Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 47

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.”

The post Marvel Video Recaps 60 Years of Fantastic Four in 90 Minutes appeared first on Nerdist.

Will the DCU’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Be Based on the Iconic Animated Series?

With Superman now a certified success, DC Studios can breathe a sigh of relief. DC’s co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran can really start planning for the future. Reports are already coming out about how DC Studios hopes to fast-track Wonder Woman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold films. And Supergirl is already done filming. Once Gunn receives scripts he finds satisfying, that is. All of this is, of course, setting up the main course, which will be an eventual Justice League film uniting the main heroes. This time, the hope is that it’s a Justice League movie that’s done right, and does the iconic team, well, justice. And the key to how to pull that off might lie in the iconic Justice League animated series.DC Studios

Say what you want about the DCEU Zack Snyder Justice League team, but it had a pretty solid lineup. Glaringly, however, it didn’t have a Green Lantern among its ranks (likely due to the 2011 Ryan Reynolds film flopping), nor a Martian Manhunter on the team. However, the latter did appear in cameo form in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Usually, the most iconic team rosters center on a “Big 7,” but the DCEU gave us only six. So in that regard, they started off on the wrong foot. On social media, Gunn has mentioned he’s a big fan of the DC Animated Universe. That DCAU encompassed Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League (later, Justice League Unlimited). This is why we would not be shocked to see the animated JL roster as our big-screen League.

Warner Bros. Animation

So, which possible DCAU heroes will anchor the DCU’s new Justice League? Right now, our only clues are who appears in Superman and characters we know will appear in future announced projects. We know that Superman is obviously a part of this new universe. Eventually, Batman and Wonder Woman will be as well. Superman introduced us to Hawkgirl, and Lanterns on HBO Max will introduce the John Stewart version of Green Lantern. That leaves two major members of the animated JLU that remain a big question mark: the Martian Manhunter, and the Wally West version of the Flash. If the DCU brings in the latter two heroes anytime soon, then we think it’s all but confirmed the animated League will become our new live-action team.

DC Studios

Despite over 65 years of different Justice League teams in the comics, the lineup most well-known to people remains the animated version. No matter how popular a comic book may be, millions more people see a TV series or film than read a comic book. So, for mainstream audiences, the appeal of seeing that beloved roster, which many adults today grew up watching as kids, might be too hard to resist. The show proved that the group dynamic of that roster of heroes really works well together.

Of course, James Gunn (assuming he writes and directs this one), may look to the later animated version, Justice League Unlimited. That version had a truly massive grouping of characters, although the seven founders remained the core of the group, and the big decision makers. So maybe we’ll see Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, Metamorpho, and Supergirl appear, even if they aren’t front and center. Maybe even Blue Beetle, who it seems DC may retcon into the new DCU, could be a part of it.

Warner Bros. Animation

That might seem like a lot of characters, maybe too many. But Gunn just proved he can lead a rather large ensemble cast with Superman, which has over twelve main roles. We’re not saying his Justice League has to be that big in size. But Gunn has proven again he can pull off a sizable cast and give almost everyone something to do. No matter what, we are literally years away from a Justice League film. We don’t think Gunn and Peter Safran are going to rush into this like the old DCEU did. But Gunn is smart enough to know that the blueprint for how the League can work on screen already exists. The trick now is how to translate it into live-action.

The post Will the DCU’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Be Based on the Iconic Animated Series? appeared first on Nerdist.

Will the DCU’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Be Based on the Iconic Animated Series?

