In an interview with EW, Marvel TV boss Brad Winderbaum revealed that Lillard will be playing named Mister Charles, an international power player and an antagonistic force working against Wilson Fisk.
“The story is about power. When Wilson Fisk takes over New York, not just as a mayor but as a king in a way, it puts him in a new class of power players on the international stage,” said Winderbaum of Season 2.
“Matthew Lillard’s character represents that. So he’s a bit of a new antagonist on the field, but he’s as influential in many ways as Fisk is. That power negotiation at a very high level of politics and international diplomacy is also fun to watch. He is dealing with Mr. Charles up here and Daredevil down here for different reasons. So he’s getting squeezed a little bit.”
While he’s certainly not Marvel’s most famous Charles, a Mr. Charles does exist in the comics, having made just one appearance in 2013’s AAFES #15. Interestingly, though he was entirely inconsequential on the page, Mr. Charles was affiliated with the powerful Roxxon Corporation which could indeed become involved with Fisk’s bourgeoning empire as attempts to expand offshore.
Though it hasn’t even had a major presence in the MCU, Roxxon appeared in all three Iron Man films and played a more significant role in the Netflix Defenders-verse series.
“We don’t want it to get swallowed up by people watching Home Alone and Die Hard and Elf,” said Winderbaum of the move, which comes ahead of Marvel Animation and Marvel Television’s appearance at New York Comic Con.
Created by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, Wonder Man stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Simon Williams and his journey trying to make his way as an actor in Hollywood.
Wonder Man continues to be one of Marvel’s most enigmatic projects. Announced via trade report in June 2022, the series was created by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest but was never acknowledged by the studio until Marvel Parliament member Stephen Broussard confirmed it was happening in a 2023 interview. Incredibly enough, despite being filmed on location in and around Los Angeles, production began and ended with very few set photos or plot leaks, leaving only rumors and speculation about the show’s true nature and some to believe it only to be a product of the Mandela Effect.
Via Discussing Film, a new in-universe promo for Wonder Man has been released that provides some intriguing new details about the series.
Based on the character of Wonder Man, one of Marvel’s oldest characters, first introduced in 1964 in the pages of Avengers No 9. Known as Simon Williams, a celebrity actor and stuntman. In a nutshell, it is a story of two actors struggling to make it in the Hollywood of the MCU, [asking] the big question what does Hollywood look like in a world where super heroes are real?
-First synopsis for Marvel Television’s Wonder Man
The eight-episode Marvel Spotlight series was heavily influenced by the comics and was described by Winderbaum as a “love letter to Hollywood.” It’s also been rumored to satirize the filmmaking industry and the new promo seems to confirm that.
In it, actor Zlatko Burić is in character as Von Kovak, an MCU in-universe “award-winning director” who is remaking Wonder Man, a classic superhero film.
Award-winning director Von Kovak tells us why his remake of the classic film ‘WONDER MAN’ will be one of the best superhero movies of all time.
“The Wonder Man story spoke to me on a very deep level, there is an opportunity to reimagine a whole genre of storytelling” pic.twitter.com/07dHyETu8W
This all tracks with what little we’ve seen of the project, which included Abdul-Mateen‘s Simon Williams auditioning for Wonder Man. At this point, it seems safe to assume a full first teaser trailer for the project will debut this weekend.
According to James Gunn, the events of last night’s Peacemaker Season 2 finale will have major repercussions for the DCU’s ongoing narrative…just not for the next season of Peacemaker.
The finale ended Rick Flag Sr. getting uns revenge for for the death of his son at the hands of Peacemaker. After starting a new organization, Checkmate, with the 11th Street Kids and a couple of new friends, John Cena‘s Chris Smith was stranded by Flag on a planet called “Salvation.” In an interview with Deadline, Gunn explained that while both Checkmate and Salvation are “two important aspects” of the DCU’s future even though they won’t be explored in a third season of Peacemaker.
“Well, those are the two things that were always a part of this season,” said Gunn of the intriguing new planet and the anti-A.R.G.U.S. startup. “So when we sat down, even before I sat down with the writers room in DC, I had sort of mapped out what I thought the general story was, and two important aspects to that were Checkmate and especially Salvation, so those were things that I had pitched to everybody before we ever came into DC and then after we came into DC and we met with the writers room and worked things out a little bit more. That was always pretty instrumental in the overall, overarching story that I’m telling in the DCU, but also connected to it as well.”
Despite being introduced in Peacemaker, the next steps for both Checkmate and Salvation won’t be explored in a third season of the streaming series because, according to Gunn, he has no current plans for additional seasons. “This is about the wider DCU and other stories in which this will play out right now,” said Gunn. “That doesn’t mean that there won’t be [a third season of Peacemaker]. I don’t want to never say never, but right now, no, this is about the future of the DCU. It’s an important character.”
Gunn maintains that Peacemaker will remain an important character in the DCU and indicated that Checkmate will be “a part of what’s going to happen” in the growing shared universe. Given that Gunn previously stated the streaming series serves as a prequel to his next project, the 2027 film Man of Tomorrow, it seems as though fans can count on the characters to return, though for now the DC Studios’ co-chair chose to remain quiet in that front, calling that information a “secret.”
