For longer than most fans care to admit, Marvel Studios has had a post-credit scene problem. Whether as a cameo fest that takes away from the body of the project or as a check that’s written without the guarantee of being cashed, the studio’s most well-known tradition has outlived its utility. Despite being an issue for the better part of the last decade, nobody at Marvel seems to have any inclination to stop. In fact, the powers that be just delivered the most foolish PCS to date.
Though sound in premise, the return of Tim Blake Nelson‘s Samuel Sterns fell woefully short in execution. What could have been one of the studio’s most sinister villains ultimately fell so far short of his potential that longtime fans of the franchise were likely reminded of the days of unbelievably bad baddies from Phases 1 and 2. Unable to let a sleeping dog lie, however, the studio couldn’t let the man with the deflated scrotum for a head just go to prison…they had to give him one more job to do.
Inconceivably, Samuel Sterns–a man with no hands on experience with the Multiverse–delivered what amounts to this Saga’s “Thanos is coming” line. You know, because math! From his cell in The Raft, Sterns laid out the basic plot of Doomsday and/or Secret Wars for Captain America, warning him of a time soon to come when he and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would have to defend their world against others. Setting aside the ridiculousness of how Sterns’ gamma-infused brain could process the information on the incursions he’s never seen or heard of, the idea of anyone other than a character directly impacted by an Incursion being used as the Paul Revere of Secret Wars is just…lazy.
One common complaint about the Multiverse Saga has been that it’s about the Multiverse (yes, it’s ridiculous but it’s also true) and in Captain America: Brave New World, the studio rolled out a grounded, political thriller that could and should have skipped all ties to the Multiverse and just been another Cap and the boots on the ground film. While the film itself isn’t a masterpiece, it was fine enough in its efforts to put Sam Wilson in the same sort of predicaments Steve Rogers often found himself in. It gave Sam room to work as a hero and a counselor and established him as the kind of character people will look to for leadership. As a result, Sam will clearly play a large role in the next two Avengers film which means he’s going to have to get very comfortable with the Multiverse…which means he probably should have learned about it from someone who experienced it. Maybe, for once, Torres has a good idea and they should have gone to meet Ant-Man, who has a history with Sam and experienced a thing or two. Monica Rambeau? Stephen Strange? Hell, have Captain Carter show up! Or even Kang!!
If you’ve seen the movie, you know the PCS meshed poorly with the film’s framework and just felt stuck on the end like when you multiply by numbers with big exponents…sure that 10^23 is there but what does it really mean? If you haven’t seen the movie, the scene has leaked online but please, don’t search for it. Don’t watch it. And if you’re going to see it, don’t stay for it. The was done for the sake of doing it and if this is the quality of scene we have to look forward to, add that to the list of reasons the studio needs to abandon this ridiculous tradition.
Assembled by Thanos as he massacred half of the inhabitants of each planet he conquered, the Black Order served the Mad Titan in his efforts to collect the Infinity Stones. Also referred to as The Children of Thanos, Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, while thier “siblings”, Gamora and Nebula, played larger roles in the Infinity Saga and beyond.
Thanos’ children were adopted (read abducted) orphans (read trophies) from the civilizations he conquered. Given his status as one of the most feared and powerful beings in the universe, it would be foolish to believe that he only conquered six planets and took only six trophies. Indeed Avengers: Endgame briefly showed Nebula and Gamora’s attack of the planet Korbin; assuming Thanos is a creature of habit, it would follow that at least one Korbinite could be counted among his “children.” And as much as I wish this was an article about Beta Ray Bill, it isn’t; it is, however, about a pair of characters who served Thanos in the pages of Marvel Comics and may just be set to appear in the Marvel Television Streaming series Ironheart.
Created by Jim Starlin and first appearing in Iron Man #55, Roclite siblings Gh’Ree and R’Hos Blood–better known as the Blood Brothers–are massive aliens who originally worked for Thanos. The duo evolved over the years and were interesting enough to make 71 appearances but are still certainly considered minor characters that might not be on many fans radars…but what if they should be?
Headlining the article “Connecting Imaginary Dots” speaks for itself and I’ll let socmed and message boards have their fun; however, an IMDB listing for Ironheart is interesting enough to ponder if the Blood Brothers might somehow have found their way into the upcoming D+ series.
Zoe Terakes, who joined the cast of Ironheart in 2022, is listed on IMDB as “Blood Sibling.” That’s it. That’s the evidence. But it’s certainly worth considering if the MCU’s iteration of the Blood Brothers may play a role in Riri Williams’ origin story.
While it’s true that the majority of Ironheart will take place post-Riri’s appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it will also dip into her origins, including (probably) why she was building a Stark-esque suit in the first place.
Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Television’s Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne)—a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world—returns to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos).
-Official Synopsis for Marvel Television’s Ironheart
Ironheart boasts an incredibly impressive cast. Alden Ehrenreich is widely believed to have been cast as Ezekiel Stane, the son of Jeff Bridges‘ Iron Man villain, Obadiah Stane. Manny Montana (Cousin John) and Shea Couleé (Slug) look to be members of the crew of Anthony Ramos’ Parker Robins with Couleé likely a version of Marvel Comics Ulysses Lugman and Montana a version of John King, the actual cousin of Robbins. And then there’s Lyric Ross, who looks to be taking on the role of Riri’s best friend, Natalie, who, in the comics, was shot and killed in front of Riri when she was 13. But, what if…she wasn’t shot in the MCU but rather killed by the Children of Thanos as they invaded Earth?.