With Superman now a certified success, DC Studios can breathe a sigh of relief. DC’s co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran can really start planning for the future. Reports are already coming out about how DC Studios hopes to fast-track Wonder Woman and Batman: The Brave and the Bold films. And Supergirl is already done filming. Once Gunn receives scripts he finds satisfying, that is. All of this is, of course, setting up the main course, which will be an eventual Justice League film uniting the main heroes. This time, the hope is that it’s a Justice League movie that’s done right, and does the iconic team, well, justice. And the key to how to pull that off might lie in the iconic Justice League animated series.DC Studios

Say what you want about the DCEU Zack Snyder Justice League team, but it had a pretty solid lineup. Glaringly, however, it didn’t have a Green Lantern among its ranks (likely due to the 2011 Ryan Reynolds film flopping), nor a Martian Manhunter on the team. However, the latter did appear in cameo form in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Usually, the most iconic team rosters center on a “Big 7,” but the DCEU gave us only six. So in that regard, they started off on the wrong foot. On social media, Gunn has mentioned he’s a big fan of the DC Animated Universe. That DCAU encompassed Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League (later, Justice League Unlimited). This is why we would not be shocked to see the animated JL roster as our big-screen League.

Warner Bros. Animation

So, which possible DCAU heroes will anchor the DCU’s new Justice League? Right now, our only clues are who appears in Superman and characters we know will appear in future announced projects. We know that Superman is obviously a part of this new universe. Eventually, Batman and Wonder Woman will be as well. Superman introduced us to Hawkgirl, and Lanterns on HBO Max will introduce the John Stewart version of Green Lantern. That leaves two major members of the animated JLU that remain a big question mark: the Martian Manhunter, and the Wally West version of the Flash. If the DCU brings in the latter two heroes anytime soon, then we think it’s all but confirmed the animated League will become our new live-action team.

DC Studios

Despite over 65 years of different Justice League teams in the comics, the lineup most well-known to people remains the animated version. No matter how popular a comic book may be, millions more people see a TV series or film than read a comic book. So, for mainstream audiences, the appeal of seeing that beloved roster, which many adults today grew up watching as kids, might be too hard to resist. The show proved that the group dynamic of that roster of heroes really works well together.

Of course, James Gunn (assuming he writes and directs this one), may look to the later animated version, Justice League Unlimited. That version had a truly massive grouping of characters, although the seven founders remained the core of the group, and the big decision makers. So maybe we’ll see Mister Terrific, Guy Gardner, Metamorpho, and Supergirl appear, even if they aren’t front and center. Maybe even Blue Beetle, who it seems DC may retcon into the new DCU, could be a part of it.

Warner Bros. Animation

That might seem like a lot of characters, maybe too many. But Gunn just proved he can lead a rather large ensemble cast with Superman, which has over twelve main roles. We’re not saying his Justice League has to be that big in size. But Gunn has proven again he can pull off a sizable cast and give almost everyone something to do. No matter what, we are literally years away from a Justice League film. We don’t think Gunn and Peter Safran are going to rush into this like the old DCEU did. But Gunn is smart enough to know that the blueprint for how the League can work on screen already exists. The trick now is how to translate it into live-action.

The post Will the DCU’s JUSTICE LEAGUE Be Based on the Iconic Animated Series? appeared first on Nerdist.

Compilation Supercut Video Celebrates the MCU “Superhero Landing”

Since the rise of the modern superhero movie this century, it has created its own cinematic cliché. No, not “We have to stop the energy beam in the sky to save the city.” Although, yes, that one too. We’re talking about the “Superhero Landing.” You know, that part in the movie where the hero either jumps through the air (or flies) and then hits the ground in a stylish three-point landing, looking all badass. Now, the folks at Marvel have made a compilation video of their most iconic superhero landings from the MCU, and you can watch it in full down below:

We are not sure who did the whole superhero landing thing first. Although, we want to say it was Wesley Snipes in Blade back in 1998. It’s become such a staple ever since, that Ryan Reynolds was already making jokes about it in Deadpool in 2016. The video from Marvel highlights some of the best ones, including Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Thor. A few of these stalwart Avengers have more than one superhero landing on their resume. And we’re sure that when Avengers: Doomsday rolls around, we’ll see even more of them. Robert Downey Jr. might not be able to resist doing one, even as Doctor Doom.

Marvel Studios

To be fair, the superhero landing isn’t only a Marvel thing. Henry Cavill’s Superman did his own version too. It feels like the superhero landing took the place of the classic superhero pose of yesteryear. You know, standing stoically with one’s hands on their hips, setting legs shoulder width apart, then lifting one’s chest and giving a heroic stare. Two Superman actors, George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, perfected this pose. Not to mention Adam West as Batman, and Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. Here’s hoping Superman creates a new cliche superhero post — sitting down and just chilling with your dog.

