The future of the all-new DCU was riding on the successful launch of James Gunn‘s Superman. As the new film , which was a hit with audiences and critics, closes in on $200 million at the domestic box office, it seems safe to say that, at least for now, the future is secure… though it certainly won’t look much like the original plan laid out by Gunn and SC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran.
While Supergirl and Lanterns, which were both included in the first look at the studio’s Gods and Monsters slate, are on track for release in 2026, they’ll be joined by Clayface, a true horror film, which only took shape over the past year. Beyond that, projects such as Booster Gold, Swamp Thing and Paradise Lost, seem to have lost all creative momentum; however, there’s no shortage of ideas in the queue and it sounds as though one of them is starting to move ahead quickly.
After a recent report by Variety claimed that a Wonder Woman movie was being fast tracked at DC Studios, longtime industry insider Umberto Gonzalez has added fuel to that fire. According to Gonzalez, who recently appeared on The Box Office Podcast, the studio has begun the search for an actress to portray the DCU’s Princess Diana of Themyscira.
Gonzalez indicated that Gunn and Safran are following the same plan that led them to Milly Alcock as the shared universe’s Supergirl and are looking for a not-so-household name with a TV-heavy resume rather than an actress with a background in big studio fare. It’s a new age at the box office and it appears that saving salary will be a primary concern as the new studio gets up and running.
For his part, Gunn has confirmed that Wonder Woman is in development, though he certainly has not given any indication it has been fast tracked. “I mean, it’s not going to be until the scripts are ready,” Gunn said recently when asked about when fans might expect to see Batman and Wonder Woman join Superman in the DCU. “So, both the scripts (The Brave and the Bold and Wonder Woman) are being written now, and, if they’re good, then we’ll go into production immediately.”
Given Gunn’s recent comments that one planned film was abandoned because the writer could not put together a good script, the news is equal measures good and not so good; however, the studio is unlikely to bail on a member of the Trinity, meaning a new Wonder Woman film WILL happen, even if we can’t say when just yet.
In the finale of Daredevil: Born Again, after taking a beating at the hands of the Anti-Vigilante Task Force, Frank Castle is imprisoned in Wilson Fisk’s facility at the Red Hook free port, alongside other enemies of Fisk, including Tony Dalton‘s Jack Duquesne, aka The Swordsman. In a relatively ridiculous post-credits scene, Frank talks to a guard named Anthony Petruccio, who idolizes the Punisher. Frank uses his charisma to convince the guard to shake his hand. When the guard extends his arm through a small opening in the cage, Frank breaks his arm, snags his keys and makes his escape, setting the stage for Marvel Television’s 2026 The Punisher Special Presentation.
With principal photography on the Special Presentation, co-written by star Jon Bernthal and Reinaldo Marcus Green, now underway in New York, set photos have begun to circulate online. Earlier today, photos of an NYC storefront being remade into Gnucci’s Restaurant seemingly confirmed that mob boss Ma Gnucci will serve as the main antagonist of the project, backing Marvel insider Daniel Richtman’s claim about the feature’s big bad. Now, a new series of photos has provided a first look at Bernthal‘s Castle, who is once again sporting the “no, I’m not The Punisher” beard.
To check out the entire series of set photos, you’ll have to head over to Just Jared but from the looks of it, The Punisher Special Presentation is likely to begin with Frank on the down low, looking to avoid the kind of attention walking around with a giant skull painted on his chest might bring.
Jon Bernthal is back on set as #ThePunisher! He was seen filming today as set photos apparently spoiled who the new villain will be for the Disney+ project
Marvel Studios has had very little to say about the new project, which is set to film for just a few weeks in New York. With that in mind, it’s unclear exactly what the timeline for it is, making it possible it takes place right after Frank escapes from Fisk’s dungeon or following the conclusion of Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, making it a bridge to Bernthal’s next MCU appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Either way, with the Special Presentation possibly adapting Garth Ennis‘ BRUTAL 12-issue “Welcome Back, Frank” arc, fans are likely in for some more of that dark, gritty and violent fare straight from the old Netflix days.
According to Marvel Studios insider Daniel Richtman, Cohen will step back into the shoes of the Master of Malice in the long-rumored supernatural team-up film, Midnight Sons.
With the studio potentially looking to get Midnight Sons off the ground ahead of the long-troubled Blade reboot, it tracks that they’d be starting to move toward putting together a cast and having Cohen’s Mephisto front and center as a major antagonist is a great start.
