Jean-Luc, You Will Be Missed

Cold Open And Tease

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Tonight. Sound like the Mandalorian.

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And remember Richard Riley, Tom Scared, Eric Baza, Walter Koenig, and Sir Patrick Stewart. All then more in this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Welcome to Multiverse Tonight, your source for EQ. We dissect films, games, comics, and much more, bringing you insightful commentary on Pop Humphrey. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now here's your host, Thomas Townley.

Welcome And A Voting Note

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Well, hello and welcome to episode 277 of Multiverse Tonight. I'm of course your host, Thomas Townley. And uh as we're as I'm recording, this is the day before the uh midterm election, so I hope everyone out there that could vote did vote.

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I'm not telling you who to vote for, but uh vote for people who give a damn about you.

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That's all I can say.

Kansas Comic-Con Autographs And Gripes

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Anyway, I have uh I've uh went to the convention yesterday and autographs here. As you can see. Matt Ryan here. Matt Ryan was great.

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He he talked to us for several minutes because there was in line. So uh if you ever have get to see him at like a smaller convention, go do it. Um otherwise the Kansas Comic-Con this year was not that great. Again, the word Comic-Con means I should see comic books and comic book artists, comic book writers. You know, that's a Comic-Con. What I saw was a lot of people dressed in anime, um, a couple, let's see, two or three comic book dealers, and a couple of like, you know, less uh a couple of comic book uh were uh you know artists, and that was it. So yeah, it was kind of underwhelming.

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So hopefully, you know, they'll you know they'll learn from this and they'll make a better better uh Comic-Con next year. But uh anyway, let's get on with the uh Star Wars news.

Star Wars Soundboards Meet AI

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Roger, Roger.

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Star Wars News begins with VoiceMod, the AIA-powered voice modifying platform that lets users change the vote tone and sound of their voice and make use of sound effects, which will now add the likes of Star Wars and Marvel characters to the mix. The company announced that it would incorporate soundboards from Star Wars and Marvel projects onto the platform, allowing its 5.7 million active users to use quotes and sound effects from those projects as they communicate on social and gaming platforms, such as Twitch and Discord. The first Star Wars soundboards are from the Mandalorian and Grogu, which are available as of now, and while others from Star Wars and Marvel will be available at a later date. Now it does not appear yet that users can use the soundboards on VoiceMod to make their voice sound like Denjarn or Grogu, with the tools more like sound memes that users can deploy in response to a message. But Disney's decision to license IP to an AI-related company reflects the increasing willingness of entertainment companies to associate their intellectual property with artificial intelligence, which many in Hollywood have viewed as the third rail. Of course, uh Disney's move last year to license its arrived characters to OpenAI's Sora video generator as part of its short-lived $1 billion investment, which uh ended earlier this year after OpenAI decided to shutter Sora. So uh there you have it, folks. You know, you can use sound, like which which is ridiculous because I hate to say I use you know, I I've used sound clips in in chat for a long time. Yeah, you just heard one, you know, a drop in the Star Wars news Star Wars news, and uh we'll hear another drop here in a second for the DC Comics News. Uh, there's nothing like John Williams is there.

Black Lightning Turns 50

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For 50 years, Jefferson Pierce has been a father, an educator, a leader, and the electrifying hero known as Black Lightning. This January, DC celebrates five decades of Black Lightning with DC Power Black Lightning 50th, the 50th anniversary special, a 48-page one-shot bringing together creators from Cross Comics to honor Jefferson Pierce's life as uh he continues the story in the DC Universe. Now, uh, this will feature a main story by Jenny Blake, Brandon Thomas, and uh Fico Ocio, with additional stories by Danny Lower, Greg Anderson at LC, and Al Letsen with artists Karen S. DeBro at Daryl Banks and Sadat Ozgan. In the main story, the celebration finds Black Lightning entrusted with protecting Metropolis while Superman is away. But as an old enemy plots his demise from the shadows, Jefferson will once again have to prove that protecting the community means more than simply winning the fight. Now, Jefferson appears to save the world countless times, but with another battle for its fate looming on horizon, does he still have time to repair his relationship with his ex-wife, Lynn Stewart? As Jefferson conserves what comes next for the two of them. His responsibilities as Black Lightning continue to pull him in every direction. Now, uh, the anniversary special also explores the relationships that have defined Black Lightning over the uh five decades. He has fought alongside the outsiders, uh, crossed paths with his daughters Anisa and Jennifer, joined Mr. Terfic and Steele as the as the special explores the responsibilities, relationships, and personal connections behind the hero. Black Lightning's vision in DCKO also looms over the special, pushing Jefferson closer to a new role as a mentor to a young hero. Again, the Black Lightning 50th Anniversary Special goes on sale January 27th, 2027, for $5.99. Your mileage may vary. Now let's go on to the Geek News.

