Snoopy Just Found A New Doghouse, And Batman Is Absolute

A whirlwind tour through Star Wars Minis, Strange New Worlds’ finale reveals, DC’s Absolute surge, and the business of legacy IP from Peanuts to Archie. We weigh box office milestones, a 007 delay, and what TMNT’s toy shift means for collectors and kids.

• Star Wars Minis launch as a kid-friendly gateway
• Strange New Worlds adds Bones and Sulu in the finale
• DC’s Absolute Universe drives sales and awards momentum
• Brainiac casting sets stakes for Man of Tomorrow
• Disney crosses $6B worldwide with a tight slate
• IO’s 007 delay to May 2026 and editions overview
• Sony boosts Peanuts ownership for global strategy
• Archie teams with Oni for 2026 reimagining
• TMNT toy license ends at Playmates, collectors implications

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Transcript

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Opening Tease And Headlines

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Tonight, Star Wars goes mini, Star Trek finds its bones, DC has a good year, and Peanuts finds a new home. All then more on this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Welcome to Multiverse Tonight, your source for GeekU. We dissect films, games, comics, and much more, bringing you insightful commentary on Pop Holy. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, Thomas Townley.

Host Update And Tech Woes

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Well, hello everyone, and welcome to uh this last edition of Multiverse Tonight for the year. Of course, your host, Thomas Townley, and hold on just a second here. I gotta fix a problem here with one of my cameras. Not very happy, not a very happy one. Um basically a couple weeks back, my computer have uh died. The the hard the SDD that uh the boot drive for my computer died. So they came out with a new they you know, I had service come out with a replacement. Unfortunately, it did not uh have the have a copy of what I had on my system. So unfortunately I had to you know reinstall everything, you know, which is a pain in the butt, but you know it's it's it's it's a good thing. It's I think of a spring cleaning. So I got all that done. Um I got more good news today. Uh for uh the first time in two months, I'm wearing two tennis shoes. I know it may not seem like much, but um basically went to the podiatrist today and he said, Yeah, you can you know wear the wear a lace up brace and a tennis shoe and y'all be just fine. So uh now I can now I can drive and I can go back to work soon. I've I've pretty much settled on, you know, I'm probably not gonna go back to work for two month for two weeks or so if if not longer than that, because frankly, I'm getting paid 60%. And really, he just wanted, you know, if I if I go back to work now to just work, you know, part-time. Well, if I'm getting paid 60% and I'm only gonna work there part-time, I might as well stay at home. So you know, that's pretty much what I'm doing right now. But anyway, uh the weather's been nice, it's been unseasonably warm. They've broken several records.

Recovery, Health, And Plans

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Seems like already, so let's get on with the Star Wars news.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Roger, Roger.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

The holiday season may not feature a new Star Wars film, but fans can still incorporate the galaxy far far away into their celebrations with Hold on just a second here. There we go. The holiday season may

Warm Weather Pivot To News

SPEAKER_00 3:49

not feature a new Star Wars film, but fans can still incorporate the galaxy far far away into their celebrations. Whether through uh

Star Wars Minis Holiday Launch

SPEAKER_00 3:56

movie marathons, new merchandise, or ringlace books, Lucasfilms joined the festivities by launching a new series of animated shorts called Star Wars Minis, which kicks off with a festive retelling of an iconic moment. The first installment, titled The Gingerbread Death Star Crumbles, is available on the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel and reimagines the classic Death Star trench run from Star Wars New Hope by blending the original film audio with a stylized animated short where all characters and ships are rendered as gingerbread cookies. This series is a passion project from IIM employees showcasing their love for the franchise. Now, more Star Wars Minis animations are scheduled for release in 2026, according to a post on the official Star Wars website. A behind-the-scenes featurette was teased. Upcoming shorts, including one featuring Yarn Dolls of Dinarn and Grogu. Now, uh, this will be, of course, targeting a younger audience by posting on the Star Wars Kids channel. The Minis initiative serves as a fantastic bite-sized introduction to classic Star Wars moments, while not a replacement for watching the movies or the series on Disney Plus, these eye-catching stylist animations are designed to capture kids' imaginations and generate interest in the franchise as a whole. The fun project allows Isle employees like Landis Fields, who spearhead the gingerbread Death Star short, to blend their personal passions, in this case baking reality shows, with their professional creative giving, each short a unique personality. Now, Lucasfilm's timing is strategic, preceding the 2026 release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first new Star Wars theatrical movie in seven years. The minis could encourage younger audiences to explore the movies and TV shows laying up to this new film, much like The Force Awakens appealed to multiple generations. This exposure and animation might also inspire kids to create their own projects.

