Author: Christopher Marc

Posted on in Film News

Marvel Studios Reportedly Delaying Release of ‘Black Widow’ Again – Will It Take ‘Eternals’ Spot In February?

The blockbuster delays don’t seem will be stopping anytime soon as Variety is mentioning something we’ve all suspected since the summer that Black Widow isn’t likely going to be released on November 6th as previously planned, and foresee another delay is coming. 

Disney will likely delay Black Widow, the superhero adventure from Marvel that was slated to open on Nov. 6, according to multiple individuals with knowledge of the situation.

The solo flick takes place between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. 

Unlike the Disney+ shows Black Widow has been completed for months and it really comes down to the recent fumble with the release of Tenet by Warner Bros., which saw some healthy returns overseas all things considering but a dismal $9.4 million opening weekend and a $6.7 second weekend for the Christopher Nolan. A key reason by Warner Bros. quickly moved Wonder Woman 1984 from October 2nd to December 25th, it’ll also signal other 2020 movies to jump ship. 

While theaters are open audiences are opting not to return along with smaller capacities it is almost impossible for studios to make decent box office domestically and moving stuff into 2021 is just the smart play. 

Fans have also been championing the Mulan model of dumping Black Widow on Disney+’s Premier Access, however, it doesn’t look like that faired well for Disney as the film didn’t make a lot of money in comparison to a traditional theatrical release and given its budget they’re likely not happy with the results. It’s was potentially due to the restricted access to the pricey $29.99 film was relegated only to Disney+ subscribers. The service skews younger than most would like to admit and given the economy, it’s a huge ask for people to spend that kind of money on a single film. 

There is also the matter of Scarlett Johansson’s backend deal that would be completely erased if the film doesn’t get a theatrical release, that would see the actress possibly lose millions.

It wouldn’t be the first move for the Marvel flick as it had been originally planned as a May 1st release before the pandemic crushed the spring and summer movie season. Moving the action flick to the Eternals spot of February 12th, 2021 seems to be the more bankable date they’ll use given that Disney hasn’t even started to promote Eternals it allows them to slide Black Widow in that date. 

Posted on in Film News

Olivia Wilde Talks About Landing Her Rumored ‘Spider-Woman’ Movie and Teases Marvel Studios Involvement

There has been an assumption since it was reported that Booksmart director Olivia Wilde was hired for an unnamed Marvel film for Sony Pictures, rumored to be Spider-Woman, that Marvel Studios would be involved as a co-producer. Potentially making the film for Sony like they are with the three Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland. 

While reaffirming she landed the gig during a chat with the podcast Shut Up Evan hosted by Evan Ross Katz (via Entertainment Weekly), Wilde invoked the name of Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige but stopped short from saying Marvel Studios are directly involved with the project or even confirming its indeed Spider-Woman. 

WILDE: “God, listen to me trying to avoid Kevin Feige’s pellet gun.”

Olivia went on to talk about more women being able to bring their own perspectives to the superhero film genre which is has been dominated by male directors/writers. 

WILDE: “Look, we are seeing this incredible influx of female directors and storytellers getting to take hold of this genre, of the superhero space, and infuse it with their own perspective. So, not only do I get to tell this story as a director, but I get to develop this story, and that was what made it so incredible for me.”

“I’m just honored to be amongst this wave of women who are showing up and saying ‘we are not only going to step in and try and tell this story like men do, we’re actually going to reframe the stories themselves. And the industry is, as far as I can tell, really supportive of that. There is a sea change and it’s because of these decades of trailblazers who demanded this over and over and over again and it’s finally broken through and I’m very fortunate to be there with it.”

I’m not entirely convinced just yet that is will be another Sony/Marvel co-production as they haven’t come out and made this official. I don’t really understand why they would hide this information after the report of Wilde was directing the film and her confirmation, unless they’re waiting for some event to make the big announcement. 

Then again, Jessica Drew the traditional version of Spider-Woman, is a product of HYDRA brainwashing (not unlike The Winter Soldier) with a connection to Captain America villain Ophelia Sarkissian aka Viper (also known as Madame Hydra), who pretended to be Jessica’s birth mother. Jessica also became an Agent of S.W.O.R.D., the cosmic counterpart of S.H.I.E.L.D. that will be introduced in WandaVision and is expected to have a larger role in Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2.

Drew did not debut in the pages of Spider-Man comic books and means that Marvel Studios has direct access to her.

