Multiverse Tonight - The Podcast about All Your Geeky Universes

Roses, Reboots, and Roundups

Thomas Townley Season 1 Episode 250

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We mark 250 with a brisk tour through the week’s biggest geek headlines, from a Star Trek Enterprise Rose Parade float to Marvel and DC milestones, Magic: The Gathering’s bold crossovers, a new Simpsons movie date, and a record-setting EA buyout. Along the way, we weigh legacy, risk, and what makes nostalgia feel new.

• Star Trek’s 60th anniversary float details and transporter illusion
• Casting hopes for the Rose Parade appearance
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day production pause and Tombstone casting
• DCU streaming surge, Superman sequel focus on Lex, Brave and the Bold update
• Macho Man Randy Savage biopic plans and producers
• Magic: The Gathering 2026 roadmap with Star Trek, Marvel, Hobbit, and core sets
• The Simpsons Movie 2 release date and finale speculation
• EA’s $55B leveraged buyout stakes and player impact
• Highlander reboot casting, delay, and lore focus
• Mark Millar’s Conquered Kickstarter and scope
• Afterlife with Archie at Disney+ and tonal promise
• Fox cancels The Great North amid crowded animation slate


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SPEAKER_00:

Tonight, the Enterprise of the Roses, Who is Tombstone, Gun Goes the Brave and Bold, and the Simpsons Movie 2, Electric Boogaloo. All then more on 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 opnology. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, Thomas Townley. Well, hello, and welcome to episode 250 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm of course your host, Thomas Townley. And well, 250, I guess that's we should celebrate that. 250 is a lot. There's not a there's not a lot of news. Everything will be okay. I'll probably, you know, maybe I'll record an episode or two, just you know. Just kind of sitting in my sick bed. Anyway, let's go on with the Star Trek news. The USS Enterprise, famous for its fictional Tritanium and uranium construction in the 1960s Star Trek series, is set to appear in the 137th annual Rose Bowl Parade on January 1st, 2026. This rendition of the iconic Starship will be crafted from gray lettuce seeds and white coconut, celebrating Star Trek's 60th anniversary. Paramount Pictures and CBS are marking the occasion with a beam me up Scotty moment on the flute. Instead of Captain Kirk being transported by Montgomery Scott, Artistic Entertainment Services will use golden, red millet, and blue statace to create transporter pads. Now, Kyle Amarin, AES Float Project Magic, explained that a person will enter one transporter, a screen will simulate a de-energizing field, and the person will appear, will disappear only to reappear in the second transporter a few feet away. Now, this illusion will be achieved by a set of adult twins. The Space for Everybody float also hopes to convey hope, inclusivity, exploration, and unity, according to CBS. When the sci-fi franchise launched in 1966, it was noble for its diverse cast, including Michelle Nichols, as Lieutenant Hura, who helped Lair recruit NASA applicants. Currently, the float is in the fabrication stage, with painting to follow before the floral elements are added. Amarin noted that many AES painters are big trekkies and are compl and are eager to accurately depict the Starship Enterprise. Now the float's design features the Enterprise soaring at the rear, the Golden Transponders in the middle, and the Star Trek Command Bridge at the front where characters like Kirk and Spock famously sought new civilizations. Additionally, the float will promote the new series Star Trek Starfleet Academy, premiering next year on Paramount Plus, with a representation of its campus and the Golden Gate Bridge. While Paramount and CBS haven't announced which Star Trek actors will be on the float, past Rose Parade Grand Marshals included William Shatner and LeVar Burton, Scott Lamb, AS floral director and longtime Trekkie, expressed his and his team's excitement for the project, particularly hoping to see original cast members like Spock, Kur Sulu, and Hura on the float. So who would you like to see on the float? Um, you know. I guess we could always have William Shatner. He's pretty much up for anything. I think he's just trying to keep busy, you know, so the Grim Reaper doesn't find him. Or, you know. Why not have have you know trek members from all different series on the float? So have someone from start the original series, the next generation, Voyager, DS9, you know, and so forth and so on. You know. And you know, they can all form a chorus