Starfleet Academy Ends As Firefly Returns In Animation

We run through the biggest sci-fi, comic book, and fandom headlines, from Star Trek Starfleet Academy ending early to surprising reboot and casting moves across Marvel, DC, and beyond. We also slow down to honor creators and performers whose work shaped genre culture for decades. 
• Star Trek Starfleet Academy set to end with season two 
• frustration with short streaming seasons and thin worldbuilding 
• Ubisoft reveals Monopoly Star Wars Heroes vs Villains and what we know so far 
• Vision Quest taps a notable composer and teases MCU continuity 
• DC updates on Man Of Tomorrow and Lanterns casting 
• Firefly animated series development details and timeline placement 
• Paramount rejects a reported GI Joe movie treatment and keeps shopping scripts 
• Lord of the Rings The Hunt for Gollum casting buzz and release timing 
• Siren Awards highlights and why genre recognition matters 
• Schwarzenegger linked to King Conan plus other potential returns 
• Netflix casts the live action Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc leads 
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer New Sunnydale pilot gets scrapped and sparks backlash 
• remembering Sam Kieth, Matt Clark, and Nicholas Brendon 
Please be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Blue Sky at multiverse Tom, George, 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. Check our show notes, visit our Tea Public store, leave some feedback, and so much more. Go ahead and hit that subscribe button and share us with others. 

