Jan. 15, 2021

Remembering 2020, Looking Foward to 2021's Promise

Remembering 2020, Looking Foward to 2021's Promise

On the comic book edition,  All that and more on this edition of multiverse tonight.

https://multiversetonight.wordpress.com

http://mtpodcast.com

Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/multiverse)

 Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked Genre Productions. Copyright 2022  All Rights Reserved

Transcript

Tonight! CW says no the new Green Arrow show, She-Hulk will be funny and we remember Comic book artist Steve Lightle and others on the comic book edition of Multiverse Tonight!


Welcome to episode 109 of Multiverse Tonight!




DC

Production on Lucifer’s sixth season goes on despite thirteen positive covid 19 tests. Variety reports that the production has racked up thirteen cases since November, however the positive cases have been mostly isolated and are not considered to be part of a larger cluster or outbreak. 


Green Arrow and The Canaries will not be picked up at the CW, Variety broke the news that the series, that would have starred Katherine McNamara as Mia Queen, the successor to Oliver Queen's Green Arrow joined by Kate Cassidy as Laurel Lance aka Black Siren and Juliana Harkavy as Dinah Drake aka Black Canary. There was a backdoor pilot done in the penultimate episode of Arrow. 


DC’s animated Justice Society World War II has found its voice cast. According to an exclusive in the Hollywood Reporter,The upcoming Justice Society: World War II will feature an ensemble voice cast led by Stana Katic as Wonder Woman and Matt Bomer as The Flash. 

Joining them will be Elysia Rotaru as Black Canary, Chris Diamantopoulos as Steve Trevor, Omid Abtahi as Hawkman, Matthew Mercer as Hourman, Armen Taylor as Jay Garrick, Liam McIntyre as Aquaman, Ashleigh LaThrop as Iris West, Geoffrey Arend as Charles Halstead/Advisor, Keith Ferguson as Dr. Fate and Darin De Paul as Roosevelt.



 It appears that there will be no sequel to the Birds of Prey movie that was released in theaters at the beginning of the pandemic in February. The movie was quickly moved to HBO Max to try to boost it. Margot Robbie, when asked in a recent interview about if a sequel is planned said quote " I don't know. Nothing imminent at this stage, nothing worth mentioning." unquote However it won’t be the last we will see of Margot’s Harley Quinn as her character will appear in James Gunn’s the Suicide Squad.


The next phase of the DC Comics Universe is set to start in March with Infinite Frontier number zero. The comic is a 64 page one shot with stories by Brian Michael Bendis, James Tynion IV, David Marquez, Alitha Martinez, Jorge Jimenez, Phillip Kennedy, Becky Cloonan, and more. Writer Joshua Williamson in a statement said quote “Infinite Frontier #0 really feels like the beginning of a new era of DC Comics, a time when anything is possible,” said writer Joshua Williamson. “We’re taking the aftermath of Dark Nights: Death Metal and combining it with the best things we love as storytellers about the DC Universe, resulting in bold, fun, and exciting new directions. There are a lot of teases to new storylines, surprises, and mysteries for the year set up in Infinite Frontier #0 that you won’t want to miss.” unquote Infinite Frontier number zero comes out in stores on March second 2021 and will cost 5.99 for the standard edition and 6.99 for the card stock variant. 


Speaking of new, The Flash will have a new creative team beginning with issue 768. Jeremy Adams will write and Brandon Peterson will take over artist duties. The first story arc will see wally West fighting for redemption following the events of Heroes in Crisis and Dark Nights Death Metal. Adams in the press release said quote "There's some dispute about who would win in a race against Wally and Barry," said Adams in the announcement, "but let's just say it's a question that starts this new adventure. I've tried to pour all of my excess enthusiasm into writing a story that explores some of the crazy sci-fi elements that Flash books are known for." unquote The comic hits shelves on March sixteenth.

