Superhero Bits: New DC Universe Slate To Be (Partially) Revealed Soon, IMAX Enhanced Audio On Disney+ & More

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

• Jeremy Renner provides another update following his accident.

• Lots of MCU movies on Disney+ are getting an IMAX upgrade.

• The first bits of the new DC Universe slate will be revealed this month.

• An impressive vision for an open world "Superman" game.

• All that and more!

The ongoing "Gotham Knights: Gilded City" comic book series, which ties in with the recently released video game, hit its third issue not long ago. As noted in the above tweet, those who opt to pick up the issue will be given a little in-game bonus item in the form of a Gilded Age Tonfa for Batgirl. Interested parties can grab the issue by clicking here.

"The Flash" returns for its ninth and final season next month, and it looks like it's going be a star-studded affair for fans of the Arrowverse. As reported by TVLine, a trio of stars from the past include David Ramsey (John Diggle/Spartan), Keiynan Lonsdale (Wally West/Kid Flash), and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork) will be returning to The CW for one last ride alongside Grant Gustin's Barry Allen. This, coupled with the recent confirmation that Stephen Amell is returning as Green Arrow, suggests the network is going all-out for this last run of episodes. Be on the lookout for the season premiere on February 8.

HBO Max has decided to split up "Doom Patrol" season 4 into multiple parts, which has become a not-uncommon strategy at streaming services to help squeeze all of the juice out of a big show. With that, the first part of the show's fourth season has reached its conclusion, with the finale currently streaming on the service. So, those who are looking to catch up, now might be the perfect time to do so before part 2 drops. As of right now, there is no release date set, but we imagine that information will be dropping shortly. Stay tuned.

Recently, the unused concept art from "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" seen above started making the rounds. It's a pretty visually impressive scene, one that includes a different version of Zombie Strange, which ended up in Sam Raimi's version of the film. But was this from director Scott Derrickson's abandoned version of the project? Recently, Aaron Bailey asked that very question on Twitter and actually got a response. Derrickson, playing coy a bit, simply replied with a thumbs up emoji. That seems to indicate that this was, indeed, something he was going to incorporate before stepping away from the director's chair. Ah, what could have been...

In 2021, Disney+ introduced a feature called "IMAX Enhanced" that introduced expanded aspect ratios for certain Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that would mirror the IMAX experience at home. Now, in a press release, it has been revealed that IMAX audio is coming to the MCU on Disney+ as well. Per the press release:

IMAX signature sound by DTS will enable an elevated end-to-end experience specially calibrated to provide fans at home with IMAX-quality picture and sound. Select best-in-class device manufacturers will support IMAX signature sound by DTS at launch, including IMAX Enhanced certified TVs from manufacturers like Sony and Hisense.

No word yet on which movies will be included at launch, and there's also no word on an exact date, but this feature will be rolled out sometime in 2023. Full details can be found by clicking here.

Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner recently suffered a brutal incident involving a snowplow that landed him in the ICU. But the actor is pulling through, and, as of late, has been sharing some updates to let everyone know he's okay, all things considered. The above video reveals that Renner's sister and mother were on hand to give him a "spa day," which appeared to lift his spirits. While there's no timetable for Renner's recovery just yet, it looks like he's on the mend.

For quite some time now, rumors have circulated that Rocksteady is working on an open world "Superman" game of some kind. All we know for sure is that the studio has "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League" on deck. Beyond that? There's no telling. Well, the folks at TeaserPlay decided to offer a mere glimpse at what such a game could look like, using Unreal Engine 5 to showcase a proposed game with an "Earth-sized" map. I should state that I am not a huge Superman fan, but this looks undeniably cool. Who wouldn't want to literally fly to the moon as the Man of Steel? Be sure to check out the full video for yourself.

DC Studios co-head James Gunn has revealed that we are getting an update on the new DC Universe slate, and soon. Recently, a report from Variety shed some light on the chaos that went on behind the scenes with "Black Adam," with some other supposed nuggets about the future DCU in there as well. Gunn, responding to a fan on Twitter who was asking for clarification on the mention that they had three years worth of projects in the works, refuted that firmly. "I don't know what's out there about Ezra [Miller] but our slate is 8 to 10 years (but we will only be announcing some of it this month)." That last bit is particularly important. As for when and how this will happen? We should know soon enough.

Lastly, the folks at Hot Toys have shared some brand new photos of the upcoming King Shark figure, which is inspired by "The Suicide Squad." The figure was announced some time ago, but these "blogger" photos give a much more well-rounded look at what they have in store for us, and it looks pretty impressive. As is often the case with Hot Toys, the attention to detail is truly remarkable, but this looks like it could have been ripped right from the movie. As for those who may be interested in picking one of these bad boys up, it retails for $220 and is expected to ship between February and March of this year. Pre-orders can be obtained by clicking here.