Chris Pratt and The Mushroom Kingdom

Tonight! Allison Mack goes to prison early, Jeff Bridges has some good news and Chris Pratt has a Mario, all that and more on the comic book edition of Multiverse Tonight!

Hello and welcome to episode 144 of Multiverse Tonight...






DC

Smallville star Allison Mack has started her prison sentence early.  Mack was given a three year sentence after she pled guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of racketeering conspiracy for her part on the NXIVM sex cult. Mack was a high ranking member of the cult and she was accused of literally branding some of the victims Mack was supposed to begin serving her sentence on September 29th, but reported to the Federal Prison in Dublin California on  20th. After serving her sentence, she will have three years of supervised release.

Batman Unburied, the Spotify series has cast comedian Hasan Minhaj as the riddler. This take on Batman was written by David S Goyer. In other casting news, Lance Roddick will be Thomas Wayne in the podcast. Batman's mom, Martha Wayne, will be played by Toks Olagundoye. Geek culture fixture Ashly Burch will play Vicki Vale. And John Rhys-Davies will bring Dr. Hunter to life. Here’s the series description quote "When audiences meet Bruce Wayne he is a forensic pathologist, working in the bowels of Gotham Hospital and tasked with examining the victims of The Harvester, a gruesome serial killer preying on Gotham's citizens. Not only will the superhero be forced to face his own mental demons, but he will also have to overcome them in order to save the citizens of Gotham as his alter-ego, Batman."

Speaking of Batman, DC Comics has announced Shadows of the Bat, a 12 week event that will quote In Shadows of the Bat, out of the ashes of Arkham Asylum, Arkham Tower rises in Gotham City... but the tower soon falls to the inmates and Batman's allies are drawn back into the madness at the heart of Gotham, and the plans of the mysterious Dr. Wear. The back-up stories, meanwhile, will explore Arkham's dark history. Unquote The event will be started in Novembers Detective Comics 2021 Annual. The series will be written by Mariko Tamaki (Detective Comics, Future State: Dark Detective), with a rotating array of artists that includes Ivan Reis (Action Comics) and Danny Miki (Batman), Max Raynor (Challenge of the Super Sons), Amancay Nahuelpan (Crush & Lobo) and Jordie Bellaire (Batman). It will also feature back-up stories written by Matthew Rosenberg (Task Force Z), with art by Fernando Blanco (Catwoman).


Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has added some new cast members, Jani Zhao, INdya Moore and Vincent Regan have joined the sequel. Zhao is playing a new character named Stingray, Moore will play Karshon, a character was originally a Green Lantern villain (he first appeared in 1963’s Green Lantern No. 24) who was originally a shark that, after being hit with radiation, gained intelligence and telepathic powers and Regan will play Atlan the ancient ruler of Atlantis that caused it to be sunk into the sea. The movie is due in theaters on December sixteenth, 2022.


Marvel
Marvel will be bringing back Ben Reily, the clone of Peter Parker for a special look at his time as Spider-man and believed himself to be the real Peter Parker. Ben Reiley Spider-man will be written by J.M. DeMatteis, whose previous credits include "Kraven's Last Hunt" and Spider-Man: The Lost Years, and artist David Baldeon. According to the plot summary quote murders are piling up in New York City, and they may all be connected. At the same time, a mysterious figure from Ben's past returns and the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane may hold the key to their identity? Unquote Ben Reilly Spiderman number one hits stores in January.

Jeff Bridges has some good news. His lymphoma is in remission, the actor who played Obidiah Stane in the first Iron Man movie wrote on his blog quote  "My cancer is in remission. The 9"x12" mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble,``''My covid is in the rear-view mirror. Covid kicked my ass pretty good, but I'm double vaccinated and feeling much better now. I heard that the vaccine can help folks with long haulers. Maybe that's the cause of my quick improvement." unquote Here’s hoping he gets and stays healthy.

China might never see Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The Chinese have banned the movie due to China pushing back against Western Influence and star Simu Liu’s criticism about China, which he left as a child in the mid 90’s, even though the movie has been greeted warmly by Asian audiences in other countries. Marvel Studios has tried to reach out to the Chinese government to assure them that the film respects Chinese culture, but have so far been given the cold shoulder.

