per Deadline). Booster Gold (created by Dan Jurgens in 1986), aka Jon Michael Carter, is a time-traveling superhero from the future. Though he hails from the 25th century, his story is familiar: he’s a jock who peaked in high school (being caught gambling on your own games will do that to you). So, he travels back in time in hope of becoming a big fish in a smaller pond.
Though Booster is dense and a self-promoting gloryhound, he’s not a bad guy. He’s similar to James Gunn’s take on Peter Quill/Star-Lord and so should fit naturally into Gunn’s new DC Universe if his pilot moves forward. “Booster Gold” isn’t the only DCU TV show in the works, either.
DC Studios has greenlit an animated series based on the character Mister Miracle, and live-action series “Lanterns” arrives on HBO in early 2026. The latter will feature the Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), who previously appeared in “Superman.” Guy is part of the “Justice Gang,” a group of heroes funded by the wealthy Max Lord (Sean Gunn). The Gang is likely to get a rebrand to the Justice League… specifically, I bet, the Justice League International, the team co-created in 1987 by writers J.M. DeMatteis & Keith Giffen and artist Kevin Maguire.
The JLI’s line-up was fluid, but essential characters included Max Lord (who brought the team together in his role as an agent of the United Nations), Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire & Ice, Guy Gardner, Mister Miracle and his wife Big Barda, Black Canary, Batman, and Martian Manhunter (the last two were the team’s straight men). Back when we got our first look at Fillion’s Guy Gardner in the “Superman” trailer last December, I wrote how Gunn using Guy and Max Lord suggested that he’s pulling from “Justice League International.” Booster Gold and Mister Miracle entering the DCU adds evidence to the pile. So does Gunn outright saying Kevin Maguire’s work has influenced the DCU.
What sets the JLI apart from other Leagues? “Justice League International” has been described as more of a workplace comedy about superheroes than a typical adventure series, and it leaned into the humor more and more as it went on. Knowing what Gunn loves about superheroes, reading the “Justice League International” comics could provide some insight into his plans for the DCU.
Justice League International was a motley crew of superheroes
DC Comics
In 1986, DC Comics rebooted their sprawling, decades-long continuity after the event mini-series “Crisis on Infinite Earths” by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. Characters and books were relaunched with fresh starts and more modern sensibilities. John Byrne rebooted Superman (another influence on Gunn), Frank Miller carried the torch from “The Dark Knight Returns” to “Batman: Year One,” and the aforementioned Pérez made Wonder Woman soar again.
Meanwhile, Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire were assigned by editor Andy Helfer to make the new “Justice League” — which was an unexpected hit; “I thought we were doomed,” Giffen said many years later on a panel with DeMatteis. You may notice that the only household name among the JLI is Batman, but the book turned what should’ve been a weakness into a strength. DeMatteis recounted to FandomWire in 2021:
“The initial line-up was dictated by DC editorial. We had no voice in it at all. It worked out to our advantage that, for the most part, we got a group of characters that were viewed as second-stringers, because that gave us license to make them our own. To imprint them with our unique POV.”
The result was an electric (and eccentric) ensemble of characters who didn’t get along. The strait-laced Batman and feminist Black Canary scrape against the bullheaded pig Guy Gardner. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, both scrappy underdogs largely dismissed by their teammates, form a dynamic duo of strivers. (One time, they even opened a casino together… and failed miserably.)
If there’s any comic book writer whom James Gunn most echoes, it’s Giffen & DeMatteis writing the Justice League. DeMatteis’ quote about making “second stringer” characters into their own? Gunn did that over at Marvel with the Guardians of the Galaxy. The contemporary “Guardians” comics were a more serious space opera about a bunch of war veterans trying to keep the peace. Gunn turned that story, and its obscure lead characters, into an offbeat but emotionally honest action-comedy about a-holes and weirdos finding their place together. The result? The Guardians of the Galaxy are now on the A-list roster of Marvel Comics.
Like the Post-Crisis comics of the late 1980s, Gunn’s DCU is coming off of a previous DC universe ending. Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire embraced a new tone as a storytelling rejuvenation, and Gunn is following in their footsteps.
Can you hear the sounds of laughing children as your nose perks up at the smells of popcorn and funnel cakes fill the air? That means Pennywise must be near, and he is indeed present and accounted for in the tension-soaked new trailer for the Stephen King-inspired prequel IT: Welcome to Derry, even if the dancing clown’s actual visage is still yet to be revealed. No matter, as there are plenty of other highlights to get excited about, especially after those rumors about a huge The Shining crossover were confirmed at SDCC.
