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The Sunday Post: Absolute Cinema
Greg Arnold
March 09, 2025
Last Tuesday was a day that many Marvel fans were worried may never come. Nearly seven years after the Netflix series was canceled, Daredevil: Born Again delivered an epic two-episode premiere. Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio and many others returned to the roles they made famous, and Marvel Studios fully embraced the legacy left by that original series. For the most part, critics (certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at 83%) and fans (also 83% at RT) were along for the ride.
Of course, Friends From Work was prepared with immediate analysis as soon as the episodes ended. If you missed it, check it out here— you won’t find a better discussion about the show anywhere. Kyle and Robby have already seen episode 3 and will have another fresh podcast ready this Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. FFW+ subscribers will want to be on the lookout for a bonus podcast later this week, too.
While Daredevil rightly dominated the headlines last week, there was plenty of other news from the MCU, so let’s walk down to…
THE WATERCOOLER
THIS WEEK IN THE MCU
Thunderbolts* released one of the most unique trailers I’ve ever seen from Marvel Studios, a one-minute spot originally exclusive to Letterboxd that touted the independent cinema bonafides of the cast and crew working on the film. It is abundantly clear that they want fans to know that this movie is not your typical Marvel fare.
Empire Magazine, May 2025
Thunderbolts* is also the cover story for the May edition of Empire Magazine. Star Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova) doubled down on the movie’s indie vibes while talking to Empire’s Ben Travis.
“It ended up becoming this quite badass indie, A24-feeling assassin movie with Marvel superheroes.”
Empire also revealed that Avengers Tower is now Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s headquarters, dubbed ‘Watchtower.’ Comics fans may be able to connect some dots about what that could mean for the movie.
Finally, Empire spoke to director Jake Schreier about the cinematic inspirations for Thunderbolts*, mentioning Reservoir Dogs, Ronin, Mission: Impossible— Ghost Protocol, and one that may surprise you: Toy Story 3.
“I had Toy Story in there. It wasn’t as focused on a genre as much as dynamics amongst characters. They all have that dynamic of a team that is thrown together. That [furnace] sequence works so well because you’ve come to care about these characters so much. Can they get out of the trash can together?”
Robert Downey Jr. at SDCC in 2024
With The Electric State only a few days away from being released on Netflix, Joe and Anthony Russo continue to make the interview rounds, where inevitably the discussion turns to Avengers: Doomsday, which is expected to start filming next month. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Joe Russo discussed star Robert Downey Jr.’s process for preparing to play Victor Von Doom in the movie.
“It’s a very intense process developing the character. He’s so immersed in it. He is so dialed in. [Downey’s] writing backstory, costume ideas … I think he just loves really rich, three-dimensional characters and I think he sees a real opportunity here with that character.”
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Jon Bernthal at the SXSW premiere of The Accountant 2 last week, and asked him about the Punisher special that he is currently co-writing for Marvel Studios.
“I care very deeply about Frank, I’m really grateful that I’m getting the opportunity to tell the story that I think the fans deserve. We’re giving it our all and we’re trying to tell a Frank Castle story that we’re going to turn our back on the audience — it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be light, and I think it’s the version that this character deserves and I’m just beyond honored and grateful that we get the opportunity. It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy… It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.”
BEYOND THE MULTIVERSE
The highly anticipated trailer for The Last of Us season 2 was released yesterday. The series premieres on April 13th, and is a prime candidate to be covered on Screensaver for FFW+ subscribers.
A few weeks ago, news broke that John Lithgow was in talks to play Albus Dumbledore in the new HBO Harry Potter series. Deadline is now reporting that HBO is circling two more big names to play professors at Hogwarts. Janet McTeer (Kaos) is in negotiations to play Minerva McGonagall and Paapa Essiedu (Black Doves) is finalizing a deal to play Severus Snape.
TRUE BELIEVERS RUMOR OF THE WEEK
If you enjoy the rumors that I try to curate in this space every week, then my suggestion to you this week is to go check out the monthly Q&A that Alex Perez does over at My Cosmic Circus. Alex does good work and is the rare ‘insider’ who is not afraid to say “I don’t know” when he doesn’t know something. Often, the rumors I pick out come from Alex. So, while I could pull out my favorite tidbit from his Q&A, this week I want to highlight all of his good work.
Buckle in, friends. We have six more weeks of new Daredevil: Born Again episodes coming. Thunderbolts* is just over 50 days away. A new trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is likely in the next month. Please make sure that you are subscribed to this newsletter and following Friends From Work on all social platforms. Subscribe to our channel on YouTube and come join our Discord server. Tell your friends and family who also love Marvel. I promise you will not regret it.
See y’all next week.
-Greg
