Are You Afraid of the Dark Universe?

Nearly two years ago, Dylan announced that he'd be writing a Dark Universe take on Field of Dreams. Now, for his last solo pitch of the Death's Door Saga, he finally has to pitch it, and it's not remotely the script he initially planned. So, is that a good thing, or a bad thing? What the Hell is Field of Nightmares, and how will it be recieved by Dalton, who has no fondness for the 1989 baseball film on which it's based? PLUS: A quick clip from this month's bonus episode, on which D&D pitch a chapter in the Jenny & Carol saga based on the obscure TV movie Snow White: A Tale of Terror! Dylan would also like to acknowledge the late, great film composer James Horner, whose themes from the original Field of Dreams feature heavily in his score to this episode. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:32 - Why Field of Dreams? 00:07:28 - Dalton hates Field of Dreams 00:08:57 - A brief Field of Dreams recap 00:11:44 - Fan expectations 00:15:00 - Director choice (or is it?) 00:21:02 - Prologue 00:25:31 - Discussion 00:27:00 - Act One 00:42:57 - Discussion 00:46:46 - Act Two Part One 01:11:01 - Discussion 01:21:23 - Bonus pod clip 01:22:27 - Act Two Part Two 01:31:54 - Discussion 01:38:13 - Act Three 02:03:00 - Mid-Credits scene 02:04:48 - The Post-Credits scene that WASN’T 02:06:02 -  Discussion 02:11:15 - The ACTUAL director choice! 02:12:24 - Coming up next… 02:16:02 - Patron acknowledgement

Actor, writer, podcaster, and professional funny person Danielle Radford join the Dark Universe to pitch what might be our most unhinged installment yet. It's not "Waterworld," it's "Waterworld: The Stunt Show... The Movie? Learn how this beloved theme park attraction based on the maligned box office boondoggle found a special place in Danielle's heart, and how we can possible turn this into a franchise extension of our sprawling Dark Universe! Our podcast partner this episode is DC Action News, a new podcast reporting bravely and boldly every Wednesday as the news breaks from the center of the multiverse (by which we mean the DC Comics Universe). Hosted by Alex Jaffe. PLUS: Stick around to the end to hear the new single from Dylan's band No Jersey, "How to Make it In America!" Now streaming wherever you're listening to this. Plus, there's a music video on YouTube. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intros 00:03:33 - Introducing the Waterworld Stunt Spectacular 00:16:33 - Danielle talks horror 00:21:17 - I guess we'll also summarize Waterworld the Movie 00:33:25 - Stunt show plot summary 00:45:12 - Break, DC Action News promo, quick Dylan announcement 00:46:28 - Danielle's pitch 00:53:49 - D&D workshop the pitch 00:01:17 - "How to Make It In America" by No Jersey

It's Dalton's final solo pitch of the Death's Door Saga, and not coincidentally the bleakest and most disturbing! In the spirit of the original Exorcist and their beloved Exorcist III, Dalton's reimagining is obscene, blasphemous, but also totally sincere and even a little bit profound. Be aware that this episode is not for the faint of heart and we've included a LONG list of content warnings that you should not take lightly. (See: 02:20:17) But, if you like shocking, transgressive horror stories, you may well get a lot out of it. Either way, our next few episodes are guaranteed to be a lot lighter in tone! This episode includes a clip from the latest bonus podcast, which you can check out by joining our Patreon at Patreon.com/DylanAndDalton for as little as $5/month. Start your 7-day free trial today! TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:03:23 - Fan Expectations 00:11:11 - Trigger Warnings 00:13:13 - Dylan’s Expectations 00:14:49 - Director Choice 00:17:57 - Act One - Station 1: Jesus is Condemned to Death 00:24:46 - Discussion 00:27:28 - Station 2: Jesus Takes Up His Cross 00:38:49 - Discussion 00:42:37 - Station 3: Jesus Falls for the First Time 00:47:17 - Station 4: Jesus Meets His Mother 00:48:16 - Discussion 00:52:14 - Act Two - Station 5: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross 00:58:35 - Discussion 00:59:58 - Station 6: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus 01:05:31 - Discussion 01:08:10 - Station 7: Jesus Falls for the Second Time 01:12:54 - Discussion 01:18:21 - Station 8: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem 01:25:36 - Discussion 01:28:11 - Station 9: Jesus Falls for the Third Time 01:35:40 - Station 10: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments 01:37:14 - Discussion 01:39:39 - Act Three - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross, AKA the Three Hours’ Agony 01:53:38 - Discussion 02:01:06 - Station 12: Jesus Dies on the Cross 02:04:08 - Station 13: Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross 02:08:27 - Station 14: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb 02:10:59 - Station 15: The Resurrection of Jesus 02:17:14 - Discussion 02:20:17 - Trigger Warnings (SPOILERS) 02:22:27 - Discussion