Sure, Thanos’ invasion of Earth was all about getting the Time Stone from Doctor Strange but it’s absolutely worth remembering that Chicago was home to Victor Timely for a period of time in the 1860s and might otherwise, for myriad reasons, be a place an alien looking to conquer Earth might send some bad ass Blood Siblings.
As always, if you’re betting, take the field over this theory. This isn’t inside info; it’s not a rumor worth spreading; it’s just tossing out an idea based on limited info. And even if the Blood Brothers do appear in Ironheart as the Blood Siblings, there are plenty of other options for why and how they are there. So the moral of the story is…Mephisto.
Ironheart is set to debut (finally) on D+ on June 24th.
In the early days of Marvel Studios, Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter assembled a group of individuals he called the Creative Committee. Composed of Marvel Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis, Marvel Comics publisher Dan Buckley, Marvel Entertainment President Alan Fine and Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, the Creative Committee provided feedback on each project as it developed.
Following a series of events that left him frustrated by the Creative Committee, Feige nearly left Marvel before a deal was struck with Disney CEO Bob Iger in 2015 that allowed for significant restructuring. As a result, Feige reported directly to Disney chair Alan Horn, pruning Perlmutter and his creative committee out of the film branch of Marvel Entertainment.
Beginning with 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Marvel Studios began producing films without the influence of Perlmutter ‘s creative committee; however, before long, Feige began assembling his own team to help guide projects behind the scenes. First acknowledged in the credits of Black Panther, a collection of Marvel Studios’ long timers known as the Marvel Studios Parliament have been quietly helping to craft each MCU project.
Feige’s original roster was made up of Stephen Broussard, Eric Hauserman Carroll, Jonathan Schwartz, Trinh Tran and Brad Winderbaum, all of whom worked their way up the ladder and served as producers on several Marvel Studios projects. Nate Moore, who co-produced Captain America: The Winter Soldier before producing Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther, joined the team for Avengers: Endgame.
Since 2018, a member of the Parliament has served as a producer or executive producer on each project; however, it’s a collaborative effort that gets the ball rolling.”There definitely is a camaraderie for a lot of us who have been around for a long time just throwing ideas back and forth,” said Schwartz, who was an executive producer on cosmic corner projects such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and The Marvels while also producing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
“It’s great when you have people who have been through the process, and who you trust, and whose creative taste you trust, and everyone’s taste is different, and that’s part of what’s really useful about it,” Schwartz told us in 2021. “Not all of us see movies the same way, so we’re all able to bring something a little bit different.”
It’s not really a genre thing or a speciality thing. We all sort of go off together and talk about who wants to do what and what’s coming up, and we all kind of end up working on stuff we’re excited about. I just like martial arts movies and Shang-Chi felt like the right character to bring a martial arts movie to life, and so that was that I put my hand up and said I wanted to do Shang-Chi. That’s more or less the way it tends to happen, there’s a character we all want to do, or there’s a character one of us one of us wants to do, and we just talk about it and divide it up and things generally work out where people get to work on things they’re excited about.
-Jonathan Schwartz
In a 2022 interview with CinemaBlend, Moore explained that while the primary focus of the Parliament was to act as a “brain trust”, the team did also work as a cohesive continuity police, helping bring together info from Marvel Studios andarbel Television to avoid confusion. “I would say that’s certainly not just our responsibility,” said Moore of monitoring continuity, “because we have colleagues across both the movies and the shows who aren’t technically in Parliament, but who are incredibly instrumental in making sure the continuity maintains itself and that our different properties don’t step on each other.“
Parliament is essentially those of us who’ve been with the company for longer than we want to admit who sort of help each other with ideas across all the properties, regardless of whether it’s my movie or Jonathan [Schwartz]’s movie or Stephen [Broussard] ‘s movie. And so yeah, it’s nothing more than that. We kind of came up with the name as a lark and it kind of stuck, and now I’m forced to answer questions from my friends, like, ‘What’s Parliament?’ I’m like, ‘Oh boy.’ It really is just kind of a brain trust to help elevate the movies when we can.
-Nate Moore
For five years, the Parliament stayed intact and worked to shepherd 25ish projects through the pre and post-production processes. Following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Carroll, who co-produced Spider-Man: Homecoming before working as an executive producer on Spider-Man: Far From Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was no longer credited as a member of the team.
Beginning with 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel Studios longtime Head of Visual Development, Ryan Meinerding, filled the seat vacated by Carroll. In December 2024, Feige revealed that Moore was leaving Marvel Studios to pursue a new career trajectory. While it’s unclear what Moore’s last project as a member of Parliament might be, he will be working with the studio again in the future as a producer on the as-yet-undated Black Panther 3.
