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

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 165 - Tectonic Shifts in Streaming