In 1940, Universal cashed in on the success of their Invisible Man films with a spin-off, The Invisible Woman, which was very much not a horror movie! Instead, we got an extremely slight and forgettable screwball comedy. Now, in 2025, our guest writer/video game narrative designer Stella Sacco has been tasked with creating a new darker, scarier and (if you can believe it) gayer version of The Invisible Woman for our Dark Universe! Our podcast partner for this episode is 52 Pickup, a show about the most important comic of the 21st century, and the greatest series you’ve never heard of. Each week Journalist Gita Jackson and DC Historian Alex Jaffe read and explore an issue of 52, a 2006 exploration of the DC universe by a legendary team of talent that shaped everything that came after it. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:01:37 - Welcome Stella Sacco! 00:13:17 - Choosing The Invisible Woman 00:23:08 - Plot Summary 00:50:30 - Stella’s Abandoned First Draft 00:53:25 - Stella’s Pitch 01:41:16 - Stella’s Plugs

Hell has broken loose in the Dark Universe, and we could really use some levity — both there and in the real world! Fear not, for our heroes may be dead, but at least there's, uh, these guys. Time to meet Dark Universe MYSTERY MEN! For the first time, the Didactic Mr. Dylan has (mostly) stepped off his political soapbox to deliver a pure action-adventure romp whose primary objective is to show the fans at home a good time. Hear how Dylan took his mission to create some frivilous fan-service way too seriously and wrote a massive tome that had to be cut almost in half to make it to air. PLUS: A clip from our latest bonus episode, in which D&D workshop a Dark Universe version of Sondheim's "Into the Woods." TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:06:03 - Fan Expectations 00:14:24 - Act One 00:40:13 - Discussion 00:45:11 - Act Two Part One 01:07:54 - Discussion 01:13:41 - Act Two Part Two 01:29:37 - Discussion 01:37:07 - Act Three 02:10:56 - Mid-Credits Scene 02:12:27 - Post-Credits Scene 02:13:44 - Discussion

Author, journalist, and co-host of the wrestling podcast Tights and Fights Lindsey Kelk joins Dylan & Dalton to revisit a cringey teen-targeted dark fantasy from 2006 — The Covenant, starring current Oscar-nominee Sebastian Stan! What makes this film so memorably bad, and how will Lindsey reimagine it into something worthy of our Dark Universe? Plus: Lindsey tells us about her latest novel, The Bell Witches, a YA/crossover fantasy with some very interesting (and entirely accidental) parallels to this week's movie!  AND THAT'S NOT ALL! Before we sign off for this week, Dylan's prepared a special teaser for his next canon pitch, Mystery Men! Our podcast partner for this episode is not a podcast, but a novel, written by AYADU cast member Ella Dawson! Check out her new romance novel, But How Are You Really? available now in print, e-book, and audio formats. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Intro and meeting our guest, Lindsey Kelk! 00:05:42 - Breaking The Covenant (2006) 00:40:59 - Quick break for Ella Dawson to talk about But How Are You Really? 00:41:49 - Workshopping Lindsey's pitch for a prestige TV reboot of The Covenant 01:35:15 - Lindsey Kelk tells us about The Bell Witches 01:41:31 - A teaser for our next episode, Mystery Men

2025 kicks off Big, Old, and Dark with Dalton's first solo pitch of the season! It's a modern twist on gothic horror, based on a 1928 novel by J.B. Priestley and a James Whale Universal horror classic that was almost lost forever. How will Dalton reimagine this spooky tale to fit into the HELL ON EARTH era of our ongoing Dark Universe? We'll be real with you - this is a heavy episode, so we've included a trigger warning section that you can skip to before proceeding to the script reading. Listeners sensitive to depictions of sexual assault or trans characters in mortal peril may want to visit the timestamp below before proceeding into the episode. 02:15:26 - Trigger Warnings (SPOILERS!) This week's episode is brought to you by our Patreon, where we've posted the uninterrupted and unabridged reading of Dalton's script, which was just too plain long to keep in this episode. Also, this month on Are You Afraid of Dylan & Dalton? we pitched a Dark Universe take on the Disney classic The Parent Trap! Enjoy a peek during this episode's intermission and start a 7-day free trial at Patreon.com/DarkUniversePod.  TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:06:43 - Fan Expectations 00:10:05 - Dalton’s Approach 00:15:54 - Trigger Warning Warning 00:17:21 - Episode Format 00:19:04 - Director Choice 00:20:55 - Act One 00:53:19 - Discussion 01:04:24 - Act Two Part One 01:28:11 - Discussion 01:38:09 - Act Two Part Two 01:52:48 - Discussion 01:57:36 - Act Three 02:15:26 - Trigger Warnings (SPOILERS!) 02:17:09 - Discussion

