I Think Hell Froze Over

Tonight! Discovery ends, 2 Star Wars movies shelved, the dawn of DC, the Razzies, and the Oscars and we remember Bert I Gordon. All that and more on this edition of Multiverse Tonight!

Star Trek

Star Trek Discovery’s fifth season will be its last. However, it'll be a wait for that last one. As the fifth season won’t arrive until 2024. Star Sonequa Martin-Green in a statement said quote "I can hardly believe that this mind-blowing journey with 'Star Trek: Discovery' is ending," said Sonequa Martin-Green. "I'm astoundingly blessed by God to have played Captain Michael Burnham and to have taken part in a legacy alongside an extraordinary cast, phenomenal crew, and remarkable writing team. To our most supportive partners at CBS Studios and Paramount+, who insisted on making television history, I'm deeply grateful. I'm also deeply grateful for the creative collaboration with our showrunners Michelle Paradise and Alex Kurtzman, as well as Olatunde Osunsanmi and the incomparable team of executive producers. 

I will never forget how it felt to stand together as a show family, cradling the heirloom of 'Trek' with all those from the franchise at large and with the fans. The fans welcomed us into their hearts as we launched a new iteration of 'Trek' and an entire entertainment platform, and we'll never forget it. 65 episodes later, here's to the entire company of 'Star Trek: Discovery,' to the show and its fifth and final season, to its beloved fans, and to all those who envision a better future. Let's fly... "

Star Trek: Discovery began in 2017 as the relaunch of the Star Trek TV Universe on CBS All Access. The success of the series spawned the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds spinoff, as well as opening the door for Star Trek: Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and a bigger future to come.

Khan!? Picard season three showrunner Terry Matalas has been doing a good job telling one final tale of the next-generation crew. But what happened to the vanished proposed Kahn Prequel series? The latest use of Star Trek Explorer has an interview with Matalas and he did tell the backstory of how he was supposed to run the Khan series quote "When I finished editing our 12 Monkeys [TV series] finale, they had just started shooting Discovery. I'd heard through the grapevine they wanted to continue to develop more Star Trek. I reached out to my agent and said, 'Please, I'd love to sit down and talk Star Trek with Secret Hideout.' I met over there and, at the time, they were developing a Khan series. Akiva (Goldsman) and I talked, and, if it went, I was going to go run that. But, instead, Picard happened... and then I got a call from Akiva saying, 'Hey, I'm going to need some help doing Picard Season two... And then for season three, I want to hand it over to you.' I was extremely lucky to be working with that incredible group of writers..."

Ultimately, the Star Trek Khan TV series was re-fitted into the Star Trek: Khan -- Ceti Alpha V podcast, under franchise movie writer/director Nick Meyers. That series will examine what happened on Ceti Alpha V after Kirk marooned Khan and co. on that world after Star Trek TOS until their revenge bid in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was one of the big winners at the 2023 Canadian Alliance of Film and Television Costume Arts and Design (CAFTCAD) Awards. The freshman season of the series took home 3 awards, beating out its fellow Canadian-produced series Star Trek: Discovery (season 4) in a number of categories.

SNW FTW @CAFTCAD2023

The CAFTCAD Awards is an annual celebration of Canadian costuming. In 2021 (for season 3), Discovery picked up three awards. This year, Star Trek was again well represented with a number of nominations in multiple categories for two different shows, including some categories where Discovery and Strange New Worlds went head-to-head.

On Sunday night, Strange New Worlds won three awards, including Costume Design Excellence in Sci-Fi/ Fantasy Television, with the prize going to costume designer Bernadette Croft for the episode “The Elysian Kingdom,” winning over competition from Snowpiercer, The Expanse, What We Do In The Shadows, and Titans.

Strange New Worlds also won the Excellence in Crafts Award in Textiles, with the award going to Anna Pantcheva for her work on season 1 over her competitors on Star Trek: Discovery, Yellowjackets, and Station Eleven.

Strange New Worlds also won the Excellence in Crafts Award in Building. The award went to the team of Sue Furlong, Susan Dicks, Geoff Hughes, and Olena Fedorenko for their work in season 1. They beat out competition from Star Trek: Discovery, The Handmaid’s Tale, Odd Squad Mobile Unit, and The Boys.

Star Wars

The Star Wars movies from Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins have apparently been shelved according to a report at Variety dot com.

