Episode 204 - Oscar Noms + 2026 Predictions

Julian Meush January 26, 2026

As noted by the recent Tobies, awards season continues in full flight, so it's no surprise to have The Oscars drop their nominations just in time for Matt and Julian to break them down. 'Sinners' taking home 16 noms sets an Oscars record and (more importantly) validates Julian's recent Tobie pick. Plus, the guys return to a more traditional news format with headlines about James Bond, Game of Thrones, He-Man and more! Finally, the guys look into their crystal balls, gazing into the future, to make entertainment-based predictions for the year 2026. How will the WB/Netflix deal play out? Will Star Wars have a hit with 'The Mandalorian and Grogu'? Will Nolan's 'The Odyssey' be as big as 'Oppenheimer'? Only the ToB hosts can tell you! (No future lotto tickets or sports almanacs unfortunately)

Episode 187 - Hollywood Turmoil Paired With A New Superman

Julian Meush July 20, 2023

Julian and Jeremy get together to try to make sense of the current tumultuous state of Hollywood. With the actors joining the writers on strike, the pressure mounts for studios, who are currently going through an almost unprecedented streak of box office failures. It's not looking good out there folks! Which is why it was necessary to revive the "Agree or Disagree" segment of the show to really dive into the complexities of the situation. Meanwhile, DC Studios continues to try to steady the ship by announcing casting news for 'Superman: Legacy'. Surprisingly they've gone further than just announcing who will be playing Clark and Lois, and added character announcements for the likes of Guy Gardner, Hawk Girl and more. Unsurprisingly, this leads to some debate on the merits of James Gunn's recent decision making. On top of that, the guys discuss a grab-bag of movie topics to round out the show. All this and so much more on this week's episode of the Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 172 - Oscar Nominations

Julian Meush February 9, 2022

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!

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 204 - Oscar Noms + 2026 Predictions

Episode 187 - Hollywood Turmoil Paired With A New Superman

Episode 172 - Oscar Nominations

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