Marvel’s Hit Monkey, the next Marvel animated show for Hulu has released a first look and release date.  In a preview given to Entertainment Weekly, The show is a darkly comedic series which quote "follows a Japanese snow macaque whose clan meets a stranded hitman, Bryce (Jason Sudeikis), and nurses him back to health. But when Bryce bites the dust, it's up to the titular simian (guided by Bryce's ghost) to follow in his assassin footsteps and seek vengeance." unquote The series was going to be apart of a shared set of shows with MODOK, Tiga and Dazzler, and  Howard the Duck, which would have joined to become The Offenders, but everything but Hit Monkey and MODOk were dropped. Marvel’s Hit Monkey premieres on Hulu on November seventeenth.

Jonathan Majors revealed to Total Film how he got cast as Kang The Conqueror for Ant-Man & THe Wasp Quantum Mania and Loki.  He revealed to them quote "I guess after The Last Black Man in San Francisco. I can't say it was that film at all. The Marvel team has their ways," Majors revealed. "It's very much like getting a role in drama school. They're just watching. You don't audition for roles. You get into drama school, then the dean will watch what you're doing. If they wanted you, you get tapped. That's kind of what happened."  Ant Man and the Was Quantum Mania comes out in February of 2023.

Marvel is going into battle to keep the Copyrights to many of their popular characters from the estates of their creators. Lawsuits have been fired to terminate copyright on characters like Iron Man, Spider-man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Flacon, Thor and others. The terminations come from the heirs of Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and Gene Colan. The suits seek declaratory relief that these blockbuster characters are ineligible for copyright termination as works made for hire. If Marvel loses, Disney would have to share ownership of characters worth billions.  Ditko’s estate filed in August, if termination is granted, Marvel would have to give up the rights in June of 2023. The attorney, Mark Toberoff representing Larry Lieber and the estates of Steve Ditko, don heck, Don Rico, and Gene Colan issued a statement to Deadline dot com reading "At the core of these cases is an anachronistic and highly criticized interpretation of 'work-made-for-hire’ under the 1909 Copyright Act that needs to be rectified," "We had tremendous support from the artistic community, the former Register of Copyrights, the former Trademark Commissioner, all the Guilds (WGA, SAG, DGA), PEN America, and 237 artists, including a dozen Pulitzer winners. The Kirby case went all the way to the US Supreme Court, which showed keen interest, at which point Disney settled. At the time, I was asked whether I regretted not righting the legal injustice to creators – which I indeed did. I responded that there would be other such cases."  We will keep an eye out for any decisions.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/disney-copyright-termination-1235020849/


Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista took to Instagram next week sharing the story of an abused puppy quote "ATTN Tampa Bay: I will personally hand $5000 cash to the person who gives information leading to the arrest and conviction of the sick piece of shit responsible for this. In addition @humanesocietytampabay is also offering $1500. If you know anything please contact @humanesocietytampabay or @safek9," Unfortunately no solid leads have come up but he did share some good news a couple of days later in a video announcing that he had adopted the dog and named it Penny. This isn’t the first time, the big hearted actor has also adopted two abandoned pitbulls from a shelter back in 2019.

Geek

Anthoy Mackie will star as John Doe in a live action twisted Metal series being made by Sony TV and PlayStation Productions. The show will be based on the game of the same name, Twisted Metal is a high-octane action comedy based on an original take by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.

Doe is a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives. With no memory of his past, he gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat. No word on a possible date or even where it would be released.

Amy Adams dished up some news about the Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted on the Tonight Show, telling Jimmy Fallon quote “We filmed it in Ireland,” Adams, who plays the princess from Andalasia in the film, shared with Fallon. “Everyone is back. We also have great additions to the cast. We have Maya Rudolph. She plays the ‘baddie,’ so we get to have a lot of fun together.” unquote. Disenchanted is due on Disney Plus, sometime in 2022.

FXX and freeform are  now the exclusive home of the Family Guy back catalog. The series Archer, Bob’s Burgers, the Cleveland show, King of the Hill  and the Simpsons and will be joined by Futurama in November.Chuck Saftler, head of business operations for ABC, Freeform, FX Networks and acquisitions in Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution’s Networks division said about the acquisition quote  “We are airing the absolute ultimate collection of animated adult comedies on cable television,” . “This line-up is comedy gold that will provide FXX viewers with belly laugh after belly laugh.”

The Night Court sequel starring Mellisa Rauch and John Larroquette has been picked up by NBC. THe series stars Former The Big Bang Theory star Melissa Rauch will star in the series, taking on the role of Judge Abby Stone, daughter of the late Harry Anderson's Judge Harold "Harry" T. Stone. John Larroquette will reprise his role from the original series as lawyer Dan Fielding. Pamela Fryman executive produced and directed the pilot episode, Dan Rubin, Melissa Rauch, and Winston Rauch also executive produce. The official show description reads quote "Unapologetically optimistic judge Abby Stone (Melissa Rauch), the daughter of the late Harry Stone, follows in her father's footsteps as she presides over the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court and tries to bring order to its crew of oddballs and cynics, most notably former night court prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette)." No word on if any other actors from the original might show up, however it should be noted that both Markie Post and Charles Robinson passed away this past year and Harry Anderson passed away back in 2018.

