Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Marvel Hits 50,000
Can you guess who just threw down a $4.3 billion gauntlet in the entertainment world? Get ready for a rollercoaster of information, starting with Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s audacious bid to take control of Paramount Global, potentially outmaneuvering Skydance Media. Then, celebrate with us as we spotlight Sandro Rosta's entry into the Star Trek universe through the much-anticipated Starfleet Academy series. We also navigate through the turbulent Star Wars updates, including the sudden end of The Acolyte and some exclusive perks for Disney Plus subscribers in Star Wars Outlaws. Our DC Comics segment promises excitement with a new Black Lightning miniseries that continues the saga from the Absolute Power crossover event.
Marvel fans, brace yourselves as we honor the comic giant's 50,000th release and their 85th anniversary with some extraordinary stories, including a futuristic adventure featuring Wolverine and Deadpool. We then address a more somber topic: the tragic on-set accident involving rigger Juan Carlos Osorio during the production of Marvel Studios' Wonder Man. Horror aficionados will be thrilled about the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's "Salem's Lot," debuting on Max this October, as well as updates on Rupert Saunders' reboot of "The Crow," starring Bill Skarsgård. Finally, nostalgia kicks in with the exciting return of "The Librarians: The Next Chapter" to its TNT roots. Tune in for all these stories and so much more on this jam-packed episode of Multiverse Tonight!
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Tonight. Paramount gets a new bidder, no Act, Light Season 2, berlanti gets an honor, marvel 50,000, and Salem's Lot comes to max. All that and more in this edition of Multiverse Tonight Comic 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 222 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley, and for those watching on Twitch and Kik and YouTube, you might notice a big empty space behind me, to my right. Yeah, so here's what's going on Starting to pack the office, so we're going to be moving here within the next month.
Speaker 1:So we're getting down to the office. So we're going to be moving here within the next month. So we're getting down to the end. So I had to start packing stuff. In Still got a little ways to go. You see, there's still several rows of pictures to go, but everything's moving fine. Today we're getting some new windows into the place. What Almost two weeks to my vacation, so it's a nice time. But anyway, we got some news to cover, so let's get into it with the Star Trek news.
Speaker 1:And Star Trek news begins with some business news, edgar Bromfman Jr formally submitted an initial $4.3 billion bid to take control of Paramount Global and stopped the existing offer from Skydance Media. According to a person familiar with the matter, the media executive and Seagram co-spirit's heir is offering to buy National Amusements Incorporated, the Redstone family holding company that owns the majority of Paramount's voting stock, for about $2.4 billion, including liabilities going to the person who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. Bronfman also plans to invest $1.5 billion in Paramount to reduce the company's debt, receiving shares worth $16 each. In exchange, non-redstone holders of the company's Class A voting stock will have the option of receiving $24.53 a share in cash or $1.53 Class B shares Within two years. Bronfen plans to eliminate Paramount's dual share classes, extending voting privileges to all investors. Eliminate Paramount's dual share classes, extending voting privileges to all investors. Bronfen plans to pay a $400 million breakup fee for the Skydance deal. Overall, he's raised $5.5 billion, with plans to sweeten his offer later.
Speaker 1:Paramount non-voting shares closed down 1.2% to $10.94 in New York. The Wall Street Journal reported on the Broffin offer late last Monday. Now the parent of CBS, mtv and our meat businesses has already accepted the offer from Skydance, led by Dave Ellison, the son of the Oracle Corp's co-founder, larry Ellison. Their merger agreement included a 45-day period in which Paramount can review other offers. Now that expired last Wednesday night, though, paramount can extend discussions with other parties until September 5th Now. The Ellison-led group also offered $2.4 billion for national amusements and agreed to invest $6 billion more in buying Paramount shares, paying down debt and plans to merge Skydance with Paramount for shares worth $4.75 billion. Now Bronfman is expected to argue that his proposal is superior because it will result in less dilution for Paramount's non-Redstone shareholders. He has people on his team including Stephen Paul, former broadcasting executive, john Martin and Jonathan Miller, a tech executive who has partners with Shari Redstone. Paramount's chair, now money manager Mario Ghibli, the largest holder of Paramount voting shares other than the Redstone family, said in an interview that Bronfen has credibility, but he also wasn't sure that Bronfen is offering enough to top Ellison. Now, a couple days ago, the Paramount Special Committee extended the GoShop period, as Edgar Bronfen Jr raised his bid to $6 billion, according to Deadlinecom, paramount Plus has announced that Sandro Rosta has joined the cast of the original series Star Trek Starfleet Academy as a cadet.