DC has also announced a new creative team for Nightwing. Tom Taylor will take over writing and Bruno Redondo will take over the art. The new arc will see Bludhaven with a new Mayor Zucco and Nightwing asking for Bargirl’s help investigating the new Mayor. Dick also gets a new three legged puppy that he rescues while on patrol one night. Nightwing number seventy eight will be out on March sixteenth.


Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that she almost walked away from the film over a pay dispute. She told them quote "I started to walk away," explained Jenkins. "I was gonna’ walk away. I even said I’d be happy to go to another studio and make a quarter as much because it’s not a sequel, on principle, no problem." "It's interesting as someone who never made any profit in my career up until Wonder Woman, that I was always at peace with it. I was like, ‘Hey I get it.’ But now I was like, ‘Listen, I never made any money in my career because you always had the leverage and I didn’t,’" Jenkins explained. "But now the shoe is on the other foot so it’s time to turn the tables.""I don’t want to talk about a quote system that’s boxed me out and it’s not even true. It was easy to find that all of the men not just had quotes, they’d made an independent film and then a first [superhero] movie," Jenkins explained. "They got paid seven times more than me for the first superhero movie. Then on the second one, they got paid more than me still. It was an easy fight to say, ‘This can’t be. It super can’t be. And it really can’t be on Wonder Woman... it was an interesting thing to do, but it was an easy thing to do in the fact I was dead serious. That I was like ‘If I can’t be victorious in this regard, then I’m letting everyone down.’ If not me, who? So it became something I became very, very, very passionate about." unquote 


Speaking of Wonder Woman 1984, The United Kingdom and Ireland will be able to see it via Video on Demand starting on January thirteenth. This comes after theaters in the country have been closed due to a new rise in corona virus infections. Warner Bros in a statement said quote 

"After much anticipation, Wonder Woman 1984 is out now in cinemas in the U.K. and Ireland. In recognition of varying current market restrictions and to service the massive fan interest in Wonder Woman 1984, this film can be enjoyed by fans and families on the big screen where available in cinemas now, and in the comfort of their own home through Premium Video on Demand (PVOD) in the U.K. and Ireland starting on Jan. 13. The film will continue to be available in cinemas where they are open, whilst also being available to watch at home for a 48-hour rental from participating digital retailers."


Wonder Woman Gal Gadot has her own thoughts on where the next wonder woman should go. And that would be the present day. She told MTV News quote "I wouldn't go, like, to the '60s or to the '40s with Wonder Woman," Gadot told MTV News. "I feel like the past has been handled well, and now it's time to move on." unquote 


Zach Snyder has effectively said that there will be no encores for Justice League. Director Zack Snyder discussing his Snyder cut of Justice League was asked if he has any plans for future DCEU movies. He told the hosts quote "Look, I never thought I'd be here doing this. I didn't think I'd be finishing Justice League," he says. "The truth is, and it's been widely reported, and I have no issue, this is an old movie. This is a years-old movie I'm working on. The DC universe has gone and branched off and done its own thing and that's fine. As far as what I did and as far as what my vision for what I wanted to do with these characters and the journey I wanted them to go on, it's well known that I planned on more movies, five movies or something, but I'm busy. I've got a lot going on. Is it cool that the fans have so much faith in the trajectory? Yes, it's amazing, and I couldn't be happier and I'm excited for them to see Justice League so they can really drink the entire elixir of Justice League. But, would I continue? I have no plan to. But like I said, I didn't think I'd be here, so who knows?" unquote So I take that to mean he wants a dump truck full of money to show up at his house.


Speaking of dump trucks of money, a new report from Bloomberg indicates that Warner Bros is trying to do good buy their filmmakers, altering the contracts with partners so they can guarantee payments that aren’t contingent on box office numbers. The deal is also said to increase the odds for performance based bonuses and give cast and crew members additional pay based on revenue collected from HBO Max. Bloomberg reports that the Warner Bros new deal would give anyone thier bonus at half of the normal box office totals needed. So if a movie needed to make 300 million for the bonus, it would only just take 150 million .


