What a crazy time of year. With D23 leading directly into San Diego Comic-Con the news just pours in. Luckily Julian, Daniel and Jeremy are all back together to unpack it all for you. Starting with the Emmy nominations then moving into a Disney heavy movie news segment. The guys also discuss some new Young Justice details as well as break down the rumour of a possible N64 Classic. All that and so much more in this week's Tower of Babble Podcast.

Remember to Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts to give us your feedback!

Show Notes

Emmy Nominations

Predictions for who we WANT to win and who we think WILL win.

Movies

George A. Romero passed away at the age of 77 due to lung cancer.
Quinton Tarantino has revealed what his next film will be. Sources close to THR report that Tarantino will write and direct a film based on the Manson murders with rumours of Brad Pitt and J Law in talks to join the project.
D23 happened last weekend and at the big Disney convention they revealed the full cast of Aladdin:
- Mena Massoud will play Aladdin, Naomi Scott (Power Rangers) will play Jasmine. They also confirmed that Will Smith will play Genie with Guy Ritchie directing.
Disney also revealed some information about their new Dumbo movie:
- Tim Burton is attached to direct with the film set to release in March 2019.
- The cast will include Colin Farrell, Danny Devito, Eva Green, Michael Keaton, Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins.
Director Brad Bird revealed at D23 that the main cast of The Incredibles will reprise their roles for the sequel. Except for Spencer Fox who played Das who is now too old.
Star Wars: Edge of the Galaxy.
- Star Wars “Westworld type” hotel.
Wreck it Ralph 2 goes to the internet with more video game companies on board and ALL the Disney princesses.
Fox is apparently “reevaluating" the Alien franchise.
Variety is reporting that Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts is in talks to direct the sequel.
Variety is also reporting that the Sony spinoff movies will be very distinct and possibly be R rated if it fits the project.
- Rumours are saying that the Venom movie will be a John Carpenter/David Cronenberg-esque horror film.
Speaking to Variety Mark Ruffalo who plays Bruce Banner/Hulk in the MCU clarified, AGAIN, that we won't get a solo Hulk movie because Universal owns the rights.
According to sources at THR, Warner Bros is apparently working on a “graceful” way to transition Ben Affleck’s Batman out of the DCEU.
Speaking to Yahoo! Movies Geoff Johns revealed that Dwayne Johnson will not be appearing in the Shazam movie.
Todd McFarlane has announced a new Spawn movie and that he will be directing it.
At the end of the Legion panel, creator Noah Hawley dropped the mic by revealing he was working on a film with Fox with only two words “Doctor. Doom.”

Agree or Disagree

Speaking to Indiewire, Christopher Nolan had some pretty pointed stuff to say about Netflix and their release strategy.

TV

A new trailer for The Defenders was revealed at SDCC along with the premiere episode.
Iron Fist season 2 was announced at The Defenders panel.
At Comic-Con new images were revealed for Young Justice season 3 showing off new character designs for the main cast.

Games

Telltale announced that the fourth and FINAL season of their Walking Dead series will be released in 2018.
Nintendo has filed a trademark application for various game controllers. One of which being for the N64 which have sparked rumours that the company is starting on its next mini-console.
Kingdom Hearts 3 coming in 2018

Comics

Grant Morrison revealed at Comic-Con that he is working on a sequel to his acclaimed graphic novel "Arkham Asylum: A serious House on a Serious Earth".

What We've Been Watching/Playing

War for the Planet of the Apes
Baby Driver
Spider-Man: Homecoming

Nerd Association

Theme: Comic-Con

Round 1: Comic-Con
Round 2: Comic Book
Round 3: Comic Creators

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 101 - Comic-Con and More