September ‘23 CQMB - Blue Beetle, Secret Wars, Actors’ Strike, & More

I didn’t expect much going into this movie, but it delivered in places I didn’t expect. Now, I actually liked The Flash a good amount, so I don’t know if I’d go to say that this movie is the best DC movie of the year, but it was pretty solid. Jaime was a fun character, and I can easily picture his character being incorporated into the DCU. I hope that’s their direction, because Blue Beetle is really charismatic and likable, as well as his family. I give this movie a 7.6/10.

Jonathan Majors trial date was set for June 13, before being delayed to August 3. Now, once again, his trial date has been moved to September 6. I want to know the truth behind this whole scandal so then we can get a definite idea as to Majors’ future in the MCU, as long as the character of Kang. One report I saw stated that Majors’ accuser fled the country as of recently following new charges. A lot about this trial is very suspicious from both sides, and I honestly am clueless as to what’s to come.

In August, a new trailer for the second season of I Am Groot premiered, and we now know we will be receiving five new lovable shorts on September 6. This will be coming at us exactly a month before Loki: Season 2.

I questioned including this in this CQMB, but I felt I might as well just since there hasn’t been much news this month. So there have been rumors regarding Hugh Jackman’s and/or Andrew Garfield’s appearance in the film, which I partially expected because like… secret wars! It’s meant to be a huge spectacle so it wouldn’t surprise me if this had been the case. So this news didn’t bring me to much shock, but I felt I’d include this just to bring light to the rumors.

Once again, not much news has come out this month, so I’m taking what we’ve been given. So after the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, there has been a lot of backlash for the movie’s excessive comedic elements to the point where it felt like a parody of itself. This has led many to criticize Taika Waititi’s talent as a director. Many also had wished for him to not be attached to a Thor 5 film at all. However, recently Waititi has been talking about potential for a fifth Thor film, which gives the implication that he will likely be returning to direct. I like Thor: Ragnarok, so I think Love and Thunder might’ve just been a bit of a slip up, and I just hope if Waititi does direct Thor 5 that he can return to the elements that made Ragnarok so enjoyable, as well as possibly reinforcing the serious elements displayed in the first two Thor films, as well as the first two Avengers films. The side of Thor from those previous movies is what made him grounded, and considering the long life he has lived through, I feel it’d be more realistic for him to return to that side.

The MCU slate is going to be entirely delayed sooner than later, and here’s an update as to why. Obviously, the writer’s strike and actor’s strike has been halting production on several films and TV shows. For this reason, any show that was in pre-production or filming is being put at a pause. For this reason, Deadpool 3 will not make its May 3 release date. It is possible that the only MCU movie we’ll get in 2024 is Captain America: Brave New World, since that wrapped filming prior to the strikes. Although the DCU’s first film, Superman: Legacy, won’t be out for a little under two years, DC is still being impacted. Luckily Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Joker: Folie à Deux have both wrapped filming, however the strikes make it so that the actors of the films aren’t allowed to promote the movie, at least until the strike is over. This has been a big reason for the delays of many movies, is because the actors are incapable of advertising their movie. That’s why many believe Aquaman 2 is in danger. There hasn’t been a release of a trailer yet, and the movie is set to release in under four months. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, but this is just an update on where both the MCU and the DCU are at because of the strike.

In early August, Gal Gadot took to social media to tease her future as Wonder Woman, which led several to believe that Wonder Woman 3 was in the works. Some sources even stated that Gadot and James Gunn were discussing possibilities for the third film in the franchise. However, a few days later, these reports were debunked, with there being statements saying that the film was never in development at DC Studios. That’s led many to wonder why Gadot would have teased her future as Wonder Woman… if she has no future as Wonder Woman? This confuses me too, and I really don’t know what to believe until more details are known. I just honestly hope she’s not returning because I want the DCU to be a hard reboot, not this soft reboot James Gunn talks about. If it’s a soft reboot, too many things will become confusing as to what from the DCEU is canon to the new universe. I don’t want Wonder Woman returning, I don’t want Shazam returning, and I don’t want Peacemaker or Waller returning. If anything, I just want James Gunn to state which films are canon to the DCU. If it had to happen, I wouldn’t mind the return of Shazam, Peacemaker, or Waller though, I don’t dislike them.

The second season of Loki is releasing this October, but this news no one expected. Apparently, rumors are stating that once the Hollywood strikes end, that Marvel Studios will begin writing the second season of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. We’ve yet to see if this will happen, but I really hope it does not. I think too many people are hating on the She-Hulk character, when really it’s the show that’s the problem. I’d like for the MCU to incorporate She-Hulk in other ways, just not in the form of a second season of her show. We’ll see where this goes once the strike is over, but for now, I’m concerned.

The rumored runtime for The Marvels is 1h 38m, which is very short for a Marvel movie. Remember when everyone was hysteric over Doctor Strange 2’s short runtime? That movie’s runtime was 2h 6m. This would make The Marvels the shortest MCU movie yet. Numerous things about this movie have me concerned. I just hope it’ll be good. The Marvels will be in theaters November 10.

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 October.