Pod People, Part One

It's the opening chapter of Dylan & Dalton's original cinematic universe of imaginary sci-fi movies! Pod People is a sci-fi thriller set in Silicon Valley, where a pair of brilliant young engineers discover that their employers, their co-workers, and maybe even their friends and family are being systematically replaced by doppelgängers. But for what purpose, and how deep does the conspiracy go? It’s a modern riff on 1950s paranoid thrillers, most obviously Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but if you know us, then you know we’ve got our own wild twist on the premise. SPONSORS Has to Do With Spider-Man, I Think? - a podcast that expands on Sony's failed cinematic universe of Spider-Man characters Bloodbound - a fantasy/espionage/romance novel series by Chase McPherson Vampirocene - a horror novella by merritt k. And of course you can join our Patreon at Patreon.com/DylanAndDalton for access to our bonus podcast, Discord server, and other fun perks. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:04:10 - Discussion 00:15:04 - Act One 00:45:07 - Sponsors: Has to Do With Spider-Man, I Think? & Bloodbound by Chase McPherson 00:54:31 - Act Two 01:22:36 - Sponsor: Vampirocene by merritt. k 01:23:24 - Discussion 01:29:37 - Patron acknowledgements

In 2022, Dylan Roth and Dalton Deschain set out to finish writing the Dark Universe that began and ended with Universal's 2017 remake of The Mummy. Three years and 29 scripts later, they're embarking on a whole new journey, leaving the realm of fan fiction behind to write, workshop, and perform an entire new universe of imaginary movies on their podcast. You are now entering... THE POD UNIVERSE. This episode was sponsored by three independent creative projects: PV Guide - Ditch the algorithm with PV Guide, featuring recommendations, reviews, and interviews from former Polygon senior curation editor Pete Volk. Forget the robots: Find what to watch next with a human touch. Vampirocene by merritt k. - When viral pop star Janie Mack "comes out" as a vampire, most people think it's just a play for attention. But when she launches a new movement to stop climate change, people start listening... Bloodbound by Chase McPherson - Bloodbound is a gripping saga of identity, resilience, and redemption—where every choice could save two worlds… or doom them both. Learn more at byChaseMcP.com for direct links to your favorite online book retailers. Want to promote your art on our show? Look us up at thepoduniverse.com for details. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 - What is the Pod Universe? 00:38:00 - Sponsor: PV Guide 00:40:15 - Slate Reveal, Part 1 00:58:52 - Sponsor: Vampirocene 01:01:11 - Slate Reveal, Part 2 01:14:03 - Sponsor: Bloodhound 01:19:28 - Pod People teaser trailer

This month's episode of the bonus pod, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? is free for everybody, and there's even a video version available on our YouTube channel! Become a Patron at Patreon.com/DylanAndDalton to get access to the whole series and all future episodes. (Most of them are just audio, but we've been doing more video episodes lately!) This month's Studio Mandate, selected by one of our Patrons, is "Harry and the Hendersons!" How will Dylan & Dalton reimagine this 1987 family film into a canonical chapter in our bootleg Dark Universe? We've got movies to review, including the head-to-head superhero blockbusters Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman! PLUS: It's the final installment of our first movie exchange series, "Treks Education" and "The Dalterion Collection." Dalton completes their mandated watchthrough of the entire Star Trek film series with 2016's Star Trek Beyond, while Dylan watches one last prestige picture in "The Wicker Man!" What did they think? Click on through to find out. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro! 00:02:59 - Bev Check 00:05:45 - Dylan & Dalton At Da Movies 00:06:04 - 28 Years Later 00:07:45 - Presence 00:08:43 - Final Destination: Bloodlines 00:11:51 - Interview with the Vampire 00:13:49 - Eddington 00:18:03 - Oh, Hi! 00:21:20 - Fantastic Four: First Steps & Superman 00:28:17 - Studio Mandate: Harry & the Hendersons 00:37:32 - Our pitch for Harry & the Hendersons 00:49:37 - Dylan guest stars on Original Podcast Do Not Steal 00:51:47 - What's next after Treks Education & The Dalterion Collection? 00:55:46 - Treks Education - Star Trek Beyond 01:07:07 - Dalton's final Star Trek rankings 01:13:21 - The Dalterion Collection - The Wicker Man

You didn't think we'd go radio silent for August, did you? While we toil away at the next phase of our show, we'll be keeping the party going by releasing a few of our favorite bonus episodes — usually exclusive to our Patreon — onto the main feed. Enjoy! Sign up at Patreon.com/DylanAndDalton to enjoy more goofy nonsense like this. Originally published to Patreon on February 16th, 2025. On this episode, D&D stray from the path and grant one Patron's wish: to create a Dark Universe version of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods! Dalton has an unexpected reaction to one of Trek fandom's least favorite features, and Dylan auditions Audition! Heads up that we will be FULLY spoiling Audition. PLUS: The hosts try to agree on when the last good Marvel movie was. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro and Dylan’s Makeover 00:02:34 - Bev Check 00:07:42 - Dylan & Dalton At Da Movies - Babygirl, Flow, Emilia Perez, The Brutalist, Captain America: Brave New World 00:18:52 - When was the last good Marvel movie? 00:23:54 - Studio Mandates - Into the Woods 00:54:33 - Treks Education - Star Trek: Insurrection 01:08:37 - Dalton’s updated Trek rankings 01:12:12 - The Dalterion Collection - Audition FULL SPOILERS

