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
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Welcome to The Pod Universe
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
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BONUS: Harry and the Wickermen
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
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BONUS: Into the Weeds
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
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Revisiting The Mummy / Fan Q&A
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
Writers Dalton Deschain and Dylan Roth first joined together to create Are You Afraid of the Dark Universe? a podcast in which they pitched new installments of the canceled Dark Universe of monster movies. After completing their 30-part saga, they’ve set out to do something new - an all-original cinematic universe of imaginary movies, written, workshopped, and performed on all podcatchers and YouTube.
To listen from the beginning of Are You Afraid of the Dark Universe, start with THE MUMMY from October 2022. To jump onboard for The Pod Universe, start with WELCOME TO THE POD UNIVERSE, from September 2025.
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