With Moore’s scheduled departure, it’s unclear if Feige will once again look to add to the team’s roster. As it stands, original members Broussard, Schwartz, Tran and Winderbaum, who also oversees Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, join Meinerding as the current iteration of the “brain trust” as the studio looks not only to continue to rebound from a rough couple of years but also bring the Multiverse Saga to a satisfying conclusion while also preparing to launch whatever comes next.
Disney did not respond to our request for comments on Meinerding’s addition to the Parliament.
What’s next for Star Wars? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the Star Wars universe has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming Star Wars projects.
During our restart of all the creative on Daredevil: Born Again, all the creatives got together and said, “Look, this is how we’ve got to do it now.” So we are for sure only speaking about it in terms of being directly connected to the original Daredevil, and that’s a great thing. It brings in a lot of cool stories and all the collateral story that happened in those original three seasons. So we now get to start this Born Again situation with all of that history behind us and the outcome of all that history. So we’re all talking about Daredevil: Born Again in those terms now.
-Vincent D’Onofrio
While that decision reportedly resulted in very positive changes to the quality of Daredevil: Born Again, it also greatly added to the required reading fans might choose to do if they’re not intimately familiar with Daredevil and its cast of characters. And if 39 hour-long episodes of that series aren’t enough, an important chapter in Matt Murdock ‘s Netflix story was told in The Defenders and Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle, who debuted in Daredevil Season 2 before starting in two seasons of The Punisher, will also be featured in Daredevil: Born Again...and that’s just the Netflix stuff!
Though it might seem overwhelming, it’s only because it truly is. However, as you’ve no doubt come to expect, we’ve got you covered with an incredibly detailed Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Daredevil: Born Again!
Tier One
Preparing yourself for Daredevil: Born Again will be no small task. With the decision to canonize the entirety of Netflix’s Defenders-verse series, the required reading for Daredevil: Born Again will take just under 2 days worth of time…you better get started.
Netflix’s 2013 deal with Marvel Television changed the landscape of comic book content. In 2015, Daredevil blazed a bloody path into homes, delivering an unprecedented brand of superhero TV. Charlie Cox cemented himself as THE Matt Murdock/Daredevil and found an incredible equal and opposite force of nature in Vincent D’Onofrio‘s unforgettable turn as Wilson Fisk. Though 13 hours of any season of television will have its faults, Season 1 of Daredevil remains the highpoint of Marvel TV entertainment 10 years later.
This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.
-Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment, 2013
Marvel Studios’ decision to rework Daredevil: Born Again into essentially a fourth season of Daredevil means that all the foundation built in Season 1, for both Daredevil and Kingpin, will indeed matter to full enjoy the new season. Matt’s relationships with Karen and Foggy and Wilson’s relationship with Vanessa will be key elements in the next arcs for each of them.
Though it was not as highly regarded as Season 1, the second season of Daredevil is a must watch for fans as they prepare for Daredevil: Born Again. Not only does it introduce Frank Castle into Hell’s Kitchen, but Season 2 also delivers some key Daredevil mythology by exploring the Hand and Matt’s relationship with Elektra.
If possible, Season 2 may be more violent than its predecessor, thanks almost entirely to Jon Bernthal‘s murderous Castle. It’s also likely that Frank’s relationship with Karen Page, the exploration of which extended into The Punisher, will factor into Daredevil: Born Again.
The Defenders (2017)
🍅 78%
Netflix’s crossover event brought together the stars of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist but ultimately fell a little flat. It feels a lot more like another season of Daredevil and does some real heavy lifting for Season 3.
After sidelining Fisk for a good portion of Season 2, the third and final season brings him back into the spotlight and face-to-face with Matt. It also introduces Wilson Bethel‘s Bullseye who joined the cast of Daredevil: Born Again and looks to be even more dangerous this time around.
Tier Two
These three projects should be the mustard and relish to your Daredevil hot dog. You don’t need to watch any of these to consume Daredevil: Born Again; however, you’ll find yourself enjoying it more thanks to the extra boost.
Unfortunately, neither season of The Punisher is must see TV, not for enjoying Daredevil: Born Again or even in general terms. It’s unclear just how large of a role Frank Castle is set to play in the news series, especially after the creative overhaul, but it’s definitely more than a cameo and he WILL be working with “Red” for at least the better part of one episode. If you’ve never seen the Netflix series and want a little background on this particular version of The Punisher, knock yourself out and squeeze in 26 hours of madness; if not, you’ll still know everything you really need to know from watching Daredevil and from exposition in Daredevil: Born Again.
Hawkeye (2021)
🍅 92%
If Daredevil: Born Again was JUST a Daredevil show, Hawkeye would not be on the list; however, Wilson Fisk’s story is just as much a part of the MCU’s Daredevil lore as Matt Murdock’s and a chapter of it is told here. If you’re short on time, you can watch Episodes 5 and 6, which are the only two in which Fisk physically appears, but Hawkeye is good enough that it’s worth the watch if you have the time.
Echo (2024)
🍅 70%
Though Fisk is a major player in Echo, the project’s identity as a Marvel Spotlight series should mean that any ground covered in it that’s relevant to Daredevil: Born Again will likely be explained within the framework of the new series.
