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Tonight, DC drops details on its own streaming service. Fox and Disney get approval from the feds, and we say goodbye to one of the greats of sci-fi. All this and more on this edition of Multiverse Tonight. There are multiverse out there. Welcome to the one with news about all the others. This is Multiverse Tonight. Now, here's your host, Thomas Townley. Hello again and welcome to episode three of Multiverse Tonight, where we look at all your geeky universes. I'm your host, Thomas Townley. We're growing by inches. If you like what I do, please give me a monetary tip at co-fee.com slash multiverse and be sure to share us everywhere. We are on Twitter, Facebook, and now on Instagram at multiverse tonight. Speaking of my KoFee tip page, from now to the end of July, half of all contributions will go towards the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, so give generously and thank you. I would also like to announce that we also now have a Patreon page, so if you'd like to give there, please do. And half of those contributions will also go to the CBLDF. Now, this past week I had a chance to go to the Smallville Comic-Con in the rename to rename to Smallville for the weekend, city of Hutchinson, Kansas. I had good time, passed off a few business cards, talked to Mindy Sterling from the Austin Powers movies for a minute or two. Now this is a small con, but it's really coming along. I look forward to year six. Maybe I'll get a table for Multiverse tonight there next year. Now let's start with s and with some DC news first. DC has announced its plans for their new streaming service titled, of course, DC Universe. It will not only be streaming shows and movies, but also comics as well. There are several new original TV shows that will premiere on the service that have already been announced. The live action Titans is scheduled to debut later this year, with Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol scheduled for 2019. On the animated side, the third season of Young Justice Outsiders and the new Harley Quinn series will debut in 2019 as well. DC Universe will also feature older films and TV shows featuring DC Comics characters, such as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the Christopher Reeves Superman films, and TV shows like Loosen Clark and Wonder Woman. So far, the newer films like Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad weren't part of the announcement, so I'm guessing they'll probably be added when they get a bit older. As for the comic side, the announcement was kind of vague. It said that DC Nurse will offer, quote, a rotating curated selection of digital comics, unquote. That will include various titles stretching back to the introduction of Superman in the 1930s. The service will be available on the web as well as on phones, tablets, and TV screens, with support planned for iOS and Android devices, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV. The complete service will launch this fall, but those interested in getting a sneak peek can sign up to be part of the August Beta release at the DC Universe website. And since we're talking about this new service, reports are indicating that Kelsey Grammar is being courted to play Dr. Niles Calder, aka The Chief, in the DCU TV series in the DCU TV series Doom Patrol. The show will be a spin-off of the Titans series as coming also to the Warner Brothers streaming service. Of course, Kelsey Grammar, if chosen is no novice when it comes to genre projects, having played the Beast in several X-Men movies, as well as Sideshow Bob. SideshowBob! Ah that hashtag show reports that Aquaman director James Wan has agreed to help direct the pilot of Swamp Thing for DC's D for DC's DC Universe seri uh service. The report said that Wan will co-direct the pilot alongside Darren Serafin, whose credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, House, and Fringe. We are also getting news about HBO's Watchmen series. Deadline reports that Jeremy Irons, who played Alfred in Batman 5 Superman, hey he will play a league role. The role is unknown except for the description of quote, an aging and imperious lord of a British manor, unquote. He joins the cast including Don Johnson, Regina King, Tim Blake Nelson, Luce Gossett Jr., Adelaide Clemens, and Andrew Howard. The series is reportedly largely set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and appears to follow characters who were not established in the Watchmen comics. It's kinda like having a show called Superman, but you never see Superman and never takes place in Metropolis. So DC Comics is coming to an unusual place. Walmart. DC has announced that it has partnered with Walmart for a series of 100-page giant anthology titles that will feature both exclue exclusive new stories and reprints of classic tales from various eras in DC Comics history. The inaugural titles in the line will go on sale July 1st and will ultimately feature serialized stories from top DCU creators like Brian Michael Bendis, Tom King, Dan Jurgens, Amanda Connor, Jimmy Palmietti, and Tim Seeley. The hundred page giants line will start with four titles, all on sale July 1st at more than 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide. Batman Giant, Superman Giant, Justice League of America Giant, and Teen Titans