Putting The Super In Superman

Tonight! Loki Forever, The Long Halloween a little longer, The Walking Settlement and we remember Chick Venerra and director Richard Donner. All that and more on the Comic Book edition of Multiverse tonight!

Thor Love and Thunder is apparently so crazy according to Taika Waititi that quote ``It Shouldn’t Make Sense” unquote The director told Empire. Taika recently wrapped on the production of the Thor sequel and he expanded on that original comment saying quote “Well, just between (me and) you and the readers, I’ve done some crazy shit in my life. I’ve lived, like, ten lifetimes. But it’s the craziest film I’ve ever done,” he said. If the film’s plot remains under wraps, we do know that Love And Thunder will somehow weave in the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who’s expected to wield Mjolnir at some point in the movie, plus Christian Bale as Gorr The God Butcher, plenty more celeb cameos, hang-time with the Guardians, and Thor with big, crimped ‘80s hair. “If you wrote down all the elements of this film, it shouldn’t make sense,” Waititi admits. “It’s almost like it shouldn’t be made. If you walked into a room and said, ‘I want this and this and this.’ Who’s in it? These people. What are you going to call it? Love And Thunder. I mean, you’d never work again. Maybe I won’t after this.” unquote He also promised that the movie is very different from Ragnarok saying quote “It’s crazier. I’ll tell you what’s different. There’ll be far more emotion in this film. And a lot more love. And a lot more thunder. And a lot more Thor, if you’ve seen the photos.” unquote Love and Thunder are due to hit movie theaters in May of 2022.

IN a new interview with the New York Times, The Suicide Squad director James Gunn said that it was Kevin Feige who delivered the news that Gunn had been let go by Marve Studios after a number of conservative personalities dug up old tweets he made where he joked about pedophilia and rape.  Gunn in the interview said quote “It was unbelievable. And for a day, it seemed like everything was gone. Everything was gone,” Gunn continued. “I was going to have to sell my house. I was never going to be able to work again. That’s what it felt like.” Gunn eventually was scooped up by Warner Bros to spearhead a new Suicide Squad movie. When asked if he felt like he was a victim of cancel culture, Gunn said quote “It’s such a bigger issue than that. Because cancel culture also is people like Harvey Weinstein, who should be canceled. People who have gotten canceled and then remain canceled — most of those people deserved that,” Gunn explained. “The paparazzi are not just the people on the streets — they’re the people combing Twitter for any past sins. All of that sucks. It’s painful. But some of it is accountability. And that part of it is good. It’s just about finding that balance.” unquote Gunn during the interview spoke about being only the second director to helm both a DC and Marvel film and the first to receive directing credit on the Marvel and DC Movies.  (Joss Whedon, if you remember, was uncredited for pinch directing Snyder's partially completed Justice League.

More on The Suicide Squad in the DC News.

The MCU walked away with a total of 28 Primetime Emmy nominations. 23 for WandaVision and five for Falcon and The Winter Soldier. For more on this, please go back one episode.

The Television Critics Association award nominations are out. Apple TV’s Ted Lasso picked up five nominations with a four-way tie for second place between HBO Max’s Hacks, HBO’s I May Destroy You and Mare of Easttown, and Disney+’s WandaVision earning four noms apiece. WandaVision got nods for Elizabeth Olsen for individual achievement in drama, outstanding new program, outstanding achievement in movies, miniseries or specials, and program of the year. The Mandalorian received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Drama.

Tom Hiddleston in a Q&A on Tumbler said that he would readily play Loki for as long as he can. He replied to the question quote "Would I? Yeah, absolutely. I'm so lucky that I've got to play Loki for this long, and you know, I feel like he's such an interesting character who's been around in human consciousness for so long. And he's got so many different aspects, so many different complex characteristics, that it feels like every time I play him I find out something new or we get to evolve him or take him down an avenue that we haven't gone down before." Loki, which just finished it’s first season on Disney Plus with a second one planned. Hiddleston has played the fan-favorite villain for over a decade now and he will be appearing vocally in the upcoming What If…? Series on Disney Plus in August.

