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Deadline broke the news that Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy is being courted as Marvel Studios’ first choice to direct the franchise’s next Avengers movie. Though so much isn’t known about the future of the Avengers due to Marvel’s internal shake-up reordering their release schedule of shows and movies as well as the Jonathan Majors legal issues and consequential firing, Deadline did say Levy was given a script from writer Michael Waldron. It is also rumored that more than 60 Marvel characters could appear. 

Captain America: Brave New World began reshoots in Atlanta last week, with new cast member Giancarlo Esposito joining the call sheet for the 22 days of additional photography. Unofficial, leaked set photos confirmed the actor’s involvement after he heavily hinted at an unexpected role within the MCU. While we still have no word on which character Esposito portrays, all signs point to the role being, quote, ‘villainous’ in nature.

This week treated us to a batch of brand-spanking new, high-profile trailers, Let’s break down our thoughts:

Venom 3

Moana 2

Alien: Romulus

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth works have seen their fair share of adaptations, but one character that has long been absent from the proceedings to the chagrin of many readers is The Fellowship of the Ring’s Tom Bombadil. That all changes as Amazon’s Rings of Power Season 2 is set to feature the character, with English actor Rory Kinnear portraying the enigmatic forest dweller. This was revealed in a Vanity Fair exclusive. Tolkien himself was often hazy on the character, who has been described as older than old, and more of an observer than active participant in the many conflicts of Middle Earth. 

We couldn’t have expected to carve out a collectable popcorn bucket niche when we started this show, but here we are: Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds unveiled a cheeky ad teasing a somewhat risqué popcorn bucket for Marvel’s upcoming superhero team-up. The bucket, shaped like a Wolverine head with a comically wide-open mouth, aligns with Kevin Feige's promise of a “crude and rude” design.

Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali is in talks to join Scarlett Johansson in the upcoming Jurassic movie.

Chris Hemsworth is in talks to lead a Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover sequel to Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, with no release date yet.

Jeremy Renner joins the cast of Rian Johnson's Knives Out 3, his first role since his early 2023 snowplow accident, alongside Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Mila Kunis, Josh O’Connor, and Cailee Spaeny. (Kaylee Spain-ee)

In addition to producing the It prequel series for Max currently titled Welcome to Derry, Bill Skarsgard will also return to reprise his role as Pennywise the Clown from It and It Chapter 2.

In a Variety Actors on Actors interview with Jodie Foster, Robert Downey, Jr. said the following when asked if he would return to Tony Stark: “It’s the character that is most like me and I’ve become surprisingly open minded to the idea.”

Warner Bros. Television is in the early stages of developing a 300 TV series prequel, with Zack Snyder in talks to direct and produce.

Elle Fanning is in talks to star in Badlands, a new Predator universe movie directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who revamped the franchise with Prey.

New Star Wars show The Acolyte is premiering right now, and Marvel Comics announced the wookiee Jedi character, Kelnacca, will be getting a one-shot comic book written by Cavan Scott.

Netflix is currently developing an animated series based on the popular video game Minecraft alongside Mojang Studios, the Swedish developer of the game.

MCU and Lost star Evangeline Lilly announced on her Instagram that she is retiring from acting. 

Peaky Blinders fans can get excited as a film starring Cillian Murphy  is in the pipeline. Plot details and more casting isn’t known, but Murphy will also co-produce the film,

Now that Godzilla Minus One has hit Netflix, we're back with another Multiverse Review! Join Jay and J Scotty as they gush about this surprisingly poignant and emotionally resonate celebration of the Japanese icon.



#film #filmreview #Godzilla #GodzillMinusOne #Japan #Toho #foreignfilm #podcast

We finally received an update on the second of the two WandaVision spinoffs in development, with the news that Marvel has enlisted Star Trek: Picard executive producer Terry Matalas as showrunner for the untitled Vision series. Details remain sparse, but we know that Paul Bettany will reprise his role as the albino synthezoid and Marvel Studios is eyeing a 2026 Disney+ release.



The 2024 summer movie season continues to struggle as newcomers Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and The Garfield Movie, essentially tied for the number one spot for the holiday weekend, each debuting at a muted $31 million; the worst Memorial Day weekend at the box office in almost 30 years. Furiosa particularly came in lower than estimates as a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road and receiving the same B+ Cinemascore.



