The Ronin has been able to confirm that Marvel Studios and director Sam Raimi have selected cinematographer John Mathieson for their Doctor Strange sequel titled Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.
Mathieson’s credits include the solo Wolverine film Logan, X-Men: First Class, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Detective Pikachu.
It’s interesting to see Marvel hiring a cinematographer with a background in the X-Men franchise given that the co-lead of the film is a mutant and daughter of Magneto in the comic books.
Raimi had been recently hired to take over for director Scott Derrickson, who left the sequel over creative differences.
I’ve been previously able to confirm that production will be taking place at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England under the working title Stellar Vortex (title first mentioned by Murphy’s Multiverse). Additional filming had been expected to take place in New York City and Norway, we’ll see if they’ll be able to do that.
Filming may begin before the end of the year.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will see Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch taking a co-starring role alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange with upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision and Loki likely going to establish the Multiverse, characters, and plot details. Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also confirmed to return.
Disney has given the film the tentative release date of March 25th, 2022.
Oscar-nominee Adam Driver has been busy post-Star Wars as the actor has cozened up to director Ridley Scott joining both The Last Duel and his upcoming crime drama Gucci.
Deadline reports that Driver has nabbed a leading role in a mysterious science fiction thriller for Sony Pictures titled 65. The project will be written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the screenwriters of A Quiet Place.
Sam Raimi, who is about to direct Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will be producing via Raimi Productions.
There isn’t much in the way of plot details but the title could suggest a setting of 1965 and possibly link to the Kecksburg UFO incident.
Tom Holland Teases That ‘Uncharted’ Will Begin Shooting Soon In Germany
Fans have been guessing about what Sony Pictures would do about Uncharted and Spider-Man 3 as their productions would now conflict with each other. The obvious thing was that Uncharted would begin shooting first because it was ready to begin in Germany back in March but filming was paused to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Some fans had made giant leaps with theories that Sony would just kill/delay Uncharted (after multiple production woes and hiccups over the years) and push forward with Spider-Man 3 instead. As we’ve been saying for months Uncharted is the priority at the moment and this has been cemented by Tom Holland.
Recent Instagram posts from Tom Holland suggest he’s about to begin shooting Uncharted in Germany very soon after taking a COVID-19 test, getting his hair done to play Nathan Drake and showing off how ripped he got to work with his Uncharted co-star Mark Wahlberg.
This would give the impression that he’ll be too busy over the next couple of months for Spider-Man 3 to begin production in September as previously rumored.
In normal times, Uncharted might have been able to complete it’s production within a range of 3-4 months, however, with the new COVID-19 precautions this would likely extend the filming a couple of months. That’s if people don’t get sick and they have to pause for a couple of weeks.
I think it’s extremely unlikely that Spider-Man 3 either is ready to shoot this September in Atlanta and Sony/Marvel will simply push that production into 2021 then bumping that November 5th, 2021 release to sometime in 2022.
‘Doctor Strange 2’ Still Expected To Shoot Primarily At Longcross Studios
Speaking of Phase Four films that have seen their productions delayed in 2020, I have an update as it looks like Marvel still plans to film Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England. A major filming location I had previously confirmed over at HN Entertainment.
Not anything crazy but, interestingly, they’ve been sticking to that stage space instead of considering other places. Longcross is the same stage facility where the original film shot and director Sam Raimi shot his Wizard of Oz prequel for Disney titled Oz, The Great & Powerful.
It’s a little unclear when they’ll begin shooting since it’s unknown how much set construction or prep has been taking place since the United Kingdom has been in lockdown. We also won’t know if they’ll be able to meet their 2021 release date until Marvel makes it known when they’ll be able to start filming.
I had also reported that they were planning on filming the sequel in New York City and Norway, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be doing any international filming anytime soon.
We shouldn’t be surprised if Doctor Strange 2 like Spider-Man 3 is delayed into 2021. However, Spider-Man 3 is a slightly different case as their lead is shooting another large studio film first.
