It's been hot minute since the ToB Crew gathered to discuss the latest in film and TV news, but it’s been worth the wait because there are some gigantuan stories that need to be covered, and some of them will have lasting effects for years to come. Firstly, AT&T is done with WarnerMedia, who will be merging with Discovery to become an even bigger player in the streaming wars. Speaking of streaming, Amazon is making their own moves in that space as they look to acquire MGM. On the more creative side of things, news of a new Batman animated series made waves with the announcement that animation legend Bruce Timm would be executive producing. Plus Marvel dropped a sizzle reel and a trailer for Shang Chi. So there's plenty to cover! Join Julian, Jeremy and Dan as they discuss all these stories, plus much more, on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

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Show Notes

Movies

NBC News - AT&T announced that WarnerMedia and Discovery are merging to become a new company.
Variety - Amazon is weeks into negotiations on a deal to acquire MGM for about $9 billion.
WB is looking to develop a black Superman movie. Barry Jenkins, Steven Caple Jr, JD Dillard, Regina King, and Shaka King are all being considered to direct.
Lucy Liu has been cast as the villain Kalypso in ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’
‘Kong Skull Island’ director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, is teaming up with the studio from ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ to make a live action ‘Gundam’ movie.
John Williams revealed that he recorded 226 minutes of music for ‘Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker’.
Mads Mikkelsen joins the cast of ‘Indiana Jones 5’
Trailers:
- Snake Eyes
- The Green Knight

Marvel

Marvel sizzle reel
- Shang Chi - September 2021
- Black Widow - July 9
- Wakanda Forever - July 8, 2022
- The Marvels - November 11, 2022
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania - Feb 17, 2023
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 - May 5 2023
- Fantastic Four tease… again
Captain America 4
Russel Crow to play Zeus in Thor Love and Thunder
Olivia Colman and Emilia Clarke cast in ‘Secret Invasion’
Venom 2

Agree of DIsagree

IGN - Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke said that the reason they paid so much for Lord of the Rings was that it was mostly due to the madness of the market. Noting that Netflix paid $469 for two sequels to Knives Out.

But she also revealed Amazon's lofty expectations for the forthcoming prequel. "As for how many people need to watch Lord of the Rings? A lot. (Laughs.) A giant, global audience needs to show up to it as appointment television, and we are pretty confident that that will happen," Salke said.

TV

Variety - A new Batman animated series has been ordered at HBO Max and Cartoon Network, with “Batman: The Animated Series” co-creator Bruce Timm attached as an executive producer, called ’Batman: Caped Crusader’. It will be executive produced by Timm along with J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves.
CBS News - NBC will not televise the Golden Globes in 2022.
The Amazon original animated series ‘Invincible’ has been renewed for 2 more seasons.
‘Ted Lasso’ season 2 is coming July 23 to Apple TV+.

Comics/Misc

Kathryn Hahn and Dave Bautista have been cast in Knives Out 2.
Margot Robbie has apparently been “pestering” WB to bring Poison Ivy into the DCEU.
Rambo and John Mclain have been added as operators/skins in CoD Warzone.
The date for Loki has changed to June 9th and will air on Wednesday’s.
Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige revealed that they originally had Dr Strange appear in the finale to ‘WandaVision’ but the character was written out to better serve the show.
Taika Waititi will play Blackbeard in a comedy pirate show for HBO Max called ‘Our Flag Means Death’.
Knuckles is confirmed for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’
Disney reveals their “real” lightsaber.
The Oscars hit a record low in viewership. Down 58% from last year.

What We’ve Been Watching/Playing

The Oceans series
The Bad Batch
Love Death and Robots S2
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Resident Evil 4 VR

Dec 19, 2024

SSSW - Skeleton Crew S1E4 "Can't Say I Remember No At Attin"

Halfway through the season and 'Skeleton Crew' maintains its strong momentum, even if this fourth episode isn't necessarily a home run. The kids find themselves on a dark mirror-like version of At Attin that has been ravaged by generations of war. Unfortunately, this solid story idea is undercut by being executed slightly too simplistically, even for a kids show. That being said, there are some great moments here. The world-building, was interesting and a we get a few satisfying twists in the larger adventure, including a terrifying final moment. Of course we can't forget about Neel, who finally gets the attention he deserves, sieving upon the opportunity and becoming the internets new favourite adorable Star Wars character (at least until Grogu shows up again).

Dec 12, 2024

SSSW - Skeleton Crew S1E3 "Very Interesting, As An Astrogration problem"

With the two-episode premiere out of the way, 'Skeleton Crew' can start finding its groove, and while this episode is enjoyable, the show might need to keep searching for what exactly that groove is for at least another week. Despite getting to spend a full, though somewhat short, episode with Jude Law, it's the kids (and especially Nick Frost's SM 33) that continue to steal the show. It's probably just a matter of time, but Jod (Jude Law) has yet to fully land as a character. A handful of charming scenes gets him going in the right direction though. Overall, this is a relatively safe step along the path for a show that has yet to get into the meaty parts of the adventure. Our prediction? Things really pick up in earnest next week. Stay tuned!

Dec 4, 2024

SSSW - Skeleton Crew - Series Premiere

Ahoy me mateys! Star Wars is back on TV and this time it's pirate themed baby! Julian and Rachel return to recap and review this two-part series premiere, and are happy to report that the show is off to a great start. Star Wars has been in a difficult place as of late. Something that has been discussed a lot as of late. Each new piece of content announced or released is under a microscope, and probably rightfully so, considering the mixed levels of quality we've been getting from Lucasfilm of late. Amongst all that angst, 'Skeleton Crew' was not at the top of a lot of fans wish-lists, but sometimes low expectations can do wonders. Despite a somewhat slow first episode, the series seems to quickly figure out what it wants to be (Treasure Island in space basically) and hits it's stride through it's second episode. The child cast is charming with great chemistry, but it's Nick Frost's droid character that really steals the spotlight so far. Be warned shipmates, thar be full spoilers ahead!

Nov 25, 2024

Episode 199.5 - Marvel/DC News Roundup

For the most part, genre entertainment news has been relatively light. Yes we’ve had a round of castings for DC projects, and Kevin Fiege is slowly opening the kimono for X-Men info, but on the whole nothing earth shattering (who knows, we might see a planet shatter whenever the ‘Superman’ trailer finally comes). This makes for a perfect time to defer the 200th episode of the show and take a look at the state of things over at DC and Marvel. They are both looking to emerge from a slump, despite taking very different approaches (though I’m sure DC would have loved a $1B hit that allowed them to have their cake and eat it too). The guys unpack the similarities and differences and sprinkle in a few different news bits along the way. All that and so much more on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 165 - Tectonic Shifts in Streaming