Giant. Beginning in August, the books will take p will take will be released on a staggered schedule, with Superman Giant and Justice League of America Giant arriving in the first week of the month, and the Batman Giant and Teen Titans Giant arriving approximately two weeks later. Now, this move is not without controversy, as some comic book shop owners feel put out by the circumvention of the traditional direct market system. However, I think that that what they're missing here is that these are mostly reprints with some new stories mixed in. And this entrance into Walmart can only help put a new generation interested in comics. This will lead to more shoppers at the local comic book stores. Now, on the heels of this new line of Walmart anthologies comes an announcement that DC Comics will switch from glossy to non-closy glossy paper stock for the entire line of comics. Who knows? Well, Cyborg has met his end. For the second time. His last series was just cancelled last year. Seems cyborg isn't really compelling enough for the cyber age. There has been a lot of talk about refugees these past few years, from the refugees fleeing war torn Syria to refugees fleeing Central American gangs. In a tweet on World Refugee Day, DC Comics posted, quote, Superman stands up for what's right. Do you also know he's a refugee? This hashtag World Refugee Day. Be like Superman and stand up for what's right. Hashtag stand with refugees and at the IRC. Superman, after all, is a refugee from destroyed planet Krypton, who grew up to fight for truth, justice, and the American way. Give that some thought for a while, won't you? When you look at Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, you think meat, don't you? And I don't mean them as meat, I mean they eat meat. Well one of the UK's biggest meat manufacturers hopes that they will sell meat to young Britons. Food company, ABP, has signed a major licensing deal with Warner Brothers to create the range of child-friendly superhero themed sausages and burgers. Each pack carries either Batman Superman or Wonder One branding, with the sausage range containing containing 56% meat. I did not make this up. Flavors include pork and baked beans and uh pork, cheese, and ketchup. The meat is made of British beef and pork, and the burgers are cut into a superhero logo. ABP UK commercial director Darren Jones said, quote, This is the first for the fresh and frozen meat con categories and helps to create excitement for the meat products in younger consumers. Unquote. Waterborough's consumer products general manager, Raquel Whitley, said We are truly excited about delivering our DC characters to fans in this innovative, fun, and extremely tasty way. Pork and baked beans, pork, cheese, and ketchup. I think I've lost my appetite. Now let's switch over and see what Marvel is doing. Now f put some good news here. Fox has accepted Disney's revised bid of $71.3 billion, topping the bid put in by Rival Comcast of $65 billion. And the Justice of and Department of Justice, almost a Justice Depart justice department. Justice League Department. Nice. And the Justice Department of Justice has just given its approval to the Disney Fox deal. This puts the Disney bid in a better position to win. However, this doesn't mean the bidding war is over. Comcast could still come back with another offer. However, Comcast might have to go into some deep debt to get there. With a little luck, we might see a Marvel family reunion any day now. We've learned more about how the upcoming MCU film, Ant Man and the Wasp, fits in with Infinity War. Apparently, the movie will take place before Infinity War. According to Kevin Feige, Ant Man and the Wasp also connects directly to Avengers 4, Feige said. Quote, these characters are going to be very important going forward, unquote. Ant Man and the Wasp opens on July 6th. Sony's Spider-Man universe will get a little larger with Silk. Based on the character that they first debuted in Amazing Comic Amazing Spider-Man Volume 3, number 1, to get you caught up. Here's a little background on the character. Cindy Boone is one of Peter's classmates as part of the Decathlon team. In the comics, we learn that Cindy was also bitten by the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker. She too manifested powers, to quote Wikipedia. Cindy gained similar abilities to Peter Parker when she was bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave him his abilities. Though her spider sense, dubbed by her as Silk Sense, is far stronger than Peter's. On their first meeting, Peter observed that she was even faster than him, though not quite as strong. She has the ability to shoot webs out of her fingertips and an identity memory. The character of Cindy Moon did appear in Spider-Man Homecoming. As for other properties being developed in the Spider-Verse, Sony is currently working on Venom, which arrives later this year, and is also working on a black cat silver stable caper film. When or if Silk comes to the screen is unknown, so we'll just have to wait and see. Now, if you were around in the 90s, I was, and it was an interesting time. One of the biggest events that happened in comic books was the result of the cross company crossover Marvel vs. DC slash DC vs. Marvel. In the middle of the event, both universes got mashed together, creating the Amalgam Universe. Non-Marvel