Tag: Avengers 5

Russo Brothers In Early Talks To Direct 'Avengers 5' & 'Avengers; Secret Wars'
Posted on in Film News, News

UPDATE: Russo Brothers In Early Talks To Join Marvel’s Multiverse Saga By Directing ‘Avengers 5’ & ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

In the wake of the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s last two “Avengers” movies, the studio has been trying to assemble an epic one-two-punch for the follow-up, with two more event films focused on the epic Marvel Comics team. Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige look to be finally zeroing in on a replacement for Destin Daniel Cretton (now focused on “Shang-Chi 2”) on “Avengers 5,” as The Hollywood Reporter reveals that The Russo Brothers are in “early talks” to not only take over from Destin but also take on “Avengers: Secret Wars” as well.

UPDATE: Kevin Feige talked to Inverse and poured a little cold water on the report, hinting that the report might be inaccurate or that they jumped the gun a bit. The interviewer and Inverse are framing this response as a “denial.”

“No, I can’t comment on it except to say it was somebody else a couple of weeks ago, and I look forward to seeing who it is going to be next week,” Feige says. “We’ll see.”

Of course, the sibling duo aren’t strangers to the inner workings of the MCU as they directed “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” They’ve had massive success at the global box office, a potential reason for their offer to return, by earning a massive $6.681 billion over their four MCU releases. Specifically, “Avengers: Endgame” stands as the second biggest movie of all time globally with an impressive $2.79 billion.

The latter two films were also shot back-to-back with a hefty amount of characters to juggle, which is also going to be an element of the next two “Avengers” installments. Something the Russo Brothers are really good at is managing a larger-than-normal superhero roster and will be an asset needed for these next two adventures. This development is certainly a bit of shock when you consider that previously, when the both “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” (title subject to change) and “Avengers: Secret Wars” was first announced by Marvel Studios they were extremely quick to add that neither project would have the Russo Brothers directing. The brothers had expressed some interest in tackling “Secret Wars” and the MCU’s “X-Men” reboot while on press tours for “Endgame” and other things.

Despite their thunderous box office and critical achievements with Marvel Studios, the directors have struggled more recently with critics on both the Tom Holland crime thriller “Cherry” and their $200 million-plus budgeted Netflix spy flick “The Gray Man.” They have another Netflix movie on the way, “The Electric State,” starring Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”) in the sci-fi pic.

While plot details aren’t being revealed at this time, established MCU screenwriter Michael Waldron (“Rick & Morty”), who has been the main screenwriter tackling the Multiverse-focused projects like “Loki” and “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness,” had been brought in to help with the script for “Avengers 5.” Kang The Conqueror was originally going to be the villain of “Avengers 5” before Jonathan Majors was fired by the studio, and it’s unclear if the studio is pursuing a recast for Kang or simply going to jump forward to “Secret Wars” (the big Multiverse war film) by splitting the project into two parts.

Fans will be quick to assume longtime creative partners Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely could be making their return to the MCU (Yet this hasn’t been made official in any way, just speculation).

It’s hard to assume what the outcome of their involvement would mean for the future of the MCU. While cinematic universe reset rumors are persistent, the studio hasn’t telegraphed they have plans to reboot their superhero franchise anytime soon. The idea that the band is getting back to together I’m sure is extremely exciting for fans and the involvement of Feige on these two films might help to ease the worries of folks not completely thrilled with their last couple of directing efforts. One of their more glorious contributions was giving Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark a fitting death scene by sacrificing himself for the universe. Hopefully, Marvel and the creative have their wits among them and don’t attempt to resurrect Stark simply to lean into the Multiverse gimmick.

There have also been some expectations that mutants, and particularly the new MCU version of the X-Men could be part of these new movies (“Deadpool & Wolverine” has been already teasing this) alongside the new cast of “Fantastic Four.” Although nothing has been made official on that front other than the new movie landed screenwriter Michael Lesslie (a director could easily be announced soon).

