Tag: Anthony Mackie

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Captain America 4’ Lands ‘Moon Knight’ Writer Ahead Of Reshoots In 2024 & Wyatt Russell Shares Disappointing ‘Thunderbolts’ Casting Update

Yesterday, it was reported by Deadline that Marvel’s fourth “Captain America” film, “Captain America: Brave New World,” would be undergoing further rewrites ahead of reshoots with the help of screenwriter Matthew Orton (“Operation Finale”), who had previously worked with Marvel Studios on “Moon Knight.”

Plot details are being kept under wraps but there is an expectation that an MCU version of the supervillain team The Serpent Society (previously used as a fake title for “Captain America: Civil War” and their involvement seemingly backed up in set photos) could be the antagonists of the action flick alongside Tim Blake Nelson’s The Leader. Harrison Ford had been recast as President “Thunderbolt” Ross after the death of William Hurt and could be either friend or foe to Sam Wilson.

Dalan Musson and Malcolm Spellman wrote the shooting version of the script with Julius Onah directing.

That additional filming is said to be taking place in the spring/summer of 2024 and will hit theaters on February 14, 2025. It’s important to point out that all MCU films have reshoots built into their budgets and nearly all projects undergo reshoots/pickups after they’ve wrapped principal photography.

More business-as-usual for the studio.

Also, while this isn’t a huge tidbit, “Thunderbolts” star Wyatt Russell (“The Falcon & The Winter Soldier”) while promoting his Apple TV+ series “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via ThePlaylist) revealed that neither Harrison Ford (President Thunderbolt Ross) nor Daniel Bruhl (Zemo) would be appearing in the film but hasn’t read the MCU film’s script to know for sure.

“Daniel is not going to be it, [but] he could play a part in it. I don’t know. I haven’t read a script yet, but as of now, I’m not sure. Harrison’s in ‘Captain America 4,’ I think. I don’t know, I haven’t read a script, so I don’t know who exactly who is in it. I know Florence is in it,  I know Sebastian’s in it. I know David Harbour is going to be in it. David Harbour is another guy who’s, like, so good. I love everything he does.”

We could theorize the actor is likely basing his knowledge of who is in the film based on the official concept art that announced the film’s character lineup such as Russell’s U.S. Agent. Then again, it might help if Russell had read the script before answering the question. It’s worth pointing out that “Thunderbolts” filming and “Captain America: Brave New World” reshoots are expected to overlap with each other leaving room for Ross/Zemo to appear.

“Thunderbolts” like a bunch of recent Marvel films have been undergoing rewrites ahead of their production and it remains to be seen if either President Ross or Zemo ultimately show up in the pic. However, it is worth mentioning that Zemo was a founding member of the team in the comics and there had been some assumptions given President Ross’ (Red Hulk is a Thunderbolts member in more recent incarnations of the roster in the comics) connection to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine established in other films that he could be showing up.

It was recently confirmed by Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead,” “Invincible”) on a YouTube video that his actor pal Steven Yeun (“Nope”) is set in the role of Sentry and had a costume fitting. The rest of the film’s cast includes Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/White Wolf/Winter Soldier), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow, David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Valentina Allegra de Fontaine), and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster).

Filming on “Thunderbolts” is expected to begin in the new year once rewrites are completed and has a release date of July 25, 2025.

You can watch that full exchange on the Happy Sad Confused podcast below.

SOURCE: DEADLINE & HAPPY SAD CONFUSED PODCAST

Posted on in Film News

Julius Onah To Direct ‘Captain America 4’ For Marvel Studios

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, we saw Steve Rogers hand down the Captain America mantle and shield to Sam Wilson. However, that was easier said than done as the U.S. government had its own ideas for who should take the position leading to the complex events of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.

In the series, we see that the government that turned its back on Wilson also threw another super-soldier in prison with Isaiah Bradley simply because a black man couldn’t be “trusted” with his powers. or follow orders. The entire reason for the Disney+ project was to show the transition of Anthony Mackie’s Falcon to Captain American before getting his own film.

The Hollywood Reporter has an update concerning Captain America 4 as Marvel has tapped director Julius Onah (Cloverfield Paradox, Luce) to helm the fourth installment. We should expect some of the hard-hitting themes the streaming series as head writer Malcolm Spellman is co-writing the script with Dalan Musson.

