> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theomnicosm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Monthly January 2025 - URL: https://www.theomnicosm.com/the-monthly-january-2025/ - Published: 2025-01-26T14:00:34.000Z - Updated: 2025-01-26T14:00:34.000Z - Description: Three things to know. Two trailers to watch. One article to read. Here’s what you need to know for this month. - Author: Bill Kuchman - Tags: Popculturology • The Monthly, Popculturology, Star Wars, Osars, Ms. Rachel, Marvel, Twilight Zone The end of the month can really sneak up on you. Luckily **Popculturology** has you covered with the January edition of **The Monthly**. If you’re new to the newsletter, this is your recap of everything that should be on your radar from the past month. Three things to know. Two trailers to watch. One article to read. **The Monthly** hits your inbox on the last Sunday of every month. ## Sign up Join the hundreds of ****Popculturology** and ****Snackology** subscribers who already get the free newsletter every Friday — plus The Box Office Report, Deep SNL Thoughts, The Monthly, special editions and Snackology. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ➕ Already a ****Popculturology** subscriber? ****Please consider becoming a supporter** by [****upgrading your account**](https://www.theomnicosm.com/#/portal/). 🍪 Wanna add ****Snackology** to your subscription? ****Update your email preferences** [****on your account page**](https://www.theomnicosm.com/#/portal/). --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2025/01/012525-banners.jpg) ****Ray Stevenson**, the Oscar statuette and ****Ms. Rachel**. / Lucasfilm, AMPAS, Netflix ## 3 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ### *Star Wars* finds a new Baylan Skoll ... and Ryan Gosling? *Star Wars* is reportedly adding two new faces. We first learned that *Game of Thrones* star **Rory McCann** had joined *Ahsoka*, replacing the late **Ray Stevenson** as fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll. *Star Wars* fans had been wondering if a new actor would be brought in to play Baylan based on where the show left the character at the end of its first season. (**Liev Schreiber** was a popular pick.) And this past week, news broke that **Ryan Gosling** was in talks to star in **Shawn Levy**’s *Star Wars* movie. We know virtually nothing about the project from the *Deadpool & Wolverine* director, but *The Hollywood Reporter* notes that if Gosling signs on, it’ll be “not only Levy’s next movie but also the next *Star Wars* movie to go into production, with cameras potentially rolling this fall." *Ahsoka* is obviously an established series, with a season already in the bank. When I read that we’re getting a second season, I believe that. It’s become more difficult to believe that new *Star Wars* movie is ever coming, though. With the exception of **Jon Favreau**’s *The Mandalorian & Grogu* (which I’m pretty confident began as the fourth season of *The Mandalorian* before being repurposed into a movie), the post-*Rise of Skywalker* era of cinematic *Star Wars* has been sparse. A ton of official announcements and rumors with nothing to show for them. [***(The Hollywood Reporter)***](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/star-wars-ahsoka-season-2-ray-stevenson-rory-mccann-1236105886/?ref=popculturology.news) [***(The Hollywood Reporter)***](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-ryan-gosling-in-talks-shawn-levys-1236084451/?ref=theomnicosm.com) • • • ### Start your Oscar pool prep Oscar season got real on Thursday. The Academy announced its nominees for the 97th Oscars, which means you probably googled “what is *Emilia Pérez*?” and “how can I watch *The Brutalist*?” A handful of films that you’ve probably already seen like *Wicked* and *Dune: Part Two* got Best Picture nominations, while deserving animated films like *The Wild Robot* and *Inside Out 2* were kept in the Best Animated Feature category — where they belong according to the Academy, [since animation isn’t *real* filmmaking](https://www.theomnicosm.com/the-oscars-dont-respect-animation-why-should-we-expect-them-to-start-next-year/). [***(Popculturology)***](https://www.theomnicosm.com/emilia-perez-the-brutalist-and-wicked-lead-2025-oscar-nominations-2/) • • • ### Ms. Rachel jumps to Netflix **Popculturology** is all about *Star Wars*, Marvel movies and *SNL*. But I have a toddler, which means **Rachel Accurso**, the YouTube educator better known as Ms. Rachel, has been part of my world for several years now. She’ll soon be a part of Netflix’s world too, with the streaming service announcing that it’s signed the breakout star for a new series called — wait for it — *Ms. Rachel*. The first four episodes of the series will premiere on Jan. 27, with additional episodes coming in the future. Just when you think it’s safe to cancel Netflix, the streamer finds a new way to keep you paying, whether it’s **Mike Tyson** fighting an influencer, **Beyoncé** performing on Christmas or episodes of *Ms. Rachel* that your kid will need to watch a million times. [***(Netflix)***](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/ms-rachel-netflix-date-details?ref=popculturology.news) --- 💰 Like what you’re reading on ****Popculturology**? [Send ****a one-time tip to show your support** for the newsletter. ](https://www.theomnicosm.com/#/portal/support) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2025/01/012525-banners2-1.jpg) Daredevil’s broken helmet in **Daredevil: Born Again* and ****Robert Pattinson** in **Mickey 17*. / Marvel Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures ## 2 TRAILERS YOU NEED TO WATCH ### Daredevil: Born Again The Marvel era of Netflix ran for 161 episodes, spanning three seasons of *Daredevil* and *Jessica Jones*, two seasons of *Luke Cage*, *Iron First* and *The Punisher* and then *The Defenders* crossover. With the completion of the final season of *The Punisher* in January 2019, it looked like fans would never see these versions of these characters again. **Kevin Feige** would obviously reboot it all as he properly rolled them into the MCU, right? The Netflix corner of Marvel has been surprisingly resilient. **Charlie Cox** reprises his role of Matt Murdoch/Daredevil in *Spider-Man: No Way Home* and *She-Hulk*. **Vincent D’Onofrio** was back as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in *Echo*. And now the whole *Daredevil* gang is reassembling for Disney+’s *Daredevil: Born Again*. The first trailer for the upcoming series debuted this past month. Based on the trailer, it’s going to be the most violent show or movie that we’ve gotten so far in the MCU. And I’m sure fans of the original *Daredevil* are going to be very pleased about that. • • • ### Mickey 17 After delivering the Oscar-lauded *Parasite* in 2019 (the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film), director **Bong Joon-ho** was in a position where he could probably do whatever he wanted for his next project. Joon-ho chose to adapt *Mickey7*, the science-fiction novel from **Edward Ashton**. (This one is on my reading list.) The adaptation became *Mickey 17*, and based on the two trailers we’ve so far gotten, it features a bonkers performance from **Robert Pattinson**. --- 📱 Follow me on [****Bluesky**](https://bsky.app/profile/billkuchman.bsky.social?ref=theomnicosm.com) and [****Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/popculturology/?ref=theomnicosm.com). --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/2025/01/012525-banners3.jpg) ## 1 ARTICLE YOU NEED TO READ ### The Metaphor Years: Writing Lessons from *The Twilight Zone* I did a pretty comprehensive rewatch of *The Twilight Zone* last year. The original series, that is. He may be a brilliant writer and director, but **Jordan Peele** couldn’t match the brilliance and precision of **Rod Serling**’s work with his late 2010s reboot of *The Twilight Zone*. (You’re missing the point if you aren’t working under the limits of network TV runtimes and rules about profanity.) It never hurts to get a reminder of how ridiculously