The post Compilation Supercut Video Celebrates the MCU “Superhero Landing” appeared first on Nerdist.

Compilation Supercut Video Celebrates the MCU “Superhero Landing”

Since the rise of the modern superhero movie this century, it has created its own cinematic cliché. No, not “We have to stop the energy beam in the sky to save the city.” Although, yes, that one too. We’re talking about the “Superhero Landing.” You know, that part in the movie where the hero either jumps through the air (or flies) and then hits the ground in a stylish three-point landing, looking all badass. Now, the folks at Marvel have made a compilation video of their most iconic superhero landings from the MCU, and you can watch it in full down below:

We are not sure who did the whole superhero landing thing first. Although, we want to say it was Wesley Snipes in Blade back in 1998. It’s become such a staple ever since, that Ryan Reynolds was already making jokes about it in Deadpool in 2016. The video from Marvel highlights some of the best ones, including Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Thor. A few of these stalwart Avengers have more than one superhero landing on their resume. And we’re sure that when Avengers: Doomsday rolls around, we’ll see even more of them. Robert Downey Jr. might not be able to resist doing one, even as Doctor Doom.

Marvel Studios

To be fair, the superhero landing isn’t only a Marvel thing. Henry Cavill’s Superman did his own version too. It feels like the superhero landing took the place of the classic superhero pose of yesteryear. You know, standing stoically with one’s hands on their hips, setting legs shoulder width apart, then lifting one’s chest and giving a heroic stare. Two Superman actors, George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, perfected this pose. Not to mention Adam West as Batman, and Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. Here’s hoping Superman creates a new cliche superhero post — sitting down and just chilling with your dog.

The post Compilation Supercut Video Celebrates the MCU “Superhero Landing” appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney+ Launches 24/7 ‘HOMERPALOOZA!’ SIMPSONS Stream

With 790 episodes of The Simpsons (and counting) there is no dearth of Homer-centric installments. Why wouldn’t there be? He’s one of the greatest characters in TV animated pop culture human history, and if you want to be reminded why, it’s easy to find episodes featuring the family’s iconic dad. But Disney+ just made it even easier to do exactly that. The streaming site has launched a special 24/7 “HOMERPALOOZA!” channel featuring Homer heavy episodes.

Disney+’s new limited-time stream kicked off today and it will have fans of The Simpsons yelling, “Woohoo!” Called “Homerpalooza!,” the channel consists of 200 of Homer’s most memorable episodes. They cover around 80 hours of programming in total. In a statement, executive producer and show runner Matt Selman said, “In the history of television, is there a funnier 80 hours than the top 200 Homer episodes of The Simpsons? (DRAMATIC PAUSE) No.”

We’re not going to argue. Homer Simpson is the best.

20th Century

“HOMERPALOOZA!” is the latest 24/7 stream on Disney+ after the site launched a series of them last year. The Mouse calls them a “collection of lean-back viewing experiences.” While Homer Simpsons truly loves to lounge around doing nothing, very few things he has ever done has ended up being laid back.

Even when he tries to lean back, it ends up causing problems. He once stopped going to church so he could rest on Sundays and nearly died when he almost burned down the Simpsons’ house. Homer threw a BBQ and it ended with a pig literally flying. He went on a ski retreat and ended up forever haunted by stupid sexy Flanders well-toned ass.

20th Century

Like we said, he’s the best. But just because Homer always gets into trouble when he leans back that shouldn’t stop fans from enjoying “HOMERPALOOZA!”

Just make sure not to neglect your kids when you watch too much TV like Homer.

The post Disney+ Launches 24/7 ‘HOMERPALOOZA!’ SIMPSONS Stream appeared first on Nerdist.

