Happy Halloween ToB fans! Julian, Daniel and Jeremy are back to discuss the latest in film and TV news on this spooktacular episode. The guys discuss Shazam! casting news, Fincher turning down Star Wars Episode IX, Netflix tidbits, some fun Halloween themed stories and everything is wrapped up with a spoiler-free review of Stranger Things 2. All this and so much more on a frightful episode of the Tower of Terror Podcast!

Remember to Subscribe and leave a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts if you love the show!

Show Notes

Movies

According to THR, James Mangold is apparently working on an X-23 (Daphne Keen) spin-off.
The Venom movie has officially begun production and we also learned that much of Tom Hardy’s performance will be motion capture.
Ben Mendelson is up for the villain role in the Captain Marvel film according to Variety.
Justice League will only be 121 minutes long including credits, making it the shortest DC(EU) movie to date.
THR is reporting that Justice League is looking to open at around $110 to $120 million range domestically.
Zachary Levi has been cast in the lead role for the Shazam! film.
Deathstroke is getting his own movie and, The Raid director, Gareth Evans is in talks to write and direct.
We finally know the official name to for the Han Solo, solo movie, simply called Solo: A Star Wars Story.
David Fincher, in an interview with Empire, revealed that he met with Lucasfilm to discuss directing Episode 9.
- Check out this great video that examines Fincher's visual style.
It looks like Justin Lin will return to direct Fast and Furious 9 and 10. Although not officially confirmed, Vin Diesel, speaking on Facebook HEAVILY hinted at it.

TV

CBS has announced that Star Trek: Discovery will return for a second season. Unfortunately for american viewers it will still be on CBS All Access.
Deadline is reporting that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will return for season 3 of Daredevil.
Marvel’s The Punisher will premiere on Nov 17th.
Marvel TV exec Joeph Loeb confirmed in an interview with Inverse that they made the decision to bump back the release of The Punisher due to the events in Las Vegas.
Netflix aims to release 80 original films over the course of 2018 according to an interview by Variety with chief content officer Ted Sarandos.
Sarandos also said that they plan on spending $8 billion dollars next year across their original film and television projects.
Netflix revealed some info on what they call “binge racers”: people who watch an entire season of a show within the first 24hrs of its release, and what were the most "binge raced" series on the platform.
A recent episode of Arrow on CW name dropped Bruce Wayne and Gotham.

Halloween!!

C4 Comic Con - Jeremy’s impressions.
Exploring the year's top Halloween costumes according using Google's "Freightgeist" tool.
Discussing Julian's "Recipe to a Horror Fan" blog post.

What We've Been Watching

Stranger Things 2
This Is Us

Apr 25, 2026

Episode 205 - CinemaCon 2026 + News Roundup

It's been a minute since Matt and Julian sat down to cover the latest in film and TV news. Some might say it's been dearly missed. Well wait no more folks because this week it's all news and nothing but the news so help me god! If the last few weeks (months?) of stories weren't enough, CinemaCon 2026 also just concluded which had it's own news deluge. The guys unpack it all (well most of it anyway)! Of utmost priority is the news of Michael B Jordan and Austin Butler's reboot of 'Miami Vice', which is close to Matt's heart. Plus 'Spaceballs 2' gets a title and release date, trailers for 'Dune 3', 'Clayface' and 'Street Fighter' all surprise (in a good way), and a new 'Lord of the Rings' movie is announced (and you won't guess who's writing it!). Plus, a 'Game of Thrones' movie, more 'Transformers' and is 'Avatar' over? All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Apr 23, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 5 & 6

We’ve reached the halfway point of the season and with it comes a tonal shift back to the roots of Star Wars animation - 'The Clone Wars'. With the arrival of the Empire, the focus shifts away from Maul and his dealings and toward the pair of Jedi as they are now in the crosshairs. The noire tone takes a back seat, next to Maul, as things become more pulpy, mixed with an impending doom that is reminiscent of the final season of 'The Clone Wars'. The set-piece action sequences get an injection of scale and danger, which is exciting, and some of the early seeding of characters like Rylee start to pay off. While maybe a bit different from the previous 4 episodes, the quality and the stakes remain high (well... for every character except Maul I suppose). Join Julian and Rachel as the unpack it all in excruciating detail.

Apr 15, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 3 & 4

Now that the premiere is out of the way, the team at Lucasfilm Animation can focus on driving the story forward with authority. The pacing is much improved this week as time feel more evenly dispersed across the characters. There's a greater concentration on characters who can wield a lightsaber and it's appreciated. No shade to the crime syndicate storyline, but we've kind of seen all that already (it was quite literally a 'Clone Wars' arc). The action remains strong while taking another step forward with lightsaber duels joining the mix. Plus, the fast cutting from last week seems to have been dialed back, which is appreciated as it provides more clarity in action scenes. For example, Devon's engagements with Maul are gripping, and with the additional time provided to Master Daki, the stakes feel ratcheted up. Kevin Kinner's music remains a highlight, the illusions to the Anakin vs Obi-Wan Mustafar theme was a particular highlight. In general, there is still room for more character growth, especially with characters not named Maul, who really can't/won't change - but happy to proven wrong! This show feels like it's in full swing already, which is good because next week things look to be really heating up as we hit the half way mark. Julian and Rachel unpack it all!

Apr 9, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 1 & 2

It's been some time since we've been able to sink our pointy teeth into a meaty Star Wars animated project. Since the finale of 'The Bad Batch' all the way back in May of 2024, all we've had to tie us over were anthology installments of varying quality. Praise the Force, that wait is finally over with the release of 'Maul: Shadow Lord', the latest full length series from Lucasfilm Animation. The series marks another technical leap forward for the animation studio, taking their patented visual style and adding another layer of detail and artistry that jumps off the screen. The story follows the titular, Maul shortly after the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, he's looking for revenge and the series wastes no time dropping us right into the thick of things (3 car/speeder chases in 40 mins is impressive). And while we know much of Maul's criminal dealings (and most of the rest of his life actually), the introduction of a new Padawan into the mix, another apprentice-to-be for Maul, adds a layer of intrigue to an otherwise underworld focused story. Join Julian and Rachel as they unpack Chapter 1: "The Dark Revenge" and Chapter 2: "Sinister Schemes", in intricate detail.

Episode 104 - Stranger Things 2

Show Notes

Movies

TV

Halloween!!

What We've Been Watching

Support the Show

REcent Episodes