Presale tickets for Avengers: Doomsday became available to buy this week. And, it’s looking like the next of upcoming Marvel movies could be one of the biggest (if not the biggest) films on the 2026 movie schedule. So when Simu Liu took some time to promote it this week, he chose to highlight that in a quite funny way.

Liu took to X to ask people to “spread the word” on a movie that everyone’s been talking about by now. Check it out:

Ah, yes. Simu Liu’s ”little indie feature”, Avengers: Doomsday! The Shang-Chi actor decided to do a bit of trolling here and the sarcasm train just kept going. Here’s some more exchanges between fans and Liu following his latest post:

• @wade_burrell: “Proud to do my part to support your unknown project, Simu. 🤞”
  • Simu Liu: “thanks i know you probably haven’t heard of it but i promise it’s good!"
• @WriteOB: “Are you sure it's good? I'm always skeptical about small budget movies”
  • Simu Liu: “yes! we stretched every dollar of our very limited budget. i have no doubt it won't affect your moviegoing experience!”
• @IgorMatviyets: “Are there special instructions how to watch this little Independent movie?”
  • Simu Liu: “check your local theatre to see if they are planning on showing it! we’re not totally sure how many we’ll get, i’ve heard it’s rough out there for indie stuff…”

Across Simu Liu’s career, the actor may have implemented his social media to let fans know about small or even regular-sized movies and TV shows he’s been part of. But, it sounds like Liu feels a bit ridiculous bringing up Doomsday given all the press it’s already getting leading up to its December release.

The latest special look for Avengers: Doomsday amassed over 32 million views on YouTube alone in less than a week as presale tickets came out earlier this week. Take a look:

Avengers: Doomsday is also very much not an indie movie given it’s allegedly one of the most expensive films ever produced. It bodes well that Doomsday’s presale numbers are already tracking ahead of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. And, that movie recently crossed $2 billion at the worldwide box office, becoming one the highest-grossing films of all time.

Doomsday marks Simu Liu's first appearance in a live-action Marvel movie since his debut in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Liu has teased that Shang-Chi is a “more lived-in” hero this time around. He’s also talked about how mortified he was to meet Robert Downey Jr on the set of the movie, who’s switching out his Iron Man suit to play the lead villain.

Alongside Liu and Downey, the movie will also star Chris Evan and Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Tho and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man. There’s also the cast of Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and much of the cast from the original X-Men movies.

Simu Liu may not need to promote Avengers: Doomsday, but you gotta love him showing he’s a good Avengers teammate and doing so anyways.

For years, Ryan Gosling playing Ghost Rider sounded like one of those fan-casting ideas that had somehow escaped the internet and reached the actor himself. He wanted the role, Kevin Feige knew he wanted it, and finally Marvel actually made it happen. What I did not realize was that the Barbie actor was the one who convinced Feige to do the movie. So, what was the pitch?

Shawn Levy, who will direct Marvel's upcoming movie, recently explained to People how his next collaboration with Gosling grew directly out of making Star Wars: Starfighter. According to the filmmaker:

Levy described the La La Land star as much more involved in Starfighter than simply showing up to play Kade Auberon. The actor also serves as an executive producer and, according to the director, paid attention to everything from lighting to production design.

The couple of Canadians' next collaboration turned out to be Ghost Rider. And this is where the story seriously surprised me. I knew Gosling had wanted to play the Spirit of Vengeance for years. Back in 2022, he publicly named Ghost Rider as the Marvel character he was interested in, prompting Feige to say he would "love to find a place for him in the MCU."

I assumed Marvel eventually dusted off the character, approached the Blade Runner 2049 lead, and handed him the keys to the flaming motorcycle. Uh, I was wrong. Apparently, it was Gosling who had the idea. Whatever he told Levy must have been pretty convincing, because the Deadpool & Wolverine filmmaker says he was sold almost immediately:

I really want to know what the Oscar-nominated actor said during those six minutes. Feige has since revealed that the actor came to Marvel with specific Ghost Rider comics he wanted to discuss, which makes it sound like he already had a pretty clear version of Johnny Blaze in mind. That has me even more curious about what he pitched.

I hope that Daniel Way’s 2006 Ghost Rider run was somewhere in that conversation. Issues #1 through #19 reintroduced the character after years of creative stagnation, giving Johnny Blaze a grittier, uglier edge and leaned hard into the kind of grindhouse horror that suits the character.

The book follows Johny as he escapes hell, with Lucifer using him as a way to Earth, and the motorcyclist from Hades has to track down the devil before he can transform Earth into a new hell. The series is full of scorched highways, demons, hellfire and plenty of supernatural nastiness.

That’s the version of Ghost Rider I want Gosling and Levy to chase. Let Johnny Blaze feel dangerous, grimy and a little disreputable. Give the movie some dirt under its fingernails. Even Gosling’s wife, Eva Mendes, has said she knew he would make a great Ghost Rider after watching him tear around on a motorcycle in The Place Beyond the Pines. How much more convincing do we need that this thing should get gritty? If Gosling is pulling from that era of the comics, I’d happily take a Ghost Rider movie that feels like a battered VHS tape you’d find shoved behind the counter at an old video store.

But before Ryan Gosling becomes the Spirit of Vengeance, we’ll get to see what made him and Levy click in the first place when Star Wars: Starfighter hits the 2027 movie schedule on May 28. If that movie works, I may start wondering what else he can sell Levy on in six minutes.

We have a bit of a wait for both Starfighter and Ghost Rider, so in the meantime, longtime MCU fans can revisit all of the Star Wars and Marvel movies in order with a Disney+ subscription.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has spent the past month collecting box office records like Odysseus collected reasons to not make it home on time. It became Nolan’s biggest movie, conquered IMAX and kept climbing. Now it has taken another record, and this one came directly out of Ryan Reynolds’ trophy case. If nothing else, at least Reynolds is magnanimous about the whole thing.

The Odyssey has officially passed Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, topping the Marvel movie’s $1.338 billion worldwide haul. The actor behind the Merc with a Mouth acknowledged the changing of the guard with an appropriately stupid joke on his Instagram, congratulating Nolan’s cast and crew while slipping in a reference to one of Deadpool & Wolverine’s best running gags. Check out the video below.

Editing one of The Odyssey’s tensest scenes, with Odysseus and his men facing the cannibal giants, as if it were happening in the same forest as Deadpool and Wolverine’s brutal car fight is appropriately ridiculous. Throwing Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta singing “You’re the One That I Want” over the whole thing somehow makes it even stranger.

That final line in Reynolds’ caption is, of course, a nod to the Honda Odyssey. He wrote:

The accompanying video pulls from Deadpool & Wolverine’s spectacularly violent fight inside the Honda Odyssey, where Wade Wilson and Logan spend an absurd amount of time beating each other senseless. Deadpool starts the sequence trashing the minivan, only to change his tune once he realizes just how much punishment the thing can take.

So when another Odyssey came along and knocked Reynolds’ movie out of the top spot, he apparently decided the proper response was to mash the two together. Fair enough.

Reynolds had enjoyed bragging rights since Deadpool & Wolverine passed Joker in 2024. The MCU team-up finished its theatrical run with more than $1.33 billion globally, an astonishing total for an R-rated movie, a new superhero movie or otherwise, and one that looked difficult to touch. But never count Nolan out, as he managed it two years later with Homer.

This is only the latest milestone for a movie that has been bulldozing through records since its 2026 movie calendar release. Earlier this month, The Odyssey passed The Dark Knight Rises to become Nolan’s highest-grossing movie worldwide. That was a record Nolan had held against himself since 2012. The movie also became the highest-grossing IMAX release ever, passing Avatar, after generating $289 million in the premium format.

As of Aug. 19, The Odyssey had crossed $1.34 billion worldwide, enough to move past Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s Marvel blockbuster for the R-rated crown. The movie also still has some international runway left, which means that total is not finished growing.

At this point, I am running out of ways to be surprised by The Odyssey’s box office performance. A three-hour Christopher Nolan page-to-screen adaptation of Homer becoming a major hit was difficult to imagine, even after the success of Oppenheimer. Watching it start knocking down records previously held by Avatar and Deadpool & Wolverine is another thing entirely.

Ryan Reynolds, at least, seems to be taking the dethroning well. Besides, Deadpool & Wolverine still has one distinction Nolan cannot steal from it: I am fairly certain Odysseus never called his vessel a Honda fucking Odyssey. That has to count for something.

Avengers: Doomsday will be here before we know it, and it's likely that fans may want to prepare themselves for the showdown between Earth's Mightiest Heroes with Robert Downey Jr.'s enigmatic Doctor Doom. Well, Marvel just dropped a watchlist filled with titles for fans to watch (or rewatch) to prepare for the highly anticipated team-up film. But what’s catching some fans’ attention right now isn’t what’s ON the list, but what’s been left OFF of it. And I can’t blame them for being surprised at this exclusion.

The list that's been released is being considered “essential” for fans ahead of Doomsday's release on the 2026 movie schedule. Pre-MCU films as well as some of the earlier installments in the sprawling franchise fill out this list as well as more recent multiverse-centric shows and movies. Check out what made the cut:

• X-Men
• X-Men 2
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• The Avengers
• Avengers Infinity War/Endgame
• Loki Seasons 1 and 2
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
• Deadpool and Wolverine
• Captain America: Brave New World
• Thunderbolts*
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Truthfully, I wasn’t surprised with some of these choices, especially since the most recent MCU films have set up this epic new Avengers film in key ways. For instance, I don’t think anyone was shocked to see Deadpool & Wolverine to make the cut. I think it's possible that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will actually appear Doomsday. That recent “hostage video” of Hugh Jackman asking for a role in the film (on Reynolds' orders) feels like a marketing ploy.

Despite all the relevant titles, one that was surprisingly left off was 2023's The Marvels, which has an ending that overtly links to Doomsday. Check out what fans had to say on X:

• @michaelp93: It’s absolutely CRAZY that The Marvels isn’t here. That film truly deserved better.
• @undeniablydezzy: Soooo Monica is just stuck then or maybe even another retconned post credits scene that never gets explained? Ugh. I hope that’s not the case!
• @RedHood75: Leaving Days of Future Past and The Marvels out is crazy!
• @MCUPerfectGifs: I don’t get why The Marvels isn’t included on the list of essential projects to watch before Doomsday. Its post-credit scene is directly linked to the multiverse.
• @lil_krispi: Everyone saying “they weren’t needed” when Monica Rambeau is literally in the X-Men universe rn.
• @Sksj002: No The Marvels. No Thor Love and Thunder. No Ms. Marvel. No Moon Knight. The Kang era getting erased from history in real time.

This is a real head-scratcher. And, as can be seen above, what many fans are pointing to is the end of The Marvels, which sees Monica Rambeau waking up in another universe. Not only that, but said world is populated by the X-Men, including Kelsey Grammer's Beast and Binary (a variant of Monica's mother, Maria). It may have just been a small tag, but it's still weird not to include the film on this list.

The fan responses remind me of when Agents of SHIELD was always left out of MCU canon, despite following the timeline set by the films. Hopefully, the events of The Marvels don't ultimately translate into a wasted B storyline of this franchise.

And, while the Nia DaCosta-directed film is being highlighted, fans also pointed out other movies (and shows) left out on the list. Overall, some are worried that they mean Doomsday won't feature characters such as Monica Rambeau, Moon Knight’s Steven Grant/Mark Spector or Kamala Khan (a.k.a Ms. Marvel) again. Another project left out was the original Fantastic Four from 2005, which introduced the origins of Doctor Doom. (Ironically, Robert Downey Jr. was considered for the role then , before it went to the late Julian McMahon.)

It is possible that the events of unlisted films might come into play. Honestly, I just can't see a world where that Monica cliffhanger is left unresolved in Avengers: Doomsday, which includes Beast and other X-Men. We'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out when the movie hits theaters on December 18. In the meantime, prep by streaming the films on this list and more with a Disney+ subscription.

There was once a time when it felt like all Marvel movies were meant to be huge hits, but that’s not the case anymore. Spider-Man: Brand New Day may have officially become a $2 billion dollar winner, but it follows a string of MCU flicks that have performed below expectations. Someone just asked Marvel boss Kevin Feige if it has to do with the movies being “the same," and he had a point to make.

In an interview with Variety, Feige was asked if he thinks “audiences are getting tired of more of the same story.” I was surprised he answered the question, but he made a thoughtful point:

The Fantastic Four: First Steps came out last summer to underwhelming commercial results. While the movie had an awesome first weekend at the box office, it saw a significant drop in its second weekend. Ultimately, it’s the 11th-lowest grossing film among MCU films even though as Kevin Feige suggested, it was a new look and feel for the universe.

To Feige’s point, First Steps certainly stands out among MCU movies. It’s set in an alternate universe in the 1960s of a retro-futuristic world. It also didn’t include any cameos from other Avengers or MCU characters and had the old-timey feel of its original comic books.

Surely, there are other reasons why audiences weren’t clobbering to the movie theaters for Fantastic Four. For one, there’s been three previous movies about the team across the past 20 years. Then, there’s the “superhero fatigue” of it all.

A couple of years ago, Kevin Feige got honest with CinemaBlend about there being an “overabundance” of MCU movies and TV shows. Lately, Marvel has been slowing down the roll out of upcoming MCU projects. For example, this year there are just two new 2026 movie releases and three live-action seasons of MCU-related TV shows. (Well, for those with a Disney+ subscription). It’s a change of pace from, say 2021, when there were four big-screen releases and three seasons of live-action TV all in the same twelve months.

The massive success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day shows that people are very excited to show up for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Superhero movies are not as much of a slam dunk as they used to be, but they can still be big. Next up is Avengers: Doomsday, which is already reportedly projecting ahead of Brand New Day in presales. We’ll see how the latest MCU movie does when it comes out this December 18.

Wonder Man fans were met with some unfortunate news weeks ago when it was confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe-set show had been canceled. The development was particularly painful, considering Disney+ had already renewed the buddy comedy. Since the Emmy-nominated series joined the list of shows canceled in 2026, further behind-the-scenes details on its demise have been revealed. Now, a new report includes alleged details on why it was axed and, while I’m disappointed, I get why it happened.

All 8 episodes of Wonder Man became streamable with a Disney+ subscription in late January 2026, and it was in March that the renewal news came down. From the outside looking in, the House of Mouse seemed quite bullish about the Hollywood-centric show. Sources recently claimed to The Ankler that the cancellation decision wasn’t made lightly. Apparently, Disney didn’t think the show scored high enough viewership numbers to justify the production costs.

The exact viewership figures are unclear, as the aforementioned streamer doesn’t formally release such data. Regardless of that, the notion of the Marvel show being canceled due to not reaching audience expectations does sound reasonable. Admittedly, at first glance, I didn’t think WM would be that expensive to make, since it doesn’t include as many massive set pieces and CGI-centric scenes as many of its MCU predecessors. Even the scenes that are somewhat big don’t even come to the final few episodes.

Still, I can’t sit here and make assumptions about how expensive or inexpensive a certain aspect of the MCU series was. This all comes down to what works best from a business standpoint. However, I’d still be lying if I said this cancellation didn’t still feel like a gut punch in some ways. I’m not the only one who's still processing the decision either, and I’m not just talking about fellow fans.