Speaker 1:The upcoming series will follow the adventures of a new class of Starfleet cadets as they become to age in the most legendary places in the galaxy. Produced by CBS Studios, the highly anticipated new series will begin production later this month. And now let's go on to the Star Wars news. Roger roger, some sad news to begin Star Wars news. Roger roger, some sad news to begin Star Wars news. The Acolyte will not be returning for a second season. Lucasfilm has decided not to continue with the series following its first season, which depicted the rise of the Sith roughly 100 years before the events of the Phantom Menace. The news comes at once as a shock, given how much the season one finale ended on a cliffhanger and teased several plot lines for season two. But not much of a surprise, given the wildly opposing reception from fans and less than robust viewership that appeared to drop off after the series premiere in June. Fans are hoping to talk Disney into another season, but chances are slim.
Speaker 1:When Star Wars Outlaws releases later this month, players that subscribe to Disney Plus will be able to get a special in-game item. This item is the Nyx Tail Wrappings, which provides a unique blue wrapping that appears on the tail of KVS's in-game companion. All in all, it's kind of a minor freebie, but it's hard to disagree with that free price point. The next tail wrapping item will be available to claim now by going to Ubisoft's official website. The offer will only be available through November 15th.
Speaker 1:And now let's go on to the DC News, and we begin DC News with DC's November 2024 solicitations. The publisher has officially announced a new Black Lightning miniseries from writer Brandon Thomas and artist Fico Osayo, spanning five issues. The Black Lightning title will be spaying out the events of the recent Absolute Power crossover event, as well as Jefferson's role in Mark Waid and Dan Moore's Justice League Unlimited series. The series, which is part of DC's All In initiative, will co-star Jefferson's superhero daughters, anissa Pierce Thunder and Jennifer Pierce. Lightning. Black Lightning number one will arrive on Wednesday, november 13th with a main cover by OCO and variant covers by Sanford Green, torrin Clark and Juliet Nneka. Brandon Thomas told the Beat quote. Brandon Thomas told the Beat quote.
Speaker 1:In the wake of absolute power, everything's changed for Jefferson Pierce and his family. He's embraced a critical front-facing role with the newly reborn Justice League Unlimited and has also created a crisis response unit that confronts and defuses newly emerging metahumans before their powers become a danger to themselves and others. Unquote In Black Lightning. Black Lightning is back, and this time it's a family affair. Jefferson Pierce leads the Justice League's new metahuman outreach initiative In Black Lightning. Black Lightning is back, and this time it's a family affair. Jefferson Pierce leads the Justice League's new MetaHuman Outreach Initiative, helping those with powers before they can cause harm to themselves or others. But everything changes when it's his own daughter who comes to him for help With Thunder's dangerous new powers and the new Masters of Disaster, jeopardizing the coexistence between humans and Metas. Black Lightning is on the front lines of a culture war brewing in the suburbs of Metropolis.
Speaker 1:Also announced DC announced that Batgirl, a new ongoing solo series centered around Cassandra Cain, will be coming out. Batgirl will be written by Tate Brumbell with art by Takashi Maezawa. The solo adventure, which is Cassandra's first in two decades, will be dealing with her unique relationship with her birth mother, lady Shiva. The first issue will be available wherever comics are sold on Wednesday, november 6th, with a main cover by David Talusky, with variant covers by Jeff Deckel, stanley Art, germ Lau, with cardstock and foil versions and Skylar Partridge. Bromble said in a statement Okay and lots of martial arts, ass-kicking. The only way Cass can do Batgirl is back in her own title and the world won't know what hit it.