Following the fallout of its failure with 2025’s live-action Snow White, Disney pumped the brakes on its planned live-action reimagining of 2010’s Tangled. At the time, trade reports alleged that the studio wanted to evaluate the success of its next two live-action reimaginings, Lilo & Stitch and Moana, before moving ahead. Apparently, they’ve seen enough.
According to Deadline, Disney is “resuming early development” on its Tangled reimagining, keeping director Michael Gracey on board while also courting Scarlett Johansson to play the film’s baddie, Mother Gothel.
Prior to pausing development in the film, the Tangled reimagining, rumors had stars such as Florence Pugh, Kathryn Hahn and Jennifer Lopez attached to the project. Should Johansson indeed take on the role of Mother Gothel, it would be interesting to see if Pugh–who worked with Johansson on Black Widow–might look to wrap up the role of Rapunzel.
Production on Spider-Man: Brand New Day may have slowed a bit following Tom Holland‘s concussion but even with the star on the mend, the show went on. Now with Holland back in action, a new batch of set photos has hit social media, revealing one of the film’s villains.
The photos show Mando‘s Gargan in the same white prison scrubs he was wearing in the post-credit scene to Spider-Man: Homecoming. That detail likes up with rumors about a major chase scene involving Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle trying to take out Gargan with Spidey acting as an interloper.
Over the past few years, fans have shared plenty of opinions about where Marvel Studios Multiverse Saga went wrong. While some place the blame on individual projects, others find fault in the premise, believing it was doomed to fail with general audiences struggling to find interest in alternate realities. Whether it’s one, the other or a little bit of both, the end is nigh and the big shots behind the scenes at the studio have remained relatively quiet about the struggles.
Sure, under Bob Iger’s second term, there’s been a mandatory reduction in content and some rebranding meant to make projects more accessible, pivoting from the “It’s All Connected” era. According to Marvel’s head of streaming, television and animation, Brad Winderbaum, the rebranding was meant as a “signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand.”
We’re trying to dispel the idea that you need to do any kind of setup work to watch anything else.
-Brad Winderbaum
To that end, the studio attempted to make it clear that its latest theatrical release, The Fantastic: Four First Steps, was “homework-free,” requiring to prior knowledge of the MCU. The same idea holds mostly true with Marvel Animation’s recently released Marvel Zombies, which spun out of one 30-minute episode of the first season of What If…?. Despite garnering underwhelming reviews, the TV-MA series has been wildly popular on D+, leading to speculation that a second season could be given the green light relatively soon.
In a world where viewership matters most, Marvel Zombies looks to be another in a string of successes for the studio as it looks to right the Multiverse ship. In an interview with CBR, TV boss Winderbaum explained why the project works while addressing the “valid criticisms” of the studio’s Multiverse narrative.
“I think one of the valid criticisms of multiverse storytelling is that when you have multiple realities, the stakes diminish,” Winderbaum explained. “But there’s another way to look at it when you have the opportunity (with) something like Marvel Zombies, where actually it raises the stakes quite a bit to be in a pocket universe outside of the MCU. Where death feels very final, and we don’t have to worry about putting the toys back in the toy box unbroken. We can really make a mess.”
Winderbaum’s comments are more than just talk. In both the zombie episode of What If…? and in Marvel Zombies, high-profile heroes were subjected to Mortal Kombat-esque violence, something that just isn’t possible in live-action, making them ideal Multiverse stories. “The fact that the audience might not know what’s coming, because all bets are off,” he continued. “There’s no guarantee for anybody. People come in this cold, they’re truly surprised. They have literally no idea what we’re about to pull on them.”
Unafraid to put a point on it, Winderbaum levied his own criticism against the Multiverse Saga stories, citing a lack of stakes.
“I think, you know, for better or for worse, it’s been missing a little bit. You go into someone’s franchise movie, and it’s like ‘You’re making it out at the end!’ And the filmmakers are doing the best they can to build some tensions, so you worry. And they do, and that’s great,” explained Winderbaum. “But in this, it’s just like, no, there’s no guarantees for anything. It’s a whole different type of viewing experience.”
Given his position at the studio as both the D+ gatekeeper and a member of the Marvel Parliament, fans might want to take Winderbaum‘s comments to heart and as a sign that the studio’s course correction isn’t simply superficial.
After rolling the dice in an auction to acquire the rights to develop author Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures novels into films, Disney is hoping to have found its own fantasy phenom.
Like Harry Potter, The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games, Impossible Creatures has quickly grabbed the attention of studio heads as the first two novels in what is now planned as a five part series rocketed to #1 on children’s book charta across the globe. Rundell, an Oxford professor, won Author of The Year and the first novel, Impossible Creatures, won Children’s Book of The Year at 2024 British Book Awards. The sequel, The Poisoned King, races to #1 on charts as well, kicking off a studio scramble that includes Disney, Warner Bros. and Netflix, with the House of Mouse coming out on top.
