Hello, friends, and welcome back to a jam-packed edition of The Sunday Post. D23 did not disappoint on Friday night, and I’ll have more on all of the fallout from the event, including updates on Avengers: Doomsday, VisionQuest, X-Men, and so much more in The Watercooler.
But first, here’s what is coming down the pipeline at Friends From Work. Tomorrow, on FFW+, Kyle listened! He’ll join contributor Neil Scharnick to talk about the Marvels audio series from 2020 based on the best-selling graphic novel from Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross.
On the main feed, Kyle and Robby will be talking about… what else? ALL of the exciting news that came out of D23. They’ll share their opinions on everything that happened and what it means for the future of the MCU.
Let’s get into that news now, over at…
THE WATERCOOLER
THIS WEEK IN THE MCU
Friday began with general Avengers: Doomsday tickets going on sale across North America, and fans expected a new trailer to debut alongside the announcement. Marvel Studios ended up teasing it all day, before finally releasing it during the D23 presentation. You can check it out above.
The D23 presentation kicked off with Kevin Feige talking about VisionQuest. The highly anticipated conclusion to the trilogy that started with WandaVision begins on October 14th on Disney+.
Before the Avengers: Doomsday portion of the night could begin, Hugh Jackman interrupted with a comedic video, begging Feige to put Deadpool and Wolverine into the movie. Reminiscent of the original videos announcing Deadpool & Wolverine, this all but confirms that both characters will appear.
Next, Feige announced (part of) the new X-Men cast and revealed the movie will kick off the next era of Marvel Studios, with a release date of May 5th, 2028. The announced cast:
Sadie Sink as Jean Grey
Kit Connor as Scott Summers/Cyclops
Inde Navarette as Rogue
Samara Weaving as Emma Frost
Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier
Maya Boyd as Ororo Munroe/Storm
Adam Driver as Nathaniel Milbury (Mr. Sinister)
While not part of the big Friday night panel, on Saturday, during a separate Spider-Man panel, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was featured. The second season of the animated series is now set to debut in January 2027.
Seth Kearsley, prolific animation director of projects such as Eight Crazy Nights, confirmed on social media that he is now working on the second season of Marvel Zombies. This is the first confirmation from anyone related to the project that it is actually happening.
X-Men ‘97 wrapped up its second season last week. It was a good season of television, but in my opinion never quite reached the heights of the first season (or the first four episodes of the second). If season 1 was a 10/10, I would rate season 2 a 7.5/10. The show returns with a third season next year.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day crossed $2 billion at the global box office today, and is well on its way to being the highest grossing film in domestic box office history (a title currently held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and the third-highest grossing film in history globally. Congratulations to director Destin Daniel Cretton, Tom Holland, Zendaya, and everyone else involved.
BEYOND THE MULTIVERSE
Lanterns finally debuts tonight on HBO Max, the first DCU show since Peacemaker wrapped last year. The show currently has a healthy 90% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 41 reviews. If you are still on the fence about watching the show, check out the first five minutes above. To celebrate the show’s release, our friends at The Sons of Gunn podcast (part of the Friends From Work Podcast Network) crossed over with another pair of our friends at Between 2 Batcaves to discuss all things DC Television, past, present, and future.
TRUE BELIEVERS RUMOR OF THE WEEK
One character not announced as part of the X-Men cast during the D23 panel was that of Magneto. One of the rumors circulating last week was that the new iteration of the character will not be a Holocaust survivor like previous on-screen adaptations. With the studio going with a younger cast, and the movie likely set in the 2030s, this would appear to be a necessary change. But does that change remove an essential part of the character’s backstory? Is there a more current analogue that would make more sense? What do you think?
PANEL BOUND COMICS PICK OF THE WEEK
VISION & THE SCARLET WITCH: THE SAGA OF WANDA AND VISION
In honor of the trailer for VisionQuest debuting at D23, my Panel Bound Comics pick of the week highlights the unlikely couple. Written by Steve Englehart, these 18 issues chronicle the start of their romantic relationship, through their marriage and Wanda’s pregnancy. Ultron also makes an appearance. You can order this collection right now from PBC for the low price of just $35, and use code “FRIENDSFROMWORK” for an additional discount.
That’s all I have for tonight. With Spider-Man: Brand New Day, San Diego Comic-Con, and D23 now behind us, it is going to be full steam ahead towards VisionQuest and Avengers: Doomsday for the rest of 2026. So, please share this newsletter with any other curious MCU fans in your life, and make sure you are following the pod and myself on all social platforms. Subscribe to the pod on your favorite podcast app and YouTube, and come join our lively discussions on Discord!
Have a great week,
-Greg
