.png)
Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Multiverse Tonight is a geeky podcast that brings you all the latest news about your favourite TV shows and movies. Every other week, we cover DC Comics, Marvel, Star Trek and everything in between! This podcast has you covered with any big story or scoop on all of your fandoms.
Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes
Immortal Collectibles with VeVe Co Founder Dan Crothers
Jon Bernthal returns as The Punisher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while DC and Sega collaborate on Sonic the Hedgehog crossover collectibles. Matt Reeves completes The Batman 2 script despite multiple delays, now scheduled for October 2027.
• Jon Bernthal reprises his role as The Punisher for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and an upcoming 2026 Disney+ special
• Sega partners with Warner Bros, Jack's Pacific and Funko for DC Comics crossover collectibles featuring Sonic characters as Justice League heroes
• Matt Reeves finally completes The Batman 2 script after several delays, with release now set for October 2027
• Dan Crothers of VeVe Digital Collectibles discusses how blockchain technology creates limited edition digital collectibles with AR capabilities
• Russell Crowe joins Henry Cavill in the Highlander remake directed by John Wick's Chad Stahelski
• FX developing "Very Young Frankenstein" series with Mel Brooks executive producing
• Disney announces Lilo & Stitch sequel after the live-action remake approaches $1 billion at the box office
• Doug Liman attached to direct Stephen King's The Stand as a feature film for Paramount
• Character actor Jack Betts (Spider-Man, Spaghetti Westerns) passes away at 96
• Legendary composer Lalo Schifrin (Mission: Impossible theme) dies at 93
VeVe Collectibles - https://www.veve.me/
Find us on social media at Blue Sky (@Multiversetom), Threads, Facebook, and Instagram (@MultiverseTonight). Support the show through our Patreon and Ko-Fi links at MultiverseTonight.com.
Thanks for listening! Come visit the podcast at https://www.multiversetonight.com/
Tonight, the Punisher returns. The Batman 2 script, Russell Crowe is immortal, and remember actor Jack Betts and composer Lalo Schifrin, plus an interview with VV Digital Collectibles co-founder Dan Carruthers. All and more in this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Welcome to Multiverse Tonight, your source for geek news. We dissect films, games, comics and much more, bringing you insightful commentary on pop culture. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, thomas Townley. Well, hello everyone and welcome to episode 243 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm, of course, your host, thomas Townley. And well, I'm drinking water. I know you're going. Well, I don't care what you're drinking. Yeah, normally I'm drinking Pepsi. Right now I'm drinking water because I've been put on the low FODMAP diet. It's F-O-D-M-A-P, it's a diet. Basically you're trying to figure out what you can and can't eat. You're supposed to eliminate everything and slowly bring stuff back. I've been trying to also just limit how much Pepsi I drink to like one or two a day, yeah, so, right now, drinking water and just basically, you know room temperature water, because when you're doing something like this, you drink cold water.
Speaker 1:It's not really good for your pipes, so that's that.
Speaker 2:Other than that.
Speaker 1:I have an interview in today's episode with the co-founder of Vivi Digital Collectibles, Dan Carruthers. He was kind enough to come and join me and talk about his world of digital collectibles and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:So we have that on today's show. But other than that, let's go on to the Marvel Comics News. The Punisher returns. Jon Barenthal is suiting up as the vigilante once again for Spider-Man, Brand New Day, Sony and Marvel's latest web-slinging adventure. Barenthal first suited up as the Punisher, aka Frank Castle, back in 2016 in Netflix's Daredevil, becoming a fan favorite before being spun off into his own series in 2017, which ran for two seasons. He most recently returned to the role earlier this year in Disney Plus' Daredevil Born Again, and he's set to appear in the second season and will return again for a 2026 Disney Plus special centered on Punisher from director Rinaldo Marcus Green. So brand new. You know, more Punisher? I hate to say it, I think haven't. Hasn't we grown out of the Punisher? I don't think the Punisher's apt in our world anymore. You know, let's let the Punisher. I don't think the Punisher's apt in our world anymore. You know, let's let the Punisher just go.