Both of Wonder Man’s co-creators have since broken their silence on the cancellation, with Andrew Guest first sharing a video to social media in which he laid out what was happening behind the scenes. While Guest said he didn’t know exactly why the show was canned, he said the writers’ room was set to convene in August and that he’d already written the first episode. Co-creator Destin Daniel Cretton also expressed disappointment in the renewal reversal and defended Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige against backlash from those who enjoyed the quirky show.

A semi spinoff of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Wonder Man focuses on struggling actor Simon Williams – played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – as he seeks to land a massive film role. At the same time, Simon seeks to hide his powerful superhuman abilities, as metahumans are frowned upon in Tinseltown. Joining Williams is wise-cracking thespian Trevor Slattery, who’s once again played by Sir Ben Kingsley. The show received critical acclaim, with Abdul-Mateen II even earning an Emmy nod for his work.

There’s yet to be any sort of indication as to if or when audiences might see Simon and Trevor again in the wake of their show’s prison break ending. I’m hopeful that this MCU bromance will continue in some form or fashion but, for now, I hope this new report on the reasons for the cancellation provides some sense of closure for fans on that front.

Check out Wonder Man in its entirety on Disney+ now, and keep your eyes fixed on other major titles that will soon hit the 2026 TV schedule.

I have never been particularly worried about “Dunesday.” Putting Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three in theaters on the same day certainly creates headaches for premium screens, but these are also two enormous franchises with pretty dedicated audiences. Throw in the Christmas corridor and the possibility that audiences might see both, and Dec. 18 has always looked capable of producing a monster weekend. But the numbers are even loftier than first expected.

According to TheWrap, early ticket sales for both projects on the 2026 movie schedule are already pointing toward a huge holiday box office. The numbers surrounding Doomsday are particularly wild, especially when you compare them to what Spider-Man: Brand New Day just pulled off.

The Avengers Are Already Making a Scene

Disney opened general advance sales for Avengers: Doomsday four months before its Dec. 18 release, an unusually long runway for a blockbuster. According to theatrical sources, its first two days of presales were running approximately 65% ahead of the first two days for Spider-Man: Brand New Day's first two days. That comparison gets my attention.

Brand New Day began selling tickets only 45 days before release and went on to open with a record-setting $360 million domestically and $927 million worldwide. It crossed $2 billion globally after just three weekends. Per the report, it is currently on track to reach roughly $2.5 billion by the end of its theatrical run.

Now, there is a giant asterisk attached to that 65% figure. We do not normally see wide ticket sales begin four months early, so nobody really knows what the sales curve will look like between now and December. The initial rush will almost certainly cool before picking up closer to release. Comparing the two movies this early is probably not fair. Still, being 65% ahead of a new Spider-Man movie that just bulldozed the box office is not bad news.

Robert Downey Jr.’s return to Marvel as Doctor Doom, Chris Evans coming back as Steve Rogers and the collision of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and veteran X-Men characters have clearly given audiences plenty of reasons to buy their tickets early. But where does this leave Dune: Part Three?

Meanwhile, Things Are Getting Spicy On Arrakis

General tickets for Dune: Part Three are not even on sale yet, but Warner Bros. and IMAX have already released tickets for select IMAX 70mm screenings. Reports cite that the 38 participating theaters are seeing dozens of opening-weekend sellouts, with enough interest to sustain round-the-clock screenings through Christmas weekend and beyond.

IMAX confirms that 70mm tickets are already available for Denis Villeneuve’s franchise finale. That premium-format battle may end up being the most fascinating part of this whole thing. Dune: Part Three has exclusive access to IMAX screens through the holidays, while Disney is pushing Doomsday across other premium formats. Dune: Part Three may not reach the astronomical numbers of The Odyssey, which is passing $1.3 billion worldwide, but it could still surpass Dune: Part Two’s $714 million global total if audiences respond similarly.

I already figured Dec. 18 would be a good day for movie theaters and cinema fans. I was picturing packed lobbies, double features and plenty of arguments over which movie to watch first. But these early numbers make me think we may need to aim considerably higher with our box-office expectations.

Dunesday is still four months away, and both movies have plenty of selling left to do. But if this is what the box office looks like before most people have even started Christmas shopping, theater employees may want to start preparing now, because it's going to be a very busy weekend.

Robert Downey Jr. returning to Marvel as Doctor Doom was already one of the strangest casting turns the MCU has ever pulled. This is the guy who spent more than a decade as Tony Stark, helped turn Iron Man into the foundation of a multibillion-dollar franchise and then got one of the biggest superhero send-offs ever in Avengers: Endgame. Bringing him back as Victor von Doom felt completely out of left field. Except, apparently, it wasn't. That’s right, it's a recycled idea that almost happened 20 years ago.

I somehow missed that the Chaplain star was already in the mix to play Doctor Doom roughly two decades ago. In a resurfaced Marvel Studios retrospective conversation between Iron Man director Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige posted on Instagram, Favreau recalled that Marvel had met with the actor about Doom before he ever became Tony Stark. Feige's reaction confirms Favreau's memory, which makes Downey's eventual casting feel less like a wild new idea and more like Marvel opening a very old folder. You can check out the exchange below:

The project in question was 2005's Fantastic Four. Per Favreau, Downey had met about playing Victor von Doom years before Favreau began putting together Iron Man. Julian McMahon ultimately landed the role and played Doom opposite Ioan Gruffudd's Reed Richards in Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. Three years after that first FF, Downey became Tony Stark instead, and comic-book movie history took a pretty significant turn. As Favreau recalled:

Favreau has said that when Downey came up for Iron Man, his earlier Marvel meetings meant the people involved already knew him. More importantly, the director thought RDJ understood Tony Stark immediately. Kevin Feige has repeatedly credited that casting as one of the decisions that allowed the MCU to become what it did.

Which makes the Doom thing pretty funny in hindsight. Marvel almost tapped the Dolittle star for one of its biggest villains, but luckily for everyone involved, they instead cast him as arguably its most important hero, where he spent 11 years helping the company flesh out a cinematic universe around him. And, now, just like in wrestling, he has returned after the MCU killed off Stark, and he has turned full heel as he comes back as one of the most popular villains.

Downey was officially revealed as Victor von Doom at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, with the Russo brothers returning to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. His casting immediately raised questions about whether Doom would somehow be connected to Tony Stark, though Marvel has consistently presented him as Victor von Doom rather than simply an evil Stark variant.

Now, we are finally close to the film’s release date on the 2026 movie schedule and seeing what Marvel has apparently been imagining, in some form, since the George W. Bush administration. Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters Dec. 18.

Until we see RDJ return as Doom in a new Marvel movie, fans can revisit Tony Stark’s final MCU chapter by streaming Avengers: Endgame with a Disney+ subscription.

Coming from the highly secretive and fan-obsessed world of Severance, Tramell Tillman certainly knows how to play the spoiler-free game in interviews, but he’s not always so used to being in the dark on the other side of those conversations. As such, his early experiences when joining the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day sound like he was trying to get into some kind of highly classified government outpost, like Area 51. (Or wait, was that just Venom?)

With Brand New Day already having earned more than $2 billion at the box office, Tillman can now speak more freely about his previously under-wraps role of Department of Damage Control’s unsettlingly calm boss Bill Metzger, Speaking with GQ about landing the role, among other details, Tillman said he was initially excited to be told that Marvel execs wanted to meet with him, but that excitement was temporarily tamped down by a lack of pertinent information. In his words:

That sounds like the most interesting version of a near-stalemate, with Tramell Tillman not so eager to accept an offer for a role he knows nothing about, and director Destin Daniel Cretton & Co. not so eager to divulge any information about a role that Tillman wasn't automatically ready to sign off on. Is it still called ouroboros if you're talking about a spider eating its own legs?

Tillman revealed how he and the director finally reached an agreement when the bare minimum of insight was shared with him. In his words:

I can certainly understand Tillman's hesitance to just dive into a blockbuster role like this without having a clear idea of who he'll be playing. To be sure, I doubt Kevin Feige and Cretton ever had him in mind to play Tombstone or Scorpion or any of the more action-based villains. Not because I don't think he could do it or anything, but because he's so good at oozing menace while doing nothing beyond just standing in an office in dapper clothing. His gravitas was worth the creative team's effort of stringing him along with minor details.

Specifically, this is the character foundation that Tillman started to develop his performance around when agreeing to take the role. As he put it:

Will Bill Metzger show up in any upcoming Marvel movies to spread the Department of Damage Control’s influence out across the rest of the MCU? The only thing that’ll apparently answer that question with efficiency is time, and possibly a lot of it, since he’s not automatically expected to be popping up in Avengers: Doomsday.

Tillman himself, however, is co-starring in one of my more anticipated upcoming 2026 movies of the fall, Bassam Tariq’s crime thriller Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother opposite Mahershala Ali and Giancarlo Esposito. In the meantime, Brand New Day will no doubt continue to crush it at the box office, and I'll be one of many waiting more Severance Season 3 production updates.

Spoilers below for the handful of people who maybe haven’t seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day yet, so be warned!

There’s no question Spider-Man: Brand New Day is one of the most successful movies of all time, with over a billion box-office dollars earned thus far, and many millions more to come. There’s also no question we’re going to see Peter Parker’s Spider-Man again in an Avengers sequel, thanks to that confusing post-credits scene. But the movie did leave me with several questions that I really hope get answers or clarification without before either Secret Wars or Tom Holland’s fifth Spider-Man solo movie hits theaters in 2027 and beyond. My Spidey-Patience is not so powerful.

And I’m not specifically talking about the biggest-picture questions here, like what Peter and Ned’s handshake really meant, and whether or not Doctor Strange’s spell was broken by the power of friendship. They are related, though. Since first watching Brand New Day, my brain has been preoccupied with speculation about the limits of such magical spells, and how it all works within the characters’ own brains.

Where Does MJ Think Her Necklace Came From?

Taken completely at face value, MJ still wearing her black dahlia necklace throughout the entirety of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is an oh-so-sweet sign that her love for Peter is pure enough that not even sorcery can eliminate all signs of it. In that way, it's also possibly the biggest clue early on that Doctor Strange's spell left room for certain loophole-esque situations where Peter's friends still have totems from the years they spent together. But I'm baffled by what their brains are doing to fill in the memory gaps.

Peter gives MJ the necklace in Far From Home, inspired by learning the black dahlia is her favorite flower. The pendant doesn't make it out fully intact, but MJ chooses to continue wearing it for all the adorable thematic reasons, and it's as much a symbol of their bond as Peter and Ned's signature hand-smacks is of theirs. So from a creative perspective, of course she's still wearing it in BND.

But from a more logistical real-world angle, I think it's lowkey terrifying to consider MJ compulsively wearing this necklace on a daily basis without any front-of-mind reasoning for it. Like, if I made a point of wearing the same watch for years on end, only to realize one day that I had zero clue where it came from or when I got it, I miiiight be too freaked out to put it back on. Sure, I can't tell you exactly when and where I bought every T-shirt or pair of pants that I own, but I still have the general blueprint of events up there. But if my favorite accessory only inspired blank spots, I might need a therapist.

When MJ sees her necklace in a mirror, or moves it with her hands, does her brain attempt to flash back to where it came from, only to short-circuit before real memories can appear? Or does Doctor Strange's spell intentionally dull the part of her brain that attempt to make such connections? I really hope there's a slide-show presentation explaining it before any other MCU movies come out.

Is Jean Grey's Telepathy Powerful Enough To Reverse Magic?

One of the ongoing fan theories about Spider-Man: Brand New Day is that Sadie Sink's Jean Grey knocks a few mental dominos loose in MJ and Ned when her telepathic powers bubble out and force zillions of New Yorkers to stay locked in place. I don't really buy into that idea, though, since everyone is affected by the "forget about Peter" spell, and it'd be amazingly convenient for two of his friends to be the only ones to have such adverse affects to Jean's actions. A little too amazingly convenient.

That said, I do think it's entirely possible that the vengeful mutant has (or will have) the ability to perform more distinctive tasks within people's brains. Such as making someone think they're a different person, that they can only eat brown foods, or any other kind of behavioral change that a state hypnotist might also use in an act. But is telepathy (hers or anyone's) powerful enough to reverse a spell crafted by such a magically dominant entity as Doctor Strange?

I almost have to think so at this point, because part of me doesn't want to just buy into the feel-good notion that MJ and Ned's love for Peter alone is enough to shatter such an ironclad enchantment. That's a little too pat and smooth for my tastes.

I guess now I can start pondering whether Doctor Strange's spell will continue to work if he gets killed off in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars. Might as well brew some coffee now, because this could take a while.

At long last, after many months of detail-lite comments from Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and director Jake Schreier, on top of all the general fan speculation, the MCU’s long-awaited X-Men movie’s cast was made official (at least in part) surrounding the D23 fan event. But only after Spider-Man: Brand New Day confirmed Sadie Sink as the telepathic Jean Grey, and scream queen Samara Weaving was announced as the ice-cold Emma Frost.

Weaving and Sink will be joined by Heartstopper’s Kit Conner as Cyclops, Obsession highlight Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Wolf Man’s Christopher Abbott as Professor X, and stage actress Maya Boyd making her feature film debut as Storm, while Adam Driver is set to portray Mr. Sinister alter ego Nathaniel Milbury. Though it’s not clear just yet exactly when production will start up, the release date for the upcoming Marvel movie has been set for May 5, 2028. Which means time is of the essence for cast members to get busy with researching their roles.

Samara Weaving proved she is doing her due diligence in a most fitting fashion (while donning some fitting fashion), as she took to Instagram to share how she's balancing the summer sun with a bikini and a stack of Emma Frost comic books, along with other shots from D23. Check it out!

It's almost as if the actress knows extremely well just how obsessive and detail-oriented comic book fans can be online. Her "Don't read into it" message is presumably to stymie speculation based solely on the particular comic issues and trades that are spread out in front of her. I'm sure there are still Emma Frost fanatics out there who have already filled up at least one bulletin board with clues and theories. Hopefully they won't be too disappointed if and when none of that guesswork matches up with the live-action character's story arc.

The middle finger shot isn't directed at fans, though, at least not in an authentically disdainful way. It's (assumedly) more about embodying Emma Frost's somewhat chaotic energy. The telepathic mutant is known for her educational prowess as much as her amoral approach to most situations, and snarkily flipping the bird is pretty on-point. As is the white dress she wore to D23. Not so much the bikini, however.

With Weaving and others making up some of the X-Men’s newest generation of mutants, we’re still waiting to hear if Charles Melton will be playing Beast, and what’s happening with Magneto and other major characters who still haven’t been cast (that we know of). In the meantime…well, just keep waiting, I guess. Because it’s gonna be a long 20 months until X-Men lands in theaters.

For those who can't get enough of Samara Weaving, find her in the 2026 comedic thriller Over Your Dead Body opposite Jason Segel, which is currently available on digital and VOD. She'll also be appearing in the The Legend of Zelda, which Nintendo will be releasing in 2027.

If I'm honest, I didn’t have high expectations when I went to watch Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is still tearing up the 2026 movie schedule. I have seen all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man movies. I have enjoyed all of them, except one. One of my most controversial movie takes is that I didn’t think Spider-Man: No Way Home was good. Lots of fan service, but the product left a lot to be desired, leaving me questioning the future of Tom Holland's series.

