Category: Television News

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‘Falcon & Winter Soldier’ Episode 5 Big Cameo Was Supposed To Be Introduced In ‘Black Widow’ First

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5 OF THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER

We’re down to one more episode of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and it seems to be a bit of a super-soldier showdown. Interestingly enough, while a big cameo was teased for this current episode they sort have delivered on that front when the teases for WandaVision were mostly smoke to confuse fans.

The big cameo in Episode 5 aka Truth wasn’t what I think a lot of people were expecting as Julia Louis-Dreyfus revealed herself as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine aka Agent 14. Traditionally, a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent that was for a time secretly joined HYDRA as a version of Madame Hydra.

I personally wouldn’t be shocked if she turned out to be the secret Power Broker, given her interest in John Walker and knowledge of the super-soldier serum. If she turns out to be the MCU’s version of Madame Hydra/Viper it would also make perfect sense as the Ophelia Sarkissian incarnation for a time ruled Madripoor. There is also a connection to Sharon Carter via Femme Force, so having the two linked-up wouldn’t be a stretch either.

It’s interesting to see a Seinfeld cast member given all the working titles to Marvel projects honoring the series, including Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder going under The Big Salad during filming. A direct nod to a title of an episode. Jon Watt’s Spider-Man films have also honored the show with The Summer of George and Fall of George/Bosco on the first two movies.

Vanity Fair has also revealed that Julia’s Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine was supposed to first show up in Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and potentially reveal herself as being some sleeper Russian agent connected to the Black Widow Program, not unlike Rachel Weisz’s Iron Maiden. Not to mention that Marvel is said to have “big plans” for her character.

According to sources close to the production, Louis-Dreyfus was slated to first appear in the Black Widow film which, in a pre-Covid world, was scheduled to debut in theaters May 1, 2020. But Marvel, reportedly, has even bigger ambitions for Louis-Dreyfus’s villainous figure. 

They’re still unsure if she’ll still appear in Black Widow or not along with teasing the possibility of a link to The Thunderbolts too. It wouldn’t be surprising if both Walker and Zemo end up on the Thunderbolts lineup alongside Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. We see Walker building his own shield after the real one was taken away and Zemo is being sent to Thunderbolt Ross’ super-prison The Raft, the latter feels like a huge nod that The Thunderbolts are coming in the future.

Black Widow has been pushed to July 9, 2021 and Marvel really didn’t have a choice to delay Falcon given the demand for original content for Disney+. The final episode of the series will be released next week.

SOURCE: VANITY FAIR

Posted on in Television News

Gabriel Luna To Play Joel’s Brother Tommy In ‘The Last of Us’ Series

Production on HBO’s live-action series adaptation of the video game The Last of Us will begin this July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They’ve added another cast member as Gabriel Luna has been hired to play the younger brother of lead character Joel, Tommy. The news coming to us via Deadline.

Based on the critically acclaimed video game The Last of Us, the story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Luna is likely best known for his roles in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Terminator: Dark Fate, and briefly appearing in Season 2 of HBO’s True Detective.

Lead actor Pedro Pascal is also attached to Star Wars series The Mandalorian Season 3 which hasn’t officially started filming as Obi-Wan Kenobi is going to be the next Disney+ show to shoot at the California facility starting this month. Their is a new rumor making the rounds that Pascal’s Din Djarin will be appearing in The Book of Boba Fett.

There is a possibility that Pedro will shoot The Last of Us over the summer and might jump into The Mandalorian Season 3 later in the year when Alberta gets too cold to shoot outdoors.

Kantemir Balagov is directing the pilot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Rumor About ‘Wolverine’ Series Coming To Disney+ Resurfaces

Back in 2019, there were rumblings that Marvel Studios was potentially considering an X-Men series for Disney+ that would include a faithful origin of a popular mutant character, the assumption was this could be Wolverine and his time in the Weapon X Program.

Well, it’s 2021 and the rumor has resurfaced over at That Hashtag Show. They’re adding that it’s in development at Marvel Studios taking an anthology angle and claim the first season will tackle Weapon X. The black ops weapons program that gives Logan his adamantium skeleton and claws could make for a compelling series.

However, we can exclusively share that Marvel is in early development on a series for Disney+. This series would be an anthology series based on the character of Wolverine. Since Wolverine is immortal and has a multitude of stories to tell, each season will focus on a particular story within the Wolverine mythos. Think like American Horror Story, where there’s a season long plot and then it resets. Only in this, you’ll have the center of Wolverine.