Activision Blizzard is now being investigated by teh United States Security and Exchange Commsion over it’s mentors involving how it handled allegations of harassment, workplace discrimination and other accusations. The SEC is looking to see if the company appropriately disclosed any allegations and if that info should've been shared with the company’s investors earlier than it was. The company is currently being sued by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.  In a press release Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said quote 
"We are deeply committed to making Activision Blizzard one of the best, most inclusive places to work anywhere," "There is absolutely no place anywhere in our Company for discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind. While we continue to work in good faith with regulators to address and resolve past workplace issues, we also continue to move ahead with our own initiatives to ensure that we are the very best place to work. We remain committed to addressing all workplace issues in a forthright and prompt manner." unquote 


In honor of Disney Plus’ second anniversary, Disney plus will have disney plus day on November twelfth.
Disney+ Day will feature content premieres from all of the marquee brands on service, including:

The streaming premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings”
The beloved Disney family-friendly adventure film “Jungle Cruise,” available to all subscribers
The new Disney+ Original movie “Home Sweet Home Alone,” a reimagining of the popular holiday franchise
An all-new original series of shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios called “Olaf Presents,” which sees Frozen’s beloved snowman retelling several classic Disney tales as only he can
The domestic Disney+ streaming debut of fan favorite shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios including “Frozen Fever,” Oscar®-winning shorts “Feast” and ''Paperman,” Oscar-nominated Mickey Mouse short, “Get A Horse!” and more
An animated short film “Ciao Alberto” from Pixar, featuring characters from this summer’s animated hit breakout film “Luca”
A new short from The Simpsons that pays tribute to Disney+’s marquee brands
The first five episodes from season 2 of “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” from National Geographic
A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars’ legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett
A special celebrating the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney+ with an exciting look towards the future
“Dopesick,” an original series starring Michael Keaton, which will be released in international markets as part of the Star general entertainment content offering

But the celebration won’t only be on the only place they are celebrating. In honor of the second anniversary of Disney+, subscribers will have access to promotions and experiences across the Company. Disney Parks and Resorts around the world and Disney Cruise Line will roll out the blue carpet for Disney+ fans with some surprise and delight moments including photo opportunities, character moments and more; shopDisney.com will have special offers; popular network shows and syndicated series will join in the celebration along with talent and series across ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN and ESPN+, Freeform, FX, Hulu, National Geographic in the U.S., and on owned channels abroad. Disney Plus will also launch in South Korea and Taiwan on the twelfth and in Hong Kong on November sixteenth.

The other comic strip about an orange cat Heathcliff has had it’s tv and movie rights picked up by Legendary Pictures. The company plans to develop both movie and tv projects. The strip was created by George Gately in 1973 and ran in thousands of newspapers at its height. It is now written and drawn by Gately’s nephew, Peter Gallagher. Gallagher will act as a producer with Steve Waterman, who has served as an exec producer on such family fare as 1999’s Stuart Little and the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies.

As part of the recent Nintindo Direct, a Super Mario Bros animated movie was announced as well as teh cast. Chris Pratt will voice Mario and will be joined by Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach) Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike). Voice of Mario in the video games, Charles Martinet has been given a cameo role. The movie will be made jointly by Nintendo and Illumination. Illumination founder Chris Meledandri and Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary creator of Mario, will produce the film. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the duo behind Teen Titans Go! and Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, are directing, while The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and Minions: The Rise of Gru screenwriter Matthew Fogel penned the script.

“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” said Meledandri in a statement.

“We are collaborating with Chris [Meledandri] and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game,” said Miyamoto in a statement. “The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen.” unquote THe movie will come out in time for Christmas next year, December 21st.

Filipino comic book inker Jeffrey Huet has died after contracting COVID-19. Marvel Comics confirmed the news this past Monday morning while sharing some of Huet's artwork.quote "The Marvel family is saddened to learn of the passing of Jeffrey Huet," Jeff was a talented inker, bringing some of the most iconic Marvel characters to life in stories including Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and beyond. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones." Huet inked issues of DC Comics Animal Man and worked on The Kingstone Bible. His most recognizable work was at Marvel Comics, where his work included the fan-favorite Hulk space epic "Planet Hulk."

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