That I've seen it, I would now probably rank Brand New Day high among the best Spider-Man movies. It really made me excited to see where Marvel goes with the franchise now, and I think I know why this movie worked so well.

Warning: Spider-Man: Brand New Day spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

This Spider-Man Film Feels Equally Hopeful And Bleak

Spider-Man: Brand New Day feels a lot darker than many of the other Marvel and Spider-Man movies. It feels even darker than a lot of the MCU films, but it doesn’t feel gritty. It doesn’t become something the Holland Spider-Man movies never were, but evolves to something a little bleaker.

The storyline of the unseeable entity already has a dark tone to it because the idea of someone taking over your body has sinister connotations. We later learn that Jean Grey (Sadie Sink) is behind it all, and we have seen Jean do plenty of dark things throughout her history in films. We didn’t know how dangerous and murderous she could become. It almost seemed like she would become a foe that Peter (Tom Holland) couldn’t stop.

However, despite how dark things get, Peter manages to save the day. Then he’s greeted with a hero’s applause for all his hard work. It shows that no matter how bleak things get, keep fighting, and maybe you will win in the end.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Feels More Mature Than Previous Movies, Which Works With The Growing Up Theme

Sometimes as we age and grow up, life feels harder and darker. We lose people we love, or our jobs become increasingly more stressful, and we battle outer and inner demons. It’s hard growing up. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also a coming-of-age movie. Peter goes from a teen with a complicated life to an adult with an even more complicated life.

It shows him maturing but also growing lonelier and more driven, at the cost of existing outside his Spider-Man persona. I thought the film showcases the complexities of adulthood in a sad but fascinating and accurate way, especially for a superhero movie. It felt the closest to the cancelled-too-soon Wonder-Man than any of the other Marvel projects so far. It did this by grounding the superhero story in a more relatable way without compromising the concept of a superhero.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Doesn’t Completely Leave You Feeling Satisfied

Peter essentially saves the day, but his life still has a lot of holes in it. MJ (Zendaya) possibly still doesn’t remember him, and Ned (Jacob Batalon) might remember him. He stopped Jean, but there will always be more bad guys, so he can’t fully be satisfied with everything, and Jean was a complicated villain. Her actions are justified at times.

You leave the movie slightly happy for him, because Ned may remember now, but you leave with so many more questions. I think this is a good reflection of life in general. You may win in the moment, but the fight never ends, and things are never perfectly resolved.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day deserves its box-office success because it succeeds where other superhero movies fail. It makes the human parts just as important as the superhero elements.

Robert Downey Jr. got the best deal one could get out of his Iron Man tenure. He helped start the MCU and told a complete and very satisfying arc for the superhero across many years. I wouldn’t blame him if he was never in another one of the upcoming Marvel movies ever again. Yet, here he is, back to play Doctor Doom in the latest MCU flick Avengers: Doomsday. And he even picked the new role over Tony Stark when he was just asked to choose? This guy is full of surprises.

RDJ was just in Anaheim, California on August 14 for D23 to promote his Marvel film coming out on the 2026 movie calendar. During an interview, he was asked to pick between Iron Man and Doctor Doom. Here’s how he responded:

As Robert Downey Jr shared with Good Morning America, it was “weird” for him to be on the other side of a superhero movie now as a villain. And yet, he did like the change of pace. While shooting Doomsday, he didn’t necessarily like to be the guy all the other characters are against. However, he also ended up enjoying the different perspective, too.

Apparently, being under the helmet allowed him to get to know more of the cast, and really revel in the presence and performances of “everybody else.” I find this to be a super unexpected answer from Downey, and ultimately 20 years from now I have to wonder if he’ll say the same thing. However, I do like his reasoning.

After all, as Iron Man, he probably had a lot more on his shoulders work-wise. Since Doctor Doom seems to be the reason why all the heroes are brought together rather than the main character that Iron Man was, it sounds like RDJ appreciated sitting back a bit more and letting them shine. And the cast is brilliant, so I don’t blame him.

Downey’s words come as D23 debuted a special look at Avengers: Doomsday that was previously only for the eyes of SDCC Marvel Hall H attendees. Check it out:

As we wait for Doomsday, I can’t help but have questions about how RDJ being both Iron Man and Doctor Doom will be handled narratively. Also, who else will be joining the cast that we don’t know about? At D23, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds had a message that’s making me wonder if they’ll be part of it, too, for example.

We’ll find out officially and get to see Downey in this new role when Avengers:Doomsday hits theaters on December 18.

Many have been buzzing about Avengers: Doomsday ahead of its release on the 2026 movie schedule, and a large portion of the hype has to do with the film’s cast. It’s been rumored that there are even more players involved that haven’t been officially announced, and Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds are among those linked to such reports. Of course, the two actors haven’t explicitly confirmed their involvement. However, Reynolds’ latest “hostage video” involving Jackman has me theorizing about their involvement.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman Drop A Funny MCU-Related Video

Disney’s D23 Fan Event is being held in Anaheim this weekend and, on Friday, guests were treated to the Entertainment Showcase, with which the studio laid out upcoming projects. Amid the Marvel Studios portion of the event, head honcho Kevin Feige promoted Doomsday alongside some members of the cast. The presentation also featured a video featuring Jackman, who directly addressed Feige (while seemingly under duress). Reynolds shared the funny video to Instagram, and you can see it below:

As can be seen above, Jackman is humorously being coerced into pitching himself to be part of the massive Avengers: Doomsday cast. The bit involves Reynolds giving Jackman directions, and what’s funny is that Reynolds could easily be playing himself or Wade Wilson (Deadpool) as part of this bit. Both actors are really committing to the gag, too, with Reynolds captioning his video as such:

The longtime Wolverine actor also shared the video on his own IG account, and he also had a humorously honest caption to share:

The friendship between Hugh Jackman and Ryan Ryan Reynolds has produced some funny (and viral) moments, and I’d certainly call this recent video one of them. It’s been rumored that Wolverine and Deadpool will appear in Doomsday, and this feels like a confirmation in some ways. Of course, that remains to be seen, but it’s not stopping me from thinking about how they could play into the sprawling MCU team-up movie.

How Could Logan And Wade Wilson Figure Into Doomsday?

It was rumored earlier this year that Doomsday would involve a scene that pits Wade and Logan against Spider-Man, and I’m talking about Tobey Maguire’s version of the web-slinger. Of course, if the two titular leads of Deadpool & Wolverine are to return in this latest Avengers movie, I’d hope they’d have a substantial role. What I think would be interesting is to see the pair go on a multiversal journey after incursions (collisions of universes) threaten their own world. Theoretically, that could bring them into contact with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and their allies.

Such a storyline would do more than just serve as an organic way for Wilson and Logan to interact with the power players of the MCU. Having their world be afflicted by incursions would also up the stakes for them and provide a significant amount of motivation for them to help stop Doctor Doom.

Up to this point, fans have seemed quite convinced that Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds will return for Avengers: Doomsday. One fan even claimed he spotted Wolverine in a poster, and I honestly can’t unsee it now. Regardless of whether this “hostage video” was purely a joke or a funny marketing tease, it seems to have been enough to get social media users talking. They can see whether Reynolds and Jackman return when Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, and stream other MCU films using a Disney+ subscription.

Spider-Man has and will always be my favorite superhero. I’ll never forget seeing the first Spidey movie when I was a kid, and I’ve been devotedly following each installment since. While the Sam Raimi trilogy may always be my No. 1 (faults and all), I think the Tom Holland movies have been fantastic. With Brand New Day here, I decided to binge the “Home” trilogy for the first time in one day, and I have some takeaways to talk through.

First off, I still think 2017’s Homecoming is one of the best MCU movies that’s been made. The script is so sharp, and it feels like you’re watching a John Hughes film that also happens to include superheroes. It really nails the awkwardness of being a high schooler in a way no other Spider-Man movie has done before. But, my big problem with rewatching the trilogy happens in its sequel, Far From Home.

The Thing That Doesn’t Hold Up In Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Trilogy

Now, I had totally forgotten until I turned it on, but 2019’s Far From Home was the first MCU movie to come out after Avengers: Endgame and the final installment of The Infinity Saga. It opens with a hilarious high school news video of Betty Brant and Jason Ionelle explaining The Blip – which is when everyone came back five years after The Snap wiped out half the universe.

I proceeded to spend half of Far From Home feeling very confused about what was going on with the students of Midtown High in the fallout of the major universe event. I found it weird that Peter, Ned, MJ along with most of the students from Homecoming just happened to all be part of the Snapped so the plot could move along without a hitch. And yet, there’s this weird thing going on with Remy Hii’s Brad Davis, who aged up five years from a middle-schooler to a high school junior.

I think Far From Home did a decent job of explaining it, and they had a clever way of lore dumping at the top of the movie, but it also had me considering all these existential questions around The Snap and The Blip that I sort of wish the Spider-Man sequel didn’t have. In the moment when we were watching all the MCU movies one-by-one it made sense, but if you decide to skip the movies in between like I did, I think it kind of stunts an otherwise great set of movies.

If you’re thinking “just watch Infinity War and Endgame” before Far From Home, you’re right. I probably should have, but that would have added over five hours to my binge.

The Other Thoughts I Had Watching Them

Now, to put aside my gripes, and share some quick reasons why I liked the “Home” trilogy on my recent rewatch.

• I didn’t totally realize how many suits Tom Holland gets as Spider-Man until now. Like, it’s actually wild how many.
• Happy Hogan is an underrated character in this trilogy. I'm delighted he was part of it.
• Uncle Ben isn’t mentioned once in this Peter Parker’s story. Does he even exist in this version?
• While it feels forced at times, I think it’s really fun to see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man interact with a couple of other MCU characters in each movie. My favorite instance of this is the “suit” moment with Tony Stark in Homecoming.
• It’s still weird to me that they go on a class trip to Italy.
• Peter and MJ are so, so adorable to watch fall in love.
• The “Night Monkey” bit in Far From Home is actually so hilarious to me.
• I hate the Skrull twist during the end credits of Far From Home.
• I wish there was a time jump between Far From Home and No Way Home because they look visibly older, but conceptually I get it. Fine.

And now, we have Brand New Day! I hope it’s the start of another Spider-Man trilogy. You can check out what CinemaBlend thought of the movie as it plays in theaters.

It’s finally official: after tons of reports, rumors and speculation, the cast of the new X-Men movie has been announced. Overall, it’s made up of folks I fully expected to see. However, there is one casting choice that really surprised me.

Alright, let’s get into this. At D23, the new cast of X-Men was brought out during the part of the event dedicated to upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows. Of course, it includes Sadie Sink, who will be reprising her role as Jean Grey after being introduced in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which premiered on the 2026 movie schedule a couple of weeks ago.

Alongside her will be Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Kit Connor as Cyclops, both of whom we knew about.

Now, getting into the new additions, Christopher Abbott will play Professor X, Adam Driver is set to portray Mr. Sinister, Maya Boyd will take on the role of Storm, and Inde Navarrette has been cast as Rogue.

To put that all into a nice list, here’s everything we know about who is in the new X-Men movie:

• Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
• Kit Connor as Cyclops
• Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
• Maya Boyd as Storm
• Inde Navarrette as Rogue
• Christopher Abbott as Professor X
• Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister

Again, we anticipated a lot of this, thanks to rumors that have broken over the last few weeks and days. However, I was still surprised to see this ensemble and specifically Inde Navarrette's casting as Rogue. That’s because the Obsession star has been open about her love for Mystique, and it was speculated that she could play her in the MCU. During an interview with Variety, she discussed a meeting she had with X-Men’s director, Jake Schreier, and she also noted that:

So, that’s why I had Mystique on my mind. However, she’s actually taking on the role of Rogue, and I cannot wait to see her playing this iconic X-Men character.

Maya Boyd also came as a bit of a shock, because there were a few names being thrown around for Storm.

Interestingly, there was also one character left out of the presentation that surprised me. Along with various other rumors, it's been widely speculated that Charles Melton could play Beast. He was even asked about it recently. However, he was not announced, and neither were other X-Men staples like Magneto or Mystique.

It’s always possible the cast can grow, and at the moment, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this new iteration of X-Men. However, we finally have some names to attach to characters, which is incredibly exciting!

Before we see them in action, though, you can see the Fox X-Men stars return in Avengers: Doomsday on December 18. Then, it will be interesting to see how Marvel moves on with this new class of heroes on May 5, 2028.

With the new X-Men movie being cast, I’m not surprised to see how many actors are rumored to be taking part. I’ve seen everything from Jensen Ackles rumored to be the next Magneto (I could see it) to actors like Cynthia Erivo lobbying for dream roles. Charles Melton’s name has also been in the mix, and someone finally asked him about those rumors that he's playing Beast in the new X-Men. And his answer has me intrigued.

This isn’t the first time Melton has been the subject of fan casting, as he’s previously been on the fan list to play Ganke Lee in a potential Miles Morales live-action film. Fans desperately want the actor involved in a superhero project. And I can’t blame them. Melton has proven he has the range to do anything; just check out his rooftop breakdown in May December if you want proof. But how does he feel about all these rumors? Well, he answers that very question when the subject gets brought up by The Playlist:

The upcoming project will be directed by Jake Schreier, who also directed Thunderbolts*, and has an epic team-up penning the script. Beef creator Lee Sung Jin is expected to co-write the project with The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo. If these rumors were true, it’d be a reunion between Melton and Jin, as the actor recently had a role on Beef Season 2. His performance has been praised by critics and fans, specifically for how his storyline tackled racial identity. While I didn’t have Melton down as part of my dream X-Men, I can totally see him as Beast.

However, the only actual casting confirmations we’ve gotten so far is: Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Sadie Sink (who was revealed in Spider-Man: Brand New Day) as Jean Gray. Heartstopper’s Kit Connor also reportedly in talks to play Cyclops. After Sink’s big reveal, I wasn’t surprised when Cyclops was allegedly the next role to be cast. If the rumors were true, it’d be a fun reunion between Melton and Connor as the two starred together in Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s intense war movie Warfare. And the role would be something up his ally, given how he spoke about his time on Beef:

That definitely sounds like something the upcoming X-Men can achieve, especially given the praise Melton has given the Beef creator for his collaborative writing style. But we won’t know anything else until Doomsday, and maybe not even until the next upcoming Marvel movies. Hopefully, we’ll get more casting news soon.

Because the more I see revealed about the upcoming X-Men project, the more excited I become, especially with how Kevin Feige talks about their MCU future. His desire to “bring storylines to a close” from the early ‘00s films and the casting we’ve already gotten, I’ve never been more excited to be an X-Men fan.

This makes me hopeful that we can expect great things from Feige and Marvel for the X-Men. But only time will tell us if that’s true.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for nearly two decades and has become a well-oiled machine of new releases in theaters (and streaming with a Disney+ subscription). Fans who have spent watching the Marvel movies in order know that the OGs have been with us for a long time, including Chris Evans and Sebastian Stan. And while discussing their working relationship, Evans nearly blurted out a spoiler for the next Avengers movie. Let's break it all down.