Adam Rayber will be taking the role of media tychon Morgan Edge on The CW’s Superman & Lois. The character is described as quote “an intelligent, eloquent and impassioned self-made mogul whose innate ability to motivate is the means to his success and others’ demise.” unquote Rayner’s previous tv credits include ABC’s The Fix and Notorious.


DC Movie Music is going Vinyl with a new partnership between Mondo and Warner Bros WaterTower Music. First up is Rupert Gregson-Williams score for 2018’s Aquaman. The three disk deluxe vinyl release will feature the complete musical score as well as a disc of bonus tracks and remixes. The music will be pressed on 180 gram translucent colored vinyl with splatter, the discs will be packaged in a trim-fold jacket featuring all-new original artwork from Pascal Blanché. This release will soon be followed by releases of the Shazam! Film score, the Doom Patrol season one and season two soundtrack and a re issue of 1978’s Superman The Movie soundtrack. The Aquaman soundtrack will be released in February for forty five dollars.


Marvel

On January 6th,the US Capitol building was attached by a mob of angry Trump voters after being goaded to do so by the soon to be former President of the United States. A number of those rioters that attacked the US Capitol building on January sixth were wearing the skull logo worn by Marvel's The Punisher, which not only would the character not approve of the appropriation but The Punisher writer Garth Ennis  doesn’t either, speaking with SYFY Wire, Ennis told them quote "I’ve said this before a couple of times, but no one actually wants to be the Punisher," "Nobody wants to pull three tours of duty in a combat zone with the last one going catastrophically wrong, come home with a head full of broken glass, see their families machine-gunned into bloody offal in front of their eyes and then dedicate the rest of their lives to cold, bleak, heartless slaughter."


"The people wearing the logo in this context are kidding themselves, just like the police officers who wore it over the summer," "What they actually want is to wear an apparently scary symbol on a T-shirt, throw their weight around a bit, then go home to the wife and kids and resume everyday life. They've thought no harder about the Punisher symbol than the halfwits I saw [on Wednesday], the ones waving the Stars & Stripes while invading the Capitol building." unquote  Perhaps it’s time for the character to change his outfit and find a new symbol.


Deadpool 3 has been confirmed and it will be apart of the MCU and R Rated. The news came from an interview with Kevin Feige on Collider. The MCU maker said quote "It will be rated R and we are working on a script right now, and Ryan’s overseeing a script right now," unquote The Ryan he’s talking about is,of course, Ryan Renolds. However don’t expect lighting progress to the sequel as he also said that the movie won’t be underway this year and that they want to get Deadpool’s entry to the MCU just right.


Eternals Director Chloe Zhao has done much more than direct the movie, she has also written the script. IN a promo for her Nomadland film she said quote "I am the writer on the Eternals, the credits just aren't updated yet, "I don't know what it would be like if I don't write the films [I direct]... In the writing process is where I bring in my sensibility, that's a huge part of it. I'm creating situations that will allow certain cinematic language to come in that I've learned on my last three films." unquote Eternals comes out in November of 2021 and stars Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek and more. 


WandaVision will be a nine episode series according to Marvel Studios. In a press release they said quote "Marvel Studios’ WandaVision is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems," Marvel said in a press release on Monday. The series is directed by Matt Shakman with Jac Schaeffer as head writer. Composer is Christophe Beck, and theme (for certain episodes) is by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Featuring nine episodes, WandaVision kicks off on Disney+ on January 15, 2021."unquote 


Could this be the start of a run of Marvel Sitcoms? At a press conference for WandaVision, Kevin Feige said quote "We'll see. This was our test run," Feige says. "Marvel has had a lot of good successful TV in the past. This was Marvel Studios first foray," he goes on, noting this is the cast from movies. "The idea always was, yes, to do something that could not be done as a feature that plays with the format and plays with the medium. There were a lot of meeting before everyone understood what we were trying to go for...We're able to turn a wacky idea into a whackier show...It worked out perfectly that this is the debut of on Disney+ for the MCU."

