357. The State of Marvel Studios (Part 2 of 2) (+ Breaking News)

As this podcast is released, news broke that the SAG-AFTRA strike was over. A tentative agreement was reached on Wednesday, November 8th, and already Hollywood projects (including superhero ones) are being immediately restarted.

The State of Marvel Studios is in flux. Recently reports that a summit meeting of Marvel executives took place where they discussed many challenges the studio faces. One is the saga of Jonathan Majors, who is charged with domestic abuse. Majors plays Kang the Conqueror, aka He Who Remains. Do they recast? Or, does the MCU pivot away from Kang altogether, and introduce another big bad? Other rumors surfaced that Marvel is considering bringing back the original Avengers, using the multiverse as a plot device.

Author and reporter Tara Bennett rejoins the podcast for Part 2 of this Marvel discussion. In 2021, she and co-author Paul Terry released “The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.” For this book, she and Terry were embedded in the Marvel Studios' offices and had unmitigated access. Bennett currently writes for Sci-Fi Wire, IGN, Paste, SFX Magazine, and others. She has written 32 books.

In addition to the breaking news covered in this episode, Bennett also discusses the culmination of the MCU's success, Infinity War & Endgame. She also addresses the use of Spider-Man in the MCU.