I’ve learned that while early in development, Marvel is aiming to adapt the famous Weapon X story arc for the first season.

Over the weekend, I mentioned in a feature article about Marvel rebooting/recasting the Wolverine role could lead to a Disney+ series as it would allow the studio to tackle multiple points in Logan’s life without overshadowing the new X-Men reboot film or other mutant team members. Covering things such as his service in WWII/Cold War, the Weapon X program, connections to Alpha Flight, fights with Hulk, and adventures in Japan/Madripoor.

Mark Ruffalo has talked-up multiple times his desire to see Wolverine and Hulk finally interact with each other, as Wolverine debuted in the pages of the Hulk comics before joining the X-Men. Ruffalo himself is going to be part of the cast of She-Hulk, another series on Disney+ that will focus on Bruce Banner’s lawyer cousin Jennifer Walters.

Wolverine’s Weapon X origin was explored in the forgettable mess X-Men Origins: Wolverine and there was a second attempt with a more faithful version with an action sequence in X-Men: Apocalypse. A new definitive take on Weapon X set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be a good way to reintroduce the character to audiences alongside the new actor.

Marvel Studios is developing Deadpool 3 but haven’t officially announced any other plans for their mutant lineup or who is creatively involved with the X-Men reboot. The studio hasn’t chosen a new actor to play Wolverine which means we’ll have to wait for Marvel to confirm this is actually happening.

The fictional X-Men location Madripoor had been introduced in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which has been a stomping-ground for Wolverine adventures and could be seen again in future X-Men projects. Outside of the Princess Bar making a cameo, it’s unlikely that Wolverine himself will be appearing in the final two episodes of the MCU series.

Logan was R-rated but normally the originally programming on Disney+ has been PG-13, which would suggest this wouldn’t be as violent as Hugh Jackman’s final outing as the popular mutant hero. Star has been recently added to Disney+ in various international markets allowing mature content from Hulu, FX, and 20th Century Studios to be streamed on the service that had been originally imagined for families.

SOURCE: THAT HASHTAG SHOW

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‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Will Reportedly See The Return of Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin

At the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, it was announced that The Book of Boba Fett would be a new Star Wars series coming to Disney+ and this led to Lucasfilm revealing that The Mandalorian Season 3 would be delayed. There had been confusion as the Fett project seemingly took over the production schedule that was likely meant for The Mandalorian.

The spinoff project would see Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen reprise their respective roles of Boba Fett and Fennec Shand. It’s also being produced by Robert Rodriguez, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni with the assumption they’ll end up directing episodes.

Well, it sounds like a familiar Mandalorian might be popping-up in the show after all.

Earlier in the week, Cinelinx reported that Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin is expected to appear in some capacity on the Disney+ series. Although, details are a bit scarce along with the how much we’ll end up seeing him.

The Book of Boba Fett has just about wrapped filming (if it hasn’t already) and details on the story/set have been ridiculously tight. That said, I’ve heard word from a couple of independent sources that at least one other familiar “face” from The Mandalorian will make an appearance: Din Djarin.

There is an expectation that The Mandalorian Season 3 won’t be filming anytime soon as with The Book of Boba Fett finishing up filming, Obi-Wan Kenobi is officially set to begin production in the California production space sometime this month. Pedro Pascal is also locked-in to shoot HBO’s The Last of Us series over the summer in Calgary.

It’ll be interesting to see how exactly Mando figures into The Book of Boba Fett and if it will to plant seeds for other projects set in the Mandalorian timeline.

SOURCE: CINELINX

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‘She-Hulk’ Series Adds ‘Altered Carbon’s Renee Elise Goldsberry As Amelia

Marvel Studios was reportedly said to have kicked-off production on their Disney+ series She-Hulk last month in Atlanta, Georgia. The show seems to be still assembling the main cast as a new report from Deadline has revealed that Renee Elise Goldsberry will be playing a character named Amelia.

While not confirmed by Marvel, people have assumed this role could be Amelia Voght, a mutant nurse from the pages of X-Men comics and member of the Acolytes. It’s also possible it could be another character created for the She-Hulk series as while there have been hints to mutants with the introductions of Madripoor and S.W.O.R.D., Marvel hasn’t officially added mutant characters to the MCU.

