Deal with Star Wars Diversity

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Tonight, a Discovery Star gets engaged. Ryan Johnson has words for diversity haters, and Disney Plus is doing just fine on this 50th edition of Multiverse. Tonight, Comic Plus, StiFi, finally, 2020, and more. What was the first thing you started watching? You know, it was probably The Mandalorian. Well, not me. I watched The Black Hole. It's a pretty decent sci-fi movie for its error for the era. It does well a lot of those movies did in the 70s. It starts with this overture over a black screen before starring the scene. You know, like 2001 Space Odyssey or Star Trek The Motion Picture. It has sort of a draw your own conclusion type of ending as well. I wonder why Disney hasn't considered rebooting rebooting it. Anyway, uh I think Disney Plus is pretty decent for the price, but I don't think they but uh I do think they need to add that they need to add a last watch feature to the starting page. The good news is uh I I've seen reports that they are in the process of adding that, it just hasn't rolled out to all the different you know apps for all the different devices. So, you know, that's something to look forward to. You know, because frankly myself, I tend to be a start and stop watcher. I tend to watch it a little bit, stop, do something else, and then come back to it like a you know, like a book, like a novel. Anyway, let's get on with the news. And uh we start the Star Trek news today with the original Star Trek Anraid series. It's going to be leaving Netflix coming come December. According to the info page for the show on that on for Netflix, it's quote available until 12.1, 2019. Now, this will be the first Star Trek show to no longer be available on Netflix. Most likely CBS is bringing it to CBS All Access, and but the the show, of course, is also available on Amazon Prime, or you could go old school and buy it on the DVD. Star Trek the Animated series ran for 22 episodes and for many fans acts as the fourth season of the original series. It also was the first Star Trek series to win an Emmy receiving the Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment Children's Series in 1975, a year before I was born. If you want to know how old I am, there you go, do the math. While we're on the subject of Star Trek and animated shows, it's been a while since we've heard anything about the new one, Star Trek Lowerdecks, which is due out next year. ComicBook.com talked with voice actor Jack Quaid, who plays instant Brad Boy Boy Boimler on the show, and he said, quote, We're in the middle of recording that now. To get to be a part of that world in any way is so cool. That show is just it's very different from Harvey Girls. It's way more adult, but it's hilario but so hilarious and surprisingly sweet and very Trek. Fans of Star Trek will get little inferences and things that we sprinkle throughout the show. But also, I think it's very accessible for people who don't know a ton of lore as well. It's just like a fun show in space. Now uh Harvey Girls Forever was his first acting role. Lore Dex is expected to arrive on CBS All Access sometime in 2020. Congratulations are in order to Star Trek Discovery star Anthony Rapp, who tweeted the happy news that he has now engaged to fellow actor Kenneth Mitchell, who has portrayed several Klingon characters on the series. Rapp tweeted, quote, so something happened tonight. I asked Ken if he would marry me, and he said yes. I'm so very happy and I'm so very thrilled to share this news. Unquote. Rap plays the first openly gay character series regular in a Star Trek show. Congratulations to the happy couple. Now Discovery returns in 2020, and season two is now out on Blu-ray and DVD. Discovery actor and comedian Tig Nataro recently spoke with Space.com about being in sci-fi roles in Discovery and the sci-fi movie Lucy in the Sky. She said that she didn't seek out these sci-fi roles, but felt, quote, open to that world. It's very different. I like it. I like being a recurring role on Star Trek. I'm not looking to become a full cast member, but I enjoy the world. I enjoy the cast and crew, and I think what I have going is kind of perfect, unquote. She was a fan of the original series, and as a child, saying, quote, I did follow Star Trek when I was a child, the original series. Obviously I'm more familiar with Discovery now, but I love being a part of it. J if just simply for the ability to tell people I'm on Star Trek. It's really fun to be able to say that. She also talked to space.com that and told them that she might enjoy playing characters that work in space. She she's not exactly sure she would want to go to space herself, saying, quote, I think it's really exciting and terrifying. If I could be in space, I would just like to be teleported. I don't know what I would want that actual takeoff and journey to outer space. I was just thinking to I was just talking to my wife about that. She has absolutely no interest in being in outer space. I don't think we're going to run into should we go, should we not go? I would bring my sons, I really think that they would be interested. It's fun. I'm proud to be part of it. My sons, they think I actually work in space because whenever I go off to Toronto to film Star Trek, I always tell them I have to go work on the space rocket. Would you like a small statue of Captain Spock in your home? Well Sideshow and Dark Side Collectibles Collectibles are set to release a one to three screw museum quality statue of Captain Spock as seen in Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan. The statue is a spitting image of Leonard Nimoy as his iconic character circa 1982. It's 25 inches tall in the iconic Monster Maroon Starfleet uniform. The statue is made in polystone resin with lifelike skin details and is limited and individually numbered. Orders are being taken now and it will it'll come out in the fourth quarter of 2020. But be prepared to open your wallet wide as it will cost you $1,299 or $146.13 on a payment plan. So that's it for Star Trek