Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 46

Kevin Feige Reveals Replacing Kang With Doctor Doom Was Planned for a Long Time

Next year, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom will do battle with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men in Avengers: Doomsday. But for a long time, the MCU’s Multiverse Saga was going to showcase Kang the Conqueror as the “Big Bad.” Then, a couple of things happened. First, Kang actor Jonathan Majors was faced with a host of legal troubles. Then, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania underperformed at the box office. Not long after, Marvel shifted gears, and Doom became the main villain. But according to an interview with Marvel’s Kevin Feige, he was pivoting away from Kang even before all that. Here’s what he had to say to The Hollywood Reporter:

We had started even before what had happened to the actor [Jonathan Majors] happened, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades. Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang. And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.

Marvel Studios

How much of this is revisionist history, we may never know. If the third Ant-Man film had a better reception, and Majors didn’t have legal troubles? Then we doubt that Marvel would have pivoted so hard. Although it’s possible that Robert Downey Jr. as Doom was going to share the stage with Kang. That happened in the original 1984 Secret Wars comics after all. We’ll find out how this gamble paid off when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters in December, 2026.

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Noah Hawley on What to Expect for ALIEN: EARTH

An early teaser trailer for the movie Alien 3 famously showed a hatching Xenomorph egg above the planet Earth. The narrator says, “In 1992, we’ll learn, on Earth, everyone can hear you scream,” a riff on the famous tagline about space and not hearing screaming. For myriad reasons, the aliens coming to Earth never happened. It was only the roundly non-canon Alien vs. Predator movies that put those two things together. But creator Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) is putting his money where FX’s mouth is with the new series, Alien: Earth.

Nerdist was among a roomful of journalists back in May who got to watch an early, unfinished cut of the first episode of Alien: Earth, after which Hawley gave us all some fascinating context for allowing our planet to scream for once.

FX

“It’s the first time coming to Earth,” Hawley said of why now is the time to move the franchise homeward, “so all the questions come into play. There’s a little Earth in Prometheus, but with no expansion on who rules the Earth. What are the politics, how does that work throughout the galaxy, et cetera? And so it was a gift to get a franchise this big with very little mythology to it so that I could say, all right, well, what do we know about the next a hundred years? It’s going to get hotter, it’s going to get wetter. It’s…well, I’m not betting against capitalism.” We certainly all let out a bitter laugh at that assertion.

“So I think corporate power is going to aggregate,” he continued. “All we really know about Alien is that there’s this corporation called Weyland-Yutani. For me, I think that story is really interesting, but I like the idea also of introducing competition.” Indeed, Weyland-Yutani is only one of two massive tech companies vying for global (and galactic) supremacy.

Hawley also brought in real world history and current day dilemmas. “I thought about the moment at the turn of the 20th century where you had Edison and Tesla and Westinghouse and you weren’t sure who was going to control electricity. So I thought if we had that kind of moment in which it’s a contest between the cybernetic enhancements and AI and transhumanism and any technology race…you don’t remember who the competitor to Xerox was.”

FX

While we know from the films that Weyland-Yutani are proponents of android technology, Hawley decided their competition in the series would do things slightly differently. Many of our main characters are synthetics, meaning real human brains placed into advanced cybernetic bodies. Wendy (Sydney Chandler) is one such synthetic, a child put into a grown-up body. Her group, the Lost Boys, go up against the horrors of the xenomorphs and other creatures.

“One of the things is I looked at when I thought about this idea of children’s minds being put into adult bodies,” Hawley shared, “[was] what’s in the canon that feels like it triggers a familiar feeling? I thought about Newt and how the second movie has a literal child in it. And I thought about Bill Paxton, who may be the most childish character in the history of movies. I mean, if that’s not a child in an adult’s body, I don’t know what is. So I thought that tone of voice is in the franchise. If I bring children into it, it’s going to feel both original and familiar at the same time.”

FX

Hawley, ever the thoughtful creator, spent a great deal of our time discussing what bringing an entity like the xenomorph would actually do to an ecosystem. “If you’re going to bring these creatures to a terrestrial environment, how are they going to change it and how are other creatures—bugs and any of it—going to interact with them? Seeing these creatures in an Earth landscape is such a profoundly unsettling and exhilarating thing when we get to that moment. It really felt like such a gift after, at that time, six movies to be doing something new.”