Speaker 1:Anyway, dc Comics News now. Are you ready for the Superman movie? I am. Anyway, sega has announced exciting new collaborations, teaming up with Warner Bros, discovery, jack's Pacific and Funko to release a new line of Sonic the Hedgehog by DC Comics crossover action figures and pop collectibles. This announcement comes as fans eagerly await the launch of the next big Sonic the Hedgehog title, sonic Racing Cross Worlds, and soon they'll be able to expand their gaming and comics collection with this new merchandise.
Speaker 1:The concept for these gaming characters donning superhero suits was first introduced to fans back in early 2025 with the critically and commercially successful limited comic book series DC Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog and the Justice League. Sega is now expanding these fantastical hedgehog offerings with exclusive new toy lines. Jack Specific, in collaboration with Sega of America and Warner Bros Discovery, is releasing an all-new line of action figures inspired by the crossover event. These characters will feature popular characters from both franchises, including Sonic, silver Shadow, amy the Flash, green Lantern, batman and Wonder Woman. Additionally, funko is launching their own series of figures, which will include Knuckles Tails, superman and Cyborg, and the Jack-specific figures are set to ship on October 1st, while the Funko Pops will be released in July and August. Both the Jack-specific and Funko Pops. Sonic the Hedgehog by DC Comics Collectibles will be sold exclusively at Target as part of the retailer's Summer Geek Out event. The Sonic by DC Collectibles mirror the crossover designs from the comic book collaboration with characters like Sonic as the Flash, silver as Green Lantern, shadow as Batman, amy as Wonder Woman, knuckles as Superman and Tails as Cyborg. Jack Specific is offering a four-pack action figure set featuring DC Comics' notorious villain Darkseid, with Sonic, silver and Shadow priced at $59.99. The individual 5-inch figures of Sonic, silver and Amy will be available for $14.99 and Funko's lineup will have six of the crossover characters as standalone pops. While pre-orders for the Funko Pops have already sold out, the Jack-specific figures are still available for early purchase. Fans can check back after launch for potential restocks. Sega's recent collaborations for Sonic the Hedgehog include those with Magic the Gathering, the UK's McLaren Racing team and now Jack's Pacific and Funko have kept fan enthusiasm for the Blue Blur's upcoming game title Fever Pitch. Interested fans should act quickly to secure the collectibles and stay tuned for further announcements.
Speaker 1:Dc fans finally got some good news on the future of the highly anticipated the Batman sequel. Writer-director Matt Reeves shared a photo of the complete script on Friday. After several delays. Variety confirmed the script was finished. Partners in Crime Reeves wrote on Instagram with co-writer Matt Madison Tomlin. The first page of the script is blurred out, but there is very clearly a Batman logo on top.
Speaker 1:It's been a long time for an update on the Batman Part 2, which was originally announced in April 2022, a month after the original Robert Pattinson blockbuster soared in the theaters. After several delays, the sequel is now scheduled for October 1st 2027, five and a half years after the original made more than $772 million at the global box office. You know, and that's not a good sign If I was Warner Bros Discovery in DC, I would put the original Batman back into theaters, say next year, just to refresh people's memories. And then, because five years between sequels is going to just obliterate anyone's memory of what the previous movie was. Anyway, we have no Star Trek or Star Wars news today. Just obliterate anyone's memory of what the previous movie was. Anyway, we have no Star Trek or Star Wars news today. So let's go on to the geek news and that interview with VV Collectibles' Dan Carruthers and it's interview time here in multiverse tonight. And today we have a special interview. We have dan crothers from vv collectibles here to talk about a new line of collectibles, so Dan, take it away.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me, Thomas.
Speaker 1:Really excited to be here and have a chat with you about all things collectibles and comics.
Speaker 2:So what new things do you have for us? I mean, we are always releasing new collectibles pretty much every week. Um, you know, over the years, um, since we started in 2017, we've managed to sign up many, many different brands and ips across many different fandoms. I think it's sitting at 200 plus now. Um, and you know, recently we've done, um we, obviously we had star wars months last month, my favorite month of the year and we released a lot of really cool Star Wars collectibles, from the Star Wars helmets to stormtroopers, pod races so it's been really, really fun actually. And then that changes. We change gear completely as we moved into this month, and we just dropped some really beautifully detailed Maserati vehicles from the Maserati line.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's cool. Now these are all digital collectibles, correct?
