Ben Mendelsohn Desperately Wants To Return To MCU As ‘Fantastic Four’ Villain Doctor Doom: “I Would Almost Give My Eyes & Teeth To Play Doom”

One of the more disappointing aspects of recent Marvel Studios projects was the deaths of Cobie Smulders‘ Maria Hill and Ben Mendelsohn‘s Talos (strained leader of The Skrulls on Earth) in the critical disaster “Secret Invasion.” The uneven Disney+ series seemingly ended Mendelsohn’s MCU run and is now giving hints about who he’d like to play if given a second Marvel role in the future.

While speaking with GQ Magazine (via The Playlist) the Aussie actor revealed he’d really like a shot at playing Victor Von Doom, aka, Doctor Doom if allowed to nab a secondary part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A traditional “Fantastic Four” villain that also rules over the fictional country of Latveria and has become a rogue more on the level of a major Marvel supervillain such as Loki or Thanos.

“I would almost give my eyes and teeth to play Doctor Doom,” said Mendelsohn as his dream Marvel role. “I think Doctor Doom is the great unread Marvel character that could and should be done. But it is what it is. I got to work with Spielberg, and I got to work with Terrence Malick, and I got to work with Ridley Scott. It’s been incredible. I didn’t think this ship was coming.”

There is also an expectation that Doom could end up potentially playing a pivotal role in future MCU installments even beyond “Avengers: Secret Wars” and would be a villain role that could give an actor multiple chances to return, not unlike Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. Mendelsohn isn’t a stranger to villain roles having played baddies in Christopher Nolan‘s “The Dark Knight Rises” and Krennic in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” one of the more memorable villains from the modern era of “Star Wars.”

It wouldn’t be unheard of for Mendelsohn to play another character in the MCU as we’ve seen actors such as Gemma Chan and Benedict Cumberbatch come to mind who have played both MCU heroes and villains. Doom wearing a mask as part of his operatic costume could also obscure his face for most if not all of his screen time and make it even easier for Mendelsohn to not be recognized as appearing in “Captain Marvel” and “Secret Invasion” previously.

When it comes to “Fantastic Four” we really only have one actor set for the MCU reboot as fellow “Star Wars” alumn Pedro Pascal is all but confirmed to play Dr. Reed Richards, aka, Mister Fantastic. It doesn’t hurt that Pascal and Mendelsohn recently worked together on the film “Freaky Tales,” helmed by “Captain Marvel” directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. We’re still waiting on some trade reports or announcements from Marvel Studios to give an idea of who will actually round out the cast of director Matt Shakman‘s reboot of Marvel’s first family after endless rumors/speculation on who else will join the film.

SOURCE: GQ MAGAZINE

EXCLUSIVE: FX’s ‘Alien’ Series Adds ‘Gravity’ Production Designer Andy Nicholson

The Ronin can exclusively reveal a nifty department head hiring for the upcoming Alien series on FX that hails from showrunner Noah Hawley with Ridley Scott‘s involvement via his production company Scott Free. We’ve been able to confirm that production Designer Andy Nicholson has been tasked for the Earthbound prequel series.

The spinoff Alien series is expected to take place before the events of the main canonical Alien films, which should be interesting since neither the original Ripley films or Scott’s two prequels featuring the homicidal android David have never hinted or established that the xenomorph had ever been on Earth (The AVP movies aren’t really considered canonical) or experimental on by humans.

Nicholson’s career as a production designer spans across all sorts of films such as Gravity, Captain Marvel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Assassin’s Creed, and the Netflix action-comedy Red Notice.

Hawley is no stranger to genre television working on series like the massively popular Fargo (loosely inspired by the Coen Brothers film) and the mind-bending X-Men series, Legion. What’s interesting is we still haven’t heard any real concrete casting announcements, but that is expected to change as production ramps up.

This isn’t the only Alien project on the horizon either, a new feature film is also on the way as a Hulu exclusive with both Scott Free and 20th Century Studios partnering. The project is expected to be a streaming only venture, although, after the demand to see their Predator prequel Prey on the big screen the studio might reconsider giving the new pic a short theatrical run.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Kraven The Hunter’ Adds Longtime MCU Cinematographer Ben Davis

The Ronin has confirmed that British cinematographer Ben Davis (The King’s Man) has joined the production team for Sony’s Kraven The Hunter, directed by J.C. Chandor (Triple Frontier) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tenet, Bullet Train, Avengers: Age of Ultron) playing the titular Marvel Comics character.