They also approached the shooting of the show as if it was a kind of Twilight Zone episode according to director Matt Shakman



She-Hulk will be much more like Peter David’s run on the comic series. The series will be a half hour legal comedy according to Kevin Feige, a first for the Marvel brand. The show might also have more than the six episodes that have been previously announced. On Instagram, She Hulk director Kat Coiro confirmed that she would direct and executive produce the pilot, season finale and four other episodes, So that brings us to six, but fellow director Anu Valia in a separate post said that she’s doing a few episodes which suggests closer to the eight to ten episodes run suggested by Kevin Feige for the Marvel Studios series.



Let’s quickly run down the Marvel MCU movies and shows that are set to come out this year. 

First is WandaVision on January fifteenth, The six episode Falcon and the Winter Soldier mini series hits on March 19th, the long delayed Black Widow movie will finally debut on May seventh, Loki will hit Disney Plus in May, Shang Chi and the Legend of the ten rings comes out on july ninth, What If…? Comes out sometime this Summer, Eternals comes out on November fifth, the Ms. Marvel series, The Hawkeye series is due at the end of the year and finally the Third Spiderman Movie will arrive on December seventeenth.



Geek


Animator of Beavis and Butt Head and heavy Metal, Doug Crane. Doug was a Clio Award winning animator who had a six decade long career in animation. He began animating in the sixties with such shows as The Mighty Hercules, Deputy Dawg, Mighty Thor and Spider-man. He would go on to work on Challenge of the Superfriends, Godzilla, The Smurfs, He Man and The Masters of the Universe, She-Ra Princess of Power, BraveStarr, Fish Police, The Pirates of Dark water and much more. He also was professor of animation at the School of Fine Arts for fifteen years. He is survived by his seven children and fifteen grandchildren. Doug Carne passed away after a short battle with cancer he was 85 years old.


Also tonight we remember Animator and Storyboard Director Tuck Tucker has passed away. He started animation at a young age, eventually moved to LA to pursue  a career in animation. He started as a breakdown artist on the 1987 movie Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, which Doug Crane was an animator on. He would go on to work on the ALF tv series, Brave Star, The Simpsons, Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, 2 Stupid Dogs, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Duckman, Hey Arnold, SpongeBob Squarepants, Family Guy, the Fairly Odd Parents, Jimmy Neutron and many other shows, He also worked on animated movies like Disney’s The Little Princess, Hey Arnold the Movie, the SpongeBob Squarepants Movie and The Bob’s Burgers movie which is due in theaters this year. He also taught graphic and animation design in 2015 at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. In tribute to Tuck, Hey Arnold creator Craig Bartlett wrote on Instagram quote “A great friend, a master draftsman, a tireless practical joker, a brilliant storyteller, the first one I reached out to when I began ‘Hey Arnold!’ because he was the best board guy I had ever met. I’ll always remember him at his drawing board, arms blackened to the elbows with graphite, eraser shavings everywhere, bringing my characters to life. A killer work ethic, passionately into it. I’m so lucky I got to work with him for so many years.” Tuck Tucker passed away on December 22nd, he was fifty nine.


They’re working on a Rubik’s Cube movie. Yep. Hyde Park Entertainment Group and Endeavor Content are teaming up for this toy based movie. Graham Taylor and Chris Rice co-presidents of Endeavor Content said in the announcement quote “The Rubik’s Cube is an iconic and family friendly brand. In Partnership with Hyde Park we look forward to creating film, television, and game show content for global audiences.” unquote. Me, I’ll wait for Tiddlywinks the movie.