No. I don’t think that she would like that idea. I think it’s a terrible idea. He’s such a dirty crook. He’s got a lot of things going on. I don’t think him running for a position of political power would be a good idea.
-Alaqua Cox
While Fisk does play a major role in the body of the series, it’s his appearance in a credit scenes that ties directly to Daredevil: Born Again. And though it could be argued that alone should make Echo a Tier One project, it’s probably going to be covered in some sort of pre-Episode 1 highlight reel.
Tier Three
Here only for those of you who want to be fully prepared for anything that could happen in Daredevil: Born Again and to be able to say you’ve watched every MCU-set project in which Daredevil has appeared, two Tier Three projects are just fun visits with an otherwise very serious character while another will lay the foundation for a character appearance.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
🍅 93%
He’s a really good lawyer.
As revealed by our own Charles Villanueva in 2020, Cox made the jump into the MCU in Spider-Man: No Way Home. While it was only a cameo, it generated a lot of excitement and was the first step toward fully integrating Daredevil into the MCU. While Spidey and other NYC heroes will be mentioned during Daredevil: Born Again, it’s only worth remembering that the Murdock served as Peter’s legal counsel. Since Doctor Strange’s spell would ensure that he does not know who Peter Parker is, this is essentially a dead end.
Ms. Marvel (2022)
🍅 98%
Though the full extent of his role in the series is not clear, promotional materials for the series have revealed that Kamala Khan’s father, Yusuf, will appear in Daredevil: Born Again. Ms. Marvel is one of Marvel Studios’ best streaming efforts so if you haven’t seen it in a while—or at all–give it a look.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
🍅 79%
Episodes 8 and 9 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law marked the MCU debut of Daredevil. While some fans bristled at the more carefree vibe Cox brought to the role in his appearance, it certainly fit the tone of the series, as head writer Jessica Gao explained. “They get to take a little bit of a comedy vacation,” said Gao of guest starring heroes like Cox’s Man Without Fear. “Of course, after our show, they get to go back to save the world, saving the universe, very serious, intense story…“
I’ve made it no secret that I’m a huge fan of Tatiana’s and the fun we had on She-Hulk was some of the best fun I’ve had as that character. I thought she was amazing as Jennifer Walters and I would be a huge… certainly an advocate of her showing up in our show if she’s free and available and willing and all of those things. So I would love for that to happen. I have no idea if that is possible.
-Charlie Cox
While Cox admittedly had a blast portraying a different side of the character and expressed a desire to work with She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany again, it’s unlikely that his appearance on the show will impact Daredevil: Born Again in any significant way.
About Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal.
In Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.
-Official synopsis for Daredevil: Born Again
Dario Scardapane is showrunner. Episodes are directed by Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd; and executive producers are Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Sana Amanat, Chris Gary, Dario Scardapane, Chris Ord & Matt Corman, and Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead.
Daredevil: Born Again launches on Disney+ on March 4, 2025.
Marvel Studios will kick off a very busy 2025 on January 29th with Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Originally intended as a canonical prequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, the series, which was initially titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year, underwent some significant changes in 2022, morphing into a multiversal adventure when the creative team, led by Jeff Trammell, realized setting it on the MCU’s Sacred Timeline limited their storytelling. “It started out as ‘Okay it’s Spider-Man’s freshman year, he’s going to be a freshman, can we get away with this being entirely in the MCU?’ and very early on in the development process, we realized how locked in that actually made us,” said Marvel Television’s head honcho, Brad Winderbaum. “We couldn’t really use his rogues gallery, we couldn’t really use his origin,” Winderbaum continued, “It was not fun, honestly. We would’ve had to put so many limiters on our story to get it to lock into canon.“
“You’re going to see some familiar faces — and if you’re a fan of Chameleon, you’re going to see a few of his faces,” teased Trammell. “You’re also going to see Scorpion, as well as a few characters who may seem new, like Speed Demon or Butane. We have a huge rogues gallery to play with, and so we’re looking forward to putting some of them in the forefront.”
Though Trammell and company ditched the original pitch for the freedom offered by the multiversal setting, they did hold onto some familiar bits and pieces of Tom Holland’s MCU-set Spidey’s story. In some ways, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will play out like an extended episode of What If…? in which one change will lead to a cascade of changes for Peter Parker, including the identity of his mentor. Rather than Parker, voiced by Hudson Thames, being taken under the iron wing of Tony Stark, he’ll find himself under the tutelage of Norman Osborn, voiced by Colman Domingo.
Well, like we said, in the panel, it follows the pattern that you see in [Captain America:] Civil War. Down to Peter getting the broken Blu-ray player from the trash and he walks into his department for the famous moment where Tony Stark is waiting for him to offer him the stark internship and take him to Berlin. But because of things that happen in the multiverse because of new, random occurrences, it’s not Tony Stark who’s waiting for him there. It’s Norman Osborn and that sends his life in an unexpected trajectory that collides him with many unexpected characters in the Marvel universe.
-Brad Winderbaum
“It was Jeff Trammell who had the idea to cast Colman Domingo as Norman Osborn,” explained Winderbaum. “The character is such a rich and complicated mentor for Peter, so we really needed an actor who could deliver many different dimensions. You can see in his work that he’s so multifaceted, so I can’t wait for the world to see his version of Norman.”