Alien: Earth takes place a mere two years before the events of the first Alien. Hawley’s thought behind this came directly from what we learn in that movie. “If you remember, [the crew] just get sent to this planet. They don’t know what they’re looking for. Clearly somebody knows about these creatures, they knew enough to send them there. So that’s the interesting thing about the lack of mythology. These people who find those first eggs have been out of contact with Earth for who knows how long. So there is a gray area that we could play in and try to create something with as big a scale as possible to justify the title while still making it credible for the rest of the canon.”

Alien: Earth premieres August 12 on FX.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

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Punisher Will Appear in SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY, Confirms Kevin Feige

If a Peter Parker falls off a New York City skyscraper and no one knows who he is, does he make a sound? Please don’t bother trying to answer that very silly question, because we all know Tom Holland’s web slinger is going to cause a ruckus at the box office when he returns as the iconic character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. What will this new chapter for the (currently anonymous) superhero look like?

Well, it won’t be rated R, but Kevin Feige has confirmed it will feature a more family-friendly version of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. Feige revealed, “when Punisher is in the Spider-Man movie, it’ll be a different tonality” than when he’s in his own TV-MA rated Disney+ special. But Punisher WILL appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, shares the Marvel boss.

Here’s everything we know about Spider-Man: Brand New Day so far.

Sony PicturesTitleMarvel Studios

Tom Holland’s fourth standalone film as everyone’s favorite neighborhood hero is called Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The movie takes its title from the 2008 Marvel Comics series. Its storyline shares many similarities with the current plight of the MCU’s character, as it followed Peter Parker after a universe-changing event undid his marriage to MJ. The series was part of a controversial Spider-Man storyline that upset some fans.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Plot Marvel Comics

Marvel Studios and Sony have not released any official information about Spider-Man: Brand New Day‘s plot. Tom Holland has called the film ““a fresh start” for the character following the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. That film, which completed the Spider-Man Home Trilogy, ended with Doctor Strange casting a spell that made everyone in the universe forget Peter Parker existed. While not the same, that monumental event is similar to Peter’s situation in the comic book series the movie gets its title from.

One unconfirmed synopsis on the film’s IMDb page does provide a believable description of the film, which will take place between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Here’s the unofficial (for now at least) logline:

After Doomsday, Peter Parker tries to focus on college and leave Spider-Man behind. But when a new threat endangers his friends, he must break his promise and suit up again, teaming with an unexpected ally to protect those he loves.

Marvel Studios

That does line up with comments franchise producer/steward Amy Pascal provided about the film. She told Deadline‘s Behind the Lens, “We have to deal with the fact that he decided he was going to give up being Peter Parker, and he was gonna focus on being Spider-Man, because being Peter Parker was too hard. So that’s what the movie is about.”

Behind the Scenes Marvel Studios

Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is taking over directing duties from Jon Watts.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Cast Sony/Marvel Studios

Zendaya and Jacob Batalon will return alongside Holland as Peter Parker’s memory-wiped love interest and best friend/guy in the chair MJ and Ned. Sadie Sink will also join the MCU in a still unreleased major role. (Jean Gray, perhaps?)

Netflix

One actor whose role we do know is Jon Bernthal’s. He will make his MCU movie debut as the Punisher, Frank Castle. Initially, this cameo was only a rumor, but Kevin Feige has now confirmed it to be true. If it proves true, his vigilante might very well be Peter’s unexpected ally.

Marvel Studios/Netflix Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Release Date

Spider-Man: Brand New Day will swing into theaters on July 31, 2026.

Originally published on June 23, 2025.