Even with movies like Venom, Morbius, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Kraven The Hunter you’ll see them interact directly with Marvel Entertainment (still under Kevin Feige’s purview), their liaison branch, does work alongside filmmakers and studio producers at Sony Pictures to make sure the characters are being properly represented to the public. 

She may have genuinely spoken with Kevin Feige but it remains to be seen if this was via Marvel Entertainment or Marvel Studios, I’ll be hoping for the latter alongside everyone else. 

Olivia Wilde is currently busy directing the New Line Cinema thriller Don’t Worry Darling starring Florence Pugh, Dakota Johnson, Chris Pine, and Harry Styles, which takes in a California desert community during the 1950s. 

SOURCE: SHUT UP EVAN 

Posted on in Television News

Marvel In Talks With Kat Coiro To Direct ‘She-Hulk’ Series Pilot and Multiple Episodes – Will Also Executive Produce

Deadline reports that Marvel Studios is in talks with Kat Coiro to produce and direct multiple episodes of their upcoming She-Hulk series with Kat expected to start with the pilot (first episode). Her credits include Shameless, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mick, Modern Family, It’s Always Sunny Philadelphia, and Dead To Me.

Jessica Gao from Rick & Morty is leading the group of writers working on the Marvel show.

Recent rumblings from both The Direct and The Illuminerdi are suggesting that filming could begin as early as February in Atlanta, Georgia. Which would suggest both had access to the same production grid, which may or may not be accurate given that’s five months from now and production dates aren’t terribly reliable these days given COVID-19 can ruin any sort of plans this far out.

Mark Rufflao is expected to reprise the role of Hulk/Smart Hulk in the series but has yet to be officially confirmed by Marvel Studios.

It has yet to be revealed who will be playing Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters, a lawyer who becomes the female superhero known as She-Hulk.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

TRAILER: ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2 Will See Din Djarin Return The Child To The Jedi – Sasha Banks Confirmed For Role

After some hiccups from the fan community guessing when the new trailer for the second season of The Mandalorian would drop, Disney decided today was the day.

This is the way.

The new footage even looks a bit more slick than the last season and reveals that Din Djarin’s mission will be to return The Child aka Baby Yoda to the Jedi.

Wrestler Sasha Banks can also been seen in the trailer sporting some robes, but what her role is can’t be determined here. There had been rumors she had taken to part of Star Wars Rebels character Sabine, a fellow Mandalorian.

They’ve also confirmed the full directors list includes Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed, and Robert Rodriguez.

Season 3 is well into pre-production and as The Ronin has reported will see the return of production designer Andrew Jones with Jon Favreau expected to return to direct at least one episode.

The new series will begin airing on Disney+ starting on October 30th.

The Mandalorian and the Child continue their journey, facing enemies and rallying allies as they make their way through a dangerous galaxy in the tumultuous era after the collapse of the Galactic Empire. “The Mandalorian” stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers and Giancarlo Esposito. Directors for the new season include Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rick Famuyiwa, Carl Weathers, Peyton Reed and Robert Rodriguez. Showrunner Jon Favreau serves as executive producer along with Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson, with Karen Gilchrist serving as co-executive producer.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Television News

Batroc Officially Returns For ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ As George St-Pierre Spotted On Set In Atlanta

Back in March, there was a rumor making the rounds that Captain America: The Winter Soldier villain Batroc The Leaper would be returning for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, it’s now confirmed.

Just Jared posted new set photos from Atlanta, Georgia feature Emily VanCamp and George St-Pierre. They also include the first look at the mysterious character being played by Desmond Chiam.

Batroc was hired secretly by Nick Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and was in S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA custody. It’ll be interesting to see if Thunderbolt Ross is involved with him in a Thunderbolts situation or if he is back to his mercenary ways.

Filming had been delayed due to COVID-19 and is only just resuming now, I previously heard that it likely won’t be ready for a 2020 on Disney+ and given the extra that it will take to complete with Coronavirus precautions it seems like that is likely the case.

SOURCE: JUST JARED

Posted on in Film News

‘Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors Reportedly Joins ‘Ant-Man 3’ – Might Be Playing Avengers Time-Travelling Villain Kang The Conqueror

The other day I posted on Twitter that Ant-Man 3 won’t only be bigger as suggested by director Peyton Reed, but essentially an event film.

Well, it looks like there is some support to that as Deadline is reporting that Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors has joined the film and is said to be possibly playing the super-villain known as Kang The Conqueror, who first debuted as Kang in the pages of The Avengers comic books and is also known as Nathaniel Richards (possible descendant of Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards).