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an animated series that follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots.
-Official synopsis, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
And so, perhaps for the best, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, morphed into a hybrid drawing from Spidey stories across all mediums. “It does have a lot of DNA that is very similar to the MCU depiction of the Tom Holland Spider-Man, but it really also draws all the way back to Steve Ditko,” Winderbaum explained. “It’s adjacent to the main continuity but really speaks to what is inherent about the character.”
And while many fans certainly know and love Holland‘s Spider-Man and have enjoyed his stories in the pages of Marvel Comics for decades, others, including Trammell, were introduced to the Wallcrawler through previous animated efforts such as the beloved mid-90s animated Spider-Man series. “We have the privilege of following the movies and shows, so we pay homage to them as well as the comics,” he said. “We build on things we’ve seen before but present them in new ways. We use those expectations to our advantage and turn things away from where you might expect.“
With the events of the series rearranging the pieces of Peter’s life, fans will find that everything has changed, including his friend group. Without MJ and Ned by his side, Peter will find himself befriending some characters that even longtime Spidey fans may not be familiar with. “I’m excited for people to see new twists on classic characters, and I’m also excited to introduce characters that aren’t normally featured in Spider-Man stories.”
(Second from Left-R) Pearl Pangan (Cathy Ang), Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) and Nico Minoru (Grace Song) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. ?? 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.
And so while Peter will find some familiar allies in Doctor Strange and Daredevil, voiced by Charlie Cox, he will also be hanging out with Runaways mainstay Nico Minoru and Pearl Pagan, a character relatively new in the pages of Marvel Comics. According to Winderbaum, despite being new to Spidey’s sphere, they’ll follow the longtime pattern of being more than just sidekicks and one-note page fillers in Peter’s story. “There’s a reason why we changed the title to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s about the neighborhood. It’s an ensemble show. Every character is well-defined and has amazing arcs, from Peter and Nico to Lonnie and Pearl.”
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, a 10-episode series, begins streaming on Disney Plus on January 29th.
The voice cast includes Hudson Thames, Colman Domingo, Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Zeno Robinson, Hugh Dancy, and Charlie Cox. The head writer is Jeff Trammell and Mel Zwyer is the supervising director. Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, and Trammell serve as executive producers.
While no official announcement has been made, enough rumors and reports concerning Marvel Studios long-gestating Young Avengers project are accumulating that it seems as though some sort of news should be imminent. Whether or not that happens, fans have been and will continue to be excited about the possibility of the studio assembling a team of young heroes even if it happens in a project titled Champions rather than Young Avengers.
While the latest report indicated that telhr studio was closing in on landing a showrunner and had begun locking in the core cast of Champions, it would be foolish to assume that the six heroes identified in Daniel Richtman’s scoop won’t have company from some other young heroes. Though Kamala Khan, Kate Bishop, Billy Maximoff, America Chavez, Riri Williams and Cassie Lang would make a formidable team, there are plenty of other potential Champions-in-waiting.
Given that the rumored roster of the team is a mash-up of comic book Champions and Young Avengers, it’s unlikely that EVERY character from either team who is either in the MCU already or believed to be on the way could possibly play a major role in what’s likely to be a six-to-ten episode series. And so while Eli Bradley, Amadeus Cho, Hulkling, Speed or even Viv Vision might make the team, they aren’t the only options out there. In fact, one potential recruit who supplies the team with something they desperately need may be hiding in the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.
Though none of the events Netflix’s two-season run on Luke Cage had impacted the MCU so far, the decision by Marvel Studios to retcon all of the Defenders-verse series into the Sacred Timeline allows for them to ripple through the narrative fabric of the Multiverse Saga and beyond. And with the studio now bringing together a team of young heroes, it might be the right time to explore the legacy of one of Luke Cage‘s most compelling supporting characters.
Over the course of two seasons, Theo Rossi‘s chillingly serene Shades stayed in the game while nearly every other baddie went by the wayside. Though no mention was made of it in the Netflix series, Shades comic book counterpart had a son, Victor Alvarez…and following a terrible tragedy, Victor gained some incredible power, man. And while it might take some creativity on Marvel Television’s part, the perfect opportunity exists to bring Victor into the MCU and give the Champions their Power Man.
In the comics, Victor was the sole survivor of an building explosion rigged by Bullseye. During the disaster, his father’s bioelectric visor shattered with pieces of it embedding themselves in Victor’s skin, giving him the unique ability to absorb chi from his environment and then manipulate the energy similarly to the way Danny Rand uses it in Iron Fist.
Given the disparity between the MCU’s version of Shades and the one from the comics, a new origin story for Victor’s powers would be in order. However, it is very doable and tying a new hero to Luke Cage would be a step in the right direction in ultimately fully embracing it the way the studio has Daredevil and The Punisher. Though Victor Alvarez, aka Power Man, hasn’t racked up the same number of comic book appearances as the other characters rumored to be leading the team of Champions, he has been an Avenger and, for a time, a member of the comic book Champions. If his time isn’t now, it may never be.