According to Variety. In December 2020, Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy announced that “Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins would direct the next “Star Wars” movie, the one-off adventure “Rogue Squadron.” But in September 2022, Disney pulled the title from its scheduled December 2023 release, and sources with knowledge of the production say it is no longer in active development at the studio. (A rep for Lucasfilm did not respond to a request for comment. In December, Jenkins said in a statement that she was still developing “Rogue Squadron,” but “I don’t know if it will happen or not.”)

Meanwhile, Variety has learned that a possible “Star Wars” feature produced by Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige is also no longer in active development at Lucasfilm.

When news of Feige’s involvement with a “Star Wars” film broke in September 2019, it churned up fan speculation, since widely debunked, that he was in line to replace Kennedy as the leader of Lucasfilm. The movie remained alive as recently as May 2022, when screenwriter Michael Waldron (“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”) told Variety that he’d started working on a “Star Wars” screenplay for Feige. “I’m enjoying having the freedom on that to do something that’s not necessarily a sequel or anything,” Waldron said.

Five months later, Feige hired Waldron to write the script for 2026’s “Avengers: Secret Wars,” the “Endgame”-style culmination of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga. Between that project and the 19 other titles (and counting) that Marvel’s announced for theaters and streaming in the next four years, Feige’s responsibilities to the MCU are keeping him far, far away from “Star Wars” for much of the decade.

And Rian Johnson, well right now he's kinda busy with the Benoit Blanc movies and the Peacock series Poker Face. 

So what “Star Wars' movie could slot into that open December 2025 release date? Sources say “Thor: Love and Thunder” filmmaker Taika Waititi continues to work on his possible “Star Wars'' feature, and he would most likely have a part in it as well, similar in prominence to his standout role as an imaginary Adolf Hitler in his Oscar-winning 2019 feature “Jojo Rabbit.” And although Lucasfilm has yet to officially confirm it, sources say the studio is committed to a “Star Wars'' movie from director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a two-time Oscar-winning documentarian (“Saving Face,” “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness”), who made her live-action narrative debut with two episodes of 2022’s “Ms. Marvel'' for Disney+. Damon Lindelof (“Watchmen '') and Justin Britt-Gibson (“Counterpart”) were attached in October to write the script for that movie.

Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, the expensive and immersive Star Wars-themed hotel at Walt Disney World, will downgrade its operations to two voyages a week (most weeks) starting in October 2023. The Starcruiser has had passengers every day of the week since its opening last year. This switch is assumed to be because of a lack of bookings

We're coming up on the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, The Ewoks will be front and center in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Ewoks #1, under the penmanship of Alyssa Wong (Deadpool) and artists Lee Garbett, Caspar Wijngaard, Kyle Hotz, and Paulina Ganucheau. ComicBook.com has the exclusive first look at pages from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Ewoks #1, with the artists displaying the Ewoks like you've never seen them before. On the moon of Endor occupied by the species called Ewoks, a group of these stout creatures has gathered around the fire to recount tales of triumph, defeat…and horror!

In the art-forward manner of storytelling, watch an eclectic group of artists interpret the stories from the unique minds of Ewoks in a manner only they can envision!

This can't-miss issue for Star Wars fans of mirth, merriment, and artistry is the book you've been craving! 32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T …$3.99The issue goes on sale April 12th.

DC

Should Marvel be sweating over the role James Gunn’s been given overseeing the DC Universe?  Hulk star Mark Ruffalo thinks they should. Ruffalo was attending Emerald City Comic Con, and during his panel appearance, he was asked what DC Studios could do to get to the same level of success as Marvel Studios. According to Ruffalo, Warner Bros. Discovery already made the right move: hiring James Gunn.

"I would say, hire James Gunn, 'cause nobody does it better. And Marvel should be sweating because James Gunn is a really gifted filmmaker and I think he's going to be amazing for that franchise," Ruffalo told the crowd.

The Flash has set its series finale date. According to TVLine, The finale episode of The Flash — and The CW's Arrowverse — will air on Wednesday, May 24th. The series is presently wrapping filming on the finale in Vancouver. Series star Candice Patton revealed on Friday in a series of Instagram stories that she had filmed her final scenes for the series, sharing images of her name card as well as Iris West-Allen's wedding rings. It was announced last summer that The Flash would end with a 13-episode ninth season.

Hellraiser vet Doug Bradley has been cast as criminal Joe Chill in the Gotham Knights series. If you remember your Batman mythos, Joe Chill was the man who killed Batman’s parents. 

Gotha Knight's version will be a man who has spent fifty years on death row and who now hopes to change the face of Gotham in his final days.

