The Pod Universe with Dylan & Dalton

It's the finale of PHASE 2 of the DARK UNIVERSE, and big changes are ahead! With Imhotep seemingly defeated, what's next for the Dark Legion? Will they be able to recover their lost friend Nick from his metaphysical tomb in the Black Lagoon? What's the next stop on Claudia Lawrence's magical murder tour? Find out in the stunning conclusion of DARK LEGION: THE MUMMY'S HAND!

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CAST Julian Ames (Larry Talbot) is one third of the NY rock band No Jersey and a very prolific gamer. He's around the web @AutoAmes. Ella Dawson (Jennifer Halsey) is an author and sex and culture critic. Her book The Reunion is coming soon from Dutton Books. She's on Twitter @brosandprose. Dom Griffin (Victor Frankenstein) is a pop culture writer and film critic writing for Baltimore Beat and his YouTube channel, The Armchair Auteur. He's on social media @AllNewDom. Gita Jackson (Evelyn O’Connell) is a freelance journalist and critic whose work can be found at Motherboard, Kotaku, GQ, Polygon, and more. They're @xoxogossipgita across social media. merritt k. (Claudia Lawrence) is an editor, podcaster, game designer, and author. Her book LAN Party, collecting photos from the golden age of multiplayer PC gaming, is due this fall. She is on most social media @merrittk. Jo Kroger (Cassie Falk) is a New York-based singer songwriter who has toured all across the US and Western Europe. She is also one of the voices of the viral parody band The B-69s. Rachel Millman (Gwen Conliffe) is a writer, social media editor, and the co-host of the delightful wrestling podcast Wrestlesplania. She's on social media @rachelmillman. Steph Salo (Carol Laemmle) is an extremely chill homie and her posts are for homies only. Joe Stando (Jack Griffin) is a midwestern folk hero in New York City, a snappy dresser, and general bon vivant. He's on Twitter @depechejoe and on Instagram @joestando. Kendra Wells (Hunter Marin) is a writer and artist best known for their work on the graphic novels Real Hero Shit and Tell No Tales, and on the D20 liveplay podcast. They are on most social media @kendrawcandraw.

Our partner podcast for this episode is The Film Majors Podcast. Popcorn is their ammunition, the couch is their foxhole, the cinema is their place of worship. Welcome to the party, pal. New episodes every Friday, streaming wherever you find podcasts.

At last, we arrive at the finale of Phase Two, the double-sized crossover DARK LEGION: THE MUMMY'S HAND! We're picking up threads left over from our past six main line entries, but have done our best to make this installment as friendly to new listeners as possible. If you want to go in a little less cold, we recommend checking out last season's big crossover, THE DARK LEGION: HOUSE OF DRACULA.

We'll be back with the second half of the crossover event in just one week!

Our partner podcast this week is Finding Monster Right, where hosts Adam and Allie answer questions you've never asked about monsters from folklore, pop culture, and our own world.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR CAST Julian Ames (Larry Talbot) is one third of the NY rock band No Jersey and a very prolific gamer. He's around the web @AutoAmes. Ella Dawson (Jennifer Halsey) is an author and sex and culture critic. Her book The Reunion is coming soon from Dutton Books. She's on Twitter @brosandprose. Dom Griffin (Victor Frankenstein) is a pop culture writer and film critic writing for Baltimore Beat and his YouTube channel, The Armchair Auteur. He's on social media @AllNewDom. Gita Jackson (Evelyn O’Connell) is a freelance journalist and critic whose work can be found at Motherboard, Kotaku, GQ, Polygon, and more. They're @xoxogossipgita across social media. merritt k. (Claudia Lawrence) is an editor, podcaster, game designer, and author. Her book LAN Party, collecting photos from the golden age of multiplayer PC gaming, is due this fall. She is on most social media @merrittk. Jo Kroger (Cassie Falk) is a New York-based singer songwriter who has toured all across the US and Western Europe. She is also one of the voices of the viral parody band The B-69s. Rachel Millman (Gwen Conliffe) is a writer, social media editor, and the co-host of the delightful wrestling podcast Wrestlesplania. She's on social media @rachelmillman. Steph Salo (Carol Laemmle) is an extremely chill homie and her posts are for homies only. Joe Stando (Jack Griffin) is a midwestern folk hero in New York City, a snappy dresser, and general bon vivant. He's on Twitter @depechejoe and on Instagram @joestando. Kendra Wells (Hunter Marin) is a writer and artist best known for their work on the graphic novels Real Hero Shit and Tell No Tales, and on the D20 liveplay podcast. They are on most social media @kendrawcandraw.