Transcript

Tonight’s Headlines

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Tonight, bringing Starfleet Academy news, Star Wars Monopoly, the video game, The Return of a Rebellion, and the End of a Slayer. And we remember Sam Keith, Matt Clark, and Nicholas Brendan, all of them more on this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Welcome to Multiverse Tonight, your source for Geek News. We'd dissect films, games, comics, and much more, bringing you entitled commentary on Mobile Home. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, Star Trek News begins with Star Trek's some breaking news. Star Trek Starfleet Academy will end with its upcoming second season. Variety is learned Variety uh released that today exclusively. The show was originally picked up at Paramount Plus in 2023, with the streamer renewing the show for a second season before the first had even aired. The first season debuted in January and it had season finale in March on March 12th, with a second season wrapping production. Quote, uh CBS Studios in Paramount Plus in a joint statement, we're incredibly proud of the ambition, passion, and creativity that went to bring Star Trek Starfleet Academy to life. The series introduced audiences to a bold new group of characters, welcomed familiar faces, and expanded the Star Trek universe in exciting new ways. We're grateful to Alex Kurtzman, Nogalandau, Gaia Valo, and the entire cast and crew who pushed star telling bound star storytelling boundaries in the spirit of Gene Ron Bray's vision. We look forward to sharing the second and final season with everyone, and continue to celebrate the cast crew and all that was accomplished with the series. Or you know what we we know there's supposed to be a movie uh coming about, but that's pretty much all we know. Are they going to shudder the golden this golden goose? Or are they, you know, I don't know, go a different direction? Are they gonna you know get rid of Alex Kurtzman, bringing in someone else? You know, frankly, yeah. Come on, guys, uh we need longer seasons, you know, something longer, ten episodes. Okay. We're getting nowhere of the ten episodes. There's not enough time to work out the characters, work out the universe. I mean, you you just had a show in a brand new century. We know very little about how how how life in that century is because there was so little to see, so little to work with. You know? We're Star Trek fans. We like techno babble, we like to know how the engines work, we like to know how transporters work, we like to know science and stuff. You know, storytelling is great, storytelling is fine, but give us you know m meat, if you will. Okay. Anyway, uh well, I guess we'll see what's up. Let's go to the Star Wars news. Star Wars News begins with Ubisoft, have surprising fans with an announcement for a new Star Wars video game, Monopoly Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains. The unexpected title, released with an initial teaser trailer, describes as a dynamic team-based twist on the world's favorite family board game. The game will allow teams of two or three to unite and use unique abilities to dominate the Monopoly board. Confirmed characters include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Kylo Wren, Darth Maul, Ray, Princess Leia, and much more from the films and TV shows. So Grogu, The Mandalorian, you know, people like that. While the exact gameplay mechanics are still a mystery, Ubisoft will be having a stream on April 29th to offer prospective players a detailed look at how the classic Monopoly format merges with these new ideas. The game is set for release on June 11th. Uh Monopoly Star Monopoly Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains will be available for$29.99. That's a bargain these days. On PS5, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 NPC. Let's go to the Marvel News. Marvel News begins with Vision Quest, the upcoming Marvel show starring Paul Bettany as the Avenger Vision, which has secured Michael Giacano as its uh composer. Now, the series will debut later this year and serves as the final installment of the TV trolley commenced with WandaVision and Agatha Hall Long. Giancano is uh an established figure in the realm of comic book adaptations. He earned an Emmy for his contributions to DC and HBO's The Penguin, building on his work from the Batman movie, which was scored by his father, veteran Marvel composer Michael Giacano. His other scoring credits include Disney and Lucasfilm's The Skeleton Crew, Disney's The Muppets Mayhem, AMC Plus's That Dirty Black Bag, and Disney's Zootopia Plus. His career began with Jim Hanson's Turkey Hollow. Now the series is being helmed by showrunner Terry Metallas, known for Picard. Vision Quest will also include James Spader, who will reprise his role as Ultron. Betney's Vision was first introduced in Avengers Age of Ultron, and that film also featured Ultron, and Betney himself is one of the longest-serving members of the MCU, having starred as the voice of Jarvis