Set to stream on D+ in 2026, The Punisher Special Presentation, co-written by star Jon Bernthal and Reinaldo Marcus Green, has begun filming in New York City. While no details have been officially revealed nor any cat members outside of Bernthal, a report earlier this year from Marvel insider Daniel Richtman revealed the likely villain of the project. Now, leaked photos from the set seem to confirm that report.
It’s like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story.
–Brad Winderbaum on The Punisher Special Presentation
Among photos of storefronts being constructed for the Marvel Television Special Presentation, Gnucci’s Restaurant can be seen, likely confirming that Isabella “Ma” Gnucci will indeed be the main antagonist of The Punisher.
The head of the Gnucci Crime Family, Ma Gnucci tried to take Frank Castle out in Volume 5 of The Punisher, written by Garth Ennis. The 12-issue arc, known as “Welcome Back, Frank”, launched Ennis’ 49-issue run with the character and has long been hailed as a classic Punisher tale. Harboiled and gruesome, “Welcome Back, Frank” took the character back to his roots and allowed him to do what he does best: kill bad guys with extreme prejudice…and a flamethrower. In terms of MCU Punisher continuity, Ma Gnucci makes quite a bit of sense as an antagonist for the project given that Frank wiped out several members of the Gnucci Crime Family, including her son Tony, in Episode 1.01 of The Punisher, “3 AM.“
-Ma Gnucci
It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if that’s the Netflix tone then that’s what it’s going to be. It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.
–Jon Bernthal on The Punisher Special Presentation
After escaping Wilson Fisk’s dungeon prison in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, it looks as though Bernthal’s Castle will find himself in the sights of a second mob boss in The Punisher Special Presentation. With Vincent D’Onofrio just recently completing production on Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Mayor Fisk may also have a small role in the project, perhaps even alerting the Gnuccis to Frank’s presence on the NYC streets.
As James Gunn‘s Superman prepares to launch the all-new, all-different DCU up, up and away, a new report indicates that he and DC Studios’ co-chair Peter Safran are considering spinoffs for a pair of characters featured in the film.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen, and Mister Terrific could each star in TV series which would likely stream on HBO Max.
First appearing as an unnamed office boy in Action Comics #6 (1938), Jimmy was given his name and a more significant role in the Adventures of Superman radio serial in 1940. He made his comic book debut as “Jimmy” in Superman #13 (1941). In 1954, he even got his own comic series, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, which ran for 222 issues until 1982. The character has appeared in multiple Superman-related projects in different mediums over the years. Actors such as Marc McClure, Aaron Ashmore, Mehcad Brooks and Michael Cassidy have all added their own touches to the character with some straying pretty far from the nature of Olsen in the comics.
Played in Superman by Edi Gathegi, Mister Terrific is a highly intelligent and skilled superhero in the DC Comics Universe, a mantle held by two prominent individuals: Terry Sloane and Michael Holt. While both embody the concept of a “Fair Play” hero, it’s Holt who is the more widely recognized and enduring version in modern comics. Introduced in 1997, he is an exceptionally gifted individual, often cited as one of the smartest people in the DC Universe (sometimes even the “third smartest,” behind only Lex Luthor and Batman). Before becoming a superhero, Holt earned 14 PhDs, became a self-made multi-millionaire through his company Holt Industries, and was an Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon. Holt has been a key member and even chairman of the Justice Society of America, and has also served with the Justice League and Checkmate. He later formed his own team, the Terrifics, which may well be the focus the Superman spinoff.
There’s tons of comic appearances that Mister Terrific has, so there’s a lot of different angles that you can take, and James has created a very specific version of this character that makes sense for this story. So, there wasn’t a lot of questioning for me. I trust the filmmaker, I trust his vision – the character is an extraordinary character in the comics. He’s a futurist, a tech innovator, but also an ethical innovator. He believes in the ethical use of artificial intelligence. This character is so dynamic and then he’s got a huge wound. He lost his wife and his daughter, and he doesn’t let that define him, but he also doesn’t ignore that – he uses that to fuel his brilliance.
-Edi Gathegi
The report also reiterates that DC Studios plans to release several live-action streaming series, two live-action films and one animated series per year as they build toward a Justice League team-up film. And with Superman gathering all the momentum of a speeding bullet as it hits its opening weekend, the DCU seems to be off to a great start that will allow it the grace to attempt to make that ambitious schedule work.
