X-Wings In The Attic

Tonight! Russell Crowe is a god, Superman hands over his job, and Flinstones, meet the Flintstones. Plus X-Wings to the Nations Attic, Discovery pauses prodcution and much more on this double sized edition of Multiverse Tonight!

Welcome to episode 124...

Marvel

Emilia Clarke, Star of Game of Thrones and the maligned Solo A Star Wars Story has joined Disney Plus and Marvel Studios Secret Invasion. Her role is under wraps but she will be joining Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, and Kingsley Ben-Adir. It’s also been announced that Olivia Colman might be joining the series as well.

This July sees an all-out war between Spider-man's villains. In Sinister War, Doctor Octopus’s Sinister Six takes on Vultures Savage Six with New York City in the crossfire. The war starts in Amazing Spider-man number sixty-four. In a statement on the series, editor Nick Lowe said quote “Nick Spencer always goes big, and this is his biggest story yet through this series and the concurrent issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, so clear some room on your ‘Best Comics Ever’ shelf.” unquote The Sinister War comes out on July fourteenth and continues in the pages of Amazing Spider-man.,

Sony’s Marvel movies will make their way to Disney Plus and Hulu...eventually. Sony has made a new licensing deal with Disney that will see their Spider-man, Venom and and other movies they make with Marvel properties to Disney Plus and Hulu after first going to Netflix. Basically, the releases will go to the theater, followed by Netflix after nine months and then Disney Plus after Netflix is done. The deal begins with the 2022 run of movies, which possibly means that The Spider-man movies, Venom movies and Morbius might not be covered in the deal. 

Speaking of Morbius, Morbius has been pushed back a week to January 28, 2022. This seems a bit odd as it had no real competition that weekend, but its new weekend puts it head to head against Universal/ Blumhouse’s The Black Phone.

Russell Crowe will play the God Zeus in Thor Love and Thunder, the actor revealed in an interview with Joy Breakfast with the Murphys. Thor Love and Thunder will see Chris Hemsworth reuniting with Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson as well as Guardians of the Galaxy’s Chris Pratt and Karen Gillan and joined by Christian Bale, Melissa McCarthy, Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Luke Hemsworth. It hits theaters on May sixth, 2022.

Marvel dropped a big sizzle reel for its upcoming releases in Phase Four. Showing footage from various movies and giving release dates.

First up is Black Widow on July ninth, followed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the ten Rings on September third and Eternals on November fifth and Spider-man No Way Home on December seventeenth. Next year sees, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness on March 22, 2022, Thor Love and Thunder May sixth, 2022, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever July eighth, 2022, Captain Marvel 2 gets a new name, it’s not called The Marvels and it comes on November eleventh, 2022. IN 2023, we get Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania on February seventeenth, 2023, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 on May fifth, 2023. The trailer closed with a quick stylized four, could they be signing the Fantastic Four as the pinnacle of Phase Four? Who knows.

DC

Booster Gold’s creator Dan Jurgens is back to put the Bwah, ha, ha back in Booster Gold and Glue Beetle with a new miniseries titled Blue and Gold this July.  The comic will have art by Ryan Sook. The comic is according to the press release quote Desperate to regain the spotlight, Booster Gold looks to attract the public’s (and Justice League’s) attention the same way any washed-up, second-rate hero would — social media. The not-so-tech-savvy hero from the 25th century enlists the help of his best friend, Blue Beetle, who possesses both the money and the brains to help his old pal navigate the scary world of internet influencers. Watch out, evildoers, our heroes are live and online!

Don’t miss Dan Jurgens’s triumphant return to Booster Gold, teaming with all-star artist Ryan Sook (Legion of Super-Heroes), telling a tale filled with heart…and maybe even redemption for DC’s two favorite underdogs!

Blue & Gold #1 (of 8) by Dan Jurgens and Ryan Sook arrives on July 20 with a cover by Sook ($3.99) and a card stock variant cover by Dave Johnson ($4.99).