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Here’s Why the MCU Has ‘Failed,’ According to Kevin Feige

Okay, the question of whether the MCU has failed recently is obviously a very complex one. Of course, by most standards, every Marvel Studios movie has absolutely crushed it. However, compared to the MCU’s earliest days and the massive mania it engendered in people during its earlier phases, there has been something of a slowdown. And even Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige admits that recent movies like Thunderbolts* have “failed” despite being good movies. In a recent interview, Feige spoke of the intense overexpansion the MCU saw its past years, and how Marvel movies ended up starting to feel like homework for many. Let’s dive into the Marvel Head’s perspective of where the MCU has failed, and what it’s doing to course correct.20th Century Studios

Feige shares simply that looking back at all the MCU’s output in recent years, he can see “That’s too much.” In total, over the last six years, Marvel has produced 127 hours of content. (Vs. the 50 they created in the eight years before that.) And while some of that content has been incredible, in Feige’s eyes work like WandaVision and Loki,  “It’s the expansion that is certainly what devalued” the output. In putting out so much, the MCU failed to make anything specifically a priority and, instead, overwhelmed its audiences.

In Marvel’s defense, it was seeing incredible success, and much of the output came at the height of the streaming wars and during a time when the pandemic limited entertainment options and kept eyes on screens. Feige explains, “It was a big company push, and it doesn’t take too much to push us to go, ‘People have been asking for Ms. Marvel for years, and now we can do it? Do it! Oscar Isaac wants to be Moon Knight? Do it! So there was a mandate that we were put in the middle of, but we also thought it’d be fun to bring these to life.”

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And it was fun, but ultimately, just A LOT to take in. Feige agrees that this was absolutely one of the failures of the MCU’s plan in these past years. He shares, “It’s that expansion that I think led people to say, ‘Do I have to see all of these? It used to be fun, but now do I have to know everything about all of these?’ And I think The Marvels hit it hardest where people are like, ‘OK, I recognize her from a billion-dollar movie. But who are those other two? I guess they were in some TV show. I’ll skip it.’” And this impact was seen as recently as Thunderbolts*.

Feige goes on to say that he recognizes how featuring characters who had only appeared in Marvel Disney+ TV series may have harmed the movie. “Some of them were still feeling the residual effects of that notion of, ‘I guess I had to have seen these other shows to understand who this is.’ I think if you actually saw the movie, that wouldn’t be the case, and we make the movie so that’s not the case. But I think we still have to make sure the audience understands that.”

So, where does Marvel go from here as it works to rectify the places where the MCU has failed? Well, for one, less content is on the horizon. Recently, Bob Iger revealed, “We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.” Some years may even have only one Marvel movie, while others may have only one MCU TV show. And “Marvel has started ‘grinding down’ on budgets, with movies costing up to a third cheaper than the films from 2022 or 2023.”

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Additionally, the MCU aims to be more flexible in the type of content it creates. Feige offers that tonal malleability is a key to Marvel’s success. And that means more R-rated movies and television shows are heading to the MCU. We’ve already seen this in movies like Deadpool & Wolverine and shows like Daredevil: Born Again, but the MCU is losing that sheen of family friendly wholesomness it wore like a supersuit for a very long time. Feige notes that characters can be deployed in different ways and intents, sharing, “You can have the Green Goblin build snowmen in Disney+’s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, but then kill Aunt May in Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

A Punisher TV-MA special is already in the works, for another example. But “when Punisher is in the Spider-Man movie, it’ll be a different tonality,” adds Feige, and confirms the character is in the next Spidey film.

We can see some of this overall changed perspective in the MCU’s latest movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Feige notes, for example, the MCU specifically made the choice to have the movie exist as a period piece. “It was a unique aesthetic that felt like it could absolutely be its own world, its own reality. And when we show it to audiences in the screening process that we do leading up to it, people just accept it right off the bat and feel liberated that they can just enjoy what’s ahead of them.” Feige emphasizes, “It is no-homework-required.”

Well, it seems like the idea of homework is really where the MCU thinks it failed its audiences. But, of course, a little homework is what made these movies fun in the first place. We guess we’ll have to wait and how the MCU’s future unfolds.

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CRITICAL ROLE Announces Original Video Game Set in Exandria

The world of Exandria is spreading. It’s heading to Europe, it’s available to enjoy in its original form in Critical Role‘s actual-play videos, and you can even find it in animated form in The Legend of Vox Machina. But soon, you’ll be able to explore Exandria in a whole new way, with a Critical Role video game that’s heading to us from Critical Role and AdHoc Studio. The duo will first be teaming up on a fun game called DISPATCH, and then they’ll take those neat storytelling abilities and bring us the first-ever Critical Role game. Here’s what we know.Critical Role

A release shares the following about the very first (though we bet not last) Critical Role video game. “Critical Role and AdHoc Studio are co-developing an original video game set in Critical Role’s universe, embracing the same innovative approach to interactive storytelling that defines DISPATCH.” And “The collaboration marks the official development of Critical Role’s first video game, set in the original world of Exandria.”

