DF Interview: Marc Guggenheim promises espionage intrigue in the ‘Too Dead To Die’ OGN

By Byron Brewer

In the 1980s, Simon Cross was America’s top super-spy. In Too Dead To Die, he faces down today’s very different world and a past that has come back to haunt him, forcing him out of retirement for one final adventure.

The writer/artist team of Marc Guggenheim and Howard Chaykin (Blade, Wolverine) reunites for an original graphic novel in the forthcoming Too Dead To Die. This all-new story promises classic spy novel suspense and is set to hit shelves from Image Comics this December. Whose espionage-loving motor wouldn’t be revved by the mention of these two comics creators? I sat down with my friend Marc Guggenheim to discuss the OGN.


Byron Brewer: Marc, Coronavirus and the pandemic affected all of us in many ways. Tell readers how this was instrumental in your coming graphic novel, Too Dead To Die.



Marc Guggenheim: Well, I locked the sound mix on my first directing efforts (Legends of Tomorrow, Episode 514) and the next day was lockdown. The shutting down of all production meant that I was able to focus on writing things that I wouldn’t otherwise have had time to work on. Among those projects was a push back into creator-owned comics. I had had the idea for what became Too Dead To Die for several years, but never had the time to actually work on it. Suddenly, I did.



Byron: And before we get to the book proper (well, kinda), relate the very ironic/amusing story of how artist and frequent collaborator (Blade, Wolverine) Howard Chaykin got involved with the OGN.



Marc Guggenheim: Howard and I had worked together on four projects previously: Blade, Wolverine, a four-page story for an anti-bullying special, and an unpublished eight-page Spirit story. Like I said, what became Too Dead To Die was something I’d been kicking around in my head for a number of years. The pandemic gave me a chance to finally work on it. I just started writing the first issue. This was, obviously, before I knew it would take the form of a graphic novel. But halfway through writing those first twentysomething pages, I realized I was picturing Howard’s art in my head as I wrote. When I finished the script, I sent Howard an email -- we’ve kept in touch over the years -- and asked if he had any interest in reading it. He said he did and evidently he liked what he read, because we were suddenly off to the races.



Byron: Introduce us to Simon Cross. Who was he, who is he, what challenges does life hold for him today?



Marc Guggenheim: I like to describe Cross as a super-spy who is as close to James Bond as I could get without being sued. He’s basically America’s answer to James Bond: Like Bond, he likes women and the finer things in life, but being American, he’s more coarse. He’s less proper. He has a tendency to break the rules. I don’t think he takes orders as well as Bond does.

I’m using the present tense here, but the truth is that that’s all in the past for Cross. When we meet him, he’s in his seventies and long since retired from the field. He has a collection of medications that have been prescribed to manage all the conditions decades of hard living have left him with. His liver is a mess. His back is in shambles. He has STDs. He’s basically falling apart when we meet him.


Byron: Talk a little about Cross’ world in the 1980s. And did you or Howard do any research for the period?



Marc Guggenheim: Howard and I both lived through the Eighties, so I don’t think either of us felt an overwhelming need to do too much research on that score. In any case, the majority of the graphic novel unfolds in the 21st Century. Although there is a prose short story in the graphic novel that’s set in the Eighties which I had to do a fair amount of research for. All I can say is, thank God for Google. It’s truly amazing how many specific facts are right at your fingertips.



Byron: Can you let us know about any important characters aside from Cross in the book, maybe introduce a few of them here?



Marc Guggenheim: The most significant co-star is Cross’ daughter, Lily. As more than one character points out, it’s statistically impossible for Cross to have had sex with so many women without siring at least one child. That’s Lily. But the important thing to know about her is that she’s no damsel. She’s smart and formidable and has her own point of view on things. At the same time, I worked hard to avoid the expected cliché of her having resentment towards her father which Cross has to overcome. Their relationship is much more nuanced -- in fact, Lily’s surname is Nuance -- than that.

There’s also Olivia Goodlay, who was a former co-worker of Cross’ and, yes, a former lover. Today, however, she’s a Director at the CIA. I was interested in seeing how a two-dimensional “Bond girl” would grow and change over time. Her interactions with Cross are among my favorite in the graphic novel. She’s got his number and has no compunctions about giving him the business.


Byron: Can you give readers an elevator pitch for the book (without spoilers, of course). And what sort of difficulties does a former 1980s Cold War superspy have operating in the 21st century?