HBO Reimagines The Birds

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Geek News begins with Emmy-winning succession star Sarah Snook returning to HBO as the star of the Birds, a limited series inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock film and uh the Daphne Du Marier's novella of the same name. Uh HBO is as NAB, the high-profile project, which was taken out by Universal Global Television this past summer for development. It comes with two other key creative auspices with Tys to HBO, uh Tom Spilsley, who exec produced the network's Watchmen and the Leftovers, and David Hyman, who executive produces its upcoming Harry Potter series. As deadline reported in May, the Bird Limited series is described as a visceral present-day reimagining of Hitchcock's classic with a murder murder mystery at the center and new characters, led by a new film protagonist named Mara Massey, played by Snook. Escaping a bitter custody battle, Myra returns home with her young children, secretly probing a childhood friend's suspicious disappearance, with the killer on the loose and personal threats melting. She fights to protect her daughter against new terrifying terrifying new menace, vicious, deadly bird attacks inexplicably tied to the crime.

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So uh the birds as a series.

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You know, that's kind of unique. But uh I don't know how well it works though.

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Is is the birds just gonna be like uh uh you know a small deal in it, or is it going to, you know, how do I solve this mystery when all these birds are outside, type of thing? Who knows?

BioWare Closes And EA Chooses Star Wars

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Sadly, Electronic Arts is closing Bioware, ending the 31-year run of the studio behind Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Star Wars Nights of the Old Republic, Never Winter Nights, and Baldur's Gate. The publisher confirmed the shutdown in a staff letter, which also revealed that the next Mass Effect, which remained in early development, had been scrapped. The Edmonton workspace is closing too. Bioware marked the news with a farewell message of its own, offering thanks to the developers and players who stood behind its games across three decades. The shutdown is one piece of a broader restructuring reports put the total job losses at roughly 400 across EA, which amounts to around 3% of the company's staff, and about 50% of the effective roles reportedly sit within Bioware. EA described Bioware as a legendary studio, but confirmed that a small team had been assigned to early work on the next Mass Effect before the publisher made the decision not to move forward with this development. The company stopped short of ending either the Mass Effect or Dragon Age series. Affected staff, the AA said, would be supported in exploring other opportunities within EA. EA acquired Bioware back in 2008 and the publisher itself went private in August. The next Mass Effect was unveiled in November of 2020 with a teaser trailer following that December on EA's dedicated Mass Effect YouTube channel. The Mass Effect Legendary Remaster arrived in 2021. EA is merging Respawn and Dice on a separate project. A revived Bight Night is uh being developed in pre-production and worked on what the Sims and Skate is being narrowed. EA's plans to lay out as its direction when it gathers employees for a global town hall next month. New report has revealed that EA closed bio because it was forced to choose between investing in one of two science fiction projects: a new Mass Effect game or a new Star Wars Battlefront game, and it chose Star Wars. Now it couldn't afford to make both of them, so they chose Battlefront 3 because it has been a less risky, more predictable bet than a new Mass Effect, according to uh Bloomberg. An EA spokesperson said the company had collectively reached this decision following months of planning, review, and analysis, including careful consideration of evolving business conditions, industry dynamics, and the long-term priorities. Now, uh the last Battlefront game was released in 2017 and struggled initially to convince, partially or conceived, partially because it was riddled with loot boxes. But years of adjustments and improvements left it in a much better place.