and guest starring Prince Devin (Prodigium Agent), co-host of the podcast Original Podcast Do Not Steal, a weekly show in which he and Amber Autumn discuss one franchise, intellectual property, or idea, and make an original character within that framework.

In preparation for the upcoming Dark Legion 2 event, hosts Dalton Deschain and Dylan Roth attempt to summarize the entire series as concisely as possible, fuelled by nothing but caffiene and corn nuts. Can the architects of the new Dark Universe retain their sanity long enough to provide an onramp for new listeners? Will any of this make sense? We sure hope so, because in two weeks, the next crossover epic begins!

You can support Dylan & Dalton's creative pursuits by subscribing to their Patreon, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? Start a FREE 7-day trial today and get access to our Discord server, where we host movie watch parties on weeks when there's no new AYADU episode. Contact us at Twitter or Instagram @DarkUniversePod or email us at [email protected], you can also leave us a voicemail at US ‪(917) 819-2574‬!

Our podcast partner for this episode is No Bad Food, a show about great food and the people who love to make & eat it. Every week, hosts Tom Zalatnal & Teffer Adjemian dig into a different dish, meal, ingredient, cuisine, or piece of food media, exploring the history & culture around it, sharing favorite recipes, and learning from their wonderful guests. The only rule? You've gotta love it. After all, there's no such thing as bad food.

Hot on the heels of Dylan's Dracula Lives, our guest and fellow film critic Dominic Griffin joins us over Skype to pitch a reimagining of Dracula's Daughter, which was a direct sequel to the 1931 Dracula. What makes this lesser-known Universal monster movie a hidden gem, and how much of it do we want to retain for our Dark Universe remake? Will Dom's pitch become adopted into our canon?

Our partner podcast this week is Original Podcast Do Not Steal, a weekly show in which every week Devin and Amber Autumn discuss one franchise, intellectual property, or idea, and make an original character within that framework. They recently did an episode pitching a TV spin-off from our own Dark Universe!

You've waited patiently for our Dark Universe to get its first Dracula movie. Now, in the aftermath of The Dark Legion: House of Dracula, the infamous Count has been cursed with a mortal, human life, and must survive a gauntlet of vengeful enemies. Can Dracula endure this unprecedented threat? More importantly, has Dylan FINALLY written a horror script? Find out the our penultimate main line chapter of Phase 2!

Our podcast partner for this episode is the sci-fi fantasy book podcast Shit We've Read, in which hosts Laura Benson, Jason Rico, Bella Romero, and the occasional guest review books, interview authors, and occasionally dip into the steamy world of romance novels.

Writer, editor, and podcaster merritt k. visits the studio to pitch her remake of the 1934 Universal classic that's kinda-sorta-not remotely based upon an Edgar Allan Poe story: The Black Cat! It's a film that asks, "What if a house had bad vibes?" as well as a number of other interesting questions that it doesn't have time to answer in its scant 65-minutes runtime Can merritt's new take fulfill the promise of the original?

You can support Dylan & Dalton's creative pursuits by subscribing to their Patreon, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? Start a FREE 7-day trial today and get access to our Discord server, where we host movie watch parties on weeks when there's no new AYADU episode. Contact us at Twitter, Instagram, or Bluesky @DarkUniversePod or email us at [email protected], you can also leave us a voicemail at US ‪(917) 819-2574‬!

Our partner podcast this week is past guest Giovanni Colantonio's show Left Trigger Right Trigger, your video game book club where the hosts discuss games centering around a new theme every week.