Marc Guggenheim: The elevator pitch is that Simon Cross was America’s preeminent super-spy in the 1980s. But it’s now 2022 and the world has passed him by. All his heroism and sacrifices have been forgotten. He never settled down. He lives a rather sad and lonely existence. But all that changes the day he learns that one of his many assignations produced a daughter. The fact that she’s in danger draws him out of retirement for one final adventure.



Byron: Discuss your collaboration(s) with Howard in depth. Your story about how he got with this graphic novel says a lot about you guys as a creative team.



Marc Guggenheim: When I write a comic, I’m always seeing the art in my head as I go. With Too Dead To Die, I was seeing Howard’s art in my mind’s eye, as I mentioned. What’s interesting, however, is that I often don’t see Howard’s layouts -- how the art is arranged on the page -- and that’s actually an aspect of Howard’s art that he doesn’t get enough credit for, in my opinion. The way he’ll arrange close ups or tight shots of characters’ faces in panels that are confined to the left or right side of the page -- leaving the middle of the page for wide or action shots -- is really rather ingenious. And wholly original. It’s the most quintessentially “Chaykin” thing about Howard’s art, but nobody notices because his style -- his voice as an artist -- is so wonderfully specific. When you look at a piece of Howard’s art, you have no doubt who drew it.

Also, just by the design of the cover of the OGN, I get the feeling this may NOT be the last time we see or hear of Simon Cross OR the team of Guggenheim/Chaykin. Do we have more Simon coming to our lives in the future?
Well, to quote the title of Sean Connery’s last turn as James Bond, Never Say Never Again, I’d say “never say never.” I love working with Howard and I believe the feeling is mutual. And, yes, the story is built such that there can be sequels and prequels. It all depends on the success of the OGN, to be honest. In success, all things are possible. At the moment, I’m working on the screenplay for a feature film adaptation of Too Dead To Die -- Howard and I sold the rights recently to a major Hollywood studio. In my perfect world, we’d publish a follow-up OGN -- which, I promise, will not be called 2 Dead 2 Die -- contemporaneously with the release of the movie. But you never know what fate has in store…


Byron: Marc, I know you are active in all types of media, everything from comics to the screens big and small. What projects to you have coming, inside or outside comics, that you can tell readers about?



Marc Guggenheim: “That [I] can tell readers about” is the key phrase in that question. For the past few months, I’ve been writing a weekly newsletter -- LegalDispatch -- on Substack (marcguggenheim.substack.com) and I feel like many editions are just a laundry list of project codenames because I haven’t gotten the greenlight to talk publicly about them.

In terms of television, I’m just in the development phase on several projects. These days, a show can take four years between conception and streaming, so I’ve buckled in for what I know will be a long process on all of these. It’s not like the old days where you would pitch in June, shoot the pilot in March, and be on the air in October, unfortunately.
Right now, most of my public-facing (i.e., announced) work is in the comic book space. The trade paperback edition of Last Flight Out, the pre-apocalypse father/daughter story I published through Dark Horse, hit comic book stores on November 16. The week after saw publication of the first trade collection of Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca on November 23. That same day, we dropped Star Wars: Revelations -- a really ambitious 40-page one-shot which previews events that are happening across the Star Wars line in 2023. Speaking of 2023, on January 25, we’ll release another OGN through Dark Horse called Fragmentation, which I describe as “what if Christopher Nolan directed a family drama?”
Like I said, LegalDispatch is the place to go for teases of all my heretofore unannounced projects, including Project Artery which will be animated. I also talk a lot about the state of the entertainment industry and how it’s been contracting of late -- which probably seems strange given how busy I am, but it’s a strange time…

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Marc Guggenheim for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. The Too Dead To Die OGN from Image Comics is slated to be on sale on December 14th!



For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

Fans are eager to see the upcoming Lanterns series on HBO and besides a still shot and a few seconds of footage, very little about the series is known at this point. We got our first comments about it from series star Kyle Chandler who will be playing one of the most well-known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan. Chandler was being interviewed on the Today Show for his new film The RIP with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. During the interview he was asked about Lanterns and said, “I’ve never had as much fun shooting something as I did that. The people from the top to the bottom. I can’t say enough about Chris Mundy, and the producers, the DC folks. It was an excellent experience. I expect the show to be as good as the experience I had. Aaron Pierre, who I worked with, he and I had a great time.” The series is slated to be released later this year and comes from Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. Joining Chandler and Pierre in the cast are Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner and then Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Jason Ritter, Poorna Jagannathan, and Paul Ben-Victor. There will be eight episodes and it is said to be mostly an Earth-based mystery set in the heartland of America with a True Detective vibe. 

Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. has stirred plenty of speculation across Hollywood, but one message from the streamer’s leadership has been unusually clear: the theatrical experience isn’t going anywhere. In fact, if the sale closes, Netflix says it will strengthen Warner Bros.’ traditional theatrical model rather than shrink it. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co‑CEO, has repeatedly emphasized that Warner Bros. films will continue to enjoy a 45‑day exclusive theatrical window—a stance that directly counters fears that Netflix would rush major releases to streaming. Sarandos described Warner Bros.’ theatrical distribution as a “phenomenal” engine that generates billions in revenue, insisting Netflix has no intention of putting that at risk. This commitment marks a notable shift in tone for Netflix, which historically prioritized streaming-first strategies. But after reviewing Warner Bros.’ financials, Sarandos acknowledged that the economics of theatrical releases are stronger than Netflix had previously modeled. He framed the 45‑day window not as a compromise but as a competitive strategy: Netflix wants to “win opening weekend” and “win box office,” embracing the same metrics that drive traditional studios. Industry observers have taken notice. While some feared the acquisition would accelerate the decline of theatrical exclusivity, Netflix’s public stance suggests a more balanced future—one where streaming power and box office ambition coexist. For now, at least, moviegoers can expect Warner Bros. films to keep lighting up big screens for a full month and a half before landing on Netflix’s platform. 

The DCU is expanding with the casting of one of the universe’s biggest bads… Darkseid. While this seems to go against something co-studio head James Gunn has said previously about staying away from the cosmic threat, but this casting isn’t for Man of Tomorrow, but rather the upcoming Mister. Miracle animated series and you can’t really tell the story of Scott Free with mentioning his adopted daddy. Writer Tom King was on the Word Balloon podcast when he talked about the series that he is showrunning and said that they had cast Darkseid and Orion along with Mr. Miracle and Big Barda. If you’re not familiar with these characters, they are all part of the Fourth World Saga created by comic legend Jack Kirby during his short stint with DC Comics. It tells the story of two warring factions, the New Gods and the planet Apokolips and a deal that was made in an attempt for peace. The leaders of the factions, High Father and Darkseid, would exchange children… this sent Scott Free to be raised on the oppressive planet while Orion was sent to the peaceful New Genesis. Scott would become and escape artist, finding a way off of Apokolips with the female warrior, Barda, and eventually come to Earth. Exactly what part of that history the series will focus on is unclear, but we do know that Darkseid and the others will be involved. Gunn also confirmed on social media that the series will be cannon to the DCU that includes the recent Superman movie, the Peacemaker series and the animated Creature Commandos. This means that whoever is voicing these characters in the series would also play them in live action in the future and King has said that the Mister Miracle series will have big ramifications on the DCU as a whole. No word on when the series will debut, but with the casting already made, we can expect an announcement in the near future. 

Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to the 2023 Godzilla Minus One is set to hit North American theaters on November 6th, 2026, three days after its premier in Japan. The Academy Award winning film took in $11.4 million in the US on its opening weekend and $57 million total during its domestic box office run. Godzilla Minus Zero is the second film in the franchise from Gkids since taking Toho acquired the company in 2024. David Jesteadt, president of Gkids, said in a statement: “Gkids is proud to bring Godzilla Minus Zero to North American audiences, following the incredible global reception of Godzilla Minus One. This next chapter is sure to become another defining moment for the most colossal monster ever to dominate the screen. It is only fitting that this bold, new Godzilla event be experienced in its fullest theatrical glory, and we’re honored that Toho has entrusted us to carry this legacy forward.” 

As we get closer to the start of production on Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part 2, the cast starts to take shape with the second MCU veteran being added to the cast. We heard of Scarlet Johansson’s casting earlier in December and now multiple sources are saying Sebastian Stan has come on board as well, with the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision report claiming that the actor who plays Bucky Barnes will now take on the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent aka Two-Face. This lines up with the rumors that Johansson would be playing Gilda Dent and that the story may be following the Long Halloween, a popular comic arch by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. While the story does focus on the Dents, many of the other characters in the story have already appeared in The Batman and The Penguin and have already been eliminated. Plus, the setting of the sequel is said to be set around a week after The Penguin series ended, just before Christmas. How ever the characters are used, if Stan is in the film, it then puts the fate of his MCU character in question as The Batman Part 2 will be filming around the same time as Avengers: Secret Wars. While the casting of both Stan and Johansson have not been made official, neither have they been denied by Reeves, James Gunn or DC Studios. 

