Aenar Memories and Wolverine Dreams

Transcript

Tonight! An expensive drink, IDW celebrates a Star Trek milestone, Flash news, Eggy Wolverine, A biopic about a man named Dick and we remember Greg Jein and Joe Turkel. All that and more on this edition of Multivese Tonight!

Welcome to episode 167.

Star Wars

Screen used x wing fighter model from the original Star Wars movie sold for 2.3 million dollars at a Prop Store Auction. The screen matched Red Leader X Wing miniature model was originally estimated to go for a half-million to one million dollars. The X-wing model was used in Star Wars: A New Hope for Red X-wing Squadron Leader Garven Dreis, played by the late Drewe Henley.

The model is extraordinarily rare, as most were destroyed by pyrotechnics while filming the movie’s climactic battle sequence at the Death Star.

Disney's newest cruise ship has one pricey Star Wars cocktail for you. The Kaiburr Crystal, as the concoction is being called aboard the Disney Wish, currently checks in at a whopping $5,000.

Videos of the cocktail have started to surface online, and the drink comes in a hefty carrier complete with mechanical doors and a smoke effect before you grab a glass that appears to be a size similar to a shot glass.

staterooms aboard the cruise ship start at $2,000 for two people, with rooms as expensive as $10,000 for cruises later in the year.

Star Trek

The Lower Decks are going to the comics. IDW Publishing has announced a three-issue miniseries from writer Ryan NOrand Chris Fenoglio. Here;’s the blurb quote: The hit Paramount+ animated series makes its comics debut with Eisner-winning comics writer Ryan North (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) at the helm! Soon after leading her crew on a planetary expedition aimed at building bridges and advancing Federation technology, Captain Freeman begins to suspect that the planet and its people are not all that they seem… Meanwhile, the crew in the lower decks take to the holodeck, enjoying some much-needed recreational time—until a bloodthirsty visitor decides to join in on their games. The first issue with three alternative covers comes out in September.

Speaking of that, IDW will publish their 400 Star Trek comic book and are celebrating with a special issue 400. The issue will include a brand new Star Trek: The Next Generation by series star Wil Wheaton, who recently reprised his role as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: Picard's second season finale. There will also be a new tale of "little Kayla Detmer," as first seen in Star Trek: Discovery -- Adventures in the 32nd Century #3. Other stories are written by Chris Eliopoulos, Declan Shalvey, Rich Handley, and Mike Johnson featuring art by Luke Sparrow, Seth Damoose, Megan Levens, Angel Hernandez, and Joe Eisma.

The issue, priced at $7.99, will ship with five covers, one each by Louie de Martinis, JK Woodward, Megan Levens, Angel Hernandez, and Chris Fenoglio. This issue will all come out in September.

Notice: This next story contains spoilers for the episode All Those Who Wander of Star Trek Strange New Worlds. So feel free to hit the skip button a couple of times to get to the next piece of news. In the episode Chief Engineer Hemmer, the blind Aeenar engineer commits suicide in order to not become a host body to the now Alien-like Gorn. The Hollywood Reporter spoke with actor Bruce Horak and asked him about the end of his Star Trek journey. About his character's story and end, he said quote Well, we shot it a year ago, but I’m really happy with how the episode turned out. When I was approached to play the part, they told me right off the bat that this was going to be the character arc of Hemmer. So, I knew it going in. There was a bit of trepidation off the top about how the death was going to happen, how the grand finale was going to play out. When I read the script, I was so happy — well, happy is not the right word. I was relieved. It’s a pretty great death for a red shirt. (Laughs.) unquote, THey also asked him how the makeup process was for him, and he said that he enjoyed it. And about becoming a mentor for the young Nyota Uhura he said quote I knew that Hemmer was going to be a mentor figure. He starts off gruff and kind of aloof, but there are beautiful moments when he guides Nyota and then, in the end, talks about purpose with that wonderful resolution in this episode. It feels like a really beautiful arc for the character. And for myself, mentors have been absolutely forefront in my life. I wouldn’t be where I am without people who have guided me and offered advice. So, I really connected with Hemmer. Celia and I connected from the very beginning. Most of our scenes are together, so we spent a lot of time off-camera just hanging out and connecting about music and theater. She has a background in theater, as do I. That was one of the hardest goodbyes, for sure. Unquote He also teased that this is not the end of Bruce Horak’s career in Star Trek, so…Mirror Universe Hemmer? Different character?

