Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Say My Name Three Times
Ready to geek out? Discover the secrets behind some of the most exciting developments in entertainment on this episode of Multiverse Tonight! Unearth the treasures of Star Trek memorabilia that have hardcore Trekkies buzzing, and learn about the beloved Jerry Goldsmith score that’s making a comeback in its 45th anniversary edition. Get the scoop on Denzel Washington’s thrilling new role in Black Panther 3, alongside Ryan Coogler, which promises to be a cinematic masterpiece. Plus, I’ll share a bit of my personal life—like the chaos of reorganizing my office and the sweet relief of upgrading to a blazing-fast Wi-Fi 7 router.
But that's not all! We’ve got juicy entertainment gossip, including Amazon's strategic move to bring Freebie content under Prime Video, and Kevin Smith's tantalizing hints at a "Dogma" sequel starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Intrigued by Lady Gaga's brief but exciting role in the new "Wednesday" season on Netflix? We've got that covered too. You’ll also hear about Sophie Turner's potential leap into the role of Lara Croft and the exciting news for Ghostbusters aficionados with films and a series in the pipeline. Lastly, join us in a heartfelt tribute to Tony Todd, celebrating the legacy he leaves behind in the "Candyman" franchise.
Thanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/
Tonight, kirk's seat sold, denzel is Wakandan forever, Simon Kinberg's new trilogy, kevin Smith makes more dogma, and remember Tony Todd. All then more on 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 227 of Multiverse Tonight.
Speaker 1:I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley, and it's been a rainy past week. Today we got another inch of rain. It's basically been November, has been kind of the monsoon season this month. So anyway, you know, not a lot has gone on. If you look behind me in the video, you'll see there's a new bookcase for my books because I'm trying to get the floor of this office cleaned up. It's getting to be a hassle, and other than that, you know, not too much going on at the moment. Of course, we're headed towards Thanksgiving, christmas time.
Speaker 1:Oh, one thing I did I went out and had to buy a brand new top-of-the-line router for my internet today. It's always the way when you move, everything breaks down before you get there or when you get there. So let's turn. It was time for the router, so I went ahead and uh, future-proofed myself, getting a wi-fi 7 uh router, so it should be ready for anything comes down the pike. Plus, given you know who won the election uh, you know it it's it's a good idea to buy stuff ahead as much as you can right now, folks, because who knows what the prices will be this time next year?
Speaker 1:Anyway, let's get on with the Star Trek news. Four and a half decades ago, the Star Trek franchise explored a new frontier motion pictures. The soundtrack to that journey is now beaming its way back into the hearts and minds of its fans. On November 15th, enjoy the Ride Records, in conjunction with Paramount Music, will release the 45th anniversary deluxe edition of composer Jerry Goldsmith's score for Star Trek the Motion Picture the director's edition, restored, remixed and mastered from first-generation multi-track masters by Bruce Botnick, goldsmith's longtime engineer and the original album executive producer. 80 minutes of music from Robert Wise's inaugural big-screen update of the Iconic Television series will be pressed into double 140-gram vinyl, a reissue label. La La Land restoration expert Mike Metzano co-produced the album with Botnik, coordinating the new releases, editing and track assembly. The pressing, which is limited to 1,000 copies across five color vinyl variants to be distributed across different online retailers, is housed in a rainbow foil laminated gatefold cut jacket with a double-sided full-color insert. A gatefold cut jacket with a double-sided full-color insert. Enjoy the ride and light in the attic. Records will have exclusive color vinyl variants in the US while and at the movies will issue additional variants in Europe. So it does not sound peachy.
