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Doctor Doom holds court.
The closer we get to the next Avengers movie, the first of yet another duology, the more strange the decisions at Marvel Studios and the film’s directors get. People liked a character that we killed off or replaced? Bring back a different version, or have the actor play a new role. Reshoots and things hitting the cutting room floor, though now that’s virtual since so much is done digitally instead of with film, but this latest bit of news, while not too strange on its own, follows previous creative decisions that just doesn’t make a lot of creative sense. I’m a writer, not a filmmaker, but I still get the impression that I understand storytelling and planning better than the professionals.
The latest word came from Haley Atwell, who plays Peggy Carter in the MCU projects. As compiled by The Direct, Atwell already had concerns about whether or not her happily ever after with Steve Rogers was worth building a story around, and now her scenes may well be cut altogether. Except those scenes are already filmed, and apparently multiple storylines that have been filmed may also be dropped, making me wonder if they had ANY plans going into this movie. In fact, history kind of shows that they really don’t, and despite the leaked plot that looks more and more to be accurate, it might be the only plan they had in mind. Again, deleted scenes are nothing new, but when you have a whole other movie left in the editor you have to wonder how these guys got to be “professional” in the first place. Not all of this is on the shoulders of the Russo Brothers. Kevin Feige, Marvel Studios producers, and even Disney itself has to take the blame. I don’t care WHO screwed up. I’m an end product reviewer and commentator, and so far the end product isn’t looking too stable.
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NOTE: Swearing and comedy to follow
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The 1991 movie is one of two projects Disney ever made with the character. Soon they might not be able to do any more.
Boardwalk Times, a Disney media news site, is reporting that the estate of the comic’s creator is getting ready to call back the rights.
In a major legal development, The Rocketeer Trust, represented by trustee Jennifer Bawcum (sister of the late The Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens), has moved to reclaim the underlying copyright rights to the iconic jetpack-wearing hero from Walt Disney Pictures, potentially putting an end to Disney’s era with the franchise.
Under federal copyright law, original creators or their statutory heirs have the right to terminate past licensing agreements and reclaim their intellectual property after a 35-year window. According to the filing, the Trust served the notice via tracked, high-priority international mail on June 11, 2026—striking almost the exact moment the 35-year eligibility window opened from Dave Stevens’ original 1991 deal with Disney (The Rocketeer was released in theaters on June 21, 1991). The document lists six specific foundational copyright registrations under The Rocketeer title that will revert fully to the estate. The effective date of this termination is set for June 12, 2028.
That means Disney has two years to do anything meaningful with the franchise, and so far they’ve failed to do that. Outside of the movie, which failed at the box office but has developed a small fan following, and a Disney Junior cartoon that just barely acknowledged the hero of the franchise, there have been a few failed attempts at doing another production with The Rocketeer, a character inspired by the old “rocket men” movie serials. With so little movement, the estate wants to farm the rights out to other studios…and given what Disney has and had planned to do, it’s probably a good move.
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Being happy the Snyderverse is over doesn’t mean being happy with its replacement.
James Gunn took over the DC movies and shows along with Peter Safran, but Gunn is the face and possibly vision driver behind what DC Studios puts out, hence why his stuff is the Gunnverse. Even if he’s not working on it himself, it’s done with his blessing and his vision…or it would be if his vision made a lick of sense, and it doesn’t.
Comic Book Movie recently reported on yet another argument that James Gunn has had with a DC superhero fan who doesn’t care for his direction, or possibly can’t make sense of it. Actually, going to his actual Threads post he was responding to someone else’s response to the original post.
Reading the post both Gunn and the replier he’s replying to has a fair point, but it misses the larger problem with the current crop of DC Studios projects. No, you don’t have to build up to something, but we have to understand if it’s doing that or not. There needs to be a clear vision, and right now that is something that is clearly lacking because what we see is a pile of contradictions.
DC’s Gunnverse Got Worse?
Couldn’t let me get past a week, could you, James?
It was mere days ago that I wrote about the confusing continuity James Gunn has going on in his DC Universe, and somehow it got worse before the week was out. Remember this?
So what is canon in the current DC movieverse under James Gunn? It depends on Gunn’s mood at the time. Apparently this includes his take on the Suicide Squad. Full disclosure because I know there are “defenders” who like to pretend this matters to any discussion and not a specific review: I have not watched any of the Suicide Squad movies, live-action or animated. I have not played the Suicide Squad game where I’m supposed to kill childhood heroes and I’m told the gameplay is absolute garbage. I haven’t even read the comics because a series about the US government using supervillains to do morally questionable things so writers can reduce the D-list supervillain population is something I care very little about. That doesn’t make me ignorant. It just means my knowledge is not firsthand and I’m relying on official press material and reviews that I trust to be honest in summaries. If that doesn’t work for you, I understand, but hear me out and point out the parts I’m wrong.
And according to an official podcast, as reported on by both Variety and Geeks & Gamers, James Gunn just made his Suicide Squad movie canon. Choose your poison, kids, because I’ll be referring to both as we go over why this just made his DC universe even more of a disaster than it already was.
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Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on October 30, 2026 in DC Spotlight, Movie Spotlight and tagged Blue Beetle (2023 movie), commentary, continuity, Creature Commandos, DC Entertainment, DC Gunnverse, DC Studios, Harley Quinn, James Gunn, James Gunn's Superman, Lanterns (HBO Max), Matt Reeves, Peacemaker (HBO Max), shared universe, Suicide Squad, Supergirl (2026 movie), The Batman, Warner Brothers.
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