Shrek is one of those animated franchises that started off strong, and miraculously got stronger as a sequel - before sliding down the slopes a third and fourth sequel that offered drastically diminished returns. After Shrek 4 (Shrek Forever After) seemingly put the franchise out to pasture in 2010, few fans were saddened by the loss; but, this is the movie business, so, Shrek 5 is on the schedule to arrive in 2019.

The Hollywood News caught up with Shrek franchise alumnus Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn on the press tour for their new Dreamworks movie Trolls, and part of the discussion was about the future of the Shrek franchise. Mitchell let it be know that, "They’ve got a pretty good story. It’s being written by Michael McCullers who wrote all of the Austin Powers films. He came up with a really great idea that they’re exploring."

Dohrn added that the pair are "ready to help tell" more story in the Shrek mythos, and the inclusion of Michael McCullers is probably a nice creative shot in the arm for Austin Power/Shrek star, Mike Myers.

Fans are invited to join the adventuring party of Jonny Quest and crew this August alongside fan-favorite writer Joe Casey and brilliant artist Sebastián Piriz. The tale celebrates the six incredible decades of Jonny Quest fandom and follows the issue #0 prelude story with approximately 80,000 copies released for Free Comic Book Day this May.



Climb aboard the Sea Quest and get ready to embark on a journey like no other. Legendary boy explorer Jonny Quest is back in action, and joined by the whole beloved cast originally created for the Hanna-Barbera animation line by comic book legend Doug Wildey.

Jonny's father, Dr. Benton Quest, is a genius scientist often leading the way. “Race” Bannon is a special agent tasked with protecting Jonny and teaching him a range of skills. Hadji is the orphaned adopted son of Dr. Quest, and Jonny’s brother. Last, but certainly not least, Jonny’s dog Bandit is always along for the ride.

This batch of characters are all back in four color pages, and they'll be joined by even more unexpected faces as writer Joe Casey hews close to the original spirit of the series, while using a modern storytelling approach in his signature style. This comic series picks up where the original animated series left off in 1964, but fans will be surprised as things quickly take a turn for the uncanny! Now Dynamite and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products kick off a new era for the franchise!

"The hope is that we’re maintaining the bouncy spirit of the original TV show," said Casey. "From one episode to the next, Jonny Quest always had a particular dramatic rhythm that was completely unique. We want our book to have that same kind of vibe. Plus, the fact that Benton and Jonny are father and son automatically makes this a generational story. We’re taking that angle and really running with it, taking that specific generational aspect to the extreme in ways that, we think, deepen the characters and give them the proper amount of gravitas that we demand from our beloved genre fiction."



Joe Casey is a certified legend with plenty of experience bringing comics inspired stories to animation and vice versa. As part of the creative group Man of Action, he's played a role in creating iconic franchises like Ben 10 and Generator Rex. In comics, Casey has tackled many of the industry's top titles, while always finding time for his own creations too. He's written for titles including Uncanny X-Men, Adventures of Superman, Incredible Hulk, Cable, WildC.A.T.s, G.I. Joe, as well as Gødland, All-America Comix, and others.

Casey's major co-star on the title is rising artist Sebastián Piriz (We Ride Titans, Deadweights). His fantastic, fluid artwork has been wowing plugged in fans for a while with his fan art, commissions, and process shared on social media. Dynamite and the whole team are excited about Quest being perhaps his biggest showcase yet for fans to enjoy his perfectly matched style.

The title is enhanced by a roster of fully frameable covers by industry luminaries including Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn), Jae Lee, Tom Raney, Bob Layton, and Richard Pace. More surprises may be around the corner, as Dynamite invites some of the most fun names in comics to tackle this icon.



JONNY QUEST #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ June 2024 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in August 2024. Comic book fans are encouraged to preorder copies of the book with their local comic book retailers. It will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, ComicsPlus, and more!

Netflix has rounded out the Endless Family for Season 2 of The Sandman. Esmé Creed-Miles joins the cast as Delirium, Adrian Lester as Destiny and Barry Sloane as The Prodigal. The three join Tom Sturridge as Dream, Kirby as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire and Donna Preston as Despair who are returning from Season 1. In Season 1 of the series, based on Neil Gaiman’s DC Comics series of the same name, when the Sandman, aka Dream (Sturridge) — the powerful cosmic being who controls all our dreams — is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for over a century, he must journey across different worlds and timelines to fix the chaos his absence has caused. Additional returning cast includes Patton Oswalt, Vivienne Acheampong, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Ferdinand Kingsley, Stephen Fry, Asim Chaudhry, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Vanesu Samunyai, and Razane Jammal. (via Deadline)

