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

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 165 - Tectonic Shifts in Streaming