Captain America 4 is expected to continue the events after The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which likely means that Zemo and U.S. Agent could make their return or have some connective tissue to the upcoming Thunderbolts film that has Jake Schreier (Frank & Robot) attached to direct or even the Armor Wars show.

The Serpent Society would make for a great surrogate for HYDRA in the Sam Wilson films, after the terrorist orgainzation that was embedded within SHIELD was dissolved, because the roster is massive and would move away from the Nazi/Red Skull connection.

While most have accepted that Mackie is now the new Captain America, there have been an oddball group that believe that Rogers will return to take up the shield. As Evans and Kevin Feige has downplayed Rogers’ future in the MCU. The actor doubling-down with the following tweet after THR added ambigous/unsourced spectulation that Evans could be coming back.

https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1545826871262056449

Marvel Studios is heading back to Comic-Con later this month and we could learn about its release date.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

Antony Mackie Joins Live-Action ‘Twisted Metal’ Series From ‘Deadpool’ Screenwriters

PlayStation Productions is a newly formed production company meant to bring various Sony PlayStation IP/characters to film and television incarnations. One of those upcoming projects is a live-action television series based on the classic video game Twisted Metal, from Sony Pictures Television.

Deadline reports that Marvel Studios alumni Anthony Mackie (Altered Carbon, Black Mirror) has nabbed the lead role of John Doe in the series. Mackie recently became the new Captain America by the end of the Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, with the expectation he’ll reprise the superhero role in Captain America 4.

The project is based on a new take from Rhett Reese and Paul Wenrick (Deadpool) that will be written by Michael Jordan Smith (Cobra Kai), all three will executive produce.

Twisted Metal is a high-octane action comedy based on an original take by Deadpool scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a trigger-happy car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.

Doe is a smart-ass milkman who talks as fast as he drives. With no memory of his past, he gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his wish of finding community come true, but only if he can survive an onslaught of savage vehicular combat.

Other PlayStation properties getting live-action adaptations includes an Uncharted movies led by Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, an HBO series version of The Last of Us, and a feature film based on Ghost of Tsushima from John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

Anthony Mackie & David Harbour To Star In Netflix’s ‘We Have A Ghost’ From ‘Freaky’ Director Christopher Landon; Filming Has Started

Freaky director Christopher Landon has secured a high-profile project at Netflix with We Have a Ghost, which is based on the short story Ernest from Geoff Manaugh.

We Have A Ghost follows Kevin and his family, who find a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home and get turned into overnight social media sensations. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of Ernest’s past, they become a target of the CIA.

The news coming from The Hollywood Reporter adds that the fantastic cast consists of Anthony Mackie (Outside The Wire, The Falcon & The Winter Soldier), David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow), Tig Nataro (Army of The Dead, Star Trek: Discovery), Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde), Erica Ash (Survivor’s Remorse, Uncle Drew), Isabella Russo (School of Rock the Musical, Crashing), Niles Fitch (This Is Us), Faith Ford (Murphy Brown, Hope & Faith) and Steve Coulter (Shotgun Wedding, The Conjuring).

It’s not mentioned in the report, but Landon’s previous work has skewed more comedic/tongue-in-cheek and I guess we’ll have to assume that is the case with We Have A Ghost, given that Harbour and Mackie have done humorous roles in the past.

Christopher Landon took to Twitter to announced that film had officially started on Monday and confirmed that cinematographer Marc Spicer (Escape Room, Escape Room 2) will be behind the camera. Spicer has a wonderful eye and those Escape Room movies have an extremely slick look which should mean that We Have A Ghost will really have a strong visual edge to it.

The pairing of Mackie and Harbour is interesting as Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige suggested on Twitter (during a Black Widow watch party) recently he’d like to see Sam Wilson’s Captain America and Alexei’s Red Guardian come to blows at some point. It’ll be interesting if the two actors could reunite for an MCU project like Captain America 4.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Captain America 4’: Director Kari Skogland Game To Tackle The Next Installment & Writer Malcolm Spellman Downplays His Involvement

Last Friday, there was a scoop from The Hollywood Reporter that revealed Marvel Studios was already moving forward with Captain American 4 hiring screenwriters Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson to begin working on a script.