line, I guess, start kicking. Anyway, let's go on with the Marvel News. Marvel News begins. Production begins and ends on Spider-Man brand new day, which has been temporarily halted for a week following star Tom Holland's concussion on set. However, casting does continue with Marvin Jones III reportedly joining the project as Tombstone, according to deadline.com. Representatives for Sony have declined to comment, and Marvel's representatives could not be reached. Jones previously voiced Tombstone in the Sony animated Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse and the upcoming Spider-Man Beyond the Spider-Verse. Tombstone, also known as Lonnie Lincoln, is a prominent Marvel villain and one of New York's most notorious crime bosses, frequently clashing with Spider-Man in the comics. The character, a hulking African-American albino with filed teeth and your indestructible skin, was created by writer Jerry Conway and artist Alex Savuk, first appearing in Web of Spider-Man number 36 back in March of 1988. Now, filming on a brand new day, is set to is already set to have resume and maintain it, but and will maintain its theatrical release date of July 31, 2026. Sadie Sink and Lisa Colon Zayez are also confirmed to make their live-action MCU debuts in undisclosed roles. Zendaya will return as MJ, and Mark Ruffalo is expected to reprise his role as The Hulk. Dustin Daniel Creighton, known for Shang-Chi, is directing with Amy Pascal and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige producing. Now, this film marks the first live-action Spider-Man installment since Spider-Man No Way Home, which grossed over$1.9 billion upon its December 2020 release. Previous Holland-led Spider-Man films have also been box office successes, with Spider-Man Far From Home earning over a billion in 2019 and Spider-Man Homecoming grossing over 880 million two years prior. Now Jones is also recognized for his role as super villain Tobias Whale in the CW's Black Lightning series. And his recent work includes starring alongside Kerry Washington in the Lionsgate film Shadow Force, as well as appearances in All-American Homecoming, The Equalizer, and Season 2 of Paramount's Halo. Now let's go on with the DC Comics News. And DC's Comics News begins with DC Studio Superman, which has achieved significant global viewership, drawing 13 million viewers on HBO Max since its September 19th debut. This marks the largest 10-day audience for a Pay 1 film since Barbie in December of 2023. Now, the premiere of the James Gunn film also spurred increased global viewership for other Superman titles on HBO Max. Comparing the periods of September 8th to the 14th and September 15th to the 21st, Super Slash Man, the Christopher Reeves story, saw a 670% increase. Superman the movie went 155% increase. Superman Returns 120% increase, and The Man of Steel, a 40% increase. Now, Superman arrived on HBO Max after a 70-day theatrical window. Director James Gunn aimed to make the film available at home in time for the second season premiere of HBO Max's Peacemaker, opting for a 35-day theatrical window to premium VOD. The sixth episode of Peacemaker Season 2, which aired a couple weeks ago, bridged the bridged to the upcoming Superman Man of Tomorrow. Now Gunn is set to begin shooting Superman Man of Tomorrow next spring for a July 9th, 2027 release. The film's theatrical run concludes with 354.1 million domestically and 615.6 million worldwide, opening to 125 million domestically and 220 million globally. Now Gunn revealed to Howard Stern that Superman Man of Tomorrow will focus on Lex Luther and Superman collaborating together against a larger threat, stating that this will be a Lex movie as much as it is a Superman movie. The final episode of Peacemaker Season 9 will be available for streaming this coming week on October 9th. James Gunn has provided updates on a DCU project centered around the Caped Crusader. The Brave and the Bold will follow the completion of the Batman 2 script. The co-chief of Warner Brothers superhero subsidiary expressed satisfaction with the progress of the Brave and the Bold script during a recent interview with IGN, though he noted that the movie is still subject to changes during development. This standalone project, based on Grant Morrison's interpretation of Batman, will feature the Dark Knight and his son Damien Wayne as Robin, whose existence Batman is initially unaware of. And the Muschetti is slated to direct, with the script penned by an undisclosed writer. Earlier this summer, J Gunn at highlighted Batman has his primary concern within DC, stating, quote, I'm not writing Batman, but I am working with the writer of Batman