On this episode of The World’s Best Podcast, Mike Cole joins me for a trek into the heart of darkness… THE ACOLYTE! The latest Star Wars series from Disney+, sure was… something.
Viewers shouldn’t expect to see a second season anytime soon. Because the series has been officially cancelled by Disney and Lucasfilm. So what better time to look back on this controversial Star Wars project? In our FULL SPOILER deep-dive into the season, we cover the “good”, the bad, the really bad, the terrible, and everything in between! Enjoy and thanks for listening!
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In the time before time, many generations ago, before the elders told the great tales, we didn’t have jack-shit to watch on TV when Summer came around. All of our favorite shows went on hiatus for the summer and didn’t return until the Fall. NO LONGER! Those dark days are behind us now. Now some of my favorite shows on TV and Streaming, are premiering throughout the Summer. Some of these fantastic series have dropped new trailers, to tantalize us as we wait for their premieres in the weeks and months to come. Takes a look at the trailers below!:
The Boys: Season 4 (Premieres 6/13 on PrimeVideo)
My Adventures with Superman: Season 2 (Premieres 2/25 on Adult Swim)
Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths (Part III) 4K, Blu-Ray, & Streaming (Release Date TBD)
The Acolyte (Premieres 6/4 on Disney+)
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Ben Affleck may have been my favorite on screen incarnation of The Dark Knight, but 2022’s The Batman directed by Matt Reeves, was definitely my favorite live-action Batman movie. It finally showcased one of the Top 3 most fundamental aspects of the character, that had yet to be the focus of any of his other live-action, big screen counterparts: He’s The World’s Greatest Detective! Maybe he hadn’t quite reached the “World’s Greatest” part yet by the end of The Batman, but Bat-tinson was well on his way, he’s still new at the job! Regardless, we finally had a Batman movie that was a detective story. You know, where Batman’s an actual fucking detective! It’s kind of an important part of the character. Batman should be Sherlock in a cape and cowl. But I digress…
One of the highlights of the film was Colin Farrell, who was fantastic in his supporting role as Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. Oz, a.k.a.The Penguin. At the end of 2022’s The Batman, crimeboss Carmine Falcone‘s death, along with several other players in his organization, had left a vacuum in the Gotham underworld. Nature abhors a vacuum, especially in Gotham City. As we wait for The Batman Part II, this fall HBO is premiering The Penguin, a new miniseries focusing on Oz’s rise to power as Kingpin of Gotham, after the events of the first film.
With Robert Pattionson confirmed to make an appearance on the show, the miniseries will directly tie into Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman Part II. So you think of The Penguin as almost like The Batman 1.5, if you will. It’ll be interesting to see who else from The Batman mythos will pop up in the series.
Unfortunately, because of The 2023 Actor and Writer strikes, everything has been pushed back, including the series, which should have come out last year. In the wake of the strike, even The Batman Part II doesn’t have a concrete releases date yet. While the film is definitely still happening, it’s much more likely to expect it in the second half of 2025 or Spring/Summer 2026.
Fan made posters for The Batman Part II
In the meantime, it looks like we have a great new series, further fleshing out the world of this Gotham City. I know I’m psyched. Take a look at the trailer below:
The Penguin premieres this Fall on HBO Max
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
Another year, another San Diego COMIC-CON. SDCC is where all the major movie studios, TV networks, publishers debut their most impressive and high profile projects coming down the pipe line. Marvel Studios, Warner Bros., DC Comics, DC Studios, Disney and many more make the sojourn to SDCC to peddle their wares. While the Con has undoubtedly become part of the corporate machine, fan favorite creators, their best in their respective industries, have a huge presence at SDCC as well.
This year was a more modest Con, with less of the trailer debuts, major announcements (like casting news, project debuts, sneak peeks, etc.) that we’ve come to expect at COMIC-CON. This isn’t that surprising because comicon was living in the shadow of the current, Hollywood Writers and Actors Guild strikes. The strikes have been the top story in entertainment news. A lot of the talent we’d normally expect to see at SDCC are picketing with their fellow writers and actors. Also when the Writer’s Guild went on strike, there was a specific deadline when they were supposed to drop everything and completely stop writing for any of the projects they were working on. So maybe some of the studios and creators couldn’t put something together in time to show audiences.
