June ‘23 CQMB - Guardians 3, Loki: Season 2, Spider-Man, & More

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

This movie was perfect. Each of the characters' story arcs were done so well, and it was a fantastic way to conclude this franchise. James Gunn is such an intelligent storyteller and it really shows in this movie. You have been warned for spoilers: I am honestly shocked no one died. It has been this buildup of "who's gonna die?" I really thought they were gonna let Star-Lord go towards the end but it obviously didn't end up that way. I feel like having someone die in the movie would have been a smart strategic move, but at the same time I wouldn't want to change a thing about this movie. You hear so many people talking about "Superhero Fatigue" and how nobody wants to see superhero movies anymore, and that's truly only because there have been bad movies out. Thor: Love and Thunder, bad. Black Adam, bad. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, bad. And I feel like people just associate superhero movies with bad quality now. These people only need to be on the lookout for films like this. My rating is 9.2/10

The upcoming sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, has set a record for being one of the longest theatrically released animated movie. The movie is set to run 140 minutes (2h 20m). I just rewatched Into the Spider-Verse this month, and it has me excited for this sequel!

In preparation for Across the Spider-Verse, I released the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (SPOILERS) Quiz to refresh yourself on all the characters that made an appearance in this first installment in the trilogy. Here is the link to the quiz!

https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1447601/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-spoilers

The first trial for the Majors case was on Tuesday, May 9. I haven't personally read or heard about any new shocking or revealing details, but what we know is that his next trial is June 13. I will continue to release updates on this situation in my CQMBs.

Some news I had failed to mention in recent CQMBs regarding Captain America: New World Order was some casting details. So we know Anthony Mackie will be reprising his role as Sam Wilson, but what we also know is Liv Tyler will be returning as Betty Ross, Harrison Ford will be playing Thunderbolt Ross, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be back to play Val. We also know that Tim Blake Nelson will return to play his teased villain from The Incredible Hulk, The Leader. This really sounds like The Incredible Hulk 2, except without the Hulk and Captain America in his place. Carl Lumbly will be returning as Isaiah Bradley and Danny Ramirez is returning as Joaquín Torres, two characters from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. The Incredible Hulk has really felt like an outcast in the MCU franchise, and I think Marvel is trying to fix that with this movie. Another thing it sounds like they’re trying to fix is this movie’s title as well. Many fans have noticed that this movie’s subtitle shares the same name as an episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. “New World Order” also apparently has ties to a conspiracy theory I think? So I think to clear up any possible confusion and to disassociate the relation to a completely irrelevant topic to the movie, Marvel is going to play it safe and give the name a new subtitle. This movie has also recently began filming (pretty sure within the last 2-3 months), and the image above is a set photo.

It was announced this month on Marvel’s twitter that Loki: Season 2 will start streaming on Disney+ on Friday, October 6, with a new episode releasing weekly. It was also announced that the Echo series will drop all of its episodes on Wednesday, November 29 onto Disney+. This will be the first time any Marvel show will have dropped all its episodes in one day. It’s also the first time since The Falcon and The Winter Soldier that the episodes will be streaming on Fridays. I’m glad they announced these release dates further ahead of time since they usually do that as a last minute thing. I’m excited for both of these shows!

We now know that Doctor Strange’s Chiwetel Ejiofor will have a role in Sony’s upcoming Venom 3. Who he’s playing? That is still unknown. Any updates will be seen in future CQMBs.

The characters of Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio are said to reprise their roles in this upcoming installment in the Deadpool franchise, and there are also a few rumors regarding the returns of original X-Men other than Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Some rumors are stating that Halle Berry will return as Storm, Famke Jannsen as Jean Grey, and James Marsden as Cyclops. We are not sure if these iconic mutants will make their return to the big screen, however we know for sure that the majority of the original Deadpool cast members are for sure returning.

An actor known for playing Volstagg in the MCU and The Punisher in Punisher: War Zone, Ray Stevenson, unfortunately passed away on the 21st of May. He’s set to star in the Ahsoka Star Wars series on Disney+. He will not be forgotten.

The streaming service known for its DC content, Max, officially changed its name from HBO Max on May 23.

Just like the other trailers, this one did its job in hyping me up for the movie! I am hyped. I cannot wait. I also saw a report that makes it sound like if this movie does well and they want to make a sequel that they are looking to keep Ezra Miller. I know various sources said that could possibly be the case, but it sounds so frequent at this point that maybe that is their plan.

During the premiere of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Amy Pascal (producer for Sony Pictures) talked about both Spider-Man 4 and the future of Spider films. She stated that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 is taking a pause in production due to the writers strike, which is something I haven’t talked about in CQMBs so feel free to do your own research. This is positive news since we know for sure that Sony and Marvel Studios are hard at work to get the next MCU Spider-Man movie out there. Pascal also mentioned a live-action Miles Morales movie and a Spider-Woman movie are both in the works. I’m excited for the future of Spider-Man, and I wonder if this new Spider-Woman might be the one who faces the characters we’ve met in the SSU.

The show Runaways was recently taken down from the streaming service. It sounds like it may be in regards to a potential Disney+ Hulu merger. There’s nothing official, and there’s a very good chance the merger doesn’t happen, but it’s possible.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this month's CQMB. Be sure to stay tuned for the next CQMB which will release on the first of July.