Speaker 1:Greg Berlanti has had nothing short of a prolific career in the entertainment industry, exec producing a record-breaking number of television shows across networks and genres. Berlanti's career has spawned everything from Dawson's Creek to Riverdale to you to the CW's Arrowverse of DC shows, and now it looks like he'll be honored in a prestigious way. On Thursday, it was announced that Berlanti will be the latest recipient of the Governor's Award at the 76th Annual Emmy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, september 15th in Los Angeles. The Governor's Award recognizes figures or organizations that have quote made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and or science of television. Unquote TV Academy Chair, chris Abrego, said in a statement quote Greg is an extraordinary creator who constantly delivers characters and stories that are in dialogue with the real world. From the beginning of his career, his commitment to representing three-dimensional LBTQ plus characters in particular has paved the way for greater cultural understanding and acceptance of a community that is often under attack in both social and political discourse, for seizing the power of television to move our culture forward. The Academy is honored to select Greg Berlanti for this year's Governor's Award. Congrats, greg.
Speaker 1:Dan Fogler is stepping out of the wizarding world and into the Batcave. The Fantastic Beasts actor will play longtime Batman executive producer, michael Uslan, in a stage play based on Uslan's 2011 memoir the Boy who Loved Batman. Neanderlander Worldwide Productions will be the producer. The memoir, published in 2019, told his origin story as a comic book geek who went from teaching a comic book class as a junior at Indiana University in Bloomington to working at DC during summers. He then went on to law school and suddenly landed a job at United Artists. Next, he had a front row seat to the rise of early comic book movies, specifically those featuring the Caped Crusader. Uslan has been credited on every Batman-related movie, including Batman-adjacent films like Joker and Justice League, since Tim Burton's 1989 original. It all dates back to a 1979 deal he and former MGM executive Benjamin Melnicker made to buy the film rights to Batman back when Warner Bros did not see the value in the property. Uslan quips. Dan's exceptional talent, comic timing, impressive stage presence and deep enthusiastic roots as an unabashed fanboy made him the perfect actor to take on the obviously chouncing role of Michael Uslan. From the first moment he was given the script, dan has been spot on in his approach to the material and I could not be happier. They agreed to join us in the journey. The play will run from October 1st to November 10th at the Strauss Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, florida, with hopes that it will eventually get to Broadway.
Speaker 1:Now let's go on to the Marvel Comics News, and we begin Marvel Comics News with James Spader, who's making a return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ultron in Vision Quest, the upcoming Disney Plus series that doesn't have an official title just yet, although it's been referred to as Vision Quest. To call back to the popular Vision storyline in the comics, fans last heard James Spader as Ultron in Avengers Age of Ultron, where he was the main antagonist against the Avengers. Ultron was ultimately killed by Vision at the end of the movie, but any comic book fan knows that there is always a way around death, and Spader and Ultron appear to be on the rebound. According to the Hollywood Reporter, james Spader will reprise his voice role as Ultron in Marvel's Vision streaming series for Disney+ Star Trek Picard showrunner Terry Metallus is helming what's being loosely referred to as Vision Quest and follows up on the events of WandaVision, with Vision's white robotic body going in search of an identity. Paul D Bettany plays the android Avenger, who is brought back to life after his death at the hands of Thanos in Avengers, infinity War.
Speaker 1:Marvel Comics is going big for the publication of its 50,000th comic book. The first comic tied to Marvel actually goes back to 1939 with the release of Marvel Comics no 1 from Pulp Magazine publisher Martin Goodman's Timely Comics, which is the predecessor to today's Marvel Comics. Since then, fans have been amazed by the adventures of Spider-Man, fantastic Four, x-men, avengers and many more. We're coming upon the 85th anniversary of the comics release and Marvel has assembled an all-star cast of creators to tell stories set in the far future of the year 50,000. Comic Book has the exclusive preview of Marvel's 85th anniversary special, number one, which features sneak peeks at six stories, including an opening. Comic Book has the exclusive preview of Marvel 85th Anniversary Special no 1, which features sneak peeks at six stories, including an opening featuring Deadpool and Wolverine, by Ryan North, joshua Kassar and Dean White.