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So here's your question, folks. Will you support EA after it's done this?

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Of course, hopefully they can, you know, Canada can can help form like a new company around that, maybe produce something awesome. So we wish everyone the best of luck.

Remembering Richard Riley

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And finally tonight, those have passed on, beginning with Richard Riley, known for playing Tom Simkowski in Office Space and many other actor roles, died of a stroke with orphangial cancer, which affects the throat at the age of 78. As Reps shared in that statement, quote, a remarkable actor whose career in theater, film, and intelligence spanned nearly five decades in more than 400 projects, Richard leaves behind an extraordinary legacy. Beyond his immense talent, he will be remembered for his genuine goodness, biomost kindness, and unwavering generosity, particularly towards emerging actors and filmmakers whom he had encouraged and supported at every opportunity. Our industry has lost an exceptional talent, and our community has truly lost a wonderful man. Riley was born in Minamee Falls, Wisconsin, on May 12, 1948, and attended the University of North Notre Dame before receiving a master's from the University of Minnesota. He began acting at the Meadowbrook Theater in Rochester, Michigan, and was doing regional theater in Pacific Northwest when he appeared in the John Wayne film Rooster Cogburn. As Tom in Office Space, Riley played the project manager who was laid out, laid off from in a tech, survived a hit-and-run accident, and landed a massive financial settlement, which allowed him to follow his dreams and build his prototype Jump to Conclusions Matt. On TV, he portrayed Walt Venter T on Grounded for Life, had multiple appearances across the Star Trek franchise, including the role of Batai in the Next Generation episode The Inner Light. He also had guest roles in shows like NCIS, The Middle, and The West Wing. Riley appeared in over 400 films, television shows, and air projects. His other roles include the Ranch Hand Carlson in Of Mice and Men, The Guard who allowed Harrison Ford to escape, Custody in the Fugitive, Principal Beasley in the Polly Shore comedy Jury Duty, and had parts in Executive Decision, Mercury Rising, Dupe's Bigelow, Male Gigolo, Wedding Crashers, Bridemaids, and so much more. Now, across his career in many roles, Riley has portrayed Santa Claus in eight different projects, including five films, two TV shows, and a TV movie. He's survived by his wife Jane Latham and their four children. Richard Riley was 78 years old.

Farewell To Tom Skerritt

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Next up, Tom Scarett, the plucky and handsome actor who charmed audiences on both the big and small screens in films ranging from Top Gun to shows like Picket Fences, has died at the age of 93. Quote, and a publicist statement, quote, while the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity, and the love he brought into our lives. Now, uh, he died this past Wednesday of natural causes. Scarrot was best known for film appearances in Alien and Steel Magnolias, along with his starring role in the David E. Kelly created CBS series Picket Fences, which ran from 1992 to 1996 and knitted him a primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. In the Darkley comic series, Scarrot played the aging sheriff, struggling to keep things calm in a small town, solidifying his trademark mix of unflappable authority and disarming likability. With screen credits reaching back as far as the early 1960s, Scarrot found its footing mostly in Westerns before breaking out in the mega hit 1970s Robert Waltman film MASH as Surgeon Duke Forrest. He went on to appear in various TV shows in the 70s, including Bonanza and Gunsmoke, and landed higher profile film roles, including the Oscar-nominated 1977 movie The Turning Point with Anne Bancroft and Shirley McLean. But it was a role in 1979's Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, that truly expanded Scarrot's range. In the sci-fi horror film, he played the Captain Dallas, one of the few who aligns with Ripley as their intergalactic shipping crew is faced with a horrible menace. From there, he won roles in 70s films such as The Dead Zone and Top Gun, the latter of which served as another example of Scaret's keen ability to embody characters with a stiff upper lip approach and the Heart of Gold persona. He played Vipert, a character that was unimpressed with the bravado of Tom Cruise's character Maverick, who soon took him under his wing. He also appeared in the multi-episode arc on Cheers. Scarrot appeared as the Patriarch in Steel Magnolias. Scarrot also played the husband to Fields' character and fire to Robert Shelby, who fell ill towards the end of that film. Fields Malyn remarked how her husband couldn't even be in the room when their daughter finally passed away, while she just sat there. Quote, Men are supposed to be made out of steel or something, she says, in a line that hints at the film's title. In the 90s, Scarrot continued to portray fatherly roles in projects such as A River Runs Through It and Thriller Poison Ivy, opposite Drew Barrymore, was his River Runs Through It role as a reverend that saw Scared deliver fatherly advice in lines like, quote, for it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give, or more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it's those who live with and should know who elude us, but we can still love them. We can love completely without complete understanding. He continued working both in TV shows and film into the new millennium, in shows like Brothers and Sisters, Will and Grace, and features like Ted and A Hologram for the King. In 2020, Scarrot reflected on the origins of his acting career, noting how a screening of Sisson Kane in college at UCLA had a profound effect on him. His last credit was in the 2025 film Broke. He was survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Again, Tom Scarrot was 93 years old.