We might need to subtitle Phase 2 as "The Experimental Era," because once again we've taken a well-known, well-loved Universal monster title and turned it completely on its head. It's time for Dalton's take on The Bride of Frankenstein, and it's not what any one could have possibly expected. Will this be the installment that polarizes the fanbase, The Last Jedi-style, or another entirely hypothetical smash hit?

You can support Dylan & Dalton's creative pursuits by subscribing to their Patreon, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? Start a FREE 7-day trial today and get access to our Discord server, where we host movie watch parties on weeks when there's no new AYADU episode. Contact us at Twitter or Instagram @DarkUniversePod or email us at [email protected], you can also leave us a voicemail at US ‪(917) 819-2574‬!

Our partner podcast this week is Shit We've Read, a sci-fi/fantasy book podcast. Each month, Laura Benson, Jason Rico, and Bella Romero (with the occasional guest host) will read a new book, then discuss it in an episode.

We've worked through all of the major classic Universal Monsters, but our Dark Universe is still going strong! So, in the tradition of Marvel Studios, we're inviting some of the Internet's keenest creative minds to pitch us new takes on more obscure Universal horror properties. First up, cartoonist Mattie Lubchansky and writer Jaya Saxena attempt to charm us with a requel based on a 1973 snake-centric creature feature, "Sssssss!" (Emphasis ours; This is important.) That's not a typo in the title above — Mattie and Jaya's version is spelled with eight esses and an exclaimation point, rather than the original's seven and no exclaimation point. Find out why in this exciting episode!

You can support Dylan & Dalton's creative pursuits by subscribing to their Patreon, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? Contact us at Twitter or Instagram @DarkUniversePod or email us at [email protected], you can also leave us a voicemail at US ‪(917) 819-2574‬!

Our podcast partner for this episode is No Bad Food, a show about great food and the people who love to make & eat it. Every week, hosts Tom Zalatnal & Teffer Adjemian dig into a different dish, meal, ingredient, cuisine, or piece of food media, exploring the history & culture around it, sharing favorite recipes, and learning from their wonderful guests. The only rule? You've gotta love it. After all, there's no such thing as bad food.

It's Dylan's turn to pitch a movie, and he's unmasking a new take on The Phantom of the Opera! One of the most unlikely Universal Monsters is also one of the oldest, dating back to a 1925 silent film starring Lon Cheney, Sr. But can any modern retelling of the Gaston Leroux novel escape the gravity of Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical adaptation? Should it? Oh, have we got some surprises in store for you this week...

Our podcast partner for this episode is The Mirror Universe Star Trek Podcast, a thoughtful program in which an Australian and a Canadian have a conversation about Star Trek: what we think it is, how it's evolved over the years, and how it reflects our culture...like a mirror. Dylan has become a regular panelist on this show, so if you're not tired of hearing this guy talk, here's where you can find some more.

You can support Dylan & Dalton's creative pursuits by subscribing to their Patreon, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? Contact us at Twitter or Instagram @DarkUniversePod or email us at [email protected], you can also leave us a voicemail at US ‪(917) 819-2574‬!

Special thanks to Ella Dawson, Izzy Hodnett, Steph Salo, and Joe Stando for their contributions to this episode.

Wrestling columnist Nick Bond phones into the show (against former co-worker Dylan's objections) to pitch a WWE match incorporating characters from our Dark Universe! Which WWE Superstars will be entering the AYADU canon? Which of our famous movie monsters will be taking a Canadian Destroyer off of a hotel staircase? All this plus the listener mail bag in this electrifying new episode.

Today's partner podcast is Comics-Coffee-Metal, a conversation with creatives about and around Comics, Coffee, and Heavy Metal music. Hosted by Don Cardenas. Check out Dalton's appearance in Episode #93, available wherever you stream Are You Afraid of the Dark Universe.

You can support Dylan & Dalton's creative pursuits by subscribing to their Patreon, Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? Contact us at Twitter or Instagram @DarkUniversePod or email us at [email protected], you can also leave us a voicemail at US ‪(917) 819-2574‬!