Just as fans were starting to get a feel for what Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again was all about in March, production on the second season of the Disney Plus revival began in New York City. Plenty of spoilery photos and videos from the set made their way online, including a few featuring Krysten Ritter‘s return as Jessica Jones. Time flies, as they say, however and just four months after work on the sophomore season began, showrunner Dario Scardapane took to social media to share the news that production has wrapped.
And that is a WRAP on Season 2 of Daredevil Born Again. Thank you to all who made this something truly special. Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Wilson Bethel, Matt Lillard, lili Taylor Krysten Ritter, Michael Gandolfini, Margarita Levieva, Ayelet Zurer, Nikki M. James, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Gennaya Walton, Zabryna Guevara, Sana Amanat, Brad Winderbaum, Eleena Khamedoost, and of course Phil Silvera!
Extra thanks to Michael Shaw and the entire Art Department for the flattering (?) Bobblehead, Iain Macdonald, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorehead, Hilary Spera, Jeff Waldron, Kevin Feige, Lou D’Esposito, Slick Naim, Angela Barnes, Cedric Nairn-Smith, Melissa Lawson-Cheung, Stephanie Filo, David Chambers, Derek Wimble, Dylan Hopkins, Vincent Casciani, Chantelle Wells, Jesse Wigutow, Heather Bellson, Omar Najam, Gene and John O’Neil and the man behind the wheel. Pete Leith. Best Cast Ever. Best Crew Ever.
With the new season scheduled to stream in March 2026, the creative team has plenty of time to work through the footage they’ve already compiled for the eight-episode run and determine if any additional footage needs to be shot. If not, Scardapane and crew can get to work on Season 3, plans for which have already been confirmed by Marvel Television head man Brad Winderbaum. As priorities at the studio have shifted toward “making shows as shows that can exist as annual releases, more like television,” it’s beginning to sound as though the new D+ model may just be the old Netflix model and the Defenders-verse will become the main focus.
Though the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom has been met with heavy skepticism, the villain’s arrival in the MCU is certainly overdue. Downey’s Doom, rumored to debut in a post-credit scene in The Fantastic Four: First Steps ahead of his first major role in Avengers: Doomsday, will be the third live-action iteration of the character, following the late Julian McMahon‘s vain and menacing Victor and Toby Kebbell‘s hacker Doom. While it’s unclear what Marvel Studios has planned for Doom, it seems likely Downey’s version will have little in common with the previous versions and likely be a bit more comic accurate in terms of his roots as a mystic. What the studio plans to do with Doom beyond the Multiverse Saga isn’t clear but a new rumor claims that Marvel has plans to introduce its own version of another villain who, like Doom, has previously been portrayed by a pair of actors.
According to Marvel insider Daniel Richtman, Kevin Feige and crew are “planning to introduce the MCU version of Norman Osborn” in an unnamed project.
Played first, most famously and most recently by Willem Dafoe in Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home and briefly by Chris Cooper in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Osborn is considered not only Spider-Man’s greatest villain but one of the House of Ideas most menacing baddies. Though he’s recently been an ally of the Web-Slinger in the comics, including in Joe Kelly’s ongoing series, he’s the type of villain who, when utilized properly, can threaten the entire Marvel Universe. Though Richtman’s report doesn’t give any details on the studio’s plans for Osborn–nor indicate when to expect him–it may be versatility and potential to serve as a large-scale villain that the studio values most.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which begins filming soon, could provide an opportunity to introduce the MCU’s own Osborn, though it sounds as though it may be a bit too busy to allow much room for Norman to stir the pot. Whatever the case, it’ll interesting to see how the studio folds the character, who according to Dafoe’s deranged version does not exist on Earth-616, into its future plans.
Marvel Television’s Ironheart has had a bit of a journey to the small screen. Announced in 2020, the streaming series was originally intended to hit Disney Plus in Fall 2023, roughly one year after Riri Williams was introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, a pair of Hollywood strikes and a change in leadership at Disney led to a major overhaul to Marvel Studios Multiverse Saga plans. And after taking in the first three episodes of Ironheart, it seems as though reshuffling its place on the streaming slate may have impacted the studio’s plans for one of its theatrical releases.