Eric Bauza And Looney Tunes Voices

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Eric Bauza, an Emmy Award-winning video voice actor, who was the modern voice for Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and other Looney Tunes characters, died Sunday, October 25th, at the age of 46. The news was announced Sunday by his family via a post on his Instagram feed. Eric Bowza, Emmy winning award-winning voice actor and the modern voice of Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, alongside dozens of other character characters, has passed away suddenly. More details have come, the post read. According to the LA County Medical Examiner, Bowza died at home, which listed the cause as a hypertensive cardiovascular disease. In a joint statement, Warner Brothers Animation said, quote, he was a unique voice talent who brought joy and laughter to millions around the world. During his 15 years at Warner Brothers Animation, he was the voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, among countless other characters, and followed in the footsteps of giants like Mel Blank. Eric said that carrying on the legendary legacy of the Looney Tunes was among the greatest honors of his life. In addition to his incredible talent, Eric was a treasured part of our animation family. Our hearts go out to his loved one. He recently landed on the inaugural Hollywood Reporter Animation Power List and attended the corresponding event honoring those on the list. As uh one of the successors, he also voiced voices in uh the recent Coyote vs. Acme, doing everything from Bugs Bunny to Poghorn Leghorn and Tweety Bird. And uh and most of those roles, of course, originated with the late legendary Mel Blank. Uh Bowza also brought several Looney Tunes characters to life in such productions as Space Jam and New Legacy, voicing Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Boghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd and Marvin the Martian, and Looney Tunes cartoons, among others. Born December 7th, 1979, Bowza was from Toronto but recently lived in Los Angeles. He started his career in animation as a character designer, working with a few production studios in Hollywood. He received daytime Emmys, Children's and Family Emmys, and Annie Award nominations for his work at the title character in The Adventures of Puss and Boots, Fozzie and Muppet Babies, and Bugad Bunny and Daffy Duck in Looney Tunes Cartoons. Recently, he voiced roles in DreamWork Animation's last film, Forgotten Island. His other TV credits include Unikitty, Archibald's Next Big Thing, The Rocketeer, Ballmasters 9009, Rise of the Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Breadwinners, Uncle Grandpa, Atomic Puppet, The Power Girl, Powerpuff Girls, The Fairly Odd Parents, Ultimate Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Guardians of the Galaxy, Tritsformers, Robots in Disguise, Sanjay Craig, and Mighty Magiswords. They also voiced characters in The Book of Life and the Spongebob Spongebob movie Sponge Out of Water, and also. Voiced Woody Woodpecker for Universal Studios. He also had work in commercials including Lucky the Leprechaun for Lucky Charms, Trix Rabbit for Trix, Marvin the Martian for Nike, and in the Walmart commercial, Famous Visitors. Again, Eric Bowza was 46 years old.

