December '22 CQMB - Holiday Special, Wakanda Forever, CCXP22, & More

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever got released on November 11, and man was it great. I thought Riri Williams was a great addition to the movie for a little comedic relief. She had some great comedic timing too! Tenoch Huerta Mejíia was fantastic at playing Namor the Submariner. It was great seeing him on the big screen for once. Letitia Wright had an amazing and moving performance as Shuri/Black Panther, and Angela Bassett had such a moving performance as Queen Ramonda. This movie does a phenomenal job at honoring the legacy of the late Chadwick Boseman, who shockingly passed in August of 2020, which caught millions of fans off-guard. This movie does a great job at not only honoring his legacy, but carrying on and transitioning into a new future. Ryan Coogler is so talented in how he was able to take what he was given (Boseman's death, COVID-19 pandemic, general production difficulties, etc.), and make something beautiful out of it is outstanding. SPOILER WARNING- I don’t know about you, but I did not expect Ramonda to die, that caught me off guard. And Val was married to Ross? Interesting.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special dropped on Disney+ on November 25. This special presentation definitely did not fail to achieve the comedic aspects wanted for the project! Kevin Bacon was hilarious at playing… well… Kevin Bacon, and Rocket’s Christmas gift was amazing. It was great to see Mantis in the spotlight, alongside Drax. SPOILER WARNING- Did not expect to find out Mantis and Star-Lord were siblings, well, half-siblings. I suppose it makes sense though. The post-credit scene teased another holiday special, but I wouldn’t think that would happen since GOTG Vol. 3 is said to be the end of this era of Guardians. I don’t know if that would be the best decision.

The sequel to 2019's Shazam! has had a trailer ever since San Diego Comic Con 2022, but the movie hadn't had a poster tagged along with it. However this month in November, the official poster for Shazam! Fury of the Gods was released.

The movie Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson in the title role, released on October 21 this year. It was just under three weeks after the movie’s release when various reports stated a sequel already has a finished script, and they’re looking to film in just four months! It’s odd how the first Black Adam film took eight years to make it on the big screen, yet the sequel is already relatively deep into pre-production.

According to recent rumors, Agent Mobius, played by Owen Wilson in Loki, which was released in the summer of last year, could be a part of the Deadpool 3 cast. Chances are this has to do with the TVA and Deadpool crossing into the main MCU universe (Earth-616) (or Earth-199999). This may be how they incorporate Deadpool and Wolverine coming into the universe, by involving the Time Variance Authority, the ones who fix the timeline and people that cross over or change the set timeline in the MCU.

Concerning reports state that the crew involved in creating Spider-Man: Freshman Year is not returning for Spider-Man: Sophomore Year. This raises concern for Freshman Year because typically, if the majority of a crew for a film or TV series is fired and not part of the sequel or next season, that is a pretty big red flag for what is to come for what they were involved in. This likely indicates Marvel Studios isn’t satisfied with what the crew for Spider-Man: Freshman Year produced. We’ll just have to wait and see for ourselves how the show turns out.

Recently on “Limitless with Chris Hemsworth,” Hemsworth addressed that he was recently diagnosed with a predisposition for Alzheimer’s disease. He carries two copies of the APOE4 gene, which increases one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s, which his grandfather currently has. As a result of his diagnosis, he has decided to take a break from acting to spend more time with his family, as being told you’re at high-risk for a disease that causes you to lose your memory and eventually pass is a very hard thing to hear. Certain reports suggest he may stop playing Thor, though there hasn’t been any confirmation in that regard. Thor isn’t of the most importance right now- I hope Hemsworth is able to move on and experience his life at the fullest from this point on. I assume he sees life in a new light, and that may drive him to achieve different goals. This may mean stepping down from acting for good. It isn’t smart to jump to conclusions, so only time will tell how Chris will manage. We support whatever you decide to do, Chris.

A show centered around the Spider-Man character Silk has been up in the air for a long time. It is official now. The show is still in pre-production, but when the time comes, Silk: Spider Society will be streaming on MGM+, formerly known as Epix, along with Amazon Prime Video.

Within the past few months, the Blade film has gone through a lot. Director Bassam Tariq stepped down, the script was scrapped, and the film was delayed by almost a year. Now, the movie has a director in Yann Demange and a new writing team. It’s impressive how Marvel Studios is able to get back on their feet so fast. Hopefully they can prove that to us by giving us a good Blade movie.

Just in on December 1 is the brand new trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, and a new sneak peek for Quantumania. That trailer for gotg really has me HYPED for next year. It looks like they’re going for a more emotional take for this installment in the Guardians franchise.