News. Let's go to the Star Wars news. Some people took issues with Star Wars The Last Jedi and the amount of diversity in the casting. Because how dare a galaxy far far away have more than one woman and more than one person of color in any kind of prominent role. Now, if this is you, then Ryan Johnson has some strong words for you. While speaking at a live event for Wired while promoting his new movie, Knives Out, he said, quote, if someone's responding to diversity negatively, flip bleep. Now Chris Evans also responded to that, saying, If anyone didn't like the movie, I'm not saying that's why they didn't like it. It wasn't surprising at all to me. I grew up as a Star Wars fan, and I grew up I was in my twenties when the prequels came out, and this whole idea that it's all been sunshine and roses and suddenly everybody's yelling at each other is baffling me. Ryan Johnson then added on to hit then add on to what hit uh Chris Evans said and said, quote, and I feel like people care deeply about Star Wars, and every single person has a slightly different version of what they think Star Wars is. And so much of the fun of it is arguing about it since we were kids, right? On the playground, you're yelling at your friends about who would win in a fight. It's part and partial about the passion of being a Star Wars fan. You know, maybe if you if you can't let it go, just let it go. Take a page from Frozen. With the rise of Skywalker on the way, there's uh so much more trolls, and now they're bashing Naomi Aki, who's in the movie as a character named Jana. She, however, did get some advice about it from someone who herself got bashed a lot, Kelly Marie Tran. Kelly gave the new Star Wars actor some advice, and uh Naomi shared that advice with Met with Metro. Quote, I think watching the experience of Kelly Marie Tran and talking to her, I got a lot of inspiration from her about how to grow a thicker skin when it comes to people's opinions of not just your work, also who you are. There is a difference, that's a challenge, but I'm fired up. I feel good about it ultimately, unquote. So uh there you have it, folks. Just you know, i if if you can't say anything positive about this character, let it go. Yeah. We don't we don't need to hear it. Besides that, uh the ramp for the ramp up for The Rise of Skywalker is now in high gear. Daisy Ridley talking with Adoro Cinema about a scene that left her and the crew visibly moved. She said, quote, There was this there was a scene that touched me a lot. It was our last day shooting in Jordan, and the natural light was fading, and it was so exciting, it was just a short scene. We filmed very fast, but the crew was shaken in a way I had not seen before, and I thought, my god, if this is people's immediate reaction when the scene isn't even ready, imagine what it'll be like to see it in the movies with the John Williams soundtrack and all that. As to what that scene was, I guess we'll have to wait. However, you remember the scene from the trailer with her in dark robes with the double double bladed red lightsaber? Diz Daisy did discuss that scene, saying, quote, the that scene was filmed in England in November. There were huge water cannons and it was really, really cold. Everybody literally soaked. It was hard, but was also amazing because the scene caught the immediacy of the reaction. Carrie Fisher's death was heartbreaking, but what might be even more heartbreaking was the plan for Leia that was supposed to occur in the Rise of Skywalker. According to Carrie's brother, Todd Fisher, she was to go full Jedi. Todd, speaking with the Aahu Entertainment, said, quote, She was going to be the big payoff in this final film. That was that's what the intent was. She was going to be the last Jedi, so to speak. People used to say to me, why is it that Carrie never gets a lightsaber and chops up some bad guys? A final storyline for Leia was created for the final movie in the Skywalker saga using deleted scenes from The Force Awakens. The Rise of Skywalker comes out in just a month. Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi writer Hosseen Amini thinks that making a series instead of a movie was the right idea. Amini talked with this discussing film about the upcoming series. Quote I think because of what we were speaking about before, the situation is so complex, both for him personally, in a way, the state of the galaxy. You sort of need time to explore it, and to be honest, there are loads of other stories within that period as well. It's quite a few years. There's so much going on between Revenge of the Sith and The New Hope that hasn't been explored. The idea of being able to go into a character journey, plus the politics and plus all the vastness of the Empire and what's going on is exciting just because it feels like a proper period of history, and sometimes it is hard to do in two hours. Sometimes with a with two hour movies, there is always an imperative for the action and the plot to move particularly fast and quickly and to go on from action sequence to action sequence, and there are many more aspects to storytelling that I find interesting. No word yet on when the series will come to Disney Plus. And while we're speaking of Disney Plus, let's have a little peek into business. Disney CEO Bob Iger in the latest investor earnings call said that a lot of guests are holding off on visiting the Disneyland and Disney Disney World until the Galaxy's Edge is fully opened. There is one more e-ticket attraction coming to the Star Wars themed attraction, Star Wars Rise of the Resistance. It is open it will open in December at Disney World and on January 17th at Disneyland. However, even with the lower attendance at the parks, it's still been a good year for at the Disney parks. There's they've been seeing an 8% increase in revenue. Now speaking of uh Mr. Iger, on that same call, he announced that the Star Wars films will be taking a little break with Iger saying that their current thinking is that Marvel and Star Wars are more than just movie franchises. Of course, it's not like they're