Then again, we have little idea how much set construction and prep has been underway on either of the MCU sequels during the pandemic.
‘Moonlight’s Janelle Monae Wants To Play Storm In ‘Black Panther 2’
We’ve been all been excited to see who will ultimately play the rebooted version of the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and yet another actress has thrown their hand in the ring to play aka Storm.
Moonlight actress and singer Janelle Monae spoke to Empire recently and revealed she’d very much like to play Ororo Munroe aka Storm in the Black Panther sequel. Bringing it up to cast members when they were hanging out in Atlanta.
MONAE: “I definitely have thrown it out there. One of my dreams has always been to play Storm. I don’t know if she comes in Black Panther, but it would be a dream to have her in it. I don’t know where they are with that. A lot of women have played Storm and they’ve done an exceptional job, and I would love to be in that line of artists and get to do Storm justice.”
T’Challa and Ororo in the comics do become romantically involved leading to marriage and it would be an organic way to introduce her into the MCU given that her mother N’Dare (a tribal princess) is from Kenya. Ororo potentially being fellow royalty wouldn’t be a stretch.
We still don’t know where Black Panther 2 is in the development stage other than Ryan Coogler is writing the script. While there have been rumblings of Spider-Man‘s Kraven The Hunter, Namor, and Fantastic Four‘s Doctor Doom appearing in the film nothing has been announced or confirmed.
‘The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito Says He’s Keen For Marvel Studios Role Next
Janelle isn’t the only actor seemingly gunning for a Marvel role. Veteran film and television actor Giancarlo Esposito (Do The Right Thing, The Mandalorian) briefly mentioned to Entertainment Tonight that he’d like to work with Marvel Studios at some point.
ESPOSITO: “Well there’s been all these rumors about being with Marvel, I want to work with those guys. I put it out there all the time. I haven’t created any of those rumors, but I worked years ago with Louis D’Esposito, who is one of the guys at Marvel, back when he was doing Cotton Club and I was doing Cotton Club, he was the [1st assistant director].”
“What they do is fantastic, and I want to do something enduring with them. I think the Marvel world would be, likely, the next step for me.”
This comes after a year ago there were rumblings the Breaking Bad actor was wanted for a role, however, that was neither announced nor confirmed.
Where he could land role-wise is unknown despite the fan suggestions for Norman Osborn and Magneto. I personally think he’d be excellent as a hero like Norrin Radd aka Silver Surfer since Adam McKay was trying to get a feature film together over at Marvel last year.
Charlize Theron Admits She Has Never Been In Talks With Marvel For Roles
While speaking with Variety, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road) has revealed that despite rumors over the years she has ultimately never spoken with Marvel Studios about various roles.
THERON: “I swear to God. I’ve never gotten anything. No, I’m not lying to you. But that’s okay. You know what? I am paving my own way. I’m creating my own opportunities. So it’s alright.”
This doesn’t mean Charlize will never meet with Marvel in the future but it sounds like it hasn’t happened up to this point.
Russo Brothers Support Anthony Mackie’s Comments On Lack of Diversity Behind The Scenes At Marvel Studios
After Anthony Mackie pointed out not too long ago that the people behind the scenes of Marvel Studios movies are mostly white and not as diverse as it could be. He is getting some support from directors The Russo Brothers while asked about it by Movie Maker.
JOE RUSSO: “I think we can always all do better at diversity, constantly in this business, and in every facet of every industry — so he’s not wrong at all. I think that we all have to work harder to keep endorsing and supporting diversity on both sides of the camera.”
Marvel Studios Artist Charlie Wen Shares Unofficial ‘Shang-Chi’ Artwork
A brief post made by Marvel Studios concept artist Charlie Wen on his Instagram shows us some interesting but unofficial artwork featuring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi.
‘Black Widow’ Director Cate Shortland Says They’re Passing Baton To Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova
Black Widow director Cate Shortland tells Empire in a newly published interview that instead of making the solo film an origin story for Scarlett’s Natasha Romanoff, they see is as passing the baton to Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova.