This big news comes off the heels of various trade rumblings that “Deadpool & Wolverine” (another Multiverse-centric film) filmmaker Shawn Levy was offered the job on “Avengers 5.” But as a subsequent report from Deadline states, Levy will be focusing on his new untitled “Star Wars” movie that will see the Canadian director reunited with screenwriter Jonathan Tropper (“The Adam Project”).

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that someone has the good sense to include Multiverse antagonists, The Squadron Supreme, in these upcoming “Avengers” films. Hard to ignore that Marvel’s take on the Justice League would make for some intense action sequences and could keep the superheroes on their toes, not to mention potentially leading to a few on-screen deaths (Thor and Hulk being strong contenders).

Later in the month, we’ll likely hear directly from Marvel/Feige about this whole ordeal as Marvel is making their grand return to the San Diego Comic-Con with a presentation on Saturday, July 27, which should confirm this announcement alongside other big updates on future feature films like “Fantastic Four,” “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Thunderbolts,” “Blade,” “Spider-Man 4,” and more.

Stay tuned for future updates.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

Mark Ruffalo Downplays Another Solo ‘Hulk’ Film Ever Happening While Teasing More Appearances In Other MCU Movies: “We’ll Never Give You A Standalone ‘Hulk'”

Mark Ruffalo seems to be game to keep playing the Banner/Hulk role for years to come, and this is sort of highlighted in a recent chat he had during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2024, where the “Avengers” actor revealed that there are zero plans for another solo “Hulk” film (Despite ongoing rumors) but we could end up seeing those events play out over multiple other films in the MCU.

“We’ll never give you a standalone ‘Hulk’…I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble but that’s not happening. So, we’ll do it over four movies, how’s that sound?” Ruffalo told the crowd when the subject of a solo ‘Hulk’ film came up without specifically naming what those movies could be and where he’d potentially appear.

This would indicate two things. Talk of a new solo “Hulk” movie is likely bogus (Maybe those elements will be used elsewhere) and rumblings of Marvel Studios getting back full control of both Hulk/Namor from Universal Pictures aren’t likely accurate either. Ruffalo is well-known for spilling the beans including the ending of “Avengers: Infinity War” during press for the film ahead of its release to the public. However, he’s been the one mainly championing a solo film in press interviews because he never was able to get one himself since “The Incredible Hulk” was before he was hired for the gig. If there was a shot of it happening he’d be telegraphing there is more of a chance than “it’s never happening.”

Some fans and outlets have sort of misconstrued Ruffalo’s comments here about “Captain America: Brave New World,” while he said he’s excited about the film after the interviewer brings it up, he never actually says he’s appearing in it. Hardly the smoking gun some folks are making it out to be. I mean, it could make some sense to fans given three big “Incredible Hulk” characters are confirmed to be in the film (Thunderbolt Ross, Betty Ross, and The Leader). Yet, hearing the original quote from Ruffalo he’s simply not saying he’s showing up just that he can talk about that film without getting in trouble.

Thor: Ragnarok': When Hulk Was a Gladiator in The Comics – The Hollywood Reporter

It’s not like Marvel hasn’t been sneaky in the past as “Thor: Ragnarok” added a heap of elements but not all from “The Planet Hulk” comics without having to be directly part of a solo adventure and it’s a way to avoid Universal entirely. In theory, other Hulk events like “World War Hulk” could be applied to other upcoming films rather than a solo project.

The MCU just introduced Hulk's son Skaar | Popverse

Hell, even the recent Disney+ series “She-Hulk” was able to introduce both Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters and his son Skaar.