Superman is getting a makeover starting this July. Superman’s son Jonathan will be taking his fathers’ place as Superman, so the monthly Superman title will be retitled Superman: Son of Kal-El, while Kal-El will be seen in the pages of Action Comics and Superman and the Authority miniseries. Jonathan will protect the Earth while dear old dad oversees WarWorld. Tom Taylor and artist John Timms will work on Son of Kal-El and writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Daniel Sampere will take Action Comics and Grant Morrison and Mikel Janin will do the same for the Superman and the Authority miniseries.

The Black Adam production rolls along, and its newest hire is Young Rock star Uli Latukefu, he will be in an as yet unknown role. Since he’s on the Rocks tv show, perhaps he’s playing a younger Adam? Guess we’ll have to wait for July 29, 2022.

James Gunn is finding out one of the truths about characters with mirrored accouterments, they're a pain to shoot. When asked on Twitter about the challenge of shooting Peacemaker’s mirror-like helmet, he said quote "Yes. Peacemaker's helmet is a damn mirror ball, & we need to remove me & the crew from every single shot in which we use it, in the movie & in the show. We shoot a full wraparound plate of every set (most of which are fortunately practical) to put in the helmet when needed." unquote 

When asked why not just make his helmet a green screen and add the effect in later? He replied that it would be more difficult and wouldn’t look as good. Well here’s to a good production team, we’ll be on the lookout. The movie hit theaters and HBO Max on August sixth.

The Green Lantern series on HBO Max has found its Guy Gardner, Finn Wittrock, from American Horror Story, and Ratched has been cast as one of many Green Lantern characters in this big-budget streaming drama from mega-producer Greg Berlanti and Warner Bros TV. The official show description is quote "Green Lantern reinvents the classic DC property through a story spanning decades and galaxies, beginning on Earth in 1941 with the very first Green Lantern, secretly gay FBI agent Alan Scott, and 1984, with cocky alpha male Guy Gardner and half-alien Bree Jarta. They'll be joined by a multitude of other Lanterns — from comic book favorites to never-before-seen heroes."

However, Deadline dot com has broken the news that The Flash cast members Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes are both leaving the series after season seven. Tom Cavanagh has played Eobard Thawne/Harrison Wells since season one and Valdes has played Cisco Ramon aka Vibe since season one as well. The Flash producer and showrunner Eric Wallace said about the exits quote “Tom and Carlos have been an integral part of our show for seven seasons, and will be greatly missed,” “Both are incredible talents who created beloved characters that fans and audiences around the world have come to love. Which is why we are happily keeping the door open for return appearances.”

Geek

The long-gestating animated series based on the Flintstones is going ahead. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Elizabeth Banks has joined the show as Fred Flinstone’s grown-up daughter Pebbles, Banks will also executive produce. Bedrock will follow a 20-something Pebbles as she begins her own career while her dad, Fred, nears retirement. With the Stone Age giving way to an enlightened new Bronze Age, the residents of Bedrock will find this evolution "harder than a swing from Bamm-Bamm's club," per the show's logline. Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn in a statement said quote "Long before the Simpsons and Springfield, the Griffins and Quahog or even when the Belchers started serving burgers on Ocean Avenue, there were the Flintstones and Bedrock,". "Their imprint on the animation universe is undeniable and the idea of adapting it for today's audience is a challenge we here at Fox are very much looking forward to taking on with Warner Bros., Elizabeth, and Lindsay. No pressure whatsoever, really.'' This is not the first attempt at a Flintstones show at Fox, they had given Seth McFarlane an order for a reboot but ended up turning it down. By the way, they did this before in the seventies, it was called The Pebbles and Bam-Bam show. Look it up.

Heavy Metal magazine has joined into a pact with Range Media Partners, a management and brand development firm. Range will be assisting the publication with bringing properties based on the cartoons in Heavy Metal to the film and television arena. 

Disney/Pixar's Soul won big at the 93rd Academy Awards, winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film as well as best original score for Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste’s music. 