Advance tickets for Deadpool & Wolverine became available last Monday, resulting in an estimated 200,000 tickets sold for roughly $9 million and enough to break the record for first-day, R-rated ticket sales. Subsequently, at still two months out, it leads 2024 in all presales with all signs pointing to it being the year’s first $100 million plus opening weekend.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Adam Wingard, director of the last two MonsterVerse films, will not return for the third installment due to timing issues. The split is amicable, with a future return possible.



Netflix revealed a first look at Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher. Hemsworth replaces Henry Cavill for the final two seasons, with season 4’s release date currently to be determined.



Glen Powell revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he recently turned down major roles, including the upcoming Jurassic World film and a reboot of The Bourne Identity.



Damon Lindelof, one of the co-creators of Lost and The Watchmen is officially behind the creative team for the upcoming Green Lantern series for DC Studios. Chris Mundy, the showrunner behind Netflix’s crime series

Ozark, as well as long-time DC comic author Tom King round out the creative team.



Netflix released the first trailer for Beverly Hills: Axel F, featuring Eddie Murphy returning as Axel Foley. The new film, following the original 1984 release and its sequels, will stream starting July 3.



Dexter: Original Sin, a prequel to Showtime’s Dexter announced casting of Patrick Gibson playing young Dexter, Molly Brown; his sister Debra, and Christian Slater portraying their adoptive father. The premiere date is yet to be announced.



Warner Brothers dropped a new trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice that features a more extended look at the cast. The film debuts in theaters on September 6.



Rian Johnson announces his next Knives Out film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, releasing on Netflix next year with Daniel Craig reprising his role and lots of other big Hollywood names being added to the cast daily, including Fleabag’s Andrew Scott.



Rupert Friend, star of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, will join Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Gareth Edwards' new Jurassic film for Universal.



Jeffery Wright joins The Last of Us season 2 as Isaac, reprising his role from the video game.

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for information about all your favorite fictional Universes.

Milly Alcock will show us her superhero landing when Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow premieres on June 26, 2026. Other than Sasha Calle’s portrayal in The Flash, this means we’ll see Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El on the big screen for the first time since 1984. The film will be released just a year after we see James Gunn’s vision for the man of steel himself. 

In a move that seems telling of the new direction of MCU, the Marvel Television banner has been reintroduced and will be used for live action series such as Daredevil: Born Again, Agatha All Along, and Ironheart. The banner was previously used for MCU-adjacent shows Agents of SHIELD, Cloak & Dagger, and others. Brad Winderbaum, head of TV, streaming, and animation for Marvel Studios, said the idea is to let audiences know they can “jump in anywhere” in the MCU and still understand what’s going on. Winderbaum also alluded to a Marvel Studios rebrand that encompasses Marvel Television, Marvel Animation, and Marvel Spotlight.

HBO’s streaming service Max released a teaser trailer for the upcoming Dune television spinoff show, Dune: Prophecy. The show is described as taking place 10,000 years before the events that lead to Paul Atreides’ rise to emperor and will follow two Harkonnen sisters as they work to establish the Bene Gesserit. Inspired by the book Sisterhood of Dune, the show has mostly been kept under wraps until now.

Movie goers probably should have bought a ticket for themselves and their imaginary friends last weekend as John Krasinski’s new film IF didn’t quite reach expectations with a $35 million opening in the U.S. Although this means it took first place at the box office, the movie cost $110 million to make and a global box office of $55 million is still a stumble. There may be hope yet for the kid-centered flick with a lot of schools across the country ready to enter summer break.

Hot off the heels of an incredibly well received first season of X-Men ’97, Marvel Studios seems to have found the voice of their live-action X-Men in screenwriter Michael Lesslie. Lesslie’s writing credits include Assassin’s Creed, The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, as well as the upcoming Now You See Me 3. While both parties are still in talks, if the addition pans out, it will be the most significant step to actualizing the X-Men in the MCU since Disney’s acquisition of Fox in 2019.

Poker Face and Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne has joined the cast of Fantastic Four in an undisclosed role.