In April 2021, following the season finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, trade reports revealed that a fourth Installment in the Captain America franchise was in development at Marvel Studios. Written by TFATWS scribes Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson and starring Anthony Mackie, Captain America 4 was created to give Sam Wilson the spotlight in a film after years in the MCU’s background. Nearly three years, a few delays and a major overhaul later, Captain America: Brave New World is about to hit theaters and take Wilson on a wild ride.
He is in a new position. Stepping up to be the leader as Captain America is going to be a new set of challenges for him. And in this story, a big part of his journey is how do you define that leadership? That’s the thing that he hasn’t had to deal with just yet. As the Falcon, he was always there supporting the rest of the team, but now he’s the man leading the team and I think that’s going to be a really exciting journey to go on with him.
Originally subtitled New World Order, the new Captain America film developed into something many fans didn’t see coming: a follow-up to 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. Though Thunderbolt Ross has had an ongoing presence in the MCU, Ross’s daughter, Betty, disappeared entirely and the promising setup of Samuel Sterns as a gamma-mutated super genius never took shape. To this end, Captain America: Brave New World is truly and unprecedented intersection of quite a few narrative trails which means not only does it have some heavy lifting to do but so also do fans before heading to the theater. With that in mind, we present The Ultimate List of What to Watch before Captain America: Brave New World!
Tier One
Tier One consists of the non-negotiable, bare minimum projects one should be familiar with in order to be dialed into the action in Captain America: Brave New World. While the stories of several characters are more fully fleshed out in other projects, these three would provide enough foundation to enjoy the new Cap film.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
🍅 68%
Long the red-headed stepchild of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Louis Leterrier‘s action-packed has come back into fashion over the past few years. While Thunderbolt Ross has appeared in four other projects over the years, every other character and open thread from The Incredible Hulk seemed to have been abandoned until The Abomination appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021. The next year, the character played a much larger role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and the TIH renaissance was on.
One of the things that really drew me to this project is The Leader is a man who operates from intellect. And it’s so great to have an adversary who is working with this incredible intellect to really put Sam through the wringer in this story. And again, it’s a paranoid thriller; it’s this grounded adventure where I think everything that happens in this film feels so real and intense because of who this adversary is. What he’s going to have to go through in this film is because he’s got an adversary who is so terrifyingly intelligent.
Captain America: Brave New World will not only see Sam Wilson face the physical threat of the Red Hulk but also be forced to engage with a different kind of threat: the cerebral Samuel Sterns (don’t call him The Leader, though!). In addition to the wonderful Tim Blake Nelson as Sterns, Cap 4 will also mark the return of Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, daughter of President Thaddeus Ross and former love of Bruce Banner, though it is her antagonist relationship with her father that will be explored in the film. Now, if they’d just let Leonard Samson get his green on…
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021)
🍅 85%
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier thoroughly examined Sam’s reluctance to become the Symbol of Truth and the Sentinel of Liberty. Sam’s hesitance grew into something more and eventually led to the decision to hand the shield over to the U.S. government. Though he’s now resolved his internal conflict over whether or not he should be Captain America, Sam’s shaky relationship with that government will be a factor in Captain America: Brave New World.
Of course, as Captain America, Sam will no longer be part of the supporting cast but instead have his own. One key member of that support network will be Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres, the new Falcon, who made his MCU debut in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. He’ll play an integral role in the film as Cap’s wingman, so if you haven’t introduced yourself to the character yet, becoming acquainted is a must.
Sam’s whole thing is: he went on this journey, this Avenger story over six movies with Steve because of his respect and admiration for Steve. When Captain America, he says, when Captain America shows up at your door, you answer in the movie Captain America: Winter Soldier. That being said, it is, you know, it is the pain, the idea of not being able to go on these missions, not going to be able to help his friend. You know, there are still people out there that really appreciate camaraderie and friendship […] Just like everybody else, you don’twant to see Steve Rogers go away. You don’t want to see Captain America go away. Because just like Captain America was your Cap, Captain America was Sam Wilson’s Cap. So, you know, that is why he says at the end of Endgame, it feels like, when he is holding the shield, it is someone else’s. It feels like it is yours. He was a fan like everybody else.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier also introduced Isaiah Bradley, a Korean War veteran who was given the Super Soldier Serum against his will in the 1950s. Bradley, played by the incredible Carl Lumbly, returns in Captain America: Brave New World and plays a major role in getting the plot up and running after he attempts to assassinate President Ross. Lumbly is magnificent as Bradley, who played a key role in Sam’s decision to become Captain America.
If none of the reasons listed above are enough to get you to press play on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, you could always just watch it to enjoy Daniel Bruhl‘s return as Zemo.
Tier Two
If Tier One projects are essential, Tier Two projects are supplemental. Any important events from Tier Two projects are likely to be covered in the body of the film, making watching/rewatching those projects non-essential; however, seeing them in their original context is always better than having them explained to you from someone else’s perspective. Tier Two projects also include all of Sam Wilson’s other appearances for those who’d like to have his MCU history fully fleshed out before seeing Captain America: Brave New World.
