Why DC Studios Needs to Stop Chasing the Marvel Formula

Michael B. Jordan Is a Heist Master in THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR TrailerA new trailer for Amazon MGM’s remake shows Michael B. Jordan as a globe-trotting billionaire playboy who pulls off heists, drives race cars, and jumps off cliffs, while a beautiful investigator on his trail falls for him. It’s the second remake of the 1968 Steve McQueen original, after the 1999 version with Pierce Brosnan. The author’s take is mostly admiration for Jordan, saying the role makes him seem even cooler. It opens in theaters March 5, 2027.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/michael-b-jordan-the-thomas-crown-affair-remake-trailer/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Introduces Doom as a Grieving FatherJoe Russo told Empire that Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will be the scariest version yet: “a Gothic character” who’s “not above selling his soul,” and is “profoundly damaged” by the death of his child. That isn’t from the comics, where Doom’s only child is his adopted son Kristoff Vernard, who never died. Nerdist guesses the child is the boy in the mural seen in the trailers. Kevin Feige also denied that Doom is a Tony Stark variant, saying “He’s Victor Von Doom.” Nerdist speculates that Doom’s anger over the heroes’ “stolen lives” could lead him to target the Avengers’ children, since Thor, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, the Richardses, and others are parents. Doomsday opens December 18.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/avengers-doomsday-will-introduce-doom-as-a-grieving-father-not-a-variant/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Wanda Marry Doom in DOOMSDAY? VISIONQUEST Teases Iconic Avengers StoryAfter the post-credits scene in which Doom revives Wanda, and the finale’s reunion of Billy and Tommy, Nerdist argues the MCU is setting up the comics story Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (2010, Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung). In it, Wanda is an amnesiac living in Latveria, with Doom siphoning her magic and planning to make her his queen. Billy and Tommy search for her and restore her memory, and she turns on Doom before the wedding. The article also recaps Avengers: Disassembled and House of M, which the MCU has loosely adapted in WandaVision and Multiverse of Madness. Nerdist predicts one of the Latverian Witches in Doomsday is a memory-wiped Wanda, and that Doom will use her reality-warping powers to shape Battleworld in Secret Wars, with Vision and her sons eventually breaking the spell.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/will-wanda-marry-doom-in-doomsday-iconic-avengers-story-the-childrens-crusade/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Serkis Is Losing Sleep Over THE HUNT FOR GOLLUMSerkis told The Times that directing and playing Gollum in The Hunt for Gollum is “insane.” He says he wakes at night unsure “if I’m asleep or awake,” wondering “Am I directing you Gollum? Or you me?” The film bridges The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and follows a young Aragorn, played by Jamie Dornan (not Viggo Mortensen), as he hunts Gollum to keep the Ring’s location from Sauron. Serkis plays a younger Gollum. Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, and Lee Pace return, with Kate Winslet, Leo Woodall, and Anya Taylor-Joy joining. It opens December 17, 2027.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/andy-serkis-is-losing-sleep-over-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-hunt-for-gollum/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Mercer Cast as Nightcrawler in Marvel Rivals Season 11Critical Role voice actor Matt Mercer will voice Marvel’s Nightcrawler in Season 11 of Marvel Rivals, joining Dracula as one of two new heroes arriving in the popular multiplayer game on November 13, 2026.The character trailer showcases Nightcrawler’s teleportation abilities, playful personality, and efforts to rescue people amid a catastrophic collision between universes. In the game, he will fill the Strategist role, using his ability to teleport around the battlefield and transport teammates to his location.Mercer celebrated the casting on social media, calling Nightcrawler his favorite Marvel character of all time. The announcement has generated excitement among fans eager to see his interpretation of the beloved blue mutant. Visit https://nerdist.com/article/critical-role-matt-mercer-voicing-nightcrawler-marvel-rivals/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