way back in 2008's Iron Man. So uh, yeah, that's something to look for. Let's go on to that DC comics news. Aaron Pierre, already known for already cast his Green Lantern's Jon Stewart in HBO's forthcoming lantern series, is joining the ensemble on James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to 2005's, excuse me, 2025's Superman. Gunn penned and is directing Man of Tomorrow, which is set to commence production in Atlanta this summer. The film sees the return of David Cornswet as Superman and Nicholas Holt as Lex Luthor, this time teaming up to combat Brainiac, a technological technological alien threat. German actors Lars Endiger will portray Brainiac, one of Superman's classic villains. Now the movie will bring back uh Rachel Brazahan as Lois, Skylar Jusondo, as Jimmy, uh Sarah Sampeo as Eve Teshmacher. Returning heroes include Hotgirl and The Engineer. Pierce's vision as Stewart Alliance was gun's vision for a cohesive DC screen universe, ingraining both films and television shows. Stewart, a member of the Grand Iron Corps, space cops patrolling Earth and its sector, makes total shift given the space-faring nature and alien origins of both Superman and Brainiac. DC's first live-action series, Lanterns, premieres in August. Now let's go on to that good old-fashioned Geek News. And Geek News begins with an interview with Nathan Phillian and Alan Tudic confirming the advanced development of a Firefly animated series, following a viral social campaign and immense fan support. Now Fillian and Tudic announced on Sunday that all surviving original cast members, Gian Torres, Jules Sati, Morena Bakarin, Sean Mayer, Summer Glau, and Anne Baldwin have committed to return as voice actors for their original characters. The late series regular Ron Glass, who died in 2016, will not be replaced, but his character Shepherd Book will be voiced by a different actor. I think that's replacing him, folks. Phillian's production company, Collision 33, is developing the animated reboot in partnership with 20th Television Animation. 20th Television Animation. I swear I don't have false teas, folks, which holds the franchise's rights. Mark Guggenheim and Tara Butters, a married writing-producing team known for DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Agent Carter from Marvel, are attached to showwriters. A script is already complete. Virtual series creator Josh Whedon has not evolved, but has given his blessings to the project. The proposed series is set in the timeline between the 2002 TV run and the 2005 feature film Serenity. Fillian explained this choice allows the show to expand the universe, maintain continuity, and crucially exists in what Tudic jokingly calls the Wash is still alive time, bringing the entire crew back together. Billy and felt Serenity was a beautiful farewell and did not want to compete with it by setting the new series afterwards. Now Phillian said that his entire career is there going to be more, has been the constant question from Firefly fans. The show was foundational to his career and set the bar for all subsequent work for the cast. Billyan was able to secure the entire cast by offering a low commitment, convenient way to participate, recording the voiceovers from home. He emphasized that none of them would be none of this would happen without the full commitment of every cast member. When asked about not hiring original series writers, Billy explained that many, like Tim Maneer, are currently running other high commitment TV shows. He prioritized finding showrunners with a deep love for the franchise, ultimately choosing Tara Butters and Mark Guggenheim, whose passion for Firefly was palpable. Phillian noted that recording voiceover is a low commitment and a low money-making venture compared to running a full-on show. They covered this uh in their podcast in Philly and Tudor's podcast, Once We Were Spacemen, which you can go out and find yourself. Anyway, Paramount Pictures has decided not to proceed with the proposed G.I. Joe movie treatment by Max Landis that uh we reported on uh what one or two episodes back. The studio has previously hired had previously hired Landis to develop a feature adaptation for the uh for the Hasbro franchise, a movie exclusively reported by the Hollywood Reporter in February. Now, this project was viewed by some as a potential career re-entry for the screenwriter, who had been inactive since 2019 following multiple sexual misconduct allegations. However, Paramount ultimately rejected Lannis' treatment. The studio is continuing to engage with other writers and is currently awaiting scripts for the film. One of these writers is the Righteous Gemstones star Danny McBride, who was commissioned to work on a separate G.I. Joe script. Lorenzo di Bonaventure will remain producer on the GI Joe films. Kate Winslett, fresh off her time in the Avatar Universe, is reportedly in talks to join another major franchise connected to New Zealand, Lord of the Rings, The Hunt for Gollum. The film is slated to begin production in the