important Serling’s *Twilight Zone* was and is, and **Matt Zoller Seitz** issued that reminder last week. “The stories were often designed so that anyone could ‘get’ the episode’s surface narrative and most basic alternate interpretation, but if they dug just a bit deeper, they’d realize the show was being more specific in its social criticisms —though in such a way that if network executives or censors or advertisers complained that it was ‘too political,’ the storytellers could shrug and say, ‘You can read it many different ways,” Seitz wrote. “Make of it what you will.” [***(RogerEbert.com)***](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/the-metaphor-years-writing-lessons-from-the-twilight-zone?ref=theomnicosm.com) --- ## CATCHING UP Here’s what you might have missed from **Popculturology** and **Snackology** this month ... ### Friday Newsletter - [Pump *Star Wars: Skeleton Crew* into my veins](https://www.theomnicosm.com/pump-star-wars-skeleton-crew-into-my-veins-2/) - [Is ‘the magic of the multiverse’ the key to a Black Panther recast?](https://www.theomnicosm.com/is-the-magic-of-the-multiverse-the-key-to-a-black-panther-recast/) - [Will the new year be a good year for the MCU?](https://www.theomnicosm.com/will-the-new-year-be-a-good-year-for-the-mcu/) ### Deep SNL Thoughts - [Dave Chappelle mixes in a little bit of *SNL* with a standup gig](https://www.theomnicosm.com/dave-chappelle-mixes-in-a-little-bit-of-snl-with-a-standup-gig/) ### The Box Office Report - [It’s *One of Them Days* for the weekend box office](https://www.theomnicosm.com/its-one-of-them-days-for-the-weekend-box-office/) - [Gerard Butler’s *Den of Thieves* sequel steals the top spot](https://www.theomnicosm.com/its-one-of-them-days-for-the-weekend-box-office/) - [*Mufasa* finally gets a weekend win over *Sonic 3*](https://www.theomnicosm.com/mufasa-finally-gets-a-weekend-win-over-sonic-3/) - [*Sonic the Hedgehog 3* and *Mufasa* split the Christmas box office haul](https://www.theomnicosm.com/sonic-the-hedgehog-3-and-mufasa-split-the-christmas-box-office-haul/) ### Special Edition - [*Emilia Pérez*, *The Brutalist* and *Wicked* lead 2025 Oscar nominations](https://www.theomnicosm.com/emilia-perez-the-brutalist-and-wicked-lead-2025-oscar-nominations-2/) ### Snackology - [Spring Sprinkles elevates the Reese’s Big Cup to an even higher level](https://www.theomnicosm.com/spring-sprinkles-elevates-the-reeses-big-cup-to-an-even-higher-level/) - [Reese’s Cups! M&Ms! Nerds Gummy Clusters! It’s a Valentine’s Day extravaganza!](https://www.theomnicosm.com/spring-sprinkles-elevates-the-reeses-big-cup-to-an-even-higher-level/) - [Oreo Loaded gets Oreos in your Oreos](https://www.theomnicosm.com/oreo-loaded-gets-oreos-in-your-oreos/) - [Love or heartbreak? Red Velvet Reese’s Cups are here for Valentine’s Day](https://www.theomnicosm.com/love-or-heartbreak-red-velvet-reeses-cups-are-here-for-valentines-day/) - [Will Peanut Butter & Jelly M&Ms transport you back to your childhood?](https://www.theomnicosm.com/will-peanut-butter-jelly-m-ms-transport-you-back-to-your-childhood/) ****Popculturology** is written and produced by ****Bill Kuchman**. Copyediting by ****Tim Kuchman**. 💰 Like what you’re reading on ****Popculturology**? 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You can also follow me on [****Bluesky**](https://bsky.app/profile/billkuchman.bsky.social?ref=theomnicosm.com) and [****Instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/popculturology/?ref=theomnicosm.com). ![Spikezoft Media](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f4/8b/f48be8ca-23c6-4d81-b0cf-da2fb0785911/content/images/size/w1600/2024/02/spikezoft-logo-final-1.png) **Popculturology** is a Spikezoft Media publication. ***Issue No. 290*** Want to remove the **The Monthly** from your **Popculturology** subscription? **[Please click here](mailto:popculturology@gmail.com?subject=The%20Monthly%20unsubscribe&body=Please%20remove%20the%20The%20Monthly%20from%20my%20Popculturology%20subscription.)** to notify **Popculturology** via email.