VISIONQUEST Canonizes the First Ever Marvel Comics StoryVisionQuest episode seven (spoilers) flashes back to 1939 and shows scientist Phineas Horton (also played by Paul Bettany, who looks just like Vision) building an artificial man named J.I.M. (Joule Individual Machine) to replace his dead son. Horton's wife and young daughter Victoria leave him over his obsession. J.I.M. was reportedly a brief hero, but couldn't process complex emotions. Vision explains that his clockwork spun too fast and flooded his solar cells with oxygen until he burst into flame. The Hortons later donated his inert body to Markridge Biotech, and his programming became the source code for Vision, which Ultron passed down in Age of Ultron.Nerdist says this is a fairly faithful adaptation of the very first Marvel story, "The Human Torch" in 1939's Marvel Comics #1. In it, Horton's synthetic man is displayed in a sealed glass tube (the same case seen at the Stark Expo in Captain America: The First Avenger) and bursts into flame on contact with oxygen. In the comics, he then escapes the concrete the public encased him in, becomes Jim Hammond, joins the police, and fights alongside Captain America and Namor. Later comics revealed Vision was based on his design.Differences from the comics: the show doesn't confirm that J.I.M. used the name "Human Torch" or "Hammond," and it leaves out the retcon that Kang (as Victor Timely) gave Horton his advanced technology. The author thinks Marvel may be avoiding Kang, and suggests J.I.M. could get a one-off Disney+ Special Presentation set in the past, with Bettany starring.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/visionquest-canonizes-first-ever-marvel-comics-story-mcu-human-torch/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How VISIONQUEST’s Finale Addresses Wanda’s Potential ReturnA post-credits scene in the VisionQuest finale returns to Wanda’s death at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but this time shows what comes after Mount Wundagore collapses. The rubble lifts at the command of Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, who says “Scarlet Witch… awaken. Your powers will be mine,” and Wanda wakes up alive. Earlier in the finale, Tommy asks Vision whether they might see Wanda again, and Vision says anything is possible. Nerdist notes that Wanda may now be under Doom’s spell, possibly as one of his Latverian Witches, and that we’ll learn more when Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/visionquest-season-finale-addresses-wanda-potential-return/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NC-17 Hit THE DEVILS Getting Fancy 4K Disc ReleaseWarner Bros.’ Clockwork label will release Ken Russell’s 1971 The Devils on 4K Blu-ray on April 30, 2027, including the uncensored director’s cut that Warner refused to release when Mark Kermode’s team found the censored footage in 2002. The three-disc Collector’s Edition ($76.99) includes the director’s cut, the UK X-rated version (111 minutes), the US R-rated version (108 minutes), a new Guillermo del Toro interview, a restoration featurette, archival interviews with Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, and a 96-page book. A single-disc edition costs $36.99. The restored film was a surprise theatrical hit earlier this year, and the reviewer calls it his pick for best movie of the year.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/nc-17-hit-the-devils-getting-fancy-4k-disc-release/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do Tommy and Billy Reunite in the VISIONQUEST Finale?Yes. Thomas (Ruaridh Mollica), the reincarnated Tommy, enters a trance in a tub of water and reaches a dreamspace where he finds Billy Kaplan/Wiccan (Joe Locke). Billy mentions a teleportation spell, apparently speaking to Agatha’s ghost, before the connection breaks. Later, when Vision’s systems are burning out and Tommy’s speed isn’t enough, Billy teleports from New Jersey to the U.K. and combines his magic with Tommy’s powers to save their father, so the three Maximoffs embrace. Tommy and Lisa plan to fly to New Jersey to meet Billy. Nerdist hopes this signals a Young Avengers payoff and possibly an adaptation of The Children’s Crusade, in which they search for Wanda.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/visionquest-finale-do-billy-tommy-maximoff-reunite-marvel/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why DC Studios Needs to Stop Chasing the Marvel FormulaAfter Gunn and Safran’s exit, Nerdist argues that hiring ex-Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham continues a decades-long pattern of DC imitating Marvel. It says this worked only once, in the comics after 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, when DC hired Marvel creators and tightened its continuity. On screen it hasn’t worked: Warner rushed the DCEU after The Avengers with Batman v Superman, then replaced the people running DC Films (Johns and Berg, then Hamada). The article says Gunn and Safran made fumbles, such as no clear Batman or Wonder Woman plan and too few family-friendly projects, but didn’t deserve to be replaced given the reception of Superman, Lanterns, and Clayface. After four regime changes in a decade, the author is exhausted and says DC should lean into different tones within a shared universe rather than building toward big events.Visit https://nerdist.com/article/dc-studios-needs-to-stop-chasing-marvel-formula/ to read or listen to the article.Powered by Instaread (https://instaread.co/player) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.