Star Trek Finale Adds Bones And Sulu

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Now that sounds like fun, but let's go on to the Star Trek News. Star Trek News begins with the final season of Strange New Worlds, which will officially feature two fan favorite characters from the original series, Leonard McCoy, aka Bones, and Hakuru Sulu. Thomas Jane, who played The Punisher, has been cast as Leonard Bones McCoy, the character originally played by DeForest Kelly, and Kai Murakama will take on the role of Hakuru Sulu, originally portrayed by George DeKay. The news comes as production on the final season recently concluded. Now both characters are set to appear in the series finale, which will close out the show. Their introduction has long been speculated that Strange New Worlds is the prequel set before the original series. Their appearance in the final season will help complete the Enterprise crew roster as the series moves closer to the timeline where James T. Kirk assumes command. Paramount Plus previously renewed Star Trek Strange New Worlds for a sixth episode, sixth episode, fifth and final season in June and have its season three premiere in July. Seasons one and three are currently available in Paramount Plus with seasons four and five yet to have their premiere dates announced. Let's go on to the DC News.

DC Comics’ Absolute Universe Surge

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Just before Christmas, now the positive atmosphere at the Burbank-based companies largely attributed to the strong performance of its Batman titles and the year year-old Absolute Universe imprint. The success is not only measured in sales but also in critical acclaim, signaling a creative renaissance under the leadership of senior VP and General Manager Anne DePies, and president, publisher, and Chief Creative Creative Officer Jim Lee. Now, the Absolute Universe, launched back in the fall of 2024, revamped core heroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter by placing them in a pocket dimension. This setting, overseen by superstar comic act comic author Scott Snyder, allowed writers and artists to radically reimagine the characters from modern audiences, for instance, changing Bruce Wayne's father into a teacher who died saving his class from a mass shooting. The imprint has demonstrated significant commercial success. The monthly Absolute Universe Line has sold over 8.2 million units in total, not including December. And the Absolute Batman, the top seller, accounts for about 35% of the line's total sales, nearing 3 million units. Its first issue is already in its 10th printing, and the latest issue, Absolute Batman number 15, has orders exceeding 300,000. Now, while Absolute Batman, written by Snyder with art by Nick Drugoda, was nominated for a Best News Series Eisner Award, it was bested by a rifle title in the same imprint, Absolute Wonder Woman. Now, insiders report that five of the six absolute titles have outsold and outperformed DC's previous relaunches, the new 52 and rebirth, even with more niche titles like Absolute Martian Manhunter receiving six-figure orders, despite the character never being top tier. Now, Anthepies attributes these success to the fresh look that inverted the fundamentals of the characters and the line's manageable size. The tightness of the line gives retailers and fans something to wrap their heads around. It's not so overwhelming that we are changing everything at once. Jim Lee called the phenomenon lightning in a bottle, crediting Snyder, Joshua Williamson, and other creators for successfully navigating the creative tightrope between making changes meaningful but not unrecognizable. Despite the broad success of the absolute Batman uh of the absolute, Batman remains the company's most popular character dominating the DC slate. Four of the company's top five titles are Bat related, including Batman No. 1, which uh the September launch sold over 500,000 copies and continued to defy expectations. Artist Jorge Jimenez noted in social media posts that Batman No. 5 has received more pre-orders than previous issues, while Batman number 3 is going to a second print and Batman number two to a third print. Batman number 158 featured the return of Jim Lee to art duties, absolute Batman number 15, and uh uh Batman Deadpool, DC's crossover with Marvel Comics. There is also DCKO number one, which uh DC has found success by embracing non-traditional formats and distribution methods. Now, paperback collections of key stories have been a major hit with other publishers beginning to emulate the format format. They've also partnered with supermarket chains to make comics, typically first issues, available for sale, placing tiles in locations not seen in decades. Oh bam, that takes me back. That was my first comic books I bought at the girl at the white at the Larry's IGA in Anthony, Kansas. You know, I saw you know, I just happened to see Star Trek number 50, I believe. Or was it the annual number three? I think it was annual number three, on you know, on the top of the of the pile, because they were all in one stack. And I I was drawn straight to it because I was such a Star Trek fan. Anyway, according to Jim Lee, the company's triumphs sent from a more thoughtful planned approach to its publishing initiatives. The absolute line, for example, is not a spontaneous idea, but part of a grand plan, reflecting extensive creative planning with editorial and creators since Lee became sole publisher in 2020. In movie