It’s certainly an interesting crew addition given that Ben Davis is mostly known for working on Marvel Studios films such as Avengers: Age of Ultron (also starred Taylor-Johnson), Guardians of The Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and Eternals.

The project will focus on Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven, a Russian aristocrat turned big-game hunter that becomes a major antagonist of Marvel superhero Spider-Man as a member of The Sinister Six and half-brother of fellow villain The Chameleon.

Kraven The Hunter has a script penned by Richard Wenk (The Equalizer, The Expendables 2) with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway tackling rewrites. The duo of screenwriters aren’t strangers to studio genre projects working on Iron Man, Punisher: War Zone, Transformers: The Last Knight, Men In Black: International, and the upcoming Tom Holland video game movie Uncharted.

Could we see Kraven join the MCU like other Spidey villains?

Well, Davis’ addition isn’t the first time MCU department heads have worked on Spider-Man spinoffs. Matthew Libatique (Iron Man, Iron Man 2) did the cinematography on the first Venom and production designer Stefania Cella (Morbius) recently worked on the Disney+ series Moon Knight.

Deadline reporter Justin Kroll tweeted a list of names that Sony had considered to play Kraven (before Aaron Taylor-Johnson was hired) but they had passed. Those high-profile names were Keanu Reeves (John Wick, The Matrix), Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Fight Club, Inglorious Basterds), John David Washington (Tenet), and Adam Driver (House of Gucci, Logan Lucky, Star Wars: The Force Awakens).

Sony Pictures has already given the Spider-Man spinoff a release date of January 13, 2023.

Keanu Reeves Says “It Would Be An Honor” To Join The MCU

Canadian actor Keanu Reeves is having a bit of a second career bump thanks to the success of his action franchise, John Wick, recently seeing the fourth installment wrap production in Paris. His newfound mainstream audience popularity eventually led to Warner Bros. reviving The Matrix films with Matrix Resurrections coming out next month.

Interestingly enough, around the time of the original Matrix, Reeves was in the mix to play Wolverine in Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film. The role ultimately went to Hugh Jackman but in recent years Keanu has been vocal about finding someone else to play in the world of Marvel Comics. He had been linked to playing the lead Kraven The Hunter in Sony’s upcoming solo film and has been trying to find something in the MCU as well, rumored to have almost played Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel.

During a recent chat with Esquire to promote the Matrix sequel, Reeves reiterates his desire to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sounds like he’s well up-to-date with what is going on with the films/sows.

“Isn’t it bigger than a universe? It’s almost like a multiverse… It’s a Marvel-verse. It would be an honor. There’s some really amazing directors and visionaries, and they’re doing something no one’s ever really done. It’s special in that sense in terms of the scale, the ambition, the production. So it’d be cool to be a part of that,” Reeves told Esquire.

In 2019, Kevin Feige confirmed they’ve been trying to find a role for Keanu Reeves.

“We talk to him for almost every film we make. We talk to Keanu Reeves about it. I don’t know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it,” Feige told Comic Book.

He’s obviously too old to be considered for Wolverine again, but given his obsession with motorcycles for nearly 40 years and starting his own company Arch, a character like Johnny Blaze, aka, Ghost Rider feels like the perfect part for him.

SOURCE: ESQUIRE

‘The Marvels’ Enlists ‘Doctor Strange 2’ & ‘Overlord’ Stunt Coordinator Jo McLaren

Director Nia DaCosta is hard at work in the United Kingdom with the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, that stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and newcomer Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan (to debut in the Ms. Marvel series).

While most of the film’s crew has been revealed, The Ronin can confirm that the film’s stunt coordinator will be Jo McLaren. The veteran stunt woman recently worked with Marvel and director Sam Raimi on Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. McLaren was also the stunt coordinator on Bad Robot’s WWII horror action pic Overlord alongside Alex Garland’s sci-fi film Annihilation and his tech thriller series DEVS.

We first revealed that James Gunn has hired Hawkeye’s stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker for Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3, which will begin shooting next month if the IATSE strike can be avoided next week.

New additions to the cast are expected to include Zawe Ashton set to play a villain and Park Seo-Joon (Parasite) also is said to have a role.

Plot details on the pic are scarce, but there is an expectation that there will be cross-pollination between the casts of The Marvels and the Skull event series Secret Invasion, this was highlighted when Samuel L. Jackson shot his scenes for the film before announcing today on Instagram he’s starting shooting the Disney+ show.

