The Rundown: Drew Goddard Leaves “Daredevil”, Pundits Respond to Big Marvel Changes, and more

Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at either david@multiversitycomics.com or brian@multiversitycomics.com.

– As you likely saw, Drew Goddard is now out as the showrunner for Marvel’s “Daredevil” series on Netflix, to be replaced by Steven DeKnight, himself a disciple of the Whedon School of TV/Film making. Much ado is being made after this and Edgar Wright’s departure from “Ant-Man”, but to me, this one is of less concern given that Goddard CLEARLY had a busy dance card, and there easily could be 20 excuses that are possible that aren’t something nefarious and duplicitous. Is it possible that Marvel are evil, over controlling overlords of their own film universe? Sure. But regardless of that, it’s hard to argue against the results, even as they push away talented people.

– Speaking of people leaving, Joss Whedon’s Twitter tribute to Edgar Wright’s departure was classy as all get out.

– Mark Harris writes a fantastic piece at Grantland about the overabundance of superhero related stories proliferating throughout TV and movies, which is an especially fitting read after the Edgar Wright news. It also looks at whether or not playing to the comparatively nominal comic reading crowd is a bad move (spoiler alert: yes), and whether the occasionally convoluted nature of comics could impact the shows/movies. I recommend giving it a read, and cheers to Grantland for their continued thoughtful looks at varying comic related subjects. Many bigger sites do it, but they rarely feel as authentic and organic as Grantland’s pieces do.

– Over at Badass Digest, Devin Faraci asks whether or not Goddard and Wright’s departures are portends for the end of the Marvel Age in film. It’s an interesting read, if not a wee bit on the melodramatic side. Regardless of Marvel’s overcontrolling nature, I’d say talented filmmakers would jump onboard Marvel projects in no time flat if only because who couldn’t use a movie making $500 million on their resume? We’ll see who is right, but I imagine Marvel’s ship is still certainly doing fine.

– After rumors swirled (apparently) about the subject for a bit, it has now been confirmed: Paul Levitz is in fact leaving “Earth 2: Future’s End”, the upcoming weekly series. He will be staying on “World’s Finest”, so he’s not gone entirely, but that book will feature a format switch due to The Huntress and Power Girl being prominently featured in the Earth 2 weekly. Instead, it will be a throwback series focusing on team ups between the Earth 2 versions of Batman and Superman. Which, you know, is cool if you’re into that sort of thing.

– Over at the Boston Globe, Heather Hopp-Bruce and Kagan McLeod created a comic that I think everyone should read, as it does a wonderful job talking about the power of comics and stories form the perspective of a mother of three little girls. Really, really great stuff.

– OPB has an excellent article about Benjamin Dewey’s “Tragedy Series”, and I’m not just saying that because I’m quoted in it. Read it!

– On one hand, DC changed Dave Stewart’s colors without talking to him about it. On the other hand, they apologized quickly and promised to fix it. For once, I can say this unironically: good work DC!

– I’m not going to say John Layman’s a genius…but John Layman’s a genius.