Brainiac Cast For Man Of Tomorrow

SPEAKER_00 12:00

news, German actor Lars Ettinger has been cast as the iconic villain Brainiac in James Gunn's upcoming Superman and Lex Luthor movie Man of Tomorrow. Now, this marks Brainiac's debut on the big screen, despite the character being one of Superman's most popular comic book adversaries alongside Lex Luthor. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, Brainak first appeared in action comics number 242. The character is a highly intelligent android from the planet Kulu, driven by the desire to collect all knowledge in the universe. In Man of Tomorrow, David Cornswet's Man of Steel and Nicholas Holt's Luther reportedly joined forces against this new galactic threat, a role that Brainiac, known for shrinking cities and destroying planets, is well suited for. In the comics, Brainiac famously has a history of shrinking and in some storylines, even destroying Superman's home planet of Krypton. Algun uh confirmed the casting on Instagram rang, quote, in our world, search for the Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow, Lars Ettinger rose to the top. Welcome to the DCU, Lars, unquote. Now, Ettinger has received European award nominations as known for his roles in movies such as Oliver Essay's Clouds of Silas Mara and Personal Shopper, as well as the Netflix films Jay Kelly and White Noise. Now, last year, Ettinger received a European actor nomination at the European Film Awards for the film Dying, and he is set to return in the futuristic romance movie Beyond the Not Hole. Man of Tomorrow is expected to begin production in April with a theatrical release date of July 9th, 2027. This will be Gunn's second major tent poll for the DC Studios, which co-leads, he co-leads with Pierre Safran, following the first Superman film, which grossed over $616 worldwide. Now let's go on to the DC or the Geek News, excuse me.

