Some people thought it was a myth, others assumed it was only an eventuality, the rest just got bombarded with the hashtag for 2 years, but against all odds, the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League is real, and it’s coming to HBO Max. Julian, Jeremy, and Dan discuss the exciting news and debate over how to process it all while trying to considering it in context of the vocal minority that made it happen (not as easy to do as you might think). The guys also dive into the latest Tennent trailer and ponder if it’s the last best hope to save movie theatres in a post COVID world. Speaking of which, AMC vs Universal Pictures is also discussed before moving onto to some less depressing news from the galaxy far far away, with the announcement of Taika Waititi taking on a Star Wars feature film of his own. All that and so much more in the latest Tower of Babble Podcast!

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Show Notes

Movies

The long rumoured Snyder Cut of Justice League is coming to HBO Max in 2021. Initial details are still vague but it may be as long as 4 hrs, or possibly split into 6 chapters, with a production cost of approximately $20 - $30 mill.
An Aquaman animated miniseries is coming to HBO Max titled “Aquaman: King of Atlantis.” James Wan, who directed the 2018 live-action “Aquaman” film, is onboard to executive produce.
AMC Theatres released a statement saying that they will no longer be showing Universal Pictures films at their theatres once they reopen. This in response to the release of Trolls: World Tour to VOD.
- Universal issued their own statement following that saying that “our goal in releasing Trolls: World Tour on PVOD was to deliver entertainment to people who are sheltering at home, whole movie theaters and other forms of outside entertainment are unavailable.”
Tom Cruise is working to shoot a movie in space… because of course he is.
Disney has a live action version of Hercules in development.
Paramount is planning reboots for Transformers, GI Joe, TMNT and Paranormal Activity.

Marvel

According to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, there are currently “zero” plans for a Deadpool 3 at Marvel/Disney.
Sony’s official name for their “spiderverse” is called… ahem “the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters”
Venom 2 officially titled Venom: Let There be Carnage
Sony is also looking to make a Madame Web movie now too.
Plus, Spider-Man 3 has been pushed to Fall 2021 and Spider-Verse 2 is now Oct 7, 2022.

Star Wars

Movie anniversaries (FYI the entire Skywalker saga is available on Disney+ now).
- Revenge of the Sith is 15 years old
- Empire Strikes Back is 40 years old
The latest from The Mandalorian season 2
- Tomura Mourison is cast as Boba Fett
- Katee Sackhoff to play Bo-Katan for the first time in live action
- Timothy Olyphant has also been cast
Speaking of The Mandalorian, one of the high profile directors from that show has been tapped by Lucasfilm to write and direct a feature film. Taika Waititi has officially been announced to be directing, and co-writing along with Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917, Penny Dreadful), a Star Wars movie.
- Along with that announcement Lucasfilm officially confirmed the long rumoured Lesley Headland series for Disney+.
Rumours are also stirring that Hayden Christiansen is in talks to reprise his role as Anakin. The announcement was intended to be made alongside the official announcement of Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka casting at SW Celebration this year.
The Clone Wars is now over and it went out with a bang, and there’s numbers to back it up. According to Parrot Analytics, The Clone Wars was the most in demand show on ANY streaming service as of May 9th with over 139.9 million average daily expressions. The Mandalorian was a distant 2nd with 62.3 million.

TV

A new Star Trek series has been announced. Anson Mount will return as Captain Pike in a TOS prequel, Discovery spinoff, series that centres around the adventures of the starship enterprise, before Kirk.
DC on CW (DCW)
- Superman and Lois series coming in Jan 2021.
- Ruby Rose, leaves CWs Batwoman. They are now looking to recast the lead for season 2.
Just about exactly one year separated from the finale of Game of Thrones.

Misc Stories

New Looney Tunes series coming to HBO Max on May 27th
Goosebumps live action TV show in the works.
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator turns 20.
Sylvester Stallone announced that a Demolition Man sequel is in the works.
“The Green Knight” trailer (A24).
Oscar nominated films won’t have to have been screened in theatres in 2020 to be eligible for an award this year.

What We’ve Been Watching

Westworld S3

May 22, 2025

SSSW/ToB Film Club - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

It's hard to believe that 'Rogue One' premiered nearly a decade ago. At the time, it was fairly well received, considered to be a decent first step into the standalone Star Wars movies, if not a bit messy. As the years passed, we learned more about the production. Gareth Edwards, who retained sole directing credit, was assisted by Tony Gilroy to "fix" the project. Tony went so far as to call it a "corpse" when he came aboard for rewrites and reshoots. It was Tony's inclusion that brought us some of the movies most memorable moments, and ultimately led him to leading the charge on 'Andor', a prequel project that flew under the radar as hits like 'The Mandalorian' hogged the spotlight. With 'Andor' now complete, considered by many to be a masterpiece in storytelling, not just in Star Wars but on television in general, now is the most appropriate time to reexamine the movie that spawned the Cassian-centered prequel series with fresh eyes. 'Andor', which leads directly into the events of 'Rogue One' recontextualizes much of the film, creating a unique viewing experience that pays off a multitude of threads that are brilliantly laid over the two seasons of 'Andor'. It takes the movie, which was already pretty good, and makes it great. Now existing as part of a whole that weaves a cohesive narrative from the nascent moments of the Rebellion all the way through to the destruction of the Death Star in 1977 (the seed that begat ALL Star Wars, and what we appropriately align our Star Wars BBY calendars to). It all feels wholistic and considered when viewed from the broader perspective - an accomplishment that should set a shining example of what Star Wars can and should aspire to.

May 15, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 Finale

After only 4 weeks - the blink of an eye - it's all over. The best Star Wars story since the Original Trilogy has graced our screens and left us in awe. These final three episodes weren't able to reach the emotional highs of last week's arc, but that wasn't the goal. Instead, it provides time to look back at what brought us here, and sets the stage for the climax of the story to take place not in this moment, but within the now recontextualized film that birthed all of this in the first place, 'Rogue One'. And while the show may carry Cassian's name on the title screen, it's been the cast of characters we've met along the way that truly elevated this experience. Not to pick favourites, but in particular, Luthen and Kleya, who get an episode all to themselves this week are the standouts. And what an episode it was, as their story which shepherded much of the series came to an end, as we all expected it would have to. Embracing those feelings of closure, in the final moments of the series, as Cassian flies off into 'Rogue One', we are treated to our last glimpses of our heroes and villains. From Dedra to Vel and even Perrin, we are left to consider their fates as the story marches with inevitability into what begat all of this way back in 1977. Will we ever see Kleya, Vel, Wilmon, or Bix again? One can only hope - and rebellions? Well, they're built on hope.

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.

Episode 151 - The Snyder Cut Is Real