Speaker 2:That is correct. Yes, the digital collectibles.
Speaker 1:So what's so special about these?
Speaker 2:Well, the way I see it is that I mean, as you can tell, like you behind me is, you know I collect a ton of stuff and you know, like I found that you know a lot of my collector friends. You know, if you really love a fandom, you're collecting everything, from the posters, the duvet, the mug, the physical collectible. And now you know, digital collectible is a new offering in the space. You know, over the past couple of decades we've seen so many industries move into the digital space. You know you're reading, education, watching TVs and movies. Everything has kind of moved digital and you know collectibles is now entering that space as well.
Speaker 1:Well, that's great. Now, what's special about your collectibles versus another company's?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean to be honest, there's probably not much to competition in our field at the moment. It's still a very new field, but I would say, really, you know, the biggest difference is that when myself and my business partner started the company, we're both massive collectors. He's an even bigger collector than I am. I like to call him a level 9,000 collector for any Dragon fans out there, and really it's you know. So our collectibles are all beautiful 3D models. So I mean you guys will see the collectibles I've got behind me here.
Speaker 2:Before those collectibles go to physical production.
Speaker 2:They're actually all sculpted in 3D, beautifully detailed, and our process is very similar.
Speaker 2:So we basically take the 3D collectible or we build the 3D collectible from scratch.
Speaker 2:We build the 3D collectible from scratch, but then, rather than sending it off to a factory to be turned into a physical toy or collectible, we basically modify it, update it to bring it into our digital platform and the cool thing about this is that we can add a whole lot of additional features to it and in some ways I kind of call them hyper collectibles.
Speaker 2:For example, they can have animation, they can have audio, they can have interaction, and what part of the mission that David and I went on in 2017 is to really bring that physical collectible experience that we know and love into a digital space, and that was one of the main reasons we really wanted to go 3D with our collectibles, and we have tools in there, like augmented reality, so you can drop your X-Wing, your Stormtroopers, your Sandcrawler whatever directly in AR and you can interact with it. You know, make it follow a particular path. It's really a lot of fun, but, like I say, just a new and kind of different way for for collectors to to enjoy the fandoms that that we love that's good.
Speaker 1:Now, these collectibles, do they you know, do they appreciate, like you know, like crypto, or you know what's the? What kind of value do they get?
Speaker 2:yeah, um, I mean number one. You know we're a collectible business. At the end of the day, you know like I mean a lot of the collectibles I buy, 90% of them might stay the same value or drop in value. But of course there's always those very limited ones that you find, you know, like in comics, for example, if you find that rare variant cover at New York Comic Con or San Diego. Those are the type of assets that appreciate.
Speaker 2:So, because we are, our business is backed by blockchain, it means that we can actually create a limited number of those digital assets. It's not like back in the day where if I had a jpeg of Darth Vader, I could send it to you, you could send it on to anyone and there could be an infinite amount of copies of it. But because we are limited by sorry, because we leverage blockchain, it means that the assets are actually limited. So if we're only minting 50 of a particular comic or 50 of a particular collectible, they can never be duplicated or copied. So just to circle back to your question, yeah, whenever we do a drop, more often than not in that drop is a very limited version of that collectible and those ones tend to appreciate. And also, you know we have a lot of first appearances, you know, in this new space.
Speaker 1:And so how's business, sorry, uh. So how's business, sorry. So how's business going?