Disney Hits $6B Box Office

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Disney Studios essentially surpassed the $6 billion mark worldwide box worldwide box office threshold, showcasing the continued strength of the theatrical release model. This achievement, reached uh recently, is broken down into a domestic gross of $2.3 billion, the highest for any major studio in the U.S. year to date, and an international gross of $3.65 billion. The studio's success uh was accelerated by the global performance of James Cameron's avatar, Fire and Ash, which has earned over $450 million to date, pushing Disney past the milestone a few days earlier than anticipated. Disney is the first and only studio to cross the $6 billion mark this year, significantly leading the next major studio, Warner Bros., which currently stands at $4.3 billion. Notably, Warner Brothers was the first studio to cross the $4 billion mark this year. This marks Disney's biggest box office year since 2019, when the studio set an all-time record of $13.1 billion, with $11.1 billion from Disney branded titles and the remainder from 20th Century and Searchlight productions. The only time a major studio has exceeded $10 billion worldwide. This is the fifth time Disney has surpassed $6 billion, with previous years being 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016. Disney reached this milestone driven by 16 worldwide releases, including two titles that have grossed over 1 billion, Zootopia 2 and Lilo and Stitch. And these are the only two MPA titles to hit the billion dollar mark this year. Additionally, three Marvel Studio films, The Fantastic 404 Steps, Thunderbolts, and Captain America Brave New World, collectively topped $1.3 billion. Other key contributors included Predator Badlands, which became the highest-grossing film in the 38-year-old franchise, with nearly $184 million, and Freak Your Friday, which made $153.1 million. While not high-grossing, Tron Ares and Pixar's Elio also contributed to the total. Recent box office updates highlight Avatar Fire and Ash's strong performance. The film collected 50.8 million worldwide, and with uh 16.5 million coming from North America just this past weekend. The current running total for the Cameron Silver uh for the for James Cameron's story threequel is 119 million domestically and 31.1 million overseas, with China leaving international results at 67 million.

007 Game Delay And Editions

SPEAKER_00 16:31

So uh I guess we'll just have to see more avatar movies, won't we?

SPEAKER_01 16:41

I haven't seen one of them. Not one. Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

The Danish developer explained the reason for the postponement on social media. Quote, the game is progressing well and is fully playable from beginning to end, so these additional two months will allow us to further polish and refine the experience, ensuring we deliver the strongest possible version at launch. We're confident this sets 007 first light up for a long-term success, and we sincerely appreciate the patience and continued support we've received ever since we revealed the game. Originally set for March 27, 2026, the game's new release date is May 27, 2026, which coincidentally is the same day as GTA 6. 007 was showcased during PlayStation 2025 State of Play in September. The cast features Dexter original Sin star Patrick Gibson as a young 007 in his early days of MI6. He is joined by Lena James as Greenway, Puranga Burford as M, Alistair McKenzie as Q, and Kira Lester as Moneypenny. Pre-orders are now open. The standard edition is priced at $69.99, and all pre-orders placed before launch will be automatically upgraded to the deluxe edition, which includes cosmetic upgrade, cosmetic features, and 24-hour early access for digital downloads. Additionally, I.O. is offering a special edition for $299.99, which has the base game, the deluxe edition content, a golden gun figurine, a certificate of authenticity, steel case with a magnet, a golden gun weapon skin, and an obsidian gold suit. That's a lot of money.

Peanuts Stake Acquired By Sony

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Anyway, the allure of intellectual property is still strong in Hollywood, as demonstrated by the recent deal involving the Peanuts characters. Late this year, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan announced the acquisition of a significant stake in Peanuts Holding LLC, the entity that controls the rights to Charles M. Schultz's beloved creations, including Charlie Brown and Snoopy. The transaction saw Sony acquire the approximately 41% stake previously held by Canadian entertainment company Wildbrain for about $460 million. The purchase increases Sony's ownership to 80% of penis holding, with members of the Schultz family retaining the remaining 20%. Sony had already held a previous stake in the venture. The president CEO of Sony Japan expressed enthusiasm for the increased ownership, noting Sony's pride in being a partner since 2018. He said that the greater stake allows them to further elevate the value of the Peanuts brand by leveraging the Sony Group's extensive global network and expertise. He also emphasized a commitment to honoring the legacy of Charles Schultz, adding that in partnership with SPE and WildBrain, they will ensure Peanuts remains relevant and beloved across generations.