and trying to get it right because he's incredibly important to DC as is Wonder Woman. So outside of the stuff that I'm going to that I'm doing in the projects that are actively going, our two priorities are finishing our Wonder Woman and our Batman scripts. Unquote. As the early production process uh progresses, casting naturally becomes a focus. When asked if this integration of Batman would be older as a father figure, Gunn responded, no, I think you have to wait to see the movie. Some things have changed, plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with Damien's parentage and all that stuff. So I wouldn't take any of it. Yeah, I mean, the actor who wants to listen, first of all, I can't tell you the amount of big actors that have told me they want to be Batman. I think you'd have a hard, harder time find actors who don't want to be Batman. He's the one character everyone wants to play, that's the truth. Now other upcoming DCU projects include a Viol Davis Waller series, the spinoff show Lanterns, the Superman Sequel Man of Tomorrow, and Supergirl, starring Millie Alcock. Gunn recently confirmed to Deadline that there are no current plans for a third season of Peacemaker. However, he did that say that some Peacemaker characters will continue in RDC series, clarifying, quote, it's not exactly Peacemaker 3. He also provides a new update on the Authority. Now let's go on to the Geek News. Thompson and Ryan Jr. are lifelong fans, with Thompson having worked with Savage on a Nickelodeon promo back in 1999. The film, titled Macho, is based on a completed script by Savage's late brother, Lanny Paffo, who passed away in February of 2023, and Eric Shapiro. Thompson and Ryan Jr. will produce alongside Paul Coy Allen of Midas Entertainment Group, with Jonathan Davino, Corey Litwin, Boris Schartz, and Monica Weber serving as exec producers, Range Select will handle sales for the project. Born Randy Mario Paffo, the macho man Randy Savage was a highly influential figure in professional wrestling from the 1970s to the early 2000s. The son of wrestler and promoter Angelo Paffo, Savage initially pursued a baseball career playing in the farm systems of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. A shoulder injury led him to pivot to wrestling, where he adopted his iconic macho man persona. Starring in the mid-1970s, Savage honed his larger-than-life character in regional promotions before signing on with the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-1980s. He later brought his intense style to World Championship Wrestling, achieving six World Heavyweight Championship titles across both organizations. Savage largely retired from wrestling in the early 2000s and tragically died of a sudden heart attack in May of 2011 at 58 years old while driving in Florida. He was posthumously inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 while his life has also been chronicled in WWE specials, AE's biography, WWE Legends, and various books and documentaries. This will be the first narrative feature film about his life. In a statement to deadline, AFA's Ryan Jr. described Macho Man Randy Savage as the greatest showman of all time and the OG bad boy of entertainment. Praising his electric personality and iconic outfits, he also commended Landy and Eric's script for capturing Savage's story and the vibrant 80s wrestling era that uh elevated wrestlers to pop culture icon status. Thompson expressed his excitement, calling Randy Savage hands down one of the greatest of all-time. Alan of Myas Entertainment Group stated that Macho is a rare, electrifying story that wars across generations and expressed honor in participating with AFA and Ranged Media to share Randy's story. News of the Macho Man's biopic follows AFA's announcement of a remake of the 1980s slasher film Sleepaway Camp, with original filmmaker Robert Hildzik returning to direct his own script. Emmy nominated for Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson, AFA has been aggressively expanding its film and TV slate as Thompson continues to balance his side to night live commitments with other projects. Wizards of the Coast unveiled its Magic to Gathering plans for the upcoming year at MagicCon Atlanta, confirming the continued expansion of its Universes Beyond sets. Following the success of Final Fantasy, these crossover sets are venturing further than ever with a Star Trek set officially confirmed for 2026. Star Trek is one of the seven new sets revealed for Magic's 2026 roadmap, a mix of universes beyond collaborations and traditional magic sets. Crossover sets will outnumber traditional magic sets by a four to three ratio. Here's a rundown of