October '24 CQMB - Thunderbolts*, Spider-Man, DCU, & More

As I’ve said before, I do not have Max, so I’m just gonna say now that I will not have anymore content in regards to The Penguin show (unless I hear about something from the show super impactful to the Batman Epic Crime Saga). For Agatha All Along, I have not watched any of the episodes yet, but I am feeling more motivation to do so. I should hopefully have coverage on the show for the November CQMB. Have you watched either yet? If so, what are your thoughts so far?

Wow. Marvel is really upping their game! This trailer looked great! This is pretty similar to the vibe that the Brave New World trailer gave, which so far is exciting me a lot. When the Thunderbolts team was first announced I was pretty hesitant, but the trailer makes me way more excited. The lineup looks like it will help with the cohesiveness of The Multiverse Saga, since many of the other installments to the Saga haven't really felt connected to one another. So, in short, this trailer has me stoked. What are your thoughts on the trailer?

Thunderbolts* will be in theaters on May 2, 2025.

Allegedly, Disney will be making a decision by the end of this month whether or not the cancel Blade and/or Armor Wars. As we know, there has been very little progress towards the production for both of these films. This is why the studio is wondering if they should cut their losses by calling it a day with the projects. I honestly hope neither gets cancelled. I don’t know that Armor Wars needs to be a movie, but I don’t think there’s any obvious reason for these projects to get cancelled. I really feel like Marvel is headed down a better path considering Deadpool & Wolverine, as well as the likes of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* (the trailers look very promising). So I feel like if they can maintain this run, there’s no reason to scrap potentially good projects. Do you think these projects should be fleshed out, or should they just be canceled?

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton! He is the same person who directed Shang-Chi and the upcoming Wonder Man series. He is also slated to direct Shang-Chi 2. Not long after 2022’s SDCC, Destin Daniel Cretton was announced to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (now Avengers: Doomsday). Not a long time after this announcement, he resigned from the project. Since then, the Russo Brothers have been announced to direct the upcoming Avengers films. I was not expecting Cretton to direct this film considering he dropped out of Avengers 5, but I like this pick. Considering the street-level combat shown in the first half of Shang-Chi, it has me excited for the potential of the Spider-Man action that will go down. Overall, this makes me happy. How do you guys feel about this choice for director?

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has been delayed indefinitely. Some sources say it’s possible this movie could be delayed up until 2027. I’m not totally shocked, considering there was a 5-year gap between the first and second films in the trilogy, but I do get the frustration since this was considered to be a part two to Across the Spider-Verse, and usually the part 2 to a part 1 film comes pretty close in release. Anyways, I'm not really up in arms about the whole thing because I'm not as much of a fanatic about the franchise as many people are, and I trust that if they're taking this time to develop the movie, that time is being put to good use. What are your thoughts?

The final trailer dropped for this film, and just like before, it still has me excited. Not necessarily thrilled, but these movies have always been enjoyable. Apparently Sony may be really trying to get their act together, and they’re really focused on making Venom 3 and Kraven the Hunter high-quality films (by that, I mean not trash like most of the other Sony Spider-Man films). I’m hoping for the best, and since Kraven’s most recent trailer was more interesting, I’m wondering if this could maybe be true. What did you think of this final trailer?

Venom: The Last Dance will be in theaters on October 25.

James Gunn has chosen actor Kyle Chandler to play Hal Jordan in the new DCU Lanterns series for Max. This casting has met controversy, seeing that the actor is nearing age 60, which has fans concerned, as the character of Hal Jordan is typically much younger. However, reports have stated that the actors in contention for the role of John Stewart are in their 30s. When the show was first announced, most fans inferred that the teaming up of John Stewart and Hal Jordan would be two guys around the same age. However, now it is becoming more clear that Hal Jordan will most likely be a mentor for John Stewart. Another interesting piece to this story is that Chandler's contract does not include any movie appearances, possibly implying he could die by the end of the series, and pass on the mantle of Green Lantern to John Stewart. I obviously don't know anything for sure, but we'll see. What do you think of this casting?

Speaking of the DCU, a new film in the franchise has been announced, with notorious DC villains starring in their own team-up movie: Bane and Deathstroke. This really interests me. I always find it intriguing when these universes attempt to do a villain-run film, where the main character(s) are bad guys. The latest we've seen is the awful Sony films, but those characters weirdly enough were protagonists, despite their history as a comic book villain. I'm hoping this film will be able to antagonize them, so it can stay true to the characters' histories.

Here’s each of the Marvel/DC projects coming out this month:

October 2 - Agatha All Along [E4] (streaming: Disney+)

October 4 - Joker: Folie à Deux (theaters)

October 6 - The Penguin [E3] (streaming: Max)

October 9 - Agatha All Along [E5] (streaming: Disney+)

October 13 - The Penguin [E4] (streaming: Max)

October 16 - Agatha All Along [E6] (streaming: Disney+)

October 20 - The Penguin [E5] (streaming: Max)

October 23 - Agatha All Along [E7] (streaming: Disney+)

October 25 - Venom: The Last Dance (theaters)

October 27 - The Penguin [E6] (streaming: Max)

October 30 - Agatha All Along [E8] (streaming: Disney+)