Speaker 1:The Herald of Tomorrow by Ms Marvel actress and writer Iman Villani, sabir Prezido and Steven Byrne. An Excalibur story Is the Lighthouse Haunted or Are we at the Nexus of Infinity? Multiverse by Alan Davis and Rochelle Rosenberg story is the lighthouse haunted or are we at the nexus of infinity? Multiverse by alan davis and rachel rosenberg, rush hour story, man spiderman story by christopher priest, carl pulglin, jason paths and moro hollowell. The moon warrior by yukio kaku and ken kaneda, and the contest of champions by steve skroche and brian valenza. The special one shot is layered by VCs Joe Kamanga with a cover by Kari Andrews. The exclusive preview opens in the future, where an unaged Wolverine is joined by the floating half-Deadpool at the Tour and Alien Museum. The tour is centered on holographic reconstructions of artifacts such as Ms Marvel's scarf, captain America's shield, thor's hammer, the Infinity Gauntlet and much more, which sends readers into their own individual stories. What is Marvel's 85th anniversary special about? The issue goes on sale Wednesday August 28th.
Speaker 1:And now this is a bit of sad news. Disney has been fined $36,000 after a Cal OSHA ruling related to the death of Juan Carlos Osorio on the set of Marvel Comics' Marvel Studios' Wonder man back in February. Asario, 41, was a rigger working at Radford Studios in Studio City and died on February 6 while collecting and removing lighting cable equipment high on Stage 3. Per a Cal OSHA report, as the crew walked among the catwalks, the employee Asario stood on the weakened section of a catwalk. Suddenly, and without warning, the ledger supporting the floorboard broke apart and collapsed as the employee was standing on this section of catwalk. The employee fell 41 feet and forcefully impacted the ground below. He died at the scene. The series was not shooting at the time. And with that note, let's go on to the Geek News.
Speaker 1:Fans will make sure they're subscribed to Max as they can check out the new adaptation of Salem's Lot. The producing teams behind the record-breaking horror franchises the Conjuring Universe and the it films are re-nighting for Salem's Lot, the film adaptation of Stephen King's 1975 best-selling novel of the same name. There was recently some uncertainty surrounding Salem's Lot when it was moved from theatrical to streaming release. However, the feature film starring Lewis Pullman is still on the schedule and will arrive just in time for the Halloween season. Salem's Lot will make its streaming debut on Max in October, though a firm premiere date has not been officially announced. New images with the announcement feature the Salem slot cast of Lewis Pullman, alfred Woodard, mackenzie Lay, bill Camp, spencer, treat Clark.
Speaker 1:It's the crazy sugar high of a scene. I thought, yeah, this is what this is. This is a drive-in movie. He told Vanity Fair Quote. This is. This is a drive-in movie, he told Vanity Fair Quote, as with most horror movies, I think audiences really will elevate the experience. So I think getting as many people as you can cram on the couch would be my preferred way to watch this.
Speaker 1:Rupert Saunders' the Crow is a new take of the Dark 99 comic book, but there is one element of the franchise's history that the director was determined not to replicate. During the production of the 1994 film Adaptation of the Crow, star Brandon Lee was accidentally shot and killed on set due to an accident by the film's prop department. That tragedy was echoed decades later in the set of Rust in October 2021, when Alina Hutchins was fatally shot with real rounds, accidentally by Alec Baldwin. Now, given that Sonder shot his film in 2022, both incidents reinforced the director's insistence on having as safe a set as possible. The Crow reboot stars it and John Wick 4 actor Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven, who is killed alongside his girlfriend Shelly In a limbo. Between life and death, eric makes it his mission to avenge their murders.
Speaker 1:In an interview with Variety, saunders could champion the use of airsoft guns on set instead of real guns. Quote the beauty of the airsoft is that the slide of the Glock will still move back, but then you have to add the shell casing. He said you have to add a muzzle, flash and smoke, but that was a price worth paying. It took a fair bit of money out of the very limited visual effects budget but I think it was worth it. The visual effects on this movie were very much in camera. We were mainly a location shot with extension. So you have to balance where you spend the money when you don't have a massive budget to do visual effects. But to me that was a very worthwhile spend for everyone's safety and comfort.