DC

Batman's The Long Halloween is going to get one issue longer with a new one-shot from Eisner Award-winner Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale.  Batman The Long Halloween Special will revisit the story that Loeb and Sale wrote twenty-five years ago.  In the Announcement, Jeh Loeb said quote "Twenty-five years ago, Tim Sale and I set out to tell a mystery tale of how Gotham City went from crime to freaks,” “The result was Batman: The Long Halloween. We're thrilled to be back at DC revisiting some of our favorite characters all the while revealing that you may not know the whole story..." unquote  Tim Sale added quote“As it has always been, working together on Batman has brought out the best of Jeph and myself as Gotham City storytellers,”  “We have been blessed to have the mighty talents of Comicraft's Richard Starkings with us every step of the way, and are very fortunate to welcome colorist, Brennan Wagner, to help shape our latest venture.  Unquote The Batman The Long Halloween Special will be out in comic book shops on October twelfth for $7.99

The Team from Last Podcast on the Left are getting their own DC Horror comic book. DC Horror Presents: Soul Plumber comes from the minds of Marcus Parks, Henry Zebrowski, and Ben Kissel, the hosts of The Last Podcast on the Left. The six-part story is about quote Edgar Wiggins, a disgraced former seminary student who is desperate to find a way to answer what he believes is his higher calling. He thinks he’s found it in a seminar hosted in a hotel conference room by the Soul Plumbers, who have a machine that could be the secret to delivering souls from Satan. Edgar’s too broke to buy in, but that’s not enough to stop this true devotee: he steals the blueprints and builds a pirated version with what components he can afford on his gas station attendant salary.  Then he goes after a demon, misses… and ends up pulling out something much worse. Unquote Soul Plumbers will be the second title in the DC Horror imprint and will have art by John McCrea and will be out on October fifth. 

The Suicide Squad will be available a few hours early for those with HBO Max. The news was released via James Gunn’s Twitter feed, he posted quote For those of you who can’t wait, #TheSuicideSquad is coming to you a day early in the US - see it on the evening of Thursday, August 5 - which also happens to be my birthday. #InSquadWeTrust unquote 

And if you want to wait and see it in theaters, open night AMC theaters will be giving out an exclusive comic book to those who see the movie on the fifth or the sixth. This is all a part of Gunn’s effort to get more people reading comic books as well as seeing the movie and tv adaptations. 

Geek

Netflix’s The Witcher Blood Origin has cast Michelle Yeoh. The former Star Trek Discovery cast member will be joining as Scian who is described as quote "Scían is the very last of her nomadic tribe of sword-elves," the full description of Yeoh's character from Netflix reads. "No one can come close to her artistry with the blade, and no one carries as much loss within their heart. When a chance presents itself to retrieve a stolen sacred sword, taken from her fallen tribe by nefarious means, she launches herself into a deadly quest that will change the outcome of the Continent." Yeoh joins Laurence O'Fuarain Fjall in the six episodes series described as quote "Set in an elven world 1200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell a story lost to time - the origin of the very first Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal 'conjunction of the spheres,' when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one." unquote

AMC and Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont have come to a settlement. Darabont first sued AMC Networks back in 2013 with a second suit coming in 2018. He and his agency CAA claimed that the network used shady accounting practices to cheat them on profits. The original judge seemed to be leaning in Darabont and CAA’s favor causing AMC to hire new lawyers. This past April an appeals court trimmed Darabont’s case, with a jury trial set to go next April. The settlement resolves all litigation and buys Darabont and CAA out of most of their rights to the intellectual property from the franchise. IN AMC’s July sixteenth report to the US SEC they stated quote “The Settlement Agreement provides for a cash payment of $200 million (the “Settlement Payment”) to the plaintiffs and future revenue sharing related to the certain future streaming exhibition of The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead,” “The Company has taken a charge of approximately $143 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2021, in consideration for the extinguishment of Plaintiffs’ rights to any compensation in connection with The Walking Dead and any related programs and the dismissal of the actions with prejudice, which amount is net of approximately $57 million of ordinary course accrued participations. The Settlement Agreement also includes customary provisions included in such agreements, including providing for mutual releases, covenants not to sue, waivers, confidentiality, non-disparagement, and indemnification for third party claims.” unquote, Of course, neither AMC or Darabont are commenting on the SEC filing.  This leaves a similar legal fight between AMC and others including Robert Kirkman still set to go to trial this November. 

Greta Gerwig will now be directing and producing AND co-writing  Margot Robbie in a Barbie movie. Gerwig previously directed Little Women and Lady Bird.  The movie has been in development hell for years now at one time Amy Shumer was attached to star. No word on when it will come out or who will play Ken. 