Speaker 1:Star Trek memorabilia sold at warp speed over the weekend, raking in 33.6 million as buyers blasted past anticipated prices. The bid where no man has gone before. Julian's Auctions, bidlong and Prosper set records for numerous prop sales, with the long-lost phaser of William Shatner's Captain, james T Kirk, fetching a record $910,000, which is nine times more than expected, making it the highest-selling Star Trek prop ever, the auction house said this past Sunday the second-highest prize went to the Kirk's Communicare which took in $780,000, or about eight times the projected asking price. Kirk's bridge chair went for $44,450. $34,450. The tunic worn by James Doohan as Montgomery Scott, the USS Enterprise engineer, affectionately known as Scotty, went for $50,800, along with a DVD the auction house said had been projected to sell between $25,000 and $30,000. A generic female engineering duty uniform, expected to sell for $3,000, $5,000, sold for $114,300. Now the Airprys' original helm and navigation console went for $260,000, five times more than the $50,000 to $70,000 it was supposed to bring in. Other treasures include posters, signed cast photos, sketches of the sets and components and the miniature of the Galileo shuttle used for filming.
Speaker 1:The original series wasn't the only draw. Pieces from the Next Generation Voyager and other franchise series offered up. Props Catherine Janeway's command chair from Voyager sold for $41,257, seven times its estimate. Star Trek ran for just three seasons, initially from 1966 to 1969, but took a life of its own with several movies, spinoffs, series and reboots. And with that let's head on over to the Marvel News.
Speaker 1:I love that piece of music, by the way. By the way, if you're on YouTube, you can use that piece of music for free. A copyright thing, a thing that says they'll find copyright music will come up, but you can use it absolutely free. The copyright holder does not care. True Honest engine Denzel Washington revealed in August that there are very few films left for him to make at this stage in his career, but we now know that Black Panther 3 is one of them.
Speaker 1:Speaking to Australia's Today while on the press tour for Gladiator 2, washington said that director Ryan Coogler is writing him a role in the third Black Panther film. It will be one of Washington's final movies, along with a new Steve McQueen project and a film adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello Quote. For me, it's about the filmmakers. Especially at this point in my career, I'm only interested in working with the best. He said. I don't know how many more films I'm going to make. It's probably not that many. I want to do things I haven't done. I played Othello at 22. I'm about to play Othello at 70, he continued. After that I am playing Hannibal. After that I've been talking to Steve McQueen about a film. After that, ryan Coogler's riding apart from me in the next Black Panther. After that I'm going to do the film Othello. After that I'm going to do King Lear. After that I'm going to retire.
Speaker 1:While the Steve McQueen project remains under wraps, netflix has already announced it's backing Antoine Fuquas' four-movie that will star Washington as the ancient Corinthian General, hannibal. As for Black Panther 3, marvel has yet to officially announce the sequel, but fans have been expecting a third tentpole from Coogler, given the success of the franchise. Hey, denzel, you want to do something you've never done before? Star Trek, come on. Anyway, let's go on to the Star Wars news. Roger roger, star Wars news begins with Star Wars fans, having been getting some big news recently, with a new trilogy in the works and now a heavily anticipated Star Wars TV series has just received an official release date. That series would be Andor, the critically acclaimed series that some thought might not get a second season, but thankfully it's not the case. Now it's been very quiet on the Andor front for a while, but the Disney Plus mobile app recently updated with Andor advertising and at the bottom of the poster it now reads Season 2 coming April 22.
Speaker 1:Tying into one of Star Wars' biggest celebrations, simon Kinberg has signed an expansive deal to write and produce a new Star Wars feature trilogy. Kinberg would spearhead the launching of a new saga in the beloved galaxy far, far away and will write the scripts for what Lucasfilm hopes could chart a brand new path forward for the sci-fi space opera universe. Lucasfilm topper, kathleen Kennedy, will also produce the new trilogy. The story is not meant to be a continuation of the Skywalker saga, the name of the overall arc of the popular and pop culture dominating series, star Wars movies known as Episodes 1 through 9. The intent here is to have brand new characters and a new story and not have it be a continuation. According to sources to the Hollywood Reporter, although that, of course, doesn't mean that some characters would or would not pop up.
