In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Spider-Man: Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Doctor Strange, Agents of S.H.I.E.LD., The Defenders, Iron Fist, The Inhumans, Luke Cage, Logan, New Mutants, Deadpool 2, Legion, Suicide Squad, Justice League 2, The Batman, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Powerless, The LEGO Batman Movie and more…
We expected it alongside Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but Marvel and Sony didn’t make us wait that long for our first look at next year’s Spider-Man reboot Spider-Man: Homecoming, dropping not one but two trailers for the hotly-anticipated film, which included our first glimpse of Michael Keaton’s villain The Vulture, along with plenty of Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) high school life, his extra-curricular crime-fighting activities, and his interactions with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). You can (re)watch the trailers for Spider-Man: Homecoming here, while we also have a clip featuring Spidey and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) [watch it here], an official image of an unmasked Spider-Man [see here], and some promotional images for Hasbro’s Vulture action figure, which offers an up-close, detailed look at the villain’s costume [see here]. And if you’re keen to read our writing team’s thoughts on the trailer, you may want to check out the latest Flickering Myth Reaction here…
…Following last week’s trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Marvel has unveiled the first official image from the cosmic superhero sequel featuring Baby Groot [see here], while we also got a look at one of the Groot maquettes sculpted for the film’s production [see here]. Meanwhile, Vin Diesel has claimed that director James Gunn would like to direct a Groot / Rocket Raccoon spinoff solo movie, as well as teasing a big showdown between Groot and The Hulk when the two characters meet in Avengers: Infinity War: “I know somewhere in the universe, you’re going to see Groot and Hulk battle. You know it. Write it somewhere, you’re going to see that poster: Groot vs. Hulk…”
…Marvel’s Doctor Strange has pushed its global box office to $640 million this week, surpassing Iron Man 2 to become the eighth-highest grossing instalment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This weekend should see it overtaking the $644.6 million of Thor: The Dark World; it remains to be seen whether it can catch Captain America: The Winter Soldier on $714.3 million, but it does still have a Japanese release still to come in January which will help to give it a bump…
…Turning to the small screen now and you can read Danny Hale’s review of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. winter finale ‘Laws of Inferno Dynamics’ here, while we also have a promo and poster for the second half of season four – subtitled ‘LMD’ – as well as a featurette entitled ‘Designing the Rider’, which focusses on the work that went into bringing Ghost Rider to life…
…Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t return until January 10th, but Marvel and ABC have a little something up their sleeve to help ease the wait with the launch of a spinoff web series entitled Slingshot, which will revolve around the character of Elena ‘Yo-Yo’ Rodriguez, played by Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and will take place prior to the events of season four, with appearances from Coulson (Clark Gregg), Daisy (Chloe Bennet), May (Ming-Na Wen), Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Mack (Henry Simmons). Slingshot will premiere on December 13th, with each episode set to last between 3 and 6 minutes…
…As production continues on Marvel’s Netflix crossover The Defenders, some new set photos surfaced during the week showing Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock alongside Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones; take a look at the two heroes together here…
…Marvel released a batch of images from the next Netflix series Iron Fist this week, with the photos showcasing Finn Jones’ Danny Rand, Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing, Rosario Dawson’s Claire Temple, Tom Pelphrey’s Ward Meachum and Jessica Stroup’s Joy Meachum; check out the images here…
…Iron Fist showrunner Scott Buck is set to follow up his Netflix series by making the jump to ABC for Marvel’s The Inhumans, which is set to premiere in IMAX theaters on September 1st 2017…
…Mike Colter will be reprising the role of Power Man once again after The Defenders, as Netflix has announced that it has ordered a second season of Luke Cage. This adds to a slate that includes a second season for Jessica Jones, a third season for Daredevil, and a spinoff series for The Punisher. Meanwhile, in other Luke Cage news, be sure to read our exclusive interview with Justin Swain, who portrays Misty Knight’s NYPD colleague Bailey…
…Marvel and Funko have released their latest Pop! Vinyl animated short, entitled Bait N Switch, which sees Rocket Raccoon breaking into The Collector’s Museum in order to rescue his pal Groot; watch it here…
…Click below to continue on for Logan, New Mutants, Deadpool 2, Legion, Suicide Squad, Justice League 2, The Batman, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Powerless, The LEGO Batman Movie and more…
Originally published December 10, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