The Red Sonja remake has hired Hannah John-Kamen as the new Red Sonja. Hannah has previously played Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Red Sonja director Joey Soloway said in a statement quote “Hannah is a very talented actress who we’ve been following for years and she is Red Sonja,” “Her range, sensibilities, and strength are all qualities we have been looking for and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey together.” unquote Red Sonja was first adapted into a feature film in 1985 with Brigitte Nielsen playing the part.

Aliens will celebrate its thirty-fifth anniversary with a new one-shot from Marvel Comics. Aliens Aftermath is a double-sized comic from writer Benjamin Percy and artist Dave Wacther and takes place at the Hadley’s Hope Colony on Archeron aka LV 426 decades after the events from the 1986 movie Aliens. Here’s the blurb quote It’s been 35 years since the tragedy of the Hadley’s Hope colony, but what happened during that ill-fated venture has been shrouded in mystery. A renegade crew of investigative journalists are heading towards the moon that Weyland-Yutani has wiped from all records, and they’ll bring back the truth even if it kills them…and what remains in that bombed-out site will try to do just that. Unquote The comic comes out on July fourteenth.

Comic cons are going to try and make a CoVid XComback at the end of the year. Already set are Florida Supercon will take place at Miami Beach Convention Center Sept. 10-12. New York Comic Con is set for the Javits Center from Oct. 7-10. Emerald City Comic Con is set for Seattle’s Washington State Convention Center Dec. 2-5. Meanwhile, The Chicago-based convention C2E2 will take place at McCormick Place Dec. 10-12. Of course, these shows will run at a reduced capacity and will require face coverings and temperature checks. Organizers also say that there will be increased sanitation and cleaning and a no handshake or hug policy.

Robot Chicken will cross over with Archie Comics later this month in The Bleepin’ Robot Chicken Archie Comics Special. The double-length episode will feature the voice talents of 

Fred Armisen, Rachel Leigh Cook, Hugh Davidson, Donald Faison, Betty Gilpin, Clare Grant, Seth Green, Jared Harris, Jane Lynch, Jason Mantzoukas, Breckin Meyer, Ryan Phillipe, Katee Sackhoff, Amy Sedaris, and Cree Summer. The official synopsis for the episode reads "In the half-hour special, Archie faces the action-packed return of Josie and the Pussycats from outer space to Riverdale in this animated comedy,"  "Featuring the origin of Archie Andrews as only the Robot Chicken writers can tell it!" The episode airs on Sunday, May 23, at midnight Eastern and Pacific.

Star Wars

Disney Plus’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series has cast Penn15’s, Maya Erskine. Deadline reports that she will be playing a supporting role in half of the six-hour-long episodes. Obi-Wan Kenobi will follow the Jedi’s exile on Tatooine, no premiere date has been set yet.

Star Wars day happened this past Tuesday and there were some big releases, including The Bad Batch animated series and a surprise Simpsons short: Maggie Simpson in The Force Awakens From It’s Nap. It’s really cute,

THe Smithsonian will soon display an x-wing fighter in it’s newly renovated air and space museum  building on the National Mall. THe prop, with a wingspan of 37 feet appeared in The Rise of Skywalker and is on long term loan from Lucasfilm. Margaret Weitekamp, the museum’s space history chairwoman said in a statement quote “Despite taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, ‘Star Wars’ introduced generations of fans here on Earth to outer space as a setting for adventure and exploration,” “All air and space milestones begin with inspiration, and science fiction so often provides that spark.” She added that “the X-wing displayed amid our other spacecraft celebrates the journey from imagination to achievement.” unquote The X-win will undergro cleanup and pre work before it goes on display at the museum next year.

Star Trek

Star Trek Discovery had to temporarily halt production as a precaution due to an off-the-set Covid Contact. Deadline reports that covid infections have been rising around Toronto lately. The series should be back in production by the time you hear this. The decision to pause production came after a Zone A individual came in close proximity with someone who tested positive. 

Lower Decks Co-executive producer Chris Kula has signed an overall deal with CBS Studios. Lower Decks was handed an early third season renewal earlier last month with season two due this summer.