That’s right, fans’ suspicions about Chris Chalk’s Derry character were revealed to be right on the money, as the Gotham vet will be taking on the iconic role of Dick Halloran, whose ability to shine made him both a hero and a victim in King’s classic The Shining. (The character was famously portrayed by Scatman Cruthers in Stanley Kubrick’s film, and by Carl Lumbly in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep.) Anyone who hasn’t yet watched the latest full-length preview for the upcoming horror series should hit play now. Just watch out for the pickle jar.
Without a whole lot of context for what to expect from this new group of youngsters hoping to take town the ancient evil that resurfaces in Derry, let’s instead hone in on what we know about Dick Halloran’s encounters with dark forces located thousands of miles from the Overlook Hotel.
Stephen King’s IT novel, which first gave readers crossover delights many years ago. But that only explains the precedence, and not the context of the story making its way to the 2025 TV schedule this fall.
Within the novel, Dick Halloran is one of the founders of The Black Spot, a bar & grill catering to Black soldiers where Halloran also worked as a short-order cook along with Will Hanlon, the father of Loser’s Club member Mike Hanlon. (Portraying Will in the HBO series is Javon Adepo.) The establishment was infamously burned down by local racists, possibly guided by Pennywise, and becames a dark stain within both local history and in the memories of those who survived it.
All that said, it’s not as if Halloran is a huge character within IT, so the fact that Chris Chalk pops up multiple times in the trailer suggests that his role won’t just be limited to the Black Spot’s inferno. We even see him discovering one of Pennywise’s traveling stage wagon, though its contents are not shown.
I can’t wait to see how Dick Halloran’s arc is handled in IT: Welcome to Derry, and also to see if that will be the only major crossover character who pops up in the TV series. There’s a shot of the Derry Herald newspaper around the :39 second mark that refers to an “Officer Gillespie,” which may or may not be a reference to Constable Parkins Gillespie, a minor character in ‘Salem’s Lot. I’m guessing “not,” but it’s still a joy to look for details like that.
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Speaking of, the image above gives audiences a brief look at Dick Halloran’s uniform nametag, which does indeed feature a hastily scribbled surname. So even if the news hadn’t been fully confirmed at SDCC, that shot might have been enough to convince everyone.
(Image credit: HBO Max)
I Already Believe That Pickle Jar Will Gross Me Out More Than Anything Else In IT: Welcome To Derry
So much footage in the trailer helps set up the general story of this town’s evil occurrences and the youths caught up in the middle of it. But then, out of nowhere, along comes this nasty-ass shot of an old and greyed-out hand inside a jar of pickles. It’s icky enough in still form, but it’s not at all still in the split-second we see it.
No, it somehow starts moving around in there, despite seemingly not being attached to a wrist or forearm or anything else in the realm of organic biology. Show me a bunch of people getting massacred by a clown, and I might not bat an eyelash, but the thought of someone reaching for a pickle and grabbing onto a pair of brined knuckles is apparently where my brain draws the line.
Sure, this is probably just someone’s hallucination caused by Pennywise, but if that’s the case, then I doubt it’ll be the only nightmarish example of gnarled body parts inside sealed food containers. I really don’t want to see a big toe poking out of a can of Vienna sausages.
HBO Max somehow still hasn’t locked down a specific premiere date yet for IT: Welcome to Derry, but it’ll arrive at some point in October, presumably not too long before Halloween.
It’s been over 35 years since Leslie Nielsen made audiences laugh via the original Naked Gun film. Nielsen went on to lead two sequels and, now, the franchise is being revived, this time with Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson as the leads. The ad campaign for Naked Gun has hilarious, promising a goofy tone and crazy energy like the original film. Recently, Andy Samberg revealed that that he was able to see the film early and, while I love that he praised it, there’s a deeper reason for this being meaningful.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at San Diego Comic Con, Samberg was asked if he had seen the upcoming Naked Gun film, which is directed by Akiva Schaffer, his good friend and frequent creative partner. Schaffer is notably a member of the comedy band The Lonely Island, which also includes Samberg and Jorma Taccone. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor shared some truly sweet sentiments while sharing what he enjoyed so much about the legacy sequel:
I’ve seen it many times…I love it. It’s very funny. Liam Neeson and Pam are both really, really funny. Akiva did a great job. ‘Kiv and Dan and Doug, the writers, did a great job. It’s really just joyful, and I really hope everyone goes and sees it.
