This was one of the biggest weeks in comic book movie history. Spider-Man: Brand New Day broke box office records, Comic-Con Hall H delivered Avengers Doomsday footage and casting bombs, DC's Lanterns is about to hit HBO Max, and Marvel's Wolverine and Star Wars Zero Company both showed why 2026 is stacked for fans. Here is everything worth knowing this week.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Sets the Biggest Opening in Box Office History
Spider-Man: Brand New Day just rewrote the record books. Per Variety, Tom Holland's latest web slinging outing pulled in a domestic opening weekend of 355 million dollars and crossed one billion dollars globally in only six days, the fastest a Spider-Man film has ever hit that mark. The film is now expanding across the IMAX network in North America, giving fans another reason to catch it on the biggest screen possible. With numbers like this, expect Sony and Marvel to fast track whatever comes next for this version of Peter Parker.
Avengers Doomsday Comic-Con Panel Drops Ghost Rider Casting and Doctor Doom Footage
Marvel Studios turned San Diego Comic-Con Hall H into an event of its own this week. Per The Direct, Ryan Gosling was announced as the MCU's Ghost Rider with Shawn Levy directing, Ryan Coogler confirmed Black Panther 3 for December 2028 with David Jonsson playing T'Challa's son Toussaint, and Robert Downey Jr. showed up in character as Doctor Doom to tease Avengers Doomsday footage alongside Hayley Atwell and Chris Evans. New footage previewed Doom facing off with the Fantastic Four, Thor, Magneto, and the X-Men. Avengers Doomsday still lands December 18, and after this panel the hype is only climbing.
DC's Lanterns Heads to HBO Max With Laura Linney Joining Hal Jordan and John Stewart
DC Studios' Lanterns premieres August 16 on HBO Max, and per Deadline the new trailer confirmed Laura Linney has joined the cast alongside Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. The series is part of James Gunn and Peter Safran's Chapter One slate, landing between Supergirl and Clayface as one of three live action DCU projects arriving within a few months of each other. Early buzz points to Lanterns leaning into a grounded, detective driven tone that is a real departure from typical cosmic Green Lantern stories.
Marvel's Wolverine Story Trailer Reveals The Hand and a Dark Logan and Jean Grey Moment
Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine is closing in on its September 15 launch on PlayStation 5, and the new story trailer shown at San Diego Comic-Con gave fans a much darker look at the game. Per PlayStation Blog, the footage features an enraged Logan confronting Jean Grey in a raw, vulnerable moment, with The Hand introduced as a major new enemy faction and Deathstrike positioned as a key antagonist. Composer David Fleming's full soundtrack drops August 28, just ahead of launch, and industry press get hands on impressions August 13. This is shaping up to be one of the most brutal Marvel games yet.
Star Wars Zero Company Gameplay Trailer Puts You in Command During the Clone Wars
Star Wars Zero Company got a fresh gameplay trailer this week ahead of its August 27 release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Per StarWars.com, the turn based tactics game from Bit Reactor casts players as former Republic officer Hawks, recruiting unconventional Operators from across eight Star Wars species to take on a Separatist aligned cult during the Clone Wars. The trailer teased a run in with Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and showed off the squad's home base, The Den. For anyone who loves the Clone Wars era, this is shaping up to be a must play.
Merch Watch
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day breaking records in theaters right now, expect a fresh wave of Spider-Man figures to hit shelves. Marvel Legends already has plenty worth grabbing, or commission a custom piece inspired by your favorite character.
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That's Press Play
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