So it may not have been as massive and bombastic, as it has in years past, but COMIC-CON still debuted some very cool stuff to the fans. I’m going to breakdown my favorite stuff to come out of SDCC 2023! Let’s get started!
MOVIES
The Marvels
TV & STREAMING:
INVINCIBLE (Season 2)
Loki (Season 2)
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
Gen V (The Boys Spin-Off)
REDBAND Trailer
Official Teaser
COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS:
Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham
Godzilla vs Kong vs Justice League
G.O.D.S. (Written by Jonathan Hickman/Art by Valerio Schiti)
Jonathan Hickman is one of my favorite comic book writers of all time. He’s the man behind legendary, character redefining runs on The Fantastic Four, Avengers, and X-Men. Each series is a must read, modern Marvel classic. Set to debut this Fall, G.O.D.S. sounds like the kind of storytelling Hickman does best. Here’s the official word from Marvel on this mysterious new series: “ G.O.D.S. will see two of the industry’s greatest modern visionaries dramatically redefine Marvel’s pantheon of cosmic beings and masterfully deconstruct the forces behind reality. The breathtaking new saga will introduce a host of new characters—all players in a secret conflict at the crossroads of science and magic!”
Though the series will bounce around the entire Marvel Universe, the main cast consists of new characters (Via Marvel):
Wyn, a powerful magic expert who’s operated in secret for thousands of years and is now forced to come out of the shadows.
Aiko Maki, a high-ranking agent brutally loyal to the ways of science and willing to do anything to keep the building blocks of creation in balance.
Dmitri the Science Boy, Wyn’s reckless partner who has a secret mission of his own to discover the dark truth of his past.
Mia the Magic Girl, a young sorcerer struggling to achieve her full potential.
Cubisk Core, a mysterious being of pure corruption seeking to shatter the existing systems.
Take a look at this preview from G.O.D.S. #1…
G.O.D.S. debuts Fall 2023
Captain America by J. Michael Strakzynski
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
Disney+ and Lucasfilm have dropped a brand new trailer for the upcoming Star Wars series, Ahsoka. The 8 episode first season is debuting with a 2-episode premiere, on Disney+, August 23rd. The series takes place in the same time period as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Ahsoka follows Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano, the former padawan of Anakin Skywalker, as she deals with reemergence of a deadly former adversary, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Check out the trailer right here:
I’m particularly excited for this new series for a number of reasons. Ahsoka is one of my favorite Star Wars characters, I’ve followed her journey from when she was introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars to her surprise return in Star Wars Rebels to her live action debut in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Which brings me to another reason this series is such a big deal for me, it’s basically a live-action sequel series to Star Wars Rebels. Rebels is easily among my most beloved pieces of Star Wars canon. As you can see in the trailer, the show features the live-action appearances of almost all of the Rebels cast…
General Hera Syndulla, captain of The Ghost, my favorite starship this side of The Millennium Falcon…
Mandalorian warrior and artist, Sabine Wren, the onetime wielder of The Darksaber…
Chopper, the best droid in all of Star Wars not called R2-D2…
…and exiled Jedi Knight, Ezra Bridger.
Additional characters like Captain Rex and others are returning as well.
However, the biggest draw has to be “The Big Bad” of the series, fan favorite villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn first appeared in The Heir to The Empire trilogy of books written by Timothy Zahn in the 90’s. As part of Star Wars Legends, the books chronicled the events following Return of The Jedi. Thrawn was one of The Empire’s highest ranking officer’s and The Emperor’s right hand, second only to Darth Vader. Though he wasn’t a Force user, his brilliant mind, working like an evil Sherlock Holmes, made him just as dangerous (if not more so) than Vader or Palpetine. He was such a cunning tactician, that he very nearly succeeded in rebuilding The Empire and crippling the nascent New Republic. When Disney bought Lucasfilm the novels were no longer considered canon. However, the character was restored to canon when he appeared in Star Wars Rebels as the main antagonist of the final few seasons. Lars Mikelsen who voiced the character in Star Wars Rebels is also returning to play Thrawn in Ahsoka, which is really cool.
The last few Star Wars miniseries from Disney+ have left me a little cold, so hopefully this show will be a return to form for a galaxy far, far away.