Evans and Stan both made their MCU debuts in Captain America: The First Avenger, and went on to appear together in The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame. While appearing at Fan Expo (via Twitter), the Materialists actor gushed about his co-star by saying:

Marvel is known for its tight security, and while Tom Holland is known for accidentally revealing spoilers, the same can't be said for Evans. And while he almost started talking about what he and Stan are up to as part of the Doomsday cast list, he managed to stop himself. Lucky for fans, we're just a few months away from seeing what The Russo Brothers have up their sleeves for the next Avengers flick. You can see Evans struggle not to spill the beans below:

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is limited, and there are countless rumors and theories about what might be coming down the line. So far, the cast has been good about not accidentally spoiling anything, but sometimes that's easier said than done. Luckily, Evans didn't reveal too much during this recent convention appearance. After all, he doesn't want Mark Ruffalo's reputation for spoilers.

While Steve Rogers got his happy ending during Endgame, the Captain America Doomsday teaser confirmed that Chris Evans would be reprising his role after all. This also opened the door for him to work with Sebastian Stan again, as Bucky is a member of the New Avengers. Of course, it's unclear how the heroes of the shared universe will react when they come face to face with Steve all these years after he hung up his shield for good.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully Steve and Bucky have plenty to do throughout its mysterious runtime.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order now find that some franchises are fan favorites. Chief among them are the Spider-Man movies, and fans were recently treated to the record-breaking release of Brand New Day. Folks have really responded to Sadie Sink's debut as Jean Grey, although there's an online debate about whether or not she's a murderer in the film. And after one of the writers weighed in, the discourse has gotten even hotter. Let's break it all down.

Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened the door for the X-Men to join the MCU, and they've been slowly peppered in through various projects on the big screen or streaming with a Disney+ subscription. And while it was thrilling that we've got a new Jean Grey, her actions in the first half of the movie have some fans upset that she was seemingly a killer. Let's break it all down.

What Brand New Day's Writer Said About Jean

Throughout most of Brand New Day, Jean is shown possessing people's bodies with her telepathic abilities. She goes to extreme lengths while on the search for her sister Sara, including making MJ jump off a building. But the most debated moment is when she made a man back into traffic, resulting in him getting hit hard by a taxi. It looked like he wouldn't survive that collision, but it wasn't confirmed or denied whether he actually died.

During an interview with THR, writer Erik Sommers addressed Jean's villainous actions throughout the new Spider-Man movie. Regarding whether or not she actually killed anyone, he responded with:

There you have. it. While the actual contents of Brand New Day left this question ambiguous, the writer maintains that Sadie Sink's character didn't actually kill anyone throughout the movie's 145-minute runtime. Of course, this hasn't stopped fans from debating the issue online. In fact, it might have added fuel to the fire of the Jean discourse.

Marvel Fans Have Been Debating Whether She's A Killer Or Not

While Sommers maintains that "technically" Jean isn't responsible for any deaths in Brand New Day, there are a ton of fans who disagree. The guy who got hit by a cab is the biggest reason why, but other folks think that she must have killed at least a few people when freezing half of the city in the movie's third act. You can see some popular tweets about the subject below:

• Jean Grey in Spider-Man Brand New Day 1000% killed that one dude hit by a car, and likely more.
• I feel like the issue is more on what the writers chose to do and the lack of consequences for it. They made a deliberate choice to have Jean grey kill people and then didn’t address it.
• Don't believe you lying eyes people. Sorry, we saw what Jean did. The dude was fucking pancaked by the taxi, ambiguous as to other deaths.
• jean grey is mass murderer
• ok so is literally every other hero in the mcu. what now?

Despite the movie coming out weeks ago, fans are still debating Brand New Day's contents. Some are sure that Jean killed people in the movie, while others maintain that even if she did it's not a deal-breaker for the future X-Men. After all, The Avengers don't have the strict no-kill rule of DC heroes like Batman and Superman. We've seen heroes like Iron Man and Wanda take human lives before, either on purpose or accidentally. So maybe Jean killing a few people isn't as big of a deal as some folks are making it out to be.

We'll just have to wait for whenever Jean returns in upcoming Marvel movies, and if her actions in New York are addressed. An X-Men movie is coming, with Brand New Day's ending hinting that she was heading upstate where Xavier's mansion is typically located.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next MCU blockbuster will be Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th. We'll just have to wait and see if Peter Parker ends up having a role.

Buying wrap gifts for an entire movie crew seems like a pretty thoughtful gesture. Unfortunately for Tom Holland, there is apparently a very important step between picking out the gift and handing it to several hundred people: Make sure you check the sizing. The Spider-Man: Brand New Day lead just explained why the entire crew trash-talked his gift right to his face.

While appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote Brand New Day, Holland revealed that after his 2026 movie release wrapped, he decided to buy personalized Spidey beanies for the movie’s crew. Meyers asked the natural follow-up: “Was it well received?” Well, not exactly. The actor explained:

Calling Casali “legendary” is not just Holland being nice, either. The production sound mixer won an Academy Award as part of the sound mixing team behind Bohemian Rhapsody in 2019. However, I'd assume none of that experience prepared him for a tiny Spider-Man hat trying to crush his skull.

The best part is that Casali apparently assumed the studio had bought the gifts. So he walked straight up to Holland and started complaining about how cheap Sony had been. The former West End performer continued:

In Casali’s defense, I probably would not have guessed the actor playing Spider-Man personally ordered a box of child-sized beanies either. Holland clearly found the whole thing hilarious rather than taking offense. You have to check out the full interview in the video below.

It also sounds exactly like the kind of mistake that becomes part of a new superhero movie crew’s mythology long after production wraps. Forget the giant action sequences and complicated stunt work. Somewhere there are Spider-Man crew members who will forever remember the day Peter Parker handed them hats built for 8-year-olds.

Brand New Day has worked out considerably better than The Odyssey actor’s gift order. The fourth solo Spider-Man movie has become a massive theatrical hit since arriving on July 31, with its worldwide haul already climbing well past $1 billion.

Honestly, Holland can probably afford to double-check the hat sizes next time. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has already crossed $1.6 billion worldwide, while The Odyssey has pushed past $1 billion as well. Those two monster releases have the 30-year-old closing in on the all-time box office leaderboard, where Zoe Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson currently sit at the top.

If Brand New Day keeps swinging, the Marvel movie veteran could soon move past names like Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson and Chris Pratt, putting him within striking distance of Saldaña and Johansson. Tiny hats aside, it has been a pretty good summer to be Tom Holland.

All of the Spidey flicks, past and present, are streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

Fans have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Throughout much of that time Chris Evans played Steve Rogers, starring in seven movies (in addition to some A+ cameos). He'll once again be back as part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast, and recently joked about how the Russo Brothers love to beat Captain America up. Let's break it all down.

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday has been limited, but the Captain America teaser confirmed that Evans is back playing his signature role. While appearing at Fan Expo Boston (via Twitter), he joked about the way Steve has been treated by The Russo Brothers over the years, saying:

I mean, he's not wrong. The Russos directed both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War before moving over to the Avengers franchise with Infinity War and Endgame. Poor Steve Rogers has taken a ton of blows in those projects, although as Evans points out, he always ends up getting back up. After all, he can "do this all day."

With the pair of filmmakers once again for the next two Avengers flicks, fans are especially invested in the upcoming Marvel movies. And if the Materialists actor's comments are any indication, we should probably expect Steve Rogers to get beat up during their runtimes. We'll just have to wait and see what the Russo Brothers have up their sleeves when these highly anticipated blockbusters are released.

These comments will likely inspire more theories and questions about what's going to happen when Doomsday hits theaters this December. Fans are curious about exactly how Chris Evans' character will join the fray after Steve got his happy ending in the last Avengers movie. The limited footage of the next blockbuster shows him once again wielding Mjolnir, and rocking street clothes rather than Captain America's suit. How will he be convinced to take up arms again and fight Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom? Only time will tell, but I have to assume that leaving Peggy won't be easy.

If history continues repeating itself, we should probably expect Steve to get beat up a bit during Doomsday. But with Marvel's tight security guarding the movie's secrets, we will probably have to wait until the movie's release for any real answers.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Hopefully we get more footage sometime soon.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine at this point, methodically releasing new content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. But folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that some franchises stand out as fan favorites. Chief among them is Ryan Coogler's Black Panther movies, and a rumor about the threequel claims a dead character will have a major role. To be honest, I'm so on board if this ends up being true.

At San Diego Comic-Con it was revealed that David Jonsson was cast in Black Panther 3 as T'Challa's son, so development on the upcoming Marvel movie is clearly underway. Fans are eager for more information about the blockbuster, and a rumor from The Cosmic Circus claims that Angela Bassett might be back as Queen Ramonda. The outlet reported the following:

We should take this with a grain of salt for the time being, as there are plenty of Marvel rumors that don't turn out to be true. But after Angela Bassett's Oscar-nominated performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it would make sense for Coogler to find a way to bring her back. And since dead characters already appear in the Ancestral Plane, that might be the perfect way to include the Malcolm X actress.

Queen Ramonda's death was one of the more gut-wrenching moments from Wakanda Forever, which was a meditation on grief. Bassett admitted she was "mortified" by her character's ending, so maybe Ryan Coogler will make things up to her by having her return in the threequel ala the Ancestral Plane. Fingers crossed.

Information about Black Panther 3 has been slowly trickling out, and only time will tell what rumors and fan theories end up being legit. Winston Duke spoke to CinemaBlend about the threequel, teasing that Ryan Coogler is trying to inspire very specific conversations from audiences. Indeed, the first two movies did exactly this. The original was about generational trauma and colonization, while Wakanda Forever was all about grief. We'll just have to wait and see what the Oscar-winning filmmaker has planned for the third chapter in his acclaimed franchise.

Black Panther 3 is currently expected to arrive in theaters on December 15, 2028. Since its not on the 2026 movie release list, fans will have to practice some patience. For now, the first two movies are streaming on Disney+.

I always love that moment when I’m watching something and I notice one of the child actors in it is now a major movie star. If you’ve watched the Marvel movies in order lately (available to stream with a Disney+ subscription), you might have had this experience with Iron Man 3. Sure, Jenna Ortega is in the movie for like two seconds, but I just found out there was almost more.

Ortega’s first movie was Iron Man 3, which was filmed when she was nine years old. She appears very briefly about an hour and a half into the 2013 flick as “Vice President’s Daughter”. But, her story about her time on set has me feeling wistful for her. In her words:

How adorable is this? Jenna Ortega wasn’t the Wednesday star she is these days on the Iron Man 3 set back then, but she sure had the stuff and the drive. Here’s a shot of her in the movie:

Jenna Ortega plays the daughter of Miguel Ferrer’s Rodriguez, the Vice President of the United States. In the brief Jenna Ortega appearance, the camera pans down to show she doesn’t have one of her legs. The scene reveals to the audience that Rodriguez’s allegiances lie with the movie’s villain, Aldrich Killian, who’s giving him Extremis tech to help heal her.

According to Ortega, her character originally had lines and even a name, but the movie ultimately cut short the role. I totally get that she’s not a main character in Iron Man 3, and edits are part of showbiz. But now that we know what the actress is capable of, I want that deleted scene back! It would have been so cool if she was in it in even just a bit longer. Ortega also said this to Esquire about Iron Man 3’s release:

At the time, it must have been so exciting for little Jenna Ortega to be in a big movie at all, but my heart kind of hurts, too. All that excitement, love and support for Iron Man 3, and she didn’t say a single line! This happens a lot in Hollywood. I guess it makes me think about all the small parts in movies and TV shows that may not be a big deal to us, but mean the world to its burgeoning actors. As Ortega added:

Ortega grew up over two hours outside of Los Angeles to a sheriff’s deputy and emergency-room nurse. They managed to drive her back and forth to auditions in order to support her dream at a young age. It certainly paid off now that she’s been in a ton of movies and TV shows across almost 15 years.

Don’t expect her to be in any upcoming Marvel movies. She’s said before that she counts that as her MCU stunt and “I move on”. Ugh, if only! They could have built on it later, but I guess she doesn’t need it either way.

Though, we do have some ideas for superheroes she could play. Ortega’s next role is in Klara In the Sun, which is among 2026 movie releases coming out this fall.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for being a massive franchise, one that constantly puts out new content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. But it had humble beginnings, and when the original Avengers movie was shot and released it was a big risk. Chris Evans recently recalled getting matching tattoos with the rest of the Avengers cast, and trying (and failing) to peer pressure Mark Ruffalo into getting one as well.

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have a special affinity for the original Avengers lineup, who changed the film world forever. Those actors have a close bond, and most of them got matching tattoos during Infinity War. During an appearance at Fan Expo Boston (via Twitter), Evans recalled this by saying:

It sounds like most of the original Avengers actors love tattoos, so it seemed logical for them to get one in solidarity as they filmed Infinity War and Endgame. Those two movies saw the departure of actors Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. from their signature roles. Although the latter two are returning as part of the Doomsday cast list.

Later in the same convention appearance, Evans gave ScarJo credit for getting the ball rolling on the matching Avengers tattoos. Although he laments not being able to get Mark Ruffalo to join the fun. As he put it:

So why didn't the 13 Going on 30 actor join the rest of his buddies on this adventure? Mark Ruffalo previously revealed why he didn't get the tattoo, saying it was a mixture of not liking needles and wanting to be "punk rock" and not go with the group mentality. I guess you can say that he's an original.

Chris Evans might not have succeeded in peer pressuring Ruffalo, but he'll settle for encouraging fans to give his co-star a hard time about his lack of a tattoo. And just like. that, the story will continue living for the foreseeable future.

Evans and RDJ will return to the MCU when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Ruffalo recently appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but it's unclear if we'll see him in any of the next two Avengers movies.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge place, with tons of content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were recently treated to Destin Daniel Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which broke box office records. The movie had a thrilling ensemble of characters, but it turns out Rosario Dawson shot a scrapped scene, reprising her role as Claire Temple on the big screen for the first time. The actress recently broke her silence about being cut from the blockbuster, but she also had a hopeful message.

The trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day featured Jon Bernthal's Punisher, marking the first time he played Frank Castle in a movie. But folks who watched the Netflix Marvel shows would have loved to see Claire Temple appear in her cut scene. While appearing at GalaxyCon (via Twitter), the Ashoka star revealed how she found out her sene was dropped, offering:

Talk about a bummer. While Dawson has a wildly successful career in TV and film, she was hyped about sharing her Spider-Man role with her family... especially her grandson. Unfortunately Claire's sequence was cut from Brand New Day's theatrical cut. Fingers crossed that we'll be able to see the deleted scene sometime in the future.

Before Disney+ started releasing live-action Marvel shows, there was a whole universe of titles available for those with a Netflix subscription. Dawson's Claire Temple served as the Nick Fury of those shows, tying the titles together while appearing in Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and The Defenders. It would have been great to see her back in Brand New Day, but that didn't happen. At the same convention appearance she spoke more about this by saying:

While it's a bummer that she was cut rom Brand New Day, it sounds like the Ahsoka actress is still ready to reprise her role as Claire in upcoming Marvel movies or TV shows. She continues to have a good relationship with Disney, so it would make sense for her to appear eventually. Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later.

