This weekend, Marvel returns to Chicago with a nonstop schedule of star-studded signings, panels, stage events, and more! From Friday, February 28 – Sunday, March 1, fans will want to stop by the Marvel Booth (Booth #327) and experience a thrilling series of events happening all weekend long.

From the moment the doors open, fans will be able to get their hands on Marvel’s convention-exclusive t-shirts (while supplies last) featuring iconic characters like the web-slinging hero Spider-Man, the deadly assassin Black Widow, and more of their favorite Super Heroes. Fans will also have the chance to purchase an exclusive Black Widow Spirit Jersey only available at C2E2 this year!

For attendees at both C2E2 and ECCC this year, Marvel will also be offering an exclusive selection of individually numbered, bagged & boarded variant comics while supplies last, including:

· X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR #1 GLOW-IN-THE-DARK VARIANT BY FRANK CHO (limited to 3,000 total copies)

· WOLVERINE #1 FLUORESCENT VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (limited to 3,000 total copies)

· GWEN STACY #1 GLOW-IN-THE-DARK VARIANT BY SARA PICHELLI (limited to 3,000 total copies)

Looking for more comics? Fans can snag an exclusive giveaway sketch variant of Excalibur #7 by artist Mahmud Asrar during the Marvel Fanfare with C.B. Cebulski panel, and Marvel Unlimited Plus members and Marvel Mastercard cardholders will be able to get an exclusive ultra-rare variant cover of Captain Marvel #15– for FREE!* Drawn by artist Todd Nauck, the cover presents Earth’s Mightiest Hero Captain Marvel soaring through the cosmos - rendered in the inimitable style of Cosbaby by Hot Toys!

In addition to grabbing your exclusive variants, be sure to swing by Marvel’s booth to check out Marvel Unlimited – Marvel’s digital comics app providing access to over 27,000 digital comics. Anyone signing up for a subscription at the booth will receive a free Venom box, including an action figure, comics and more.** And Marvel Insiders, make sure you attend Marvel panels and visit the Marvel booth to capture special codes to earn tens of thousands of Marvel Insider points!

Marvel’s signing schedule will include some of the biggest creators in the industry – including Chris Claremont, Al Ewing, Nick Spencer, Tini Howard, Ben Percy, Jonathan Hickman, Skottie Young, Eve L. Ewing, Rainbow Rowell, and many more!

Attendees at Skottie Young’s signing on Friday will also be able to test their abilities for the mystical and mysterious Strange Academy! Marvel’s first school of magic is in session this March, and Skottie Young wants YOU to apply! But do you have what it takes to train with the best of Marvel’s sorcerers? Drop by the Marvel booth to apply for admission and find out if you are accepted or denied directly from Skottie himself – and receive a signed Strange Academy poster while you’re at it!

*In order to redeem the comic, fans must come to the Marvel Booth #327 and present their Marvel Mastercard (if they are a Marvel Mastercard cardholder) OR Marvel Unlimited+ membership card or order confirmation (if they are a Marvel Unlimited+ member). One comic per member or cardholder. Comics are available while supplies last.

**Supplies are limited. Must subscribe to Marvel Unlimited on site. Auto-renewal and other terms and conditions apply.

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT PANEL SCHEDULE***:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28:

Marvel Artist Extravaganza: A This Week in Marvel Special Event

12:00pm - 1:00pm

Room S401

Marvel’s most amazing comic book series shine due to exceptional artists and storytellers creating each issue. This Week in Marvel invites writer & artist Skottie Young (Strange Academy) and other Mighty Marvel Guests who work on X-Men, Venom, Spider-Man, and more to talk about how they work with their creative teams and the unique storytelling process of the medium.

Marvel Fanfare with CB Cebulski

1:15pm - 2:15pm

Room S401

This is your chance to meet the head of editorial at Marvel! In an exclusive and intimate panel experience, Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski along with Marvel mega-stars Jonathan Hickman (X-Men) and Al Ewing (Empyre) will talk about anything and everything involved with Marvel Comics. Learn about the origin stories of these superlative storytellers straight from the source, and ask all of your burning questions during the Q&A! PLUS – Attendees of this panel will receive an EXCLUSIVE Excalibur #7 sketch variant, available while supplies last!