This new was coming off the success of the Disney+ series Falcon & Winter Soldier, where Spellman was the head writer. That 6-episode series followed the journey of Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson transforming into the new Captain America alongside acknowledging the dark-side of the super-soldier program via Isiah Bradley’s history of being the first black Captain America, but his story being kept from the public and his subsequent 30 year imprisonment. It’s been all but confirmed that Mackie would end up leading Captain America 4 and potential further installments.

However, this has yet to be announced by Marvel/Disney and Malcolm Spellman doesn’t give a strong impression the project is a lock. When asked about the report by Comic Book, Malcolm has seemingly downplayed how involved he currently is with Captain America 4 and points back to Kevin Feige being the one that makes these things official.

SPELLMAN: “Who said it? Did Kevin say it? I would not put faith in anything you do not hear directly from the man himself!”

While we’ll have to wait for some official confirmations about Captain America 4, Falcon & Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland has revealed to Cinemablend’s Reel Blend podcast that she would be game if the offer came her way.

SKOGLAND: “I think if Marvel called me to do anything, if they called me to film the phone book, I would do it. … The Marvel characters are all very, very rich. I’ve become friends with Anthony and Sebastian, and I really enjoyed working with them. And Emily and Daniel Bruhl. I mean, I’ve worked with them for a couple of years, so of course, I have a special place in my heart. But as I said, if Kevin (Feige) picked up the phone, I would answer it.”

I’m pretty sure we’ll end up seeing some cross-pollination between Don Cheadle’s Armor Wars and Captain America 4, given that the heroes and villains are essentially mingling in similar government circles.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK & CINEMABLEND

Posted on in Features

The ‘Armor Wars’ Series Could Help Setup ‘Captain America 4’

*WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER*

Yesterday, saw Marvel Studios release the finale for Falcon & Winter Soldier and cemented that Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has moved from the Falcon persona to taking on the Captain America mantle from Steve Rogers. It was also reported that the studio isn’t wasting any time and has assigned screenwriters for Captain America 4 with Falcon’s Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson said to be working on a script.

I’m getting a strong feeling that Don Cheadle’s War Machine series Armor Wars could plant seeds for this upcoming Captain American sequel alongside the film’s potential threat. If you remember we saw Don Cheadle appear as Rhodey in the first episode of Falcon & Winter Soldier when Wilson donates the shield to the Smithsonian exhibit. I don’t think it was an accident that the two shared a moment in that first episode as Falcon and Armor Wars might be connected leading up to the events in Captain America 4.

Armor Wars will see James Rhodes crackdown on a wave of Stark technology getting into the black market and allows him to interact with a heap of Iron Man villains that likely wouldn’t have made the cut in feature films. Baddies such as Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, and others could finally get their live-action adaption alongside other canon-fodder characters. There could also be a link towards the introduction of Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, who will be leading her own series Ironheart.

Armor Wars’ villains could be familiar faces with Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer, who featured predominately in the comic book the show is based on and if I had to guess could easily step-in for Norman Osborn in the Dark Avengers. You might remember that he turned War Machine into Iron Patriot for Iron Man 2, the armor was used by Osborn and briefly by Sharon Carter in the comics. I wouldn’t be shocked if Hammer is recruited into the Thunderbolts potentially combining Dark Avengers with Thunderbolts into a single entity. Traditionally, Baron Zemo is the leader but there are been multiple incarnations and the MCU does it’s own thing.

Speaking of Carter, it was revealed in Falcon & Winter Soldier that she was the mysterious arms dealer The Power Broker and is now going to use her newly returned access to government weapons programs for her benefit. There is a good shot that Sharon and Justin might join forces to get their hands on Stark’s armor tech.

Zemo crushed The Power Broker’s attempt to recreate the super-soldier serum and could attempt to help take-out villains that want to get their hands on Stark’s armor tech as well. At the end of Falcon, we see Zemo’s butler killing a batch of Flag Smashers that were heading to The Raft, suggesting that he’s still dangerous even behind bars.

We currently don’t know what Marvel is planning to do with Captain America 4, but it’s worth noting that the last installment, Captain America: Civil War, was essentially an Avengers event. There is a good chance that with Falcon & Winter Soldier out of the way they can now give Sam Wilson a massive blockbuster as he takes over the Captain America franchise.