ED. NOTE: At 5:04 in this episode, Dylan says that National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is "not good" and that he "watched it for Dalton," only laughing "one time." However, if you check Dylan's Letterboxd review from last year, he ADMITS he only watched the first half hour before tapping out. That, in this reporter's opinion, does not count as watching the film and I move that his comments be stricken from the record. -Dalton It's that time of year again, the time when we take a break from punishing our beloved characters and let them enjoy a nice, low-stakes holiday adventure. What do we have in store for the Dark Legion this time? Will they face another mythical Christmas creature? Will we riff on another time-honored holiday classic? You'll never guess. Special thanks to our voice cast: Kendra Wells, Ella Dawson, Patrick Gill, Gita Jackson, Jo Kroger, Rachel Millman, Branson Reese, Steph Salo, and Joe Stando. This episode is brought to you by the new EP from Dalton's insane side-project, The B-69s, and their new EP brat but it's in the style of the B-52s so it's not, available for free on BandCamp and wherever you stream music! TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:07:18 - Fan Expectations 00:18:23 - Another Dark Universe Holiday Special 01:14:45 - Discussion 01:43:52 - Fireside 01:47:16 - This Christmas Is Yours

After two years of plotting and discussing totally imaginary films and television shows, isn't it about time we got real?!?! Theme park journalist Alicia Stella of Orlando ParkStop joins us to discuss the upcoming Dark Universe land at Universal Studios: Epic Universe in Orlando Florida. Learn how she got the scoop about the Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolf Man themed rides and attractions. Then, hear her, Dalton, and Dylan pitch their own ideas for Dark Universe rides that could incorporate the podcast's expansive canon. Our partner podcast for this episode springs from our very own listenership and format! Has to Do With Spider-Man, I Think? gives the AYADU treatment to the floundering Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Movies, pitching new installments of the film franchise that, despite being a terrible idea, apparently can't be killed. TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Opening bits 00:02:17 - Introducing our guest, Alicia Stella 00:07:21 - A history of the Dark Universe park concept 00:22:22 - Alicia’s Universal Monsters credentials 00:26:42 - The real rides and attractions of the Dark Universe 00:46:39 - Partner podcast ad: Has to Do With Spider-Man, I Think? 00:48:55 - Alicia pitches her Frankenstein Haunted Mansion ride 00:55:55 - Dylan pitches his Phantom of the Opera stunt show 01:02:03 - Dalton pitches their Beneath the Black Lagoon coaster 01:12:19 - Dylan pitches his The Mummy: Heaven’s Gate coaster 01:17:28 - Dalton pitches their Invisible Chef restaurant 01:21:39 - Alicia plugs her stuff! 01:24:06 - Patron acknowledgement

Dark Legion: Death's Door unleashed Hell on Earth. Now, Dylan & Dalton are exploring their universe's terrifying new status quo with a season of standalone stories packed with new (read: expendable) characters. First up, Dylan is taking a swing at a Dark Universe reimagining of one of the most important horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead. The last version of this script was killed before it went to air. Can Dylan pull off a resurrection? Our partner podcast for this episode is Your Favorite Bad Movie Podcast, the show that dares to ask "If this movie is so bad, why do you like it so much?" Hosts Chris, Anna, and Greg confront guests about their own personal favorite bad movies, including AYADU's own Dylan Roth and his beloved The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift! TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Start 00:08:17 - Fan Expectations 00:15:37 - Director Choice 00:17:17 - Prologue 00:29:02 - Discussion 00:33:23 - Act One 00:55:10 - Discussion/Fight! 01:06:56 - Act Two, Part One 01:17:46 - Discussion 01:21:52 - Act Two, Part Two 01:33:02 - Discussion 01:53:48 - Act Three 01:59:52 - Discussion 02:02:22 - Act Three Continued 02:17:17 - Post-Credits Scene 02:18:08 - Discussion