The Sonic movies continue to have this odd lasting impact on cinema. The first one being a relatively well received video game adaption (a surprise on it's own), following controversy over the original design of the character, but it was also one of the last movies to premiere in theatres before COVID hit full force. Now with it's sequel, it's proven to not only have achieved the biggest video game movie box-office opening weekend, but also may very well be the franchise that sunsets the great Jim Carrey's career. Julian and Jeremy discuss all this (despite not having seen the actual movie yet), as well as dive into a plethora of news, not the least of which being the story that following the closing the of Warner Bros. Discovery merger that their new CEO is looking to, once again, "fix" their DC content, including mentioning the "languishing" of Superman, amongst other seemingly obvious blunders they've made recently. In addition, the guys debate a sexy new "Agree of Disagree" segment, the potential for a Tobey McGuire 'Spider-Man 4', the fallout of Will Smith's Oscars incident, and much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

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Show Notes

Movies

Warner Bros. Discovery is “Exploring Overhaul of DC Entertainment” - Variety Exclusive
WB reportedly wants to “hit pause” on future Ezra Miller projects amongst reports of arrests and erratic behavior. - The Playlist
WB is allegedly waiting to see how ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Secret of Dumbledore’ performs before green-lighting any sequels.
Will Smith has been banned for 10 years from the Oscars ceremony, despite apology, following the slap incident. Netflix and AppleTV+ are also reconsidering future Smith projects
Jeff Goldblum apparently kept a diary of unscripted Ian Malcom lines that he wanted to use in Jurassic Park dominion.
A reboot of ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ is in the works at Amazon Prime. Maya Erskine and Donald Glover are set to star.
‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ had the biggest opening weekend of any video game movie, making $71M domestically. - Engadget
- Oh and the director, Jeff Fowler, recently said he’d love to make a ‘Smash Bros’ movie.
Speaking of Sonic, Jim Carrey on a press tour for the movie announced that he’s taking a break from acting, and his thoughts on more Ace Ventura.
Speaking of retirement from acting. Bruce Willis is doing the same following the announcement that he’s been diagnosed with aphasia.
More off of Sonic, James Marsden also recently talked about the potential of returning to the role of Cyclops when asked about X-Men - ScreenRant
In an interview with Fandango, Sam Raimi was asked about the potential for ‘Spider-Man 4’ with Tobey McGuire and the gang.

Agree of Disagree

The Playlist - https://theplaylist.net/paul-verhoeven-on-sexless-hollywood-blockbusters-20220412/

Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven believes movies are too sexless these days. Particularly pointing the finger at Marvel and Bond films:

“Sex is the essence of existence!” the director said. “Without it, there are no species anymore. So why is that a big secret? There is a new purity.”

“It’s about crashing and blowing up. Sometimes these movies are fun, but the narrative tells you nothing about us now. I don’t see any other thought in Marvel or Bond movies.”

TV

‘Star Trek: Picard’ S3 will reunite the cast of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’.
HBO Max is in early development of two spin-off shows from RDJ’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ movies, with RDJ set to produce. - Variety
Charlize Theron is producing a ‘Aqualad’ series on HBO Max.
Masie Williams has opened up about her time on Game of Thrones - THR
Stranger Things S4 trailer
Producers of ‘Better Call Saul’ confirm that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will appear in the final season.
‘Star Wars Visions’ is reportedly getting a second season that will drop later this year.
- ‘The Bad Batch S2’ will air July 26th.
A ‘Ted’ tv series is coming to Peacock, by Seth McFarlin. It’ll be set in 1993 and be a prequel to the movie.
HBO Max is working on an ‘It’ prequel series called ‘It: Welcome to Derry’.

What We’ve Been Watching

Werewolves Within
Death on the Nile
Apollo 10 ½: A Space Aged Childhood
Severance S1
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
King Richard

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 174 - Tha Many Offshoots of 'Sonic 2'

Show Notes

Movies

Agree of Disagree

TV

What We’ve Been Watching

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