The American actress is likely best known from the musical Hamilton, the Netflix cyberpunk series Altered Carbon, and Ally McBeal. The latter series is said to be sort of an influence on the legal Marvel project.

She’ll be joining a cast that includes Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner aka Hulk, Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky aka Abomination, and Ginger Gonzaga as Jennifer’s best friend.

The creative team sees Kat Coiro and Anu Valia directing episodes with Rick & Morty’s Jessica Gao as the head writer.

Walters is a defense lawyer that specializes in superhero and super-villain cases. In the comics, after a life-threatening accident she requires a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner leading to her acquiring her own Hulk abilities. However, unlike Bruce Banner once turned into She-Hulk she remains in her green form similar to how Bruce/Hulk is in Avengers: Endgame. There had been hints we’ll see other Marvel superheroes and lawyers in the series.

Jennifer has joined multiple superhero teams over the years including Fantastic Four, Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., A-Force, and Heroes For Hire.

She-Hulk will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Emily VanCamp Responds To Theory Sharon Carter Is The Power Broker

As fans attempt to figure out who the mysterious Power Broker is in Marvel’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. The Hollywood Reporter was able to speak with actress Emily VanCamp on the “theory” that former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter is in fact the villain dealing in super-soldier serum.

VANCAMP: “I think that’s a great theory. (Laughs.) I obviously can’t say anything. I’ve also been saying, ‘Yes, there are three episodes left, but there are characters yet to be seen, which is also exciting.’ But I think it’s great that there are things swirling out there. Can I confirm that? No, 100 percent not. But you never know.”

Sharon Carter certainly has reasons to be angry with both the U.S. government and the Avengers, as she mentioned in Episode 3 that she had been on the run since the events of Captain America: Civil War. In that film, Carter aided international fugitives and we didn’t see what she was up to between Civil War and Endgame, a lot of things could have happened to her in this period of time. Hiding out in Madripoor and suddenly being aware the trio arrived on the island seemed a little too convenient, unless she was tipped off by someone else.

I have my suspensions the Power Broker could end up being Tim Roth’s Emil Blonsky aka Abomination, given he’s expected to have a major role in the She-Hulk series and has taken the super-soldier serum himself in The Incredible Hulk. Blonsky would also seemingly be aware of the serum supply that Thunderbolt Ross (Ross gave him the serum) has and potentially could have acquired classified information about people like Isaiah Bradley over the years.

Although, someone like Tim Blake Nelson’s Dr. Samuel Sterns aka The Leader could just easily be interested in the serum too. Tim recently starred in HBO’s hit sequel series Watchmen.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Daniel Bruhl Comments On Baron Zemo Leading The Thunderbolts

With Daniel Bruhl reprising the role of Baron Zemo in Marvel’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, we’ve been extremely curious if we’ll see the villain end up taking a leadership role via The Thunderbolts. A super-team made up of Marvel villains and anti-heroes, led at one point by Zemo himself.

Speaking exclusively with our pals over at Espacio Marvelita, Daniel responded to a question about seeing Zemo leading the Thunderbolts. It sounds like Daniel doesn’t see Zemo as a team player and suggests that he’s too smart to take a leadership role.

(A rough translation of Spanish to English via Google)

BRUHL: “Obviously. And there is only one team, there is only one Team Zemo, there should be no other (laughs). No, I don’t know, what’s up. He’s a very smart and very manipulative guy, and that has always been a lot of fun for me. We must not trust Zemo at any time and to see where it will end up, it is not known. But the question of being a leader, is still too smart to be a leader, because leaders also always end, they end badly, so he is one of those characters who always continues to manage things behind the curtain. He’s a Machiavelli, it’s the book he’s reading in the series. And these guys always have a lot of power. It’s like in the past, the one who was always whispering into the king’s ear. He’s one of these guys you have to be very careful with.”

While I enjoyed Captain America: Civil War I didn’t find that incarnation of Daniel’s Zemo that terribly compelling or interesting. What we recently saw with Episode 3 of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier was a fun and charismatic version of Zemo (how can you not love those dance moves?), someone I think we all want to see more of in the future. However, while there are plenty of signs that Marvel Studios is building up to an MCU version of The Thunderbolts it remains to be seen if Zemo will be ultimately part of that roster.

Zemo being allowed to develop into fixture of the MCU wouldn’t be terribly shocking with Loki and Bucky being given second chances to play the roles of heroes after being main villains in previous projects.

Episode 4 of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier drops tomorrow on Disney+.

