JUN 08 | EDITION #1 - Read Time: 9 minutes

Hey all - this is the first edition of Modern Mythos, so let me introduce myself a bit…

My name is Sean. I'm a massive movies/shows/comics/gaming fan. I’m chronically online. I let a couple of professional sports teams in Philadelphia control my mental health. I graduated from THE Ohio State University. I live at the Jersey Shore. I was an Ocean Rescue Lifeguard for over a decade. I drink whiskey & Miller Lite. I'm obsessed with lore, world-building and Joseph Campbell's ‘The Hero's Journey’. I think Man of Steel is a masterpiece.

The idea here is that a.) I’m currently unemployed due to the industry being a shitstorm, b.) I’m trying to do something productive with my free time and c.) I need an outlet to talk about nerd shit with others that feel the same.

There’s an overwhelming amount of bullshit on the internet when it comes to geek culture so I’m making it my personal goal to cut through that and shed light on the things that are worth your time so we can all join the conversation.

So, in an effort to ignore that the North East currently looks like Blade Runner 2049 from the Canada Wildfires - let’s get started.

Headlines:

• Spider-Man world domination (some spoilers for ATSV ahead - beware)

• Trailers, release dates, first looks

• Twitch drama

• Interesting collabs

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The Franchise Report

Content updates from our favorite IPs

🌌 From A Galaxy Far, Far Away

• Ahsoka officially has a release date - August 23rd! Star Wars tv has been up and down recently between Andor (goated) and The Mandalorian season 3 (kinda mid) but I pray Filoni has a plan for me in this one.

• Bespin Bulletin reported that at a recent fan event, Katee Sackhoff (Bo Katan Kryze) mentioned that there was a version of Mando season 3 where Bo and Din got a little bit more intimate.

• Mark Hamil went on record saying he cringes every time this image resurfaces - we love you Mark.

• Yay - dumb Star Wars discourse! This week it was more “another Jedi confirmed survivor of Order 66” arguments. There were 10,000 confirmed Jedi in the galaxy in the prequel era…if 1% of those Jedi survived, we’d be at 100 confirmed stories. Please breathe, nerds.

• I hate giving trolls any type of attention but Okiro bodied this one. Ahsoka has carried SW on her back since the Clone Wars debuted. Have some shame.

🦸‍♂️ Cape Shit

Marvel

• Marvel’s Secret Invasion launched a website to drive home the “spy thriller” vibe. Excited for this show to release in two weeks.

• A 14-year-old got some internet fame for using Legos to recreate the entire trailer for ATSV back in January. The directors saw it and had him animate a scene IN THE OFFICIAL MOVIE. Love this.

• Hemsworth has been in his feelings a lot lately about the public reception of Thor: Love & Thunder. I’m on record despising 90% of that movie, but this is just a little depressing.

• The next Captain America film changed titles from ‘New World Order’ to ‘Brave New World…cool I guess?

• Tom Holland told Extra TV that he’s taking a year off from acting. This likely means we won’t see the next Spider-Man MCU installment until at least 2025/2026.

DC

• Early screenings of The Flash had critics and influencers largely glowing, but the most recent screening was more of a mixed bag - currently sitting around 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. Not that RT is the authority on movie reviews, but I do think it has its merit in evaluating the pre-release pulse.

• Per Justin Kroll at Deadline, Gunn & Safran (new heads of DC) are holding in-person screen tests for roles in Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.

  • Actors listed for Clark: Nicholas Hoult, David Corenswet and Tom Brittney.

  • Actors listed for Lois: Emma Mackey, Rachel Brosnahan and Phoebe Dynevor.

• Blue Beetle releases later this summer (Aug 18) and we’re starting to get more posters and looks at the film. My only experience with this character is in the series ‘Young Justice’, so I’m curious how this film plays out before Gunn fully takes over the DC.

• Justice League: Warworld is the next DC animated project releasing - with Jensen Ackles taking over the role of Bruce Wayne. The art style is refreshing - looking forward to watching this one on July 25th.

🎥 The Rest

• ‘Oppenheimer’ continues to look like a favorite for film of the year. Here's Nolan explaining why he avoided CGI explosions for this film. Absolute mad man.

• Wes Anderson's next film ‘Asteroid City' continues to drop new teasers.

• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts releases this weekend. I was a massive fan growing up, so I’ll be seeing it with low expectations.

• A trailer for the Witcher season 3 dropped at the Summer Game Fest. Bittersweet since it’s the final season with Cavill, but WE WILL BE WATCHING FOR HENRY.

• There have been whispers of a Legend of Zelda movie being made by Illumination…but I'm fully out on this lol.

The Gaming Industry

What’s new in the world of gaming & esports

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

  • First look impressions - YUUUUUUUUUP. Marvel’s Spiderman PS4 is one of my favorite all-time titles - so I’m locked in and heavily anticipating the sequel.

  • Confirmed release date - OCTOBER 20TH

  • FIRST LOOK AT VENOM ART. Insomniac stated that this will NOT be Eddie Brock…interesting.

• Diablo 4 just released and one of their marketing tactics is apparently having Meghan Fox narrate big streamer deaths. Here she is shaming Shroud….lmao.

• The CFPA is organizing a boycott of EA’s College Football 2024 due to player compensation for likeness.

• We got the Madden 24 reveal that featured some decent things like crossplay - finally.

• The (newest) Twitch Scandal: horrendous branded content guidelines. I’ll let Jake Lucky & Gamer Update handle this one.

