What a crazy couple of weeks! Not only was it revealed that Disney was in talks to buy 21st Century Fox but it was also announced that Rian Johnson would be heading up a whole new Star Wars trilogy, Brian Michael Bendis is moving to DC Comics and that Amazon is making a Lord of the Rings television series! That's a lot to unpack, luckily the ToB Crew is here to break it all down for you.

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Show Notes

Movies

Disney was in talks to buy the film and television branch of 21st Century Fox. What does that mean for their Marvel properties?
- Check out Julian's blog post where he argues that this deal would actually be a BAD thing for the X-Men franchise.
Disney also announced that Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson will be spearheading a whole new trilogy in the Star Wars galaxy that will “focus on “new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”
- Along with that announcement came news that Disney plans to create a live-action Star Wars television show for its upcoming online streaming service that launches in 2019.
The Rock is rumoured to debut his Black Adam character in Suicide Squad 2 according to The Wrap.
Mark Strong is up for the villain role in Shazam!
- 'Andi Mack' Star Asher Angel To Play Billy Batson
The Budget for Justice League is rumoured to be at nearly $300 million according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
- Check out Julian's blog post where he explains why he's worried about Justice League.
Sony is in the process of developing a movie based on the Spider-man villain Morbius: The living vampire according to THR.
Thor Ragnarok remained at number one for the second week in a row at the box office.
- Check out this amazing video essay about Taika Waititi ability to master the happy/sad dynamic in his films.

TV

According to Variety, Amazon has ordered a multi-season commitment for a Lord of the Rings series, including a potential spin-off.
25th Anniversary of X-Men: The Animated Series

Comics

After 18 years with Marvel, writer Brian Michael Bendis is moving to DC comics. He’s signed a “multiyear, multifaceted” exclusive deal with DC.

What We've Been Watching

This Is Us
- Animated dramedies

May 9, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E7 - 9

When dealing in the world of prequels, it’s impossible to escape the inevitable - Anakin will fall, Han will win the Falcon, Cassian will die on Scarif. Somehow, in the midst of some of the most thrilling episodes of television ever put to screen, Tony Gilroy and his team found a way to address that impending doom and weaponize it against the audience to induce some of the most gut wrenching and heart breaking moments we’ve yet to see on ‘Andor’ - “There’s some place he needs to be”. At a larger scale, the show continues to outdo itself on a weekly basis, proving that the Star Wars galaxy provides a colour pallet of some of the richest hues from which to paint bold and personal stories. Proving you can go beyond the larger than life stories of heroics and grandeur to human stories of loss and pain and everything in between. That’s without mentioning the deft touch in pulling in themes that resonates with the contemporary while remaining timeless - a feeling that is a staple of Star Wars. Every detail is considered, every character is deep and interesting. There isn’t much more that can be said about such a powerful piece of art, except that not even the audience can escape the inevitable - only one week remains of this masterpiece.

May 2, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E4 - 6

I'm sorry to tell you all, but we're already halfway through this final season of 'Andor'. Fortunately, the quality hasn't dipped one bit as we accelerate into the finish. Join Julian and Rachel as they savour every minute of this 3-episode arch that takes us to Ghorman for the first time on screen. Tony Gilroy and the team at Lucasfilm outdid themselves yet again in crafting every detail. The size of the set alone is impressive, but they take it a step further by developing a unique culture and even language different from anything we've seen in Star Wars before. It all fits seamlessly into this next chapter of the story that has a heavy emphasis on spycraft as the pressure ramps up for both the Rebellion and the Empire.

Apr 24, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 Premiere

It's been a long time since Cassian Andor and his band of Rebel compatriots has graced our TV screens. A long hiatus, no doubt, but when you look into WHY this second season took so long the reason becomes clear - they were dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" (along with dealing with the writers and actors strikes, growing and harvesting ancient grains, hand stitching wedding dresses, the list goes on...) to make sure that this isn't just good Star Wars, but indeed the maybe the BEST Star Wars (I'm partially convinced that it may be the best we may ever get actually). Season 2 roars to life in it's first of four, 3-episode drops (essentially a movie a week for a month), not wasting any time picking up with our characters a year after the events of season 1. The sheer scale, scope, and commitment to its heavy themes is laudable, but when combined with the masterful set design, costuming, writing, and acting, you can't help but to stare, mouth agape, at this singular piece bold storytelling, that will likely go down as Tony Gilroy's largest contribution to popular culture, and deservedly so. Join Julian and Rachel as they unpack it all. It's going to be one hell of a ride!

Apr 2, 2025

Bonus Episode - ToB Film Club - Constantine (2005) + Special Announcement

Hard to believe that 'Constantine' came out 20 years ago. That being said, as the movie tells us, time stops when you're dead, so what IS 20 years anyway? And as long as we're asking questions, the biggest one related to this movie is "why was it a flop?". Julian and Jeremy try to answer that very question, as well as unpack this extremely dense film that makes no effort to hold the audience's hand. And despite some rocky elements, 'Constantine' holds up as a surprisingly comic accurate rendition of the titular character, even if we weren't aware of it when it first released. Keanu, despite missing some of the obvious character flourishes like the blond hair and a British accent, is still able to capture the essence of the character: an extremely talented magician/occultist, with tortured soul (literally), who's a bit of a dick, and loves a good smoke. All in all, it's a pretty fun ride, and an example of movies that just aren't really made anymore (despite rumours of a sequel) from a different era of Hollywood and comic book movie making.

Episode 105 - Disney Buying Fox?

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