The Blue Beetle movie is a step closer to completion with the news that Susan Sarandon has wrapped up her time filming on the movie. Sarandon is set to play Victoria Kord in the film and will be the movie's villain. It is not immediately clear whether Victoria will be related to Ted Kord, who was the Blue Beetle for a time in the comics, or whether the name is just a wink-and-a-nod reference to the character's past. The movie is set to arrive in theaters on August eighteenth, 2023.

The bat crap craziness that is Ezra Miller has now found news via Rolling Stone that alleges that Miller is housing a family with three young children in an unsafe environment. According to the magazine, Miller is hosting a 25-year-old mother and her three young children at their 96-acre farm in Stamford, Vermont. The report alleges that Miller's property, where the family has been staying at since mid-April has "unattended guns strewn around the home," as well as "frequent and heavy" use of marijuana in front of the children. Sources cited in the report call the environment at Miller's farm chaotic, with video footage reportedly showing at least eight assault weapons, rifles, and handguns in the living room, with some propped next to a pile of stuffed animals. One source also recalls an instance where a one-year-old child reportedly picked up a loose bullet and put it in her mouth. Additionally, the report alleges that the marijuana use on Miller's farm is not properly ventilated and that the property includes "a sizable cannabis farm", reportedly exceeding the legal number of marijuana plants that private citizens can own in Vermont. Despite Miller's farm not being among the list of licensed cultivators in the state of Vermont, social media posts from Whitney Suters, Miller's close friend and "handyman", claim that the two of them are running their own cannabis company called Rebel Alliance Cannabis. The mother claims that Miller helped her escape a "violent and abusive ex" and finally "have a safe environment for my three very young children." "[Ezra's] home ranch has been a healing haven for us," the mother says in the report. "They may have firearms for self-defense purposes and they are stored in a part of the house that the children never go in... My kids are able to relax more into their healing because of the safety and nurturing Ezra has been providing for them." This is the latest in weirdness from the now-former Flash star. Warner Bros has chosen to exclude the actor from future DC movies after the 2023 release of THe Flash.

The CW’s Arrowverse has a new champion in the category of longest-running show. As The Flash has passed Arrow by one episode with this past week’s season eight finale. The Flash will be padding out that title as it has been renewed for a ninth season. The long-term health of the Arrowverse franchise is in question at the moment as almost all of the other DC CW shows have been canceled.

It looks like DC will be skipping San Diego comicon this year. THe Hollywood Reporter reports that For the first time, Warner Bros, including DC, will have no presence on the convention floor, a move that breaks with decades of precedent. The company had one of the bigger presences on the floor, with movie and TV costumes on display. In some years, A-list stars such as the cast of Justice League or Watchmen appeared for signings. Another big change: Several CW series, including Flash, Superman & Lois and the upcoming Supernatural prequel, will be absent as the network is facing a possible sale and had canceled many of its shows. DC publishing, despite not having a booth (which always attracted a crowd and had talent milling about), will still have a presence via a smattering of panels.

DC publisher and CCO Jim Lee will headline a showcase of upcoming DC books, with sneak peeks and creators. There will be a panel stacked with Batman-centric comic writers and artists, while superstar writers Tom Taylor and Tom King will have a conversation about their work, past, present and future. Also in the lineup is a panel on DC’s current event miniseries, Dark Crisis, among others.

Animation, for both young and older audiences, will also get presentations.