As someone who watched the Netflix Marvel shows religiously, it's been thrilling to see a number of characters return. Charlie Cox cameoed as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk and Echo before starring in both seasons of Born Again. Jon Bernthal's Punisher appeared in the latter as well, before reprising his role in One Last Kill and Brand New Day. Hopefully Claire Temple is the next one to get this treatment.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Folks can re-watch Rosario Dawson's tenure in the MCU over on Disney+ now.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly bringing new content to fans, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Because of this, there's non-stop discourse about upcoming Marvel movies, especially The Russo Brothers' next two Avengers movies. One theory is that Daredevil will appear in Secret Wars, and now Charlie Cox had addressed that chatter directly.

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were thrilled when Cox returned as Daredevil/Matt Murdock in the MCU during a Spider-Man: No Way Home cameo. Since then he appeared in She-Hulk and Echo, in addition to starring in two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again. Folks really want to see him suited up in an Avengers movie, and at an MCM Comic Con panel (via ScreenRant) he addressed his rumored Secret Wars role by saying:

Well, that's pretty cut and dry. Cox isn't playing coy or avoiding the question, and is instead all-out denying he has a role in Secret Wars. We'll just have to see if fans are satisfied with this response, or if the rumors will continue to swirl until the blockbuster hits theaters next December.

Charlie Cox might have definitely answered the question about his role in Secret Wars, but that doesn't mean that the fandom believes him. After all, Marvel's tight security requires actors to fib in interviews in order go guard against spoilers. Case in point: Andrew Garfield lying about his Spider-Man: No Way Home role for a year amidst rumors.

Daredevil has returned to the MCU in a big way with Born Again, but there are plenty of longtime fans who want to see The Man Without Fear finally on the big screen in a significant role. His cameo in No Way Home was fun, but Cox appeared as Matt Murdock rather than his superhero alternate ego. And since Punisher finally got to go from the small to silver screen in Brand New Day, calls for Daredevil to get his own crossover moment in Avengers: Secret Wars have only gotten louder.

Of course, only time will tell exactly what happens in that mysterious tile. Brand New Day's credits scene seemed to tease that Spider-Man will be part of the fun, although it's unclear if that'll once again be Tom Holland or perhaps Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. Almost nothing is known about that project, with both the studio and fans instead focused on Doomsday's release later this year.

Avengers: Doomsday will hit theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Secret Wars will follow suit on December 17, 2027. We'll just have to wait and see if Cox was telling the truth, or if Daredevil will get to join the battle against Doctor Doom.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently the biggest movie in the world alongside Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, and doesn’t seem like it’ll be tanking at the box office anytime soon. So from at least one perspective, co-star Sadie Sink was responsible for keeping a lid on one of the most lucrative secrets in cinema history. And to her credit, she made it to release without letting it slip (to the public, anyway), but at what point will she have to start zipping her lips again as the MCU’s X-Men feature comes together?

For instance, is it possible Sink is already playing dumb about the current progress of the next project where she’ll be portraying Jean Grey? It’s hard to automatically know one way or the other without Tom Holland around to provide tells. For instance, when asked by Vanity Fair about the latest casting rumors for Scott “Cyclops” Summers, the character Jean is often closest to in the comics, Sink claimed to have no direct insights, saying:

If we take her words to heart, then it indicates the upcoming Marvel movie being directed by Jake Schreier could potentially be casting for its biggest roles without chemistry sessions between stars. Hardly the biggest Hollywood sin at this point in the game, but still an interesting situation if that is indeed the case.

Sink elaborated a bit after being asked if the set-up for the X-Men feature has been a separate process from everything she dealt with regarding her Spider-Man involvement. To which she answered:

Sounds like a normal enough answer, except she almost too-quickly veers away from speaking about herself and where she fits into it all. She points out that she's getting insights from the director himself, and then pivots to pre-planned quotes and talking points about the "timing of it" and having Jean be introduced through Brand New Day. Sounds like somebody needed to fill some space.

Of course, it may just be that she didn't know, and wanted to have some kind of an answer so that she wasn't just sitting there quietly. But I'm still a little bit suspicious. It's too bad I don;t have any telepathic powers myself, although I dare say I'd be using them for things other than figuring out whether Sadie Sink is fibbing about X-Men stuff.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in theaters, where Jean Grey's reveal has been a legitimate surprise for some crowds.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

It's an exciting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day's record-breaking release and the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday on the way. Fan are still reeling from Brand New Day's ending, and remain invested in the characters played by Tom Holland and Zendaya. Although the latter revealed one big way she would have changed the blockbuster.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that the Spider-Man movies are fan favorites. I mean, just look at how much money Brand New Day continues to make at the box office. Over on Capital's TikTok, the Euphoria icon got real about how she would have handled Peter's predicament with MJ and the letter. In her words:

Same, though. As we learned in Destin Daniel Cretton's blockbuster, Peter had been living a lonely and solitary life in the four years since Doctor Strange's spell deleted the world's memories of him during No Way Home's ending. For all that time he's kept the letter he wrote to MJ, explaining their history and her memory loss. But he kept stopping himself from delivering it, with Zendaya's character instead discovering it while being kept under Punisher's protection.

Clearly the Emmy-winning actress wouldn't have done the same if she was in Spider-Man's position. Instead she would have cut to the chase and delivered the letter. And after seeing what a bad place Peter was in without his loved ones, I can't say I blame her.

While I loved MJ's memory storyline more than Gamora's resurrection in Guardians of the Galaxy, I definitely understand Zendaya's perspective. And while MJ eventually read the letter, Brand New Day ended with her still not having any feelings or memories of Peter. But the same might not be true for Ned, as the movie's final moments saw muscle memory kick in when he and Peter did their signature hand shake. Does this mean Doctor Strange's spell isn't permanent after all? Only time will tell.

There are countless questions about the future of the Spider-Man franchise, as well as Tom Holland's title character. Brand New Day's credits scene seemed to tease Spidey in Secret Wars, although it's unclear if that's going to be Holland or the Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield version of the character.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Avengers: Doomsday will follow suit on December 18th, so we'll have to see if there are any connections to Peter Parker this winter.

Anthony Mackie has spent more than a decade inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe machine, so you might assume it takes quite a bit to leave him starstruck these days. Then Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart walked onto the set of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, and suddenly the current Captain America was just another fan trying to work up the nerve to say hello.

Mackie recalled meeting the two X-Men legends while speaking with IMDb, and his story about introducing himself to the returning mutant actors is ridiculously sweet. Marvel announced the first Doomsday trailer confirmed McKellen and Stewart were returning for the new Marvel movie, alongside several other veterans of Fox’s X-Men movies, while He returns as Sam Wilson. The 8 Mile star started by describing just how surreal it was to see the pair on set.

Honestly, “their first name is Sir” is a pretty great summation of what it must feel like to suddenly find Professor X and Magneto hanging around your workplace. What a sight to see, and apparently even Robert Downey Jr. was nerding out over the OG stars.

Eventually, Mackie made his way over to the Lord of the Rings star and introduced himself. He said McKellen greeted him with, “Hello, son,” which already sounds exactly like the sort of thing you would hope Gandalf says when you meet him. Then McKellen asked:

Apparently, nobody had given Magneto the complete MCU orientation packet. The Shakespearean actor's response was only five words, but the Desert Warrior actor clearly has not forgotten it. He continued:

That is a lovely bit of encouragement coming from someone who helped define the modern superhero movie long before Mackie ever strapped on a pair of Falcon wings.

The encounter also offers a fun glimpse at just how strange the Avengers: Doomsday set must be. McKellen first played Magneto in 2000’s X-Men, while Stewart debuted as Charles Xavier in the same movie. Mackie did not enter the MCU as Sam Wilson until Captain America: The Winter Soldier more than a decade later. Now all three are appearing in the same Avengers movie.

Marvel’s enormous Doomsday cast also includes James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming and Kelsey Grammer from the X-Men films, alongside MCU veterans including Chris Hemsworth, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Letitia Wright and Paul Rudd. Robert Downey Jr. is returning in a very different role as Victor von Doom.

Chris Evans will return as Steve Rogers, which makes Mackie’s place in the movie especially interesting now that Sam carries the Captain America mantle. Whatever happens when all these characters finally meet on screen, the Twisted Metal actor already got one pretty great crossover moment out of the production. Captain America received Magneto’s blessing.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters Dec. 18, 2026. Until then, fans can revisit all the Marvel movies in order, even the Fox era, streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day are ahead.

Eman Esfandi has officially entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the Ahsoka actor would like everyone to get one thing straight about his mysterious Spider-Man: Brand New Day character. He is not, has never been, and will never be Paul. And judging by the forcefulness of his denial, please do not put that evil on him. Wait. Who's Paul?

Who is this Paul Guy?

In the 2026 movie calendar release, Esfandi plays MJ’s new boyfriend, though the movie’s credits coyly identify him only as “The Boyfriend.” That naturally sent longtime Spider-Man readers searching for his real identity, and speculation quickly landed on Paul Rabin, a relatively recent Marvel Comics character with the distinction of being deeply, deeply unpopular among a sizable portion of Peter Parker and Mary Jane fans.

Esfandi apparently saw those theories, and he is deeply offended that folks think he's Paul. The actor responded on X (Twitter) with the sort of denial normally reserved for criminal allegations, and you can see it for yourself below.

The “MTFBWY” stands for “May the Force be with you,” a fitting sign-off from the actor who plays Ezra Bridger on Ahsoka. But who in the heck is Paul, and why do fans hate him so badly? Let’s break it down.

What’s this Paul Guy’s Deal?

If you only know the webhead from the Spider-Man franchise of movies, the intensity of the reaction probably needs some explanation.

Paul Rabin entered Peter and Mary Jane’s lives during Zeb Wells’ run on The Amazing Spider-Man. After MJ became stranded in an alternate dimension, four years passed for her while Peter desperately tried to get back. During that time, she and Paul found two children, raised them together and eventually became a couple. When Peter finally rescued everyone, MJ stayed with Paul. The children were later revealed to be magical constructs. Yes, Spider-Man comics can get complicated.

Paul himself is not secretly some mustache-twirling supervillain. The problem for many readers has always been what he represents: another enormous roadblock between Peter and MJ, one of Marvel’s longest-running romantic pairings.

So when Brand New Day introduced Esfandi as MJ’s new boyfriend and then refused to give the character a name, you can probably see how the conspiracy board assembled. Reports that some open-caption screenings identified the boyfriend as “Paul” only poured gasoline on it, although the film’s actual credits stick with “The Boyfriend.”

What Fans Are Saying About The Paul Business

Naturally, Esfandi’s clarification did not settle anything. If anything, it gave Spider-Man fans a fresh excuse to turn “The Boyfriend” into its own running joke, while others immediately decided that denying he is Paul is exactly what Paul would do. Here are some of the standout replies:

• @VmothN99: “Thank you for playing the perfect role as John Boyfriend. Loved it when you said ‘It’s Boyfriend time’ and then proceeded to Boyfriend all over the place”
• @RedPandaVeth: “You’re clearly The Boyfriend. It said so in the credits.”
• @Q0Y00m: “That’s what Paul would say tbh”
• @herelies_imran: “Jokes on you we all know you’re playing John Boyfriend!”
• @RhuaridhK: “I knew Eman would never willingly take the role of the most evil Spidey rogue that's my king right there”
• @kool_kenny1: “Harry Osborn then… I can see it.”
• @ikindaplaydrums: “Yeah cuz you’re HARRY OSBORN”

That Harry Osborn theory is already getting some traction, because Marvel fans are apparently constitutionally incapable of letting a mysterious character simply be some guy. Esfandi may have cleared his name of the Paul Rabin allegations, but in doing so, he opened the door to an entirely new round of guessing about who “The Boyfriend” really is.

Honestly, I don’t hate the idea of him playing a new take on Peter Parker’s longtime frenemy in upcoming MCU installments. Though I still think Ned becoming Hobgoblin would be the cooler way to riff on the Osborn/Goblin side of Spider-Man lore.

For now, fans are floating everyone from Harry Osborn to Boomerang and Tarantula, though none of those theories has much evidence behind it, and Marvel has confirmed absolutely nothing. The studio could also be doing something far less complicated and simply letting MJ date a normal person named John Boyfriend. But for Esfandi’s sake, though, apparently just don’t call him Paul.

Fans can catch Spider-Man: Brand New Day in theaters now. And if you want to work your way through the Marvel movies in order, all you need is a Disney+ subscription.

With all of this X-Men chatter lately, you’d think it was the ‘90s all over again (I guess that’s what X-Men ‘97 is all about, really). Seriously, have the X-Men ever been this much a part of public discussion as they are right now?

I mean, between their upcoming role in Avengers: Doomsday, their future in the MCU, and (spoiler!) one of their members appearing in another MCU project, the X-Men just seem ubiquitous right now… and I like it!

It got me thinking about what is arguably the best X-Men movie of all time, 2011’s X-Men: First Class. I’ve loved most of the X-Men movies, but this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. Here’s why.

Making Charles And Erik’s Relationship The Center Of The Film Was The Right Call

While it’s popular to believe that Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, were inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively, the truth is, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby never intended for the comparison. That said, it just fits so perfectly, doesn’t it?

The fight for Mutant rights is certainly analogous to the Civil Rights Movement. That movement kickstarted in the mid-’50s, while the X-Men debuted in 1963. Plus, Martin Luther King Jr.’s peaceful approach to integration is similar to what Professor X would later propose, while Magneto’s more militant approach mirrored the earlier “By Any Means Necessary” approach by Malcolm X.

X-Men: First Class wonderfully shows this dichotomy of peace vs. force. Throughout the film, we see Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) working together to create mutant acceptance. Erik, a survivor of the Holocaust, views humankind with disdain, but, because of Charles’ optimism and friendship, tries to make it work.

As you already know, it doesn’t work. The CIA creates a special unit for mutants, but it turns out that the government is just as quick to get rid of them, which breaks the bond between Magneto and Charles. Their friendship and ultimate parting of ways really work as the crux of this film.

The Time Period Has Never Felt More Important In A Comic Book Movie

X-Men: Days of Future Past focuses on the “future,” 2023, and also 1973. The film’s conceit is more just an excuse to connect the “old” X-Men from the 2000s with the “new” X-Men of the 2010s. Only X-Men: First Class really makes the time period feel wholly essential to the story, as it takes place in the 1960s at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In fact, the whole third act consists of a what-if scenario of what-if mutants actually were the cause of all of the international tension back then? We also get a true sense of the overall turmoil back in the ‘60s, which was, again, the height of the Civil Rights Movement.

All of this makes X-Men: First Class feel like not only a comic book film, but also a great history lesson, which is amazing.

It Gets To The Heart Of What Makes X-Men Special - The Fight To End Bigotry From Different Sides

Is First Class a movie that explores race and social justice? Not really, but it certainly feels like one.

X-Men has always been the most “woke” popular comic book series. Mutants can be substituted for any particular race, religion, or sexual orientation, and the “enemy” is anybody who views them as disgusting, or worse, sinful and deserving to be eradicated.

First Class works better than any other X-Men film because it fully leans into this. It’s great not just because it’s enthralling, but also because it truly tackles the issue of what the best way to fight bigotry is, and it never really lands on an absolute answer (as it shouldn’t).