SOURCE: ESPACIO MARELITA

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‘The Peripheral’: Charlotte Riley & JJ Field Among New Cast Members For Cyberpunk Amazon Series Produced By Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan

Chloe Grace Mortez (Kick-Ass) and Jack Reynor (Midsommar) are leading a series adaptation of the William Gibson cyberpunk novel The Peripheral that is being produced by Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan via their production company Kilter Films for Amazon’s Prime Video.

The book centers on Flynne (Moretz) and her brother Burton (Reynor). In the novel, Burton, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps’ elite Haptic Recon force, is hired for a security job which takes place in what he thinks is cyberspace. When Flynne temporarily takes his place, she witnesses something that might have been murder.

It was created by Scott B. Smith and will be showrun by Greg Plageman.

There is word of influx of casting additions to the sci-fi show as Deadline reports five actors are joining The Peripheral. The new additions include Charlotte Riley (A Christmas Carol, Edge of Tomorrow) as Aelita, JJ Feild (Lost in Space, Captain America: The First Avenger) as Lev, Adelind Horan (The Deuce, The Punisher) as Billy Ann Baker, T’Nia Miller (The Haunting of Bly Manor) as Cherise, and Alex Hernandez (Bloodshot) as Tommy Costantine.

Author William Gibson alongside Philip K. Dick are the fathers of the cyberpunk genre.

Lisa Joy is making her feature film debut with the Hugh Jackman sci-fi thriller Reminiscence for Warner Bros. and Jonathan Nolan is an accomplished Hollywood screenwriter. Jonathan writing scripts for his brother, Christopher Nolan, those projects include The Prestige, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar. The pair are producing via their production company Kilter Films which is also working on a series based on the post-Apocalypse video game franchise Fallout.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Jodie Turner-Smith Exits Netflix’s Prequel Series ‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’

Netflix is looking to expand The Witcher franchise as the flagship series starring Henry Cavill recently wrapped filming on Season 2. The streaming giant is assembling a cast for their spinoff series The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel that takes place many years before the adventures of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia.

Set 1,200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell the story of the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal ‘conjunction of the spheres’, when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.

Originally, Netflix had cast rising star Jodie Turner-Smith, who will be seen later this month in Michael B. Jordan’s upcoming Amazon action flick Without Remorse, in a prime lead role of Eile. Scheduling issues has led to Jodie exiting the fantasy project, according to a report from Deadline. A new actress hasn’t been named at this time but the warrior role will indeed be recast.

Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain (Game of Thrones, Vikings) had recently joined the series in the role of Fjall.

The original series is based on the novels by Polish fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski that was eventually turned into the internationally popular video game franchise from CD Projekt Red. Netflix is also developing an 10-episode anime series based on their new game release Cyberpunk 2077 that will be titled Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and seems like only a matter of a time before a live-action project is announced.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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HBO Max’s ‘Peacemaker’ Series Adds ‘Jessica Jones’ Director Rosemary Rodriguez To The Directing Team

Last week, The Ronin exclusively revealed that James Gunn’s DC Comics spinoff series Peacemaker would be adding Eastbound & Down director Jody Hill and we can now add another seasoned television director has joined the project that is filming in Vancouver.

We’ve confirmed that Rosemary Rodriguez will direct on The Suicide Squad spinoff series too. Her extensive credits include Rescue Me, Dickinson, Sneaky Pete, and The Good Wife. She’s no stranger to comic book properties directing episodes of Jessica Jones, The Walking Dead, and the live-action The Tick show.

Rosemary confirming her involvement on her website and in an interview from January.

RODRIGUEZ: “In the Spring, I’ll be directing [DC Comics’] Peacemaker for James Gunn. That will be a guaranteed good time!”

Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker! HBO Max is set to explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film, in the new Max Original action-adventure-comedy series Peacemaker. HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order of eight episodes for the first season of the show. John Cena will reprise his role from The Suicide Squad movie to star in the series, and the film’s acclaimed writer/director James Gunn will write all eight episodes of Peacemaker and will direct multiple episodes, including the first.

The cast consists of John Cena as Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker, Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang as Sophie Song, Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke, Nhut Le as Judomaster, Steve Agee as John Economos, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase aka Vigilante.

Peacermaker is a direct spinoff of James Gunn’s upcoming film The Suicide Squad coming to HBO Max and theaters on August 6, 2021.

Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.