April ‘23 CQMB - Shazam! 2, Punisher, Jonathan Majors, & More

*SPOILER REVIEW*

Going into this movie, I expected a mediocre DC flick, one that would have no lasting impact on me, and one that would disappoint. And I left the theater with my expectations proved wrong, and a smile on my face. This movie found a way to give the audience a new way to see the “Philly Fiascos.” The characters were super fun and enjoyable, and some of the performances were great. Jack Dylan Grazer had a super captivating performance, Zachary Levi has the same charisma as always, and Rachel Zegler was a nice addition to the film. Spoilers ahead: I felt like it was kind of a plot convenience for Wonder Woman to show up to revive Billy. I thought that kind of ruined the character arc we had seen along the film. I don't necessarily think it was a bad idea to have Shazam stay alive for the future, but I feel like it was super unnecessary to kill him off only to bring him back immediately. This ended was also ruined by the TV Spots revealing Wonder Woman's cameo in the film. I’m also confused why the Justice Society is still being mentioned- does that mean different elements of Black Adam are going to carry into the DCU? I hope not.

Reports say that Jon Bernthal will be reprising his role as The Punisher for Marvel Studios' Daredevil: Born Again, a Disney+ series set to release in 2024. This is really exciting for fans of the Netflix Defenders franchise series. I personally haven't seen any of the Netflix Marvel shows, but it seems like those fan-favorite characters are making a comeback, likely by demand by MCU fans. We saw Charlie Cox make his MCU debut as Daredevil in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and we also saw Kingpin make his MCU appearance in Hawkeye. It doesn't seem like, at this moment, that the Netflix shows are canon, but it seems like these actors are returning as a way to please audiences in seeing some of their favorite Marvel characters make it into the MCU, with the actors that gave them life remaining in the role.

Many fans of the MCU have complained in recent years about the abundance of TV shows being released for the universe. They claimed that the quality is declining because Marvel is so focused on releasing a large amount of content in such little time. And now it seems like they're listening to the fans and making a change. In the beginning of this year, it was reported that there would be up to eight series releasing in 2023: Secret Invasion, Echo, Loki S02, What If...? S02, Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, X-Men '97, and possibly the Wonder Man series. Now it sounds like Marvel and Disney are cutting back, only planning to release two series, possibly a third. As of right now, the two series guaranteed to be released in 2023 are Secret Invasion and Loki S02. And as of recently, it sounds like Loki S02 will be delayed from summer to the fall of 2023.

On the topic of Secret Invasion, confirmation has been made that the show will not release this Spring. The show’s release date has been announced, and it will release on June 21, 2023. Since it has six episodes, that’ll likely mean the show will end on July 26.

It was announced in March that the director of Superman: Legacy will indeed be the one who wrote the film, which is the one and only James Gunn. Not only is he managing the entire new universe, but it seems like this Superman film is in his hands, and hopefully that gives the indication that we'll get a strong Superman film, knowing Gunn's good track record.

It sounds like Marvel is finally taking action on the constant leaks that have been made with Marvel movies. Some of these leaks were ones that spoiled Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s appearance in No Way Home, Professor X’s appearance in Multiverse of Madness (prior to the reveal in the trailer), a few of the Illuminati members’ appearance in Multiverse of Madness, and more. Another was the leak of the Quantumania script. Marvel has had enough, and that has led to a lawsuit that will hopefully put a stop to these upsetting spoilers.

In 2022, we received Werewolf By Night as a Halloween special, and some reports make it sound like Marvel is planning of releasing another Halloween special for their catalog. Certain rumors state that they are making a Mephisto Halloween Special for this year. A few months ago, we found out that Sacha Baron Cohen was casted as Mephisto. The character has been said to debut in Ironheart, however, we may get an introduction to the character sooner than we thought. It may take a while for any official confirmation, seeing how it was only confirmed by Marvel that Werewolf By Night was going to be released a month before it premiered on Disney+.

The reported runtime for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is 2 hours 29 minutes. This makes it the longest movie in the trilogy, which makes sense, seeing it’s going to be the final installment in the Guardians franchise. James Gunn says this is his favorite of the three, and I am completely stoked for this movie. I just cannot wait. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is releasing in theaters on May 5, 2023.

The second to last part of the DC Extended Universe’s swan song, Blue Beetle, will have its first trailer out this month! The trailer will release this April, on Monday the 3rd. Blue Beetle is releasing in theaters on August 18, 2023.

Victoria Alonso has been a part of the crew of Marvel Studios since the beginning, and just in the month of March, she has been fired. It was apparently for her involvement with the film Argentina, 1985. I’m not too sure about the specifics of why this was such an issue for Marvel Studios, but all in all, she’s been fired, and there’s drama happening because of it. She was head of the VFX department, so seeing that she’s gone, Marvel may run into trouble, seeing how there were already issues spiraling with the Disney+’s shows VFX. I wonder if her departure may be a part of the reason Marvel is taking it slow with their projects. That may not be the case, but who knows.

Reports state that Clayface may be the main villain for The Batman 2, or he may at least make an appearance in the movie. These speculations were mentioned in reliable sources, which make it sound like this may become the legitimate decision for the film. This comes to surprise since it seemed as if Matt Reeves was going for more of realistic approach in terms of this BatVerse of his, but if this comes true, then we can expect more comic-like aspects coming to this universe.

The actor known for his incredible performances in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Creed III has been arrested. He was involved in a “domestic dispute” with a 30-year-old woman rumored to be his girlfriend. He was reportedly charged for “several misdemeanor[s], such as assault and aggravated harassment.” The details on the situation still don’t quite seem fully fleshed-out, and I’m left to wonder if Majors is truly responsible for these crimes, as it is said that he had called the police prior to the incident. Jonathan Majors’ future in the MCU is uncertain, seeing how Disney has very little tolerance for instances like these. The woman has reportedly been placed in the hospital after this event having sustained minor injuries to her head and her neck. Despite his harmful actions, I don’t know if it would be the best choice at this point to fire him from the role of Kang. For one thing, he is a pretty great actor. Another thing, they’ve already involved him in the MCU so much, to the point where it’s pretty difficult to recast him. It’s one thing if they had to recast him after the season one of Loki, but now they’ve had him in Quantumania, and they’ve already filmed his appearance in the next season of Loki. There have been no reports as to how Disney is going to handle this situation, as they’re likely still discussing their options. His advertisements for the U.S. Army have been pulled from playing on live TV.

He and his attorney claim that he did not assault the woman, which wouldn’t make much sense since she had to go to the hospital. I think a lot is uncertain right now and we’ll have to wait for more info.

You can find more specific reports on different news platforms.