We hope you guys had a safe and happy Christmas, and while things are a little quiet right now, it seems fair to say that 2020 has been a surprisingly decent year for superhero movie news.
Despite the fact theaters have been closed for most of this weird, crazy year, things really haven't slowed down for the genre. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984 may be the only titles to have hit theaters in 2020, but we've been kept busy with a lot of huge news stories.
With that in mind, we're taking a break from recapping the week's biggest news stories here on CBM to instead look back at the entire year. Movies like Spider-Man 3, Justice League, and The Batman have all dominated headlines, and we're confident that you'll have fun looking back at these...especially when some of them are among the biggest stories we've ever covered here.
Click on the "Next" button below to take a look through the biggest CBM news stories of 2020!
Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson parted ways with Marvel Studios over "creative differences," and that left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness without a director. In February, it was reported that Spider-Man helmer Sam Raimi was being eyed to return to the Marvel Universe.
That's since been confirmed, and all the Spider-Man 3 news (we'll get to that) has led to speculation Raimi could be reunited with Tobey Maguire when the Sorcerer Supreme visits his world.
Take a look at the original breaking news story by clicking here.
A lot of big news came out of this year's DC FanDome event, but it was this breaking story prior to that which really grabbed our attention. The Batman director Matt Reeves and Boardwalk Empire writer Terence Winter were teaming up for what was described as a "police procedural series set in the crime-infested streets of the Caped Crusader's hometown Gotham City."
Since then, the series has lost Winter due to creative differences, and the hunt is currently on for a replacement. There's no word on who that will be, but we know the show is set during "Year One."
You can find more details on this series right here.
At the start of July, Ray Fisher shocked the world when he took to Twitter to say, "Joss Whedon’s on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable. He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg."
The actor followed that with a series of vague follow-up comments, though things soon devolved into something of a back-and-forth between Fisher and Warner Bros. An official investigation was launched, the Cyborg actor received support from Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot, and it's since been concluded...in a rather unsatisfying manner, if we're being totally honest.
Head to the original post to see the Tweets that started it all.
Daredevil came to an end on Netflix after three hit-and-miss seasons, but Charlie Cox made such a huge impact as Matt Murdock, fans started campaigning for Marvel Studios to #SaveDaredevil.
According to one reliable source, the actor is returning as the Man Without Fear in Spider-Man. This is said to have been "set in stone for several months now" (the news broke earlier this month) and common sense says Matt will be Peter Parker's lawyer after he was framed for Mysterio's murder.
Find more details on Cox's possible Daredevil return by clicking here.
Disney's Investor Day proved to be nothing short of epic, and Lucasfilm clearly has huge plans for the Star Wars franchise moving forward. The Mandalorian is getting two spinoff shows, Taika Waititi remains hard at work on an untitled movie, while we'll also be catching up with Lando Calrissian.
You can find a full breakdown of all those big Star Wars reveals by clicking here, but perhaps the most exciting announcement was Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins taking the helm of Rogue Squadron. Set for release in December 2023, this movie sounds like a dream come true for fans.
Find out more about Jenkins' Rogue Squadron plans here.
5. Batman Returns...Again
As we mentioned, DC FanDome was a huge win for Warner Bros., and we were left with plenty to talk about once the virtual event ended (including some pretty blockbuster trailers).
Director Andy Muschietti stole the show with some big reveals for The Flash, confirming that Barry Allen will receive a new, streamlined costume from Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne. A second piece of concept art showed the Fastest Man Alive teaming up with Michael Keaton's original big screen Batman, and it was announced that the hero is about to take a trip through the Multiverse!
This is seriously exciting, and you can see both pieces of concept art by clicking here.
Like Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios had plenty of big announcements to share during Disney's Investor Day. As well as a tonne of new Disney+ TV shows - Armor Wars, anyone? - the highly anticipated Fantastic Four reboot finally found itself a director in Spider-Man: Far From Home helmer Jon Watts.
After he re-imagined the wall-crawler for Marvel Studios, it's hard to think of anyone better suited than Watts to do the same for Marvel's First Family, and this team's big screen return is long overdue.
Find a recap of all those big Phase 4 announcements from Kevin Feige by clicking here.
The Flash may be about to take Barry Allen into the DC Multiverse, but it's beginning to look like the Marvel Multiverse will be the focal point of many Phase 4 stories. WandaVision will kick things off, with it then continuing in Spider-Man 3 and, obviously, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
It all started for Spider-Man 3 with the news that Jamie Foxx will reprise the role of Electro. The actor shared a piece of fan-art on Instagram showing the three big screen versions of Spidey facing the villain, and it's also been confirmed that Alfred Molina will be back as Doctor Octopus after first playing him in Spider-Man 2. Rumours have since continued to persist about the threequel.
So, what do we know? Well, those include big plans for actors like Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Kirsten Dunst, and Willem Dafoe, and the signs appear to be pointing to this movie being an epic adventure pitting these Spider-Men against an interdimensional Sinister Six.
We suggest you check out our page on Spider-Man 3 for more!
Well, here's something it's fair to say we never saw coming.
No matter how much fans campaigned for Warner Bros. to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, the more time the passed, the less likely it seemed Zack Snyder would actually get to share his version of Justice League. Well, that all changed after a Man of Steel rewatch ended with the filmmaker confirming that this original director's cut would debut on HBO Max early next year.
We've since been treated to a trailer, the news that it will release in four parts, and even reshoots that have seen the likes of Jared Leto and Joe Manganiello agree to reprise their roles as The Joker and Deathstroke. Needless to say, we have a feeling this one is going to be epic.
Find that original announcement about the "Snyder Cut" of Justice League by clicking here.
We wish, more than anything, that this piece of news wasn't on this list. At the end of August, it was confirmed by Chadwick Boseman's family that the Black Panther star had passed away after a four-year, secret battle with cancer. This sent shock waves across the globe, and the tributes flooded in.
It's since been confirmed that Marvel Studios and Ryan Coogler are moving forward with Black Panther 2, but T'Challa won't be recast. Instead, it appears another character will take over the Black Panther mantle, and that makes sense because it's hard to imagine anyone ever being able to top Boseman's work.
You can read our tribute to Boseman by clicking here. Rest in Power, King.