Walter Koenig And Star Trek Legacy

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And these next two, you know, really hurt. First, uh, Walter Koenig, the boyish actor who remains an integral part of Star Trek lore thanks to his portrayal of the Russian crewman Pavelchekov, passed away at the age of 90. Koenig, also known for playing the scoundrel Alfred Bester on the science fiction series Babylon 5, died Sunday of natural causes as home in North Hollywood, according to his representation. Raised in Manhattan as a son of Lithuanian immigrants, Koenig joined Gene Ronberry's Star Trek for the start of its second season and appeared on 36 of the 50 episodes that aired in 67, 68, and 68-69. He also portrayed Paul Pavel Android Chekhov in the first seven Paramount movies released from 1979 through 1991 that were based on, of course, Star Trek. The actor portrayed a Russian for the first time in his career, a student who had defected to the U.S. on a 1963 episode of the NBC drama, Mr. Novak. He then guest starred as a young sergeant whose goal of being promoted to officer is complicated by the fact that his mother is a communist on 1964 installment of The Lieutenant, which was a nurse series created by Gene Ronberry. After his start recognition, Koenig spent a couple lonely hours in an outer office wondering if he had gotten a job when he was approached by a man and asked to follow him into the wardrobe room. Koenig said about this quote, he drops on his knees in front of me and takes my crotch in his hand, and I'm saying, What are you doing? I don't see the tape measuring ruler in his other hand, and he was measuring from my crotch to my cuff to decide how long my pants should be. He says, You don't have have you don't have to have a costume, don't you? You have to have a costume, don't you? And that's the auspicious way I learned I was on Star Trek, and it was going to change my life. Born Marvin Walter Koenig, he was born in Chicago on September 14, 1936. His father, a translator for RCA Victor, and later an entrepreneur who was a died-in-the-wolkami. Koenig said he know the FBI agents once searched his family's apartment. Koenig starred in productions of Pierre Gint and The Devil's Disciple at Fieldston High School in New York and went to Grinnell College to study pre-med and then transferred to UCLA after his sophomore year, pursuing a degree in psychology. However, he took an acting class and received a letter of recommendation from his teacher that in 1958 got him onto the famed New York Playhouse, New York neighborhood playhouse, where he stood alongside James Conn, Christopher Lloyd, and Daphne Coleman. The boyish actor returned to Hollywood to claim the role in 1961's Bert Lancaster's The Young Savages, but that job fell through. He then made his on-screen debut in the afternoon show Day in Court and appeared in the pilot of the first two episodes of General Hospital in 1963. At the time, Koenig excelled at doing various dialects, portraying French, Armenian, Swedish, and German characters, as well as playing juvenile delinquents as he did in 1964 on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The episode that was directed by Joseph Pevney and written by Harlan Ellison would later become two prominent behind-the-scenes players on Star Trek. The character of uh Chekhov was to play to be first named Jones because producers want an actor that would appeal to the same demographic that Davey Jones of The Monkeys did, kids eight to fourteen years old. Quote. And indeed, my fan mail was from people who were eight to fourteen years old. They said, I think you're groovy. I love your hair, which was a wig, by the way. I got hundreds and hundreds of Lairs, the third most after Bill Shatner and Lair Nimoy. They said Chekov would eventually become less popular because of three things. Quote, the hair wasn't real, I wasn't really Russian, and that exotic flavor was gone, and viewers found out that I was married, and they couldn't fantasize about being with Chekov. Things then started to take a nosedive, unquote. On the series, Chekhov really didn't have much to do. The actor knew he was there to, quote, set the bones of the pilot and let McCoy, Spock, and Kirk fill it in, unquote. Koenig was more important to the Star Trek movies, being nominated by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror for his work on the Wrath of Khan and the Voyage Home. They put things in my ears. In 1976, Koenig and Shatner both appeared on Episode of Columbo, but the Star Trek veterans didn't share any scenes and didn't talk during production. He also remembered being really upset about being left out of the Star Trek animated series because of budgetary reasons. Koenig did write an episode of the series in 1973. He also played Chuck Off Again as The Admiral, age 143, in a two-part crowdsourced series Renegades that debuted online in 2017. Worried about not getting work after Star Trek was canceled, he began writing and penned episodes of The Powers of Matthew Starr, Family, Land of the Lost, and The Incredible Hulk. He also wrote, produced, and starred a sci-fi film Inalienable starring Richard Hatch. Being lost, Koenig lost out on a chance to appear in Babylon V when he suffered a heart attack and quadruple bypass in 1993, but series creator J. Michael Strasinski wrote the part of Bester for him when he was healthy enough to act again. Unlike Chekhov, this character was multidimensional and key to several storylines. He wrote the memoir Warped Factors, a Neurodicks Guide to the Universe, published in 1998, and then expanded on that for beaming up and getting off, released in 2020. And he also did write some comic books. I actually have one in the basement somewhere. Koenig married actress Judy Levitt, who appeared with him in three Star Trek movies and on Babylon V in July of 1965, and they were together until her death in December of 2022 at the age of 83. Their son Andrew, who played Richard Boner Stavone on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains, died by suicide in 2010 at the age of 41. He is survived by his daughter, actress and screenwriter Danielle Koenig. Again, Walter Koenig was 90 years old. And this last one was a huge blow.