Bradley, best known for playing the original Pinhead, was back in headlines last year after he expressed approval of Jamie Clayton, the actress who came on board to play the character in the latest (direct-to-streaming) Hellraiser installment. The movie itself drew positive responses, but anytime an iconic character is recast, it's a dicey proposition, and it likely helped Clayton and the movie that Bradley was supportive.

"When casting the iconic role of Joe Chill, arguably the man who created Batman, there was only one name we considered – Doug Bradley," series producers Chad Fiveash, James Stoteraux, and Natalie Abrams said in a statement. "We needed an actor with the kind of gravitas that would do justice to such a seminal character in DC Comics canon. And who better to embody the role of the classic Gotham fiend than the man whose legendary portrayal of another classic fiend – Pinhead in the Hellraiser franchise — continues to terrify generations of horror fans?" Bradley will appear in Episode 6 of Gotham Knights.

DC announced a number of new projects coming in May as part of their ongoing "Dawn of DC" campaign

Dawn of DC Primer: For years, Amanda Waller has seen the heroes of the DC Universe as a dangerous threat that could lead to the end of the world. Ever since Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, Amanda Waller has operated in the shadows to collect deadly weapons and to create an army of allies who agree with her. Now she's forced to bring some of the worst enemies of the DC Universe an offer they can't refuse. The Dawn of DC Primer, written by Joshua Williamson with artwork by Leandro Fernandez, reveals Dawn of DC's secrets, threats, and connective stories in 2023 and beyond. This free special issue will be available at comic shops on May 16.

Steelworks: Michael Dorn, legendary actor and the voice of Steel in the classic Superman: The Animated Series, will be writing the not-to-be-missed Steelworks with art by Sami Basri (Harley Quinn). The Metropolis of the future is here today, but can it survive a terrorist who's out for revenge against its builder, John Henry Irons—a.k.a. Steel—and his company, Steelworks…and who possesses secrets that could undo everything John has worked so hard to build?

While John's professional life is firing on all cylinders, his personal life is even better, as his on-again, off-again relationship with Lana Lang might be back on, permanently. Now he must decide whether it's time to give up being Steel once and for all. But does John even know who he would be without his superhero identity? How does the other Steel—John's niece, Natasha Irons—feel about his momentous decision? And does any of that matter if Steelworks crumbles around him when he lacks the superpowers to fight back?

Hawkgirl: A brand-new adventure with sky-high action, adventure, and intrigue begins in Hawkgirl by Jadzia Axelrod (Galaxy: The Prettiest Star) and Amancay Nahuelpan (Wonder Woman).

Kendra Saunders, the winged warrior better known as Hawkgirl, has been one of the DC Universe's greatest heroes for a long time, serving as a member of both the Justice League and the Justice Society. But with the Justice League disbanded, Kendra decides she needs a fresh start and heads to Metropolis to begin a new life. That life is quickly interrupted by a mysterious villain with a powerful connection to the Nth Metal that makes up Hawkgirl's wings and weapons. Hawkgirl will also feature a series of variant covers that recount Kendra's DC history. Hawkgirl #1 will be available on July 18 at local comic shops.

One of DC's most beloved warriors is getting her own graphic novel. Earlier this week, the publisher announced Barda, an upcoming book that will be aimed at young adult readers and will recount the origin of Big Barda. The book will be written and drawn by Ngozi Ukazu, who is best known for creating the beloved hockey webcomic Check, Please. Barda is expected to be released in June of 2024 and will be set during her years serving under Darkseid and Granny Goodness, Big Barda is finding herself curious about the idea of love, even on the harsh world of Apokolips.

Marvel

Jon Bernthal will be returning as the Punisher for Disney Plus’ Daredevil Born Again. He joins Charlie Cox and Vincent Donofrio. The series will begin shooting in New York this month. In a departure from other Marvel series, which come in at six or nine episodes per season, Born Again is planned as a whopping 18-episode epic. Writers and executive producers Matt Corman and Chris Ord are behind the show, which is expected to bow in the spring of 2024.

Geek

Avatar: The Way of Water is headed to home entertainment, with James Cameron’s film available to buy on digital on March 28.