We have to assume that it’s a gimmie that Bruce Banner will appear in both “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.” It remains to be seen what other projects he’ll be part of given there might be opportunities for a cheeky cameo in “Deadpool & Wolverine” (Given Ruffalo’s connection to Shawn Levy/Ryan Reynolds via “The Adam Project” and he’d finally go toe-to-toe with Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine) and could end up appearing in “some capacity” in upcoming things such as “Thunderbolts,” “Armor Wars,” “Shang-Chi 2,” or that hypothetical “Thor 5.” Until it’s official it’s worth having a little patience and not jumping to conclusions.

You can watch that exchange with Ruffalo for yourselves below.

SOURCE: SANTA BARBARA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 VIA YOUTUBE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Avengers 5’: Marvel Studios Officially Fires Kang Actor Jonathan Majors After Guilty Verdict In Assault & Harassment Trial

For months now Disney and Marvel Studios have been walking on eggshells by attempting not to comment or spotlight the legal woes of actor Jonathan Majors, who just yesterday was convicted of reckless assault in the third degree and guilty of harassment. This is from a two-week trial in NYC that stemmed from a March altercation between the Marvel actor and his ex-partner, Grace Jabbari. Sentencing for Majors will take place on February 6, 2024, and will shed light on what kind of consequences he’ll be seeing for his actions.

Within hours of the verdict being announced trades like The Hollywood Reporter learned that the studio had finally decided to drop Majors from his contract and sever their ties with him for future MCU projects. Majors had been playing multiple variants of the Multiverse Saga villain, Kang The Conqueror, and was expected to become a rather key aspect of both “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” as well. The quickness of the announcement was more than likely prepared months in advance and the studio had just been waiting for the trial’s outcome to make the firing public.

Kang had been mostly confined to variant appearances on two seasons of the Disney+ series “Loki” and played the main villain of “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania,” the latter project not exactly supported by either critics or audiences. Recently there have been some creative hiccups on the next project said to feature Kang as Jeff Loveness (“Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania”) reportedly exited as the screenwriter on “Avengers 5” with fellow “Rick & Morty” writer Michael Waldron (“Loki,” “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness”) stepping in to do rewrites on the script after being previously assigned to “Secret Wars” too. This coming around the same time as director Destin Daniel Cretton also left the “Avengers” pic to focus on his “Wonder Man” series starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen,” “Aquaman 2”) and a gestating sequel to “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” led by Simu Liu (“Barbie”).

It’s clear “Avengers 5” is getting an overall but what that will look like isn’t being revealed officially and we’re still going to have to wait for more concrete details on how much they’re actually changing.

What remains unclear is what Marvel is expected to do about the character of Kang and if they’ll simply recast, given the Multiverse villain has many variants (“Loki” has established that variants can both look like the original character or completely different) allowing for a brand new actor to be placed in the Kang role without much narrative headaches. General audiences likely didn’t get too attached to Majors as Kang after the underwhelming reactions to “Ant-Man 3.” Plenty of names have been thrown around online as potential wishlist replacements such as Oscar-winner Denzel Washington (“Gladiator 2,” “The Equalizer 3”), his son John David Washington (“Tenet,” “The Creator”), John Boyega (“They Cloned Tyrone,” “Star Wars”), Damson Idris (“Snowfall”), and many others. Using the villain’s other variant aliases like Rama-Tut or Immortus could also be a way to distance themselves from using the Kang name alongside retitling the next “Avengers” installment.

Pedro Pascal is expected to play the variant of Reed Richards in “Fantastic Four” after we saw John Krasinski play him as the Earth-838 incarnation in “Doctor Strange 2.” So, Marvel isn’t above recasting these parts and the Multiverse gives them a narrative excuse to do it. We saw a backlash against Marvel’s choice not to recast T’Challa for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” after the sudden death of star Chadwick Boseman due to a private battle with colon cancer, which might have been understandable from a grief perspective among the director, cast, and crew. What I don’t think fans want to see is the erasure of black characters becoming a trend within the MCU and finding another actor doesn’t seem like that much of an ask since the Multiverse angle gives the studio a lot of wiggle room.