Ahsoka premiers on Disney+ August 23rd.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
“Who do you trust?” The first episode of Marvel’s latest Disney+ series, Secret Invasion, has arrived and after watching the first episode, I can definitely say that the latest MCU adventure is off to a great start.
Right off the bat, I wanted to keep this one pretty SPOILER-FREE. So if you haven’t seen it yet, you should be good reading this review. Anyway, when Marvel began producing big budget, movie quality MCU shows on Disney+, they launched with three flagship series: WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Loki. All three both fantastic and unique. Each series was in it’s own genre and showed us completely different parts of The MCU. If I had to pick, I’d say Loki was definitely my favorite. The subsequent Disney+/MCU shows we’re all interesting or cool in their own way, but so far, none of them have quite reached the heights of WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and Loki. However, after watching the first episode of Secret Invasion, there’s definitely the potential here for another first rate Marvel show.
Secret Invasion is based on the comic book miniseries of they same name, written by Brian Michael Bendis. Whenever Marvel has adapted a specific storyline from the comic books, like Civil War for example, it’s usually a loose adaptation that changes elements of the original story to better fit what works within The MCU. They’re more like reimaginings that share certain elements. So far that’s been a great formula. I don’t necessarily want to see 1-for-1 adaptations of these stories. Comics are very different from films or television, so each medium plays to it’s strengths when telling stories like this.
The best thing about Secret Invasion is that this is Nick Fury’s story. Nick Fury is such an interesting character and Samuel L. Jackson is (as usual) fantastic. I’m happy Marvel went with a miniseries instead of a solo movie for their Nick Fury-centric project. If Marvel decided to give Nick Fury a solo film, it would probably have looked a lot like Black Widow. Fury deserves something grander than that. The threat of a shape shifting alien race, The Skrull, infiltrating our world at the highest levels, with the goal of making Earth their new home, certainly fits the bill. The Skrull made their first appearance in The MCU in 2019’s Captain Marvel.The Skrull need a new home world and they’ve got their sights set on Earth. How do you combat an existential threat like this? Who do you trust? Have they infiltrated The White House? The Avengers? Is the person you think you’ve known for years, not who they appear to be? This why Secret Invasion is the perfect way to tell a great NIck Fury story. Shadowy threats lurking in the darkness. Secrets and double crosses. Subterfuge and spy craft. This is Nick Fury’s world. Fury isn’t just a spy, as Tony Stark once said, “He’s THE Spy. His secrets have secrets”. But has Fury lost a step? Is he still THE Nick Fury? That’s the question the series asks, at least in the first episode.
What we end up with is a sci-fi, spy thriller and it works great. The cast is fantastic with Ben Mendelssohn returning as Talos, a “good” Skrull and an old friend of Fury’s, Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clark plays Talos’ estranged daughter, as well as Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross, and Colbie Smulders as Maria Hill.
Don’t come into the show expecting a non-stop action extravaganza like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. This is a spy thrillers, so it’s a little slower and builds tension. Which works perfect here, it’s exactly what this show needs to be, it’s what makes it compelling. The show does a great job showing the audience what’s at stake. You catch on pretty quickly to why this would be such a dangerous situation, and it has some interesting real world parallels.
With Nick Fury at the center, a chilling threat, and a great cast, this was an excellent start to Secret Invasion. There’s huge potential here and I hope the rest of the series lives up to the promise shown in its first episode.
Secret Invasion will be a 6-part miniseries with new episodes premiering each Wednesday on Disney+.
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
While many would argue that pop culture has become oversaturated with superhero content, there are still some spectacular stories being told n that highlight the superhero genre still has more to offer. One of those projects is the Amazon Prime animated series Invincible, based on the comic book of the same name from The Walking Dead creator, Robert Kirkman. After only one season, Invincible has already cemented itself as one of the best superhero shows of all time. With stellar performances from an incredible voice cast, shocking twists, and visceral action sequences, Invincible has distinguished itself as the best of the best. Invincible is to superhero stories what Game of Thrones is to fantasy epics. Invincible is well aware that the audience has been exposed to over 20 years of superhero tropes and story beats from countless other movie and TV adaptations, and gleefully subverts those expectations with shocking results. It’s exactly the shot in the arm that the genre needs when even the biggest fans are starting to feel some superhero fatigue.
