Welcome back to The Beat Digest, a twice-weekly round-up of the biggest comics-related news stories we’ve missed every Tuesday and Friday. Is there a story out there you think we should cover? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
§ Marvel’s Disney+ series Wonder Man will return for a second season. No ETA was provided, but Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley will return as Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery, along with series creators Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. The first season of Wonder Man was released in its entirety to critical acclaim on January 27, and will become only the third live-action Marvel Disney+ series to return for a second, after Loki (2021-2023), and Daredevil: Born Again (season two of which premieres today.)
Meanwhile, Deadline reports Marvel Studios has adjusted their 2028 slate slightly, with only three films (rather than the previously reported four) releasing that year, respectively on May 5, July 28, and November 10. (One of these films has been tentatively confirmed to be Black Panther 3.) They also scheduled two films for May 4, and July 13, 2029. Avengers: Secret Wars will wrap up the Multiverse Saga beforehand on December 17, 2027.
Furthermore, Variety shares Ryan Gosling confirmed (via the Happy Sad Confused podcast) that he’s had talks about playing Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze with Marvel, but “it’s a complicated situation,” and “we [can only] keep hope alive.” In the meantime, the actor’s latest film, Project Hail Mary, has earned the highest-grossing opening weekend for an Amazon MGM film, and he will headline Star Wars: Starfighter on May 28, 2027.
§ In non-MCU Marvel news, it was revealed Peni Parker will be a playable character in Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. The character, voiced in English by Risa Mei (Genshin Impact), will be part of the Amazing Guardians with Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Star-Lord, and Ms. Marvel. Peni, who was created by Gerard Way and Jake Wyatt in 2014, previously appeared in the Spider-Verse films and Marvel Rivals. Additionally, it was revealed the Promoter (Sabrina Fest), an Elder of the Universe created by Jeremy Whitley and Simone Buonfantino in 2017, will be the game’s master of ceremonies. Fighting Souls will be released on PlayStation 5 and PC on Thursday, August 6.
§ Mad Cave will release a new Phantom one-shot, The Phantom vs. the Red Dragons, by main series writer Ray Fawkes, and artist Lynne Yoshii (Incredible Hulk). Due out June 17, the 40-page book will reintroduce classic villains the Red Dragon Pirates, led by Princess Sin. Another one-shot, The Phantom vs. The Sky Band, by Fawkes and Federico Sabbatini, will be released beforehand on April 22, and a trade of the main series’ first five issues will follow on July 14.
§ Dynamite announced Altered States: Warlords, a crossover series by David Avallone and Mariano Benitez-Chapo, starring Red Sonja, John Carter, Dejah Thoris, Tarzan, and Vampirella. Starting in June, the series will begin with Sonja being transported to Mars/Barsoom, resulting in a very different timeline for John Carter. Altered States, which Dynamite considers their answer to Marvel’s What If…? or DC’s Elseworlds, originally debuted with reimaginings of Vampirella, Sonja, Doc Savage, and the Shadow in 2015, before returning with last year’s one-shot Purgatori Grindhouse.
§ Image revealed Gehenna in Tokyo, a one-shot follow-up to Patrick Kindlon and Marco Ferrari‘s 2025 series, featuring art by mangaka Atsuji Yamamoto (Metal Max, X-Men). Due out June 10, the book will see the titular assassin head to Japan “to end the Yakuza contract on her life. But she finds they do business a little differently in the Land of the Rising Sun…” The first Gehenna book was originally serialized in the Image! anthology in 2022, and is part of the same universe as Kindlon and Ferrari’s other series Frontiersman and Antioch.
§ Finally, Variety reports Canadian actress Carrie Anne Fleming died on February 26, following a battle with breast cancer. She was 51. Fleming appeared on all five seasons of iZombie in the recurring role of Candy Baker, and her credits also included Supernatural (as the second Karen Singer), The 4400, Supergirl, Smallville, Masters of Horror, The Unauthorized Full House Story, the original Happy Gilmore, and various stage productions. She is survived by her daughter.