• First TimTheTatman, then Nickmercs - now more streamers are finding dents in their head from headsets. Might be time to touch grass?

• Mortal Kombat 1 - the series has been rebooted and the official first look is here.

• This Apex Legends Streamer is using a fucking dance pad to go from bronze to masters. Anything for the content, I guess?

• Nicolas Cage is being added to Dead By Daylight - which is just hilarious.

Weekly Rant

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Thoughts (slight spoilers)

You guys will come to learn that I’m a sucker for the second installment in trilogies; the tragedy, heroes being pushed to the edge, the dark tones. The challenge and temptation; staring into the abyss and transforming into the hero they were always meant to be. It will (and has) likely become a meme to say, but this is the Empire Strikes Back of the Spider-Verse. We see Miles battling his demons and learning if his fate is sealed or if there’s something he can do about it, which is thrilling.

Let’s get this out of the way - the animation is beautiful. It is the best an animated film has EVER looked. Gwen’s world was especially stunning, with the directors stating they aimed to create a “mood ring watercolor” style, where the backdrop changes based on the tone of the scene. A+ to the creative team.

The world-building here is everything I look for in media. Feels lived in and real. The characters, new and returning, all feel fleshed out and cared for. Gwen shares the story with Miles which was a welcome touch, but almost every single character introduced had a purpose, a backstory and something interesting to do.

The multiverse storytelling and the concept of ‘canon events’ in the universe was key device and drove home the shared universe concept. This is how you tell a multiverse story…I hope the MCU and DC are taking notes. This film told a complete story and showed the progression of Miles & Gwen while also leaving us with a “Luke, I am your Father” level cliffhanger. Badass.

There are some hidden secrets and ties that are shown in this film that directly correlate to ITSV, and it had my jaw on the floor. The foreshadowing between these first two films is god tier. The writing team is so talented at connecting the dots and layering the context…I can’t stop watching TikToks of the parallels.

The soundtrack from Metro Boomin & the official score from Daniel Pemberton BANGED. The perfect pairing. Couldn’t imagine anyone else touching this.

Miles is becoming just as big of a piece of the Spider-Man lore as Peter Parker is, and I love it. Between the Spider-Verse, his newly announced comic run, the rumor of a live-action Miles film, and his co-starring in Marvel’s Spider-Man PS5 - his legend is only going to build. Kids are going to grow up with Miles as their hero the same way we grew up with Peter…that’s important.

I just honestly fucking adored this film. It made me so indescribably happy and I can’t stop thinking about it. Somehow, it topped ITSV as my favorite Spider-Man film ever. Thank you, Chris Lord and Phil Miller.

5 stars. Letterboxd review here.

Quick Hits

👨‍🍳 Weekly Ranking
For this week, I continued the Spider-Man domination and ranked all the Spidey films in my order of enjoyment. I’m almost positive I’ll get roasted but, Spider-Verse clears.

💣 Random

• Shameik Moore fumbling Hailee Steinfeld in every press interview is his canon event - 30 seconds of awkwardness.

• The social media manager for Pixar might have had a heart attack tonight when a scheduled tweet went live that referenced “unleashing your wildfire". Bad look for the brand with the Canadian Wildfires ongoing, but obviously not malicious.

• Anyone wanna throw me some cash so I can get this Harry Potter tattoo? ABSURD piece.

• A throwback to gaming between 2005-2013. The good ol’ days.

• Netflix hit the highest level of sign-ups in at least 4 years since they started cracking down on password-sharing.

• Don’t gatekeep bagels, or he will find you.

📹 Video of the Week
The foreshadowing is CRAZY. I love the idea that they had this planned the entire time. Spoilers for Across the Spider-Verse.

@nexxstill

🕳️ ? #spiderverse #milesmorales #spidermanacrossthespiderverse #spiderman2099 #майлзморалез #человекпаук2099 #spiderman #человекпаук #чел... See more

📚 Read of the Week
Marketing ‘The Flash’: No Ezra Miller, But Lots of Batman and TV Spots, by Borys Kit & Aaron Couch

��️ Community Artwork
Uzuri always fucking nails it, but this piece of Miguel O’Hara is just beautiful.

📽️ Trailer Recap

• Marvel’s Spiderman 2 PS5 Reveal Trailer

• Marvel’s Secret Invasion | Special

• New Ahsoka Teaser | Begin

• The Creator | Teaser

• Killers of the Flower Moon | Official Teaser

• The Witcher Season 3 | Official Trailer

• Justice League: Warworld

🤝Brand Collaborations

• Warzone 2 x Amazon Prime’s ‘The Boys’ - Homelander skin coming?

• Coca-Cola x Riot Games - Launched a collaboration for a new product - Ultimate Zero Sugar, XP flavored.

• Fortnite x Transformers - Welcome to the island, Optimus Prime.

• Metro Boomin x Spider-Verse - ON REPEAT.

🐦Tweet of The Day
Just Kenobi being sassy af, nothing to see here.

👀 Keep An Eye Out

• Jun 8 | Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

• Jun 9 | Flamin’ Hot

• June 11 | Xbox Games Showcase

• June 11 | Starfield Direct

• Jun 15 | Black Mirror Season 6

• Jun 16 | The Flash 

• Jun 16 | Elemental

All the gods, all the heavens, all the hells, are within you.”

Would love to meet some of you and get some feedback for the newsletter. Too long? Too boring? Love it? Feel free to reach out and yell at me…I’m here for it.

See you next Thursday!

Twitter | Instagram | Letterboxd