There will be panels on Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai with the new series’ voice stars and exec producers. Meanwhile, Cartoon Network will have a multishow panel touting Craig of the Creek, Teen Titans Go! and We Baby Bears, among several other animation panels.

Mature content animation will be spotlighted with panels on Adult Swim shows Smiling Friends, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal (season two will be the focus for animation director Genndy Tartokovsky and art director Scott Willis), Rick and Morty: The Vindicators (a screening plus a Q&A) and Tuca & Bertie. And there will be a special screening of the first two episodes of surprise HBO Max hit Harley Quinn, as well as the premiere of animated feature Green Lantern: Beware My Power, followed by a Q&A.

Warner Bros. Games will have two panels, A Look Inside the Making of the Gotham Knights Game and Making a Mash-Up: MultiVersus.

And Warners’ wrestling unit, AEW, which has shows AEW: Dynamite and AEW: Rampage on TBS, will have two presentations that will see wrestlers descend on San Diego for the first time. Insiders say the Comic-Con revamp is designed to make the company more strategic in its approach, but it also comes as Zaslav has been focusing on the bottom line, reportedly seeking $3 billion in savings for the new company. In past years, Comic-Con has cost Warners $25 million-plus — factoring in the floor installation, travel for its talent and tech costs for its high-level presentations.

Marvel

Emma Roberts has joined the cast of Sony’s Madame Web movie, starring Dakota Johnson, she joins Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, and Tahar Rahim for director S.J. Clarkson. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless penned the screenplay, with Kerem Sanga writing a previous draft.

Kingsman and Rocketman star Taron Egerton wants to be the next Wolverine. Egerton speaking with The New York Times said that he has met with Kevin Feige and other MArvel studios brass saying that he would like the chance to follow Hugh Jackman’s claw marks. He said “I don’t think it would be wrong to say that,” Egerton, 32, told the publication with a laugh about his interest in the part. “I’d be excited but I’d be apprehensive as well, because Hugh is so associated with the role that I’d wonder if it’d be very difficult for someone else to do it.”“But hopefully, if it does come around, they’ll give me a shot.” So…what do you think?

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has gotten a new contract. The Board of Directors okayed a new three-year deal that will start on July first. Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board of Disney said in a statement quote “Disney was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, yet with Bob at the helm, our businesses — from parks to streaming — not only weathered the storm but emerged in a position of strength,” said Susan Arnold, Chairman of the Board. “In this important time of growth and transformation, the Board is committed to keeping Disney on the successful path it is on today, and Bob’s leadership is key to achieving that goal. Bob is the right leader at the right time for The Walt Disney Company, and the Board has full confidence in him and his leadership team,” Chapek became CEO back in February 2020, taking the job from former CEO Bob Iger in what has been seen as a rocky transition.

A new Spider-man comic is coming up. Dan Slott and Mark Bagley are relaunching Spider-man with a new number one issue following the upcoming Edge of Spider-verse limited series. The new saga will kick off when a threat emerges that will change the fate of Peter Parker and all his fellow Spider icons such as Spider-Woman, Ghost-Spider, Miles Morales, Silk, and more, including the new heroes that will debut in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE. The series will also tie directly into the events of Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr.’s AMAZING SPIDER-MAN run, picking up plot elements such as Spidey’s new costume and his mysterious association with Norman Osborn!

Morlun is back and he is not alone. Allied with one of the most powerful beings known to the Spider-Verse, the scariest Spider-Villain of all time is making his biggest play and no Spider is safe. Especially not the Chosen Spider himself, Peter Parker. With Peter working for Norman Osborn and using a glider… does he have it coming?

Here's what Slott had to say about his grand return to Spider-Man: “How does it feel to be writing Spider-Man again? Like I'm home. Like there's nowhere else I'd rather be. How does it feel to be working on it with Mark Bagley, one of the greatest Spidey icons of all time?! Honored, excited, and unstoppable! Mark and I are two guys who live to tell Spider-Man stories. Cut us and we bleed Spider-Man. And now Marvel has entrusted the two of us to bring back their monthly-- adjectiveless-- SPIDER-MAN title!

