2023 has got to be the strangest time to be a Marvel fan since, well, OK, only since 2020, but you know that feels like a life ago already. For the first time since Black Widow released that summer, we’ve only got the one MCU movie releasing, as various other films and franchises simmer on the stove.
Like, for instance, Spider-Man 4, which you’d really think would’ve at least started shooting by now given the enormous popularity of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you believe the scuttlebutt, movement may finally be happening on the next chapter in the webslinger’s story, but a rumored choice for director is leaving folks wondering if Peter Parker’s about to swap wall-crawling for drag-racing this time…
Spider-Man 4 reportedly adds Tom Holland, Zendaya (well, duh), and Justin Lin (wait, what?)
“When is Spider-Man 4 going to happen?” is way up there with the questions most asked by Marvel fans right now, behind “who’s playing Doom in The Fantastic Four?” and “What the heck is going on with Avengers 5?” According to the freshest scoop from Jeff “The InSneider” Sneider, Marvel and Sony are gearing up to start work on the much-anticipated movie this fall, with Tom Holland and Zendaya due to return, as expected. What’s not so expected is the alleged top choice to direct — Fast & Furious veteran Justin Lin. Naturally the MCU potentially borrowing from the infamous action saga is ruffling some feathers, but let’s just see how this plays out before we start preparing ourselves for the next Spidey flick ending with Peter and friends having a cookout in their backyard.
X-Men ’97 is so good it will have you wondering whether we even need the MCU anymore
Guys, we’re three episodes in now, and I just need to make this abundantly clear: if you’re not watching X-Men ’97, you are seriously missing out. With its commitment to slightly soapy but effective character development and interpersonal relationships and telling stories with a healthy socio-political undertone, it’s the most authentic portrayal of the X-Men we’ve had on screen since, well, the ’90s X-Men animated series. Given that this is the very first Marvel Studios production not to take place in the MCU, and it’s the first Marvel project in a while that really feels connected to the comics, it almost makes you wonder whether Kevin Feige should just ditch the whole MCU concept overall and simply return to old legacy universes instead. Oh, wait, what’s coming next, the Fox-inspired Deadpool 3? I rest my case…
“Why do I have to have a Marvel [movie] that’s all women?”: Disney bully Nelson Peltz blasts “woke” MCU movies
Notorious billionaire, Trump supporter, and father-in-law to Brooklyn Beckham Nelson Peltz is currently trying to lobby his way onto the Disney board, despite admitting that he has no experience in the media. As for why you should be worried about him getting sway within the studio, Peltz has publicly bellyached about Marvel’s increasing commitment to diversity and not having a white male lead every time. “Why do I have to have a Marvel [movie] that’s all women?” Peltz said to The Financial Times. “Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?” Presumably, he’s talking about The Marvels and Black Panther, neither of which, FYI, feature all-female or all-Black casts. Presumably he’d like Disney to make great movies like his daughter, actress Nicola Peltz, star of (*checks notes*)… Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Last Airbender.