Loki Season 2 Ending Explained | The Direct

“Loki” Season 2 also just wrapped up and the ending of the series downplayed the 616/Majors version of Kang allowing for them to pivot to a new variant/actor or simply find another villain altogether, given Loki‘s renewed popularity having him potentially meddling with the Multiverse with his new gig at the TVA might be another way to go here.

Some online have convinced themselves that Marvel is going to “pivot from Kang The Conqueror” entirely to focus on a character like “Fantastic Four” baddie Doctor Doom because he had been an antagonist in a more recent comic incarnation of “Secret Wars.” However, given that the “Fantastic Four” reboot hasn’t even been established it feels odd that the studio would be rushing Doom to shoehorn him into two “Avengers” installments before he’s been properly fleshed out in the “Fantastic Four” films. While many still look to the comics for what might end up happening in the MCU, the studio isn’t exactly known for making one-to-one adaptations of the source material they ultimately do their own thing. It’s worth noting that we still don’t have official confirmation that Doom is even showing up or being cast for the Matt Shakman-directed reboot, Doom’s involvement has only been speculation going back to when the project was first announced by the studio and previous rumors of his involvement in other MCU projects didn’t pan-out.

Before the merger, Noah Hawley (“Legion”) had been quietly developing a solo “Doctor Doom” film for 20th Century Fox but seemingly has moved on with the latest season of “Fargo” and production on his Earthbound “Alien” series at FX/Hulu set to resume in the new year.

🔥 The Avengers #148 9.6 CGC White Pages George Perez Squadron Supreme Iron Man | eBay

There are villain surrogate options for Marvel besides Doom such as “X-Men” Multiverse villain Mojo, who on the Fox Kids animated series (being continued via “X-Men ’97” on Disney+) kidnaps the X-Men forcing the team of mutants to appear on his interdimensional TV station in Mojoverse/Mojo World as a massive boost to their ratings. A plot point that could be easily applied to the MCU version of Battleworld given that the “X-Men” are expected to be coming to the MCU after the events of “Deadpool 3” which is said to involve a Multiverse/TVA angle to it.

In my personal opinion, a group of Multiverse villains perfectly suited for these next two installments would be The Squadron Supreme. Not only do they originate directly from the Multiverse in the pages of “Avengers” comics but including them may remove the need for variant/cameo overloads as Marvel’s version of Justice League would be a compelling pack of antagonists for our heroes to go toe-to-toe with and wouldn’t need to be explored beyond the two event pics. Allowing for some slightly more self-contained threats that don’t need to be established over time in a dozen other projects.

Marvel has yet to announce a director for either “Avengers 5” or “Avengers: Secret Wars,” but the current assumption is that we could end up seeing whoever is hired for one to shoot both films. The next film is slated to be released on May 1, 2026, but we won’t hold our breath that it sticks to that date.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Loki’ & ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer Michael Waldron Takes Over Screenwriting Duties On ‘Avengers 5’

Marvel Studios is indeed retooling their next “Avengers” installment as it’s now been revealed that Michael Waldron (“Rick & Morty”), the creator of the “Loki” series and screenwriter of the Multiverse-focused “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” has been tasked to rewrite/rework the script for “Avengers 5” that had been previously titled, “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” This comes after Destin Daniel Cretton was said to have exited the film to focus on a sequel to “Shang-Chi” alongside his “Wonder Man” series on Disney+ that is expected to resume production soon.

Waldron is also working on “Avengers: Secret Wars” and now makes him Marvel’s main screenwriter on their big Multiverse films. Getting someone to pen the next two installments would sort of mirror how the duo of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were assigned to both “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” after working on “The Winter Soldier” and “Civil War.”