Geek

The Orville New Horizons is about halfway thru its current season of new episodes, so Collider spoke with series star and creator Seth MacFarlane and asked where the idea for the name change came from. He said quote "Adding a subtitle was actually Dana Walden's idea," MacFarlane says. Walden is the Chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content. "And I thought it was a really good one. That's my boss over at Disney who I've worked with and been friends with for a long time. That was her idea. And I thought it was kind of cool because it's not a reboot, it's a continuation, but it was just enough to tell the audience that we're expanding a little bit. That the scope is bigger. The show is more ambitious. It's going to feel more like a movie. It's maybe going to feel a little more special. And it seemed appropriate also because it's been a few years since we've been on the air and we've moved to Hulu and it's a 10-episode run as opposed to, a 13-episode run. I guess it's not that big a difference. It seemed like it was an idea that was pitched to me that I like." unquote

And speaking of The Orville, a “lost” episode will be turned into a Novella. Disney Books announced that The Orville Sympathy for the Devil will come out later this month, adapted by Seth from a script that had been intended to be part of this season's run but had to be cut due to Covid-related obstructions. The novel releases on July 19th, with a cover by acclaimed artist Bill Sienkiewicz and an audiobook narrated by Babylon 5 star and The Orville guest star Bruce Boxleitner. Here's the synopsis: An original novella set in season three of The Orville—straight from the pen of Seth MacFarlane, creator of the beloved sci-fi TV show! When Captain Ed Mercer and the crew of the U.S.S. Orville comes face-to-face with one of humanity's most vile ideologies, they must solve the moral conundrum of who to hold accountable for evil deeds real… and imagined. Occurring just after episode 308, this is the Orville like you've never seen it before.

The sequel to Ghostbusters Afterlife has been given a release date of December twentieth, 2023. Little is known about the next movie other than the stinger at the end of Afterlife where Winston brought the old Ecto 1 back to the firehouse in New York. Also opening on Wednesday, Dec. 20 is Paramount’s feature animation movie The Tiger’s Apprentice and the Warner Bros. musical The Color Purple. On that Friday, Dec. 22, Paramount still has an untitled Star Trek movie on the calendar, and Disney still has Rogue Squadron.

The CW is working on a new live-action series based on the Archie Comics character Jale Chang. It’s described as an Asian-American-led mystery following a 16-year-old private investigator as he navigates the racially and socioeconomically diverse worlds of his ever-gentrifying home of Chinatown and the elite private high school he attends. The show will blend soapy teen drama with the neon-noir aesthetic, all while flipping nearly every Asian stereotype-honor, martial arts, destiny, lineage, parental sacrifice on its head. The character has some sort of tie to previous Archie character Fu Chang, a private detective in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1940s. Jake is expected to make his comics debut in the forthcoming Archie story "Mystery of the Missing Mermaid," which will be published in Betty & Veronica Jumbo Comics Digest #305 on July 27th. The Jake Chang series will be executive produced by Ly and Nguyen, alongside Goldwater and actor Daniel Dae Kim and John Cheng through their production company 3AD, which currently produces The Good Doctor.

NBC will debut the rebooted Quantum Leap on Monday, September nineteenth. With its other sci-fi drama La Brea returning on September twenty-seventh.

Amazon Studios will be turning the Image Comic series Eight Billion Genies into its next big-budget franchise. THe series for Charles Soule and Ryan Browne is about a world where every single person is given a genie to grant one wish. On the surface that sounds amazing, but when you factor in eight billion genies and wishes all being granted at the same time, chaos is sure to unfold. As its description states, "All hell breaks loose, in a very entertaining way…and that's just the beginning."