Archie Reimagined With Oni Press

SPEAKER_00 20:00

Now, Peanuts is an American institution built on a daily comic strip that ran for 50 years until Schultz's death in 2000, and was has been submitted in pop culture through specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, as well as a rescreen, a well-received 2015 feature film, The Peanuts Movie. Now, more recently, Wild Brain has kept the IP active with animated series such as Snoopy in Space and The Snoopy Show. OniPress and Archie Comics are embarking on a major partnership announced as the first time Archie's iconic characters will be released in collaboration with another publisher. The goal is to reimagine and refresh the classic characters for a 2026 audience. The collaboration began with a Zoom meeting in early 2025 between Onipress president and publisher Hunter Gorison and Archie Comic Publish Publications executives John Goldwater, Jesse Goldwater, and Mike Pelletro, which started as a what was started as a routine industry chat involved into a long-running Archie comic discussion about updating the long-running Archie Comics, which first appeared in 1941. Gorison described the challenge, quote, how do you make a character that is so malleable and has been put in virtually every situation possible in Riverdale and beyond to do something fresh in the year 2026? Unquote, the new books aim to shift the perspective from adults' idealistic version of what their childhood should have been to something more contemporary. Despite the desire for big swings, the core elements of hope, comfort, and familiarity will remain. A partnership will bear fruit in the second half of 2026 with a cyclist with a reimagined slate of monthly comic series, originally original graphic novels and prestige collections. These will feature core characters like Archie, Betty, Veronica Jughead, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats. The initial wave of books features surprising creative teams from the indie comics world. Archie will launch in September of 2026,

TMNT Toys License Ends

SPEAKER_00 22:06

written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Eisner, winner Fabio Moon, and Nick Cagnetti. Sabrina the Teenage Witch will launch in October 2026 with Hugo and Eisner nominated Karina Beko with art by Kano. Archie in Hell. Yes, that's right, folks. Archie's going to hell. In November of 2026, the horror title penned by Patrick Horvath and art with art by Tyler Crook. The new Archie Line will be editorially overseen by Oni's Sierra Hahn, Bess Pilars, and Megan Brown, with guidance from Archie Comics Jamie Rotanti and Vincent Lovello. The partnership extends for Beyond New Monthly Series with collections following the new Archie No. 1 debut. Oni will release brand new collections showcasing all eras of Archie history in various formats, including Digest, Dedlux hardcovers, omnibuses, and box sets. The goal is to highlight work from creators like John L. Goldwater, Bob Mantana, Dan DiCarlo, Tom King, and others. And the all-new line of uh will expand in 2027 with an all-new line of middle grade and young adult graphic novels set in their own separate continuity, which will debut with acclaimed comic uh create acclaimed creative teams. This announcement announcement comes as Archie characters continue to thrive in our media, such as the uh seventh season run of Riverdale on the CW, the RG uh Afterlife with Archie adaptation in development at Disney Plus, and a feature film being developed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, written by Tom King for Universal. So uh Archie's gone to hell. What a time to be alive. Paramount and Playmates Toys have announced that their long-standing licensing agreement with Teenage Mean Inch Turtles will not be renewed. Playmates Holding subsidiary, Playmates International, has held the rights to design, manufacture, distribute, and sell TMNT branded products since 1988, under license from Viacom Media Networks, a division of Paramount. Now, despite renewal negotiations beginning October, Playmates has now received formal notification that the agreement will expire on December 31st, 2026. Playmates will, however, retain the right to sell its remaining TMT inventory for an additional 90 days after the expiration date. Licensed TMET products have recently constituted a substantial portion of Playmates toys revenue, was 8% in 2021, 13 in 2022, 77 in 23, 47% in 2024, and 36% from just January to June of this year. So uh those uh teenage mutiny tutorials you have, I guess they're gonna be collectibles finally.

Closing Credits And Support

SPEAKER_00 24:51

And that brings us to the end of our uh show for today. Now uh please be sure to check us out on social media. We're on blue sky at multiverse tom threads, Facebook and Instagram at multiverse tonight. If you've gotten some value out of the show and would like to pay it back, please head on over to multiverse tonight.com, where you can find our Patreon and Kofi links, check our show notes, visit our Tea Public store, and so much more. And if you'd like to leave some feedback, that'd be great as well. If this is your first time listening, thank you and welcome. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button, share it with others. A 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 big art. All right.