This would confirm that previous screenwriter Jeff Loveness (“Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania”) has stepped aside from the project. Earlier in the month, there had been rumors suggesting that the studio had moved on from Loveness after the disappointing reaction to his “Ant-Man” sequel featuring Jonathan Majors’ Kang The Conqueror as the main antagonist. It remains to be seen if they’ll keep Kang as their big bad over the next two installments. The recent season finale of “Loki” seemingly sidestepped Kang being such a threat and left the door open for someone else to fill that void, potentially.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Multiverse villains, The Squadron Supreme, are considered for the pic. A superpowered team that was Marvel’s evil knock-off of The Justice League that had been originally pulled out of the Multiverse as foes for The Avengers. Instead of having a single menacing baddie, there could be a whole team of them looking to defeat our heroes.

The Avengers #148, Squadron Supreme June 1976, Vintage Marvel Comic, MID-GRADE | eBay

A longstanding rumor over the last year or so has been that “Doctor Strange 2” helmer Sam Raimi is being courted for “Avengers Secret Wars” and could also end up making “The Kang Dynasty” as well. Raimi’s involvement has yet to be officially announced by Marvel/Disney or backed up by trade reports, but we shouldn’t be all that shocked if someone is named in the very near future.

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Loses Director Destin Daniel Cretton Amid Rumors Of Creative Hiccups

As Marvel Studios is already seeing its fair share of headaches after the weak domestic box office opening for their latest pic “The Marvels,” another big one has sprung up. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that director Destin Daniel Cretton has exited the next “Avengers” installment titled “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and there doesn’t sound like an immediate replacement waiting in the wings for the MCU event film.

Jeff Loveness (“Rick & Morty“) had been tapped to pen the sequel’s script after working on bringing a cinematic version of the Kang The Conqueror (played by actor Jonathan Majors) variant to the big screen with “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania.” There had been some rumblings this week from journalist/author Joanna Robinson (via ThePlaylist) on The House of R podcast that the writer was off the project and the studio had considered pivoting from Kang as the team-up’s next big villain.

Marvel has yet to officially comment on any changes to the film or its narrative direction.

This comes after “Ant-Man 3” had a bit of a disastrous response from audiences and the reason season of “Loki” attempted to distance itself from that film as well alongside Kang as the overseer of the Multiverse entirely. Potentially, allowing either Tom Hiddleston’s Loki to fill his spot as the villain (“Avengers: The Loki Dynasty”?) or Marvel looking to recast the role (Given Majors’ legal issues pertaining to domestic violence) with a big-name actor that could reenergize audiences. Thankfully, Kang being a Multiverse baddie with an unlimited amount of variant counterparts, a recast of the role wouldn’t be all that strange for audiences to accept.

This wouldn’t be the first director to exit a Marvel film in the development stage. Some of the others in the past include Edgar Wright, Patty Jenkins, and Scott Derrickson. There is an expectation his working relationship with Marvel won’t end as his Disney+ series “Wonder Man” is expected to resume filming as the strikes have been resolved and would likely continue to be a creative force on the previously announced sequel to “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.” As reports say Cretton will now focus on “Shang-Chi 2” which would see actor Simu Liu reprise the role of the Asian-American superhero.

“Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” was expected to be ready for release in May of 2026. However, if the film has lost both the director and screenwriter you could easily expect that date to be pushed back even further or end up replaced with “Avengers: Secret Wars.”

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Screenwriter Teasing Namor Will Appear In The Next Big Superhero Crossover Event?

It’s exciting to think we have two more Avengers installments on the way from Marvel Studios with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty being helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings). The filmmaker will be working with screenwriter Jeff Loveness on the sequel, who recently penned Ant-Man 3 and will tackle Jonathan Majors‘ Kang The Conqueror for the second time. During a recent interview with ComicBook, the writer revealed a character he’s extremely excited to get his hands on and it’s one we’ve already been introduced to.

“Namor, man. I’m excited to write Namor,” Loveness said when asked about what he was excited about moving forward as he continues to work within the MCU.

