If the Marvel Cinematic Universe had announced its intentions to expand onto television a little sooner, then surely there would have been a place for Frank Grillo's Crossbones to appear in at least one of the shows. After all, the actor is a proven action star with lifelong martial arts training that also happens to be ripped as hell even at 55 year-old, while Brock Rumlow had a direct connection to Captain America and a really cool costume to boot.
Joe and Anthony Russo's association with the Marvel Cinematic Universe has set them up for life career-wise, with the sibling duo now able to pick and choose any project they want.
Gerard Butler knows exactly what his place is in Hollywood, and he's more than happy to give the people what they want. Hollywood's resident grizzled Scotsman is never going to be the guy the studios turn to when casting prestige dramas or $200 million blockbusters, but if you need a leading man for a mid budget action thriller, there's few more reliable names out there.
When it comes to naming the best actor to have ever played Batman, the conversation usually boils down to a straight shoot between Michael Keaton and Christian Bale, and Kevin Conroy is far too often left out entirely. As the voice of the Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series, he was the defining take on the character for an entire generation of kids, and nobody's lent their talents to the Caped Crusader as often as the 65 year-old has.
The brief furor over the Punisher's iconic logo was a snapshot of internet culture in a microcosm. After an image made the rounds online that showed one of the rioters who stormed the Capitol building sporting Frank Castle's insignia, there were calls on social media for Marvel to either stop promoting the symbol or retire the character altogether due to his purported glorification of violence.
Ray Fisher may have drawn a line under his tenure as the DCEU's Cyborg after releasing a statement confirming that he had no intention of returning to the superhero franchise as long as Water Hamada was still calling the shots. As the president of DC Films, Hamada isn't going anywhere for a long time, meaning that we won't be seeing Victor Stone again unless the role is recast, as has been rumored.
Fans recently had Birds of Prey trending on social media as they celebrated the one-year anniversary of the DCEU's box office bomb that went on to become an instant cult favorite, not to mention the highest-grossing comic book movie of 2020. It still might be a little too early to put the champagne back on ice, though, because Harley Quinn's solo spinoff could be making a late and unexpected push for Academy Awards glory.
With the notable exceptions of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers' respective multi-film arcs with Pepper Potts and Peggy Carter, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never really done a great job of giving audiences many genuine reasons to care about the majority of the franchise's romantic relationships, although Peter Parker and MJ are definitely on their way to becoming the MCU's third serious power couple.