With the recent success of X-Men ’97, all eyes are on Marvel Animation and their upcoming projects. ComicBook spoke with Brad Winderbaum, Marvel’s Head of Animation, and he talked about the upcoming Eyes of Wakanda series that is firmly set in the history of the MCU and connected to the Black Panther franchise. "Eyes of Wakanda is an MCU show. This is the history of Wakanda as told through the War Dogs, and it is some of the best animation we've ever done. Todd Harris is the creator of that one. That's just such a cool show." While it was originally scheduled to be released in 2024, Winderbaum said that we’re more likely to get What If…?! season three before this or Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, so I wouldn’t expect it this year. There have been unconfirmed rumors that the series will take place in various eras showing us different Black Panthers throughout history. There is also a report that has a previous wielder of the Iron Fist showing up, possibly Wu Ao-Shi, the Pirate Queen of Pinghai Bay who lived around 1545 A.D. and was mentioned as a distant ancestor of Colleen Wing in the Iron Fist series on Netflix. 

Donnie Yen has inked a deal to reprise his role as Caine, the highly skilled, blind assassin introduced in John Wick: Chapter 4, in a new film from Lionsgate set to shoot in Hong Kong next year, the studio announced on Wednesday. While the logline is being kept under wraps, the new film will continue Yen’s story arc following the events of Chapter 4, as Caine has been freed from his obligations to the High Table. The new film was developed as part of Chad Stahelski’s recently announced deal with Lionsgate to oversee the expansion of the John Wick universe. Script is written by Robert Askins, the Tony-nominated writer of the play Hand to God, who has also worked on such series as The Umbrella Academy and The Son. Up next for release, on June 6, 2025, is Ballerina, a female-driven spin-off which stars Ana de Armas as an assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma. 

We have a better understanding of the Superman timeline and just how James Gunn ended up the co-head of DC Studios. There is a part of the on-line community that blames the Guardians of the Galaxy director for the removal of Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, but it didn’t quite work that way. When Gunn was brought over to Warner Bros by Mike DeLuca, they had their eye on him to do a stand-alone Superman film separate from the DCEU in the same way Matt Reeves did The Batman and Todd Phillips did The Joker. So, when Gunn says his project always planned on using a different actor for the lead, it is true. Cavill was brought back into the Black Adam movie at Dwayne Johnson’s insistence and had the film succeeded, it probably would’ve continued. But with Black Adam’s lackluster performance and the reception of both The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, David Zaslav ended the DCEU, Peter Safran was offered the role of overseeing the new DC Studios and he brought in Gunn as his partner for the creative side. The bottom line is Gunn was creating a new take on a stand-alone Superman when he was asked to extend it to cover the whole universe of characters. This was all confirmed by Gunn in a social media tweet where he verified that his Superman film was always separate from the DCEU.   

One of the best moments in the 2024 Academy Awards show as the teaming of Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger to present an award because they had both tried to “kill Batman.” The two actors are good friends and have been talking about doing another film together, that is according to DeVito who talked about it on the red carpet for Poolman. “We really want to work together and we’ve been talking about it for quite a while. We’re onto something now, we have a script being written. As soon as that comes in, we’ll know better. But we’ll do it at Warner Brothers, so there you go.” He didn’t go into details, so this could be something new or a sequel to one of their previous endeavors like Twins or Junior. They had previously discussed a sequel to Twins, but: “When we lost Ivan (director Reitman), rest his soul, we were about to work with him again on a sequel for Twins. I think where my head is — and I think Arnold’s in the same spot — we want to work together. We want to do another movie together, whether it’s a sequel or a new element that’s another story. Just has to be good, funny, entertaining for us that fits with our characters, and what people want to see. And that’s what we’re aiming for.” 

With Furiosa, Chris Hemsworth is jumping into an existence franchise after having made a name for himself with Thor. But how different is it working on the George Miller directed project from his time in the MCU? “It’s like (what) Kevin Feige has to those films, a depth of knowledge and importance of it all, it feels very familiar. There’s nothing accidental on screen, it has a purpose or needs a purpose.” This is also he first change to play a villain, but Hemsworth had his own approach to that. “I wanted there to be some humanity in him, I didn’t want to see him as the villain. He’s a survivor. He’s doing his best to make it through the next 24 hours like anyone else is. He’s product of The Wasteland. He’s trying to protect his tribe.” The latest Mad Max universe film played at Cannes this past week and had the longest standing ovation of any film, which seems to be how they judge things there. 