As part of the release, Disney and 20th Century will debut three hours of bonus materials focusing on topics such as performance capture, creating the undersea world of Pandora, the introduction of the Metkayina reef clan, and the casting of the young actors joining the franchise in Way of Water. It also goes deep into the post-production process at New Zealand visual effects house Weta, explores how the cast lived off the land in Hawaii in preparation for becoming Na’vi, and dedicates an entire segment to Spider, the character played by actor Jack Champion. The features also delve into the stunts, Cameron’s virtual production team at Lightstorm Entertainment, and the Troupe — the group of performers who play dozens of characters throughout the film.

The release dates for The Way of Water on Blu-ray, Disney+, and digital rental will be announced at a later time.

Seth Rogen has found his heroes in a half-shell. Rogen, who is producing a CG-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature, unveiled his cast Saturday when he was flanked by the new turtles at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

Micah Abbey (Donatello), Shamon Brown Jr. (Michelangelo), Nicolas Cantu (Leonardo), and Brady Noon (Raphael) will voice star in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem with Jackie Chan voicing wise rat mentor Splinter. Rogen will star as the villainous Bebop, while John Cena will play Bebop’s pal Rocksteady.

Other stars include Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Ice Cube as Superfly, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Post Malone as Ray Fillet, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko and Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom.

The film picks up as the Turtle brothers seek to win the hearts of New Yorkers by performing heroic acts they hope will get them accepted as normal teenagers. When they take on a mysterious crime syndicate with the help of new friend April O’Neil, they find themselves over their heads when a mutant army is unleashed.

A primetime animated adult comedy series continuing the story of the Stone Age family, Bedrock catches up with the Flintstone family two decades later, with Fred on the brink of retirement and 20-something Pebbles embarking on her own career. As the Stone Age gives way to a shiny and enlightened new Bronze Age, the residents of Bedrock will find this evolution harder than a swing from Bamm-Bamm’s club.

Elizabeth Banks, who has been shepherding the project as exec producer, will lead the voice cast of the series, starring as Pebbles, the adult daughter of Fred and Wilma.

The project scored a pilot presentation, two years after it emerged that it was first in the works at Fox.

The cast also includes Stephen Root as Fred; Amy Sedaris as Wilma; Nicole Byer as Betty; Joe Lo Truglio as Barney; Manny Jacinto as Bamm-Bamm.

This year's Razzie Awards have officially been given out.

Ahead of Sunday's 95th annual Academy Awards, the "winners" of the 43rd Golden Raspberry Awards were announced this weekend, focusing on what the awards show deems the "worst" of the year.

Tom Hanks, Morbius and Blonde led the wins, all garnering two golden raspberry trophies apiece at the virtual awards ceremony.

The Razzies even earned its own award in the worst actress category, which was given to the show after it withdrew 12-year-old Firestarter star Ryan Kiera Armstrong's nomination that sparked controversy online.

Read on for the full list of "winners" this year.

Worst picture

Blonde (WINNER)

Worst actor

Jared Leto, Morbius (WINNER)

Worst actress

The Razzies (WINNER)

Worst remake/rip-off-/sequel

Disney's Pinocchio (WINNER)

Worst supporting actress

Adria Arjona, Morbius (WINNER)

Worst supporting actor

Tom Hanks, Elvis (WINNER)

Worst screen couple

Tom Hanks & His Latex-Laden Face (and Ludicrous Accent), Elvis (WINNER)

Worst director

Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) & Mod Sun, Good Mourning (WINNER)

Worst Screenplay

Blonde (WINNER)

Everything Everywhere All at Once was named best picture at the 95th annual Academy Awards, which were handed out Sunday night.

Everything Everywhere also collected three acting awards, best leading actress for Michelle Yeoh, best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan and best supporting actress for Jamie Lee Curtis. The film also won the best original screenplay Oscar and the best director trophy for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — aka Daniels — as well as best film editing for Paul Rogers. Heading into the show, Everything Everywhere led the nominees for the 2023 Oscars, with a total of 11, winning seven.

Elsewhere, Brendan Fraser was named best actor in a leading role for The Whale. German film All Quiet on the Western Front also scooped up four awards, including Oscars for best original score, production design, cinematography and international feature. Avatar: The Way of Water won best visual effects, while Top Gun: Maverick won the sound Oscar.

Navalny won best documentary feature, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever won for its costume design. Sarah Polley won the award for best adapted screenplay for Women Talking, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was named best animated film.