There’s a lot we’re going to bring to the table. Again, this is a new set of challenges and a new set of adversaries. I love classic, paranoid thrillers and that’s a big part of the inspiration for this film. We want to find action that is grounded and tactile and give him new things to do that you haven’t seen in those other films. I don’t want to spoil too much, but let’s just say we are planning some really, really exciting things.
Watching Tier Two projects will preemptively answer a lot of “who are those guys?” and “what’s that thing doing there?” types of questions, both for those who haven’t looked back on them for a while and for those who have never seen them before.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
🍅 90%
“On your left.” Sam Wilson’s introduction to the MCU came in one of Marvel Studios’ most complete films and one that director Julius Onah has said inspired some of his choices on Captain America: Brave New World. Though Sam’s personal history is explored much more deeply in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, some key pieces of his past are revealed here, including his time in the military and his work as a counselor.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
🍅 76%
Though he claims avenging isn’t his thing, by the end of this one, Sam Wilson is officially an Avenger! Though he doesn’t have a large role here, the film does help establish Sam’s deep, trusting relationship with Steve Rogers. It’s also the first and only appearance of Dr. Helen Cho, whose son, Amadeus (at least that’s the relationship from th comics), will debut in Captain America: Brave New World.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
🍅 90%
Necessary here because of the absolute comedy that is the Bucky/Sam frenemies routine, Civil War is also worth watching just to remember how magnificent the MCU became as it headed into the final third of the Infinity Saga.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
🍅 85%
If Sam Wilson hadn’t proven himself as a big-timer yet, Infinity War put an end to the debate. First helping take a pair of the Children of Thanos down a peg as part of Cap’s Secret Avengers, then providing air support during the Battle of Wakanda, Sam established himself as one of the MCU’s bravest heroes. And while that reputation will certainly come under fire again in Captain America: Brave New World, never forget the danger a man without superpowers ran toward to defend the Earth!
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
🍅 94%
The first steps on Sam Wilson’s journey to becoming Captain America came when Old Man Rogers gifted him with the shield in the closing moments of Avengers: Endgame. The final conversation between the two friends set into motion a cascading series of events, the fallout of which will still be dealt with in Captain America: Brave New World. As important as this moment is to Sam’s ongoing character development, this isn’t in Tier One because a version of it will certainly be included in the movie.
“At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Sam never accepted the shield. Sam never said he was going to be Captain America. Sam never said he wanted to be Captain America.”
-Anthony Mackie, Inverse, February 2021
Black Widow (2021)
🍅 79%
Like Avengers: Age of Ultron before it, Black Widow continues to provide meaningful context to other projects. The fall of the Red Room and Ross’s pursuit of Nat will be used, no doubt, to explain how Shira Hass‘s Ruth, a former Widow, finds herself in the employ of the President of the United States. If you’ve never watched it before, Black Widow is a damn good movie for the first 67% of its runtime.
Eternals (2021)
🍅 47%
While Captain America: Brave New World will undoubtedly contain the necessary exposition to explain that the source of the film’s MacGuffin, adamantium, unexpectedly rose from the ocean, it’s better to experience it by watching Eternals. Truth be told, it’s completely fine to skip to the second half of the film to watch the big action unfold because nothing that happens before then will matter to Captain America: Brave New World…or any other MCU project…ever.
Tier Three
Tier Three projects are akin to side quests. Nothing here will depend or enrich anyone’s Brave New World experience, though there are enough loosely connected points to make a case for watching them.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
🍅 79%
In the case She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, those loosely connected points come in the form of the continued efforts to produce more Hulks. The series made a key point about the utility of Banner’s blood compared to Jen’s and introduced Skaar, son of Hulk. The proliferation of Hulks in the MCU is something that’s been discussed for years and is finally happening and this project ties right into it, making it a Tier Three addition.
About Captain America: Brave New World
Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World stars Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, with Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford.
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.
The film is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers.
Captain America: Brave New World opens in U.S. theaters on February 14, 2025.
Despite its worst efforts to entertain audiences with Spider-Man-less Spider-Man movies, Sony finally threw in the damn towel following the dismal response to Kraven the Hunter. It’s an impressive decision for Sony, especially since its CEO, Tony Vinciquerra, delusionally maintains that the films, many of which are widely accepted as some of the worst comic book movies ever made, aren’t bad…
Having learned the wrong lesson from the box office success of Venom in 2018, the studio believed they had found the formula to the Super-Solider Serum when, in fact, they had actually cooked up something more akin to the Goblin Serum. And so, they began a descent into madness that even Norman Osborn couldn’t match, mining their stable of Spidey-adjacent characters in search of diamonds in the rough…and we all know how it turned out.
Incredibly, for every Morbius or Madame Web that did get made, another project of equal or lesser interest rotted in development hell. While the premises some of Sony’s unmade projects sounds reasonable enough, there’s no telling how ghastly they might have ended up. As the calendar turns to a new year free of Sony’s sinful Spidey spinoffs, here’s a look at what might have been, but thankfully was not.
Sinister Six
One of the films originally planned to help Sony launch its Spidey villain-verse in 2013, The Sinister Six was meant to join Venom as a foundational piece. Sony tasked Drew Goddard with writing the script planned for him to direct the film.