Andy Samberg said. These days, it’s gradual becoming a novelty for a studio comedy to receive a theatrical release or include movie stars like Liam Neeson and Pam Anderson. The film is getting a lot of attention, and early reviews for The Naked Gun are also pretty positive. Some are even calling the film one of the funniest flicks in years.
Aside from the fact that Andy Samberg is hyping the 2025 movie release for the sake of supporting comedy movies, I just have to talk about seeing him support his longtime collaborator. He and Akiva Schaffer go way back and were friends long before their Saturday Night Live days, during which Samberg was a cast member and Schaffer was a writer, who also directed and produced digital shorts.
Even as their professional paths have gone in different directions, Schaffer and Samberg have always supported each other creatively and made a point to continue to work together. It’s a testament to a strong bond and, while I can’t wait for The Naked Gun, I also am excited to see what The Lonely Island does next as a unit.
You can see The Naked Gun sequel when it hits theaters on August 1st. Lonely Island fans should also check out the The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast on Spotify, where Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg, and Jorma Taccone recap the SNL digital shorts that made them famous with the titular talk show host. To revisit these digital shorts yourself, you can check out old episodes of Saturday Night Live now with a Peacock subscription.
SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains some minor spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. If you have yet to watch the new Marvel movie, please exercise caution.
Over the years, there have been countless tributes to the late Stan Lee, the man responsible for most of our favorite Marvel superheroes. From dozens of cameos to various other callbacks to the iconic comic book figure, spotting these little Easter eggs became a cherished task for moviegoers. However, the same can’t be said for other Marvel pioneers, who are not as well known as Lee.
Well, that changed with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which features an incredible tribute to comic book legend Jack Kirby. After checking out the new superhero movie on the 2025 release schedule, I have to admit that how director Matt Shakman and company honored Kirby is outstanding.
Marvel’s official website, you’ll see that he co-created not only The Fantastic Four but also other iconic Marvel heroes like Hulk, Thor, and the X-Men, to name a few. From his days at Timely Comics (which later became Marvel) to being known as one of the premier artists in the comic world, Kirby did a little bit of everything.
(Image credit: Marvel)
How The Fantastic Four: First Steps Honors Jack Kirby
the Thor: Ragnarok logo being in honor of him or Ant-Man featuring a cool reference to him, The Fantastic Four: First Steps took things to the next level when celebrating the late Marvel artist.
Unlike the vast majority of the best Marvel movies, the latest feature film takes place in a different universe, Earth 828, which looks vastly different than anything else on the MCU timeline. However, the 828 universe name isn’t just some random number; instead, it’s a tribute to Jack Kirby, whose birthday was August 28, 1917. How is this revealed, you may ask? Well, in a quote from the man himself in the end credits:
If you look at my characters, you will find me. No matter what kind of character you create or assume, a little of yourself must remain there.
Following the quote is Kirby’s birthdate, which fades into 828, the location of the movie. When it comes to unique and really neat ways to honor someone, this is in a league of its own.
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(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
After Countless Stan Lee Tributes Over The Years, It Was Incredible Seeing Jack Kirby Honored
There is something so powerful about Jack Kirby being honored in this way. Not only does the movie have a little Easter egg paying homage to him and his legacy, but The Fantastic Four: First Steps literally takes place in a universe paying tribute to him. That’s huge! After years of Stan Lee tributes, which are great, this just hit really hard.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is currently showing in theaters, where this tribute and all sorts of other Easter eggs can be spotted.
upon “men on a mission” movies of the past (like “The Dirty Dozen”) and eventually developed into films like “The Avengers.” The Fantastic Four, as seen in the comics, were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby as a space-age answer to a then-popular trend of movies and shows that chronicled the adventures of tight-knit family units. Examples include everything from “Swiss Family Robinson” to “Lost in Space” to “The Munsters” and “The Partridge Family.”
In other words, there’s a difference between the “found family” aspect of most team movies and the dynamic of an actual family in the Fantastic Four. Though the FF certainly have their differences, they’re typically not as internally volatile as the Avengers or the Guardians. This can leave some of the supporting characters feeling a little lost, which is exactly what happens in this month’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” While Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) have clearly defined roles as the patriarch and matriarch of the FF family, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) aren’t so clear. Ben is referred to by Johnny as an uncle of the group, which feels close enough to his brooding but warm character to fit. Johnny also refers to himself as an uncle, but he’s also literally Sue’s brother and Reed’s brother-in-law. He also has a craving for breakfast cereals, which helps inadvertently code him as a manchild rather than a sibling. In the past, Johnny has been seen in a much more defined yet antiquated way, something which Quinn and producer Kevin Feige sought to avoid. The choice leaves Johnny feeling adrift within “First Steps,” and Quinn — an otherwise wonderful actor — feeling miscast in the role.