has taken upon themselves to mash up their own superheroes with each other in Infinity Warps. Marvel creators teased the upcoming project on social media with the hashtag Who Gets Warped. It is not clear how the mashups happen or what else happens. However, the let's look at two of the ones that were released. Iron Hammer is a mashup of Iron Man and Thor, bringing Sleek as Guardian design to modern tech. Infinity Wars Iron Hammer 1 will be written by Al Ewing, with interior art by Raymond Ramos. And Soldier Supreme, a blend of Captain America and Doctor Strange. Infinity Soldier's Soldier Supreme No. 1 will be written by Gary Duggan, with art by Adam Kubert. Each series will run for two issues starring in September. In an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com, Marvel Studio Head Kevin Feige revealed that fans will have to wait a bit longer for a f first look at Captain Marvel, as they're still figuring it out. Besides, as Kevin says, quote, you already know as much as you need to. We've got Scrolls, we've got the Kree, it takes place in the 90s, you have Sam Jackson with two eyes, and Carol Danvers, a unique telling of the Carol Danvers origin story. We are about two weeks out from completion of Principal Photography, unquote. Figgy also said that the role of Captain Marvel, as well as newcomers like Black Panther, Spider-Man, and the Wasp are quote, very important, very important to the franchise's future. Kevin Figgy also said that M the MCU will soon have two LGBTQ characters in feature films, and we already know one of them. Now, which character that is is uncertain. There is speculation that he was referring to Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, who last October on Twitter said that her character was Bye. But there's no proof that's who Kevin meant. We also got an unexpected leak from Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland. A tweet from the actor shows him holding up a copy of the script for the Spider-Man homecoming sequel with the name Spider-Man Far From Home on it. What exactly does the title mean? No one can or probably will say. My guess would be Spider-Man goes world hopping. Maybe not even this world. Or maybe it's a two hour therapy session with him trying to resolve what happened to him in Infinity War. Black Panther has chalked up another award. The movie won Best Movie at the BET Awards. This movie is racking up awards left and right. Fingers crossed for that Oscar. We'll have some more award news later in the podcast. And just when you thought it was safe to go without a Stan Lee update, news drops. If you remember last time, Stan was liberated from his business manager, Kia Morgan, after he allegedly had two men threaten Stan outside his home, and also moved Stan to his home and tweeted as Stan using his using Stan's official Twitter account. Kia has been charged with two counts of filing a false report on a of an emergency and two counts of filing a false report of a crime along with a probation violation. All these are misdemeanors, and he was back in court on july second. Let's beam to some Star Trek news. Last time we talked about how Alex Kurtzman got his hands on the reins over at Star Trek Discovery after the previous showrunners both allegedly blew up the budget in the first half of the season and abused the writers in the writer's room. Now, according to the report in Variety, the franchise will expand with four new shows in development under Kurtzman's rule. Variety says these shows include a series taking place at Starfleet Academy. The concept is being created by Stan Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz, who are known for Gossip Girl and Runaways. A limited series based on the Wrath of Khan story, which was portrayed multiple times in Star Trek history. Ricardo Montbon portrayed Khan in the Star Trek original series episode Space Seat and reprised it for the 1982 film The Wrath of Khan. And Benda Cumberbatch also played the character in the 2013 film Star Trek in the Darkness. IO9 adds there have been reports for a while that Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer was heading this project. There's also a limited series with confidential plot details, and an animated series whose plot details are also confidential. And more news on the producer shuffle over at Discovery, as CBS has hired Major Crimes Director James Duff as executive producer. Also, some existing staff has been promoted. Consulting producer Jenny Lemit is now a coexecutive producer, and coexecutive producer Olantunda Osmansum Osun Sami has been promoted to executive producer and will also serve as director and producer on the show set in Toronto. Good luck to all these new producers. You apparently will need it. Now the limited or animated series details, as I said, were come are unknown. But the most intriguing current frontrunner in the horse race is a new series starring Patrick Stewart, returning as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. A role he hasn't acted in since 2002's Star Trek Nemesis. The rumor is being that's being abandoned about is that it will be an animated version of the next generation. Hmm. If it's done in a good style, say like Archer Venture Brothers maybe, that'd be cool. Heck, CBS, I would pay to watch that. Make it so. Of course, all I want right now is for Discovery to properly fit into continuity. After that, Kurtzman can make Star Trek babies for all I care. As long as it fits into continuity. This is called consistency, kids. Well, I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is McFarland Toys, Kirk, and Picard action figures won't be released next month. The good news they will still be released this year. The release date has just been pushed back to September twelfth. I guess we'll have to keep our fingers crossed. Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if the Transformers meet met Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise? If so, someone heard you. IDW is releasing a Star Trek vs. Transformers. The Enterprise crew will be in the style of the Star Trek Animated series, and the Transformers will be in their 80s version. Here's a synopsis, quote, at the edge of Klingon Space. The Enterprise answers the distress call. Discovering a Dilithium mine under siege by jets and helicopters of vintage 20th century design. When a red flat nosed truck rolls in to save the day, the No Holds Bard's Saturday morning mashup truly begins! The forestshoe miniseries comes from writers John Barber and Mike Johnson, with art by artist Philip Murphy and called Leonardo Ito, and will be released in September. Now, Captain Kirk has no been known for dra tossing back a drink or two. So the Silver Screen Bottling Company has announced a new line of officially licensed, Star Trek-inspired spirits, kicking off with the launch of a s James T. Kirk straight bourbon whiskey. The liquor is described as, quote, an artisan bourbon that celebrates Captain Kirk's bold spirit of adventure. According to the company, the Kirk Bourbon is a small batch release selected from choice barrels aged between four and twelve years, and exhibits a depth of rich and richness seen in only the finest examples of bourbon with notes of caramel, Asian five spice, and pecan, which is crafted in the highest respect for the whiskey, and for the man that bears its name. You know, when I think of Kirk, I think Rhyme of the Nail or Sarin Brandy. Bourbon sounds something like Dr. McCoy might drink. You can reserve a limited quantity today at James T Kirk Bourbon, all one word, dot com. The retail price is sixty-nine dollars and ninety nine cents for each bottle, with pre orders discounted to fifty nine dollars and ninety nine cents, and will be released in October. Now for some Star Wars news. That we can't see more Star Wars spinoff movies elsewhere. A rumor has emerged that the Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Star Wars story movie, might be held for the still yet unnamed Disney streaming service. If this is true, it'll definitely need to add this new stream I'll definitely need to add this new streaming service to the growing group of streaming services I subscribe to. Everyone wants a bit of my wallet. Is Disney trying to replace Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy? In the wake of the poor performance of Solo at the box office, the divisive nature of The Last Jedi among the fan base, and the fact that other planned spinoffs are now put on hold, rumors have surfaced that Kennedy's job may be on the chopping block. This info comes from beyond the trailer's Grace Randolph, who's heard that Disney CEO Bob Iger is interested in replacing Candy, but he can't find anybody for the job. Allegedly, JJ Abrams, the only candidate Randolph mentions, was offered the position, but he definitely turned it down, as have others. The reason why this is so challenging is Iger for Iger is because Lucasfilm apparently is a house divided between Kennedy Loyalist versus those who predate Kennedy, similar to the fan base, and nobody wants to step into a situation like that. Now, keep in mind all this is just a rumor and should be treated as such. Remember that the Disney produced Star Wars films have made the mouse more than four billion dollars worldwide. So despite the recent obstacles, Kenny's leadership has paid off. If something should happen though, we'll let you know about it on Twitter and future episodes. Now, did you know that Star Wars merchandise has no boundaries? Apparently, there's now a collection at Pottery Barn. The new Star Wars Pottery Barn Kids Collection. Everything you need to deck your little one's room in Star Wars, including custom beds, lamps, pillows, etc. The collection is broken down by rooms such as the Last Jedi Room, Starship Playroom, Han Solo Room, etc. Everything from Star Wars Needlepoint, a Star Wars mobile to dangle above your little Sith Lord, to a Wookiee pillow and an R2D2 lamp, to Star Wars Ship Wall Declack Decals and Star Wars sheet sets. You can see it all at uh parrybart and kids.com. We'll have a link to our show notes in at multiverse tonight.com. And hey, we have some actual Orville news. Scott Grimes reveal has revealed on Twitter that s season two will see the series first two-parter. Jonathan Frakes will be returning to direct an episode, and Voyager's Robert Duncan McNeil will also direct this season as well. Another thing we do know is that we'll see less of Alora this season, as actress Hulston Sage is busy shooting the Netflix romantic comedy The Last Summer, at the same time. This may also be one of the reasons why Jessica Shore joined the cast for the second season, playing a Xylian security officer like Sage's