Although, not directly said this could easily be taken as a hint that Tenonch Huerta’s Namor might be a character that will show up in The Kang Dynasty, mainly, because a solo project hasn’t been announced and we’re still unsure if he’ll be appearing in Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four reboot (given Namor’s comic book connections to that superhero team) that is set to begin shooting sometime next year. An Avengers project would seemingly be larger enough to give some wiggle-room to allow for Namor to make a return after being introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

It’s also worth mentioning that while working on Rick & Morty, Loveness as a writer worked on the season five episode that introduced Mr. Nimbus. A character is a direct parody of Namor The Sub-Mariner but with a heightened level of sexuality and more silly/theatrical than his MCU counterpart.

While Namor was the antagonist of Wakanda Forever and had his own reasons to protect the world from finding his underwater kingdom by any means. In the comics, the character has been quite active in the superhero role as well joining the ranks of Marvel teams like The Avengers, The Defenders, The Illuminati, and The Invaders. So, it remains to be seen if Namor will actually show up, but, hopefully, if he does it’ll be to help boost his heroic/anti-hero persona and not double-down as being a villain.

Barring any more changes to the MCU slate by Disney, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is set to hit theaters on May 2, 2025.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

Posted on in Film News, News

Four Mystery Marvel Studios Movies Set For Release In 2024

Yesterday, Disney announced four new release dates for untitled Marvel Studios feature films in 2024. Those spots being etched-out for February, May, July, and November.

There are now seven release dates on the schedule for unnamed projects that will likely be named at the next big Marvel Studios presentation something that is likely around the corner.

However, we have an idea what at least four of those options might be with Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four reboot, Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, and Anthony Mackie’s Captain America 4 at various stages of development.

Below is a rundown of the current Marvel Studios schedule for films between 2021 to 2024.

  • ETERNALS – November 5, 2021
  • SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – December 17, 2021
  • DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS – March 25, 2021
  • THOR: LOVE & THUNDER – May 6, 2022
  • BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – July 8, 2022
  • THE MARVELS – November 11, 2022
  • ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA – February 17, 2023
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 – May 5, 2023
  • TBA – July 28, 2023
  • TBA – October 6, 2023
  • TBA – November 10, 2023
  • TBA – February 16, 2024
  • TBA – May 3, 2024
  • TBA – July 26, 2024
  • TBA – November 8, 2024
  • FANTASTIC FOUR (DIRECTOR JON WATTS) – TBA
  • BLADE (DIRECTOR BASSAM TARIQ) – TBA
  • DEADPOOL 3 – TBA
  • CAPTAIN AMERICA 4 – TBA
  • X-MEN – TBA

We could easily theorize that some other options might include their X-Men reboot, Shang-Chi 2, Eternals 2, Black Widow 2 (focusing on Yelena Belova), Avengers 5, Secret Wars, Spider-Man 4 (if Sony and Disney can expand their deal), Black Panther 3, Ant-Man 4, Doctor Strange 3, Thor 5, and Young Avengers.

Some other projects I’d love to see be considered for the film side such as Squadron Supreme, Captain Carter, Black Knight, The Invaders, Nova, Adam Warlock, Alpha Flight, Agents of Atlas, Namor (if they’re able to make it), Ka-Zar, Killraven, and Red Wolf.

As mentioned above, we’re likely on the cusp of a new Marvel Studios presentation that will likely give us an idea of what else is coming to both Disney+ (Disney+ Day in November) and the big screen in the future.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News

‘Eternals’: Kevin Feige Reaffirms Gemma Chan’s Sersi Is The Film’s Main Character

After Chloe Zhao making waves over the weekend earning two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for her fantastic film Nomadland, we’re all waiting to see footage from her next feature film, Marvel’s Eternals.