Was Charles right? Was Magneto? That’s up for the viewer to decide, which is why I think this X-Men film in particular is the most special, and the greatest of them all.

SPOILERS are ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day! Go see the movie in theaters.

Sadie Sink just completely changed what’s next in the MCU. After over a year of anticipation, it was revealed in Spider-Man: Brand New Day that the 24-year-old Stranger Things alum is the MCU’s Jean Grey. Now that the cat’s officially out of the bag, Sink just talked about who she told her confidential casting to (and that list includes some surprising folks from Stranger Things).

Being a mutant is not an easy secret to keep, but Sadie Sink seemed to do an incredible job staying tight-lipped. But in a new interview, she just shared how many people she told about the mysterious role. In her words:

In an interview with Variety, Sadie Sink admitted that she had a handful of trusted confidants outside of Brand New Day. The actress said she told members of her family and the creators of Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer, were in the know too, which kind of surprised me. Here’s what she said of the Duffers’ reaction to the big MCU role:

Sadie Sink admittedly knew very little about Jean Grey and had never seen the X-Men movies when she was approached for the Brand New Day role. It sounds like their reaction to the opportunity really helped give her confidence to take it on, especially since the Stranger Things creators are comic book fans themselves. But did she tell any of her Stranger Things cast? As she responded:

Whoa. I guess her castmates were left in the dark for the past year and some change after she was picked to be Jean Grey.

There’s been a ton of rumors surrounding who Sink was playing (including her actual role being leaked early on). Since she was cast in March 2025, Sadie has had to find unique ways to tease her role without revealing it.

As a result of all the hush-hush, there were big reactions in theaters at her character being named in Brand New Day. If I were one of Sadie Sink’s castmates, I would have probably tried to get the tea – so I’m shocked to learn only the Duffers were clued in among the Stranger Things family.

Now that Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey has been introduced in Brand New Day, she’s expected to be in the planned X-Men reboot. Of course, she could share the secret to her Brand New Day family (who she once made feel old), or she could confide in the Duffers again.

However, no matter what happens next, now that Brand New Day has had the biggest box office week ever and soared to over $1 billion worldwide, it's safe to say a lot of people know Sadie Sink’s character now!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly expanding, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. As such, folks are always curious about upcoming Marvel movies, especially fan favorites like the Spider-Man movies. For years, fans have been wondering if Jacob Batalon's Ned might become the villainous Hobgoblin, and someone finally asked the actor about it.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have seen as Tom Holland's Spider-Man films became fan favorites. Brand New Day has overtaken Endgame at the box office, but will Ned ever transform into Hobgoblin? During a conversation with ScreenRant's podcast Coffee Chats, Batalon spoke about what it would take for his character to break bad. In his words:

Honestly, this makes sense. While there are corners of the MCU fandom that are dying to see Ned become a villain and fight his former best friend, it would take a bunch of narrative twists in order to make Jacob Batalon's signature character into Hobgoblin. So there might be precedent in the comics, but (currently) it would make far less sense on the big screen.

While fan art made Ned into Hobgoblin, it's unclear if that'll ever happen within the MCU. Later in the same podcast appearance, the Tarot actor got honest about the likelihood of becoming a villain, offering:

He's not wrong. And even though Ned lost his memories of Peter after Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending, he still didn't end up showing any villainous qualities in Brand New Day. I mean, except for making the Spidey Tracker and his wall of theories about who might be under the mask. Per Batalon's comments, the franchise is going to have to methodically and slowly transform his character into Hobgoblin... if it's going to happen at all.

Brand New Day's ending seemed to indicate that Ned had started regaining his memories of Peter, which makes his villainous arc all the more unlikely as things currently stand. Still, that's not going to stop fans from hoping that it happens one day.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if/when a fifth movie is developed, and what happens to Peter and his friends.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly treating fans to new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. While there are plenty of upcoming Marvel movies to look forward to, none have as much hype as The Russo Brothers' Avengers: Doomsday. Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order are thrilled for the teams of superheroes to crossover, and James Marsden revealed which of his co-stars geeked out the most on set about the X-Men.

What we know about Avengers: Doomsday has been limited, but the fact that the OG stars of the X-Men movies are joining the fun has buoyed excitement. During a conversation with IMDb at San Diego Comic-Con, Marsden revealed which members of the Doomsday cast were most excited to be filming alongside the mutants. He responded with:

Honestly, can you blame them? Despite how much genre work this trio of actors has done over the years, even the Avengers and Fantastic Four couldn't help but nerd out over seeing the X-Men on set... especially since they're finally wearing more comic-accurate costumes in Doomsday.

Marsden is playing Cyclops 27 years after filming the OG X-Men, and will be rocking the blue and yellow suit for the first time in the next Avengers movie. Fans are thrilled about this, but it sounds like Simu Liu couldn't get over the new costume either. You can see The Notebook actor's comments about his superpowered co-stars below:

If the cast of Doomsday was freaking out like this, one can only imagine how fans will react when the next Avengers movie hits the big screen this coming December. Fans have waited a long time for the X-Men to finally join the MCU, with Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opening the door for characters like the mutants and the Fantastic Four to get in on the action. And while mutants have been gradually peppered in, this will be the first time we see the X-Men assembled in the shared universe.

Avengers: Doomsday's trailer teased what it'll be like when all these teams of heroes collide, including a skirmish between the X-Men and the Avengers. We see Shang-Chi and Gambit come to blows, as well as Yelena and Mystique. I'm eager to see who James Marsden's Cyclops might fight during this conflict, especially cuz he'll finally be rocking the iconic yellow and blue costume from the comics and animated series.

All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. That's when we'll see how the cast's excitement and nerdiness translate into the final theatrical cut.

It's a great time to be a Marvel fan, because Spider-Man: Brand New Day's release in theaters was a thrilling update for folks who have watched the Marvel movies in order, and also broke records at the box office. In fact, it broke Avengers: Endgame's box office record, a movie that was at one point the highest grossing film of all time. And The Russo Brothers issued an A+ response to this moment of achievement.

Back in July of 2019 Endgame beat Avatar and became the highest grossing movie. Eventually James Cameron's sci-fi epic went back to theaters, allowing it to re-take that space. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has made even more money than the last Avengers flick, and The Russo Brothers posted on Instagram to celebrate their colleagues. Check it out below:

How fun is that? This is image from artist BossLogic of Spidey rocking a hand full of Infinity Stone diamonds is instantly iconic, as is the caption from the acclaimed directors. In it they shouted out the various contributors to Brand New Day's wild success, including director Destin Daniel Cretton, actors Tom Holland and Zendaya, and producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.

Spider-Man movies usually do quite well, so it was always expected for Brand New Day to bring in the cast, especially as it followed up on No Way Home's twist ending. But the fact that it was able to beat Endgame shows just how much love there is for Tom Holland's ongoing franchise.

Calling the last Avengers movie highly anticipated would be an understatement, given how shocked the world was with Infinity War's bleak ending. Audiences were left shook when Thanos won half of our beloved characters turned into dust before our eyes. So both hardcore and casual fans had butts in seats when Endgame was released one year later.

Of course, moviegoers are hyped for The Russos to return to the MCU with Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel Secret Wars. The franchise has had a number of struggles during the post-Endgame years, including box office disappointments like The Marvels and Fantastic Four: First Steps. But The Russo Brothers have the fandom's respect, as they were the minds behind arguably some of the best Marvel movie of all time. That includes Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, and their wildly satisfying Avengers movies.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's credits scene seemed to tease a connection to Secret Wars, so we'll just have to wait and see if/when Tom Holland returns to his role as Peter Parker. Although there are plenty of theories that Tobey Maguire might be the Spider-Man used in that mysterious blockbuster. Only time will tell.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list, and will be followed by Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th. In the meantime, fans can re-watch Endgame over on Disney+.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for its tight security, with the cast and crew tasked with guarding the secrets of upcoming Marvel movies. Case in point: Sadie Sink's mysterious Spider-Man role, which turned out to be exactly who fans thought it was... Jean Grey. Rumors swirled about her playing the beloved mutant for months ahead of its release, and Kevin Feige explained why they still kept it under wraps.

Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that the studio keeps its cards close to the chest. While some folks gasped when Sink was revealed as Jean, hardcore fans saw it coming. During a conversation with Variety, Feige explained why he wanted to keep that character a secret, offering:

Points were made. This was clearly effective for some moviegoers, who don't spend their time looking over Marvel fan theories online. And rather than Brand New Day's promotional tour being taken over with questions about the X-Men movies, the focus was on Peter Parker and his journey. Although poor Sadie Sink had to do countless interviews without revealing who she was playing or what she actually did in the blockbuster. And unfortunately, Sink's role was spoiled on the red carpet on premiere day.

Luckily for the 24-year-old actress, she's got some experience with this. She promoted the final season of Stranger Things (streaming with a Netflix subscription) without revealing if her character Max was going to get out of her coma. Sink is basically a professional secret keeper at this point.

While the OG stars of Fox's X-Men movies are going to reprise their roles as part of the Avengers: Doomsday's cast, Sadie Sink's Jean Grey reveal is the first major bit of casting from Jake Schreier's developing X-Men film. The ensemble is slowly coming together for that long-awaited project, with Samara Weaving confirmed to play Emma Frost. There are plenty of other theories and rumors about who else might be playing beloved mutants, but we'll have to wait and see how many of them actually shake out to be true.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's ending saw Jean on a bus upstate, which hardcore fans know is the location of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters aka the X-Mansion. And now that both Jean and Emma have been cast, anticipation for the new X-Men movie is at a fever pitch.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list, and Avengers: Doomsday will follow suit on December 18th. Hopefully, we get more information about mutants in the MCU soon.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is dominating the box office, and if that wasn't evidence enough that the Marvel Cinematic Universe still has what it takes to keep chugging along, I think what it set the stage for does. The X-Men get set up for the future in a big way at the end of this movie, and while not everyone is a fan of that, the audience I saw the movie with was hype.

I guess not everyone was hip to the rumors that Sadie Sink's mysterious villain was actually one of the founding mutants, and people in my theater were audibly shook by the revelation on opening weekend. It has me positive that the MCU is back on track, and after Avengers: Doomsday, we're only going to see more bangers from Marvel Studios as the years drag on.

Jean Grey Getting A Gasp-Worthy Reaction From A Full Theater Has Me Positive The MCU Is Back

Back when Famke Janssen was playing Jean Grey, I was a kid with my dad explaining to me who she was in the comics and why she was so important. 26 years later, the collective gasp in my packed theater for Spider-Man: Brand New Day told me that you no longer need to be a comic book fan to recognize one of the X-Men's most powerful psychics, especially considering there wasn't any other reference to mutants or other iconic imagery from the franchise.

Based on Jean's role and how the movie ends, it feels clear the X-Men are not an established team in the MCU. It stands to reason we're going to meet some more mutants in the coming years, and if people are that psyched for Jean Grey, imagine how they'll be when they meet the new Cyclops, Storm, or Wolverine.

Marvel Studios Rebooting The X-Men Can Definitely Carry The MCU For Another Decade

If Marvel Studios has plans to slowly introduce the X-Men and make them a team, then I think we have a good while before Marvel fatigue strikes a mainstream audience again. Kevin Feige confirmed plans were in place for Marvel to reboot the superhero team for the MCU, and I think the studio is going about it in the best way possible.

Starting at the very origin of X-Men is the right call and allows us to be reintroduced to a new cast to invest in and bring a new generation into the story of the Mutants. Whether we'll get a more traditional comic book origin story, a new twist, or one of the alternate tellings has me excited.

As comic book readers know, there are so many mutants beyond Wolverine that could have their own standalone film series. There's so much potential with that, especially at a time where it feels like the verdict is still out on how much we all like the new Avengers lineup. If the Mutants end up being the torchbearers of the next era of the MCU, I won't be mad.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently in theaters and continuing to make wheelbarrows of cash. It has me wondering just how long we'll have to wait for another movie, and when we can expect to see Sadie Sink's Jean Grey again.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly putting out new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Despite this, a few upcoming Marvel movies have been taking way too long, chief among them being Shang-Chi 2. Fans are constantly asking about the Shang-Chi sequel, and director Destin Daniel Cretton recently got honest about why it's taken so long.

Following Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Cretton returned to Marvel by directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is breaking records at the box office. During an interview with The Wrap, the acclaimed director got real about why it's taken so long to get Shang-Chi's sequel off the ground. He offered:

That's an interesting perspective. Rather than the delays being a Shang-Chi problem, Destin Daniel Cretton seems to think that it's an industry-wide issue. And since the MCU has had some notable misses like The Marvels' box office bomb, and Fantastic Four: First Step's disappointing performance, it's seemingly affecting the way other franchises are approached by the studio. And just like that, Simu Liu's long-awaited sequel has been in development hell for years.

While fans have been frustrated about this movie's lack of forward movement, the same can also be said by insiders. Liu recently said Marvel needs to do better at delivering what's promised, and both he and Cretton remained committed to eventually bringing Shang-Chi 2 to life. In his same interview, the filmmaker went on to say:

Shang-Chi did well at the box office upon its release in 2021, and fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order really responded to its thrilling action sequences and fresh perspective. A sequel seemed like a no-brainer, but not much forward motion has happened from the studio. In the meantime, Cretton took on another gig in-universe directing the new Spider-Man movie.

Luckily for fans of the hero, Simu Liu will reprise his role as part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast. The Shang-Chi credits scene teased his connection with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and we'll finally get to see that dynamic play out this winter. Hopefully this will help the long-awaited sequel finally make some progress.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as Avengers: Doomsday will follow suit on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Fingers crossed we get some good news about Shang-Chi soon.

When Avengers: Endgame opened to $357 million domestically in 2019, it set a record that seemed likely to last for years. The movie had more than a decade of MCU storytelling behind it, brought together nearly every major Marvel hero and became one of the biggest theatrical events in recent memory. Even Kevin Feige did not expect a new Marvel release to surpass it anytime soon. However, that recently came to pass.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day broke Endgame's record this past weekend and, afterwards Feige spoke with Variety about the milestone. During the chat, the Marvel Studios president admitted he was surprised. Feige pointed to the pandemic and the difficult years that followed for movie theaters as major reasons he thought Endgame’s opening weekend might remain untouched. He explained:

Spider-Man’s latest box office win is especially fitting given the history of the character's appearance at the cinema. Sam Raimi’s first movie helped change expectations for the openings of new superhero films so, it's somewhat poetic that Tom Holland’s fourth solo film now holds the domestic record.

The 2026 movie calendar release earned $360 million in the United States and Canada during its opening weekend, narrowly passing Endgame’s $357 million debut. However, Endgame still holds the larger worldwide opening and overall theatrical totals. Feige said Marvel always believed ticket sales could eventually rise again, but the industry’s uneven recovery made that harder to picture over the past several years:

The victory comes at a useful moment for Marvel. The studio has spent years hearing that superhero fatigue finally arrived, while several recent releases failed to approach the heights of the Infinity Saga. Now, Brand New Day has crossed $1 billion worldwide in six days and become the second-fastest movie ever to reach that milestone, trailing only Endgame.

The Webhead’s big box office week does not erase every concern surrounding the MCU, but it proves audiences will still sprint to theaters when a Marvel movie feels like an event. Feige may not have expected Brand New Day to topple Endgame’s opening record, but Peter Parker has made a career out of exceeding expectations.

