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

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 174 - Tha Many Offshoots of 'Sonic 2'

Show Notes

Movies

Agree of Disagree

TV

What We’ve Been Watching

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