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The Sunday Post: Queen of the Dead
Greg Arnold
September 14, 2025
Hey there! Welcome back to the latest edition of The Sunday Post here at Friends From Work. As The Fantastic Four: First Steps wraps up its 8th weekend in theaters (the movie has now grossed over $517 million at the global box office), the long wait for the next project from Marvel is nearly over. Marvel Zombies is just 10 days away (the four-episode event premieres at 3 am ET on September 24th). Kyle and Robby have seen it, and they’ll make their triumphant return to the main podcast feed with their review on its day of release. You will also receive a written review in your inbox when the review embargo is lifted on September 24th as well. FFW will be covering Marvel Zombies from all angles. The social media embargo will be lifted at 1 am ET on September 23rd.
In the meantime, FFW+ keeps rolling with a brand-new installment of “Marvel Comics 101” tomorrow, this time covering Spider-Man: Blue by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. It’s never too late to join FFW+ on Patreon for access to myriad bonus podcast episodes and other content.
As I have been saying all too frequently lately, it was a quiet week for news around the MCU. Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday continue to film (both are filming at Pinewood Studios in London right now), but the marketing campaigns are still months away from ramping up. All that being said, I did manage to pick out a few interesting news nuggets from last week. So it’s time for…
THE WATERCOOLER
THIS WEEK IN THE MCU
Marvel Zombies released a second trailer on Friday, showcasing more gruesome, bloody zombie action. Runtimes for the four episodes are 35, 31, 30, and 29 minutes, respectively.
New York Comic Con announced that Jon Bernthal will be in attendance on October 11th and 12th, joining a growing cast of Defenders-verse actors including Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Krysten Ritter, Deborah Ann Woll, and Mike Colter.
Tom Holland continues to make the interview rounds while filming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, this time via a profile in Esquire. Holland discussed what it was like to have a more active role in shaping the film.
For me, I want to do justice to Peter Parker’s character. I want to bring the fans something that’s really worthy of their time, and I’m very grateful for their investment in our franchise. I don’t mean financially, I mean the time to go to the cinema three times. That’s a big ask.
I have such a good understanding of who Peter Parker is, and I have been so lucky that the fan base has been so vocal about what they love from the franchise. We’ve been able to really lean into those things and capitalize on those things. So I love standing up for the character, being in the room, and making sure that the decisions we make are what’s best for Peter Parker, because he really does feel like one of my best friends. It’s a really weird experience diving into the character again. It just feels like you’re hanging out with an old pal.
Walt Disney Studios held a marketing expo in Shanghai, China, last week, and Avengers: Doomsday was one of the movies being promoted, via a special laser light show. The expo also revealed the first synopsis for the movie:
“Doctor Doom has officially arrived in the MCU. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the entire multiverse.”
BEYOND THE MULTIVERSE
As part of their 40th Anniversary celebration for Mario, Illumination and Nintendo officially revealed the title of their follow-up to 2023’s billion-dollar hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
In an exclusive, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount Skydance is preparing a bid to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery, backed by the billionaire Ellison family. Should an acquisition occur, it would further consolidate Hollywood’s major studios and pose a significant threat to the future of movie theaters.
That’s gonna do it for this week. Don’t forget to check out our retail partners at Homage and Panel Bound Comics. And if you have time, I highly recommend revisiting the Zombies episode of What If…? (season 1, episode 5) in preparation for Marvel Zombies on September 24th.
Have a great week, everyone!
-Greg
