It feels like forever since our last news show, so in that vein we’ve decided to take things back to our roots with a wide assortment of news from across the entertainment landscape. That being said, it’s not all completely out of left-field as this years Oscar nominations were revealed, which required immediate attention. Afterwards, Julian and Jeremy move into a broader discussion on the future of movie theatres (again!), discuss the merits of computer generated acting performances, the latest from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Amazon series, and dive into some pretty compelling “What We’ve Been Watching” entries, including ‘Euphoria’, and ‘Peacemaker’. All that and so much more on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!

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Show Notes

Movies

2022 Oscar Nominations
- The 94th annual Academy Awards will be on March 27 at Hollywood’s Dolby Theater. The in-person ceremony will be televised on ABC. For the first time in three years, the Oscars will have a host in 2022, Craig Erwich, president of ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, announced in January. Variety later learned that multiple hosts will likely take the stage, however no official names have been revealed yet. - Variety
Steven Soderbergh doesn’t see himself directing any franchise blockbusters or superhero films because “nobody’s fucking! Like, I don’t know how to tell people to behave in a world in which that is not a thing”. - The Daily Beast
Roland Emmerich also had comments on super hero film, which he discussed in an interview with Den of Geek.
‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ is set to wrap up the “World” trilogy, but series producer Frank Marshall says that “we’re not going to rest on our laurels. We’re to sit down, and we’re going to see what the future is” for the Jurassic Park franchise. - IGN
Dakota Johnson has agreed to play Madam Web in a Sony Spider-Man spinoff movie, and would be the first female superhero in Sony’s Marvel Universe.
The Rock says he’s agreed to star in a new video game adaptation to film, but he won’t reveal what it is.
We have learned that ‘The Batman’ runtime will be 2h 55m and will officially be rated PG-13. WB also test-screened a 4-hour cut.
The producers behind James Bond reveal that Idris Elba is “part of the conversation” in the search for the new Bond.
The Rock, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot have agreed to return to Netflix for two ‘Red Notice’ sequels.
Village Roadshow is suing WB for allegedly sabotaging the box office performance of ‘Matrix Resurrections’ to prop up HBO Max subscriber numbers. - IGN

Agree of Disagree

George Clooney says that for his next film with Brad Pitt and director John Watts, they told Apple TV+ that they would take less money if they could guarantee a theatrical release for the film - Deadline

TV

X-Men 97 will pick up immediately after the cliffhanger ending to the series. It will have 10 episodes and premier in mid-2023. - IGN
- The original voice actor for Wolverine is also confirmed to be returning.
The ‘Lord of the Rings’ series on Amazon Prime now has a name and more! It’s called ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ and it will premier a teaser trailer during this year’s Super Bowl. They also released a first batch of posters that feature the titular rings in the possession of the different races.
‘The Boys’ returns to Amazon Prime on June 3rd with it’s first 3 episodes.

Star Wars

‘Andor’ is reportedly getting a second season, which is set to begin filming in fall 2022.
‘The Book of Boba Fett’ spoilers: Luke Skywalker’s voice is completely synthetic - Esquire
‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is set to release in May of 2022. - THR
Mary Elizabeth Winstead has reportedly been cast in the ‘Ahsoka’ series.

What We’ve Been Watching

Europhia
The Morning Show S1
Arcane S1
Peacemaker

Jun 5, 2025

SSSW - Tales of the Underworld

Lucasfilm Animation has been hard at work on their next major project, 'Maul: Shadow Lord', but they've found the time to deliver another installment in their "Tales of" anthology series. The first ones covering the Jedi and the Empire, they now turn their focus towards the Underworld. However, be warned, this is a bit of a misnomer. Don't expect any crime syndicates or really any large scale criminality here. These 2 mini-arcs instead focus on Asajj Ventress (I know, not the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the Underworld) as she assists a young Jedi on the run from the Empire, and the origin story of Cad Bane. Which admittedly is closer in line with the criminal underworld concept, but is really more interested in telling a western style revenge story instead. All in all, despite the always great visuals and sound/music design, and few interesting ideas, there's not enough meat on the bone here to satisfy most viewers. But most disappointing is its failure to capitalize on the potential of the Underworld concept.

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.

Episode 172 - Oscar Nominations

Show Notes

Movies

Agree of Disagree

TV

Star Wars

What We’ve Been Watching

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