Speaker 2:oh, business is going great. Um, obviously, you know, a couple of years ago everyone knew about nfts. You know, my mom, my dad, my mom was collecting everything. Um, and you know, typically with new technology industries we go through a massive hype and then we go through a dip and then it starts to come back up and the technology becomes mainstream. So we're sort of on that slope coming up and we really believe in this industry. I'm never going to give up physical collecting. I love that, but I also love to have my digital collectibles. I mean, they're in the palm of my hand every day and with the augmented reality features, no matter where, I mean they're in the palm of my hand, you know every day. And with the augmented reality features, you know no matter where I am, if I'm out, at dinner or whatever. I can have Bubba Fett join me or Darth Vader join me directly in AR.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's cool. Now it works. So it works with VR.
Speaker 2:Yes, it absolutely works with vr. So you know, the other thing that we wanted to do with um, with the digital collecting space, is, you know, as I can see from your background and my background, setting setting up our collectibles and display. It's like a really important part of the whole, the whole process um. So we have, we have our own um metaverse or or you could call them virtual showrooms where people can go in, whether you want to do it on computer or, very soon, on your phone or in virtual reality, and you can go in and you can set up all your collectibles and then you can invite, you know, your friends in. So we really wanted to make sure that we kind of covered all of the bases that collectors love.
Speaker 1:So how many brands do you work with here? I see, you know I'm looking at your page and there's a ton of them. How many are there?
Speaker 2:There would be 200 plus brands now. And you know, really, because our sort of philosophy is that everyone is a fan of something. You know, some people love Star Wars, some people love cars, some people love stamps. In this collecting space, in fact, I meet so many collectors at the Comic-Cons who collect the most random things. So for us it was really, really important that we get that broad spread of brands just to appeal to all collectors.
Speaker 1:And you really see this growing wide in the next decade or so.
Speaker 2:Yep, absolutely. In fact, I would probably say over the next one to two years, we're going to start seeing a lot more digital collectibles coming into play and you know, I think it's just a testament to the app and the product and our team In particular, the team, our creative team who produces the collectibles. I mean they're, they're so amazingly detailed. You know, you can zoom right in on a belt or you know helmet or whatever, and just see that really, really fine detail oh, that's good.
Speaker 1:I like you know, I like detail details. Great, yeah, absolutely. Uh, do you have? Do you have anything coming up that you're excited to release?
Speaker 2:Yes, we've got a lot of really cool brands coming up. We haven't actually announced them just yet. I'll say that they're from the gaming space, like very, very iconic characters from the gaming space, and I mean, you know, we're signing new licenses all the time and in fact, I think this year at the Licensing Expo was one of our busiest times. So it's really great to see the. You know, the actual industry behind the scenes is really starting to adopt this kind of digital approach. That's typically where it starts and then, you know, ultimately end up in the consumer's hands.
Speaker 1:All right Now for my reviewers. I like to give them a random question here from my little deck of cards. Oh, let's go, let's go. Uh, what's the main thing on your bucket list?
Speaker 2:oh, main thing on my bucket list, uh, it's. It's pretty random actually. One day I would love to climb a live volcano Not too far to the top, but I've always just thought it would be quite exhilarating to do something like that.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, my sister lived in Hawaii for a year and she got very close to volcanoes there. Well, I'll give you the last word here to promote VV Studios, and then I think we'll finish up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you. Yeah, you know, if you're a collector and you love collecting, whether it's physical or digital, please come and check out our site, vvme. We've got all of the major brands. You know, whether you like superheroes, Star Wars, anything across the fandom space, yeah, come check it out.
Speaker 1:All right, Dan. Thank you very much for joining us today and we'll see you later.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:You're welcome. All right, let's get on with the geek news. Russell Crowe will instruct Henry Cavill in the Ways of the Immortals in the remake of Highlander. The Oscar winner is set to play Cavill's mentor in a variation on the part played by Sean Connery in the 1986 original film John Wick. Director Chad Stolzky will oversee the remake, which has a script by Michael Finch, who wrote John Wick, chapter 4. Highlander is being backed by Amazon, mgm Studios and United Artists, which is being run by former Netflix film chief, scott Stuber. The film will open theatrically Now.
