It was definitely a shock when it was first announced that Sony had stuck an unprecedented agreement to share Spider-Man with Marvel Studios and reboot the web-slinger as part of Kevin Feige's cinematic universe, but it wasn't much of a surprise.
Make no mistake about it; Spider-Man: No Way Home is going to be a very long movie. Sometimes superhero blockbusters deserve or are fully justified in their butt-numbing length, and we can safely say the Marvel Cinematic Universe threequel has earned the right to drag on for a little while.
The world is still in a state of shock after a prop firearm discharged by Alec Baldwin on the set of Western Rust ended up causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, with director Joel Souza since having been released from hospital after he too was injured.
Next month marks the two-year anniversary of AppleTV+ launching, and with the exception of critical darling and awards season favorite Ted Lasso, the platform is still looking for another one of its original shows to really break through and make a mark on the public consciousness.
Fans jumped for joy when it was first announced that Ben Affleck was ending his self-imposed retirement as Batman to return in The Flash, continuing the budding mentor/protege dynamic between Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen that we first saw in both versions of Justice League.
Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa have become one of Hollywood's favorite bromances, with the pair of hulking action stars gushing over each other at every available opportunity.
As a big budget superhero blockbuster that features a fan favorite comic book character finally headlining their first solo movie, one that incorporates the multiverse and ropes in both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as alternate versions of Batman, there's clearly going to be a whole lot of spectacle on display in The Flash.
there's also a part of me that feels like I'm really interested to see what they will do with it, to make it different if I'm not a part of it, or even if I am a part of it," Kinberg explained. "Not to sound bombastic, but it's a little bit like Shakespeare, where a million people have played Hamlet. There's been tons of fascinating versions of Hamlet. I myself started with the original X-Men cast and then went into the First Class cast and then put them together in a movie and split them back up again and did something very different with Logan than what we were doing with Wolverine and the X-Men mainline franchise. So there's just so many different ways you can go tonally and cast-wise."
"I'm excited to see what they do," Kinberg continued, referring to Feige and Marvel Studios' take on the X-Men. "I don't have any hopes for what they do. I know it's gonna be cool because everything they do is cool and smart and really well thought-out. As a fan of the comics and as a fan of Marvel movies, I literally can't wait. So yeah, I'd certainly be open to being involved. If not, will be first in line and wildly excited to see what they do."
Having evolved from an unproven producer to one of of the most powerful and influential figures in the entire industry in little more than a decade, Kevin Feige's rise to the top of the Hollywood pile has been as rapid as it is remarkable.
When the first trailer for Eternals dropped earlier this year, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans demanded to know why an all-powerful race of immortal aliens had simply sat on the sidelines and watched as Thanos decimated half of all life in the universe with a snap of his fingers, especially when the titular team have strong ties to the Mad Titan.