Actor Nathan Jung has died. The actor will be known to Star Trek fans as Genghis Kahn in The Savage Curtain episode of the original series. From there he made appearances on M*A*S*H*, Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, General Hospital, Manimal, Riptide, Hunter, Sanford and Son, and Kung Fu.

In the 1990s, he had stints on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Martial Law, and Burke’s Law. His film credits include Rapid Fire, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Kentucky Fried Movie, Big Trouble in Little China, Black Rain, American Yakuza, Beverly Hills Ninja, Darkman, The Shadow, and Longshot. He also played Leslie Nielsen’s right-hand man in the 1993 comedy Surf Ninjas. He was 74.

Geek

Indiana Jones five has added Age of Ultrons Baron Von Stucker, THomas Kretschmann to the cast. The role is unknown, but he joins Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen who we talked about previously. The movie is expected to start production this summer for a July 29, 2022 release.

HBO Max is close to 45 million subscribers, partly thanks to Godzilla v Kong. HBO and HBO Max currently have a combined 44.2 million subscribers up from 41.5 at the end of 2020. Parent company AT&T now expects to reach 67 to 70 million by the end of the year.

The sci-fi film Tenet won for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards.

The Tom Hanks SciFi movie Finch will be going directly to Apple TV Plus later this year. The film from Amblin Entertainment previously called Bios was originally going to be released in theaters by Universal. The movie is about a man, a robot, and a dog that form an unlikely family as the man tries to ensure that his dog will be cared for after he’s gone. Hanks stars as Finch, a robotics engineer and one of the few survivors of a cataclysmic solar event that has left the world a wasteland. Finch, who has been living in an underground bunker for a decade, has built a world of his own that he shares with his dog, Goodyear. He creates a robot (played by Get Out‘s Caleb Landry Jones) to watch over Goodyear when he no longer can. As the trio embarks on a perilous journey into a desolate American West, Finch strives to show his creation the joy and wonder of what it means to be alive.

The What we do in the shadows spinoff series from New Zealand, Wellington Paranormal now has a premiere date on the CW, The series will make its US premiere with back-to-back episodes on July eleventh at 9 Eastern/8 Central. A week later, the show will be paired with the season two premiere of the British comedy series Dead Pixels.

Fox’s reboot of Fantasy Island has cast The Bold and the Beautiful’s Kiara Barnes and If Loving You is Wrong’s John Gabriel Rodriquez in the show. Barnes will be a regular cast member, while Rodriquez will be a recurring character.  Kiara Barnes’s character is being described as a warm and wise woman with an old soul who arrives on the titular island with a terminal illness, but is given a new lease in life by the island and Mr. Roarke. While John Gabriel Rodriquez will play Javiar the rugged, charismatic, and handsome head of transport on Fantasy Island. The show was given a direct-to-series order.

J.K. Simmons will replace Ed O’Neill in amazon’s sci-fi series Light Years, he will be the co-lead opposite Sissy Spacek. O Neill left for family reasons. The show is about Franklin and Irene York, played by Simmons and Spacek, a couple who years ago discovered a chamber buried in their backyard that inexplicably leads to a strange, deserted planet. They’ve carefully guarded their secret ever since, but when an enigmatic young man enters their lives, the Yorks’ quiet existence is quickly upended — and the mysterious chamber they thought they knew so well turns out to be much more than they could ever have imagined. The show is set to film later this year.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the US rights to Taika Waititi produced Sci-Fi drama Night Raiders. The debut feature of writer/director Danis Goulet is set in 2043, exploring a future in which a military occupation controls disenfranchised cities in post-war North America. In this world, where children are considered property of the regime which trains them to fight, a desperate Cree woman joins an underground band of vigilantes and infiltrates a State children’s academy, so that she can get her daughter back. A parable about the experience of the Indigenous peoples of North America, Night Riders is billed as quote  “a female-driven sci-fi drama about resilience, courage, and love.” unquote 

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

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