The studio had no comment, but sources close to the project say he is likely to play the super-villain Kang the Conqueror.

A character that has been long teased to be feature in Loki, however, never confirmed.

It’ll be interesting if Kang indeed has connections to the Fantastic Four, but this MCU version might differ from the comic book version as Marvel does take liberties with the origins of their villains very often. Also, he more or less is likely coming into the picture because of the use/invention of time-travel in Avengers: Endgame and not exactly because the Fantastic Four are now at Marvel. But we’ll see.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Kang will be a Multiverse villain potentially from Earth X, the version of Earth where everyone has superpowers. It could be one of many way to introduce an adult group of mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as they might have to abandon Earth X for the safety of 199999 aka MCU’s Earth.

Casting would suggest that they are gearing up to begin shooting in the near future and as I confirmed are indeed expected to released the film sometime in 2022, if all goes to plan. Filming is expected to take place at Pinewood Studios UK and most likely will implement ILM’s StageCraft technology which Reed used on Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Logan’ and ‘X-Men: First Class’ Cinematographer John Mathieson Confirmed For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness’

The Ronin has been able to confirm that Marvel Studios and director Sam Raimi have selected cinematographer John Mathieson for their Doctor Strange sequel titled Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

Mathieson’s credits include the solo Wolverine film Logan, X-Men: First Class, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Detective Pikachu.

It’s interesting to see Marvel hiring a cinematographer with a background in the X-Men franchise given that the co-lead of the film is a mutant and daughter of Magneto in the comic books.

Raimi had been recently hired to take over for director Scott Derrickson, who left the sequel over creative differences.

I’ve been previously able to confirm that production will be taking place at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England under the working title Stellar Vortex (title first mentioned by Murphy’s Multiverse). Additional filming had been expected to take place in New York City and Norway, we’ll see if they’ll be able to do that.

Filming may begin before the end of the year.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will see Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch taking a co-starring role alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange with upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision and Loki likely going to establish the Multiverse, characters, and plot details. Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also confirmed to return.

Disney has given the film the tentative release date of March 25th, 2022.

Posted on in Film News

Horror Flick ‘Candyman’ Bumped From October To 2021 By Universal

Universal Pictures has officially moved their new Candyman movie from Captain Marvel 2 director Nia DaCosta to unnamed spot in 2021 after a previous release date of October 16th. The move is likely due to the weak box office as theaters have slowly reopened and allows Candyman to have a theatrical release.

Nia also made the following statement on Twitter.

DACOSTA: “We made Candyman to be seen in theaters. Not just for the spectacle but because the film is about community and stories–how they shape each other, how they shape us. It’s about the collective experience of trauma and joy, suffering and triumph, and the stories we tell around it.”

“We wanted the horror and humanity of Candyman to be experienced in a collective, a community, so we’re pushing Candyman to next year, to ensure that everyone can see the film, in theaters, and share in that experience.”

The film has been called a “spiritual sequel” while I was able to dig up details about Candyman which includes them making the events of the original film canon in this new installment.

We’ll have to wait and see how long we’ll be expected to wait for the horror movie.

CANDYMAN – For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; HBO’s Watchmen, Us) and his girlfriend, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, The Photograph), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials. With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; HBO’s Euphoria, Assassination Nation) exposes Anthony to the tragically horrific nature of the true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.

SOURCE: UNIVERSAL

Posted on in Film News

Chris Hemsworth Still Open To Play Thor Beyond ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’

We might have a tough time convincing Chris Hemsworth to step down from the Thor role anytime soon according to some recent quotes he’s given. 

Polish magazine Elle Man (via Variety) was able to speak with the Aussie actor about reprising the God of Thunder role beyond the upcoming Taika Waititi sequel Thor: Love & Thunder, as previously stated by Chris he still sounds game to keep playing the character as long as Marvel Studios will allow him. 

HEMSWORTH: “Are you crazy?! I’m not going into any retirement period. Thor is far too young for that. He’s only 1,500 years old. It’s definitely not a film that I say goodbye to this brand. At least I hope so.”

He also talked-up a solid script for Thor: Love & Thunder. 

HEMSWORTH: “After reading the script, I can say that I am very excited. In this production, there will for sure be a lot of love and a lot of lightning. I’m glad that after all that happened in Avengers: Endgame, I’m still part of the Marvel Universe and we can continue the story of Thor. Of course, I can’t reveal anything about the plot. But to satisfy your curiosity, I will say that reading the script, I had a lot more fun than on Thor Ragnarok, and that shows something because that movie was brilliant.”

