February ‘23 CQMB - DC Slate, Quantumania, The Batman Part II, & More

We've got ourselves a long blog this month, so feel free to just skip around to different things that seem interesting to you! 😁🦸‍♂️

In case you haven’t noticed, DC is releasing four movies with Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. This is the first and last time the DCEU will have ever released four films in one year. They’ve never even released three in one year. The MCU on the other hand will be releasing three films, and there will be some competition between the two industries!

The MCU is releasing three films in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and The Marvels. Quantumania is said to be the beginning of a “new dynasty,” which is hinting at The Kang Dynasty. This movie is introducing the menacing Kang, and there are high stakes for the Scott’s friends and family. The third Guardians installment is said the be the end of the Guardians as we know them, which is why this movie is highly-anticipated. It is said to be a tear-jerker, and James Gunn has mentioned that at least one of the Guardians will indeed die by the end of the film. This has caused speculation to run wild as to which Guardian it may be. Gunn claims it is his best movie yet, and it has fans counting down the days til its release (93 days left as of Feb 1!). The Marvels doesn’t have much hype surrounding it, as it is a sequel to a heavily disliked MCU film, Captain Marvel. However, this movie will show us the interactions between Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel. That’s what the MCU has set for their films of 2023.

This year, the DCEU is releasing four films with Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The Flash, which is a highly-anticipated movie despite Ezra Miller’s controversial decisions, performed very well in test-screenings, and is expected to be critically-acclaimed. James Gunn said this film will be what resets the previous universe into the new DCU, and I am honestly pumped for this movie. People are also excited for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, not necessarily because it’s expected to make a lot of money or be critically acclaimed, but for Zachary Levi’s charismatic character. Blue Beetle was originally set for an HBO Max release, but was later changed to release theatrically. Rumors have gone around saying this film may be the beginning of James Gunn’s DCU, which seems to sort of be the case following the new slate announcement, in which Gunn states that Blue Beetle is a stand-alone film that fits well into the new universe. Anyways, finally, the DCEU is ending off the year, and ending off their universe with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. This movie, does not seem like it will have a large impact on the DCU, so therefore fans feel this film is useless in a few ways. The first installment made a lot of money, however personally I found the film to be okay, and a little mediocre. I don’t expect much more from the sequel, and it is a bummer that it sounds like it is planned for Amber Heard to still be a part of the returning cast.

Who do you think is going to win 2023, Marvel or DC? Personally, I think Marvel is going to take the easy win. The only thing that might make it closer is if Blue Beetle surprises me, and The Flash is phenomenal like some reports are saying.

The new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania premiered on ESPN on January 9th during the TCU vs Georgia College Football Championship Game. THIS TRAILER WAS ABSOLUTELY CRAZY! Now we know what Kang looks like in his full costume and mask, and we also got a few looks at M.O.D.O.K., which appears to look like Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket from Ant-Man (2015). It is crazy that this may be him. This trailer definitely boosted my anticipation for this movie by a lot. I know some people are worried about the 2h 5m runtime, but I honestly think that is enough time to flesh out the story and set up different parts of the MCU's future. I honestly wonder if this is the end of Scott Lang as we know him. Many people have speculated that Ant-Man may die in this film, but judging off the trailer, I don't think they would have shown him being beat up by Kang just for him to die in the movie. And by the way, Kang looks absolutely insane. From the comic-accurate design, to Jonathan Majors himself (who is a phenomenal actor), I think it will be very easy for Kang to be my favorite villain over Thanos. I am totally stoked for this movie. What were your thoughts on this trailer? Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will be releasing in theaters on February 17.

On January 1, Jeremy Renner was involved in a traumatic snow plowing accident in Nevada. It is said he suffered injuries in his upper torso, chest, and legs, but he has been okay to speak and post on his social media every once in a while updating his fans on his progress. Doctors say it is incredible he survived. It is possible his recovery may take a long time- maybe even a few years. I just hope he can get back to normal living as soon as possible. He has been released from the hospital, still injured, but well enough to not need constant supervision from medical professionals.

I am going to rank the upcoming Marvel and DC films coming out this year, along with the Marvel Disney+ series. I am making this ranking to see how close it is to the end of the year, where I can rank the movies based on how good they were rather than my anticipation. Here it is:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5)

2. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (February 17)
3. The Flash (June 16)
4. Secret Invasion (Spring)
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2)
6. Blue Beetle (August 18)
7. Loki: Season Two (Summer)
8. Ironheart (Fall)
9. The Marvels (July 28)
10. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17)
11. Echo (Winter)
12. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25)
13. Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Winter 2023/24)
14. Kraven the Hunter (October 6)

I did not include Wonder Man since nothing has been officially confirmed as to when the series may release (more about that later in the blog). I have no idea how controversial this ranking is, so let me know what your pre-ranking is for the Marvel and DC projects releasing this year!

