As the ToB Crew kickoff 2024, we begin by lamenting what we lost. If only we could return to the simpler times, pre-pandemic. Alas, this is not to be, so instead Julian and Jeremy rely on "ol' faithful", which of course means reviewing the latest news concerning film and television. Unfortunately, they immediately lose focus, perhaps subconsciously staying true to the nostalgic undertone that accompany the start of a new year, and enjoy a fun sidebar discussion about the state of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars in the early 2000s (We didn't know how good we had it back then). All of which was of course an offshoot of the news of John Williams un-retirement. Next the guys unpack some Star Wars news, and then lean into Marvel. Specifically the fresh legitimacy the Netflix 'Defenders' saga shows have received as Daredevil is pulled further into the MCU. They also save some time to review the Golden Globe winners and look ahead at the Emmys (which were happening live during the recording). All that and so much more on this week's episode of The Tower of Babble Podcast.

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Show Notes

Movies & TV

Trailers

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’
Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Gentlemen’ series

John Williams has canceled his retirement plans saying “If a film came along that I was greatly interested in, with a schedule that I could cope with, I wouldn’t want to rule anything out.”
Star Wars

Dave Filoni has been promoted to Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm.
Dave Filoni, in a recent interview with EW, confirms what was seemingly firmly established in Ahsoka, saying that “if you pay attention to the films you understand that the Force is an energy field created by all living things. But it takes some commitment”.
A ‘What If’ series for Star Wars is reportedly in the works.

A new ‘Star Trek’ film is in development with Toby Haynes (‘Andor’) set to direct. This is described as an origin story set decades before the 2009 ‘Star Trek’ film.
‘Tron: Ares’ will begin filming after the holidays. It will star Jared Leto, Evan Peters, Greta Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Cameron Monaghan. It won’t have Joseph Kosinsky directing, or Daft Punk doing the score.
Warner Brothers and Tom Cruise have agreed to a unique development deal - Variety
‘Fast X: Part 2’ will reportedly be a throwback to the first film with a trimmed budget and less major locations.
Marvel:

‘Echo’ and the new “Spotlight” sub-brand.
- Kingpin to be the “Thanos of the street level MCU”
The entire ‘Defenders’ saga has been added to the MCU timeline on Disney+
Eden Henson and Deborah Ann Woll will return as Foggy and Karen for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’
Jon Bernthal says his return as The Punisher has to be right with “real sacred integrity to the source material and to what is at the core of Frank'' … “I’m gonna do my absolute best to make sure that, if and when we do it, we do it right.”

The Golden Globes winners: https://goldenglobes.com/articles/diversity-front-and-center-with-golden-globe-nominations/
Emmys look ahead

Agree of Disagree

Mathew Vaughn thinks that Star Wars should have a reboot and only focus on the Skywalker family. “What are the Star Wars characters so hallowed that from 1977 you can’t re-do it for a new audience?”

What We’ve Been Watching

Whiplash
The Iron Claw
Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings

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 191 - Take Me Back to 2018

Show Notes

Movies & TV

Agree of Disagree

What We’ve Been Watching

Support the Show

REcent Episodes