The new Masters of the Universe/Kevin Smith-led Netflix series, Masters of the Universe: Revelation will be getting it’s own cereal at FYE stores. Masters of the Universe Revelation Eternia Crunch Cereal is out in stores now and costs 19.99 with a fun Battle Cat toy inside Frankly folks, the picture looks like fruity pebbles.

 The Boom! Studios horror comic series Something is Killing the Children will be made into a Netflix series and Trevor Macy and Mike Flanagan, who made THe Haunting of Hill House, Doctor Sleep, and Gerald’s Game will co-write and executive produce the pilot. The comic’s first story arc told the story of a town plagued by monsters that eat children with only one teen survivor telling tales that no adult believes. And then a mysterious young woman named Erica Slaughter shows up to take down the monsters. The comic is from James Tynion IV and was drawn by Werther Dell'Edera and is a best seller.

Lionsgate has acquired worldwide rights to Kevin Smiths Clerks III, Deadline dot com reports. THe movie, which is in preproduction in New Jersy will begin production next month. Smith, of course, as written and will direct and all major cast members from Clerks will reprise their roles. The plot, follows a subject Kevin knows all too well, with Randal having a massive heart attack. He than enlists Dante, Elias, Jay and Silent Bob to make a movie immortalizing his life at the Quick Stop. In a statement, Smith said quote “There’s a saying from the Tao that goes something like ‘To be great is to go on. To go on is to go far. To go far is to return.’ Thanks to Lionsgate, we get to return to where it all started with almost the whole cast that started it all! And for the first time since the first time we ever made a movie in 1993, we’re shooting the entire flick on location in New Jersey, as an ode to both the enduring allure of cinema and the resourcefulness and lunacy of its storytellers. Years ago, Dante and Randal made me a filmmaker – so now it’s time I return the favor.” unquote No release date has been set. 

Animaniacs voice talent Chick Vennera has died. Chick was born in March of 1947 as Francis Vennera and became an actor after a stint in the US Army Signal Corps, He started with a turn in the Broadway production of Grease. He acted in shows like Lucas tanner, Vega$, TJ Hooker, Night Court, The Golden Girls, The Untouchables and more. He broke into voice acting with The Jetsons in 1985 and lent his voice to Foofur, Capitol Critters, Batman The Animated Series, Darkwing Duck, Bonkers, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Cow and Chicken, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, and more, but he is best known for his role as Goodfeather Pesto on the original Animaniacs tv show, appearing in 22 episodes. He also taught acting as well.  Chick passed away from cancer on July seventh in his home in Burbank, California. Chick Vennera was seventy-four years old.

Director Richard Donner has passed away. Donner was responsible for some of the biggest, most iconic movies of the 70’s and ’80s. Donner was born Richard Donald Schwartzberg in the Bronx on April 24, 1930. After high school, he served in the US Navy becoming an aerial photographer, and then briefly attended New York University, but left to pursue an acting career in LA, where he adopted the stage name of Richard Donner. After trying his hand at acting Director Martin Ritt, encouraged him to become a director instead and hired him as his assistant. He started with commercials and by the late 1950’s he was directing episodes of westerns like Wanted Dead or Alive and TheRifleman. He would go on to direct episodes for shows like Route 66, Wagon Train, Have Gunn, Will Travel, The Lieutenant, The Twilight Zone (where he directed William Shatner in the Nightmare at 20,000 feet episode), The Man from UNCLE, Gilligan's Island, Perry Mason, Get Smart, The Fugitive, Wild Wild West, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, Cannon, Kojak, Tales From The Crypt (for which he was nominated for a Cable Ace Award and also served as executive producer) and much more. He broke into movie directing with 1961’s X-15, he would direct such films as The Omen, Superman, The Toy, The Goonies, Lethal Weapon 1, 2 , 3 and 4, Scrooged, Maverick, and more. A dispute with the producers of the Superman franchise led to his name being taken off Superman II.  He also served as executive producer on a lot of his films as well as others like Omen III, the Lost Boys, The Free Willy movies, and the first X-Men movie and his company produced all the following X-Men movies.  He also got to write on Action Comics alongside Geoff Johns. In his personal life, he married film producer Lauren Shuler in 1986, merging their respective production companies into one.

Richard Donner passed away on July fifth. He was 91 years old.

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