The Biggest Sci-Fi News Of The Week Is All About Rumors Of A DC Hero Maybe Taking An MCU Role

Xolo Mariduena in Blue Beetle
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

It’s Thursday, and in addition to it being dangerously close to the weekend, that means it’s time to talk about the biggest sci-fi news of the week. Every Thursday, we’re going to be right here hitting you up with a new video running down all the latest rumblings from around the galaxy. So, if a swamp is overflowing on Naboo, we’ll give you an alternate route for your landspeeder. If the Harfoots and the Fallohides are beefing, we’ll tell you which side to be on. If there’s a Defense Against The Dark Arts position open, we’ll run down the rumored candidates, all of whom will be disasters. 

We’re here to make sure you’re up on the latest in sci-fi, fantasy and thought-provoking, otherworldly entertainment, and we’re doing it in partnership with Prime Video. The streaming favorite is rolling out the final episode of its much-anticipated second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and fans that have been watching are hyped. You get caught up on Sauron's rise during the Second Age of Middle-Earth right now.

Our biggest sci-fi news this week involves Marvel’s upcoming show Nova. Details have been short on the Disney+ adaptation focusing on the Nova Corps, but it’s rumored to be a sequel to Guardians Of The Galaxy 3. Rumors previously swirled that John C Reilly and Glenn Close might reprise their MCU roles as Nova Supreme and Rhomann Dey, and now, there’s an exciting new one. It’s being reported but not has not been confirmed that Xolo Maridueña may be taking a major role in the project as well.

Fans likely know Maridueña from his role on Cobra Kai, but more importantly for superhero fans, they probably know him from his lead role in Blue Beetle. There have been some DC to MCU crossovers in the past, but this would potentially be one of the most prominent. Fortunately, our Managing Editor Sean O’Connell doesn’t think that’ll be a problem for most fans, and as a huge Cobra Kai guy, he’s very on board with this happening. You can watch his analysis below…

Week 7 Below...

This week’s biggest sci-fi news of the week is all about The Wild Robot, which has been getting overwhelmingly positive reviews. It’s currently running at nearly 100% on more than fifty reviews, and some critics are calling it one of the best movies of the year. In fact, our own Managing Editor Sean O’Connell thinks it’s a perfect example of why we need another category at The Oscars.

As part of his overwhelmingly positive comments, which you can watch below, Sean said The Wild Robot is a good reminder of why The Academy needs to be able to honor great vocal performances. Lupita Nyong’o is, by all accounts, absolutely fantastic in the new animated film, and she’s a huge part of why it seems like a lock to at least get a Best Animated Film nomination at next year’s Oscars. There should be a way to honor her and so many other special vocal performances too. You can check out his take below, before seeing the film which hits theaters this weekend.

Week 6 Below...

This week’s biggest sci-fi news is all about Mike Flanagan’s new movie. More specifically, it’s about what in the world is going on with distribution. The Life of Chuck is getting rave reviews and recently won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF. To put that into context, the last 18 winners of the People’s Choice Award have gone on to get Best Picture nominations at the Oscars. In our write-up, we even called it one of the best Stephen King adaptations of all-time, which is high praise considering that list also includes The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Stand By Me, Misery, The Mist, The Shining, It and so many more.

But here’s the weird part, the movie doesn’t have any distribution yet. A studio hasn’t bought it to actually put it into theaters; so, now people are wondering what in the world is going on. When is the general public going to be able to see it? Among those people wondering is our Managing Editor Sean O’Connell, and in this week’s video, he talks about what could be happening and why he thinks the process is taking so long. You can check his thoughts out below…

Week 5 below...

Last week’s biggest sci-fi news of the week was all about casting and the rumored leads for HBO’s exciting new Green Lantern murder mystery project Lanterns, which’ll be set on Earth. This week, we’re looking even further into the future and heading to Arrakis to talk about Dune 3. Most fans assumed we wouldn’t get any update on the project for awhile, but director Denis Villeneuve recently admitted he’s already working on the script.

CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor Sean O’Connell is a big Dune guy, and he just had to jump on video talk about how things might progress from here. There’s a possible release date fans are eyeing, but whether or not Dune 3 makes that or not, we at least have a good idea of some of the characters we might see and some of the characters whose futures might be in doubt. You can get a full rundown in our video below…

Week 4 below...

Last week we talked about projects that are ending with The Acolyte getting cancelled after just one season. This week, we’re talking about upcoming projects. More specifically, we’re talking about the Green Lantern series. The show will run under the HBO banner and will officially be called Lanterns. It’ll follow Hal Jordan and John Stewart, two intergalactic cops that are part of The Green Lantern Corps. They’ll work together to investigate a murder on Earth and also, reportedly have a kind of mentor/ mentee relationship.

Not surprisingly, the rumor mill is already fantasy casting the two parts, and the older character specifically has been the subject of a lot of chatter this week. Names like Ewan McGregor, Josh Brolin, Chris Pine and Matthew McConaughey are being thrown around, but CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor Sean O’Connell isn’t into those choices. He explains why in this week’s video…

Week 3 Below...

As for Sci-Fi news, this time we're headed to the world of comics to talk about Deadpool and Wolverine. More specifically, we’re talking about Channing Tatum’s Gambit. The deep cut Cajun flirted with getting his own movie or showing up in other projects for what felt like decades before finally appearing here. Fans fell in love immediately, to the point where they started asking when we might see him again.

Quite a few pessimists thought it would likely be a well-executed one-off for the superhero, but Ryan Reynolds dropped a deleted Gambit scene this week that now has fans talking about what’s next. Our Managing Editor Sean O’Connell is all aboard the hype train, and he talks about where we might see Gambit in this week’s video. You can check out all his thoughts, as well as a reminder to watch The Rings Of Power, below. The first three episodes of Season 2 hit the streamer today, and you’re not gonna want to miss out.

Week 2 Below...

Last week, our debut episode was all about Avatar and what’s going on with Pandora, which you can watch lower in the article. For round two, we’re talking about The Acolyte and specifically, how fans are feeling about its cancellation. LucasFilm’s latest Disney+ show earned big praise from some fans who were stoked about it going in a different direction but also some frustration from other fans who didn’t love all the bold creative choices. Many assumed Disney would bring the lightsabers back for a second installment next year to work out the kinks, but news dropped this week that The Acolyte is getting shipped off to Hoth effective immediately.

Our Managing Editor Sean O’Connell broke down the news and some of his concerns about the future, specifically how it might shift the perspective of some fans. In this weeks’ video, he talked out his big concern, which boils down to a strong potential for apathy. Many fans want to know if their emotional investment is likely to pay off. Sticking with a show for 8 or more weeks is a commitment, given all the programming available, and if fans get to the point where they assume Star Wars projects are just going to come and go, they’re going to be less likely to try them out, especially ones that don’t involve previously established main characters like the upcoming Skeleton Crew. You can check out his full thoughts below…

Week 1 Below...

In the inaugural edition, we’re talking all things Avatar. Beloved director James Cameron is hard at work on not one, not two but three squeals. Avatars 3 through 5 are all in some stage of development, and we've got everything from updates on casting to updates on directing to updates on the "vicious cycle" of a plot we'll be getting. You can check it all out below...

TOPICS
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.