Michael Choung, CEO of AdHoc notes, “It’s the kind of collaboration you hope for. We’ve known the Critical Role team for years, so when we finally started kicking around ideas, it all just clicked. It made sense in the best way possible, so we’re thrilled we get to team up and cause some trouble together.”

No details surrounding the plot of the Critical Role game are available yet. We also don’t have a specific release date for when the title will release. However, what we do know is that the game will adopt a similar format to the upcoming AdHoc Studio video game, DISPATCH, which is set to release in 2025 and feature Critical Role voice talent.

DISPATCH, an interactive storytelling game, shares the following synopsis: “Dispatch is a superhero workplace comedy where choices matter. Manage a dysfunctional team of misfit heroes and strategize who to send to emergencies around the city, all while balancing office politics, personal relationships, and your own quest to become a hero.”

The relationship between Critical Role, DISPATCH, and AdHoc Studio first began when “Critical Role’s CEO, cast member, and veteran voice actor Travis Willingham received an audition for DISPATCH, an interactive narrative game built in AdHoc’s signature style.” Willingham reveals, “Just from looking over the audition and game materials, I knew there was something special about what AdHoc was creating, and I immediately reached out. The design, tone, style, and storytelling of DISPATCH jumped off the page, and I knew, given the pedigree of the folks at AdHoc, this was a team we wanted to collaborate with. Critical Role is always looking to build with people who are innovating around new ways to deliver story, character and worldbuilding, and AdHoc fits that perfectly.”

All of this to say that you can catch Critical Role‘s Travis Willingham, Matthew Mercer, and Laura Bailey on DISPATCH, and playing that game might give you an idea of the shape the Critical Role video game might take. And soon, a Critical Role video game will roll out of the ether, and all the citizens of Exandria will rejoice.

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Dungeons & Dragons has had great success in the video game world recently, with Baldur’s Gate 3 taking the world by storm. So we have no doubt, a Critical Role video game will only do more for these two great tastes that taste great together.

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New PREDATOR: BADLANDS Trailer Confirms Connection to ALIEN Franchise

In the opinion of most sci-fi fans, Prey was the best installment of the Predator franchise since the original 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Director Dan Trachtenberg truly delivered with that prequel, and now, he’s back in the Predator universe once again, with Predator: Badlands. In this chapter, we follow the extraterrestrial big game hunter as the protagonist for the first time. He’s an outcast from his species, sent to an untamed planet filled with deadly creatures to try and survive. You can watch the new Predator Badlands trailer right here:

In this film, New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi plays the outcast “runt” Dek, a young member of the Predator species. We guess the Predator race (whatever their species name may be) discards of their weak and smaller ones like garbage. Elle Fanning joins him in his adventure, and she plays an android named Thia created by Weyland-Yutani. Yes, the same evil corporation that builds androids from the Alien franchise. Twentieth Century Studios unites these two iconic properties once again! But we’re still pretty sure those Alien vs. Predator movies from the early 2000s are still not canon.

Twentieth Century Studios

Elle Fanning’s character describes the planet that Drek finds himself on as “the most dangerous planet in the universe.” Is it the planet of origin for their hunter species? Judging from just the creatures we see in the trailer, this looks like the real “Jurassic World.” With a Predator character as the film’s lead, the same linguist who developed the Naʼvi language for James Cameron’s Avatar franchise created a consistent written and verbal language for this alien species. Dan Trachtenberg also directed the animated Predator: Killer of Killers this year. So he’s definitely whipped this franchise into shape, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.

Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7.