It’s based on the characters created by King Jack Kirby that mixed elements of Greek/Roman mythology alongside notions of aliens seeding Earth via Swiss author Erich von Daniken’s novel Chariots of The Gods, work that heavily influenced Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel Prometheus and the idea that humans are a science experiment of an alien race. In the case of Eternals, they are created by the the giant alien creatures known as the Celestials (first seen in Guardians of The Galaxy) alongside their antagonists The Deviants and early humans have the mutant gene hidden within them to later become the mutants we know from the X-Men.

While speaking with Variety, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige reiterates that while it’s a team project, the film’s main character is Gemma Chan’s Sersi, who is expected to become a full-fledged members of the Avengers just like the comic books.

FEIGE: “So for Sersi, for instance — and if there was a lead in this ensemble, it is Sersi, it is Gemma Chan — we looked at and read all sorts of women for that part. And ended up really believing that Gemma was best for it. And thankfully, she’s proven that to be the case in the final movie.”

While it was originally announced that Sersi would be the main character of the film in early casting reports, that was when trade outlets were under the impression that Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie was going to be landing that role. Instead, Angelina is playing the equally interesting heroine Thena and Marvel hired Captain Marvel’s Gemma Chan for her second MCU role. This new one is likely going allow her to stick around for much longer than she previously would have and allows the Marvel franchise to add another talented Asian lead.

The rest of the cast includes Kit Harington as Dane Whitman aka Black Knight, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Angelina Jolie as Thena, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Kumail Nanjani as Kingo, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Don Lee as Gilgamesh.  

Sequels to Eternals are extremely likely could see the team go head-to-head with folks like Hercules/The Olympians and Hyperion/Squadron Supreme. I think it all depends if Marvel Studios is able to convince Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao to return for multiple films after co-writing the script and directing the first installment, set to be released on November 5th, 2021. However, Zhao has been tapped by Universal for a new Dracula film and could be one of the projects that could whisk her away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a couple of years.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Features

Tatiana Maslany’s ‘She-Hulk’ Could Become The MCU’s Crossover Queen

Yesterday, Deadline reported that Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany (Perry Mason, Destroyer, Orphan Black) had landed the Marvel Studios role of Jennifer Walters for the upcoming superhero comedy series She-Hulk that will be exclusively on Disney+, airing possibly in 2022 given the VFX involved. 

The Emmy winning actress had previously tested for major roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so Tat had been on Disney’s radar for quite some time now. 

Jennifer is a defense attorney and cousin of Bruce Banner, who transforms into the superheroine She-Hulk after a blood transfusion from Bruce gives her superpowers of her own. 

The series is expected to skew more comedic given that Jessica Gao (Rick & Morty) is the head writer and they’ve seemingly hired Kat Coiro (The Mick, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) to direct multiple episodes. It’s also said that Mark Ruffalo may reprise the Bruce Banner/Professor Hulk role for the show to help connect Jennifer to the greater MCU. 

Kevin Feige has confirmed that these new Disney+ characters would most certainly make the jump to the feature films and She-Hulk has the potential to become their next big crossover characters given that is how she was utilized in the comics books. 

Here is a rundown of just some of the film projects I think she makes the most sense for. 

SPIDER-MAN 3: There have been plenty of team-ups over the years in Marvel Comics and planting seeds for upcoming projects has always been something Marvel Studios has always been keen on doing. 

Spider-Man 3 is a strong candidate to introduce the regular human version of Jennifer Walters before the She-Hulk series. 

At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Quentin Beck aka Mysterio’s death was spun as murder at the hands of Spidey by J. Jonah Jameson and he also outed his secret identity as Peter Parker. Plenty of fans have suggested that Peter Parker if caught by authorities would be in great need of a defense attorney. A noble profession that doesn’t only fall on the shoulders of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil in Marvel Comics but also Walters, who happens to specialize in superpowered cases. 

Interestingly enough, Jennifer has a connection to J. Jonah Jameson as she married J. Jonah Jameson’s son John Jameson aka Man-Wolf. 