Sci-Fi author Phillip K Dick will be the subject of a biopic. The film is based on Only Apparently Real which was written by Paul Williams, the onetime literary executor of Dick’s estate and friend of the author. Michael Richter, a former lawyer turned scribe, wrote the script and is also producing. Jon Shestack is also producing. Dick, who died at the age of 53 in 1982, was a darling of the intellectual science-fiction crowd thanks to his works such as Blade Runner and Total Recall, and The Man in the High castle that had elements of paranoia and explored the nature of reality and perception. While he won a Hugo Award and was nominated several times for Nebula Awards, both major literary recognitions in the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy, it was only after his death that his appreciation and popularity soared and entered the mainstream, thanks to Hollywood adaptations. Only Apparently Real centers on a break-in at Dick’s house that took place in the early ’70s. He was in the midst of his fourth divorce, trying to give up amphetamines, battling writer’s block, and possibly being spied on by the United States government. Then his house was ransacked, his safe blown open and his manuscripts were stolen. But then again, maybe they weren’t and maybe there was never a break-in. The producers are on a director hunt with the plan to begin shooting this fall in San Rafael, California, where Dick lived when the break-in occurred

Duncanville has been canceled. The animated series that has aired on Fox for three seasons will be ending effective immediately. There are six unaired episodes that will end up going exclusively to Hulu sometime later this year. The show followed Duncan Harris (voiced by Amy Poehler and his family and friends.

Box office report

Dune Part TWO has been pushed back less than a month from October twentieth to November seventeenth to take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday, also Godzilla vs Kong 2 will hit theaters on March fifteenth, 2024.

Acclaimed model maker and artist Gregory Jein, who worked on eight different Star Trek properties and earned Oscar nominations for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941 has passed away.

One of his first jobs was building models for the porn parody of Flash Gordon, Flesh Gordon, John Carpenter’s Dark Star, and work on the 1975 Wonder Woman series, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Laserblast which would become the last MST3k experiment of the Comedy Central years.

Greg began working for Star Trek in 1977 designing the Klingon Battle Cruiser that was originally set to be used for Star Trek Phase II, but then used in Star Trek The Motion Picture. He would also work in Star Trek movies V, VI, Insurrection, and Nemesis. He also worked on THe Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. He also did work with his own company Gregory Jein Inc which he launched in 1979.

He also worked on movies like 1941, Twilight Zone The Movie, Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, 2005’s Fantastic Four, Serenity, Avatar, 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, The Dark Knight Rises, Oblivion, and 2020’s Mulan and others.

He shared Emmy nominations for the 1996 Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” and for the 2003 HBO miniseries Angels in America and received eight excellence in production design noms from the Art Directors Guild, the most recent for his contributions as a model maker to the live-action Mulan (2020).

Star Trek Graphic Designer Michael Okuda said about Greg quote “Greg had a wry sense of humor and was endlessly inventive,” “He always seemed to find a way to provide us with spaceships, even when only a tiny budget was available. He genuinely loved Star Trek and was always generous with his expertise and his experience, giving many top modelers their start in the business. Greg had been ill for some time, but his passing is nevertheless a gut punch.”

Survivors include his cousins Eleanor, Cheryl, Jerry, Vivian, Laura, and Janice and their families. Jein died May 22 in his Los Angeles home from cardiac arrest after a long history of health issues that included a battle with diabetes. His family decided to keep his death quiet until this past week. Greg Jein was 76 years old.

Joe Turkel, who portrayed the haunting bartender in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and the creator of the replicants in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, has died. He was 94.

Turkel died Monday at Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, his family announced.

Turkel also appeared in two other Kubrick films: as a gunman in the climactic shootout in The Killing (1956) and as a soldier sent to the firing squad in Paths of Glory (1957), which the lanky Brooklyn-born actor called the greatest film ever made. (Only Philip Stone has appeared in as many as three Kubrick movies.)

Survivors include his sons, Craig and Robert; daughters-in-law Annie and Casilde; brother David; and grandchildren Ben and Sarah.

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