The next Marvel movie on the schedule is Avengers: Doomsday, which is clearly trying to recapture some of the ensemble magic that made Endgame such a huge event. Maybe the next Avengers film will be the one to knock Spider-Man out of the top spot. Still, after seeing what Brand New Day just pulled off, I would not count on it.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now playing in theaters, so check your local listings for showtimes. Avengers: Doomsday arrives on Dec. 18, so fans will then be able to find out whether it can challenge Spidey’s new box office record. Audiences can also revisit all the Marvel movies streaming with a Disney+ subscription.

Even as Marvel and Disney are celebrating the box office behemoth Spider-Man: Brand New Day, whose success can be heavily attributed to director Destin Daniel Cretton, the MCU took a hit when the Emmy-nominated Wonder Man was canceled, despite having previously earning a Season 2 renewal. Cretton was also behind the camera on the Hollywood-skewing series, which is perhaps the most critically adored Marvel show without any witches in it, and not even he fully understands why the plug was pulled.

When speaking about his disappointment regarding Wonder Man’s fate, and also championing star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a class act, Cretton made sure not to lay the blame at Kevin Feige’s feet, saying he doesn’t think the studio boss would have canceled the show without it being mandated from those above. He told The Wrap:

Kevin Feige was directly responsible for helping convince Abdul Mateen to take on the role of Simon, as the actor was wary about potentially wasting his Marvel hero shot on a bum deal. So that speaks to Feige having a lot of confidence in the show. The Marvel bigwig has also spoken highly of bringing the show's specific comedic tone to the MCU. It's too bad he apparently wasn't the one with the final say in the matter.

Rumors have surfaced claiming Disney+ is pulling back on live-action MCU TV series to avoid oversaturation and keep anticipation high for theatrical drops. It's also been reported that despite the somewhat early season renewal, no forward progress had been made on getting a writers room started. Whether or not either or both of those claims is legitimate, one has to assume that the total viewership also weighed on execs' minds. Not that anyone outside of the company will ever know those numbers.

Destin Daniel Cretton addressed that detail when asked if he'd ever be interested in directing a Wonder Man feature, saying that his interest would be piqued for a specific reason:

In the immediate aftermath of Disney reversing course and axing Wonder Man after its lone season, some fans speculated that it meant the superpowered Simon Williams was getting his own movie, or was being brought into Avengers: Doomsday. Co-creator Andrew Guest confirmed it wasn’t a marketing stunt or anything of the sort, and that for the foreseeable future, the character has been shelved.

In the meantime, at least one more adult-skewing MCU TV show is coming soon, with VisionQuest set to debut via Disney+ subscription on October 14, 2026.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched Spidey's latest big-screen romp, so be warned (or be punished)!

The biggest movie of 2026 so far, Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the relatively rare MCU release that has won over critics and audiences alike, and feels like a step in the right direction for both Sony and Marvel Studios. Tom Holland's fourth webslinging solo film will likely keep audiences talking until the next Marvel movie releases thanks to its pair of ambiguously teasy final scenes: Peter and Ned's go-to handshake and the Spidey Tracker's outer-space update.

After co-star Jacob Batalon's Ned spends the entire movie unaware of who Peter is, his former BFF makes an introduction in which Ned unwittingly goes through the motions of their special handshake. But does that mean Doctor Strange's memory-wiping spell has been reversed? Batalon shared his take on the matter with THR, seemingly without any secret behind-the-scenes knowledge of where things are going next. And I dunno that he'll be putting an end to any debates here when asked about Ned being the first character to regain any memories of Peter. In his words:

Oh man, oh man. Had the actor just avoided the question entirely, it might have been minorly frustrating. But here, he dismisses any assumptions about Ned's memory coming back, and instead gives equal weight to some of the most relevant arguments that fans have been debating since the movie's release. That's just cruel, J.B.! (At least he didn't bring up the idea that Jean Grey's widespread mind control might have unlocked something.)

Not that anyone should readily expect anyone in the Brand New Day cast to suddenly reveal a concrete answer to questions posed by those mysterious final moments, since any kind of genuine answer would just inspire more questions, and there's no real end to that line of action. Still, I'm amused that Batalon doesn't narrow the list of options down even slightly.

He continued, and voiced his hope that it's a positive omen for the future. As he put it:

As much as I'd love to think that True Friendship is more powerful than a Sorcerer Supreme's magic spell, I personally don't believe that Ned is starting to regain his mental memories of his past with Peter, and I think it's more muscle memory than anything else. Doctor Strange's spell didn't necessitate that Ned would forget everything he knew that had anything to do with Peter. If I'd magically forget who my parents were, that doesn't mean I'd automatically forget how to drive a car because they taught me how.

I guess I don't have inarguably proof of that, since I don't personally know the contact info of any Sorcerers Supreme. As such, the debate will rage on until we're all years older and watching the first trailer for Spider-Man: Whazzidoozitz? Or you know, whatever the next one is called.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is always expanding, with new titles arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. But folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that certain franchises are fan favorites, chief among them being the Spider-Man movies. Case in point: Brand New Day's record-breaking performance at the box office. Fans are wondering how long Tom Holland might play Peter Parker, and a Sony exec made a Super Bowl analogy about that lingering question.

Fans are always curious about upcoming Marvel movies, and have been wondering how long Holland will continue playing Peter Parker. During a recent interview with Variety, Sony's Tom Rothman addressed how long we might see the Odyssey star in his signature role, offering:

Honestly, I get it. The studio is still celebrating how well Brand New Day is doing, so they're not necessarily looking to the next Spider-Man film just yet. That being said, it seems like Sony would love to keep their collaboration with tits leading actor going for the foreseeable future... even if Tom Holland originally said he'd be done playing Peter Parker by the time he's in his 30s. He's exactly 30 years old now, but it doesn't sound like he's hanging up the suit right away.

That being said, Holland has expressed interest in being a mentor to Miles Morales in the future. So maybe he could retire as Peter Parker after that's done? Rothman also spoke to THR about the actor saying he'd play Spider-Man again. The Sony boss was quoted saying:

This is definitely a hopeful set of messages for fans who might be nervous that Tom Holland's tenure as Peter Parker was coming to an end. Sony wants to keep things rolling, and Brand New Day's performance shows that fans have an ongoing passion for the franchise. After recent Marvel box office bombs like The Marvels, these wins feel especially significant.

Brand New Day's credits scene seemed to hint at Spider-Man's role in Secret Wars, although it remains to be seen if we'll see Tom Holland's Peter or perhaps the return of Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. Either way it's clear that the web slinger is a character that moviegoers care deeply about.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters will be Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th. We'll just have to see if Spidey shows up or not.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-expanding franchise, with the studio bringing fans new titles on the big screen and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Fans are always curious about upcoming Marvel movies, and that includes Jake Schreier's developing X-Men movie. Folks were hyped when Samara Weaving was confirmed to be playing Emma Frost, and fan art imagines what she might look like as that iconic mutant.

The X-Men's absence in the MCU was noticeable for fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, although Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox finally opened the door for mutants to join the shared universe. Only time will tell what Schreier's X-Men movie will bring to the table, but folks are excited to see both Sadie Sink and Weaving as part of the cast. Artist Boss Logic whipped up some fan art to show what the latter might look like as Emma Frost, check it out below:

Just take my money at this point. The Ready or Not star looks truly incredible as Emma, and that's before we even see her in her iconic diamond form. And with a series of acclaimed performances on her resume, Weaving has both the talent and the look to pull off playing The White Queen. We'll just have to wait and see how comic-accurate her costume ends up being when Weaving debuts as her new character on the big screen.

The X-Men are wildly popular Marvel heroes, so news of Samara Weaving's casting quickly went viral online, especially for the hardcore fandom. And now that the Thunderbolts* director is actively casting, his mutant-centric movie has never felt more real. And I can't wait to see who else joins the burgeoning cast of this mysterious movie.

News of Samara Weaving's casting comes shortly after Sadie Sink was confirmed as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The movie's ending saw her leave NYC and seemingly head upstate, with fans assuming she'll end up as the X-Mansion. But will she find Charles Xavier there or Emma Frost? Only time will tell.

Emma has a long history in X-Men comics, TV shows, video games, and more. She was played in live-action by January Jones in First Class, although not everyone was happy with her portrayal. Most recently the character appeared in X-Men '97, as well as the video game Marvel Rivals. Now we're getting another live-action version of the character, and it should be interesting to see if she's introduced as a hero or a villain.

The new X-Men movie is currently expected to hit theaters sometime in 2028, so hopefully we hear more about casting sooner rather than later. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th as part of the 2026 movie release list, and will feature a number of OG stars from Fox's X-Men franchise.

Along with a pitch perfect press tour, Sadie Sink has already been praised for her work in Spider-Man: Brand New Day reviews. By all accounts, the cast enjoyed working with the Stranger Things star, too, though co-star Jacob Batalon recently told a story that will doubtless have many of us feeling very old, myself included.

Apparently, Sink was just hanging around set and minding her own business when she accidentally stepped in a landmine by mentioning Tom Holland was the Spider-Man she grew up with. I know, unless you are Sink’s age yourself, you are probably recoiling and/or doing math right now. She made the comment to Jacob Batalon, who was there to reprise Ned on set (despite the ending to Spider-Man: No Way Home), and it absolutely made him feel all of his 30ish years.

Batalon is 29 for a couple more months. Tom Holland turned 30 in June. Zendaya turns 30 on September 1st. By most people’s measures, they are nowhere near old. This isn't exactly as harrowing as that time Macaulay Culkin turned 40. Regardless, Brand New Day is the fourth Spider-Man movie, and it marks 10 years since Tom Holland famously first appeared in Captain America: Civil War. Time has passed swiftly.

Regardless, for Sink, who is only 24, Tom Holland is her Spider-man. While she was technically born in the Tobey Maguire era (shoutout to her birth year 2002 being the same year Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man came out), she wouldn’t remember the early movies and was still pretty young during Andrew Garfield’s brief run, so Holland is her guy. There’s no shame in that, but it is a little strange to think about her growing up watching them and now being in the movie herself.

In fact, it’s been stuck in Batalon’s head in the time since. He told Zach Sang Show:

I hate to admit it in writing, but my Spider-Man is actually Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man. I still love Tobey as Spidey, but it does make me feel extremely dated at this point, and I’m only a few years older than Batalon is! So, I get it. Time flies when you're swinging from web to wall. As part of its deal with Marvel, Sony has to make new Spider-Man movies every few years, too, so a lot of people over the last 25 years or so have grown up with a specific Spider-Man in mind.

It’s been a fairly long run for the web slinger in the modern era, not James Bond long, but long. From everything Holland has said, there are lots of directions Spider-Man could go in in the future. Here’s hoping for more upcoming Marvel movies are on the way for his Spider-Man.

The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home saw Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker return to his universe, and since then, there have been rumors regarding whether he'll reprise the role. However, Garfield doesn't appear in the new Marvel movie, Brand New Day, which centers solely on Tom Holland’s Peter wall-crawler. Despite that, it seems Garfield is still getting anxious whenever he's faced with Spidey-related questions, based on some recent chats he's had. And, quite frankly, I can't get enough of this!

Since No Way Home, Garfield has delivered incredible performances in movies like We Live in Time and After the Hunt. Nevertheless, it seems the Oscar nominee just can't escape Spider-Man queries while promoting his new projects. Recently, he's been doing press for one of his 2026 movie releases, The Magic Faraway Tree and, as seen on Screen Rant’s TikTok, Garfield got humorously frazzled when asked about Brand New Day’s post-credits scene:

• Interviewer: Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes out this week.
• Andrew: I’m not in it!
• Interviewer: The end-credits scene hints at the return of an off world Spider-Man.
• Andrew: Oh, really?
• Interviewer: It does.
• Andrew: Cool!
• Interviewer: Do you know anything about that?
• Andrew: I do not. First I’ve heard of it.
• Interviewer: Not the werewolf.
• Andrew: Not the werewolf. Not me.
• Interviewer: So if it’s not you, it must be Tobey.
• Andrew: I guess so. Could be. Who knows? Or maybe Miles Morales. I don’t know.

I love that The Social Network actor isn’t even in the movie, and he’s still being hounded by Spider-Man questions. Of course, I can sense some nervousness in Garfield when he's given these kinds of queries questions, and I feel for him. However, it's also hard not to watch the video below and chuckle:

Even when the first Brand New Day trailer came out, Garfield was asked about the “insane” fan theory of whether or not he was digitally erased from the preview. Garfield responded by saying that was an “absolutely ludicrous” conspiracy theory. Evidently, he wasn't playing "werewolf" this time. (If you know, you know.)

Audiences had such positive reactions seeing Garfield and Tobey Maguire's surprising return for No Way Home, and I think it’s safe to a portion of fans would love to see them reprise their roles. Despite that not happening in Brand New Day, Garfield had to convince Craig Melvin of that while promoting The Magic Faraway Tree again and his upcoming biopic, Artificial, on The Today Show:

Given that the Golden Globe winner was constantly denying that he’d be in No Way Home, which ended up being untrue, you can’t blame journalists for finding it hard to take the actor’s sentiments on a return to Spider-Man. Also, I love that he’s aware of his new reputation of being a “liar” when asked Spidey questions. Check out Garfield's energy in the interview clip:

The Silence actor is well aware that because he's played Spider-Man in three movies, there's bound to be continued interest. Garfield previously said he believed he’d get Spider-Man questions “until I’m 90 years old.” If that ends up being true, it'll prove how strong of an MCU fan following he has.

Garfield also got real about having to answer fewer spidey questions so he could focus on promoting his more recent projects. That's totally fair as well, considering that in the grand scheme of things, those Marvel-based movies only make up a small portion of Garfield's vast body of work.

Still, Andrew Garfield will most likely continue to be hit with Spider-Man questions, and I’ll always love watching him anxiously answer. And, if the Critics’ Choice Award winner will be web-slinging in future MCU movies, I’d rather it be a surprise in order for his return to be all the more satisfying. But, in the meantime, check out his performance as Peter Parker in the Amazing Spider-Man films and No Way Home, which are streaming now with a Disney+ subscription.

Well, folks, we're almost there. Avengers: Doomsday comes out December 18th (the same day as Dune: Part 3, making it “Dunesday” for many), and I'm pretty excited.

I mean, how could I not be? My favorite Marvel “hero” is Moon Knight, but when it comes to villains, it has to be Doctor Doom. And yet…I kind of wish we weren't getting Doomsday. At least not so soon.

You see, I'm still very much of the opinion that Marvel should have stayed the course with their plans for Kang the Conqueror. Yes, Kevin Feige said to The Hollywood Reporter that Kang “wasn’t big enough” after Thanos, and yes, I know Jonathan Majors was dropped by Marvel after being found guilty of reckless assault and harassment. I still think Marvel should have kept with Kang rather than pivoting to Doctor Doom.

Kang COULD Have Been Big Enough With The Right Push

This might not seem like the right time to bring this up, but I want to talk about the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Now, when it was first announced that we were getting a Guardians film, my initial thought was, Are you kidding me? Because look, I grew up in the ‘90s, and I can tell you this: If Spider-Man and the X-Men were considered A-tier Marvel back then, then Guardians of the Galaxy was considered F-tier.

