Superhero Bits: 'Batman: The Long Halloween' Sequel Comic Coming, Lea Thompson Wants 'Howard The Duck' Reboot & More

(Superhero Bits is a collection of stories, updates, and videos about anything and everything inspired by the comics of Marvel, DC, and more. For comic book movies, TV shows, merchandise, events, and whatever catches our eye, this is the place to find anything that falls through the cracks.)

In this edition of Superhero Bits:

After starring in the extremely weird big screen adaptation of the Marvel Comics series Howard the Duck, actress Lea Thompson wants to take a crack at directing a feature film reboot of the cosmic character.

Inspired by Howard the Duck's recent appearance in the new trailer for Marvel's What If...?, the Back to the Future franchise star took to Twitter in response to the character trending on social media. In a post on Twitter, Thompson said, "I see #HowardTheDuck is trending #3. That's awesome. #ILoveMyDuck #WhatIf I get to direct @Marvel reboot."

You may not know this, but Lea Thompson has made quite a career out of directing TV shows in recent years. She's been at the helm of episodes of The Goldbergs, Mom, Young Sheldon, and the DC Comics series Stargirl, so it's not out of the question to think she could tackle a comic book movie.

If you watched the fifth episode of Marvel's Loki series this week, then you saw the glorious Easter egg of the Thanos-copter from Marvel Comics included in the desolate landscape of The Void. This is something Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn playfully hoped to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2015, so he thanked Marvel for finally making it a reality.

If you're a fan of President Loki from the most recent episode of the Marvel Studios series Loki, you'll be happy to see artist Steven Richter creating this sculpture of the variant of the God of Mischief with a variety of materials. In this timelapse video, see how the sculpture comes together with impressive details.

DC Comics is bringing back Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale for Batman: The Long Halloween Special, a follow-up to the seminal Batman story. The 48-page comic sequel will arrive on October 12, 2021 just in time for the 25th anniversary of the original comic. Loeb said in a statement: "We're thrilled to be back at DC revisiting some of our favorite characters all the while revealing that you may not know the whole story..."

My new 'Bestie' Owen Wilson giving me 'complimentary advice' on @LokiOfficial for @disneyplus 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/TZ39TnO2pi

— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) July 8, 2021

Loki co-star Richard E. Grant clearly had the time of his life working on the Marvel Studios series. In fact, a new video shows him goofing around with fellow Loki supporting star Owen Wilson. At first, it seems like he's paying Grant a compliment, but instead of saying "fine work," he actually tells the actor to "find work." We just want to hang out with these two now.

In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, actor Paul Giamatti made an appearance as Aleksei Sytsevich, who is better known as the villain Rhino. The character was only featured in the first and final scenes of the sequel, but the ending laid the groundwork for him to potentially return. However, the franchise ended and there was no third movie. But with the likes of Jamie Foxx reprising his role as Electro and Alfred Molina returning as Doc Ock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, how does Giamatti feel about seemingly not being included in the Marvel multiverse plans?

Speaking with ComicBook.com, the Sideways and Jungle Cruise star doesn't seem too worried about it. Giamatti said, "I'm happy. I hadn't followed any of [these rumors]. Somebody else just asked me about this, so I hadn't been following. I'm okay with that. I'm certainly okay to just leave it all where it is. It's fine with me."

Before you head off to theaters to see Black Widow or rent it through Disney+ Premier Access, take a look back at some of Natasha Romanoff's best moments from throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From her debut in Iron Man 2 through her sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, here's where the assassin-turned-Avenger shined the brightest.

There's quite a cast that assembled for Loki, from Tom Hiddleston to the legendary Richard E. Grant. But director Kate Herron confirmed the plush stand-in for Alligator Loki was the biggest diva on set. As you can see, he's just sitting around while everyone else is working hard. He probably didn't even do his own stunts.

A Reddit user says Disney+ has paid tribute to Black Widow by creating solo posters of the character for all her appearances across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We're not seeing these anywhere officially online, but it's still cool to see how the character has changed over and over since debuting in Iron Man 2, where she looks more like a Bond girl than a superhero.