Popverse's top stories of the day

• Matthew Lillard continues to be genre cinema's busiest man, adding a Marvel deal thanks to Daredevil: Born Again
• WATCH:  Lore Corner: All you need to know about Matt Murdock before Daredevil: Born Again hits Disney+
• MEMBERS ONLY:  Popverse Jump: The My Dress-Up Darling manga is ending in March 21 and leaving all its dangling plot threads untrimmed

Every year, Hollywood loses several towering figures from its history. It is tradition that those who have passed in the past 12 months be celebrated during the Oscar ceremony. This year’s In Memoriam portion of the show included names like Dame Maggie Smith, David Lynch, and Gene Hackman. While there are always notable names that aren’t included in the Oscars In Memoriam list, Tony Todd’s exclusion felt like a particularly harsh snub and a symptom of the Academy’s lack of respect for genre films in general.

It wasn’t just Tony Todd who didn’t get honored among the big names in Hollywood that we lost in the past year, but it feels hard to justify not including him in the In Memoriam portion of the 2025 Oscars presentation. His career included multiple roles in the Star Trek universe, including Worf’s brother Kurn in The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. He was a prolific and celebrated voice actor, known for his menacing and gravely voice as Darkseid in multiple DC animated movies, Venom in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Fallen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

For all his accomplishments, Todd’s biggest impact can be felt in the horror genre. He terrified us in as Candyman for nearly 30 years and used his distinctive voice to add a sense of menace to the Final Destination series. There was always something undeniably sinister about his appearances in the horror genre and his passing felt like a huge loss for film and television.

His death in November 2024 marked the end of a remarkable career that spanned decades, so it isn’t clear why the Academy didn’t include even a passing mention of him during the ceremony. The presentation was clearly being changed within days of the event, as evidenced by the understandable inclusion of Gene Hackman. It feels – though it is hard to confirm – that the issue is that the Academy doesn’t respect genre acting, with the horror genre being particularly snubbed. 

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:

• Upcoming movies
• Upcoming TV shows
• Upcoming comics
• Upcoming games
• Upcoming fiction books
• Upcoming comic conventions