When I read Impossible Creatures, I knew it belonged here at Disney. I was immediately drawn into the vibrant world Katherine imagined and the possibilities of what we could do together with this story. Written by Katherine herself, these movies are in the best of hands with our Walt Disney Studios team, and I can’t wait to see this tale brought to the screen.
-Disney CEO Bob Iger
An epic fantasy adventure that plunges two unlikely young heroes into a secret world where all the creatures of myth are real—and in grave danger, Impossible Creatures is the kind of IP Disney has been craving as it has slowed the pace of production by its major studio brands.
The first irdt novel centers on a young boy from the human world, Christopher, and a fierce girl on the run from the magical world, Mal. Christopher’s life changes forever when he meets Mal, who appears with a baby griffin he saves from drowning. He is introduced to the Archipelago, a hidden cluster of unmapped islands in the Atlantic where creatures like dragons, unicorns, sphinxes, and kraken have thrived for millennia.
However, the Archipelago is dying. The magic, known as the “Glimourie,” is fading, and the mythical creatures are perishing. Mal and Christopher embark on an urgent quest, traveling across the wild islands to discover the source of the magical crisis. They must consult sphinxes for secrets, battle fearsome monsters, and negotiate with dragons, all while being pursued by a dangerous murderer.
As part of the deal, Rundell will develop screenplays for the first two films with Charles Collier via their Impossible Films production studio which worked in Paddington 2 and Wonka. And, of course, such a fantasy world may well lend itself nicely to Disney’s theme parks, where there is an entirely different amount of money to be made.
As Daredevil: Born Again entered the back half of its first season, the goal of the series’ creative retooling under the purview of Dario Scardapane became clear: make it Netflix-ier. Sure, with Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Jon Bernthal and Ayelet Zurer all taking on major roles AFTER the overhaul, the new direction should not have come as a surprise but beginning with Episode 6, “Excessive Force”, the series pivoted aggressively, starting down a far darker path. The series continued to creep along in that darkness through the Season 1 finale setting up whatcm already feels more like Daredevil Season 4 than Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
With production on the series taking place largely in view of the New York City public, plenty of photos and videos from the set of the sophomore season of Daredevil: Born Again made their way online. While you can’t safely infer too much from set photos, it does seem as though the new season will indeed dwell in the darkness fans of the Netflix series loved and, perhaps, room for more of the Defenders-verse characters to join the MCU.
Krysten Ritter joined the cast of Season 2 and Luke Cage star Mike Colter all but confirmed he was set to return as Harlem’s Hero but a new report from a trusted insider claims they won’t be alone. According to Daniel Richtman, Elodie Yung, who played Elektra in Daredevil and The Defenders, will return to the role in Daredevil: Born Again.
I have confirmed Elektra is coming back. Not sure if it’s for season 2 or 3.
-Daniel Richtman
Richtman was unable to confirm whether Yung was among the many Defenders-verse era actors rumored to appear in Season 2 or set to appear in Defenders Season 2Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, which films next Spring, though it’s worth pointing out both options are a possibility.
Production on Matt Reeves‘ long-awaited sequel to 2022’s The Batman is still two years away from landing in theaters but that hasn’t kept the film from being a near-constant part of the news cycle over the past few months.
With a script finally complete, production is scheduled to commence on the sequel in the UK next April and with the Reeves-led spinoff streaming series The Penquin having made some noise at the Emmy Awards, the director spent some time in the spotlight talking about the project.owt notably, Reeves explained that while the first film was focused on the Batman, the sequel will put Bruce Wayne at the center.
“The first story is so much about The Batman. I always wanted in the movies, and let’s say we get to make three—I have no idea—that I always wanted the movies to be focused on his character,” said Reeves. “Once you get past the origin tale, then you start telling the rogues’ gallery story and that character’s arc. I never wanted to lose Rob at the center of these stories, so that is what we really set our aim on,” the director explained.
There is an exploration to be had, and one of the explorations for me was to do something that pushes even further into the character of Bruce Wayne.
-Matt Reeves on The Batman-Part II
Still, the villain of a Batman film still needs to be compelling, even if it isn’t one of the most well-known rogues. “Picking the right villain that digs into what that does and goes into his past and his life, that was what drove that discussion,” Reeves said and a new casting rumor could hint at how he plans to accomplish that in The Batman-Part II.
A report by Pop Crave claims that F1 and The Crown star Tobias Menzes has been cast in the sequel as Amadeus Arkham.
While it’s always wise to proceed with caution with casting rumors, this is an interesting possibility. The Batman established that Bruce’s mother, Martha, was an Arkham, rather than a Kane as is typically canon in the comics. Should Amadeus Arkham indeed be in the film, he would then be some relation to Bruce. The Batman established that after Martha’s mother killed her father and then herself, Martha was placed in Arkham State Hospital. While that film explored some of the dark corners of her and Thomas Wayne’s past, Reeves’ desire to further explore Bruce and his past could pull back the curtain even more on Martha and the Arkham legacy.
Interestingly, there’s also some intersection between Amadeus Arkham and the Court of Owls, long a favorite to be revealed as the big bads of the sequel. With Reeves making it known that the film’s villain is one that has never been used in a Batman film before, this rumor does seem one worth at least keeping an eye on.
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