It’s not that Guardians of the Galaxy was a bad series back then, but all of the cosmic stuff (sans Silver Surfer, who was pretty popular even back then) felt pretty obscure in the ‘90s. Nova, ROM, and yes, GotG all felt like SUPER niche characters, and only for the nerdiest of the nerds. So, when we got F-tier Marvel comics as a film… and it was SUPER SUCCESSFUL, well, that just told me any Marvel character was fair game for the MCU… as long as they were handled properly.

Granted, following Avengers: Endgame, the MCU kind of felt like they dropped the ball when it came to introducing new characters (Like my beloved Eternals). That said, Marvel had it in its capabilities to really do something special with Kang the Conqueror if they just did it right!

Which, I understand, they DIDN’T get Kang right when he appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. However, Kang was so great at the end of Season 1 of Loki, and I feel like Marvel should have kept at it with his character, as he just needed that extra something to push him over the top, even without Jonathan Majors, which I’ll get into next.

If Jonathan Majors Was Also A Factor At The Time, They Could Have Just Written Him Off And Made Him A Variant

Going back to that Kevin Feige Hollywood Reporter session and how he said they were already pivoting away from Kang before the Jonathan Majors incident, fine. I’ll take him for his word, as these things definitely take time, and filling the Russo brothers in that the MCU wanted to integrate Doctor Doom couldn’t have just been some spur-of-the-moment decision. That said, I’m also going to believe that Jonathan Majors' conviction of assaulting his ex-girlfriend had to have at least been a contributing factor to Marvel dropping Kang at the time.

I mean, just look at how fast Marvel dropped James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after his controversy, only to bring him back once the internet had cooled off. So, there's definitely a precedent for Marvel getting squeamish when one of their major players gets a negative spotlight drawn on them. However, the thing about the multiverse is that Marvel could have just written off Majors and put somebody else as a variant of Kang, and I don’t think anybody would have minded.

For example, we got Victor Timely in Season 2 of Loki, and he was a variant of Kang, as well as He Who Remains. And, while sure, these are just different versions of Jonathan Majors, there really wasn’t anything saying that Marvel couldn’t have just gotten another charismatic actor to play a DIFFERENT variant of Kang. Like, instead of David Jonsson playing the next Black Panther (which, you know, cool), perhaps he could have been a variant of Kang. He certainly has the acting chops for it.

Or, I don’t know, anybody besides Jonathan Majors. It could have been done. Because without Kang’s time travel shenanigans, the whole TVA thing kind of feels pointless. Speaking of which…

Plus, Kang's Departure From The MCU Cheapens Loki's Return In Doomsday

If there was ever a time to cry watching anything MCU-related, I can think of two instances: One was when Spider-Man turned to dust at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and number two was Loki’s sacrifice in becoming the living embodiment of all of the timelines in Season 2 of Loki, which showed true growth in Hiddleston’s character.

All of this timeline stuff ultimately connects to Kang the Conqueror, who is known for his many variants and time-traveling capabilities. In fact, he’s what made the whole TVA thing feel interesting and alive, and Loki being a part of that really felt like something special. In a lot of ways, Loki and Kang felt intertwined in their destinies.

By just dropping Kang, it kind of weakens Loki’s story and the great finality to his role in the MCU. Now, Loki’s coming back in Doomsday, which is kind of weird. Yes, I know Hiddleston has said to The Hollywood Reporter that his role in Doomsday picks up after his sacrifice in Season 2, but I still can’t vibe with the idea of Kang just being poof, gone, forgotten.

Kang felt so instrumental to everything involving the multiverses and the timeline, and now none of that seems to matter with Kang gone. And this is all just to move on to Doctor Doom, who I really need to talk about now.

Doctor Doom Really Did Need More Time To Cook

Kevin Feige has recently shared his thoughts on Doctor Doom’s lack of build-up, and he’s compared it with Thanos, saying that the big purple dude really didn’t have all that much build-up, either. However, I’d say that was a hell of a lot more than what we got at the end of Fantastic Four: First Steps with Doctor Doom (IF that was even him).

Honestly, one post-credit scene is nothing, and it feels like it really should be something given the existential threat that Doctor Doom should present. I mean, this is Doctor FREAKING Doom we’re talking about here, and we’re really just going to get him introduced to us in this movie…which is also going to bring the X-Men into the fray?

For real? I mean, I do have faith in the Russo brothers, but Doctor Doom is a TOP TIER Marvel villain (I’d say even more so than Thanos), and I think he needed to be built up A LOT more before just throwing him against the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.

Plus, where do we go from Doctor Doom? He’s like THE big bad guy in Marvel along with Thanos. Kang could have been that nice in-between if done right.

Even as the dust is settling from Spider-Man: Brand New Day and its mysterious ending and how it may lead to one or both of the Avengers sequels, all eyes are shifting to the next MCU movie to hit theaters, Avengers: Doomsday. Robert Downy Jr. is understandably drawing a lot of attention, thanks to his Marvel return as Dr. Doom. The actor is already showing off his method-dressing skills with a surprisingly dense Doom-themed wardrobe, and I think he may have divulged a major spoiler that possibly also ties back to Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Let’s first dig into why I think RDJ unwittingly let the cat out of the bag regarding Doctor Doom’s second-in-command, and why I think it’s directly related to the final moments from the Fantastic Four’s MCU debut.

Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom Shoes Feature A Coded Reference To Franklin Richards' Sister

If one scrolls through RDJ's post dedicated to his extensive Doctor Doom duds, one will come across a pic and video of some bright green shoes with the same rune-esque language that was emblazoned on the actor's jacket during his San Diego Comic-Con appearance. (That jacket is also included in the pic gallery, and its messages were previously figured out by Popverse.)

Using just the rune key first revealed in an Instagram post about Dom Latveria Coffee, I was able to figure out the word running across the strap above the laces:

For those in the know, Valeria Richards is the name of two important characters related to Victor Von Doom. One is his former lover, with lots of demonic messiness attached to that storyline.

More importantly for this line of theorizing, Valeria is also the name of Franklin Richards' sister, whose name was given to her by Doom, her godfather. Her exact origins changed over time, as comic origins are wont to do, but she is essentially an unborn child of Sue and Reed Richards' who gets saved and brought into existence through her brother Franklin's reality-altering powers. She possesses a genius intellect that leads her to invent advanced technology that allow her to travel through time, which can make her appear older than Franklin at times.

Valeria also crafts an armor for herself that combines elements of the Fantastic Four's costuming with Doctor Doom's metallic protection. Which is what leads us to why I think this reveal is directly related to the ending of Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Could Valeria Have Appeared To Franklin Instead Of Doctor Doom?

SDCC was also the source of another big theory involving Doctor Doom, as the villain's hyper-detailed display statue was joined by a female counterpart of sorts identified only as "Latverian Witch." Fans quickly jumped to conclusions that the character could be Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, or at least a variant of her, but the mask's smooth and sleek look seemed to be too close to the mask seen in Fantastic Four: First Steps' final moments, making me think it's the Witch who appears before Franklin, and not Doctor Doom as previously believed.

I wasn't totally sold on Wanda Maximoff being under the hood in FF, but it would make a TON of sense for that to actually be Valeria instead. Even though it's been confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. filmed that scene, he's very clearly not holding the same mask he's wearing in the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer, so it stands to reason that it may not actually be the big bad.

Valeria's comic book existence doesn't match up squarely with what the MCU has set up, so I would expect there to be unforeseen changes made that would match up with what the Russos have planned. But whichever way it goes, I'd fully expect her live-action debut to still feature the same close-knit relationship with Doom that makes everything complicated for the Richards fam. (Especially if she comes from a timeline where Sue and Victor are married. The horror!)

Does this theory hold water, or does it sound like a wash? Robert Downey Jr.'s green shoes also feature lots of runes on the shoelaces and elsewhere that couldn't be fully seen, so perhaps those coded messages are all about former loves and are entirely specific to Victor Von Doom's ex. But I think it's more fun to believe that I unwittingly stumbled into a major Doomsday spoiler.

We'll all find out for sure when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for constantly putting out new content, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. The massive franchise is also known for its tight security, and the great length it goes to keep spoilers away from fans who spent years watching the Marvel movie in order. But that's easier said than done, especially with stars like Tom Holland, who have a reputation for spoiling things. And the 30 year-old actor recently talked about the time he ruined Infinity War's ending, and seeing Kevin Feige's reaction.

That Time Holland Got In Trouble For Spoiling Infinity War.

Tom Holland is super passionate about his ongoing role in the MCU, which sometimes results in spoilers getting out for upcoming Marvel movies. Case in point: when he accidentally revealed that Peter got dusted Infinity War's ending. During an interview with Complex at the premiere of Brand New Day, he recalled how that happened by saying:

Unfortunately, Holland's Spider-Sense (aka the Peter Tingle) wasn't working on this fateful day. Because while he thought he was about to meet fans that had just finished watching Avengers: Infinity War, it turns out they their screening hadn't actually started yet.

Later in the same interview, the Uncharted actor went on to share what happened when he greeted the Marvel fans for Infinity War's opening day in theaters. In his words:

Talk about a big mistake. The end of Infinity War shocked fans when it was released, as Thanos succeeded in collecting the Infinity Stones and eventually snapped away all of life in the universe. That included a ton of beloved heroes including Wanda, Black Panther, Bucky, and (of course) Spider-Man. Luckily they were able be blipped back to life in Endgame.

You can see Tom Holland share the story about Kevin Feige and Infinity War below:

Making this big of a mistake in front of your boss is nightmare fuel, but it didn't stop Tom Holland from continuing his tenure as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Both No Way Home and Brand New Day crushed in theaters, and fans are hoping to see him once again reprise his signature role in either Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars.

Tom Holland Is Getting Better About Spoilers

In the Uncharted actor's defense, he seems to finally be getting better about spoilers. He managed not to reveal anything about Brand New Day's secrets ahead of its release, which is major accomplishment. Plus, he was recently asked on the Happy Sad Confused podcast about his possible role in Secret Wars, and managed to keep it tight-lipped. Check it out below:

Brand New Day's credits scene seemed to tease Spider-Man having a role in Secret Wars, but we'll have to wait and see if it's actually Tom Holland, or maybe Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. If its the latter two, then the Odyssey actor wouldn't even be lying about not having a role. We'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list and making a ton of money. The next Marvel movie hitting theaters is Avengers: Doomsday on December 18th. Only time will tell if/when Holland shows up as Peter Parker next.

Spoilers ahead for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order were recently treated to a long-awaited upcoming Marvel movie in Daniel Destin Cretton's Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The blockbuster picked up after No Way Home's ending, which saw Doctor Strange's spell erase the world's memories of Peter Parker... including Ned and MJ. Much of the new movie is about this disconnect between the characters played by Tom Holland and Zendaya, and I have to say I much prefer the MJ storyline to how Gamora was handled in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription).

Gamora's death in Avengers: Infinity War set shockwaves through the MCU. And while she was resurrected in Endgame by having a past version of her arrive via time travel, that Gamora had never met Peter Quill and the rest of the Guardians. We watched as Star-Lord tried to reconnect with her in Vol. 3, but I think that the Peter Parker/MJ version of this dynamic was more successful.

I Loved The Way MJ Rejected Peter In Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Both Guardians 3 and Spider-Man: Brand New Day saw their movie's respective Peter trying to reconnect with a girlfriend who has no memories of their time together. But I felt way more moved and emotionally moved by the latter, and I think there are a few reasons why.

To start, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is ultimately a story centered around Rocket. While we see new Gamora and Star-Lord's relationship (or lack thereof), it's not given quite as much time and focus as Peter and MJ in the new Spider-Man movie. Additionally, Gamora makes it clear that she has absolutely no interest in trying to get to know Peter Quill. And as a result, their lack of a true reconciliation came and went without me shedding a tear.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker's longing for MJ (and Ned) is at the heart of Brand New Day. While he's trying to keep a healthy boundary since she no longer knows who he is, that changes when Jean Grey drops her name early on in the movie. Spidey immediately swings into action, and the two are forced to meet and work together as a result. The fake-out of Zendaya's character "remembering" was a true gut punch, one inflicted by an angry Jean who was controlling her mind. Things only got more emotional from there.

Eventually MJ discovers Peter's letter, learning the truth about their former relationship, and the spell that removed her memories. She unfortunately doesn't have any feelings for him, despite knowing their history. She lets him down plainly but kindly, in a way that feels surprisingly like a regular breakup. Afterward, she still invites him into her apartment to hang with Ned. What's more, we see the drawing she made of them in Peter's hospital room after the final conflict.

While Star-Lord and Spider-Man didn't get the romantic reunion they were hoping for, I thought that the way No Way Home handled this unrequited love story was far more powerful. Although after Ned's muscle memory seemingly snapped him out of Strange's spell in the movie's final scene, maybe there's still hope.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. Folks who want to re-watch Gamora and Star-Lord's love story can stream the Guardians and Avengers movies on Disney+.

Marvel fans were faced with some unfortunate news this past week, as it was confirmed that the acclaimed Wonder Man had been canceled at Disney+ after previously being renewed for Season 2. The exact reasoning for the decision still hasn’t been given, as of this writing. In the interim, viewers have been seeking answers about what contributed to the Yahya Abdul-Mateen II-led show’s demise. Now, the series’ co-creator/showrunner is speaking out and revealing what happened behind the scenes before the axe came down.

Andrew Guest co-created Wonder Man alongside Destin Daniel Cretton (of Shang-Chi and Spider-Man: Brand New Day fame). This weekend, following the news of the show’s cancellation, Guest took to TikTok to post a video and, in the background of the clip, is an article headline about the series’ fans. Guest took a moment to acknowledge that he was aware of how audiences were feeling before going into where development on Season 2 stood by the time it was decided the show would end:

The cancellation news admittedly already stung, but it all hits a bit harder now knowing that scheduling conflicts weren’t an issue and that the writers’ room was already set to reconvene. And that’s not all, as Guest went on to share another bittersweet detail about his work on the second season:

2026 Primetime Emmy nominations dropped in early July, at which point Abdul-Mateen II received a nod for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. That nom – which is the show’s only – signifies a massive elephant in the Emmys room. In my eyes, it’s a bittersweet reminder of not just Abdul-Mateen II’s performance as Simon Williams but also the great show he headlined.

Wonder Man centers on Williams, a struggling actor trying to make it in Hollywood while also trying to hide his powerful superhuman abilities. Simon soon crosses paths with disgraced actor (and former Mandarin impersonator) Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley) seemingly by chance. From there, the mismatched duo seek roles in the Wonder Man film reboot and experience a number of ups and downs while trying to achieve their goals. What results is a light and funny bromance story that subverts Marvel Studios’ traditional storytelling approach.

It’s definitely unfortunate that Andrew Guest and co. won’t have the opportunity to tell more stories about Simon and Trevor, especially given the EP also said they – along with Cretton – were “eager” to do another season. For now, I’m just curious as to whether the general public will learn any specific details regarding Disney and Marvel’s decision not to move forward with another season.

Wonder Man is still available to stream in its entirety using a Disney+ subscription. Also, anyone looking for other small-screen titles can refer to the 2026 TV schedule.