Superhero Bits: Batman: The Audio Adventures Trailer, Ryan Reynolds Predicts The Next Phase Of The MCU & 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: 

• Watch and listen to the trailer for "Batman: The Audio Adventures" trailer
• Check out some concept art from "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"
• What movies does Ryan Reynolds think Marvel will make in the next phase of the MCU?
• James Gunn wasn't the reason Gavin O'Connor didn't make a "Suicide Squad" sequel
• All that and more

One of the Marvel Unlimited exclusive Infinity Comics will be "X-Men Unlimited," and Marvel has released a trailer for the new comic series. Jonathan Hickman and Declan Shalvey are behind the new series that will follow the adventures of the various mutants of the world plus their friends and allies. Will these new comics be enough to get more subscribers?

"Iron Man 3" introduced us to actor Trevor Slattery as a faux version of the Mandarin played by Sir Ben Kingsley. It was all a ruse created to cover up faulty nanotechnology created by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and his AIM company. Even though Pearce's character clearly dies at the end of "Iron Man 3," ComicBookMovie.com asked the actor if he was asked to reprise his role in some capacity for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." The answer is not surprising, though Pearce admits it's not out of the realm of possibility:

"No, I wasn't. It's such a fascinating universe, really. The amazing thing about it is that it's not as clear cut as going, 'Well, a character dies so that's the end of them.' Also, obviously in films these days there are prequels, so people are going back to earlier stories or there are tangents going across. The idea of someone like Aldrich Killian coming back in some other shape or form is totally feasible in that world [Laughs]. I'll wait for the call, you know!"

Personally, I don't think we'll see Aldrich Killian ever again, but with the multiverse in play now, anything is possible.

Here's the first trailer for HBO Max's new podcast "Batman: The Audio Adventures." Narrated in campy fashion by Chris Parnell, the series taps into the criminal ongoings of Gotham City and the masked vigilante who tries to foil them. Here's the official synopsis for the show:

A tale of life and death in Gotham City. After years of vigilante crime fighting, Batman prepares to become an official Gotham member of the Gotham City Police Department, deepening the rift between himself and Catwoman, who's been using Gotham criminals as her personal ATM. Meanwhile, Two-Face is deteriorating, his two halves at war and his obsession with duality out of control — which his rival the Penguin is more than happy to take advantage of. The Riddler, after years in the shadow of Batman's A-list foes, is desperate to have his work taken seriously. And the Joker has big, big plans for Valentine's day.

"Batman: The Audio Adventures" debuts on September 18, 2021 on HBO Max.

Now that the trailer for "Hawkeye" has arrived, series star Hailee Steinfeld shared a new photo from behind the scenes of the Marvel Studios production. In this image, the contacts she's wearing to change her eye color really pop, giving her a more comic accurate look, complete with the purple wardrobe inspired by Hawkeye himself.

The final season of "Lucifer" has arrived, and to celebrate the end of the series, Netflix has posted a video running through the evolution of the titular character. See all the different versions of Lucifer that Tom Ellis has played throughout the series with shots from every single episode. 

While Brandon Davis at ComicBook.com offered up his own predictions for the upcoming slate of mystery movies that Marvel Studios has yet to reveal, "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds had some ideas of his own. It's a pretty bold prediction that we'll see the first three movies in the "Fantastic" franchise before "Fantastic Four" comes along, but Reynolds just might be a genius for suggesting the idea. Plus, we can't be the only ones who would love to see "Weekend at Blind Al's" get turned into a real thing, even if it just falls outside of the MCU.

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" is in theaters now, so it's time for ScreenCrush to take a deep dive into the ending of the movie by explain the hidden meaning of the film itself. It's not exactly hard to understand, but the thematic elements at play do offer some insight into the story of Shang-Chi and his father Wenwu, as well as his sister Xialing. 

Before James Gunn was hired to direct "The Suicide Squad" for Warner Bros. Pictures, Warrior director Gavin O'Connor was meant to direct a sequel to David Ayer's "Suicide Squad." Of course, the movie didn't happen, but it may not have been because of Gunn's project. O'Connor said the studio wanted a comedy, and he wasn't up for that. The director explained to The Playlist:

"What happened there was I wrote a deal to write a script, and they knew what I was writing. At that level, with those kinds of movies, with that budget, no one's just going off and writing something without walking them through what the movie's gonna be, and everyone was cool with it. During the latter part of writing the script there was a whole regime change at DC, and when that happened, they wanted it to be a comedy, and I'm like, 'I'm not writing a comedy,' I mean, it [was] fun, but it's not a yuk-fest. And the new regime wanted a different movie than I was writing."

Honestly, it's probably the best since James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" provided a great new path for the franchise.

Finally, Marvel Studios concept artist Andy Park posted a piece that he created for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." The art depicts Simu Liu taking control of the Ten Rings while fantastical creatures clash behind him. It's a shame we didn't get a shot like this in the movie, but at least we get to see this artwork.