It seems that Marvel Studios will fast-track Doctor Strange 3 so it releases before Secret Wars, at least according to a Marvel Studios scooper. The scooper said that Marvel Studios would aim for a Doctor Strange 3 release date in 2026, the same year they're planning to release films like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Eternals 2. They also stated that there may be a good chance Avengers: Secret Wars will be moved to 2027 following this, as it seemed that The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars would release a year apart from each other similar to Infinity War and Endgame. The scooper stated that it is possible that Marvel Studios may negotiate with the Avatar crew to possibly move Avatar 3 a month early so Avengers: Secret Wars could land a December 2026 spot in theaters.

This informs us a little more of Marvel Studios' Phase Six plans, so I find this pretty interesting. My personal opinion is Avengers: The Kang Dynasty should release in 2027 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2028 so that it can release for Marvel Studios' 20th Anniversary, ten years from Infinity War, and so it can give Marvel enough time to flesh out their image and their projects they're wanting to release before these two big films. I find it unrealistic that they're trying to fit Shang-Chi 2, Black Panther 3 (more on this later), Thor 5, and whatever other films they're making an effort to produce into The Multiverse Saga. If they do manage to release all of these movies (not necessarily saying we absolutely NEED a Black Panther 3 or Thor 5 by the end of Phase Six), they won't be as good as they could potentially be, unless the nearing Avengers movies are delayed.

Director of "The Batman," starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne had audiences wowed with the dark tone and intriguing action that took place. A sequel has been confirmed along with a third movie to round-out a trilogy. However, with the DCEU crumbling, "The Batman" fans were worried the new DCU agenda would have Robert Pattinson's Batman team-up alongside the newly introduced DCU characters. Although James Gunn stated that the universe of Matt Reeves' The Batman (or "The BatVerse, if you will), along with Teen Titans Go!, the Joker films, and some other franchises will be classified under "DC Elseworlds" which will now be the term for DC projects that are unrelated to and outside of the connected universe. On January 31, it was announced that "The Batman Part II" will release in theaters on October 3, 2025.

Director Ryan Coogler and Shuri actress Letitia Wright have both teased a sequel to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. From what they've said, it seems we won't receive a Black Panther 3 for awhile, possibly not even in this phase, but at least now we know for sure it is being made.

Along with that, Black Panther actress, Danai Gurira, has teased her heavily rumored Okoye series expected to land on Disney+ sometime in the future. She was asked about it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and she said that she was only allowed to gently allude to it, and that was the most of what she could say.

I am totally looking forward to these two projects, because I can easily see them being very enjoyable. What do you think about these projects?

The upcoming MCU Disney+ series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, has already begun filming, and will still shoot for release date this year, despite the delay of the Echo series.

A report about the Wonder Man show, a Marvel series soon to be streaming on Disney+, will be released near the end of 2023, when Agatha: Coven of Chaos is said to begin streaming. I'm not quite sure how this will work, but chances are, Marvel Studios will have to move some things around to fit different things into workable places. For now, we'll just wait for updates regarding what the end of this year will look like for Marvel.

The second trailer for Shazam! Fury of the Gods released on the 26th of January. I honestly feel like this trailer did nothing to my excitement for this movie. This movie feels like it has no purpose, like at this point it is just coming out just to exist. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Shazam! installment, but this one doesn't give me the same excitement as the first one did. I don't know, let me know your thoughts in the comments, but I'm not particularly super excited for this film like I am with some of the other films releasing this year, and I am sure some other people feel the same way.

Forty-five year-old actress, Annie Wersching, has unfortunately passed away on January 29th due to complications with cancer. It is so unfortunate for something like this to happen, and I am sending love and support to her family.

My quiz “Fast Typing - Type Anything” was spotlit on January 3 by my friend dabmaster5. Prior to the spotlight, my quiz was just short of 500 plays with 489, however within the past month, my quiz has now reached a total of 2,429 plays! (As of Jan 31). Thank you so much for all the support and thank you dabmaster5 for being generous enough to use his spotlight for me.

James Gunn's DCU slate was finally revealed on Tuesday, January 31, and it is exciting to see what Gunn and his team have planned for this new universe. The first film to be announced is the long-awaited Superman reboot, which is now titled Superman: Legacy, set to release in theaters on July 11, 2025. Another two movies now in production are titled, The Authority, and The Brave and The Bold, which is a movie about Batman and Robin! Another new DC movie we'll be seeing in the coming years is Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. There will also be a theatrically released Swamp Thing film. Onto HBO Max, there will be a show titled "Lanterns" following the Green Lantern Corps. There will also be a The Suicide Squad spin-off TV series titled "Waller" with Viola Davis returning to the role. A series titled Creature Commandos will also be released on HBO Max. Other series that will stream on HBO Max are Paradise Lost, which is a prequel series regarding the origins of Wonder Woman's home, and Booster Gold. A new blog with more in-depth information about these projects will be posted within the next few days after this one releases.

Thank you for reading this month's CQMB. Be sure to stay tuned for the next CQMB which will release on the first of March.