Speaker 1:Crowe was one of the biggest stars of the late 90s and early aughts, appearing in action-heavy roles like Gladiator and Master and Commander, and earned critical raves for more dramatic work like the Insider, a Beautiful Mind and LA Confidential. In recent years, he's taken on more character parts like Kraven the Hunter or the low-budget movies like the Pope's Exorcist and Sleeping Dogs. Fx is close to ordering a pilot for Very Young Frankenstein, a new project inspired by Mel Brooks' classic 1974 comedy film Young Frankenstein. The film, often hailed as one of the greatest comedy movies ever, starred Gene Wilder as Dr Frederick Frankenstein, who inherits his grandfather's Transylvanian castle and continues his work on re-emming the dead. Wilder also co-wrote the screenplay with Brooks and the cast, including Marty Feldman, cloris Leachman, terry Garr, peter Boyle and Madeline Kahn. Brooks previously adapted the film into a stage musical, much like the producers. Now, while specific plot details for Very Young Franken Frankenstein of course undisclosed, mel Brooks will serve as executive producer alongside his producing partner, ken Salter, stephanie Robinson, taiki Watiti and Garrett Bash, all known for their works on what we Do in the Shadows, will also executive produce. Robinson is set to write and showrun with YTD directing. Michael Gruskoff, who produced the original film, is also on board as executive producer, with 20th Television behind the project. The potential pilot is the latest TV adaptation of Brooks' cinematic work.
Speaker 1:Hulu recently aired History of the World Part II, a sketch comedy series that followed up on his 1981 film History of the World Part I. So are you ready for Very Young Frankenstein? Get ready for more Stitch mayhem? Disney is developing a sequel to its live-action Lilo and Stitch remake. The studio announced the project on 6-26, a reference to the Wild Blue Alien's government name, experiment 6-26. In a brief teaser, stitch drives a hot pink convertible through the Disney lot as he shouts Get ready, here we go. News of the follow-up comes, as Lilo and Stitch has grossed over $910 million at the global box office since Memorial Day. Originally planned as a straight-to-streaming release, the PG adventure is on pace to become this year's first billion-dollar blockbuster. And that's just a theatrical windfall. Long before he and Lilo returned to the big screen, stitch's theme merchandise has remained a huge moneymaker for Disney in the past 23 years. Since the original 2002 animated film In 2024, disney sold $2.6 billion in consumer products featuring the Lilo and Stitch characters.
Speaker 1:Stephen King's the Stand may finally be headed to the big screen. Filmmaker Doug Lyman is attached to direct a feature film of the post-apocalyptic bestseller for Paramount Pictures, with Cross Creek Pictures' Tyler Thompson on board to produce the project, however, does not have a script, so development may take some time, as Lyman and the studio Winokin's novel, which runs 1,153 pages in its 1990 unabridged version, into a single movie, but the studio sees the movie as a priority and is moving forward aggressively to make it happen. The Stand, first published in 1978, was previously adapted as a TV miniseries for ABC in 1994, starring Gary Sinise, molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, ruby Dee and Laura Sanjian-Camo, and again for Paramount+ in 2020, starring James Marsden, odessa Young, alexander Skarsgård, whoopi Goldberg and Amber Heard. However, the story's epic scope, utilizing the backdrop of a cataclysmic influenza pandemic that wipes out 99.4% of humanity to tell a sprawling story of good versus evil over many years, has stymied previous efforts to adapt it into a big screen movie. Well, ben Affleck, scott Cooper, David Yates and Josh Bone are among the filmmakers who've been attached and then unattached, to make the film. So will we see the Stand in our lifetime, who knows? And over to our sad news, for today, jack Betts, a prolific character actor best known for his roles in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and numerous Spaghetti Westerns, has passed away at 96. According to his nephew, dean Sullivan, betts died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday at as home in Los Osos, california, and this was reported first by the Hollywood Reporter.
Speaker 1:Born Jack Fillmore Betts on April 11th 1929 in Jersey City, new Jersey. He claimed a relation to the 13th US President, mildred Fillmore, and spent his formative years in Miami, where he studied theater at the University of Miami. After college, betts moved to New York City, making his Broadway debut in Richard III in 1953. His talent was recognized when he was granted a three-year scholarship to the Lee Strasberg Actors Studio after assisting a friend with an audition. This led to his casting in Elia Kazan's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He later reunited with Kazan for the 1959 Broadway production of Sweet Bird of Youth and also appeared in the late 1970s revival of Dracula, even portraying the titular Count as Raul Julia's standby.
