nothing is safe. I don't have any bad news for anybody. But also I think you shouldn't assume that this stuff is gonna stick around unless you vocally and watch out and watch it early on. I do not know if we're going to have another season after the season we're working on right now season five.
Speaker 1:Lord decks could very well be just a five season show. So if you love Lord decks as much as I do, I would say make sure to watch it and keep watching it. Make sure to watch it and get people to watch it. Now a Leroy and campaign after the show gets canceled it's helpful, but what's more helpful is campaigning to get more eyes on the show when it's airing, because it gives me the ability to push For more seasons. I'd love to finish Lord decks with a plan that I have for it. I would say take projie looking for a new network and take a look at card being wrapped at season three and it has Discovery wrapping as well. I would say read those as signs that if you want more Lord decks you should be vocal about now and not wait. So in other words, get to watching and writing folks, otherwise we might not have us as a season six yet to come. And with that let's go on to the geek news. And we begin geek news with a little bit of a politics story, but bear with me.
Speaker 1:Saturday, governor Gavin Newsom of California signed AB418, a bill effectively banning skittles and other popular candy from sale within the state of California. The additives impacted with the signing of the bill include bromide vegetable oil, potassium bromate probably properly in parabén and red dye. Number three. Now that the bill has become law, products with any of the aforementioned additives will be unable to be manufactured, sold, delivered, distributed, held or offered for sale within the state of California beginning January 1, 2027. Now, in a statement shared by Newsom's office after the bill signing, the governor points out skittles and other candies have been able to alter the recipes for the products in their national markets, removing the banned substances.
Speaker 1:There have been many misconceptions about this bill and its impacts. For example, attached to this message is a bag of the popular candy skittles, which became the face of this proposal. This particular bag of candy comes from the European Union, a place that already bans a number of chemical additives and colorants. This is demonstrable proof that the food industry is capable of maintaining product lines while complying with different public health laws country to country. Now the National Confectures Association itself issued a statement railing against Newsom's signing, saying that the FDA has approved the now banned ingredients for use elsewhere. They're making decisions based on sound by swear-thin science. Governor Newsom's approval of this bill will undermine consumer confidence and create confusion around food safety. This law replaces a uniform national food safety system with a patchwork of inconsistent state requirements created by a legislative fiat that will increase food costs. This is a slippery slope that the FDA could prevent by engaging on this important topic. We should be relying on the scientific rigor of the FDA in terms of valuing the safety of food and greens and additives.
Speaker 1:Now, addition to skittles, red Dye no 3 is found in pez hot tamales and double bubble gum. Roamed vegetable oil is typically found in your citrus soft drinks. Now, none of the companies that produce the above candies have offered a statement about the new law. You know, I say if you can replace them, replace them. Why risk your customers getting sick over your products? That's all folks thatっと. Again, thanks, you know, just do it. Don't fight it, just do it. Anyway, netflix has renewed Castlevania Nocturne for a second season Now. The first season of the animated series debuted September 28th. It's the next installment of the Castlevania universe that, picking up 300 years after the end of the original series, which ran for four seasons on Netflix.
Speaker 1:Tom Hanks is warning fans that his AI likeness is being used for an unauthorized commercial. In the clip, a much younger version Of Hanks is being seen hawking some kind of dental service. The star said on Instagram quote beware, there's a video out there promoting some dental plan with an AR version of me. I have nothing to do with it. Tom Hanks now unquote a.
Speaker 1:Needless to say, critics of this technology have seen this day coming for years now. As various businesses rush to incorporate AI as fast as possible, this kind of likeness theft is only going to become more commonplace as time goes by. Now, a lot of people Critical of AR and design have heralded how the technology could be misused in exactly this manner. Worse Yet, decision-makers continues to soldier on in face in the face of those objections, through their own detriment. Basically, take everything with a grain of salt, a huge grain of salt.
Speaker 1:Anyway, we closed with some sad news. Shana Tropic, the Emmy nominated costume designer who worked on the Star Wars series, the Mandalorian, the book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, has passed away. She was 56 years old. Tropic died suddenly of an unknown cause in Palm Palm Desert on Wednesday. According to her daughter, sarah who, who talked to the Hollywood reporter, quote, shana was one of Hollywood's preeminent science fiction costume designers, a creative force, a trusted collaborator and All around his lightful person for her friends and colleagues. According Her representative, tim Crestman, said in a statement, she was a beloved member of the Star Wars Lucasfilm family, as well as the community of costume designers and the costume designers guild. Shana was a dear friend and a dream client to work with unquote. Born in October 18th 1966, our test Artesia, california, tropic originally intended to be a truck driver in high school, but she had an art teacher who inspired her to pursue being an artist. She went on to attend OT's College of Art and Design for Fashion and worked with Bob Macky's team during her senior year. She received her first costume designer credit in 1990.
Speaker 1:Tropic began regular work on Lucasfilm Productions in 2019, beginning with the second season of the Mandalorian, and also worked on the book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka. Her other credits include the Ball of John, st George, frankenstein's, monster's Monster, frankenstein Carrie, tiger II Mountain, revival Witches of East End, the Cabin of the Woods this Is the End Firefly, angel Cable, torchwood, husband's Lust for Love and Dollhouse Ahsoka. Creator Dave Filigny wrote. Quote Shana had a deep love and appreciation for Star Wars. You can see that in every piece of work she did with us. She loved everything about being a part of these stories, including connecting with fans and being a part of that community. I feel like she was always been a part of Star Wars. Her costumes tell a story, providing the suggestion of a life experience that happened before the cameras rolled. I loved working with Shana and I will miss her presence. John Favreau added her quote. Her creativity brought this world to life. She will be deeply missed, both as a friend and as a colleague. Unquote Now.
Speaker 1:She earned Emmy nominations for her efforts on the Mandalorian, boba Fett and Season 3 of the Mandalorian, and also won a Costumes of Throne Guild Award for her design work on Boba Fett. In August, trippix spoke with Gold Derby about why she loved creating designs for the science fiction genre. Quote what I enjoy about Star Wars is having is, I have total freedom with that genre. I find the challenge of creating something from nothing incredible. I love creating worlds. I love it when we go to a new planet. I love establishing a cast system within the planet the workers, the government, the bosses. I love creating a believable society on each planet. Unquote. Shana is survived by her son, joseph. The family set up a GoFundMe page to help with her final expenses. Again, shana Tropic was 58 years old 56 years old, excuse me. And that brings us to the end of the show for today.
Speaker 1:Now please be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Twitter, at Multiverse, tom. We're also on Facebook and Instagram as well, and now you can also friend me over on threads. Just look for Multiverse tonight. Now, if you found value in the show and I hope you did please feel free to contribute to the show, check our show notes, visit our T-Public store and so much more at MultiverseTonightcom. There's just links there for everything.
Speaker 1:If you're a subscriber, thank you very much. Be sure to share this with friends, family, heck, enemies. If you're brand new to the show, thank you very much. Please be sure to hit that subscribe button If you want to release some feedback and let us know how we're doing. That would also be appreciated. Special thanks to Shane Ivers for the intro music and Lobo Loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Be back with us in two weeks for the 200th edition of Multiverse Tonight and, hopefully someday soon, another edition of the Spinner Rack. Now, please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of half-baked genre productions. Copyright 2023. All rights reserve. This podcast is part of the Popcos, the Culture Podcast Network. Find out more about our other podcast at popcosdiculturecom.