MARVEL COMICS: X-Men

2:30pm - 3:30pm

Room S401

X-ceptional writer Jonathan Hickman (X-Men) is joined by Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski, Senior Editor Jordan D. White, and a Krakoan Habitat’s worth of X-Men creators to bring you all-new data straight from the House of X House of Ideas! The Dawn of X has broken, and mutantkind has begun to leave a new mark on the world! But what comes next for Marvel’s Merry Mutants? Find out in this can’t-miss panel featuring Gerry Duggan (Marauders, Cable), Tini Howard (Excalibur), Benjamin Percy (X-Force, Wolverine), Ed Brisson (New Mutants), Vita Ayala (Children of the Atom), and Leah Williams (X-Factor).

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29:

MARVEL COMICS: Empyre

3:45pm - 4:45pm

Room S401

Come join us, brothers and sisters, as we enumerate upon the crimes of the intergalactic war criminals knows as the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, and take up arms in a mighty Kree & Skrull Alliance against them! The rally will be led by Ryan Penagos, with Alliance members Al Ewing, C.B. Cebulski, and Tom Brevoort in attendance in Emperor Hulkling’s stead. The Kree and Skrulls are ready to present a united front against the Avengers – and any other Terrans that stand in their way. This panel will detail the battle plans to be chronicled in Marvel's earth-shattering comic event series of 2020…Your presence is mandatory.

MARVEL COMICS: Next Big Thing

5:00pm - 6:00pm

Room S401

Al Ewing! Skottie Young! Donny Cates! These titanic talents along with Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort unite to bring you the hottest Marvel projects of 2020! What cosmic calamity awaits the Guardians of the Galaxy in the outer reaches of space? Is Venom prepared to face his deadliest foe yet? And which class at Strange Academy has the hardest midterm? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this premier panel event!

SUNDAY, MARCH 1:

Women of Marvel

12:15pm - 1:15pm

Room S401

Today, telling stories for Marvel means stepping into a long lineage of characters and a vast web of backstories. What's it like to take on that challenge as a creator? This year at C2E2, Women of Marvel invites some of Marvel’s celebrated storytellers to the stage to talk about how they stay true to their creative style while continuing the stories of comic book characters so many people know and love.

***Due to guest scheduling conflicts, Marvel's Storyboards World Premiere with Joe Quesada (originally scheduled for Saturday, February 29) has been cancelled***

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT BOOTH SCHEDULE (#327):

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28:

11:00am – 11:30am – Prop Store’s Marvel Television Live Auction Preview

12:00pm – 1:00pm – MARVEL COMICS: X-MEN SIGNING

2:30pm – 3:30pm – Marvel Becoming: Cosplay Photo Op

3:45pm – 4:45pm – Marvel Comics: Strange Academy Signing & Application Test

6:00pm – 7:00pm – Marvel Super Hero Happy Giveaway Hour

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29:

11:00am – 11:30am – Marvel Mystery Message

12:00pm – 1:00pm – MARVEL COMICS: EMPYRE SIGNING

2:00pm – 3:00pm – Marvel Becoming: Costume Contest****

3:15pm – 3:45pm – Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes Exhibit Preview

4:15pm – 4:45pm – Marvel Mystery Message

6:00pm – 7:00pm – Marvel Super Hero Happy Giveaway Hour

SUNDAY, MARCH 1:

12:00pm – 12:30pm – Marvel Mystery Message

1:00pm – 2:00pm – Marvel Civil War: Empyre Edition

2:30pm – 3:00pm – Marvel Becoming: Kids Costume Event

4:00pm – 5:00pm – Marvel Super Hero Happy Giveaway Hour

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT SIGNING SCHEDULE (#327):

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28:

12:00pm – 1:00pm – MARVEL COMICS: X-MEN SIGNING (feat. Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Tini Howard, Benjamin Percy, Ed Brisson, Vita Ayala, Leah Williams)

3:00pm – 3:45pm – Al Ewing, Michael Cho, and Rachelle Rosenberg

3:45pm – 4:45pm – MARVEL COMICS: STRANGE ACADEMY SIGNING & APPLICATION TEST (feat. Skottie Young)

5:00pm – 5:45pm – Rainbow Rowell, Robbie Thompson

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 29:

11:00am – 11:45am – Leah Williams, Tini Howard, Vita Ayala

12:00pm – 1:00pm – MARVEL COMICS: EMPYRE SIGNING (feat. Al Ewing, Tom Brevoort, C.B. Cebulski)

1:00pm – 1:45pm – Kyle Higgins, Rod Reis

3:00pm – 3:45pm – Benjamin Percy, Ed Brisson, Jonathan Hickman

SUNDAY, MARCH 1:

