The Oscar winner’s surprise casting in Avengers – not as Iron Man but as Doctor Doom – will bring much-needed gravity to the role. But will the MCU acknowledge his past life as Tony Stark?

Don’t read this article if you would like to watch Deadpool & Wolverine or Alien: Romulus completely unsullied. Or Total Recall. Or Lord of the Rings. In fact, please go away now!

Reports that the pair are set to pick up the helm of the next two sequels for Marvel make sense given their steady gifts for engaging action

The superheroes will be arriving in 60s New York in their MCU debut, but where they go next should lead to a multiversal mystery tour

After so many disappointments, whisper it, but on the evidence of a sneak peek, this could be the episode to remind us all why we loved these movies

News of Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis’s eyebrow-raising return to Middle-earth seems to have passed the two stars by. Are Aragorn and Gandalf to be replaced?

Some viewers are unhappy that Marvel and Sony’s universes seem to be leaking into each other. But a strong franchise should be able to go everywhere all at once

With the fate of the next film up in the air, the original captain wants to get back on the Enterprise – it could be a genius feat of nostalgic casting or a desperate attempt to regain past glory

The duo’s newly announced collaboration almost certainly means the franchise is going to cover old ground – which makes you wonder, why bother?

The much-derided film returns to cinemas for its 25th anniversary. Once a rare blot on the galactic landscape, these days it’s far from the only stinker in the canon

The collaboration between the merc with a mouth and the clawed crusader has to work hard to mashup the alternate realities, but it could open portals to a lot of multiversal fun

The pun-packed, Arnie-starring original that strayed wildly from the Stephen King book, is one trashy 80s sci-fi romp that could actually benefit from a remake

The musical sequel of the clownish and brutal underdog’s character study is likely to give us intriguing ideas for ways the genre can be propelled forward

For every Prey or Blade Runner 2049 there are a dozen uninspired retreads of beloved old sci-fi franchises. So a Matrix reboot may not be the best news

The MCU’s wall-crawler is swinging into a fourth headline film, but trading multiverse madness for street-level antics could see your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man turn emo – again

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story showed how to repair damage in a sci-fi franchise but Romulus director Fede Alvarez must bring his A-game