Superhero Bits: Marvel's Avengers Is Ending Development, Jason Segel Wrote A Space Ghost Movie & 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:

• It's the beginning of the end for "Marvel's Avengers."

• Could we see a live-action "Space Ghost" movie, perhaps?

• Hugh Jackman's intriguing Wolverine-related social media activity.

• Early "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" box office tracking.

• All that and more!

It's the dawning of a new era for Earth's Mightiest Heroes this summer. Marvel Comics has announced that "The Avengers" will relaunch with a new #1 title in May, with writer Jed MacKay writing, and C.F Villa handling the artwork. We've got a glimpse at the cover art from Stuart Immonen here, which features the new lineup of heroes at the center: Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, and Vision. This is an interesting mix, to be certain. As for what they'll be getting up to? The synopsis for the first arc reads as follows:

The Star. The Icon. The Witch. The Construct. The God. The Engineer. The King. The world is ever in peril, and a new team of Avengers mobilizes to meet any dangers that dare threaten the planet. But when Terminus attacks, a new and insidious danger rears its head: one that the Avengers know all too well, and one that comes to them in the most dangerous of guises — that of a friend.

"The Avengers" #1 hits shelves on May 17, 2023.

Mainstream audiences got a tiny dose of Eros/Starfox in 2021's "Eternals," as Harry Styles showed up as the Marvel Comics character in a post-credits scene attached to the divisive film. While we still don't know when or where we'll see him again, it wouldn't hurt to get acquainted with the brother of Thanos. That being the case, Marvel has put together a handy video that provides a brief overview of the character and his history, for those who new to him. Check it out for yourself above.

Originally slated to go straight to HBO Max, DC's live-action "Blue Beetle" movie is now on its way to theaters. This signals some confidence in what director Angel Manuel Soto put together, with Xolo Mariduena in the suit. But every great hero needs a villain and, in this case, it's the legendary Susan Sarandon. Speaking with Collider, Sarandon spoke about her time making the film, and had the following (nice things) to say:

"My God, to be in a comic book and to be the bad guy, that was great. And I had great outfits, and I wanted to be a little bit more androgynous, but that scared them. So I'm a little bit more gentle, but that was really a fun thing too. That young director, Angel [Manuel Soto], was fabulous. And I mean, we're gushing a lot. It sounds phony, but really, I love the enormity of it. His whole family is Mexican and they're all Mexican actors, and my henchman is Native American. So it was pretty unusual. It's the first superhero movie that stars a Latino, so that's pretty special, and he's great. The kid's great."

Obviously, that's nothing too specific, but it all sounds encouraging. "Blue Beetle" is currently scheduled to hit theaters on August 18, 2023.

Eve Ewing is currently writing the Marvel Comics series "Monica Rambeau: Photon" which, as the name implies, centers on Monica Rambeau. This is a character Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will be familiar with from "Captain Marvel" and "WandaVision," as portrayed by Teyonah Parris. She now has super powers and will be putting them to good use in this summer's "The Marvels." During an interview with Black Comic Lords, Ewing addressed Rambeau's superhero name, stating:

"You just said in the MCU she might be going as Spectrum and I have nothing else to say about that. [...]The publishing side and the MCU side do not communicate frequently, but we do sometimes. [...] Let me put it this way. I'll tell you this. I did not choose for her to be called Photon in this comic."

So, without confirming anything, it pretty much sounds like Ewing did, indeed, confirm that Photon is going to be Rambeau's superhero title in the MCU from here on out. We'll find out soon enough. "The Marvels" is set to hit theaters on July 28, 2023.

The first MCU Phase 5 movie is just a few weeks away in the form of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." So, the question becomes, how will Ant-Man's latest solo adventure, which is much larger in scale, fare at the box office? The folks at Box Office Pro have our first indication, with the site predicting that director Peyton Reed's sequel will earn anywhere between $96 million and $131 million in its opening weekend. In either case, it would be better than either "Ant-Man" ($57 million) or "Ant-Man and the Wasp" ($75 million). On the low end, it would be just above "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" ($95 million) while, on the high end, just above "Iron Man 2" ($128 million). Either way, it looks like Kang's cinematic debut has piqued the interest of the moviegoing public. The film is set to hit theaters on February 17, 2023.

Recently, Hugh Jackman took to his Instagram Stories to share some artwork that was cooked up by BossLogic. It features the classic Deadpool mask right alongside the iconic yellow Wolverine mask that comic book readers have been familiar with for years. This, naturally, led to widespread hope/speculation that this means we are going to see Jackman finally suit up in the yellow costume in "Deadpool 3." I won't get into reckless speculation here, but it most certainly does make one raise an eyebrow. We'll see what comes up of it when the movie arrives in November 2024.

It's kind of remarkable that someone hasn't tried to make a "Space Ghost" live-action project, particularly given the nostalgia from '90s kids for "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast." It turns out that Jason Segel, of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "How I Met Your Mother" fame, actually wrote a live-action movie based on the classic '60s hero and, provided the opportunity, would love to make it. Speaking to Deadline, Segel explained:

"There's a character called Space Ghost who I really loved as a kid. He was like a 1960s superhero. He then was resurrected on Comedy Central as an ironic talk show host. So I wrote a live-action version of that that I would love to make."

As for what it would take to actually make this a reality? That's far more complicated, as rights would have to be secured and deals would have to be made. But in the era of peak nostalgia and superhero dominance, it's not that hard to imagine.

All good things must come to an end. For that matter, so too must things that were kind of a mixed bag. To that end, Crystal Dynamics has announced that it is ending development of "Marvel's Avengers," the video game that first launched in September 2020. The March 2023 update will be its last as far as new content goes, and official support will cease as of September 30, 2023. The good news? All of the in-game cosmetics and other items will become free soon. Per the company:

"As a show of our appreciation for our community, starting March 31, 2023, we will make all the game's Marketplace, Challenge Card, and Shipment cosmetic content available to all players for free. Every single Outfit, Takedown, Emote, and Nameplate from the Marketplace, Challenge Cards, and Shipments will be free for all players from this date onwards if you own a copy of the game. Gifting the full library of Marketplace cosmetic content is a way to thank our community by letting everyone experience the breadth and depth of content in Marvel's Avengers."

Unfortunately, the game never quite lived up to its promise for a great many players, though it did seem to kind of find its footing over time. Full details on the final updates, as well as answers to other frequently asked questions, can be found by clicking here.

Lastly, we have a brand new, thorough look at Deadpool in "Marvel's Midnight Suns." The well-liked strategy game is getting its first DLC soon, as we recently reported in this very column. The above video offers a very extensive overview on how the Merc With a Mouth will be utilized, as he is arguably the biggest appeal of the forthcoming DLC. It looks very much like they've stayed true to the spirit of the character, and he has some pretty unique abilities within the game. Be on the lookout for him in the game come January 26, 2023.