11:00am – 11:45am – Chris Claremont

12:00pm– 12:45pm – Nick Spencer, Pat Gleason, Ryan Ottley

2:00pm – 2:45pm – Eve L. Ewing, David Nakayama

****See Marvel.com/c2e2-costume-contest-rules for full terms and conditions

How well is Supergirl going to do in theaters? It’s really hard to say, especially if you are reading on-line takes. Since the tickets were made available for presale, the opening projections have moved all over the place with initial thoughts being between $40 - $50 million, then after a few really positive days it jumped to $60 - $75 and has bounced higher and lower to where now they’re saying $50 - $60. The film is set to open against a popular Toy Story 5 that will be on its second week and likely to stay at the top of the box office if it has an average second week drop. Bottom line the expert seem to be having a hard time locking in on this one. What about critics’ thoughts? The film was screened for reviewers and while originally embargoed until next week, the studio lifted the embargo for reactions a week early and now you can see what they thought. Not their full reviews, but their short initial reactions and if you look online most sites are claiming they’re “mixed”… unless you go into the comments and read them yourself. Even sites like Deadline are saying that yet of the reactions they list, the positives outnumber the negatives three or four to one. There is consistent praise for Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa, the action and the heart of the film. The villain is often called bland and the pacing gets called out, but to call it mixed is a stretch. The problem is that like everything in life, film coverage has become political. Sites use negative headlines to get attention and with DC Studios particularly you have a split fan base between what is happening now and those that prefer the previous films… which means that narrative gets created to further their own cause. The truth is, Supergirl will struggle a bit with a film like Toy Story 5 going against it, the character is not popular on her own and is a derivative of a bigger character and in a lot of ways, the previous incarnations, while entertaining, did nothing to make the character stand on her own. Regardless of how it does, there will be a narrative claiming success and another claiming failure. The only way to judge the truth is to see the movie yourself and decide… but that’s really how we judge all movies isn’t it?   

We’re just weeks away from the release of the first Supergirl movie in over 40 years and with ticket presales well underway, experts are making their projects on opening weekend. After the initial sales started happening, most sites were predicting anywhere from $45 to $55 million domestically, but after a few days of higher-than-expected numbers, some sites have adjusted up to as high as $60 to $77 million. This would put the Milly Alcock lead film right in line with the last few Marvel Studios films (except Deadpool and Wolverine). While there has been some debate, Deadline claims the film’s budget is $175 million and the breakeven point would be around $315 million. Other sites claim it’s as high as $425 million globally to call it a success. Only DC Studios and its co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran know what would make this film a success for them, but with trying to rebuild a franchise that had been pretty much run into the ground with underperforming films like The Flash, Aquaman 2 and Shazam 2, having a film that makes most of its money back and is a critical and audience success could be more valuable. Coming off the success of last year’s Superman film, DC is hoping that Craig Gillespie’s vision will continue to excite fans and keep building the new DCU to higher and higher heights. The success of this film and this universe may be driven more on word-of-mouth than box office numbers and the studio appear to be confident enough in the film that they have already had media screenings over two weeks before the film’s release. Yes, there is still an embargo so they can have those reviews come out closer to when the film is in theaters, but you can probably tell the way the project is being covered whether or not it was well received.   

A new rumor is shaking up what fans are expecting from The Batman Part 2. On the same day that writer/director Matt Reeves posted that filming had begun, insider Jeff Schnieder posted about how everything we knew about Sebastian Stan’s role in the project was wrong. Sites had been reporting that Stan would be playing Harvey Dent/Two-Face and while that had never been confirmed by Reeves or DC Studios, people took comments from Stan as confirmation such as how he would be playing, “multiple roles” as a hint at him playing the split-personality of the Batman villain. But the new report claims that Stan is not Dent but rather the serial killer Victor Zsasz and actor Bryan Tyree Henry would be playing Dent. Other insiders have some out since and claim to have collaborating information. Zsasz is an interesting character, a killer who notches a mark on his skin for every kill. He’s been portrayed in live action a couple of times including on Gotham and in the Birds of Prey movie but has never been the main focus of a story. This would match up to Reeves saying that the film would be exploring a story never done in film before. It doesn’t really match up to Stan’s comment about “multiple roles” or reports that he was already working with make-up to figure out the look. Reeves is not confined by what is in the comics so he could make major changes to characters, even to the point of making Zsasz a divergent personality of Harvey Dent that manifested prior to the acid attack causing Two-Face to emerge. It’s also possible that Schneider’s information is slightly off and instead of playing the serial killer, Stan could be playing Charles Victor Szasz who is also known as Victor Sage or The Question. How’s that for a twist? The bottom line here is that Schnieder is hearing this from an insider, and it has not been confirmed by any official source and I wouldn’t put it past film studios to start leaking false information to protect a movie that is just starting to film. I think this one stays in the, “take with a grain of salt” category and we wait to find out more. 