Speaker 1:Kinberg already has strong Star Wars ties. He co-created the animated series Star Wars Rebels as well as, which ran for four seasons from 2014 to 2018. He also helped out on the relaunch of Star Wars after Disney bought Lucasfilm, acting as consultant on the Force Awakens. Kinberg is an established presence in the genre space, having a hand in the Fox X-Men movies, being one of the producers of Logan and the first two Deadpool movies. Among many other creative duties, he is also about to go into production on Edgar Wright's take on the Stephen King tale, the Running man, for Paramount. The writer-producer is one of the busiest creatives in town and he's helping to develop the rival Star Trek franchise for Paramount, a deal he stepped into this past spring. He was due to take an active producing role on the franchise's film side. Sources say he will maintain those duties, keeping one hand on a lightsaber and the other on a phaser.
Speaker 1:Lucasfilm has tried to chart different paths forward before Kennedy previously signed filmmaker Rian Johnson to develop a trilogy, as well as Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and DB Weiss. None of those actually came to fruition, with the company facing occasional scrutiny over the years. Lucasfilm will next launch a TV series, skelton Crew, which debuts on Disney Plus on December 3rd. However, disney has pulled a new Star Wars movie, dated for December 18th 2026, off the calendar. Now we hear it wasn't certain that pertained to the continuing adventures of Daisy Ridley's Rey Skywalker, so your mileage may vary. Now let's have a little DC Comics News.
Speaker 1:Dc Comics News begins with Porina Jaganathan from I Never have I Ever having been tapped for a heavily recurring role in Lanterns, the HBO drama series based on the Green Lantern comic. She joins series regulars Kyle Chandler, aaron Pierre and Kelly McDonald, as well as her fellow recruit Garrett Dillahunt. The series from Chris Mundy, david Lindelof and Tom King follows new recruit Jon Stewart and lantern legend Hal Jordan, two air galactic cops drawn into a dark Earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. So Ohio Jug and Nathan will play Zoe, who is effortlessly confident and poised in a setting. Even though it's where she stands out, she's every bit as composed and cunning of the influential men around her. Zoe is rumored to be the love interest for. John McDonald plays Hal's love interest. Sheriff Kerry Dillahunt plays modern cowboy William Macon. The eighth episode of Lanterns is produced by HBO in association with Warner Bros Television and DC Studios. Mundy, who serves as showrunner, lindelof and King are co-writing and executive producing. James Hawes is directing the first two episodes and also executive producing. Zoe will be a recurring role, allowing Jaganathan to do it, as she is a series regular on Onyx Collective's upcoming Hulu comedy series, deli Boys.
Speaker 1:Jaganathan, known for her role in the Netflix comedy series Never have I Ever also was part of the main cast of the Apple movie Wolves. So what do you think? Do you think this sounds like a good? Basically, it's Green Lantern crime noir. Maybe, maybe not. Take it, leave it Anyway.
Speaker 1:Let's go on to the geek news. Geek News begins with Ice Age 6 officially on the way. Now. Disney had the stars of the Ice Age animated movies, including Greg Romano, queen Latifah and John Leguizamo, cut a promo video for Disney's D23 Brazil Expo in which they let fans know that movie number six is officially in the works. Romano does a bit for the video, in which he's actually on a soundstage made to look like a wintery scene, fully committing to acting out the frozen climate. Latifah makes it seem like she sent the cold air and fake snow to Romano as part of their announcement plan. John Leguizamo pops up at the end in a completely separate location to make a joke about the herd being back and nothing to call everyone in his phone about. According to the caption from Disney's social media accounts, quote Just announced a D23 Brazil Ice Age 6 is now in production Ray Romano, john Leguizamo, queen Latifa, dennis Leary and Simon Pega returning for an all-new brand big-screen adventure. Meh, anyway, rest in peace Freebie.
Speaker 1:Amazon is officially shutting down Freebie, its free, ad-supported video streaming service. Originally launched under the IMDB brand label nearly five years ago, freebie will be phased out over the course of the next several weeks. Going forward, content that had been on the surface will be subsumed under Amazon's Prime Video brand. In a statement, an Amazon representative said we have built Prime Video into the first-stop entertainment destination where customers can personalize their viewing experience by streaming exclusive Prime member entertainment produced by Amazon MGM Studios, licensed movies and series, content from other services and has an add-on subscription, live sports, blockbuster movies and series to rent or buy fast, free, ad support streaming television channels and the complete Amazon FreeV content offering Unquote. Well, you know, that's the way things are. Big fish do tend to eat little fish.