A nifty connection to the Spider-Man franchise is that Tatiana just happened to co-star in the Boston bombing drama Stronger alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Quentin Beck aka Mysterio.

It is worth noting that according to production grids (take with a grain of salt) making the rounds online both Spider-Man 3 and She-Hulk shoots are expected to overlap at some point next year in Atlanta, Georgia. This potential shooting schedule could theoretically allow Tatiana shoot scenes as Walters due to the proximity to each other, but this is only speculation. 

Potentially seeing Jennifer seriously injured during the events of Spider-Man 3 via a villain trying to kill Peter Parker just might be a reason to lead to her cousin Bruce Banner to give her the blood transfusion that not only saves her life but gives her superpowers. A perfect way to help establish her origin outside of the Disney+ series and also connect her to the MCU beyond Banner.

There is also the possibility that Spider-Man 3 sees Parker simply on the run from authorities with the help of parental figures Happy Hogan and Nick Fury being tracked down by the film’s villains. 

I don’t see the entire film being a courtroom drama, do you? But if Peter needs a lawyer, Jennifer could be easily suggested by Bruce or Happy. 

FANTASTIC FOUR: After the merger between Disney and 21st Century Fox, Marvel Studios finally got full rights to use both the X-Men and characters connected to the Fantastic Four. 

She-Hulk happens to be an official member of the team.

While there have been hints that there is quiet development on the MCU reboot of the franchise (via Slove Everything Productions LLC), neither a director nor screenwriter has been officially announced by the studio. 

Ant-Man 3 will include Avengers villain Kang The Conqueror played by Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors, who happens to be a villainous ancestor of Reed Richards from the future. Nothing says at the moment that Marvel Studios will carry over that tiny family connection from the comics with the MCU version of Kang but it is worth considering. 

I’m also extremely hopeful that the Fantastic Four franchise will be an excellent excuse for Kevin Feige to take a second crack at The Inhumans, as Crystal was a member of the team. The introduction of Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel in her own Disney+ series, who is part of The Inhumans, would certainly open the door for the studio to explore those other characters in more accurate way than the sub-par ABC series. 

Marvel Studios is expected to make some announcement soon if they are indeed gearing up to shoot Fantastic Four within the next two years or so.

SECRET WARS AKA AVENGERS 5: The Fantastic Four wasn’t the only big-league superhero team that Jennifer joined as she was part of the Mighty Avengers and could easily be involved with the Secret Wars lineup given she was included in the original comic book run. 

The Russo Brothers have teased an interest to tackle the Secret Wars as a follow-up to their box office smashing Marvel film Avengers: Endgame. I’m sure if Secret Wars does materialize they’ll want to wait for the Eternals, Fantastic Four, and X-Men to be well established beforehand so they’re not spending all their time on character introductions. 

Romance hasn’t been a huge part of the MCU but Eternals is expected to change that slightly and could allow She-Hulk’s love life to be explored in the series and films. 

In more recent comics, Thor and Jennifer are in a relationship that could be used for future films. 

She-Hulk has also has had romantic encounters with Hercules and Eros of Titan aka Starfox the womanizing brother of Thanos both are expected to be part of the Eternals franchise the two just happen to be fellow members of The Avengers. Gemma Chan’s Sersi and Kit Harington’s Black Knight are likely also going to join the Avengers ranks just like their comic book counterparts. 

A-FORCE: Marvel actresses approached Kevin Feige on the set of Avengers: Endgame to pitch him an all-female superhero film which most have suggested could be a live-action version of A-Force. A feature film that could easily see characters like She-Hulk among those ranks. 

I also wouldn’t rule-out cameos in stuff like Thor: Love & Thunder, Ant-Man 3, and Captain Marvel 2 to help establish Jennifer’s relationships with Hope (a surrogate for Janet), Valkyrie, and Danvers leading up to an A-Force film. 

There is a lot of crossover potential with a character like She-Hulk and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of her in the future beyond this Disney+ series.