Shawn Levy’s ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ Gets a Release Date at Celebration Japan

 

Here’s where the fun begins.

Not only is the anticipated second season of Andor hitting Disney+ Tuesday, April 22, but the announcements are already flowing out of Star Wars Celebration Japan like hate from a Sith.

During a panel for next year’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy made a surprise on-stage appearance to announce that his upcoming film, Star Wars: Starfighter, will hit theaters May 28, 2027 and will begin production this fall. Set five years after The Rise of Skywalker, the film will star Ryan Gosling as a never-before-seen character.

There have been plenty of Star Wars projects announced that have yet to materialize – for example, the Rey Skywalker movie that was announced at Star Wars Celebration two years ago – but it’s encouraging that this one is close to becoming a reality.

Check out the announcement via the Star Wars X account below.

Star Wars: Starfighter comes to theaters on May 28, 2027. #StarWarsCelebration pic.twitter.com/dsbVb3VdBY

— Star Wars (@starwars) April 18, 2025

That’s a Stretch! Marvel Unveils New ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Trailer

 

The MCU is still a wonderful thing, despite what the worst corners of the internet tell you. Just two days after Marvel Television showed a major villain gruesomely crushing a man’s head in Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel Studios has delivered a whimsical new look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps, complete with peeks at Galactus, Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic’s stretchy superpowers and … a new addition to Marvel’s First Family?

Indeed, four will become five in the anticipated film, which hits theaters July 25.

Taking place in an alternate universe from typical Marvel Studios fare, The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems set against a refreshing clean slate, and hopefully won’t be overly bogged down by multiversal shenanigans and gratuitous cameos. There will be plenty of time for that when these characters appear in Avengers: Doomsday next spring.

In the meantime, to quote the trailer, “Thank you, Fantastic Four!” Watch it below!

‘Superman’ Sneak Peek Goes Inside the Fortress of Solitude

 

So, I’ve just watched the newly released sneak peek at James Gunn’s Superman, hitting theaters July 11, and I had two immediate takeaways.

1.      Krypto is a good dog. A Superdog, even.

2.      I love James Gunn.

On Point 2, it’s amazing to me that Gunn – whose similarly slick and polished Guardians of the Galaxy films are among my favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – got his screenwriting start in the delightfully schlocky and gloriously violent world of Troma Entertainment, cowriting Tromeo & Juliet alongside the mastermind behind The Toxic Avenger himself, Lloyd Kaufman. So, with this new film, one could draw a direct line from Toxie to Superman. That’s nuts.

Also nuts is how Supes’ Fortress of Solitude isn’t all that, well, solitary. Between Krypto and a small army of adorably caped Kryptonian robots, Superman’s got a lot of backup whenever he gets his butt kicked all the way to the North Pole and needs a solar-powered recharge.  It’s charming. It’s colorful. It’s decidedly Superman.

The clip – which features the iconic John Williams score – concludes with a variety of shots featuring David Corenswet’s Man of Steel in action along with glimpses of Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi’s Mister Miracle and others.

Expectations are up, up and away as July approaches faster than a speeding … you know the rest.

Watch DC Studios’ Superman sneak peek below!

 

Scum and Villainy Abound in ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld’

 

If there’s one thing Star Wars fans can agree on, it’s that bounty hunters are awesome. Also awesome? The Dark Side. So, millions of voices suddenly cried out in glee and were suddenly excited when Lucasfilm unveiled the trailer for Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, a series of shorts premiering on Star Wars Day, May the 4^th, exclusively on Disney+.

The series will revolve around gunslinging mercenary Cad Ban and Count Dooku’s former lead assassin Asajj Ventress, two fan-favorite baddies from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They’re in some of the best episodes of that series, and I often credit Bane’s first appearance, Season One’s “Hostage Crisis,” as the moment The Clone Wars went from being a simple kid’s show to some of the best Star Wars storytelling out there.

Watch the trailer for Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld below.

Fourth MCU ‘Spider-Man’ Film Gets a Title, Release Date

 

If you saw the news Tuesday morning you might have thought it was a bizarre April Fool’s joke, but Sony Pictures wasn’t foolin’ when they revealed that their anticipated follow-up to smash-hit Spider-Man: No Way Home would be called Spider-Man: Brand New Day and that it would be hitting theaters on July 31, 2026.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day 🕷️ July 31, 2026. pic.twitter.com/R6OY8tAHOb

— Spider-Man Movie (@SpiderManMovie) April 1, 2025

The Brand New Day subtitle might be slightly triggering for longtime Spidey fans, as it references a mostly maligned story arc that began in 2008. You see, in the comics, Peter Parker’s beloved Aunt May was shot, and Peter made a pact with the actual Marvel devil – Mephisto if you’re nasty – in order to keep her alive. In exchange for May’s life, Peter sacrificed his marriage to Mary Jane Watson. To this day, Peter and MJ’s marriage has yet to be restored. So, yeah, it’s a bit of a sore spot.

The ”Brand New Day” storyline served as the hardest of soft reboots for the comic book Web-Slinger, introducing new romances, characters and villains in a reset continuity. Given the events of No Way Home, during which Tom Holland’s Peter sacrificed his non-Spidey life to save his universe, it seems like the MCU could be pushing the character in a similar clean-slate direction: low-tech suit, street-level storytelling and new relationships. And this could be a fantastic change of pace, since Holland’s Peter has unfortunately been often overshadowed by other Avengers and other Spider-Men in his prior MCU outings. With the promise of a more Spidey-centric narrative I’m excited to see what’s “Brand New” for my favorite superhero  in 2026.

In other Wall-Crawler news, Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is officially hitting theaters on June 4, 2027.