In the final episode before the big relaunch, Dylan & Dalton take one last look at the film that started it all, 2017's The Mummy, and try and figure out what they'd do differently if they'd been able to start the Dark Universe totally from scratch. Then, at long last, we answer as many fan questions as possible before closing Death's Door for good. PLUS: A clip from this month's new episode of the bonus pod, in which we pitch a Dark Universe horror-western based on a forgotten Universal flick, Curse of the Undead. Become a subscriber at Patreon.com/DylanAndDalton to listen to all of our bonus episodes, plus join our lovely Discord community. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro & why we’re remote this week 00:04:04 - Reflecting on Hell on Earth 00:19:12 - Dylan & Dalton watch The Mummy (2017) AGAIN. 00:31:01 - How would we have done the Dark Universe? 00:54:00 - Clip from the Bonus Pod 00:55:53 - Fan questions: Process 01:30:23 - Fan questions: Hypotheticals 01:42:01 - Fan questions: Semantics 01:46:46 - Fan questions: Kudos

Back in April, Dylan & Dalton sat down to decide how to end their Dark Universe. This is the entire story break meeting in which the two hosts determined how to make their two separate visions for Dark Legion: Hell on Earth into one cohesive story. IN TWO WEEKS: One last look back through Death's Door, before venturing out into a new frontier... TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Planning 00:22:46 - Field of Nightmares Deleted Post-Credits Scene 00:25:12 - Planning Continued 00:59:13 - The Ending

Three years ago, we resurrected the Dark Universe. Now, we're ending it. It's the finale to the Death's Door Saga, and this era for our podcast. We're so grateful to everyone who's been with us for this journey, and we're so excited to embark on a new one. In two weeks, as always, we'll post the complete story break session we recorded before writing the script to Dark Legion: Hell on Earth, then one more episode to wrap up our Dark Universe experiment. After that? A blank page... TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:02:43 - Act Three 01:17:29 - Credits 01:22:19 - Post-Credits Scene 01:23:47 - Discussion And now, a bunch of credits and acknowledgments, which may contain spoilers. STARRING Julian Ames as Larry Talbot Ella Dawson as Jennifer Halsey Dalton Deschain as Nick Morton & Victor Frankenstein Anique Evans as Marya Zaleska and Emily Abe Goldfarb as The Master, Henry Jekyll, and Eddie Hyde Jenna Kass as Caroline Clerval Tyler McCall as Carol’s Mother Victoria McNally as Angela Rachel Millman as Gwen Conliffe Sarah Norcross as Evelyn O’Connell and Young Carol Sam Paxton as Arm Demon & Carol’s Father Dylan Roth as Dracula & Rick O’Connell Steph Salo as Carol Laemmle Joe Stando as Jack Griffin Frankie Starker as Ahmanet Andy Webb as Dr. Chapman and Chris Vail Kendra Wells as Hunter Marin And Patrick Willems as David MUSIC Original score by Dylan Roth Includes themes from "The Mummy" by Jerry Goldsmith, "The Mummy Returns" by Alan Silvestri, "The Mummy" by Brian Tyler "DESTROYA" by My Chemical Romance "Love Never Dies" by Andrew Lloyd Webber "Stork & Owl" by TV on the Radio "We're the Dark" by Dylan Roth

It's Act Two of our massive saga-ending crossover, and this time, we'll see you in Hell. Only one episode left in the Death's Door Saga, coming in just three days... There are some MAJOR SPOILERS in the cast credits below, so most of this description is going to be us warning you to stop scrolling. Last chance to avoid cast spoilers. Okay, here we go. FEATURING THE VOICES OF... Julian Ames as Larry Anique Evans as Marya Abe Goldfarb as Jekyll & Hyde Jenna Kass as Caroline Tyler McCall as Mother Victoria McNally as Angela Sarah Norcross as Evelyn and Girl Sam Paxton as Father Joe Stando as Jack Frankie Starker as Ahmanet Andy Webb as Dr. Chapman Kendra Wells as Hunter and Patrick Willems as David TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:06:03 - Act Two 00:38:25 - Discussion 00:44:15 - Act Two Continued 01:28:01 - Discussion

Here we are, at the end of the line. The final chapter in the Death's Door Saga is being divided into THREE parts. This is Act One, with all of our usual preamble, fan predictions, and some big announcements. Act Two will be released on Thursday, June 19th, and Act Three arrives on Sunday, June 22nd. After that? Oh, we'll get there. But for now... FEATURING THE VOICES OF... Anique Evans as Emily Abe Goldfarb as The Master Sarah Norcross as Evelyn O'Connell Patrick Willems as David and Sam Paxton as Arm Demon TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Cold Open 00:03:23 - Discussion 00:07:38 - Big announcement! 00:11:09 - Fan predictions 00:20:41 - Director Choice 00:21:50 - Act One 00:48:32 - Discussion 01:01:26 - Act One Continued 01:25:03 - Discussion

For our last guest episode before HELL ON EARTH, we've brought back two of our past guests to create our most manic creative jam session yet! Hot off their tour and in the best comedy form of their lives, author Calvin Kasulke and cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky return to pitch a remake of Incubus, the 1966 occult horror flick starring William Shatner and performed entirely in Esperanto! Plus, a clip from our latest bonus episode, in which D&D came up with a wild new spin on Wes Craven's Shocker! Join the Patreon for $5/mo and get caught up on Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton! Start your 7-day free trial at Patreon.com/DylanAndDalton. 00:00:00 - Start 00:02:10 - Re-Introducing Calvin Kasulke & Mattie Lubchansky! 00:04:07 - Incubus Recap 00:43:56 - Incubus Pitch 01:30:02 - Plugs 01:33:03 - Prevues of Coming Attraction