DC Studios and their co-head James Gunn have talked about a lot of potential series and films with some of them being mentioned and then sort of forgotten about. One of those seemed to be Paradise Lost, a Wonder Woman prequel series showing life on Themyscira before the birth of Diana. Though after its initial mention, the project hadn’t been talked about in a while and someone asked Gunn its fate. Gunn insisted the project was still in the works and now we are seeing some possible confirmation. Back in 2024, two names were attached as writers on the series Kira Snyder and Janet Lin and now, according to the WGA website, both are set to work on Paradise Lost for 2027-2028. Snyder is known for writing and producing on The Handmaid’s Tale and The 100 while Lin has credits on Bridgerton, Cursed, and Bones. There has been talks recently about trying to fast track a new Wonder Woman film and while there is no confirmation, rumors persist that the character may debut in Man of Tomorrow, so seeing Paradise Lost finally moving forward would make a lot of sense. 

Sony’s new Spider-Noir series has out done the MCU when it comes to fans. According to Forbes, the new Nicholas Cage lead series with him playing a 1930s variant of Spider-Man has garnered the highest audience score of all Marvel related television projects on Rotten Tomatoes. In the new series, Cage plays detective Ben Reilly who used to be the web-swinging hero called The Spider but hung up his mask after the death of his fiancée. Audience have really taken to the series that is available in both color and B&W, giving it a 93% (a point higher than when Forbes did their article) and even scored well with the critics at 92%. While the critic score is impressive, other Marvel projects have done better such as X-Men ’97 with a 99% score and Ms. Marvel with a 98% among critics. But on the audience side, 93% is tops beating out shows like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil (Netflix) and WandaVision. While there has been no word on a second season, it would be hard for Amazon and Sony to ignore results like this. 

James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios and writer/director of the upcoming Man of Tomorrow film, was back on social media this week answering questions and one in particular stood out. A Threads user named “boyturizmo” asked, “Will we ever see General Zod, Doomsday, Dr. Fate, Black Adam, Ultraman (with his Crime Syndicate) or Darkseid?” Gunn replied, “Two of them in not too long…” This of course led to a ton of speculation on which two and where? Now the obvious one is Darkseid, and while Gunn has said his DCU isn’t building toward a big Thanos like battle with Darkseid, the character is going to be appearing in the upcoming animated series Mr. Miracle. The series is in production with comic writer Tom King onboard as the showrunner and he recently showed off a clip to interviewer Brandon Davis, who did not share what he saw. Mr. Miracle is an escape artist raised on Darkseid’s planet Apokolips who falls in love with a warrior woman named Big Barda and they escape to Earth. Though no casting has been announced for the series, Gunn has stated that the animated series are cannon to the DCU and actors cast in the animated shows, like Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., would carry over into live action like Grillo did in both Peacemaker and Superman.   As for the second character we will see soon, it is possible that Gunn could bring back more characters from the DCEU and have Dwayne Johnson return as Black Adam or Pierce Brosnan don the helmet of Dr Fate once more. And Ultraman could return from the black hole he was sucked into… but I think the most likely possibility will be in flashbacks to Krypton, possibly in Supergirl, where we could see General Zod cameo in a scene with Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Zor-El (David Krumholtz) discussing the fate of the planet and how to handle it. This would be a great scene for world-building… though part of me really wants Brosnan back as Fate. 

With The Batman Part 2 going into early production, fans are eager for news, information and confirmations and we may just have one thanks to one of the newcomers to the franchise, Sebastian Stan. It’s been rumored for months that the actor who has played everything from Bucky Barnes to Donald Trump to Tommy Lee was moving to Gotham in the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent aka coin-flipping villain Two-Face, and while his casting was confirmed by director Matt Reeves a few days back, we have not had an official announcement on the part he will be playing. While speaking to Deadline about his film Fjord, Stan spoke a bit about his summer plans which include a trip to London to work with Reeves where he says he will be playing “many roles in this one”. The article states that he’s talking about the role of Dent and how the character transforms from D.A. to villain when acid is thrown in his face by mobster Salvadore Maroni. Stan goes on to say, ”I’m excited, I’m nervous and trying to keep surprising myself.” He also he has been working with hair and make-up already trying to figure out how his disfigurement will look. Stan doesn’t come out and say in the quotes that he’s playing Two-Face, but Deadline strongly implies it and are one of the sites that had been reporting that he had been cast in the role early on. The Batman Epic Crime Saga, as Reeves calls it, does have one hitch to overcome. During The Penguin series on HBO Max, Maroni was played by Clancy Brown and does not make it through the series. So, either the attack on Dent takes place prior to the events we’ve already seen portrayed or Reeves is going to change up who throws the acid. Not a huge problem but it will be interesting to see how the moment will be handled if we end up seeing it at all. The Batman Part 2 is beginning to film and is on track for an October 2027 release. 

