WIRE Buzz: History of the Marvel Universe unfolds in new trailer; Netflix shows off Wu Assassins; more

Even if you’re a lifelong comic book fan, getting a big-picture grip on the full sweep of the still-unfolding universal story Marvel builds into each page takes a steel-trap memory — as well as a gift for juggling alternate realities, branching timelines, and reappearing characters who just can’t seem to stay dead.

Marvel has put out encyclopedic reference books before, but in History of the Marvel Universe, a six-issue explainer comic that aims to tell the whole story, it’s trying something a little different. Instead of just handing fans an unabridged illustrated dictionary of all things Marvel, they’re condensing the whole thing — “from the big bang to the heat death of the universe” — into a story-like narrative format.

Issue #1 of History of the Marvel Universe arrives this week, and Marvel has just taken the wraps off a first look at what’s inside. Check it out in the clip, keeping in mind that “if there’s anything you loved about the Marvel Universe, it’s in this book somewhere,” according to writer Mark Waid.

Telling the whole Marvel story, even as it continues to twist and turn, is a big ask, even for a six-book series. But the creative team of Waid and artists Javier Rodriguez and Alvaro Lopez definitely sounds up to the task. You can enroll in your first self-guided course of Marvel History 101 starting July 24, when History of the Marvel Universe arrives in comics shops nationwide.

If you’re already missing future seasons of all those Marvel shows you know we won’t be seeing any more of at Netflix, the streaming giant may be offering up something with a similar vibe in Wu Assassins, the new superhero series that mixes a gritty urban street vibe with a mystical slice of martial arts.

Netflix has just released its first trailer for Wu Assassins, which gifts hero Kai Jin (Iko Uwais) with the ancient power of 1,000 monks — and then forces a loyalty dilemma on his newfound crime-fighting abilities. The bad guy Kai faces just happens to be his own gang-boss father, a take-no-prisoners leader of the Triads, who may be playing with supernatural powers of his own.

Check out the clip below ...

Tune in beginning Aug. 8, when Season 1 of Wu Assassins debuts on Netflix.

Money issues lingering from the first film’s payouts have ensnared any possible sequels to Mad Max: Fury Road for the past year or so, but director George Miller says it appears increasingly likely that those issues will be resolved, and the Mad Max stories he still wants to tell will have a chance at the big screen.

Speaking with IndieWire, Miller said it looks “pretty clear” that he’ll end up being able to move forward not only on a pair of Mad Max sequels proper, but to a solo movie that focuses on Furiosa, Charlize Theron’s mechanically augmented savior in Fury Road.

“There are two stories, both involving Mad Max, and also a Furiosa story,” said Miller. “We’re still solving, we’ve got to play out the Warners [Warner Bros. Pictures] thing, [but] it seems to be pretty clear that it’s going to happen.”

Coupled with recent encouraging noises from Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who said in February that “we’d love to work with George Miller on furthering the Mad Max franchise,” at least we can be excited that the current, critically acclaimed incarnation of Mad Max isn’t dead — even though Miller said it may be a while, still, before he can get started on the next film.