January ‘23 CQMB - Spider-Verse, Gunn’s DCU, Year in Review, & More

I'm so glad to be back here for a new CQMB, the first one of 2023! I hope everyone reading this has had a wonderful time during the holidays, and a happy new year as well. Now let's dive into some movie news!

The year of 2022 was filled with a lot of Marvel and DC content. Here is a quick list of the Marvel and DC projects that were released:

Peacemaker (January 13, 2022 - February 17, 2022)

The Batman (March 4, 2022)
Moon Knight (March 30, 2022 - May 4, 2022)
Morbius (April 1, 2022)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6, 2022)
Ms. Marvel (June 8, 2022 - July 13, 2022)
Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8, 2022)
DC League of Super-Pets (July 29, 2022)
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (August 18, 2022 - October 13, 2022)
Werewolf By Night (October 7, 2022)
Black Adam (October 21, 2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11, 2022)
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (November 25, 2022)

2022 also gave us the trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Secret Invasion, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Along with that, we received a whole ton of Marvel and DC news from SDCC 2022 and D23. Here is a list of upcoming projects releasing this year for Marvel and DC:

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (February 17, 2023)

Secret Invasion (Spring 2023)
Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17, 2023)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (May 5, 2023)
Loki: Season 2 (Summer 2023)
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2, 2023)
The Flash (June 16, 2023)
The Marvels (July 28, 2023)
Blue Beetle (August 18, 2023)
Ironheart (Fall 2023)
Kraven the Hunter (October 6, 2023)
Echo (Winter 2023)
Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Winter 2023/24)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (December 25, 2023)

Animated projects like What If…? Season 2 and X-Men ‘97 are expected to release this year as well.

According to reports this December, Wonder Woman 3, Man of Steel 2, and possibly Black Adam 2 (all films that hadn’t gotten past pre-production) have been cancelled. Man of Steel 2 notably being cancelled because Henry Cavill is leaving once again (that will be discussed further below). James Gunn is really making a turn-around for the DCU. It seems the DCEU we all once knew is only ashes now.

Superman made his grand return in Black Adam's post-credit scene, and he announced on his social media that he is OFFICIALLY returning as Superman in the DCEU, but wait... you're telling me he just got fired?! Only two months after making his official return? Wait, Ben Affleck is gone too? Even after Jason Momoa confirmed he's returning as Batman in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Hold on, now you're telling me that Jason Momoa is no longer going to play Aquaman? And that now he's going to play... Lobo? Man, through all this chaos at least Gal Gadot is still playing Wonder Woman. Wait... are you trying to tell me she's no longer playing Wonder Woman? Oh wow, this is a lot to process. At least we still have Ezra Miller! Wait I don't know if I like that. Wait, Ezra is getting fired? Okay, good, that is deserved. So all we have left of the original Justice League is Cyborg. Oh, I forgot he quit years ago. Oh well... I guess James Gunn is really putting an end to the DCEU. He better prove this DCU of his is worth it.

The Disney+ YouTube channel posted a thirty second long video showing sneak peeks to some of their upcoming projects in 2023 with Tom Hiddleston narrating the clip. They show some clips from the following:

The Mandalorian S03

Dug Days: Carl's Date

Loki S02

Peter Pan & Wendy

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Win or Lose

Ahsoka

Secret Invasion

American Born Chinese

Crater

Star Wars: The Bad Batch S02

The two notable of these projects are Loki S02 and Secret Invasion, as these are two new upcoming Disney+ MCU series. We will also be getting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+ which was an amazing film. It is cool to see the first look of what we're getting in Loki S02, and a little more of Secret Invasion that we didn't see in the trailer from D23.

In the month of December, we have received our second look at Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (as there was a first look released last December). If you haven't already, you should check it out! It builds up a lot of hype for this movie, since by the time this one releases, it will have already been five years since the first one. How many Spider-Men did you recognize in the trailer?

It looks like they're not putting in the work or putting in the hours into Black Adam 2 over at Warner Bros. Last CQMB I talked about how Warner Bros. already had a script prepared for a Black Adam sequel. However, something not super unexpected happened. Black Adam 2 was canceled. After Black Adam received its poor reviews and low box office grossing, it's safe to say that James Gunn had no desire to carry on this franchise that The Rock has been working on for around a decade now. Dwayne Johnson made a post on social media announcing his leave from the DCEU, and that Black Adam is no more. It seems like the DCEU is ending once Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is out. Then the DCEU is dead, and the DCU is born.

Speaking of the DCU, there have been reports stating that James Gunn will reveal “a few” projects in a slate that will release this January. It is not known how many projects, as he stated there would be “a few,” but I think we can assume at least four (that’s at least my guess). What are you looking forward to in this new universe? Any projects that you hope will make an appearance on this new slate?

There have been rumors and speculation that James Gunn may have decided for Blue Beetle to be the first film of his DC Universe. Along with that, there has been an announcement that Gunn will reveal a slate at the beginning of this year. I’m really eager to know what he has planned for the start of this Universe.

The Hawkeye spinoff series “Echo” has been delayed from Summer 2023 to Winter 2023. This may also mean Agatha: Coven of Chaos could be delayed. Not many details are known. There are a few concerns for others shows as well. Echo has been confirmed to be delayed, while shows like Agatha: Coven of Chaos, X-Men ‘97, and the next season of What If…? are possibly going to be delayed into 2024. Again, not many details are known, but as of now, these shows are still going to be a part of 2023.

Warner Bros will be making their first appearance in the Super Bowl since 2006! Warner Bros will be promoting The Flash movie with a trailer during Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023. Be sure to be on the lookout, as I have a lot of trust that this movie will be very good (despite Ezra's insanity).

My quiz was selected to be spotlighted on January 3. The quiz is titled “Fast Typing - Type Anything!” and I would really appreciate if you could show some support and try it out. Thanks!

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be streaming on Disney+ on February 1st.