Filming will mainly shoot at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England with a production team that has cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (Widows, Judas & The Black Messiah) and production designer Cara Brower (Candyman). However, we learned not too long ago that some sequences will be shot at Pinewood Studios UK, likely related to The Volume/StageCraft facilities.

The original film earned an impressive $1.128 billion at the global box office making it one of the most successful superhero debut films of all-time.

It’ll be interesting to see if Disney+ Day on November 12 will reveal any spinoffs connected to the cosmic side of the MCU or if they’ll announce a Season 2 commitment for Ms. Marvel.

The Marvels has a release date of November 11, 2022.

Brie Larson Talks Currently Shooting ‘The Marvels’ & Massive Sets: “I Get To Go To My Own Private Disneyland”

Yesterday, Brie Larson did an interview with SiriusXM Stars (captured by and shared online by fans as the full interview was on their app), where she talked about the routine of shooting The Marvels directed by Nia Dacosta (Candyman) and compared the massive sets on the production to her own private Disneyland.

Confirming that production is indeed underway in the United Kingdom.

Director Nia DaCosta recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the Captain Marvel sequel and how Marvel Studios is giving her more freedom than she’s had on her last two projects.

“It’s a lot less traumatizing to work on for sure [laughs]. But this movie also deals with specific, personal, sometimes sad things. But no, it’s been nice to work in a different world for sure. It’s amazing. [It’s] more [freedom] than I’ve had on anything. It’s great because we’re all just comic-book nerds who want to make a great comic-book movie.”

The Marvels (working title Goat Rodeo) as we’ve previously confirmed will mainly shoot at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England with a production team that has cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (Widows, Judas & The Black Messiah) and production designer Cara Brower (Candyman).

Local South Korean outlets reported on Parasite actor Park Seo-Joon joining the film, but have yet to be supported by Hollywood trades or Marvel/Disney.

There is a proximity to the Skrull event series Secret Invasion (shooting in England and Scotland), which is also shooting close to Longcross and likely means the cast members on both shoots could crossover. It’s also assumed that Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel series will also plant seeds for The Marvels too.

Larson also teased alien worlds and off-world settings, which is nice to hear considering that the best parts of Captain Marvel took place on other planets than Earth.

Zawe Ashton was previously announced as playing a villain, but we’re still waiting on confirmation of that that role will be.

Disney has given the sequel a release date of November 11, 2022.

SOURCE: SIRIUSXM STARS

‘The Marvels’: Director Nia DaCosta Says Marvel Is Giving Her A Lot Of Freedom On The ‘Captain Marvel’ Sequel

Captain Marvel was a huge hit for Marvel Studios as the film, like Black Panther, crossed a billion dollars at the global box office and they’re already moving forward with a sequel that was recently re-titled as The Marvels. The new title seems to reflect the group of three different generations of Captain Marvel incarnations with a cast that consists of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, newcomer Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, and Zawe Ashton is reportedly playing the film’s villain. 

Confirming that she is in London getting ready to shoot The Marvels, director Nia DaCosta spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the Captain Marvel sequel and how Marvel Studios is giving her more freedom than she’s had on her last two projects.

“It’s a lot less traumatizing to work on for sure [laughs]. But this movie also deals with specific, personal, sometimes sad things. But no, it’s been nice to work in a different world for sure. It’s amazing. [It’s] more [freedom] than I’ve had on anything. It’s great because we’re all just comic-book nerds who want to make a great comic-book movie,” DaCosta tells Entertainment Weekly.

The Marvels (working title Goat Rodeo) as we’ve previously confirmed will mainly shoot at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England with a production team that has cinematographer Sean Bobbitt (Widows, Judas & The Black Messiah) and production designer Cara Brower (Candyman).

Local South Korean outlets reported on Parasite actor Park Seo-Joon joining the film, but have yet to be supported by Hollywood trades or Marvel/Disney.

There is a proximity to the Skrull event series Secret Invasion, which is also shooting close to Longcross and likely means the cast members on both shoots could crossover. It’s also assumed that Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel series will also plant seeds for The Marvels too.

Disney has given the sequel a release date of November 11, 2022.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

‘Loki’ Stunt Coordinator & ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Actress Monique Ganderton Down To Work On Marvel’s ‘X-Men’ Reboot

Monique Garderton is the stunt coordinator and second unit director of Marvel’s popular Loki series with multiple other MCU credits such Avengers: Endgame (as stunt coordinator), Avengers: Infinity War (played on-set Proxima Midnight), Captain Marvel, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man 3, and Guardians of The Galaxy (doubled for Karen Gillan’s Nebula). Currently, she is working on Marvel’s She-Hulk series led by Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, which is still shooting in Atlanta under the working title of Clover.