There is a slim chance he might end up sticking with the Guardians of The Galaxy for their third film as hinted to at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but that hasn’t been exactly confirmed by director James Gunn. 

Depending on the outcome of Love & Thunder, Taika might want to make fifth installment but would likely come after the Star Wars movie he’s currently developing for Lucasfilm. 

Filming on Thor: Love & Thunder is expected to begin sometime between January-February of next year at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is reportedly going to use ILM’s StageCraft technology that was made famous by The Mandalorian.

SOURCE: ELLE MAN

Posted on in Film News

ILM’s StageCraft VFX Will Be Implemented For Marvel’s ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ In Australia – ‘Ant-Man 3’ Will Most Likely Use It At Pinewood Studios UK

In a post-COVID-19 world, it looks like Disney is looking to adopt safer methods of production which includes expanding the use of the StageCraft technology used to shoot the first two seasons of The Mandalorian. Using this technology means less production crew would be potentially put in harm’s way for set construction and also limit the number of secondary exterior locations as productions traveling to multiple countries might not be the wisest idea at the moment. 

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that ILM’s StageCraft technology will be used for Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love & Thunder (MCU Cosmic mentioned this previously) at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

This comes after writer and director Taika Waititi had used the technology when filming the final episode of the first season of Lucasfilm’s Star Wars series The Mandalorian. 

There has been an expectation that Thor: Love & Thunder will begin shooting sometime between January-February of next year as director Destin Daniel Cretton is trying to finish up production on Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings allowing Taika to move in for the Thor sequel. 

THR adds that they’ll also be adding StageCraft to the Pinewood Studios UK facility. 

 In addition, ILM is building a StageCraft volume at Pinewood Studios in London (expected to open in February), and a larger custom volume at Fox Studios Australia that will be used for Thor: Love and Thunder. Waititi previously used virtual production when he helmed the final episode of The Mandalorian season one.

Actor Ewan McGregor previously confirmed that his Star Wars series Kenobi directed by Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian) would be implementing the technology during an interview with Ace Universe back in June. 

The next Marvel Studios feature film to shoot at Pinewood Studios UK is expected to be Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man 3, who happened to direct an episode of The Mandalorian for Season 2 just like Taika and may also be familiar with StageCraft after his own experience with that show. 

Yesterday, I posted an update of sorts on Ant-Man 3 via Twitter that they are deep in pre-production and that we should expect some massive action sequences given they’ll be moving filming from Pinewood Atlanta Studios to Pinewood Studios UK, the latter facility has been used for the Star Wars films and traditional all of the James Bond movies as well. 

We should expect this installment to feel more like an event. 

I was also able to confirm Marvel/Disney is aiming to release the film sometime in 2020, however, release dates for the next little while will be in flux and most will unlikely be set-in-stone for the foreseeable future given multiple projects will begin production in 2021 meaning that some projects may have be delayed to 2023.

Peyton Reed recently mentioned that the film would be “bigger” and “sprawling” while speaking on The Jess Cagle Show and reaffirmed via Yahoo! Entertainment that Evangeline Lily’s Wasp would be getting equal billing on the sequel. 

REED: “They’re a partnership, and she’s a very, very important part of that. And that was a very gratifying thing, I guess technically we were the first Marvel movie with a female hero in the title of the movie. Finding that balance in that movie, that’s very important to me because that’s very much a men’s playing field, historically. But that’s really, really changing now in a great way.”

I’m personally holding out the hope that we’ll see the film morph into some sort of MCU version of Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim as Peyton Reed hasn’t been shy about how the films have been influenced by Japanese kaiju projects like Ultraman. Moving the setting of the film outside of San Francisco might also help shake things up given that Scott Lang might be allowed to move a little more freely around the world after the events of Avengers: Endgame.

Most recently the Pinewood facility has been used for Black Widow and Eternals both films are expected to be larger in scale than Ant-Man or Ant-Man & The Wasp. There is also an expectation that the Moon Knight series will spend some time there as well and we should be getting some updates on that show in the near future. 

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is confirmed for Longcross Studios in Surrey, England and it’s unknown at this point if they’ll have access to the StageCraft tech, but it’s possible. 

This new technology certainly would cut-down costs and post-production time, the safety element is simply a massive benefit.