Deadline is reporting that Mike Flanagan is working on a new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Flanagan said his plan is to adapt the beloved franchise into a five-season series that would then be capped off by two stand-alone movies. The acclaimed horror director recently told Empire Magazine, “We’ve got a lot of scripts done for it. It’s the first priority.” He also made it clear that he doesn’t want the 2017 Idris Elba/Matthew McConaughey film to be the final word on the property. That adaptation has a 16% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though Flanagan and Intrepid Pictures have a deal with Amazon, the rights to the Dark Tower were specifically carved out of their arrangement and could end up with another studio, but Amazon is also a possibility. Flanagan is known for his work on films like Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and the Life of Chuck as well as series like The Fall of the House of Ushers, The Midnight Club and Midnight Mass. He also came up with the initial story and script for the upcoming Clayface movie that was so strong that James Gunn and Peter Safran has to greenlight a body horror film starring a B-level Batman villain as the third film released in their new DCU.   

Now that we’re in 2026, we need to keep an ear out for casting news for the two big DC Studios films shooting this year, Man of Tomorrow and The Batman Part 2. The Superman follow-up is the one going first and we already got the casting announcement for the main villain, Brainiac with the addition of German actor Lars Eidinger to the cast. There have been rumors that there was a female role being cast for a potential hero that many have assumed was going to be this universe’s Wonder Woman, and while that has not been confirmed, John Rocha of the Hot Mic podcast says his sources confirm that James Gunn is looking to cast the Amazon warrior for the film. That would make sense with the idea that DC is pushing Wonder Woman for a new film with Supergirl scribe Ann Nogueira said to be working on the script. This still falls into the rumor category, but Gunn has not debunked the story as of yet. With the film expected to begin production in the spring, more casting news is expected in the next few weeks/months, and we know that if the “scoopers” have it right, DC likes to get the news out their themselves as they did with Eidinger. So I wouldn’t trust any of the rumored castings as of now. 

James Gunn took to social media this morning to welcome Lars Eidinger to the DCU and Man of Tomorrow in the role of Brainiac. Eidinger, while not a household name, is best known for his roles in Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper but also appeared in the recent Netflix film Jay Kelly. Gunn talked about a worldwide search for the iconic Superman villain led to Eidinger rising to the top. He will join David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan as the film is expected to begin shooting in the spring of 2026 for a release in July of 2027. There have been multiple attempts to use Brainiac in a Superman film, but each attempt has fallen to the wayside, and his only live-action appearance so far was in the short-lived SciFi series Krypton where he was played by Blake Ritson.    

After having begun production in August of this year, director Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has wrapped filming as of Friday. The film, which is set to premiere July 31st, 2026, features the return of Tom Holland as Peter Parker and is the first in the MCU franchise to not be directed by Jon Watts. Cretton wrote on Instagram, “I’m so deeply grateful for the people who walked with me through the biggest, most rewarding film I’ve ever been a part of. To our amazing cast, for breathing so much life into these beloved characters and moving us every day. To our unbelievable crew, who worked tirelessly with unmatched creativity and craftsmanship, who made me laugh so hard my stomach never stopped hurting. I love you all so much and can’t wait for the world to see your stunning work on the big screen. And of course, to @tomholland2013, for your kind, generous leadership on and off screen, for your relentless work ethic, your fearless performances, and for your friendship. That’s a wrap on Spider-Man: Brand New Day!” This is Cretton’s second MCU film after having helmed Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He has also produced the Wonder Man series set to debut on Disney+ next month. 

Scarlett Johansson is said to be in negotiations to join the cast of the highly anticipated sequel, The Batman Part 2. While Warner Bros. has not officially revealed which character Johansson would portray, speculation is rife across social media and film forums. Many fans are hoping she will take on the role of a major antagonist or perhaps bring a new dimension to an existing character from the Batman lore. Johansson’s acclaimed work in action and drama—especially her iconic run as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—positions her as a compelling choice for a complex role in Gotham’s shadowy streets. The Batman Part 2 is currently in pre-production, with filming scheduled to commence in May of next year. The film is targeted for a theatrical release in 2026, although official dates may be subject to change. Director Matt Reeves returns to helm the sequel, ensuring continuity in the vision and tone that made the first installment a critical and box office success. Johansson’s addition is expected to boost the already stellar lineup led by Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Within hours of the announcement, social media platforms lit up with enthusiastic posts and trending hashtags. Speculation is running rampant with guesses of her role ranging from villains like Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to love interests like Silver St. Cloud and Vickie Vale. One of the more popular suggestions is that Johansson could be playing Andrea Beaumont, a love interest and antagonist from the hit animated film Mask of the Phantasm. The casting has not been confirmed and neither the studio nor Reeves has commented since the story broke.