One of the main attributes of the Captain America films is that Steve Rogers has fellow superheroes working alongside him with Bucky/Peggy Carter/The Howling Commandos in Captain America: The First Avenger, Black Widow/Falcon/Nick Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Bucky/Falcon/Scarlet Witch/Hawkeye/Ant-Man/Sharon Carter in Captain America: Civil War. Seeing Rhodey and Sam further develop their relationship or even partner up in the future wouldn’t be surprising given their military backgrounds and both taking on superhero mantles.

Could the next Captain America film also become some Avengers event movie like Civil War?

A new Avengers roster is being assembled before our eyes by Marvel with Sam Wilson becoming Captain America, Rhodey is essentially taking up the Iron Man mantle from Tony Stark, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster aka Lady Thor, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova becoming Black Widow, Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk, a new yet-to-be announced Black Panther for the sequel shooting this summer, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye, and Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres taking Sam’s spot as Falcon. How this might intersect with plans for the Young Avengers and Thunderbolts remains to be seen.

Armor Wars dropping hints for the Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers to appear in future films like Captain America 4 could be great way to have things escalate for Sam’s first film as the new Cap and sort of amp things up in comparison to the Disney+ show.

John Walker becomes U.S. Agent

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker becoming U.S. Agent remains a bit of mystery if he’s going to be part of the MCU’s version of Thunderbolts or will become a pawn of The Serpent Society (faux title for Captain America 3), Zola, and the Mandarin’s Ten Rings. It likely comes down to the intentions of his new boss Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Julia was originally supposed to appear first as Val in Black Widow before the pandemic delayed the film’s release from May 2020 to July 2021. There are already suggestions that she’ll have some connection to Yelena joining the Thunderbolts but that needs to be confirmed. It’s confirmed that Florence Pugh is reprising the role in the Hawkeye series that could also have links to Thunderbolts.

Walker could return for Armor Wars as he teamed-up with The Jury and that group could be replaced with whoever ends up getting bootleg Stark-tech, potentially Val and Justin Hammer. I’d personally like to see The Serpent Society because they would make an excellent surrogate for a modern version of HYDRA and give Sam plenty of villains to battle for the next couple of years.

Thunderbolt Ross might become a very important figure in the very near future and there is a possibility he might appear in Armor Wars given that Rhodey could be activated under Ross’ supervision.

It could be interesting to see the new Avengers going head-to-head against a competing team like the Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers, who would likely be made up multiple villains selected by Thunderbolt Ross at The Raft. Ross himself is a member of a recent version of the team as Red Hulk, a character aspect that could be explored in the She-Hulk series. He’s always been lurking behind the scenes as a government stooge and helped create the Abomination. Having Ross spearheading Thunderbolts as his namesake would make a lot of sense and it’s starting to feel like Phase 4 is leading up to the two teams clashing on the big screen.

Posted on in Film News

‘Captain America 4’ Moving Forward At Marvel Studios With ‘Falcon & Winter Soldier’s Malcolm Spellman Writing

Marvel Studios is reportedly already developing Captain America 4 with writers Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson. Spellman is the showrunner of Falcon & The Winter Soldier and Musson is a staff writer on the Disney+ show.

It’s all but confirmed that the series will continue the adventures of Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Captain America. However, a director hasn’t been named but there is a good shot they’ll ask Kari Skogland after tackling Falcon & Winter Soldier and alongside Spellman being a key part of the show’s success.

Villains aren’t named but there is a good shot that Marvel could end up using The Serpent Society, a group of multiple villains that have been the thorn in the side of Captain America. You might remember that Captain America 3 briefly had the faux title of Captain America: Serpent Society before the Civil War angle was confirmed with the reveal of the late Chadwick Boseman playing T’Challa aka Black Panther in the sequel.

The Serpent Society could end up being an overarching group of baddies for Sam’s era of the franchise potentially alongside other unused Captain America villains that can be mined for future movies led by Anthony Mackie. It’s unclear if Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, Baron Zemo, Val, and John Walker will be part of the character lineup for the fourth installment.

I’m slightly curious if The Thunderbolts will have a connection as well.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ Connects To At Least 3 Upcoming MCU Projects & Kevin Feige Says There Are “Certainly Ideas” For Season 2

As fans will be trying to figure-out the upcoming Easter Eggs and cameos in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, showrunner Malcolm Spellman spoke to Entertainment Weekly revealing the show will indeed have connections to at least three unnamed MCU projects.