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TED LASSO Season 4 First Look; Juno Temple and Brett Goldstein Returning

For a lot of fans (or at least me and a few other people I know), the third season of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso left us a bit cold. It was, at the time, touted as the final season and it just seemed like so much story was left on the table. Why should the show end just because Ted (Jason Sudeikis) made the in-real-life-very-smart-but-in-a-show-boring decision to go be with his son? What about all the other people at AFC Richmond? Well, luckily, the people who make the show realized there’s more story and are in production on season four. Apple TV+

In a new report from Variety, we’ve learned that Ted Lasso season four is off and rolling with many returning faces as well as a host of new people. Filming has commenced in Kansas City with additional photography in London. We knew Sudeikis would return but now we also know original cast members Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, and Jeremy Swift will all be back as well. New cast includes Tanya Reynolds, Jude Mack, Faye Marsay, Rex Hayes, Aisling Sharkey, Abbie Hern, and Grant Feely. Marsay you know as Vel in Andor. We also know that Feely is taking over the role of Ted’s son Henry.

Apple TV+

The official logline of the season is: “Ted returns to Richmond, taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women’s football team. Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would.”

Sudeikis will executive produce in addition to starring. Hunt, Joe Kelly, Jane Becker, Jamie Lee, and Bill Wrubel also executive produce. Goldstein is attached to write and executive produce along with Leanne Bowen.

We’re certainly happy to see so many of the main players and creatives back for the next chapter. The move of main production from London to Kansas City has us a little concerned. London, and specifically Richmond, was such a huge part of the vibe of the series. But time will tell, and I guess we all have to believe.

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

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WONDER WOMAN Movie Snags SUPERGIRL Writer to Pen Script, James Gunn Fast Tracks DCU Movie

Recently, the head of Warner Bros. cited Superman, Batman, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman as the “Four pillars of the DC Universe.” Superman, of course, has a big movie coming out this summer, with his cousin Supergirl following next year. A Brave and the Bold movie featuring Batman and Robin is still in the works as well, although further down the line. But what about Wonder Woman? Aside from an Amazon-centric Paradise Lost series announced two years ago, there’s been no news on Diana Prince’s return. Well, James Gunn has announced that one is now officially in the works. DC Comics

Here’s what he told Entertainment Weekly:

Wonder Woman‘s a separate thing [to Paradise Lost, that is], slow moving, but it’s moving. We’re working on Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman‘s being written right now.

That’s the first news we’ve had that a Wonder Woman movie is being written at all. Gunn didn’t say who was writing the script at the time of the initial announcement. But now we know. DC Studios has chosen Supergirl writer Ana Nogueira to pen its reboot of Wonder Woman.

Gunn also definitely didn’t mention who would play the DCU’s Amazing Amazon. Gunn has never said Gal Gadot is officially no longer our Princess Diana of Themyscira, but that’s the assumption. If new actors are playing Superman and Batman, it stands to reason they’ll want a new actress as Wonder Woman as well. If only to avoid any further brand confusion with the old DCEU. We bet we’ll find out some Wonder Woman casting news soon, though.

Patty Jenkins’ first Wonder Woman film was a critical and commercial smash in the summer of 2017. It was the first well-received DCEU film, at least from a critical standpoint, after Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad. The sequel, Wonder Woman 1984, fared far more poorly, released in the height of the pandemic, going straight to HBO Max. But Wonder Woman is far too big of a character in the DC pantheon to sideline. And if Gunn is building up his Justice League, he’ll need to establish her as part of the core lineup. We’ve got a Superman, a Supergirl, soon a Batman, and three Green Lanterns to choose from now. With a new Wonder Woman now officially in the works, we eagerly await news on Gunn’s plans for the Flash. The DCU needs a Scarlet Speedster too.

Originally published on June 10, 2025.

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MIDNIGHT MYSTICS Anthology Is Full of Escapist Fantasy Adventures

The swirling social climate and constant barrage of TV shows, films, and social media sites is louder than ever before. When reality gets to be a little too much, fantasy and sci-fi graphic adventures are a beautiful gateway to escapism, a soothing balm that feels healing. There’s something magical and lovely about curling up with a book full of gorgeous artwork and characters embarking on valiant quests. If that’s totally your jam, then you should check out Midnight Mystics.Burning Phoenix Press

The anthology graphic novel is a collection of ten fantasy comics by Black women creatives that center on Blackness in fantasy settings. It is the first project by upstart micro publisher Burning Phoenix Press, which was formed to amplify stories that explore the facets of Black womanhood.