Quinn’s Johnny feels like an archetype in search of a character
Marvel Studios
It’s abundantly clear how Johnny is supposed to function as a character in “First Steps.” He’s the sardonic comic relief, and that’s traditionally how the Human Torch has been written and portrayed in just about every iteration. On paper, Quinn would be fantastic casting for the character, as his prior film and television work abundantly proves. In season 4 of “Stranger Things” and “A Quiet Place: Day One,” he played sensitive young men who were raw nerves, and he was able to channel that intensity for his turn as an Iraq war-era soldier in “Warfare” earlier this year. In last fall’s “Gladiator II,” he played Emperor Geta as an enfant terrible, and he used punk rock icons as the template for his character. All of this would seem to befit the character of Johnny Storm as traditionally portrayed: a womanizing, self-aggrandizing, hothead who does the right thing when it counts.
Yet it’s precisely that version of Johnny that Quinn wished to avoid, saying that a young playboy type wouldn’t be that “sexy” for a modern take on the character, and that he wanted him to be “less callous with other people’s feelings.” While these choices can certainly be seen in Quinn’s performance, it leaves Johnny feeling more awkward in the film’s ensemble than expected. It’s not like he needs to be callous or a womanizer to be engaging, but it feels like neither Quinn nor director Matt Shakman (or the film’s several screenwriters) found something else to replace those qualities.
The most egregious example is the awkward tone of Johnny’s relationship with Reed. There’s some clear unresolved beef, as Johnny ribs Reed every chance he gets. He insists on being the one to solve the mystery of the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) and her language instead of Reed, which he does, and it’s a great way for Johnny to be active in the film’s plot. Yet the way Pascal plays Reed, he seems completely nonplussed by Johnny’s digs and bantering. When Johnny riffs at Reed in one scene, telling the scientist that he’s taking back all the bad things he’s said about him, the potential humor of the moment falls flat — both because Johnny isn’t looking to be that mean and Reed doesn’t seem to care. Compare the bit with a highly similar moment from 1984’s Ghostbusters, and it’s clear that a joke like that needs some edge and contrast for it to work, and it’s something which “First Steps” does not contain.
‘First Steps” allusion to Iron Man does the Human Torch a disservice
Marvel Studios
One of the major issues facing the entire Marvel universe is that the majority of its classic characters were created or written by Stan Lee, so there is a lot of characterization overlap. Of course an actor would want to veer in a different direction than what’s come before (as seen in Chris Evans’ turn as Johnny in the Fox “Fantastic Four” films and last year’s “Deadpool & Wolverine”) but also in terms of prior characters in the same universe, namely Tony Stark, as played by Robert Downey Jr. The first two “Iron Man” films did not attempt to tone down Stark’s unsavory qualities, portraying him as a blowhard playboy as much as a well-intentioned man of integrity. It’s entirely likely that Quinn, Shakman, and the other “First Steps” folks didn’t want Johnny to merely echo Stark, for while such a characterization would fit in perfectly with an actual period piece set in Earth’s 1960s, the alternate Earth of “First Steps” needn’t conform to our real history.
The problem is that the last act of “First Steps” sees Johnny make a choice that heavily recalls Stark’s actions in the first “Avengers” movie. After the FF open a portal to send Galactus (Ralph Ineson) to another point in spacetime and almost push him through, the raging villain begins to claw his way back with no other member of the Four able to stop him. Johnny then bids a fond farewell to his family, preparing himself to ram into Galactus and push them both through the portal, which would likely mean his imminent death. Fortunately, the Silver Surfer decides to sacrifice herself in his place, in part thanks to Johnny forming a connection and getting through to her earlier in the film. Yet the moment still has that allusion to when Stark attempted to sacrifice himself flying through a portal at the end of the “Avengers,” and it rings less hollow. Stark was a character who began as a selfish man and eventually found selflessness, whereas this Johnny Storm, already kinder and gentler, feels like he’s not changed all that much from when we first meet him.
Fortunately, there’s every possibility that future adventures with this Fantastic Four could deepen the characters further, and Quinn’s an excellent actor to have in the role when and if that happens. Until then, this Johnny will feel strangely incomplete. It’s a bit ironic that one of Johnny’s running gags in “First Steps” is begging Ben to say his iconic “It’s Clobberin’ Time” catchphrase, but no one is begging him to say his own phrase of “Flame On!” Except me, that is; I hope that you get to say it next time, Johnny.