Sir Patrick Stewart’s Life And Work

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It like floored me. Patrick Stewart, the English actor with impressive stage and film credits, will be remembered most for his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek The Next Generation, and his role as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, died Wednesday at his Los Angeles home at the age of 86. According to a statement on his Instagram account, Stewart died from a brief battle with Alzheimer's and Louis body dementia. Quote, his sonorous voice and singular talent will be forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre. He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Maribel Cinemac universe, but into science fiction's most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise. His professional accomplishments were humbly matched by his philanthropy and activism on behalf of human rights, survivors of domestic violence, global refugees, veterans, mental health services, and animal welfare, particularly his cherished foster pities. He was a knight, chancellor, motorsport enthusiast, and lifelong Udsfelder football fan. He'll be remembered for the dignity, compassion, and humanity he brought to every role in his art and life. Unquote. Stewart and his Star Trek Next Generation co-stars took their characters to the big screen for several films before the Star Trek film franchise was rebooted by J.J. Abrams with characters from the original series. He returned to the franchise for Star Trek Picard, which ran from 2020 to 2023. In the high-profile X-Men film franchise, Stewart played Professor Xavier opposite his good friend Ian McKellen as the villainous Magneto. He reprised the role in this December's Avengers Doomsday alongside McKellen. In a 2008 profile describing Stewart's role, returned to his roots in classical theater by starring in a production of Macbeth, the New York Times, in its mashup headline, pithily referred to the very different paths the actor had followed in his career to boldly go where Shakespeare calls. In addition to being nominated for four Emmy Awards, Stewart won three Olivier Awards for his theater work and was nominated for a Tony Award. He had made time for some film and TV work, but was kept busy, appearing in more than two dozen RSC stage productions, including as Astrov in Uncle Vanya in 1974, Oberon in Midsummer Night's Dream in 1977, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in 1978, and the titular titular role as Titus Andronicus in 1981. Stuart would then play Picard through the 1987-1994 run of the next generation. And then in the feature films, he also played Professor X in the uh in X-Men, X-Men 2, X-Men the Last Stand, X-Men Origins Wolverine, The Wolverine, and X-Men Days of Future Past. As well as uh Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Assessing Stewart's contributions to Star Trek The Next Generation, the New York Times said, quote, with his aura, stern yet, fair authority, and seriousness of purpose, Mr. Stewart made Captain Jean-Luc Picard the moral center of Star Trek the Next Generation across seven seasons, helping to keep it from sliding into camp or self-parody. Hollywood took to him, and he took to Hollywood, unquote. In general, Stewart seemed to have a good sense of humor about his ties to public culture, never publicly displaying the angst that Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had revealed at times. He did voice work on The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad, and showed a willingness to make forays in the comedy, including a comically snooty waiter in Steve Martin's 1991 Jam LA Story, and King Richard in Melbrooks's 1993 Robin Hood, Men and Tights, as well as hosting Saturday Night Live in 1994. He originally voiced Sir Richfield in the animated Sheep Detective. In a very different vein, he was the best thing in the 1995 gay comedy Jeffrey. The New York Times says Stewart, quote, has some of the best lines and delivers them with a dignified brio that is only enhanced when he happens to be wearing a fusion brae, the uniform of the anti-gay Bashing group called the Pink Panthers, unquote. Larry the actor would serve as the narrator for Seth McFarlane's comedy Ted and its sequel. He also appeared in the 2015 film Match, based on the play by Steven Bilber, in which the actor played a vain flame point dance instructor and in a very different vein in the Jeremy Saltner horror thriller Green Room, in which he played the leader of a band of neo-Nazis. He also starred in the stars