Midnight Mystics, edited by Sarah A. Macklin, is currently on Kickstarter and aiming to reach its $25,000 goal by July 27 to fund this project and pay its creatives. While some names behind this project are new, there are other heavyweights in the comics industry like Stephanie Williams (Nubia and the Amazons) involved as well. Here’s a list of the creatives and stories that Midnight Mystics aims to offer readers: 

Stephanie Williams and Ryan Oakley – The Dragons’ Mirror

When an ancient dragon awakens beneath the city of Reniece, only a young woman who has spent years burying her own fire can forge the bond needed to save them both.

Toshi J and Saly Lockhart – The Seekers

Lelie is on the run and finds herself in an abandoned castle on a stormy afternoon, where she meets a young witch named Rayven. The two must work together to take down a small group of hunters called seekers and escape with their lives.

Lysz Flo and Yhasmin Wilder – Woz Quartz

It’s the year 4009, Abeni escapes Earth arriving battered to Woz Quartz, a pink utopian planet where Black Womxn have been free for eons. She experiences majestic healing and possibility but is it enough?

Jael Jackson – The Girl From Acorn Valley

A young farm boy discovers a fairy girl in the forest near his home, forming an inseparable bond that lasts a lifetime.

Phoebe Holmes is crafting a story of a knight who’s leading a mission to overthrow the king but he and his men are attacked by a monster. Afterwards, he’s captured by a witch. Alone and unarmed, he has to find his own way to safety.

A story of undersea exploration is coming from Aziza the Graphic Novelist and Tyesha Stewart.

When a sudden lightning strike unearths a mysterious undersea city, two mermaids dive down to discover the secrets within.

Princess “Tajlee” Jenkins brings us a story of family secrets.

A mute ancestral spirit has protected a family for years, but when the youngest member seeks to restore their voice, they discover the spirit’s history that may shake the family to its core.

Alanis Lua – Between Books

Noemi runs a second hand bookshop and quickly befriends casual shopper Caim. When they find a mysterious CD that lets listeners relive the best parts of their lives they must choose between indulging in the past or stepping into the future.

Rosa Sparks and CJ McWillis – The Crown Princess Awakens

In a magical kingdom where great beasts still roam the earth, a princess must engage in a world shattering battle to save her kingdom and her throne. 

Art Tragedy will bring us to another underwater land full of curiosity.

Merfolk are a curious people, spending their days investigating the forgotten junk left by surface people, but sometimes curiosity leads to more than you bargained for.

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Donation and rewards tiers range from $1 to $40, which makes it pretty easy to throw your support behind this project. For more information about rewards, timelines, and more, head to Midnight Mystics’ Kickstarter page today. 

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Marvel Video Recaps 60 Years of Fantastic Four in 90 Minutes

If you only know the Fantastic Four from their previous big-screen incarnations, it’s safe to say, you don’t really know the FF at all. Their comic book history is wild, to say the least. But with The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming, you might want to take a crash course in proper FF history. And Marvel’s YouTube channel has now got you covered. They’ve released a 90-minute Fantastic Four recap, recounting the highlights of 60 years of Marvel’s First Family. Of course, some parts of their history remain left out of this video, which you can watch below, does a pretty comprehensive job of covering the bases.

Some of the more out-there parts of Fantastic Four history this video covers include the time when Reed Richards tricked some Skrulls into turning into cows on a farm. Not long after, their milk turned regular humans into half-alien creatures. Even later, they became burgers! Yes, they actually went there once upon a time. The recap video also talks about the time Reed Richards spared the life of Galactus. He then later went on trial for it in front of a cosmic tribunal. Then there’s all of Johnny Storm’s girlfriends, from Crystal of the Inhumans to Frankie Raye, who became a Herald of Galactus. That Human Torch guy sure got around.

Marvel Comics

Yes, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created many, many iconic Marvel Comics characters together. But their magnum opus together was easily the Fantastic Four. They spent over 100 issues together creating stories that impacted not just the Fantastic Four, but the entire Marvel Universe. And other great creators picked up the torch, some more successfully than others. Hopefully, watching this video will inspire you to pick up some Fantastic Four trade paperbacks or other collections. There’s no better time to dive into the illustrious past of “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.”

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