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.
Spirits of Violence #1 cover by Kendrick “Kunkka” Lim§ Marvel will publish Spirits of Violence, a five-issue follow-up to this year’s earlier Ghost Rider series Spirits of Vengeance, starting October 1. Writer Sabir Pirzada and artist Paul Davidson will reunite on the series, which sees Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, Kushala, Hellverine, Robbie Reyes, Isabella Alvarez, and more face off against the Spirit of Violence, which has resurrected and possessed Danny’s late sister Barbara. Issue #1 will be released with a main cover by Kendrick “Kunkka” Lim, along with variants by Simone Bianchi, E.M. Gist, and Peach Momoko.
§ Netflix announced season three of Alice in Borderland, the sci-fi thriller based on the manga by Haro Aso, will be released on Thursday, September 25. The show, which premiered in 2020, is the streamer’s most popular Japanese title with international audiences.
Netflix also released the trailer for The Sandman season two, volume two (episodes 7-11), due out July 24:
§ James Gunn and Zack Snyder guest starred as themselves on Sunday, July 6’s new episode of Rick and Morty, “Ricker Than Fiction,” with the Superman director playing the role of main antagonist, and his Man of Steel counterpart appearing briefly to poke fun at the rivalry between their versions of Clark Kent. You can read more about how the episode came together in a Variety exclusive. Gunn and Snyder previously worked together on 2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake, and appeared as themselves respectively on Harley Quinn and Teen Titans Go!
Zack Snyder and James Gunn as themselves on Rick and Morty’s “Ricker than Fiction”§ Speaking of Gunn, the director shared in an interview with Pay or Wait that we can expect to see Nubia in a DC Studios project (possibly the Wonder Woman prequel series Paradise Lost), but added the situation with Milestone’s Static is complicated, meaning his appearance is a long way off. It should be noted that a) Static is no longer part of the DC Comics universe, and b) before Gunn was appointed co-CEO of DC, a live-action Static Shock film was being developed by Michael B. Jordan, Reginald Hudlin, and Randy McKinnon, alongside an animated Milestone movie.
Additionally, while speaking with Brandon Davis, Gunn said we should expect to reunite with David Corenswet as Superman sometime in 2027, after another appearance beforehand (presumably Supergirl); and while discussing the possibility of eventually featuring an Indian superhero with Hindustan Times, he revealed that DCU projects set in South Korea, Japan, and Brazil are in development (let speculation commence!) For the record, Gunn’s Superman releases in theaters this Friday, July 11.
David Corenswet on CBeebies Bedtime Stories§ But wait, there’s even more Superman news! David Corenswet will be the narrator of Friday’s edition of CBeebies Bedtime Stories, the BBC’s longrunning preschool show, where celebrities read toddlers books before bed. Corenswet will read What Does Daddy Do?, a picture book by Rachel Bright about a girl pondering that exact question about her father. The segment will premiere on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer at 6:50pm British Summer Time, and presumably be released on YouTube for fans overseas afterwards.
§ Finally, Emmy Award-nominated composer Mark Snow died on Friday, July 4, aged 78. Best known for scoring The X-Files, and its sister shows Millennium and The Lone Gunmen, Snow also composed the music for the first six seasons of Smallville from 2001 to 2007, 2002’s Birds of Prey series, and 2020’s New Mutants movie (which marked his final credit). Further projects included 2002’s revival of The Twilight Zone, One Tree Hill, Ghost Whisperer, Blue Bloods, Starsky & Hutch, and the theme for La Femme Nikita. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, and four grandchildren.
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