series Blunt Talk about a substance-abusing English newscaster who moves to L.A. to host a talk show. And uh if you if you can find that show, go and watch it. He is hilarious in it. Stewart continues his work uh even during the run of The Next Generation, playing Virginia War, playing George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf in 1907. And uh he appeared in seasonal stagings in Los Angeles and on Broadway for a one-man version of a Christmas Carol that he adapted from the original Dickens. After Next Generation ended, he ramped up his theater work. He appeared on Broadway as Prospero in The Tempest in 1996, essay the title role in a faux negative staging of Othello in Washington, D.C. in 1997, and returned to Broadway to star in The Ride Down Mount Morgan in 2000. In Britain, he's he worked in uh things and projects such as Anthony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, and Macbeth, which won both back the critics who had written him off when he ventured into American Intelligence Outer Space years earlier. Also in 2008, he played Claudius in a production of Hamlet to star David Tennant, winning Stuart the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor. Stuart had a productive association with Ian McKellen. In addition to starring his adversaries in the X-Men films, during their filming, they developed a close relationship. They appeared on the West End Wayne for Godot in 2009, and in repertory on Broadway in 2014, in that Beckett played, and in that Beckett play another existential classic, Harold Pinter's No Man's Land. The actor made his first cinematic forays into fancy and science fiction with John Borman's take on the Arthurian legend in 1901's Excalibur, in which he played Leon de Gransey, and director David Lynch's 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert's Doon, in which he played Gurney Halleck, the top officer of the Atreise Household, who becomes the trusted lieutenant to Paul. And on British Telegraph, he starred in the 1905 BB miniseries North and South, and then played Sejanus on iClaudius, and in the BBC's Mayberry from 1981 to 1983, starred as a psychiatrist at a hospital. Patrick Hughes Stewart was born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, acting as a youth and various amateur drama societies in the region, and he left school at 15. He held a job as a newspaper reporter, but ultimately chose acting over journalism. He started losing his hair around the age of 18. He began acting and at Manchester's Library Theater, after which he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. He also lent his voice to a new number of video games associated with Star Trek and X-Men, and was thrice married, the first time to choreographer Sheila Falconer, the second to Wendy Ness, a producer on The Next Generation, and is survived by his third wife, Sonny Ozell, whom he married in 2013, in a ceremony presided over by Ian McKellen, as well as a daughter, Sophie Stewart, and a son, actor Daniel Stewart, both from his marriage to Falconer. And if you've ever seen uh pictured uh Daniel Stewart, he star he is in the next generation episode, the inner light. And he does look a lot like his dad. Now, donations can uh can be made to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Foundation and the Alzheimer's Foundation for America's Caregiver Resources. Again, Sir Patrick Stewart was 86 years old.

Where To Follow And Support

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Too soon. And that wraps up this edition of Multiverse Tonight. Stay connected with us across social media, follow our latest updates on Blue Sky at Multiverse Tom, or check us out on Threads, Facebook, and Instagram at Multiverse Tonight. If you've enjoyed today's show and like to support what we do, head on over to multiverse Tonight.com to find our Patreon and Kofi Links. Read our show notes, check out our merchandise on TeePublic, and so much more. Your ratings and reviews are greatly appreciated. If you're tuning in for the first time, a big welcome to you. Thank you for giving us a listen, and don't forget to subscribe and share the show with your friends. Special thanks to Hot Dope for the intro music and Lobo Loco for the outro theme music. Thanks for watching this edition of Multiverse Tonight. We'll be back in two weeks with more new with the newest updates from the world of comic books and science fiction. Until next time, please step out of the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half Big Genre Productions, Copyright 2026. All rights reserved.