going to stop making content, as there are currently three Star Wars series in production. Now, uh let's take a break and listen to this message. I'd like to thank you for listening to this edition of Multiverse Tonight. You know, one way you can support the show is to listen to it through the Radio Public App. Every episode of Multiverse Tonight that is heard through the Radio Public App, for iPhone or Android, means that you can get this podcast and we get a couple of cents in our can. Find the Radio Public App in Google and iTunes app stores and give it a try today. Thanks me. Now, let's get on to the geek news. Can a third Fantastic Beast movie be what's needed to keep the Harry Potter film franchise going? Warner Brothers announced that the third in the Fantastic Beast franchise will start filming this spring. The third one is expected to put more of a spotlight on Jude Law's Dumbledore with more action at Hogwarts. The movie will also take the story to Rio de Janeiro. Warner Brothers still plans on making five movies in the Fantastic Beasts series. The third one will hit theaters in November of 2021. The Halo series at Showtime has added three new actors, Danny Sapani, Olive Gray, and Charlie Murphy. Have all joined the cast based on the video on the show based on the video game. Sapani will play Captain Jacob Keyes, a dedicated military man, war hero, and caring father, who finds himself working alongside his daughter and his ex-wife. Gray will be playing Dr. Miranda Keys, a brilliant UNSC commander who is trying to learn the technology, language, and culture of the Covenant, and Charlie Murphy will play Maki, a human who was orphaned and raised by the Covenant, and shares their contempt for humanity. The series, which began filming in Budapest this month, has a nine episode commitment from Showtime and is scheduled to air in the first quarter of 2021. The Wheel of Time series on Amazon has cast Michael McElton Mc The Wheel of Time series on Amazon has cast Michael McGelton. He will play Tam Althor, the adoptive father of protagonist Rand Althor. Michael is best known for his role as Ruse Bolton on Game of Thrones. Wheel of Time stars Rosamond Pike and Joshua Stradowski. No premiere date has been announced. Even before the launch of Disney Plus, Disney was doing quite well for itself. In its fourth quarter earnings call, the studio reported total revenue of 19.1 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of 19.404 billion. Toy Story 4 and Aladdin did pretty well for the studio, and even the losses on in the Fox inherited films like Ad Astra, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Dark Phoenix were partially offset by income from TV and streaming. The stock closed up after the launch of Disney Plus. Now, by the way, a little aside here, I must note that I hold a share of stock in Disney. Yeah, just being being uh open. Anyway. Amazon has given an early renewal for its Lord of the Rings series. The show has just begun production in New Zealand. The head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, has confirmed to deadline the news that the second season is already in the works during the company's holiday party at the H Club in Hollywood. Now Amazon has held the rights the rights since 2017. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the Chris Pratt-led sci-fi thriller, The Tomorrow War, will come out Christmas 2020. The movie is currently being produced by Skydance Media and Paramount and was previously known as Ghost Draft. The movie is set in a future where humanity is losing a war against aliens, and in order to turn the tide of the war, scientists have begun drafting soldiers from the past. The movie also stars Betty Gilpin and JK Simmons and is being directed by Chris McKay. Welcome to Fantasy Island of Horrors. The trailer for the Blum House and Sony Pictures big screen version of Fantasy Island has arrived. The movie will be a supernatural horror film and will follow Michael Pena's Mr. Rourke, who makes his guests' secret fantasies come true. But then their fantasies become nightmares, and the guests have to solve the mystery of the island if they want to save their lives. The movie stars Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Austin Stowell, Portitia Doubleday, Jimmy O'Yoang, Ryan Henson, and Michael Roker and has your cast. The movie arrives on my birthday, Valentine's Day. Yep, now I've given you the year, now I've given you the day. Hey, go to it. NBC's The Good Place is going out with a bang. The good place will have an extra long ninety minute farewell, which will include an extended episode as well as a post show special with the full cast hosted by Seth Myers. That episode airs on January 30th. Disney has moved the release date for Fox's Kingsman prequel, The King's Man, back seven months from February 14th to September 18th, 2020. The Matthew Vaughn directed film stars Brave Finds and looks at the origins of the world's first independent intelligence agency. And that brings us to the end of another sci-fi edition of Multiverse Tonight. Now be sure to check us out on social media. We're at Twitter at multiverse tom. We're also on Facebook and Instagram as multiverse tonight as well. And uh if you'd like to contribute some money, please go to mtpodcast.com to go to our coffee or Patreon as well. And be sure to visit multiverse tonight.com and check out our affiliate marketplace links, the link to our Tea Public store, our show notes, and so much more. And if you're a subscriber, be sure to share us with your friends and if you're brand new to the show, please be sure to subscribe and leave us with some feedback and let us know how we're doing. Special thanks to Shane Ivers for our intro music and Lobo Loco for our outro theme music. Thanks for uh uh thank you all for watching the sci-fi edition of Multiverse Tonight. We'll be back in just a couple days with the comic book edition. Now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse tonight is a production of Half Big Genre Productions Copyright twenty nineteen. All rights reserved.