After Season 1 became a massive hit, Amazon Prime was eager to begin production on more episodes. The animated series was quickly renewed for a second and third season. Season 1 acted as a fantastic adaptation of the source material and having read the comic book series, I can say that we’ve only scratched the surface of Invincible‘s potential. If you think Season 1 was wild, wait till you see the some of the places this story goes next.
With so many fans excited for Season 2, the question on everyone’s mind is, when will we see new episodes premiere on the streaming platform? Well, as you’ll see in the very fun video below, we got our answer. Well, kind of. Take a look for yourself…
As Allen The Alien would say “OK, I’ll take it.“. Sure, would I like to see a Summer 2023 release date instead of a late 2023 release date? Absolutely. But animated series can often take a lot longer to make than live action shows, so I’m just happy that we’re getting Season 2 sometime this year. In the meantime, if you want to check out another unique and subversive superhero show, check out Amazon Prime’s other hit comic book series, The Boys. Invincible and The Boys are two of my favorite shows being produced right now, so odds are if you enjoy one, you’ll probably like the other. Plus, you can be sure that as soon as we have more information on the upcoming season of Invincible, you can count on World’s Best Media to keep you updated!
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
For as long as humans have huddled together around camp fires at night, we’ve told stories. Some tales like The Last Son of Krypton or The Dark Knight Detective are so primal and mythic that they transcend time and space. They’re immortal. So as long as people exist to tell them, their will be Batman stories. We’ve seen a lot of great Batman performances over the years, but when it comes to the best on screen portrayal of The Caped Crusader, it’s not even close: Kevin Conroy IS Batman.
Yet, It almost feels as if Batman himself has died. For over 30 years, one man has been synonymous with Batman. Since the character’s inception, no other performer has personified The Dark Knight more than Kevin Conroy. Sadly, Kevin passed away at the still relatively young age of 66, from throat cancer.
Over the years, Kevin Conroy showcased his incredible talent and versatility in projects like Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, JLU, many DC Animated Movies, the mega-popular Arkham video game series, Justice League Action, and more. Conroy’s unmistakable voice managed to convey all of the anger, pain, sadness, compassion, humor, and vulnerability of Batman. When I read Batman in a comic book or graphic novel, it’s Kevin Conroy’s voice I hear in my head.
He even got to play the character in the live action, in The CW Arrowverse Crossover Event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the crossover miniseries (which is a hell of a lot of fun if you haven’t seen it), Conroy played a much older version of Bruce Wayne from an alternate universe, very similar to the character’s portrayal in the classic Kingdom Come comic book miniseries. Like his Kingdom Come counterpart, Conroy‘s Bruce Wayne is physically battered and broken. As a result of countless injuries sustained over his decades as Batman, Bruce has to wear an exoskeleton at almost all times, to help him get around.
In The Batcave, with his old Bat-suit in the background, Bruce has a somewhat confrontational encounter with his cousin Kate Kane AKA BatwomanKingdom Come Bruce Wayne
While it may feel like he still had a lot of good years to come playing Batman, he leaves behind a truly legendary body of work and a legacy beyond comparison. He had a reputation for always showing love, kindness, and appreciation to his fans. He truly loved playing Batman and would often speak about how he felt honored to plat the character.
Kevin Conroy was an absolute ICON. We will never see his like again. This post by @TheBatstan on Twitter said it best: “30 years. 3 entire decades where one man became the definitive voice of a legend, to a point where he also became a legend. Wherever Kevin Conroy was, Batman was also there. Goodbye Kevin. No matter what you’ll always be Vengeance, the Night, THE Batman.”
