Superhero Bits: Thor: Love And Thunder Featurette, Ezra Miller Is Likely Done As The Flash & 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:

• Christian Bale didn't understand what being in the MCU meant.

• Ezra Miller is likely done as The Flash.

• "The Boys" is teeing up its "Herogasm" episode.

• A brand new "Thor: Love and Thunder" featurette.

• All that and more!

Taschen has been collaborating with Marvel for its "Marvel Comics Library" series and the second volume, out now, collects the first 20 issues of "Avengers" in a new premium, hardcover format. The above gif offers a glimpse at what one gets for the money, and it's quite impressive. What's more, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige actually wrote a little something for this collected edition, as noted in the tweet. The book retails for $200, and those interested can grab a copy by clicking here.

It recently came to light that Marvel Comics was ending its "Conan the Barbarian" series rather abruptly, leading to speculation that the rights to the character had gone elsewhere. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that to be the case: Titan Comics is now the new home for the character, with new comics set to hit shelves beginning in May 2023. Heroic Signatures, the rights holder of Robert E. Howard's literary creation, now has a co-publishing deal in place with Titan. Marvel had previously won the rights in 2018 after Dark Horse had been publishing comics centered on the character for a number of years. Heroic Signatures' president, Fredrik Malmberg, had this to say about it:

"We have been working with Titan for a year on the prose side and established a good foundation for expanding our business together. When it became clear that Heroic Signatures would publish our own comics, it was natural to partner with a team that we have known for decades. Their expertise in publishing is stellar, and we couldn't be more excited to launch a barbarian horde of titles like Conan, Solomon Kane, Dark Agnes and many more together."

So, why did Marvel lose the license? It's tough to say, but it may be that the publisher just felt they had bigger fish to fry. Either way, Titan now stands to benefit from the deal.

With the arrival of "Thor: Love and Thunder" just around the corner, Natalie Portman is getting ready to grace our screens once again as Jane Foster — this time as our new Thor. With that in mind, it's not at all surprising that Jane Foster is coming to "Marvel's Avengers" as the Mighty Thor next week. Now, the game's upcoming introduction of the hero has received a brand new trailer that heralds her arrival in cinematic fashion. We get a sense of the multiverse of it all and how the new Thor joins up with the main cast of the game. There isn't any actual gameplay as this plays out more like an animated comic, though it still looks quite good. Jane Foster arrives in "Marvel's Avengers" on June 28. Be sure to check out the trailer for yourself above.

The folks at Marvel have revealed a new figure from their Legends lineup in the form of "X-Men" villain Apocalypse, in all of his retro glory. We can see the figure above, which looks very much like fans of the '90s animated series may remember him. It's quite distant from the version Oscar Isaac played in "X-Men: Apocalypse," and that's almost certainly for the best. The figure is available for pre-order now and retails for $39.99. It is expected to ship in January 2023. Those interested in more details or a pre-order can find all of the relevant info by clicking here.

Fra Fee was a big part of last year's "Hawkeye" as Kazi, who was a loyal associate to Alaqua Cox's Echo, who is getting her very own spin-off series. Well, in a recent interview with Attitude, Fee was asked about any future appearances in the MCU despite the fact that (spoilers!) he seemingly died in "Hawkeye." But, as Fee rightfully points out, nobody is ever really dead in the MCU.

"Erm, the truth is, I don't really know just yet...But I very much hope that Kazi can make an appearance. I wouldn't put money on the fact he met an untimely end at the end of Hawkeye. No one's ever dead in Marvel. I would be very hopeful and I'd certainly be thrilled to revisit the character and the world — I had such a good time."

Now, "Echo" would make some sense in terms of bringing Fee back into the fold, and, for what it's worth, his character does become a villain of sorts named Clown in the comics. So that is out there, ripe for the taking.

In the pages of Marvel Comics, Ned Leeds is one of the people who eventually becomes the villain Hobgoblin. Though, admittedly, the nature of the villain's true identity is one of the big mysteries that ends up being unraveled over time. In any event, Jacob Batalon plays Ned in the current "Spider-Man" movies, so there has been speculation for some time as to whether or not he will become Hobgoblin on screen. Well, the actor recently shared a photo of himself with a Hobgoblin action figure on his Instagram Stories (above). Does this mean anything? Probably not! But Batalon is clearly in on the bit and he's happy to have some fun with it. We'll pick back up with this thread when "Spider-Man 4" gets cooking.

Christian Bale is etched into the pages of comic book movie history having played Batman in "The Dark Knight" trilogy. Now, he gets to make his mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, known commonly as the MCU, by playing Gorr the God Butcher in "Thor: Love and Thunder." However, in a recent interview with Total Film (via Gamesradar), the actor explained that he had no reservations about taking on another comic book-inspired role, though he had absolutely no idea what the MCU was.

"I'd read that, and people would go, 'Oh, look at this! He's entered the MCU!' And I'd go, 'I've done what? I haven't entered sh*t, thank you very much.' I'm like, 'The MCU?' I had to ask what that was."

Well, rest assured, after his appearance in the film and the press tour, Bale is sure to be well aware of the MCU from here on out.

"The Boys" season 3 is set to adapt the "Herogasm" storyline from the comics, and, well, as the name implies, that's going to involve some pretty NSFW stuff. Even so, the episode needs to be promoted and Prime Video is doing exactly that with the above teaser trailer. A huge chunk of the video merely focuses on a warning of what the episode will contain without actually showing us any of it. Clearly, this episode is going to be a lot and the internet will surely have a field day when the time comes. The episode in question arrives this Friday, June 24. Plan accordingly.

It is absolutely no secret that Ezra Miller has had their fair share of troubles recently, from multiple incidents involving the police and the alleged grooming of a child, among other things. This has put Warner Bros. in a very tough spot when it comes to "The Flash" movie, which is due out next summer and has already been finished filming for some time. Now, in a new report from Deadline going over the situation that Warner Bros. finds itself in, it's reported that, regardless of the outcome, Miller is not likely to return as Barry Allen in future films. So, does this mean the role will be recast? Or will they use some multiversal shenanigans to explain why there's a new Barry Allen in town? Maybe move on to Wally West? Who knows! But Miller's time with DC is probably done.

Lastly, today brings with it a brand new featurette for "Thor: Love and Thunder" ahead of its release next month. It brings a lot of new goods to the table, including some choice bits of new footage from the movie itself. But some of the better and more interesting bits offer a glimpse behind-the-scenes at the actual production, with director Taika Waititi being his usual charming self. We also get some talking heads interviews from Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman in there as well. Check it out for yourself above. The movie hits theaters on July 8, 2022.