Winter is coming to Gotham and Matt Reeves is heating up the internet with his social media posts. He started it off with a couple camera tests showing the Batmobile in the snow, letting us know that production had begun on the long-awaited sequel. Then he began letting fans know the cast for the upcoming The Batman Part II starting with a gif of Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader with the quote, “We meet again, my friend.” This led into a series of posts that welcomed back the Dark Knight’s to main allies, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Then we got the two sides of the city fighting for control represented by Jayme Lawson as newly elected Mayor Bella Real and Colin Farrell as crime boss Oz Cobb aka The Penguin. Then he welcomed back the true hero of the film, Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez. Martinez is the representation of how the GCPD views The Batman as he appears multiple times in the first film, each time becoming more comfortable with working with the vigilante. Reeves would return to posting the next day and introduce the new characters to the film, but through gifs from their previous projects and not officially naming characters. This would include three MCU veterans starting with Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. Then Game of Thrones patriarch Charles Dance, from A Good Day to Die Hard, Sebastian Koch and from Atlanta and the Eternals, Bryan Tyree Henry. Stan has been heavily linked to the role of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face with Dance likely playing his father Christopher. Johansson is believed to be playing Dent’s wife Gilda but that has never been confirmed and there had been no rumors at all about Koch and Henry, though Koch’s management posted a tweet about him helping rid Gotham of evil. Many on-line are speculating that Henry could be playing Detective Harvey Bullock. What is interesting are the names not mentioned in posts such as Con O’Neil as Chief Mackenzie Bock, Barry Keoghan as the Joker and Paul Dano as the Riddler. I wouldn’t assume that not being mentioned doesn’t mean they don’t show up in the film, just that the character may not have a lot of screen time. The assumption is that the film will focus on Dent working with Gordon and Batman to clean up Gotham, so there will be lots of room for other characters in this film. The film has started production and is on track to premiere in October of 2027. 

We are in the age of Matthew Lillard and everyone except Quentin Tarantino seems to be happy about it. The Scream and Scooby-Doo actor has been having a bit of a resurgence lately coming shortly after Tarantino made some disparaging comments about the actor with no provocation. Many in the industry stood up for Lillard and now the actor seems to be popping up everywhere including the latest Scream film, the second season of Cross and the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. The latest news reported by multiple sites has the actor joining the cast of Man of Tomorrow, the next DC Studios film written and directed by James Gunn. Gunn, who is good friends with Lillard and has worked with him previously on both Scooby-Doo movies, posted the below image of the pair together, commenting on the news reports as “pure speculation” and saying that they are just “casually hanging out”. Most took the posts to be sarcasm and assume that Lillard is now in the film as that is where Gunn is right now, filming the project. Fans on-line have begun even more speculation as to who Lillard could be playing including various heroes and characters with the most notable being Jim Gordon from Gotham and Plastic Man, a character that Gunn and Lillard once tried to pitch as a project to DC/Warner Bros. It’s my belief that he will be a more Superman centric character such as STAR Labs Professor Emil Hamilton or police detective Dan Turpin. But that also would be pure speculation. 

Fans of Matt Reeves’ film The Batman got excited this week because of driving in the snow. The director posted images to his social media showing test footage of the Batmobile driving in winter conditions, which were the first signs that the long-awaited sequel had begun production. Though it has been postponed many times, it is set to be released in October of 2027 and will make the first time live-action Batman and Superman films will be released in the same year. The cold weather setting has long been assumed for the film based on the timeline created in both the first movie starting on Halloween and ending on Election Day and then The Penguin series on HBO Max which took place over a week or so immediately after the flooding of Gotham. The new film will pick up right after the award-winning series which places the time frame squarely in December. The plot for the film is still under wraps, but along with returning stars Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Jeffrey Wright, the project has reportedly added Scarlett Johannson, Sebastian Stan and Charles Dance. Stan is reported to be playing Gotham DA Harvey Dent aka Two-Face while Dance is said to be his father, Christopher. These castings have been reported by multiple reputable outlets but not confirmed by DC Studios or Reeves. With production having begun, the film is on track to keep its release date of October 2027.