the confirmed releases. January 2026 will see Lorrowin Eclipsed. Magic will return to the Celtic-inspired plane of Lorrowin for the first time since 2008. This set sees students from Strixhaven's magical academies exploring Lorrowin's wilds in search of adventure and magic. In March of 2026, Secret Universe Beyond set and an unrevealed crossover set that will follow Eclipse with details being announced at the NeurocomCon taking place on October 9th to 12th. April 2026 will see Secrets of Strixhaven following the events of Lorewind Eclipse. This second Strixhaven set will bring the students back to the plane of Akravos for classes. Having experienced adventure, players will also explore more of Akravos beyond the Strixhaven Academy. In June of 2026, Marvel Superheroes will arrive, while a Spider-Man set recently launched, Wizards of the Coast expanding its Marvel Comics integration with superheroes, which will feature a wider array of legendary heroes and villains, including the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Heroes for Hire, and Squirrel Girl. August of 2026 will bring The Hobbit to Magic. Magic will revisit Tolkien after the Tales of the Middle Earth set, which effectively launched Universes Beyond. Now this new set will focus on Bilbo Baggin's journey with Thorn Oakenshield to the Lonely Mountains to confront Smaug, rather than the War of the Ring. October 2026, we'll see Revality Fracture. After a summer of crossovers, this mysterious set returns to the core magic multiverse. Wizards has shared little information except that this will tie into plot lines, teas in the Lorewind Eclipsed and Secrets of Strixhaven, and will follow legendary planeswalker Jace Bilarin as he explores various realms of existence after the events of Tarkir Dragonstorm. In November 2026, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, the original series, Star Trek will receive its own Magic the Gathering set. This collaboration follows Magic's previous Trek-inspired sci-fi elements in Edge of Eternities. Now, while Wizards is promising representation for the entire franchise, early teasers hit at both Star Trek and Star Trek the Next Generation. The extent of franchise coverage remains to be seen, especially after Final Fantasy's heavy focus on seven on seven and nineteen. Or 14, excuse me. So you know what do you think? Magic the Gathering goes Star Trek. I still have the original Star Trek uh card game. I still have a whole box of those cards. I think if I play I played it once. So you know I'm looking to, you know. Interested. I don't think I'll get them, but you know, I'm interested to see, you know, what kind of what kind of artwork there is. Anyway, some uh really exciting news. There's a new Simpsons movie in the works, and it's coming out on July 23rd, 2027. The second Simpsons movie to hit the screen big screen will fill a date for Disney that's simultaneously being vacated by an untitled Marvel movie. The Simpsons movie was released back in July of 2007 and was a hit, opening to 74 million and making 183 million domestic and more than 536 million worldwide. It was at the time when TV properties, even if they were still on television, could excel on the big screen. Now David Silverman directed the Simpsons movie, and r they'll uh but uh we have very little intel on what this new movie is uh all about. Uh it does take place roughly about what the 40th anniversary of The Simpsons, so you know, could this be a series finale for The Simpsons? You know, wrap it up with a with the with the movie. Yeah. We never we we won't know until we get there, I guess. Anyway, video game publisher Electronic Arts, known for its popular franchises such as Madden NFL and The Sims, is set to be acquired in a$55 billion private transaction. This leverage buyout, the largest of its kind to date, is spearhead by consortium of investors including Silver Lake, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. The all-cash deal anticipated to close in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 with shareholders receiving$210 per share. This represents a 25% premium over the stock's closing price last Thursday. News of the impending deal initially surfaced last Friday, causing EA shares to surge by 15%, followed by an additional 5% gain in pre-market trading on Monday. Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, stated, quote, our rip, creative and passionate teams at EA have delivered extraordinary experiences for hundreds of millions of fans, built some of the world's most iconic IP, and created significant value for our business. The moment is a powerful recognition of their remarkable work. Looking ahead, we will continue to push the boundaries of entertainment, sports, and technology, unlocking new opportunities. Unquote. Prior to the official announcement, reports on Friday that EA was finalizing a deal to go private at a$50 billion valuation had already driven up the company shares by 15%. This pushed EA's market value to approximately$48 billion by Friday's close, a share price of$193.35. EA, a fixture in video game publishing since the 80s, with titles tied to the NFL, the NBA, ProSoccer, and first-person shoes like Battlefield, operates in a rapidly evolving landscape. The industry has seen significant growth in mobile and social gaming, a shift towards free-to-play models with a diverse range of smaller developers, and a decline in the market-defining influence of major consoles like Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox. Despite remaining a powerful force, EA's reliance on franchises has recently led to stock vitality. Concerns over its football game pipeline caused a double-digit drop in shares, although optimism surrounding the upcoming release of Battlefield 6 recently boosted the stock, the Entertainment Software Association's reported that total spending on video games in 2024 remained flat, with 2023 at 59.3 billion. Now the Wall Street Journal noted that modern leveraged buyouts are less risky due to the increased resources of sovereign wealth funds and top-tier investors. Unlike past LBOs, often backed by numerous private equity firms that face strategic disagreements and heavy debt burdens, current models involve fewer, more financially robust sponsors. This particular deal, if finalized, would easily surpass the 32 billion excluding debt record set by the 2007 TXU transaction, making it the largest leverage buyout in history. Yeah, I'm I'm of mixed mixed thoughts about this. You know, Saudi Arabia is is just bad news. Period. And have Jared Kushner be a part of this too, just do I stop playing The Sims because of this? Do I know what do I do? Who knows? Jeremy Irons, an actor celebrated for achieving the triple triple crown of acting, and Oscar and Emmy and a Tony, has joined the cast of Amazon's M MGM Amazon MGM's Highlander, a remake of the 1980s called Classic. Henry Cavill leads an impressive cast that includes Russell Crowe, Marissa Abela, Dave Batista, Karen Gillian, Jamon Hansu, with Chad Selensky directing the Action Fantasy, which was being released theatrically under the Amazon MGM's United Artist Banner. Production was initially set for late September, early October, but was postponed to early 2026 after Cavill sustained an injury during pre-production. Now Cavill is set to portray Conan Cloud, the medieval Scotch Highlander who discovers his immortality. He's guided by a swordsman named Ramirez, played by Crow, as he battles other immortals throughout history, striving for the ultimate declaration from the original 1986 film, There Gat Be Only One. Batista will take on the role of the Kurrigan, the film's primary antagonist. Jolene will play McLeod's immortal Scottish wife, while Han Shu portrays an immortal warrior from Africa. Abella will be cast as McLeod's modern romantic interest, with Max Zhang and Drew McIntyre also part of the ensemble. In a potential significant role, Irons will play the film's secondary antagonist, the leader of The Watchers, the secret order that monitors immortals, viewing them as a threat to humanity. The script for the remake was written by Michael Finch, producing the film is uh Scott Stubbber and Nick Nesbitt, free NAD artists, alongside Neil H. Moritz, Chad Stalsky's 87 Election Entertainment, Chad Josh Davis's of Davis Panzer Productions, and Louise Rosener. At 13, Mark Miller submitted his first comic book proposal, Concord, which featured a dragon attacking the White House. His simple pitch involved a portal opening and fantasy creatures conquering America. Though initially rejected by DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz, Concord is now becoming a reality in 43 years later, following Miller's success with titles like Kick Ass and Kingsman. Miller's launching a Kickstarter for the first of four volumes, collaborating with artist Valero Giangiordano, known for Nemesis Rogues Gallery and Spawn, Giangiordano, has been working on the project since early 2025 and considers it his most ambitious undertaking as he depicts the entire world at war with fantasy creatures. Miller describes the project as Independence Day meets Game of Thrones, envisioning dragons, barbarians, and other hordes emerging from a New York City portal to conquer America and then the rest of the world. Despite the fantastical elements, the story aims to be