Batman from Arkham Knight, one of the classic, mega-hit Arkham video games series, featuring Kevin Conroy as Batman
A FEW OF KEVIN CONROY’S BEST PERORMANCES
Conroy has given countless spectacular, nuanced performances as The Dark Knight over the years. To include every moment in a project, where his performance as Batman elevates the material into something truly special, would require literally thousands of videos. While this is by no means a comprehensive collection of his best work, here are some of my favorite moments of Kevin Conroy performing as Batman/Bruce Wayne:
Kevin’s Most Iconic Batman Line…
One of Kevin’s Favorite Performance As Bruce Wayne/Batman
The Birth of Two-Face
“I Didn’t Mean To…”
World’s Finest: Batman and Superman Meet For The First Time, In A Tense Confrontation
On An Alternate World Ruled By An Tyrannical Justice League Called The Justice Lords. Batman & His Alternate Universe Counterpart Debate The Merits & Weeknesses Of Democracy & Authoritarianism
Batman Sings “A I Blue” At A Nightclub As Part Of Deal To Break A Spell Put on Wonder Woman
Batman Save Superman & An Island Of Evacuating Civilians, From Doomsday & A Nuclear Missile With A Kryptonite Warhead
In The Aftermath Of Doomsday And The Failed Nuclear Weapon Attack On The League, Batman Warns Superman & Wonder Woman, That The Justice League Is Heading Into Some Very Morally Dangerous Territory
Batman Stays With Ace Until She Passes Away
After A Trip An Alternate Timeline, where Bruce’s Father Thomas Wayne Became Batman, After Young Bruce Was Killed instead of His Parents, Barry Allen AKA The Flash, Gives Bruce A letter From His Father
You’ll always be my Batman, Kevin. RIP Batman…
I’d love to hear about your favorite episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, The Arkham video gamess, or any of the other projects Kevin Conroy worked on. Let us know in the common section!
(L) Terry McGinnis and (R) Old Man Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond
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We have a lot of cool stuff to bring you on this week’s episode. Arguably the most exciting piece of news this week is, the possibility of Steven Spielberg directing the new Superman film. With the recently announced return of Henry Cavill as Clark Kent, so a lot of interesting stuff is out there right now about a big superman project on the horizon. I discuss it in depth in this weeks episode. I also wanted to mention and recommend Quentin Tarantino’s new book, I from there we touch on House of The Dragon, AMC’s new Interview with The Vampire series, and more!
Thanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
I know Titans on HBO Max has it’s critics, but I love the series, in all of it’s flawed glory! Season 3 really stepped it up, so I’m very excited for Season 4! As we approach the November 3rd Season Premiere, HBO Max has released several new teasers, clips, concept art, and promo images to get us hyped up for the show’s return. But rest easy, friends! We have it all, right here, for your viewing pleasure!
Teasers & Clips:
This video teases the introduction of one of this Season’s Big Bads, the classic DC/Teen Titans villain, Brother Blood.
Brother Blood isn’t the only supervillain that the Titans have to contend with this season. The amazing Titus Welliver is joining the series this season, perfectly casts in the iconic role of Lex Luthor. It would seem as if a large part of Superboy’s story this season will be about coming to terms with his heritage. Superboy, or Connor to his friends, is a half human/half Kryptonian clone. His Kryptonian DNA comes from Superman, but his human DNA comes from Lex Luthor. As you can see in this clips, it looks like Connor AKA Superboy, will have to face the possibly darker side of his lineage when Lex Luthor reaches out to Connor (in classic Lex style)will be a big part of his story in Season 4. As we see in the clip…
The team takes on one of Brother Blood’s acolytes, Mother Mayhem, in the clip below…
Plus… C’mon, Nightwing vs. Ninjas? If that’s not cool, I don’t know what is!
First Look Images & Concept Art:
While Lex Luthor is sure to be a wild card, the aforementioned Brother Blood and his loyal followers like Mother Mayhem and Jinx, promise to give the Titans the most trouble. Here’s a better look at all 3 below…
Brother Blood (Joseph Morgan, best know for his role as Klaus Mikelson on The Vampire Diaries and The Originals)
Jinx (Lisa Ambalavanar)
Mother Mayhem (Franka Potente)
Brother Blood, Jinx, and Mother Mayhem Concept Art:
Beast Boy Concept Art:
Gar AKA Beast Boy is getting a snazzy new costume upgrade as well! Take a look see…
Titans Season 4 premieres on HBO Max November 3rd
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter @PJWrightWBM, Instagram @worldsbestmedia2017, and our Facebook Page, Worlds Best Media. Those likes and follows, as well as iTunes reviews for the podcast, go a long way to supporting World’s Best Media. We really appreciate the loyalty and support shown to us by our fans, so thanks again! Stay healthy and stay safe!
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