Though work on the project began before Sony abandoned Andrew Garfield‘s Amazing Spider-Manfranchise, The Sinister Six continued to be developed over the next several years before being forsaken, though its premise certainly changed once Sony pulled the plug on Garfield’s Spidey. Of all the ideas generated by Sony, thanks to the collaborative relationship with Marvel Studios, this one may still live on in some way despite the studio taking a break from Spidey-related movies.
Nightwatch
In 2017, Sony had plans to develop a film around the little-used Marvel Comics’ villain Dr. Kevin Trench, who turned over a new leaf and became the hero known as Nightwatch.
As first revealed by me in March 2018 while working at That Hashtag Show, Sony had secured a monster creative team for Nightwatch with Cheo Hodari Coker (Luke Cage) writing a script to be directed by Spike Lee. Lee departed the project before the end of the year and Nightwatch never made it to the screen.
Silver and Black
Of all of Sony’s unrealized projects, Silver and Black probably came the closest to being made. Development on a Black Cat solo film ultimately evolved into a film intended to see Felicia Hardy and Silvija Sablinova share the screen in what would have been a pretty wild adventure, full of twists, turns, betrayals and quite a few big name Spidey villains and even a few heroes. You can take a deep dive into what the 2018 version of the film might have been had Sony not abandoned it in 2020.
Jackpot
Following the box office success of Venom in 2018, Sony began developing scripts for several films, including Jackpot. In 2020, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow writer Marc Guggenheim, who wrote three issues of Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot in 2010, was revealed to have been working on the script for two years.
If Sony’s plans to bring a Jackpot solo film to the screen has been an effort to put Mary Jane Watson in the spotlight, they may have been, at the very least, commendable. However, MJ didn’t suit up as Jackpot until 2023 and Sony’s film may have been shelved by then. Instead, Guggenheim‘s screenplay featured one of the other iterations of the character: Sara Ehret (11 comic book appearances) or Alana Jobson (12 comic book appearances). Given that Guggenheim’s Marvel Comics series involved both characters, it’s possible that the film may have followed suit.
So little was ever officially revealed about Sony’s Spider-Woman project that it was widely believed to be another name for Madame Web. While the latter somehow made its way to the big screen, the former–which could not have been any worse than Madame Web–never did.
In February 2020, just after the COVID-19 pandemic stopped Hollywood in its tracks, Sony began searching for a director for a Jessica Drew-led Spider-Woman film. At the time, the studio was hoping to have Spider-Woman in theaters on October 7, 2021 and by late summer 2020, had locked Olivia Wilde in as director. According to comments by Wilde, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios may have been working closely with Sony on Spider-Woman despite being hands off on the studio’s other Spidey-adjacent fare. But why?
The live-action rights to Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman fall under a very unusual agreement between Marvel and Sony. According to the agreement, Marvel Studios can use Jessica Drew freely with one caveat: without the approval of Sony, they cannot refer to her as Spider-Woman. That doesn’t mean there aren’t great Jessica Drew stories to tell, only that it’s almost certainly in the best interests of both studios to collaborate on a Drew project in a way similar to how they’ve worked together on Peter Parker/Spider-Man.
And then…the trail went cold. It seems all parties have moved on and unless Marvel Studios has plans for Drew, the character may never make it to the big screen.
Hypno-Hustler
Inspired, undoubtedly, by a March 2022 tweet by me, Sony greenlit a Hypno-Hustler movie in December 2022.
Arguably the most bizarre of Sony’s decisions to build a Spider-Man universe without a Spider-Man, El Muerto would have featured Bad Bunny as the in-famous Juan-Carlos Sánchez who, as you undoubtedly know, was a Mexican legacy luchador who wore an enchanted mask which bestowed him with superhuman powers. At the time of the film’s announcement, El Muerto had two full-fledged appearances in the pages of Marvel Comics.
Perhaps the only interesting tidbit to have emerged about what El Muerto may have been came in 2023 when it was revealed that Sony planned to use classic Spidey baddie Tombstone in the film. According to a trade report, Sony planned to have Marvin Jones III, who voiced the character in the animated Spider-Man; Into the Spider-Verse, bring Tombstone to life in El Muerto. WWE superstar Sasha Banks was also reportedly set to play an unknown role in the film. Alas, El Muerto is deceased, if it ever lived at all.
Beginning in 2024, James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios will launch the DC Universe. In an effort to make more cohesive shared universe, the DCU will connect streaming series, video games and films through narrative threads. Though Gunn and Safran are building a new, interconnected continuity, there will still be DC projects produced outside of this continuity (such as Matt Reeves Batman Epic Crime Saga) under the Elseworlds banner.
What’s next for DC Studios? Who’s recently joined the cast of your most anticipated series or film? Where can you find the teasers and trailers? Look no further, true believers. Everything you need to know about the future of the DCU has been collected for you here. Click on each logo to learn what we currently know about the upcoming DCU projects.
Chapter One: Gods and Monsters
Elseworlds
Projects set outside of the main DCU continuity, the Elseworld projects allow artists to tell stories without attempting to weave them into the DCU’s narrative tapestry.
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