Lionsgate is developing a John Wick spinoff movie around Donnie Yen’s assassin character, Caine. Yen will reprise his John Wick: Chapter 4 role in the untitled project set to shoot in Hong Kong in 2025. The franchise expanding film, with no director yet announced, will follow the events of John Wick 4 as Caine has been freed from his obligations to the High Table.

1996 golf comedy Happy Gilmore is officially getting a sequel at Netflix with Adam Sandler returning to reprise his role.

Amazon’s Marvel drama Silk: Spider Society — from Sony Pictures Television — is no longer moving forward at the streamer but Sony does plan to shop the series to another studio or streaming service.

Sony Pictures announced last week that I Know What You Did Last Summer, a reboot of the film with the same name as the original 1997 horror slasher, is set for theatrical release domestically on July 18, 2025. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson will direct and Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze, Jr. are currently in early talks to return.

Last week, Disney announced that Hulu is teaming with the estate of author James Clavell to extend the FX series Shōgun for two additional seasons. A writer's room is currently being assembled. Shōgun is currently the most viewed show in FX's history.

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for information about all your favorite fictional Universes.Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four has found its big, bad, planet-eating villain in the form of British actor, Ralph Ineson. While not necessarily a household name, many fans will recognize the character actor from his various appearances from franchises including Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. John Malkovich also joined the cast last week in an undisclosed role. 

During an earnings conference call last week WB Discovery head-honcho David Zaslav revealed a film titled Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is actively being developed. The script is in early development and the studio has attached Gollum, himself, Andy Serkis, as the director, with a 2026 release being targeted. Elsewhere in Middle Earth, Amazon treated us to the first trailer for the upcoming second season of The Rings of Power alongside the announcement that it would premiere August 29.

Ahead of his animated DCU debut in Creature Commandos, Frank Grillo has been announced to have joined Peacemaker for its second season, returning as the character of Rick Flag Sr. from the animated series. Grillo is the unique position of not only playing a character in live action and animation, but the character is also the father of the previously seen Rick Flag Jr., played by Joel Kinnaman in both Suicide Squad films.

The highly anticipated Kathryn Hahn-led Agatha Harkness Disney Plus series, which acts as a follow up to WandaVision, has been no stranger to title changes, previously being titled Agatha: House of Harkness, Coven of Chaos, and most recently Darkhold Diaries. The marketing seemed to be leaning into the chaos and confusion, with the new title The Lying Witch with Great Wardrobe teased in a deleted post, before eventually announcing the title as Agatha All Along. Additionally, the series will premiere with 2-episodes, September 18 and a teaser is expected to debut this Friday. 

NFL tight end and Taylor Swift's boyfriend, Travis Kelce, secured his first major acting role in Ryan Murphy's FX horror series Grotesquerie. Details about his role remain unclear for now.

The Office reboot has been greenlit by Peacock, with an official synopsis revealing the documentary crew's new subject: a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and its publisher's efforts to revive it with volunteer reporters.

During their Up Front presentation, Disney revealed early looks at Daredevil Born Again and Ironheart but currently both of these trailers are unavailable to the public. Daredevil is expected to release in March of next year and will be 9 episodes long. Ironheart is expected to be released sometime next year.

Glen Powell is in early talks to star in the next film from director JJ Abrams. At the moment, plot details for the project are being kept under wraps.

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are breaking ground in streaming with a bundled offering featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max. A launch date and price point have not yet been announced. Comcast also announced a similar upcoming bundle that will offer Peacock, Netflix, and AppleTV+ at a discount price.

Prime Video's animated Batman series, Batman: Caped Crusader, executive produced by JJ Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Bruce Timm, will premiere all 10 episodes on August 1. The announcement came with character descriptions, first-look images, and an official logline.

Peacock has ordered a second season of the Seth MacFarlane-created series Ted, which serves as a prequel to the two feature films of the same name.

Hiroyuki Sanada, star and producer of FX's limited series Shōgun, has closed a deal to reprise his role as Lord Yoshii Toranaga for a potential second season. FX is finalizing deals as part of efforts to continue Shōgun following its commercial and critical success.

Time for another Multiverse Review!  Fall guy is in theater now and Matt and J Scotty think it’s worth your time!  We will break down what we thought with our spoiler free take and a real deep Spoiler section.  Join us!