Speaker 1:Going on, this project, the Librarians the next chapter, is getting a new chapter. The CW planned sequel to the Librarians had previously been shelved earlier this month, but Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that the Librarians the next chapter, the follow-up to the series on TNT, will now be making its move to TNT. Callum McGowan will star as Vikaram Chamberlain, olivia Morris will star as Lysa Pascal, jessica Green as Charlie Cornwall and Bluey Robinson as Connor Green in the Librarians, the Next Chapter and Bluey Robinson as Connor Green in the Librarians, the next chapter. The move brings the show full circle as the Librarians was originally a spin-off of the three librarian movies starring Noah Wiley which originally aired on TNT. So it's all coming back. I like the Librarians. That's a good series. If you ever need to go check it out, go check it out. It's great.
Speaker 1:Amazon MGM Studios has tapped veteran television producers Kalinda Vasquez and Robbie Thompson to serve as writers, co-showrunners and executive producers on the Poltergeist TV series based on the 1982 horror film. The project was first announced to be in the works last October, with Steven Spielberg, who co-wrote the Tobey Hooper-directed original producing hit with it via his Amblin TV, with exec producers Daryl Frank and Justin Flauvi. According to Variety Now, vasquez started her career as a writer and story editor on Prison Break seasons three and four and executive story editor on the has-derived DC comic-based Fox action series Human human target. She's written episodes of the show, nikita abc's fantasy adventure series once upon a time and the marvel inspired series runaways. Most recently, vasquez penned two season four episodes of fear of the walking dead, an episode discovery and the five issues of marvel comics america chavez, made in the usa. Thompson, whose credits include episodes of jericho, Humitarga and Cursed, created the 2009 sci-fi series Ark and served as executive story editor on the CW's Supernatural. Thompson created the Supernatural spin-off the Winchesters, which was cancelled after one 13-episode season in 2023, and has written a number of Marvel Comics, including Doctor Strange and Sorcerer, supreme, venom, space Knight, spidey and Silk, whose series was also recently scrapped by Amazon, mgm and finally, tonight, Oscar Wilde's iconic novel, the Picture of Dorian Gray, will be getting a modern facelift.
Speaker 1:On Tuesday, reports confirmed that Netflix is developing the Greys, a new live-action streaming series from Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros Television. The new series will be written by the sibling duo of Supergirl alum, katie Rose Rogers and All-American's Robbie Rogers, both of whom work together on Fellow Travelers. Berlanti Productions' Greg Berlanti, sarah Schneider and Lea London Redman will produce, alongside showrunner Rina Mooman and pilot episode director Lee Toland-Krager. This is the latest project Berlanti Productions has in the works for Netflix, in addition to a new live-action take on Scooby-Doo, because we all need more live-action takes on Scooby-Doo. The Graze is described as a contemporary take on the Oscar Wilde classic about our fascination with the eternal youth, set against the backdrop of modern beauty industry. In a twist from the Gothic novel, the series revolves around siblings, basil and Dorian Gray.
Speaker 1:So what do you think? Do we need a new version of Dorian Gray? I mean, it's a strange tale and all. But you know, what do you think? Write to us and that brings us to the end of this edition of the show. Please be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Blue Sky and Twitter, at Multiverse Tom Threads, facebook and Instagram at Multiverse Tonight.
Speaker 1:And if you've gotten some value out of the show and would like to pay it back, please head on over to multiversetonightcom where you can find our Patreon and Ko-fi links. Check our show notes, visit our TeePublic store, leave some feedback and so much more, and if you leave some feedback, maybe I'll read it here on the air, if you're this is your first time listening. Thank you very much and welcome. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button. Share it with friends, family, others, strangers, people you hate, people you love. I'm not picky. Special thanks to Shane Ivers for the intro music and Lobo Loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Night. We'll be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion, good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked Genre Productions. Copyright 2024, all rights reserved. This podcast is part of the pop goes to culture podcast network. Check us out at pop goes to culture online.