Disney+ Launches 24/7 ‘HOMERPALOOZA!’ SIMPSONS Stream

With 790 episodes of The Simpsons (and counting) there is no dearth of Homer-centric installments. Why wouldn’t there be? He’s one of the greatest characters in TV animated pop culture human history, and if you want to be reminded why, it’s easy to find episodes featuring the family’s iconic dad. But Disney+ just made it even easier to do exactly that. The streaming site has launched a special 24/7 “HOMERPALOOZA!” channel featuring Homer heavy episodes.

Disney+’s new limited-time stream kicked off today and it will have fans of The Simpsons yelling, “Woohoo!” Called “Homerpalooza!,” the channel consists of 200 of Homer’s most memorable episodes. They cover around 80 hours of programming in total. In a statement, executive producer and show runner Matt Selman said, “In the history of television, is there a funnier 80 hours than the top 200 Homer episodes of The Simpsons? (DRAMATIC PAUSE) No.”

We’re not going to argue. Homer Simpson is the best.

20th Century

“HOMERPALOOZA!” is the latest 24/7 stream on Disney+ after the site launched a series of them last year. The Mouse calls them a “collection of lean-back viewing experiences.” While Homer Simpsons truly loves to lounge around doing nothing, very few things he has ever done has ended up being laid back.

Even when he tries to lean back, it ends up causing problems. He once stopped going to church so he could rest on Sundays and nearly died when he almost burned down the Simpsons’ house. Homer threw a BBQ and it ended with a pig literally flying. He went on a ski retreat and ended up forever haunted by stupid sexy Flanders well-toned ass.

20th Century

Like we said, he’s the best. But just because Homer always gets into trouble when he leans back that shouldn’t stop fans from enjoying “HOMERPALOOZA!”

Just make sure not to neglect your kids when you watch too much TV like Homer.

The post Disney+ Launches 24/7 ‘HOMERPALOOZA!’ SIMPSONS Stream appeared first on Nerdist.

IMAX Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY Are SOLD OUT a Year Before Film’s Release

Universal Pictures is taking the “epic” in “epic poem” super seriously when it comes to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The Oppenheimer director is shooting his big budget adaptation, currently in the middle of production, entirely with his beloved IMAX cameras. It will be the first movie ever filmed that way. The studio also released a theatrical trailer for the movie ahead of Jurassic World Rebirth, despite, again, very much still being made. We don’t even know who most of the people in the movie are even playing yet! Now Universal is doing something that sounds like it can’t possibly be real, though it very much is. IMAX tickets for Nolan’s The Odyssey will soon go on sale one whole year before you can actually use them.

UPDATE 7/18/25: According to The Hollywood Reporter, tickets for The Odyssey‘s IMAX shows are all sold out. Because people/bots are terrible, there are resale prices that are already $300-400. Terrible.

Universal Pictures

PREVIOUS: Variety reports that starting on July 17, 2025 moviegoers will be able to purchase tickets for select showings of The Odyssey. That wouldn’t be particularly noteworthy if not for the fact it doesn’t come out until July 17, 2026.

This is, uh, not normal for a very obvious reason. Do you know if you’ll be free one whole year from today? Can you safely pre-buy tickets to a movie 365 days in advance? If so, congratulations! I don’t know what I’m doing for dinner tonight.

Universal Pictures

Despite this feeling far more like an original type of promotions, we expect this limited pre-sale to work. For one this movie already feels like a big deal. The other reason is that not many tickets will go on sale. Fans can only get them for IMAX theaters with 70mm screens. Even then it will only be for certain showtimes. Other screenings, both large format and otherwise, should go on sale much closer to the film’s release.

In fairness to Universal Pictures, in some ways this is a fitting way to promote this movie. It took Odysseus an unusually long time to get home from the Trojan War. Now it’ll take an unusually long time for moviegoers to use their movie tickets to see how he finally did.

Originally published July 15, 2025.

The post IMAX Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY Are SOLD OUT a Year Before Film’s Release appeared first on Nerdist.