Best Picture

Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers (WINNER)

Best Directing

Everything Everywhere All at Once — Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (WINNER)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Brendan Fraser in The Whale (WINNER)

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once (WINNER)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once (WINNER)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Jamie Lee Curtis in Everything Everywhere All at Once (WINNER)

Best Costume Design

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Ruth Carter (WINNER)

Best Sound

Top Gun: Maverick — Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor (WINNER)

Best Original Score

All Quiet on the Western Front — Volker Bertelmann (WINNER)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Women Talking — Screenplay by Sarah Polley (WINNER)

Best Original Screenplay

Everything Everywhere All at Once — Written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (WINNER)

Best Live-Action Short Film

“An Irish Goodbye” — Tom Berkeley and Ross White (WINNER)

Best Animated Short Film

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” — Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud (WINNER)

Best Animated Film

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio — Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley (WINNER)

Best Original Song

“Naatu Naatu” from RRR; Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose (WINNER)

Best International Feature Film

All Quiet on the Western Front — Germany (WINNER)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Whale — Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley (WINNER)

Best Production Design

All Quiet on the Western Front — Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper (WINNER)

Best Cinematography

All Quiet on the Western Front — James Friend (WINNER)

Best Visual Effects

Avatar: The Way of Water — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett (WINNER)

Best Documentary Feature

Navalny — Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris (WINNER)

Best Documentary Short Film

“The Elephant Whisperers” — Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga (WINNER)

Best Film Editing

Everything Everywhere All at Once — Paul Rogers (WINNER)

Bert I. Gordon, an American filmmaker whose low-budget creature features brought super-sized monsters to drive-in cinemas in the mid-20th century, died Wednesday in Los Angeles after collapsing at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 100.

Gordon’s death was confirmed to the New York Times by his daughter, Patricia.

In Atomic Age America, Gordon’s science-fiction B movies manifested the country’s nuclear anxieties as eye-popping apocalypse spectacles. Mostly working under shooting schedules that could total to two weeks and change at most, Gordon produced, directed and wrote more than 25 features over a career spanning six decades, including striking titles like “Village of the Giants” (1965), “How to Succeed With Sex” (1970) and “Empire of the Ants” (1977). His films “Necromancy” (1972)” and “The Food of the Gods” (1976) featured Orson Welles and Ida Lupino, respectively.  Eight of his movies were shown as experiments on Mystery Science Theater 3000. (King Dinosaur (Experiment #210) - director, producer

The Amazing Colossal Man (Experiment #309) - director, producer, writer

Earth vs the Spider (Experiment #313) - director, producer

War of the Colossal Beast (Experiment #319) - director, producer

The Magic Sword (Experiment #411) - director, producer

Tormented (Experiment #414) - director, producer

Beginning of the End (Experiment #517) - director, producer

Village of the Giants (Experiment #523) - director, producer)

As with many cult filmmakers, Gordon’s work was largely met with negative reviews and so-so commercial success before a deeper critical appreciation emerged in the following decades.

Gordon was also a celebrated visual effects artists, known for his technique of using rear-projection to create colossal rats, bugs, chickens and even teenagers.

Born on Sept. 24, 1922 in Kenosha, Wis., Gordon was gifted a 16-millimeter movie camera at a young age. After attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison and dropping out to join the Army Air Forces during World War II, Gordon married Flora Lang, who would become a frequent collaborator on his features. The two had three daughters, Patricia, Susan and Carol, before divorcing in 1979.

Gordon worked as a production assistant on the CBS series “Racket Squad” during the 1950s, before becoming a producer, cinematographer and supervising editor on the series “Serpent Island.”

In 1980, Gordon married Eva Marie Marklstorfer. The two had a daughter, Christina.

Gordon also penned a memoir, “The Amazing Colossal Worlds of Mr. B.I.G.: An Autobiographical Journey,” which was published in 2010.

Gordon is survived by his wife, Eva Marie; their daughter, Christina; and his daughters, Patricia and Carol. His daughter, Susan, died in 2011.

And that brings us to the end of this edition. *Show Ender*

Now be sure to check us out on social media, we’re on Twitter @multiverseTom and also on Facebook and Instagram as well. 

*Ko-Fi button*

And if you found value in the show, feel free to contribute to the show,  check out the show notes, visit our Teepublic store, and much more over at the brand new MultiverseTonight dot com *Show Ender*

If you’re a subscriber, be sure to share with your friends and if you’re brand new to the show, please be sure to subscribe. And leave us 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 music theme music.

Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Tonight. We will be back in two weeks with more sci-fi and comic book news. Now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good Night!  

Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked Genre Productions. Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.

This podcast is part of the Pop Goes The Culture podcast network. Find out about our other podcasts at Pop Goes The Culture dot com.