country this year. Winslet's specific role has not been disclosed. The movie will be directed by Andy Circus, who will also reprise his role as Gollum, the tragic character brought to life in Pier Jackson's original Lord of the Rings trilogy films and Lair of the Hobbit, The Unexpected Journey. Their goal is to gather information about Bilbo's Ring, which is revealed to be the One Ring, the central threat to Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings story. Pierre Jackson is producing the film alongside longtime Lord of the Ring collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyans, as well as Zayn Wiener. The feature has a skilled release date of December 17th, 2027 from Warner Brothers New Line Division. Or uh Warner Brothers New Line Division under Paramount, I guess. Now, uh, as we said, Ian McKellen is returning. Elijah Wood suggested he'd also be back as Frodo. So, you know, more Lord of the Rings stuff to look look forward to. Uh, let's cover the Siren Awards, the celebration of genre film and TV brought together a galaxy of stars this past Sunday, including Tom Cruise, James Cameron, George Lucas, Guillermo Del Toro, Vince Gilligan, Mark Hamill, William Shatner, and the cast of the boys. The recurring theme of the evening was the Siren's steadfast support for genre work, often overlooked by mainstream awards. James Cameron, the major winner for Avatar of Fire and Ash, underscored this point, recalling the award's support for his for him since his terminary days. He noted the box office power of their work, quote, they dismiss us, and yet constantly over time, of the 20 top 20 movies in history, or the top 20 films of the past 10 years, there are films, sci-fi, fantasy, horror. We make the films that put people in the theaters and keep the theaters open, unquote. Now, Cameron and Tom Cruise were among the night's most frequent winners, with both taking the stage often. Cameron won Best Science Fiction Film, Best Film Direction, and Best Film Screenwriting with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver for Aftar, Fire and Ash. Earlier, he was awarded with the George Powell Memorial Award alongside producer Gail Ann Hurd and the cast of aliens for the film's 40th anniversary. Cruz accepted awards for Best Actor in a Film for Mission Impossible to Final Reckoning, which also won Best Action Adventure movie. And he gave a speech honoring Visionary Award recipient Christopher McQuarrie. Cruz also led a standing ovation for George Lucas, who received the Dr. Donald A. Reid's Founder Award. MC Joel McHale's jokes kept a mood light, with Cruz flashing his signature smile throughout. Even actor David Dashmulgan, a winner for Dexter Resurrection, used his acceptance speech to playfully pitch himself for Cruz and McCorry for a villainous role. On the intelligence side, Vince Gilligan's Plerbus was a big winner, claiming Best New Genre TV series, with wins for Rhea Seahorn for Best Actress, and Carolina Wydra for Best Supporting Actress. The Star Trek Star Wars universe also shined as former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy accepted Best Science Fiction TV series for Andorr, with its stars Diego Luna and Stellen Skarsgard winning Best Actor and Supporting Actor, respectively. Other major TV winners include Peacemaker for Best Superhero TV series, Outlander for Best Fantasy TV series, it Welcome to Derry for Best Horror TV series, and Dexter Resurrection for Best Thriller TV series. And there's a full list of winners out there, so uh go ahead and uh look that up. And speaking of Christopher McCorry, uh he and Arnold Schwarzenegger are teaming up to revitalize the Conan the Barbarian franchise. Swarzenaker is set to reprise his iconic role as the sword-wielding hero in King Conan, which uh Macquarie, known for directing the last four Mission Impossible films, is attached to right and direct for 20th Century Studios. Schwarzenegger first made the character created by author Robert E. Howard a signature role in the 1982 fantasy film and its 1984 sequel. The announcement of Macquarie's involvement was made by Schwarzenegger at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio over the weekend. During the festival, the star also mentioned other potential returns to his famous roles. He revealed discussions with Dan Trekkenberg, who successfully revived the Prether's franchise with 2022's Prey and last year's Prether Badlands. Additionally, Schwarzenegger has received a script for Commando 2, which would return as Colonel John Matrix, a role he originally in the 1985 action movie.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Describing the plot of King Conan, Schwarzenegger told the audience, quote, It's a great story where Conan was 40 years king, and he gets complacent, and now he gets forced out of the kingdom slowly. Then there's conflict, of course, and then he somehow comes back. And then there's all kinds of madness and violence and magic and creatures, unquote.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

