ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie/TV news items. From Marvel to DC and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, Marvel Studios sheds a bunch of talent, the 'Man of Steel' sequel gets a truly weird title, and our first look at Disney's first animated Marvel movie, 'Big Hero 6,' arrives.

Marvel Trouble: 'Ant-Man' and 'Daredevil' Lose Directors

Ant-Man Edgar Wright
Marvel Studios
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Marvel Studios gave superhero movie fans every reason in the world to love them. For a while, it really looked like they could do no wrong, consistently putting out entertaining and films faithful to their source material, making much of their competition look behind the times. But, man, this ended up being a pretty rough week for them.

The most shocking thing to happen was director Edgar Wright departing 'Ant-Man' mere weeks before it was set to start shooting. Marvel Studios lost or fired directors before, but Wright is a special case. Not only has he been attached to 'Ant-Man' for eight years, he's a beloved filmmaker, responsible for great movies like 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.' Suffice to say, the backlash from fans was immediate, with many wondering if we were now officially seeing the "Disneyfication" of the Marvel brand. According to Latino Review, Wright supposedly jumped ship after his script was taken away and completely rewritten into something unrecognizable. If that's the case, you've got to admire Wright for his artistic integrity.

Wright's departure inspired a social media uproar, but two of the most telling responses came from 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' director Joss Whedon and actor Simon Pegg (Wright's frequent collaborator and friend):

Pegg's tweet lends credence to Wright jumping ship for creative freedom reasons, but Whedon's image is slightly more obscure. He's holding a Cornetto ice cream, an obvious reference to Wright's "Cornetto Trilogy" of films ('Shaun of the Dead,' 'Hot Fuzz' and 'The World's End') and his bowed head suggests where his loyalties lie on this particular subject. This is when things started getting really rough -- if Whedon, Marvel's main man, empathizes with Wright, then things may be getting really bad behind the Disney/Marvel curtain.

The buzz got so toxic that 'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn had to jump on Facebook and try to calm down the fans, comparing the situation to a mutually amicable breakup.

We hope Gunn is right, but it didn't help that Drew Goddard dropped out of the 'Daredevil' Netflix series less than a day later. However, there may be a silver lining. One rumor suggests that Goddard's 'Sinister Six' movie is moving faster than anticipated and he had to drop out of 'Daredevil' to pursue that. In any case, he was immediately replaced by Steven S. DeKnight, another 'Angel' veteran and the deranged, brilliant man behind Starz's 'Spartacus' series.

Yup, 'Batman v Superman' Is Definitely a 'Justice League' Prequel

After months of speculation, Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' sequel finally got an official title, and it's, uh ... well, it's 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.'

Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
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You should never judge a book (or a movie) by its title, but 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' makes that very difficult because it sounds more like a mobile app companion game than a massive blockbuster tentpole. The movie could be great (and we hope it is!), but calling it that is just plain baffling, as it sounds more concerned with setting up a 'Justice League' movie than telling a good story. It didn't help that screenwriter and DC movie universe overseer David S. Goyer went on a weirdly sexist tirade against She-Hulk shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, additional news about the film continued to trickle out in fits and starts.

(1) Jesse Eisenberg acknowledged how playing Lex Luthor will change his life, but continued to remain mum on any details of the character himself. (2) Jason Momoa made it very clear that he's tired of being asked about his rumored mystery role (Aquaman? Lobo?) in the film. (3) Kevin Smith jumped on the internet to remind everyone that he saw the new Batman costume before we did, hinting that the full color version will be blue and grey. (4) And finally, here's Gal Gadot on set but not in her Wonder Woman costume. As you'd expect, she looks like Gal Gadot.

After that disappointing Marvel Studios news and that utterly weird Batman/Superman title, you really should relax your nerves with this video of a guy driving around a go-kart that he customized to look like the Batmobile.

'X-Men' Blu-ray Set Revealed and Hugh Jackman on a B-Roll

'X-Men: Days of Future Past' may be in theaters at this very moment, but that doesn't mean the news has to stop! Not only is it currently at the top of the box office, but we also have our first look at the forthcoming Deluxe Blu-ray Edition:

X-Men Days of Future Past Blu-ray Deluxe Edition
20th Century Fox, Amazon.com
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Details, including a release date are still unknown, but we assume it'll have some cool behind-the-scenes features, perhaps something like this cool b-roll footage from the set, showing off the sheer logistics of shooting a $200 million superhero movie.

Elsewhere, screenwriter Simon Kinberg spoke about Evan Peters' take on Quicksilver and whether or not we'll see him and his sister, the Scarlet Witch, in future films. The answer is pretty much yes.

Hugh Jackman continued changing his mind about the future of Wolverine. In the latest interviews, the actor backtracked on his previous comments about getting ready to leave the character behind. Despite being "99.9% sure" that he was done with the part a few weeks ago, Jackman now says he may not be ready to hang up the adamantium claws just yet:

At one point, you’re right, I said I was pretty sure. But I’m less sure as it goes along. Because after seeing this movie, the whole thing feels fresher to me than ever. And during this movie…I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s kind of like a clean slate, so who knows where it’s going to go. As long as I have the passion for it, and the fans will have me.

First Look: Disney's First Animated Marvel Movie, 'Big Hero 6'

Although not the work of Marvel Studios, the first teaser trailer for Disney's 'Big Hero 6' popped up online and it looks pretty cute! The Marvel comics world is full of great potential for animated movies, so we hope this one works out. Here's what we know of the film so far:

- 'Big Hero 6' centers on Hiro, a 14-year-old genius who bonds with his robot pal Baymax after losing his brother, and transforms the the lovable A.I. into a battle bot. When Hiro's latest invention, micro-bots, falls into the wrong hands, he must band together with a team of "not-so-superheroes" to infiltrate the San Fransokyo underworld.

- The voice cast so far includes T.J. Miller as "Fredzilla," a comic book fanboy later transformed into a “friendly monster”; Jamie Chung as Go Go Tomago, a daredevil bike messenger of sorts; and Maya Rudolph in an unspecified role, though probably that of Honey Lemon, a part-time barista and brainiac chemist. Wasabi-No Ginger and Hiro are the remaining characters left to be voice cast.

Here are some more photos of 'Big Hero 6' to whet your palette:

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Big Hero 6 Poster Marvel Disney
Disney
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Marvel Fun 'n Games

This week saw the release of the latest Disney Infinity 2.0 trailer, which, naturally, focused on the Avengers. The game looks amusing enough, but it's definitely a kids' game -- and what's wrong with superheroes actually being for kids once in a while?

If you're an adult who still wants to play with Marvel supes, there's always this new Rocket Raccoon figure that you can pre-order from Sideshow Collectibles because, yes, everyone deserves to have a gun-toting raccoon adorning their shelves.

Sideshow
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