First on the list is DC’s “Batman: The Last Knight.” It’s not a sequel. It’s an epitaph. Batman is 70 years old. He no longer fights crime—he protects the city from itself. His suit is rusting, his cape like a burial shroud. At the center is a young woman who claims to be his daughter, born in the shadows. The film is shot in the style of “Mad Max”—dark, dirty, and majestic.
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Second is “The Flash: Fractured Time” from Warner Bros. An experiment with time has resulted in 17 versions of Barry Allen, from old age to childhood. Each is a separate universe, where he has chosen his destiny differently. The film is a mosaic of 17 stories, intertwined into one. Visually, it’s a symbiosis of “Ghost Storm” and “12 Monkeys.”
The third is Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever II.” Wakanda’s technology begins to evolve without T’Chala. But the new queen, Shuri, discovers that their energy comes not from a meteorite, but from an ancient being sleeping underground. It awakens. And it’s not an enemy. It’s a memory. The film explores what it means to be an heir, when legacy isn’t power, but guilt.
The fourth is Marvel’s “Deadpool 3.” But not the one you expect. He’s not joking here. He’s dead. His body has been resurrected, but his soul remains in another dimension. Now he speaks to a shadow that knows who he was. All his jokes are cries for help. The film is shot in the style of “The Grudge”—dark, tragic, with occasional flashes of humor.
The fifth is HBO’s “The Watchmen: The Final Hour.” It’s not a sequel. It’s an ending. 40 years after the events of the original, one of the Watchmen returns—not as a hero, but as a prophet. He says, “The world isn’t saved. It just forgot it was destroyed.” Everything he says is a prophecy that comes true. The film is three hours of silence, broken only by screams.