SHORTLAND: “[Kevin Feige] realized that the audience would expect an origin story so, of course, we went in the opposite direction,” Shortland tells Empire. “And we didn’t know how great Florence Pugh would be. We knew she would be great, but we didn’t know how great. Scarlett is so gracious, like, ‘Oh, I’m handing her the baton.’ So it’s going to propel another female storyline.”
“In Endgame, the fans were upset that Natasha did not have a funeral. Whereas Scarlett, when I spoke to her about it, said Natasha wouldn’t have wanted a funeral. She’s too private, and anyway, people don’t really know who she is. So what we did in this film was allow the ending to be the grief the individuals felt, rather than a big public outpouring. I think that’s a fitting ending for her.”
The film has been expected to be released on November 6th, after Disney gave the film Eternal‘s original spot in the spring. However, it’s unknown if the film will get pushed to February 12th given the rise in new cases of COVID-19 in the United States which could be a problem for the studio attempting to earn hundreds of millions of dollars at the global box office.
Also, a new trailer is expected to be on the way after it was classified in the United Kingdom.
‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ Actress Tessa Thompson Expects An Explosion of Diversity In Marvel’s Phase Four
In a recent interview for Variety, Thor franchise actress Tessa Thompson talked-up how Marvel’s Phase Four will be ramping-up representation in a big way.
THOMPSON: “I think in this next phase of Marvel, we’re really talking about what representation looks like in those spaces. Because the truth is these movies travel globally in such huge ways, and if you can represent people that are of color, if you can represent people with disabilities, if you can represent the LGBTQIA community inside of these films, it’s a pretty big deal.”
“There’s millions and millions of people, particularly young people, that show up to the cinema. And I think if you can show them something that looks like them, they feel valued. Particularly inside of these narratives of the comic books, that’s what it’s all about. It’s that our differences make us special.”
We know they’ll be making some strides soon with having Asian main leads in Eternals with Gemma Chan playing leading heroine Sersi and Shang-Chi with Simu Liu and Awkwafina.
Pakistani-American comedian/actor Kumail Nanjiani has a decently sized role in Eternals playing superhero Kingo and deaf actress Lauren Ridloff plays speedster Makkari in the film. We’ll also see openly gay parents played by Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos) and Haaz Sleiman.
One of their upcoming Disney+ series Ms. Marvel will feature a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager from New Jersey named Kamala Khan.
Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali was announced as the new actor to play a rebooted version of Blade in the MCU last summer and it remains to be seen if his version of the Daywalker in the Phase Five project will reflect his own Muslim faith.
Tessa’s own Valkyrie will be seeking her queen in Thor: Love & Thunder. Hopefully, Disney/Marvel will be more comfortable in the future to actually have non-hetero heroes leading their films, not just in supporting roles.
We’ll have to see what other doors they’ll be opening for characters/actors in the future, but as pointed out recently by Anthony Mackie the studio needs to do a better job of hiring a diverse group of people behind the camera as well.
‘Doctor Strange 2’ Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor Excited To Work With Director Sam Raimi
While promoting his new Netflix film The Old Guard, actor Chiwetel Ejiofor expressed his excitement to work with director Sam Raimi on the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel titled Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.
Chiwetel will be reprising his role as villain Baron Karl Mordo.
Raimi, who directed the original Spider-Man trilogy for Sony Pictures had replaced Scott Derrickson on the Doctor Strange sequel after there were “creative differences”
EJIOFOR: “I love Sam Raimi, so I’m very excited that he’s making a film, the second Doctor Strange. He brings to anything he does, a wealth of imagination and passion. In this genre, he’s just one of the seminal figures. I remember seeing Darkman when I was a kid. It was beyond, it’s so amazing.”
“So I think he has an incredible mind and I think he’s really able to bring that mind into his storytelling in a really unique way, and it’s very suited to the world that’s been created by Doctor Strange, and I’m very excited to see what he does with that world.”