Episode 2, “Will the Real Natalie Please Stand Up?”, introduces Alden Ehrenreich‘s quirky and anxiety-riddled Joe McGillicuddy who is eventually revealed to be Ezekiel Stane, the son of the MCU’s first big bad, Jeff Bridges‘ Obidiah Stane. In the pages of Marvel Comics, Ezekiel “Zeke” Stane was created by Matt Fraction as a dark shadow of Tony Stark. A brilliant, genius-level intellect who specializes in advanced technology, particularly bioweaponry and cybernetic enhancements, Zeke focuses on upgrading his own biology ratelher than building suits.
No matter how high tech or evolved, even with Extremis, the Iron Man armor is still a guy in a suit, if you get between the man and the suit you can undo it. So Stane doesn’t need a suit. That’s the difference. That’s what we start to see, the future of Iron Man is that there’s no gap between Iron and Man. It’s one being and Stane is quite literally evolving himself and people who pay him as we see in the book’s opening.
-Matt Fraction
In Ironheart, Stane’s creative genius seems to be sparked by meeting Riri Williams. When he appears again in Episode 3, “We in Danger, Girl”, Zeke has been inspired to design biomechanical upgrades, some of which include nanotech muscle fibers, laser-enhnaced fingernails and, eventually, going so far as to “upgrade himself by establishing a working nuerolink between himself and a computer chip. He’s also created a bio-mesh skin that Riri wants to upgrade for her own purpose and in an example of the show’s occasional fault of laying it on thick, Stane acquiesces to her using it with the promise that it won’t “blow back on him.” But it indeed will.
Without spoiling what’s next for Stane in Ironheart, marketing material for the series have shown that he continues working on upgrading himself, eventually becoming a VERY comic-accurate representation of the character. And by connecting some pieces of available evidence, it seems as though the studio had some very comic accurate plans for Stane in the larger MCU prior to the major overhaul of its slate.
Zeke is a post-national business man and kind of an open source ideological terrorist, he has absolutely no loyalty to any sort of law, creed, or credo. He doesn’t want to beat Tony Stark, he wants to make him obsolete. Windows wants to be on every computer desktop in the world, but Linux and Stane want to destroy the desktop. He’s the open source to Stark’s closed source oppressiveness. He has no headquarters, no base, and no bank account. He’s a true ghost in the machine; completely off the grid, flexible, and mobile.
-Matt Fraction
In the comics, Zeke has been involved in illicit tech and weapons manufacturing for terrorists and supervillains, often operating behind the scenes, manipulating other villains. While there’s no direct evidence yet that he was headed in that direction in the MCU, a bit of deductive reasoning can lead to the conclusion that Stane was likely the genius behind the cybernetically enhanced Serpent Society that was originally intended to appear in Captain America: Brave New World.
Prior to the slate being reshuffled, Ironheart would have premiered several months before Captain America: Brave New World, which was originally intended to hit theaters on May 5, 2024. Earlier this year, concept art for four members of the Serpent Society (Cobra, Constrictor, Diamondback and Mamba) meant to appear in the film was found the internet. And it doesn’t take much to recognize that these are very much in line with the ideas Stane was describing to Riri.
— Into The Spider-Woman Verse (@GoldstoneRuby) March 1, 2025
Despite scenes featuring those characters being filmed–set photos of Rosa Salazar and Seth Rollins made their way online in early 2023–the enhanced version of Serpent Society was cut from the film and replaced with Giancarlo Esposito‘s very ordinary Seth Voelkers, aka Sidewinder, who was about as lame as it gets. Captain America: Brave New World director Julius Onah went on record saying that the original plans for the Serpent Society ended up “deviating probably a bit too much from the grounded tone that we wanted the movie to have,” which is why they were cut; however, it’s also obvious that with Ironheart releasing AFTER Brave New World, the characters being upgraded by Stane would not have fit in the MCU timeline.
It’s sadly ironic that after years of rarely accurately adapting villains taken from the comics, Marvel’s own struggles behind the scenes pulled the rug out from under Ehrenreich’s wonderfully comic-accurate Zeke Stane. While it’s possible there are plans for him to return to upgrade other baddies in the future, for the time being it seems as though the whole scenario resulted in a lost opportunity for the Ehrenreich, Stane and the MCU.