The answers to these questions will have drastic impacts on the MCU moving forward. Similar to how WandaVision leads directly into the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spellman says he can think of three projects off the top of his head that tie into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that he’s “not allowed to talk about.”

Don Cheadle has confirmed he’ll be appearing as Rhodey aka War Machine, which likely means that Armor Wars will have an obvious connection to the series. There are also expectations that it could tie-into things such as She-Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and maybe even a yet-to-be-announced Thunderbolts project.

I’m also curious if Marvel will make an announcement concerning Captain America 4 starring Anthony Mackie, because the actor had once teased in older interviews that he felt the series was meant to line-up his own wave of Captain America films.

After WandaVision, I think fans would be smart to just pump the breaks with the speculation that characters such as Wolverine or Omega Red will be showing up to keep expectations in a realistic realm (even if Madripoor will be a location). The online fan community stoked WandaVision theories to the point that there was sort of a backlash when characters like Reed Richards and Doctor Strange didn’t show up, despite zero evidence that was actually going to happen.

There seems to be enough real connections in the new series that should make fans happy.

While a Season 2 hasn’t been announced and Kevin Feige has previously prepped fans that some of the Disney+ shows don’t currently have plans for multiple seasons. He mentioned during a press conference via Deadline that there are ideas for Falcon’s Season 2. Although, he stopped short from confirming they would be doing that.

FEIGE: “We get asked [that question] much more in television, because people expect it to be like what they know before: Where’s Season 2? We approached it like the movies: We better make this great, because we won’t be able to do another one. If we’re able to do another one, there’s certainly ideas.”

Directed by Kari Skogland, the Marvel series has a cast that consists of Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Daniel Bruhl, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, George St. Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Veronica Falcon, Desmond Chiam, Carl Lumbly, Miki Ishikawa, and Amy Aquino.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier will debut on Disney+ this Friday and will have 6-episodes, three less than WandaVision.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY & DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

Anthony Mackie Isn’t Sure What Happens With Sam After ‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’ – Season 2 Not Discussed By Marvel

During an interview with Variety, the outlet states that Anthony Mackie isn’t sure what will happen with Sam Wilson once the show finishes up as Marvel Studio hasn’t discussed the prospects of a Season 2 for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and he’s not sure if he’ll automatically get his own feature films.

While bound by standard Marvel-grade secrecy, the actor confirms there have been no discussions of a second season for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. As the majority of domestic movie theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, he is equally unaware of the theatrical prospects for his Falcon character — or the Captain he may become by the end of this Disney Plus run. 

At one point, Anthony Mackie teased the series was meant to give Sam Wilson his origin to taking over the Captain America mantle before heading into the films and that suggested to us he would end up leading Captain America 4. However, we’ll actually have to see what ultimately happens with the Disney+ series and who ends up taking over for Steve Rogers. It doesn’t seem to be as cut-and-dry as we thought when the series was first announced but there have been toys with Wilson in his Captain America uniform that seems to support that Sam will indeed become the new Cap by the end of the show.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier debuts on Disney+ starting on March 19th.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Television News

‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’: Marvel Drops A Fantastic Full Trailer For Their Action-Packed Disney+ Series

Marvel Studios revealed a full trailer for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier during the Super Bowl yesterday and it certainly revealed how action-focused the Disney+ series will be. Highlighting that Baron Zemo is indeed the big-bad of the show and is returning to his anti-superhero schemes. It’ll be interesting to see whatever villains are introduced in the show beyond the return of Batroc The Leaper.

We also see Bosch actress Amy Aquino seemingly in some therapist or case worker role.

Don Cheadle revealed he’ll be appearing as War Machine in the show before his solo series Armor Wars, but how big the cameo is hasn’t been revealed.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier will kick-off on Disney+ starting on March 19th.

Fans had been anticipating first looks at Shang-Chi and Eternals, but everyone was attempting to save money this year. Having Disney focus on next month releases such as Raya & The Last Dragon and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier made the most sense from a spending stand point. However, unless there is another delay for Shang-Chi we should be seeing some footage in the very near future for the summer flick.

SOURCE: MARVEL