Warner bros has given dates to three new movies for 2023. That's a theatrical release, not HBO Max, by the way. First the Mad Max prequel Fruiosa will come out on June 23, 2023, The Warner Bros Animated/ Live action movie Coyote vs Acme releases on July 21, 2023 and The Musical version of the Color Purple rolls out on December 20. 2023.  Furiosa stars Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, alongside Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Coyote vs Acme sees The Roadrunners nemesis The Coyote taking on the Acme corporation in a screenplay by James Gunn,Jeremy Slater, Jon Silberman and Josh Silberman and Samy Burch. And The Color Purple is just as it is, a feature film version of the Tony winning Broadway musical of the film by Steven Spielberg which was based on the book by Alice Walker


The sequel to Dreamworks’ The Boss Baby has been postponed. The Boss Baby: Family Business was set to open on march 26, 2021, it will now come out on September seventeenth, 2021. The move has unset Dreamworks animated movie Bad Guys, which will probably be moved to  2022.


Actress Marion Ramsey has passed away. Marion might best be known for her character of  Laverne Hooks in the Police Academy movies. Marions career first began with a guest star appearance on The Jeffersons in 1976. She also had a role on the 90’s Addams Family Saturday morning cartoon show as D.I. Holler. She also appeared in the SyFy channel bad movie Lavalantula and 2 Lava 2 Lantula. She was 73 years old. 


Comic book artist Steve Lightle has passed away, The artist of such DC Comics as Legion of Super Heroes and Doom Patrol passed away on January eighth from Cardiac Arrest. Steve was a Kansas native and began his professional work in 1984 with a five page story in Black Diamond number four from AC Comics, He then got work from DC Comics, his first ten page story in New Talent Showcase number four, his work on Legion of Super Heroes saw the death of Karate Kid and the creation of two new characters Tellus and Quinslet. All and all, his work ranges from over forty issues of AC, DC and Marvel Comics from the 80’s 90’s and the 2000’s.


 DC put out a statement on twitter saying quote We’re heartbroken by the passing of artist Steve Lightle. Not only did his work influence artists, writers, and readers, but those of us who were lucky enough to meet him had the added joy of finding out he was one of the kindest souls in comics. He will be deeply missed. Unquote 


He passed away from Cardiac Arrest brought on by Covid-19.


Actor John Reilly has passed away John was born in 1936 and began his acting career in 1966 acting in an episode of A Man Called Shenandoah, though mainly a soap opera episode, acting on As The World Turns, General Hospital and Passions. He also appeared in Kojak, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, the Love Boat, Quincy M.E. The Powers of Matthew Star, Silver Spoons, the Bionic Womanand other shows of the 80’s and 90’s , he also provided the voice of Hawkeye in the 1994 Iron Man cartoon series , no word on how he died. John Reilly passed away at 84.


Finally, Bob’s Burgers Lead Character Designer Dave Creek has died after a skydiving accident. Dave worked on Bob’s Burgers since the show’s birth in 2011, he also worked on animated series Central Park and Brickleberry and the Peanuts special Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown. In a statement from 20th Television, Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment``We are heartbroken at the tragic passing of Dave Creek, an extraordinary artist who had been with Bob's Burgers from day one," reads the statement, signed by 20th Television, Fox Entertainment and Bento Box Entertainment. "He was not just an incredible talent but a beautiful person as well, and our hearts go out to his family, friends and all his colleagues at the show who loved him and are grieving today." unquote Details about his accident haven’t been forthcoming. He was 42 years old.


And that brings us to the end of the comic book news. *Show Ender*

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

*Ko-Fi button*

And If you’d like to contribute some money, please visit mtpodcast.com to go to our Ko-fi, Patreon  and now Glow.fm as well just go to MultiverseTonight and hit the Support Me link at the top of the page and be sure to visit Multiverse Tonight dot com and check out our affiliate marketplace links, the link to our TeePublic store show notes, and so much more.

*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 the comic book edition of Multiverse Tonight, We will be back in two weeks with a new scifi and comic book edition. Now please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good Night!  Multiverse Tonight is a production of Half-Baked Genre Productions. Copyright 2021  All Rights Reserved