So uh there you have it. Schwarzenegger's coming back for coding one more time.

unknown 17:14

Yeah.

Scooby-Doo Live Action Mystery Inc

Buffy New Sunnydale Pilot Axed

Remembering Sam Kieth

Remembering Character Actor Matt Clark

Remembering Nicholas Brendon

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SPEAKER_01 17:15

That'll be kind of interesting, I guess. Uh Netflix has completed the casting for its human members of Mystery Inc., the iconic amateur sleuthing group from Scooby-Doo for its upcoming live action series. Uh Shaggy Rogers will be played by Tanner Hagen from The Pit and Dark Light. Velma Dinkley will be played by Abby Ryder Fortson from Are You Their God as Me Margaret. Uh, Fred Jones will be played by Maxwell Jenkins from Lost in Space and The Bondsman. Daphne Blake will be played by McKenna Grace, who uh is in a lot of stuff, folks. The casting finalizes a lengthy search for the leads in the live-action reimagining of the classic Scooby-Doo cartoon. The series is an origin story dealing with how with how the famous Mystery Crew and her dog first united. So uh with that coming out, which I hey we all know how they got together, I was called a pup named Scooby-Doo. Go watch that. It's fantastic. The highly anticipated Hulu series Buffy the Vampire Slayer New Sunnydale, featuring Oscar winning director Chloe Zhao and original star server Michelle Geller, has been axed, leading to a significant online backlash and finger pointing. Now, Giller herself publicly criticized a Hulu executive for his unfamiliarity with the source material, placing blame squarely on the studio's leadership. The pilot script, penned by Nora and Leah Zuckerman, introduced a new 16-year-old slayer named Nova. The original Slayer, Buffy Ann Summers, was relegated to an almost anonymous existence as a happy office worker in New York City. Her appearance was limited to a final tag scene with only one line of dialogue, though her piece was said to be shattered by the newly awakened Sunnydale. The story was set during a vampire weekend festival in the re-established town of Sunnydale, where Nova discovers her powers, defeats two vampires, and forms a new Scooby gang. The cliffhanger revealed that all vampires buried after the hell's mouth collapse in 2003 had been resurrected. The revival was considered a slam dunk, notably for sidestepping original series Josh Whedon, due to toxicity allegations. Geller was convinced to return, specifically by Zhao, who had expressed deep admiration for the original series. Geller broke the news of the project's death by Instagram, and she directly blamed Craig Irwich, the head of Hulu Originals, for the show's struggles, saying that he was, quote, proudly proud to constantly remind us that he had never seen the entirety of the series, unquote. Sources indicate a misalignment between Zhao's cinema style, described as gorgeous, almost journalistic filmmaking on films like Nomad Land and the expedition required for a TV pilot. The pilot was reportedly undershot, lacked coverage, and featured under underdirected performances, with the young appearance of Lead Armstrong contributing to the show Playing Too Young. Despite a rewrite by the Zuckermans, which include more Buffy and a note to age up the show's feel, sources close to the project suggested executives felt the pilot was not strong enough to meet the high standards of the established fandom and did not justify the investment. So there you have it, folks. Buffy is again dead. And uh let's say goodbye to those who have gone before. First up, comic book creator Sam Keith, known for co-creating the Sandman and introducing the world to the max, has passed away at the age of 63. His friend Scott Dunbar uh shared the news on behalf of the family, saying that Keith died on Sunday, March 15th, following a long battle with Louis Body Dementia. The family has requested that in lieu of a memorial service or flowers, donations be made in Keith's name to the Hero Initiative, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or the Louis Body Dementia Association. Keith's work has left an indelible mark on the industry. He co-created Sandman with Neil Gaiman and penciled the first five issues of the declaimed series, helping to define the earliest adventures of Dream, which later became an iconic comics property and a Netflix series. In 1993, Keith introduced the Max, one of the wildest original creatures in comics. Max's unforgettable purple and yellow design, large teeth, and spiked hands immediately made an impression. The premise was equally surreal, with Max existing between the real world, where he was a homeless man protecting Julie Winters, and a dreamscape known as the Outback, where he was the powerful protector of the Leopard Queen. The series delivered chaos to both worlds, including a memorable crossover with Batman. The Max was also adapted into a memorable animated series on MTV, and IDW later republished the original series. Sense of work also included Zero Girl, Wolverine slash Hulk, Batman's Secrets, Judge Dread, Thirty Days of Night, Elnora and the Egret, The Hollows, Batman Lobo, Deadly Series, Lobo, Highway to Hell, Mars Attack's Firstborn, Batman, and Batman Through the Looking Glass. Sam Keith was 63 years old. Next up, character actor Matt Clark, whose career spanned over 100 film and TV roles from classics like In the Heat of the Night and numerous Westerns to Seth McFarlane, including Seth McFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West, died on March 15th in Austin. He was 89 years old. Air representative for the family confirms his death to Deadline, but did not release the cause. Born in Washington on November 25th, 1936, Clark served in the Army before studying at the HB Studio in New York with Herbert Burgoff and William Hickey, beginning his career in the living theater and off Broadway before transitioning to the screen. His first two films were Black Like Me in 1964 and the 1967 Best Picture Oscar Winner in The He of the Night, which starred Sidney Pointier. Clark had scores of film roles throughout his career. In a notable year, 1972, he appeared in the wilderness film Jeremiah Johnson opposite Robert Ridford and John Houston's The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean with Paul Newman. The following year, he was cast in films, starring James Coburn and Chris Christofferson and Burt Reynolds. He also shared the screen with Clint Eastwood in the iconic 1976 Neo Western The Outlaw Josie Wales, and with Jeff Bridges in Hearts of the West. Over the next four decades, he had our film credits included Brue Baker, Some Kind of Hero, Honky Tonk Man, Back to the Future Part 3, 42, and his final screen appearance, A Million Ways to Die in the West, back in 2014. On TV, Clark was a frequent guest star on series such as Bonanza, The Waltons, Kung Fu, Little House on the Prairie, Dynasty, Magnum P.I., Lois, and Clark, The New Adventures of Superman, Grace Under Fire, Touched by an Angel, Chicago Hope, and Walker, Texas Ranger. He also appeared in the Range Jackernaut, 1983's mini-series, The Winds of War. His only series regular role was a supporting co-worker on the first season of the ABC sitcom, The Jeff Fox for the show. He did not return for the second season when it moved to NBC. Clark was married three times. And his last one, his last wife, followed him to his death. He is survived by Mays, his sons Matthias, Jason, and Seth, daughter Amy, nine grandchildren, and a great-grandson. Matt Clark was 89 years old. And finally, and uh coincidentally, following the heartbreaking news that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was not coming back, author Nicholas Brendan, known best for his role as Xander Harris on the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer, passed away at the age of 54. A former castmate confirmed the news to deadline.com. According to a statement shared with his family on Instagram, Brendan died on Friday, March 20th in his sleep of natural causes. The family statement read, Quote, We're heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendan. He passed in a sleep of natural causes. Most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and the characters he brought to life over the years. In recent years, Nicky has found his passion in painting and art. Nicky loved to share his enthusiastic account with his family, friends, and fans. He was passionate, sensitive, and endlessly driven to create. The segment always acknowledged, also acknowledged his racist struggles with treat and treatment. Those, quote, those who truly knew him knew that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was. While it's no secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications and treatment to manage his diagnosis. And he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing. Our family thanks, our family asked for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination, and heart. Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support. Throughout Buffy the Vampire's seventh-season run on the WB and UBN. Brendan starred in the 2000 comic horror film Psycho Beach Party. His other film credits include Demon Island, Unholy, Blood on the Highway, Big Gay Love, and Co and Coherence. Again, Nicholas Brendan was 54 years old. And that brings us to the end of this edition of the show. Please be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Blue Sky at multiverse Tom, George, 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. Check our show notes, visit our Tea Public store, leave some feedback, and so much more. If this is your first time listening, thank you very much, 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 free 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 nurse in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half Big Genre Productions Copyright 2026 All Rights Freezer.