Allure Katan. Seth McFarlane, on tw recently on Twitter, replied to a fan saying he named Zlatinus Yafet, voiced by Norm MacDonald, after the actor who played the villain in the 1971 James Bond classic Live and Let Die, Yafet Kodo. Hey Seth, any chance of getting a Jawas type character on the show? Now let's look for some general genre news. Geek news. In the not too distant future, a few months from now, you will get to read Mystery Science Theater 3000. Dark Horse Comics has announced that a six-issue MST3K miniseries will be released in s released starring in September. The series will see Jonah and the bots plunged into the 2D world of public domain comics, where they will have to riff, of course, the Keeper Sanity. I am so looking forward to this. I've already ordered my copy. Now, remember a couple of seasons ago when Family Guy killed Brian off for a few episodes? Well, get ready for another shift to the status quo on Family Guy, as Brian will be married off in the season 17 premiere. Sweet! Don Mancini, the character the creator of the serial killer in a doll's body series of movies, Child's Play, has just announced via Twitter that a Child's Play TV series is coming. No word on casting or anything yet. Mancini has done a bit of TV work in recent years, after a career spent writing mostly for feature films. He is credited with an episode of Hannibal, as well as a few episodes of this of the series Channel Zero. In what can all only be followed by a comic beat, the NBC Time Travel series Timeless has been canceled for the second time. Those of you might recall that it had been canceled after the first season only to be quickly saved from cancel cancellation after Sony agreed to hand over a 50% stake in the series to NBC's sister studio Universal Television. Talks are ongoing between NBC and Sony Pictures Television, which produces a series for a movie that would serve as a series finale. Guess the show isn't timeless after all. Badoom boom. I know. I should be better than this.

I'm not.

The 44th annual Saturn Awards were handed out last week. Black Panther walked away with Best Comic to Film Motion Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Dana Gura, Best Director, Ryan Kugler, Best Production Design, Hannah Belcher, Best Makeup, Joel Harlow, Ken Diaz, and Star Wars, The Last Jedi, won for Best Actor, Mark Hamill, Best Editing, Bob Duset, Best Writing, Ryan Johnson. Also picking up awards in the film category were Tom Holland, Best Performance by Younger Actor, and Patrick Stewart, Best Supporting Actor, and Gal Godot for Best Actress. In the television category, the origin the Orville won for Best Science Fiction TV series, The Walking Dead for Best Horror TV series, Star Trek Discovery for Best New Media TV series, Kyle McLaughlin for Best Actor on Television, and Senequa Martin Green for Best Actress on Television. Now there are a ton, literally a ton, of other Siren Awards I did not mention. Now I'll have a link to this list in the show notes. Now some uh sadder news. Harlan Elson has been a controversial character in science fiction for decades. From his forthright opinions to his feud with Jane Ronberry over what became of his Star Trek episode, City on the Edge of Forever. Sometime, overnight, june twenty seventh, Harlan Elson passed away in his sleep. Harlan's career spans back to 1949 when he published two stories in the Cleveland News, and then later sold a story to EC Comics. He then moved to New York to pursue his writing career and then served in the Army. After that, he moved to California and began to write in Hollywood. He wrote the screenplay for the Oscar and sold many scripts for such shows as The Laura the Young Show, The Outer Limits, The Man from Uncle, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He continued to publish science fiction and non-fiction pieces such as Repent Harlequin, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and A Dog, A Boy and His Dog. In the 80s, he worked as a creative consultant on the reboot of The Twilight Zone and Babylon 5. I won't go into the main controversies surrounding Harlan, as that would just take too much time. You can go to his Wikipedia entry for that. Harlan Olsen, science fiction author, intelligent writer, and arguably science fiction's most controversial figure, dead, at the age of 84. Now, before I go, the Tulsa Wizard World Convention has finally added some media guests, including Ron Perlman, Holly Marie Combs, Brian Krauss, Andrew Fuller from Charmed, and the Fawns himself, Henry Winkler. Multiverse Tonight has an affiliate code with the Wizard World Conventions. Just use the Wizard just use the code Multiverse for twenty percent off any admission to any 2018 Wizard World show. And be sure to check our social media be sure to check our social media Twitter at multiverse tom and on Facebook and m and now on Instagram. And if you'd like to contribute some money, please do so at co-fee.com slash multiverse or on Patreon as well. 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 a comment and let us know how we're doing. Special thanks to Lobo Loco for our theme music. Thanks for watching Multiverse Tonight. We will be back in two weeks. Now, please exit the universe in an orderly fashion. Good night. Multiverse tonight is a production of Half-Pick Genre of Production. Copyright 2018. Alright.