The cast also includes Benedict Cumberbatch as Strange, Elizabeth Olsen taking a co-starring role as Scarlet Witch, and we’ll also see the return of Benedict Wong as Wong.
There is an expectation that both Disney+ series Loki and WandaVision will help establish the events of the sequel along with introducing the Multiverse.
Filming had been originally expected to begin in the spring/summer at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England along with exterior locations in Norway and New York City.
There is a slim possibility that filming could begin in the fall on the Doctor Strange sequel, but it’s unlikely they’ve been able to finish the set construction phase of prep to shooting anytime soon. Suggesting they could push the production start into 2021 as I believe they will for Spider-Man 3 as well.
Chris Evans Already Misses Playing Captain America
During an interview with Backstage, Captain America and Avengers star Chris Evans mentioned that he already misses the role. However, don’t get too excited about the potential of him returning to the role anytime soon.
EVANS: “I absolutely loved my time with Marvel. I already miss it, but there’s no denying that it is very exciting to just have complete freedom to pursue whatever my creative appetite wants.”
We know Evans has been linked for a supporting lead role in the new Little Shop of Horrors incarnation from Warner Bros. and we’ll see Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson eventually take on the Captain America mantle in his Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood Hopeful She’ll Pivot Back To ‘Spider-Man’ Spinoff ‘Silver & Black’
The Old Guard director Gina Prince-Bythewood has revealed to GamesRadar+ that she would be open to returning to Sony’s Silver & Black at some point. The project is a Spider-Man spinoff that would have paired talented thief Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat and mercenary Silver Sablinova aka Silver Sable in their own movie.
Gina sounds open to the idea of returning to the project once Sony is ready to make it.
PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD: “My honest answer is I don’t know. I really love those characters, I loved having them together. I thought, what we came up with was a really good, really organic way to have the two together. That world is changing so much because of the success of the Spider-Man films.”
“There’s a question of, ‘Can you really have these films with Spider-Man not in them? Should he at least have some sort of part in them?’ That’s always the question. I’ve taken two years off of that for [The Old Guard] so once this gets out into the world, I hope it’s a success, and then I’ll certainly go back and start talking with them again.”
In the wake of Gina leaving to make The Old Guard, Sony announced plans to split the project into two separate films. They haven’t updated since and Prince-Bythewood had suggested previously that a possible Disney+ series was being considered.
Sony has been hellbent on getting together as many Spider-Man spinoff films in development as possible after the massive success of Tom Hardy’s Venom at the box office back in 2018.
In 2021, we’ll see the release of both Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the latter project confirmed with its teaser trailer the film is directly connected to Spider-Man: Homecoming after featuring Michael Keaton’s Vulture in a scene. It remains to be seen how much involvement if any we’ll see from Marvel Studios concerning these spinoffs and if they’ll be allowed to call themselves part of the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Deadline reported earlier in the week that the long-gestating Labyrinth sequel has finally signed a director with Scott Derrickson. The project will be produced by The Henson Company and Sony’s TriStar Pictures.
The original 1986 fantasy musical was directed by Jim Henson starring a young Jennifer Connelly as Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, The Goblin King.
LABYRINTH – Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King (David Bowie). Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.
The sequel’s script was penned by Maggie Levin.
It isn’t mentioned if Scott and his writing/producing partner C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange) will take a crack at working on the script.
How exactly the plan on tackling the second film remains to be seen and given the dark nature of the 80’s film, it’ll be very difficult to land another PG rating from the modern MPAA.
Scott Derrickson is best known for helming Marvel’s Doctor Strange and famously exiting Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness over creative differences that led to the hiring of Sam Raimi as a replacement.
Casting information wasn’t mentioned along with production and release dates. Given the current climate of production delays due to the global Coronavirus pandemic and backlogged projects we might not hear when they expect to begin filming for some time.
The Henson Company recently resurrected The Dark Crystal, another beloved Henson film from the 1980s, with their prequel series for Netflix titled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
THE RONIN 