Episode 4: Dune, The Batman, Lovecraft Country, Lucifer, Star Wars and more

Robby The Robot’s Waiting: The Sci-Fi Podcast

Sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere, but it didn’t stand in the way of Dune becoming a classic. We fold space and take a trip through Frank Herbert’s epic SF novel in the company of Arthur C Clarke Award director Tom Hunter. And as Denis Villeneuve prepares to follow a trail blazed by David Lynch, is it really as unfilmable as some critics say?

Meanwhile, forget Comic-Con: DC hosted its own Fandome and got the world – and your podcast hosts – talking about The Batman, Wonder Woman 1984, Black Adam and The Suicide Squad. We discuss what we saw and what superhero fans should be most excited about.

After The Rise Of Skywalker divided the fanbase, is another Star Wars Holiday Special the chosen one that can restore balance to the force? Yes, that’s right, we’re celebrating Life Day with Lego.

There’s also Tales of Arcadia: Wizards, Lucifer season five, Iain M Banks’ Culture, Star Trek, Pinocchio, The Boys and our heartfelt tribute to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, whose death at only 43 was reported while we were preparing this episode.

Episode highlights:

00:50 – Commemorating Chadwick Boseman

5.39 – What we’ve been enjoying! Tales of Arcadia: Wizards, Lucifer season five, Project Power, Lovecraft Country

15:05 – The hot news and trailers from DC Fandome

27:12 – Discover the Arthur C Clarke Award and its significance for SF literature

33:21 – He who controls the spice controls the universe. In our regular Rewind section, we re-read Dune and discuss the themes and influence of Frank Herbert’s epic SF universe

50:31 – In the news! Another Star Wars Holiday Special? Plus Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, adapting Iain M Banks’ Culture (or not), Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Jensen Ackles in The Boys, and more.

Doing the talking:

Richard Edwards: film and TV journalist and former editor of SFX magazine

Tanavi Patel: entertainment reporter for SFX and Digital Spy, panel moderator for MCM, FanExpo and more

Dave Bradley: writer, gamer, book reviewer and another former editor of SFX magazine

SPECIAL GUEST! Tom Hunter: director of The Arthur C Clarke Award, the UK’s premier prize for science fiction literature

Robby's waiting for you: sign up to our mailing list (coming soon – be among the first to join us) https://tinyurl.com/robbynewsletter