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

Apr 30, 2026

SSSW - Maul: Shadow Lord - Chapter 7 & 8

There's two of them now?! With the arrival of another Inquisitor things really start to escalate on Janyx. We see Maul at his lowest since probably his spider-leg days (he goes on a self-guided therapy session/vision quest that results in something quite inspiring actually!), providing us a deeper understanding of his motivations, beyond simply "revenge!". Meanwhile, Devon continues to be the most interesting character on the show as she takes two steps forward, one step back, flirting with the dark side (though bonus points for the slick ride she acquires for their getaway). On the action side, the show continues to bring the goods, with dynamic, large scale battles (heavy on LAATs which is always a treat), intimate lightsaber combat, and a special shout out to the speeder chase this week that included a new Star Wars techno track (get outta here Niamos!), which combined for a chef's kiss of a sequence. The finale is next week, dropping on Star Wars Day (May the 4th), so stay tuned to see how much the show wants to tie up and how much it wants to leave dangling ahead of season 2!

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!

Episode 151 - The Snyder Cut Is Real