grounded. The Kickstarter runs through October and is for a book from Side Hustle Comics. Conquered is an independent of Miller's work with Netflix, which acquired the company Miller World in 2017 and adapted titles like Jupiter's Legacy and The Chosen One for the screen. Sam, raising over$100,000. And finally, for Halloween, Afterlife with Archie, a new hour-long drum series based on Roberto Aguera Sacha's and Francesco Francavila's best-selling Archie comic book series, is currently in development at Disney Plus. This marks a potential television return for Archie in the game, but in an apocalyptic setting. The project has received a scripted series commitment and hails from the same creative team behind the CW's Riverdale and Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, including writer Aguarda Sacha, Greg Brlante's Brlanti Productions, and Warner Brothers Television. Penned by Aguarda Sacha, Afterlife with Archie reimagines Riverdale as a zombie-infested nightmare-fueled hellscape. Exact producers for the series include Aguarda Sacha and Jimmy Gibbons, Brillante, Sarah Schechter, and Leia Linden Redman and John Goldwater. Aguarde Sache, a prolific film, TV, and comic book writer, previously wrote Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Archie Comics 2 top-selling horror series. He was appointed in the publ appointed the publisher's chief create officer in 2014. Shortly after Riverdale with Aguarda Sacha, writing and Brillante Productions, and WB TV producing, was sold to Fox before moving to the CW for seven seasons and spawning the Kitty Keen spin-off. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, another Archie-based story, ran for 36 episodes over four parts on Netflix. Afterlife with Archie is the latest of the Aguirre Satcha's original Archie comics to receive a TV series adaptation. Now his project signifies WBTV's most significant development commitment to date at Disney Plus, and also represents Berlante Productions and WBTV's second high-profile streaming sale to Disney this year, following the spec script for Foster Dade, written by Berlante and Bash Dorian, which has received a pilot order at Hulu. Brlante Productions and WBTV have also several air projects underway, including an upcoming live-action Scooby-Doo series at Netflix and Stillwater, based on the Skybound comic book series, with a series order Amazon as well as Brilliant Minds, a sophomore season at NBC, and All American, which is headed for its eighth and final season on the CW. Fox has officially announced the cancellation of the animated comedy, The Great North, after five seasons. This decision comes two weeks after the 20th TV animation series except produced by Wendy Monieux, Lisa Molnieu-Logan, and Lauren Bouchard conclude its fifth season. Michael Thorne, president of Fox Telegram Entertainment, expressed gratitude to the show's creators, cast, and crew, acknowledging the five player seasons The Great North contributed to the animation domination landscape. The cancellation of The Great North finalizes Fox's decision on its 2025 bubble shows. This group also included dramas Rescue High Surf, Accused, Alert Missing Persons Unit, and The Cleaning Lady. Among these, Accused is being held for a potential future return as an event series while the others have been cancelled outright. Science of the Great Norse impending cancellation emerged in April when it was excluded from Fox's significant deal with Fox TV Animation. This deal included four-year renewals for The Simpsons, Family Guy Bob's Burgers, and return of American Dad to the network. With the addition of American Dad and the renewals of Fox's owned animated series Cropopolis and Grimsburg, along with the three puntfull shows, the animated slate became quite crowded, making the Great North's cancellation quite likely. And now that brings us to the end of the show for today. Please be sure to check us on social media. We're at Blue Sky and Twitter at multiverse tom, threads, Facebook, and Instagram as well. 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 multiverse tonight.com, or you'll find our Patreon and Kofi links. Check out our show notes. This is our Tea Public store and so much more. Now you'll uh if you'd like to leave some feedback as well, and or if this is your first time listening, thank you very much. Go ahead and hit that subscribe and share button and share us with others. Now uh 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. Now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse tonight is a production at Big John Productions, upright twenty twenty five. Alright, razor.

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