The stunt coordinator recently took fan questions (to celebrate the recent episode of Loki) from followers on Instagram stories and was asked about her desire to work on Marvel’s reboot of the X-Men franchise and said she’d love to. She has experience with the last era of X-Men, playing Death in the opening sequence of X-Men: Apocalypse alongside doing stunt work on X-Men: The Last Stand (doubling for Rebecca Romijn/Mystique) and The Wolverine. Garderton’s shared behind the scenes images of her work on previous X-Men films with her response.

Given how many female characters are connected to the X-Men franchise having her leading/overseeing the reboot’s stunt work and potentially direct second unit action sequences feels like something that is very likely going to happen, if she continues to work on Marvel projects for the foreseeable future.

While there is a script in development on Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige haven’t indicated officially that the main X-Men movies are coming anytime before 2025. There are plenty of unverified rumors about plans for the mutants, but we’ll have to wait a little longer for the studio to give us some real official updates.

Wade Wilson (possibly alongside other Deadpool character) is carrying over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as there has been strong indication from Kevin Feige they’ll be doing a hard-reboot with the main X-Men team like they’re doing with Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four.

Interestingly enough, I previously suggested that Marvel should consider Loki director Kate Herron for X-Men.

SOURCE: MONIQUE GANDERTON

Kevin Feige Says Marvel Studios Moving Away From 6-9 Picture Deals; Similar To Ones Samuel L. Jackson & Scarlett Johansson Made During Phase One

In the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio was trying to make sure they were landing actors on the cheap and to sweeten the pot Ike Perlmutter assumed that giving actors contracts consisting of six to nine film commitments would off-set the low pay (Chris Hemsworth earned only $150K for Thor) they would get on the first round of feature films (television and streaming wasn’t even considered back then).

One of the biggest Marvel deals made was when Samuel L. Jackson signed on to play Nick Fury in at least nine films. Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige has revealed to The Hollywood Reporter during an interview to promote Black Widow that they’re moving away from those extensive deals from the Phase One era.

“That got a lot of attention way back when, with I think [Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans] and Sam Jackson. It varies now. It varies, project to project, cast to cast. Really, what we want are people that come in, are excited to be in the universe, are excited at the opportunity to do more things, as opposed to being locked into contractual obligations,” the studio head told The Hollywood Reporter.

Interestingly enough, Jackson and Hemsworth are working on new projects as Johansson is expected to end her MCU run with Black Widow after reportedly earning an impressive $15 million ($5 million more than she got for leading Ghost In Shell) for the solo outing releasing on Friday.

BLACK WIDOW – In Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger. Directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige, the movie stars Scarlett Johansson reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff. Florence Pugh stars as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘She-Hulk’: ‘Lovecraft Country’s Elena Albanese Confirmed As Production Designer

The Ronin can confirm that Elena Albanese is indeed working on Marvel’s She-Hulk as the show’s production designer. Elena’s previous credits as an art director includes Captain Marvel, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2, and Netflix’s Ozark.

She-Hulk is the heroic alter-ego of defense lawyer Jennifer Walters, who after a blood transfusion develops her own Hulk powers. The series has Rick & Morty’s Jessica Gao as the head writer which shouldn’t surprise people they’re aiming for a comedic bend and will also explore Walters’ job as a lawyer defending various heroes/villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The 10-episode series will be directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia.

Filming is underway in Atlanta, Georgia under the working title Clover with a cast that consists of Emmy-winner Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk, Mark Ruffalo is officially returning to play Jennifer’s cousin Bruce Banner aka Hulk, Tim Roth is finally back as Incredible Hulk villain Emil Blonsky aka Abomination, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Amelia, and Ginger Gonzaga.

I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if William Hurt’s Thunderbolt Ross or Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter made appearances.

Other live-action Marvel shows on the horizon include Loki, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Secret Invasion, Armor Wars, Ironheart, Ryan Coolger’s Wakanda series, and a spinoff featuring Hawkeye’s Echo. Loki is set to release on June 9, 2021, moving to Wednesdays instead of Fridays.

Marvel Studios will debut She-Hulk on Disney+ in 2022.