The excitement surrounding Marvel Studios’ decision to produce its streaming series on Disney+ was palpable. After the ABC-produced Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter and the Netflix-sponsored Defenders-verse series, Marvel Studios launched its own “it’s all connected” streaming series in 2021, beginning with WandaVision. Meant to introduce new characters that would eventually jump into the films and carry on the stories of existing characters between films, the studio’s D+ series certainly were more good than bad; however, as has become a constant complaint about Marvel Studios’ films, fans began to grow concerned that the studio’s streaming series were incredibly formulaic. With Marvel Television seeking to reduce budgets and move toward annual shows and special presentations that are slightly less connected, the studio’s original intentions for its D+ series have been phased out but it’s next series, Ironheart, is a holdover from before those decisions were made.
Announced during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation, Ironheart has taken a long and winding journey to the small screen. Filmed in 2022 and originally intended to be released in 2023, the series, which will close out Marvel Studios Phase 5, represents the end of the first era of Marvel Studios’ streaming plans.
Coming soon to #DisneyPlus, Dominique Thorne is genius inventor Riri Williams in Ironheart, an Original Series about the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. pic.twitter.com/VB94VyPr9e
Like its titular character, Ironheart–developed by Ryan Coogler‘s Proximity Media–seeks to establish itself as iconic. And despite having its true opportunity to establish itself as such ripped away by the studio’s near-complete upheaval of its road map, Ironheart still manages to offer plenty to ponder and enjoy. Carried by powerful performances and a very nuanced look at the struggle to make a difference in the modern world, Ironheart finishes strong and is, ironically, exactly the type of show the studio should continue to develop moving forward.
Set some time after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart follows Dominique Thorne‘s Riri Williams as she abruptly returns to Chicago following her expulsion from MIT. Though deeply connected to the MCU, the series, written by Chinaka Hodge and produced by Ryan Coogler, often feels more like an FX original series despite its adherence to the Marvel Studios streaming structure. Functionally and fortunately, Ironheart works as a coming-of-age piece that feels thematically adjacent to the works of John Singleton. The result is an incredible excavation of the everyday life of an antagonist with flexible ethics, a look at the lasting impact of trauma and a diary of the mental and emotional toll of suppressing one’s true identity. Despite some heavy-handed writing at times, Ironheart‘s exploration of the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between humans and their environment cements the series as one of the old guard’s best efforts to date in creating content for its streaming network.
Despite its best efforts, the show also stands as an unfortunate example of how a well-structured and well-intended idea can land poorly to no fault of its own. At conception, Ironheart unquestionably had a bigger place in the MCU. And while the obvious connections to the original plans for Captain America: Brave New World, Strange Academy and, perhaps, Armor Wars, may never come to fruition, it remains clear that Thorne’s Riri was meant to have a major impact on the MCU. The same can be said for Alden Ehrenreich‘s “Joe” and Anthony Ramos‘ Parker Robbins and while critically it is important to judge Ironheart on what it is, as a fan it is incredibly difficult to ignore what it was meant to have been.
Even so, taken as it is, Ironheart builds momentum and delivers a strong and surprising finale with a twist that even the most inside of insiders were not able to spoil. It’s the Marvel way to wonder and worry about what comes next for every character but as the studio determines the path forward, Ironheart provides an opportunity to enjoy a series firmly entrenched in the franchise’s connected universe without really needing to know much of anything that could not be casually gleaned from a quick Google search. Though it falls short of its iconic intentions, Ironheart does provide a worthy character study and ends the first phase of Marvel’s streaming plans on an upswing.
When it was first announced to be in development, Daredevil: Born Again was intended to be an 18-episode story with no ties to the original Netflix series. As part of the creative overhaul on the D+ show, showrunner Dario Scardapane chose to not only connect the show to the original Daredevil series but also divide the episodes into two seasons, allowing more time to write the final batch of episodes.
Production on Season 2, which will consist of eight-episodes, has been underway for several months and plenty of videos and photos from the New York City sets have made their way online, less has emerged of late. However, a new behind the scenes video may reveal a relatively spoilery stroll through the streets of the Big Apple.
Nearly every set photo taken of Woll has seen her character incognito, attempting to hide from Fisk’s Anti-vigilante Task Force. Additionally, given that Fisk knows Matt Murdock and Daredevil are one in the same, it doesn’t seem it would be safe for him and Karen Page to be out and about in the daytime. Taking everything into consideration, it is possible that this video reveals that Daredevil and his “army” will emerge victorious and, perhaps, unscathed at the end of Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again. Of course, there’s no telling what part of the series this is from and for all we know, Page may get shot on the street, meeting a fate similar to that of Foggy Nelson, right after this stroll!
Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again will debut on Disney Plus in March 2026.
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