IMAX Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY Are SOLD OUT a Year Before Film’s Release

Universal Pictures is taking the “epic” in “epic poem” super seriously when it comes to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The Oppenheimer director is shooting his big budget adaptation, currently in the middle of production, entirely with his beloved IMAX cameras. It will be the first movie ever filmed that way. The studio also released a theatrical trailer for the movie ahead of Jurassic World Rebirth, despite, again, very much still being made. We don’t even know who most of the people in the movie are even playing yet! Now Universal is doing something that sounds like it can’t possibly be real, though it very much is. IMAX tickets for Nolan’s The Odyssey will soon go on sale one whole year before you can actually use them.

UPDATE 7/18/25: According to The Hollywood Reporter, tickets for The Odyssey‘s IMAX shows are all sold out. Because people/bots are terrible, there are resale prices that are already $300-400. Terrible.

Universal Pictures

PREVIOUS: Variety reports that starting on July 17, 2025 moviegoers will be able to purchase tickets for select showings of The Odyssey. That wouldn’t be particularly noteworthy if not for the fact it doesn’t come out until July 17, 2026.

This is, uh, not normal for a very obvious reason. Do you know if you’ll be free one whole year from today? Can you safely pre-buy tickets to a movie 365 days in advance? If so, congratulations! I don’t know what I’m doing for dinner tonight.

Universal Pictures

Despite this feeling far more like an original type of promotions, we expect this limited pre-sale to work. For one this movie already feels like a big deal. The other reason is that not many tickets will go on sale. Fans can only get them for IMAX theaters with 70mm screens. Even then it will only be for certain showtimes. Other screenings, both large format and otherwise, should go on sale much closer to the film’s release.

In fairness to Universal Pictures, in some ways this is a fitting way to promote this movie. It took Odysseus an unusually long time to get home from the Trojan War. Now it’ll take an unusually long time for moviegoers to use their movie tickets to see how he finally did.

Originally published July 15, 2025.

The post IMAX Tickets for Christopher Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY Are SOLD OUT a Year Before Film’s Release appeared first on Nerdist.

Everything We Know About Marvel’s WONDER MAN Series

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is making his way to Disney+ in Wonder Man, a Marvel series based on the fun comic character of the same name. The show focuses on the titular character, an actor named Simon Williams who has super powers. And, well, he wants to play a character with super powers. It all feels very meta, indeed. Things will predictably go awry for Williams as he tries to make his acting dreams come true. Who will star in Wonder Man? When will it hit our TV screens? 

RELATED ARTICLE

Wonder Man’s Comics History Points to a ‘Hollywood Hero’ Series

Here’s everything we know about Wonder Man so far.

Title

The title for this series is simply Wonder Man.

Wonder Man’s Plot

Right now, we don’t have much information about the show’s plot. But, based on a couple short Wonder Man clips, we know there will be some humor and real-world commentary in the MCU mix. Besides the fact that Simon is trying to play a super hero on TV while being super in real life, we don’t have much else to work with right now. 

New MCU Wonder Man teaser clip! Very short but this looks wonderful! I can’t wait for a full trailer and the series in December! pic.twitter.com/0yLIL99y6x

— LZ (@UncannyLZ) July 8, 2025

Behind the Scenes 

Wonder Man was created by Daniel Destin Cretton and Andrew Guest, the latter of whom will also serve as its showrunner. Of course, Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum are two of its executive producers. Cretton will direct the first two of Wonder Man’s eight episodes. 

Wonder Man’s Cast Marvel Studios

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is Wonder Man/Simon Williams, of course. Sir Ben Kingsley will return as the MCU in-world actor Trevor Slattery. Demetrius Grosse will portray Wonder Man’s brother and adversary Eric Williams a.k.a Grim Reaper.

RELATED ARTICLE

The Marvel Comics History of WONDER MAN Villain the Grim Reaper

Ed Harris is Neal, Simon’s agent, and Arian Moayed is P. Cleary, the Department of Damage Control Agent that we previously saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Ms. Marvel. We are sure he will continue to be a pain in the butt. 

Wonder Man’s Release Date 

Wonder Man will hit Disney+ sometime this December.

The post Everything We Know About Marvel’s WONDER MAN Series appeared first on Nerdist.