Speaker 1:After 25 years, kevin Smith is reconnecting with the man upstairs for the unholiest of sequels. During his Dogma Confessional on Sunday at VulgarCon, a Vulture Festival, the VSQ Universe creator revealed that he's working on a sequel to the 1999 film and expects Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to return for cameos at least Now. Quote some people will be like don't bleep touch it, you'll ruin it. And I'm here to tell you I will. I'm bleep tickled, I've found a way in unquote. He sounded confident that Affleck and Damon would reprise their roles as fallen angels Barlby and Loki. After Smith helped save the pair's 1997 Good Will Hunting without so much of a thank you in their Golden Globes and Oscar speeches. They owe him. Quote I have been able to hold that over both their heads for 25 bleep years, which is why they keep showing up in all the movies. Expect a cameo from them more than a bleep cameo. The only way we get a dogma sequel made is Now.
Speaker 1:Dogma served as the fourth installment in the Smith's View universe, which includes Clerks Mallrats Chasing Amy Jane, silent Bob Strike Back, clerks Jay and Silent Bob Reboot and Clerks 3. Last month, smith announced the religious satires returning to theaters and getting a new home video release after another company purchased the distribution rights from Miramax, making it potentially available to stream for the first time ever. So, yeah, that's interesting news. Of course, unless they showcase Barlowby and Loki in like a kind of a dream sequence or a you know, we're seeing them in the past or something, because, remember, they did not survive the movie. If you've seen it. If you haven't seen it, oops, sorry for spoiling. Sorry for spoiling a really old movie, 25 years.
Speaker 1:Variety reports that Lady Gaga is set to make an appearance in Wednesday season two. The exact nature of Gaga's role is being kept under wraps, but sources say it will be a cameo during the mega hit Netflix's second season, which is currently filming in Ireland. Sources say that the production team had tried to get Gaga on the show for a larger role in season two, but that ultimately did not work out. Reps for Netflix did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment. Reps for Gaga also declined.
Speaker 1:This marked the latest acting role for Gaga, who is best known for her groundbreaking music career. She starred in the bomb Joker, volet Dadou opposite Joaquin Phoenix. Previously, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress alongside Bradley Cooper in the Star Is Born. She has also been nominated three times for Best Original Song, including one for A Star, is Born, winning that word for her work on the song Hold my Hand from Top Gun. Maverick Gaga has also starred in films such as the House of Gucci and multiple seasons of American Horror Story. Sophie Turner is in negotiations to star as Laura Croft in Tomb Raider, prime Video's high-profile series adaptation of the video game franchise from Emmy Award-winning Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. According to Deadlinecom, a rep for Amazon MGM Studios declined comment. According to what Deadline reported last month, the Game of Thrones alumna was among the actresses who tested very high for the high-profile role previously played by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander. The Tome Raider, which Amazon MGM studio head Jennifer Salk called epic and globetrotting while announcing the series' order in May, has been a passion project for Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who spoke fondly of the title character at the time of pickup.
Speaker 1:More Ghostbusters films are on the way. In an exclusive interview with the direct's, russ Millheim, while promoting his new movie Saturday Night Ghostbusters Frozen Empire, director Jill Keenan confirmed that there will be more films in the iconic franchise Quote. We definitely are continuing the conversation of telling big Ghostbusters stories on the big screen. The answer is yes, jason Reitman. We take the responsibility and the joy of being the keepers of the flame of Ghostbusters very seriously. We definitely are continuing the conversation of telling big Ghostbusters stories on the big screen, and stay tuned, there'll be more. There'll be more about that later. Now the director and writer also made sure to plug the recently announced and made Ghostbusters series on Netflix, which he is actively working on with Jason Reitman. So more Ghostbusters. Now I have heard that the that, like the older Ghostbusters, like Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, are not going to be in future films, and that's quite all right. We know they're there. They can cameo in future stories if they want, but the series has to stand on its own without using too much old stuff. Which brings us to our final story tonight, of course, a sad story.