Even though Jeremy Renner has recovered enough from his horrific snowplow accident to return to work, he’s not back fully yet and some changes needed to be made to his work schedule. Renner spoke about the differences of working on The Mayor of Kingstown to the L.A. Times, “They go, ‘And action!’ And I was out. We realized they worked me too hard, too many hours, too many days in a row. What I’m willing to do is everything, but what I’m able to do is a different thing. They have to treat me like treat me like I’m a child actor. The mayor of Kingstown is now like a 14-year-old.” Returning to the physicality of acting was something he really had to think about. “To try to create some truth and then get the audience to believe it, while I’m just trying to learn to walk again, to put one foot in front of the other and not get up in agony. I’m doing all these things to find my footing on the planet again. The idea of going into a fictional world — I have to be honest with you, I had to really consider, Is this something I really want to do?” The producers have adjusted their filming schedule to accommodate Renner’s limitations and needs and the actor is moving forward with a great outlook on life. “I’m alive. I’m walking through life with a smile on my face. And there’s nothing that’s ever going to change that. Nothing. It’s impossible for me to have a bad day.” 

It’s all been leading to this! Over the last few years, fans have been reacquainted with Spider-Verse icons AND discovered all-new favorites in the blockbuster hit EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE comic book series. Now, see the final evolution of this saga in SPIDER-SOCIETY, a new limited series launching this August. From acclaimed author Alex Segura (Secret Identity) and rising star Marvel artist Scott Godlewski (Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace), SPIDER-SOCIETY will spin the entire multiverse into one epic saga! Fans got their first taste earlier this year in a special prelude story in the Web of Spider-Man one-shot. That action packed tale saw Miguel O’Hara, AKA Spider-Man 2099, attacked by a new army of villains led by an alternate universe’s Gwen Stacy who became the Green Goblin! Two more teaser stories in Edge of Spider-Verse #1 and #4 further set up Weapon VIII and Araña’s involvement. That was only the beginning. In addition to heroes, SPIDER-SOCIETY will introduces a wild cadre of Spider-Villains from the multiverse known as the SINISTER SQUADRON. It’s a grouping of villains like you’ve never seen, and to defend the very fabric of the universe, Madame Web will recruit EVERY Spider-Hero there ever was for an unprecedented war that will redefine the web of life! It’s every Spider-Character you love (and some you haven’t met yet)! May the first meeting of the Spider-Society commence! That’s right, every Spider-Person will be in the same room for the craziest assembly the Multiverse has ever seen! "We've had such a blast building toward and teasing SPIDER-SOCIETY in the pages of Web of Spider-Man and Edge of Spider-Verse,” Segura shared. “I hope readers enjoy the amazing roster of Spider-Heroes we're bringing together to face off a new, but eerily familiar threat. Scott Godlewski's the perfect choice to bring our Spider-Verse adventure to life, and his take on the Spider-Heroes, from Spider-Man 2099 to Spider-Ramen, is spot-on. Readers can expect a wild multiversal ride full of surprises and fun character moments, evoking the Spider-Verse tales they love. August can't come fast enough!" Check out a small fraction of the Spider-Heroes you’ll come across in Pete Woods main cover along with best-selling cover artist Artgerm’s Spider-Gwen variant cover, which will also be available as a virgin variant cover. Witness the finale of Edge of Spider-Verse next week and don’t miss the start of this incredible new series when it launches this August.

Fan-favorite artist Andrew Robinson teams up with up-and-coming writer Lee Loughridge (colorist on Deadly Class, The Good Asian) for an all-new, revenge-drenched tale in the upcoming, Standstill. This eight issue miniseries is set to launch this August from Image Comics with an extra-length issue containing 60 double-page spreads of jaw-dropping artwork. In Standstill, readers meet Ryker Ruel, an enigmatic, lecherous, and clinically insane sociopath who has stolen a top-secret device that can freeze time! Now, as the bodies of world leaders pile up, famous works of art go missing, and other strange crimes dominate the headlines, only the device’s creator, a run-of-the-mill science geek, knows what’s happening and sets out to stop Ryker’s seemingly endless revenge tour. "Nearly nine years in the making, this is the longest sequential run for Andrew Robinson in well over a decade," Loughridge. "This may just be his career best." Robinson added: “Lee writes with a rebellious, punk rock vigor that combines his classic, sardonic wit with epic action.”


Standstill #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, August 21:

Cover A by Andrew Robinson - Lunar Code 0624IM235

Cover B 1:10 copy incentive by Matteo Scalera & Lee Loughridge wraparound - Lunar Code 0624IM236

Cover C 1:15 copy incentive by Cary Nord - Lunar Code 0624IM237

Standstill #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.