There have been rumours circulating for years about the eventual retirement of Kathleen Kennedy from her role as President of Lucasfilm. Never mind the seemingly constant swirling demands for her head from segments of the fan base. And while those rumours and demands may have felt at times unwarranted, they were nevertheless always going to be right... eventually. Kathleen Kennedy, after 14 years as head of the studio announced that she would be stepping down and returning to a more traditional producer role, and her successors would be Dave Filoni on the creative side, and Lynwen Brennan on the business side. Julian and Rachel unpack the announcement, the press coverage, and even Kennedy's exit interview with Deadline, reading between the lines and trying to get a read on her legacy. As well as examining what life might be like under Filoni as Star Wars enters a new era under his watch. Plus, a check-in on 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' following the underwhelming Super Bowl spot.
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Episode 204 - Oscar Noms + 2026 Predictions
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)
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SSSW - Year in Review 2025 + Visions Vol 3
With the back half of 2025 being relatively quiet from a Star Wars perspective, it's hard to remember that 'Andor' wrapped up it's two season run and blew us all away THIS year. Never mind that 'Skeleton Crew' also wrapped up in 2025! Julian and Rachel, using the help of this handy Starwars.com article as reference, look back at the year that was in Star Wars. Overall, despite things slowing down content-wise, 'Andor' alone makes it a stellar year, and with new movies on the horizon and a new animated series set to drop in 2026, there's still plenty to be excited about going forward. If that wasn't enough, join us as we explore 'Star Wars: Visions - Volume III', posing the question: has the Star Wars anime concept run it's course?
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SSSW - Bonus Episode - Star Wars Check-In - November 2024
It’s been two months since we did our “State of Star Wars” episode where we essentially eviscerated the current situation in regards to the decision making process at Lucasfilm and their seeming inability to get a movie into production, among other things. Well in that time, we’ve had a smattering of news stories of all stripes, which Julian and Rachel cover in this episode, but what really prompted another Bonus Episode was the latest piece, again from The Hollywood Reporter, exploring the situation in further depth on the movie side of the business at Lucasfilm. Your hosts deep dive on all of it, and then cap things off with something much more lighthearted. Next up, ‘Skeleton Crew’ in December, where we’ll be breaking down every episode. Stay tuned!
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SSSW - Bonus Episode - The State of Star Wars
Following the cancellation of ‘The Acolyte’, many fans are taking a step back and asking questions about the state of the franchise. And rightly so, considering the confused state that many have been left in. Especially considering that Lucasfilm continues to leave us in the dark, with no official word following the recent cancellation. They've also done very little to inspire trust in their current creative process given the number of high profile project announcements that have never come to fruition. Meanwhile, the fandom is imploding on itself. Creators and influencers in the community are pitted against each other, seemingly in a fight for influence over control of the narrative surrounding each new project. Debates over what is or isn’t "Star Wars" wage on the internet as fans dodge bad-faith landmines across their social feeds. Julian and Rachel look at where things stand with Star Wars today, how we got here, and what the future might hold.
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Episode 197 - The End of the Golden Age of TV
With the news of 'The Acolyte' and it's cancellation sending ripples through the media world, it was only natural that there might be some reflection on the larger state of the television landscape. Julian and Jeremy pier out into a dark and dreary graveyard of cancelled shows and failed streaming services to take stock of the current situation. The assessment? The "Golden Age of TV" is over. What comes next is still to be determined. Plus, a grab-bag of news stories from around Hollywood to help lighten the mood.
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Episode 184 - Where Did Everything Go Wrong?
Julian and Jeremy reconvene after some time off to discuss the latest in film and television news, and there is no bigger story than the writers strike as it effects both mediums. The guys discuss the WGA's biggest demands, and spend some time examining how effective AI could really be in replacing creative jobs in media. After that it's a grab bag of stories including the possible return of The Rock to the Fast and Furious finale, another look at 'The Super Mario Bros Movie' and it's massive success as it continues to climb the all-time animated movie box office charts, some comments from Kathleen Kennedy on how to "eventize" Star Wars movies again, and few other odds and ends. Enjoy!
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Episode 176 - News Ketchup
It feels like a lifetime since we did a news show. What with ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ coverage, reviews of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Dr Strange’ sucking up all of our time, it’s no wonder it’s been so long! Ultimately, this means that Julian and Jeremy have a smorgasbord of movie and TV news to unpack. Not the least of which being the all sorts of fun stuff coming out of the mounting ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’ press barrage, which includes not only the teaser trailer, but also some VERY fun comments from the legend himself, James Cameron. Next up, is another round of DC related news out of Warner Bros. Between the ‘Flash’ movie now being in limbo, the lackluster trailer for ‘Black Adam’ and the constant befuddlement of their new CEO, there’s practically enough there for a whole episode on it’s own. But we have more! The guys also cover the odd reactions to Marvel’s CG in ‘Thor’ and ‘She-Hulk’, the box office success of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, another ‘Game of Thrones’ spin-off series (this time it’s interesting I promise!), and a metric ton of “what we’ve been watching”. All that and so much more on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!
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Episode 142 - Spider-Man: Returning Home
After weeks of “Slow News Day” podcasts the the floodgates have finally opened and there’s almost too much too talk about. The main story of course is Spiderman’s triumphant, albeit temporary, return to the MCU; the guys discuss both the implications for the MCU as well as potential Sony Universe concepts. From there we transition to Star Wars with news that Kevin Feige may be bringing his Marvel experience to Disney’s other cinematic universe, also, the Obi-Wan series has found a director and J.J. Abrams opinion on Emperor Palapatine’s inclusion in the Episode IX. All this plus some crazy trailers and a couple “Agree or Disagree” segments.. feels good to have a real show again.
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