Speaker 1:Tony Todd, an American actor known for leading the Candyman horror franchise as its eponymous hook-wielding ghost, died Wednesday at his home in Marina del Rey, california, at the age of 69. Todd's death was confirmed by a representative for the actor. A cause of death was confirmed by a representative for the actor. A cause of death was not disclosed. A reliable presence in genre fare across four decades. Todd's series of credits include iconic titles such as Alex Proye's comic book adaptation the Crow, michael Bay's Alcatraz, auctioneer the Rock and the elaborate killing set piece series Final Destination. One of his earliest film performances came in his 30s and offers Stone's Oscar-winning war epic Platoon On Star Trek the Next Generation. Todd donned alien makeup to play Kern, a commander in the Klingon Defense Force and brother of Worf.
Speaker 1:But Todd secured his name in the genre pantheon with his performance in Bernard Rose's Candyman, an early 90s Americanized spin on a Clive Barker short story that brought a memorable supernatural spin and themes of gentrification and racism. At towering 6'5", todd played Daniel Robitaille, aka Candyman, the tortured, bee-covered ghost of an African-American artist and son of a slave who was murdered for his relationship with a white woman. The film starred Virginia Madison as a Chicago graduate student preparing her thesis on the legend of Candyman by investigating inner-city Chicago. Madison wrote in a post on Instagram after learning of her co-star's death. Quote my beloved, may you rest in power. The great actor Tony Todd has left us and now is an angel as he was in life more later, but I can't right now. I love you".
Speaker 1:Now Candyman positioned itself as a somewhat arty genre play, debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival at the Midnight Madness section. Its handling of serious themes did not go in question at the time, with some levying accusations that it trafficked in racist stereotypes, but the film has endured in critical and genre circles for its unblinking approach to serious matters, connecting America's history of racism to the woes of contemporary urban life. Dodd reprised his role as a sympathetic slasher several times. He returned for the 1995 sequel Candyman Farewell to the Flesh, as well as the Terry Murray's Candyman Day of the Dead in 1999. After decades of development, the property was revived at Universal by director Nia DaCosta in 2021 with the simply titled Candyman, which functioned as a direct sequel to the 1992 original and was co-written by DaCosta, jordan Peele and Wynne Rosenfield. Todd reprised his role in the new entry, which starred Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, as an artist who becomes drawn into the Candyman urban myth.
Speaker 1:Born December 4, 1954, in Washington DC, todd studied at the University of Connecticut for two years before shifting to the Eugene O'Neill National Theater Institute. Trained for the stage, todd would practice playwriting himself and teach it to high school students in Hartford. He'd also gone on to originate the title role in August Wilson's King Hedley II. For his productions in Pittsburgh, seattle and Boston, his performance was a memorable tour de force. Among Todd's credits totaling over 200, the actor had a recurring role in Boston Public and made guest appearances on Law Order, homicide, life on the Street, the X-Files, smallville, psych and 24. He also voice acted too, playing the Fallen in Transformers, revenge of the Fallen, zoom in the CW's the Flash and, most recently, venom in Insomniac's PlayStation Smash Spider-Man 2. In Insomniac's PlayStation Smash Spider-Man 2. He starred in the Night of the Living Dead and was one of the few actors to recur in the Final Destination franchise, which would often kill off all its new characters by the end of each new entry. Todd never stopped working, often lending his gravitas and genre reputation to direct-to-video thrillers over the recent years. His profile on IMDb currently lists more than nine titles that have entered post-production. Tony Todd is survived by two children, alex and Ariana. Again, tony Todd was 69 years old, and that brings us to the end of this edition of the show.
Speaker 1:Please be sure to check us out on social media. We're on blue sky and Twitter at Multiverse, tom Threads, facebook and Instagram at Multiverse Tonight. And if you've gotten some value out of the show and would like to pay it back, head on over to multiverstenightcom where you can find our Patreon and Ko-fi links, check out the show notes, visit our TeePublic store and so much more. While you're there, leave some feedback If this is your first time listening. Thank you and welcome. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button and share us with others. 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. 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 big genre productions. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved. This podcast is part of the Pop Ghost Culture Podcast Network.