Speaker 1:Bette's film career began with 1959's the Bloody Brood. In 1966, he took on a lead role in Franco Girolamo's Sugar Colt, credited for the first time as Hunt Powers. This marked the beginning of his extensive work on a dozen spaghetti westerns throughout the 1970s. His television work were equally impressive, with numerous appearances on daytime soap operas such as General Hospital, the Young Marrieds, the Edge of Night, the Doctors, another World, all my Children, falcon Crest, search for Tomorrow, gang Light, generations and the Young and the Restless. Betts also had noble guest star roles on popular series like Perry Mason, the FBI, gunsmoke, seinfeld, mad TV, frasier, everybody Loves Raymond, friends, the Middle East and Monk. He shared a close relationship and a home from the late 80s until his death with Everybody Loves Raymond star Doris Roberts, whom he met at the actor's studio in the 1950s.
Speaker 1:In Spider-Man, betts delivered a memorable performance as Henry Bulkin, the Oscorp technology board chairman, who dismisses Norman Osborn, played by William Dafoe, with the line You're out, norman. This moment famously ignites the Green Goblin's villainous transformation Later in the film. Osborn chillingly echoes this phrase to Bulkin as he annihilates the board during an attack on Times Square, gleefully exclaiming Out am I? His additional film appearances include Falling Down with Michael Douglas and Rob Duvall, batman Forever with Val Kilmer and Gods and Monsters opposite Ian McKellen and Brendan Fraser. Betts is survived by his nephew Dean Sullivan, nieces Lynn and Gail, and his sister Joan, who will celebrate her 100th birthday in November.
Speaker 1:The Beverly Hills Playhouse paid tribute to Betts on Instagram, saying his great spirit, passion and true dedication to his work, acknowledging his encouragement that inspired many actors not to give up. They conclude, quote there was only ever one like this and we are richer for having his presence in our theater. Rest in peace, jack. Again, jack Betts dead at the age of 96. Finally, tonight, lalo Schifrin, the Argentinian-American composer and conductor whose electrifying theme for Mission Impossible became one of the most iconic pieces in television history, passed away on Thursday at the age of 93. His death was confirmed by his sons, as shared in the heartfelt announcement.
Speaker 1:Born in Buenos Aires in 1932, schifrin was a classically trained pianist who studied in Paris before making his mark in jazz and film scoring. He brought a unique fusion of Latin rhythms, jazz improvisation and classical structure to Hollywood, crafting soundtracks that were as bold as they were unforgettable. Schiffman's career, spanned over six decades, includes scores for Mission Impossible, his most famous work with his distinctive 5-4 time signature, that's. You get the drift Dirty, harry Bullets, enter the Dragon Hoolahan. Luke earned multiple Grammy Awards and received six Oscar nominations, though he famously quipped that his music was too hip for the room. Schifrin also collaborated with jazz legends like Dizzy Gillespie and led orchestras around the world. His compositions were performed in concert halls as often as in cinemas, a testament to his versatility and genius. Lalo Schifrin's music didn't just accompany stories, it told them. His themes pulsed with tension, swagger and soul, and he leaves a legacy that continues to inspire composers, musicians and fans across generations. He is survived by his wife, donna, and his children. Again, lalo Schifrin, dead at the age of 93. 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 on Blue Sky and Twitter. We're on Blue Sky at Multiverse, tom. We're on Threads, facebook and Instagram as well, at Multiverse Tonight. We're on Threads, facebook and Instagram as well, 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 MultiverseTonightcom, where you'll find our Patreon and Ko-Fi links. Check our show notes, visit our TeePublic store and so much more. Now, if this is your first time listening, thank you very much. Now go ahead and hit that subscribe button and share us with others. Now thanks to Hot Dope 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. Goodness, now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked John and Productions. Copyright All right.
