Tag: Loki

Posted on in Film News

‘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

Posted on in Film News

‘Loki’ Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw Reveals She Is Working On ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

It looks like with production underway in Atlanta this week on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that the sequel is going ahead as planned.

Interestingly enough, Loki cinematographer Autumn Durlad Arkapaw has posted a video on Instagram of director Ryan Coogler playing basketball on a court. This seemingly confirms she’s working on the film as Black Panther’s cinematographer Rachel Morrison is busy on her own project.

Morrison adding fuel herself by sending her love with a reply on the post from June 18 and further confirming that Autumn is working on the Black Panther sequel. Auntumn Durald Arkapaw was recently in Atlanta working on their DIsney+ series Loki and has a fantastic eye as the show is one of the best looking projects to date.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to be released on July 8, 2022.

SOURCE: AUTUMN DURALD ARAKAPAW

Posted on in Television News

‘Loki’ Director Kate Herron Confirms The God Of Mischief’s Bisexuality Is MCU Canon After The Big Reveal In Episode 3

While we won’t spoil anything else from the third episode of Loki, director Kate Herron took to Instagram yesterday to double-down on comments made by Tom Hiddleston’s character Loki about his sexual preference for both would-be princes and princesses.

A huge revelation that Loki is now canonically bisexual.

“From the moment I joined [the Loki series] it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual. It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now canon in [the MCU],” the director said in a post on Instagram (See below).

Marvel has previously tipped-toed with same thing with Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie off-screen bisexuality by Thompson herself and endorsed by Kevin Feige, but this feels like the first time a major character has been established as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Will this be the only time it will be referenced? We’ll have to wait and see, but given that the character hasn’t really been given love interests in the past, it’s possible we might not see Loki establish same-sex relationships. But I would love to be wrong here.

One of the big things announced about Chloe Zhao’s Eternals is that Brian Tyree Henry’s character Phastos will be part of a loving same-sex family, establishing the Marvel Comics character as openly gay. I think fans are going to be excited to see themselves on the big and small screen as Marvel continues to grow their tent of representation, I’m sure folks are going to be watching carefully about how Marvel hopes to continue these character’s stories within the MCU beyond these reveals.

Loki still has more episodes to air on Disney+ and we’ll be curious to see if that comment is all we end up getting concerning his bisexuality. It’s certainly an encouraging start.

SOURCE: KATE HERRON

Posted on in Film News

Is “Lady Loki” Really A Version Of The Enchantress?

Marvel Studios has outed Sophia Di Martino’s Lady Loki variant character in a new promotional poster, but some clues point towards her not actually being a true Loki variant. Sophia’s character was attributed to be Lady Loki from her original casting and was photographed in costume on set in Atlanta early in production, so fans were quite aware of her existence before the appearance in Episode 2.

Interestingly enough, she doesn’t want to be called Loki and there might be a good reason for that. Her name isn’t Loki and there is new evidence to what the real name might be.

Sylvie Laufeydottir shows on a file spotted by Fandom and is likely a direct nod to Sylvie Lushton, a more modern incarnation of The Enchantress and has a connection to The Young Avengers (members are slowly being introduced to the MCU). The name also appears in new merchandise spotted by The Direct.

Given the surname, it’s possible that Sylvie is actually Loki’s sister or simply a female variant. However, it’s interesting they’d select a name attributed to Loki’s blonde female counterpart and Asgardian partner, Amora The Enchantress. Lady Loki, in the comics, is traditionally depicted with dark hair.

There is the possibility they’ve combined Lady Loki, Amora The Enchantress, and Sylvie into a single character.

It feels like we might get some more information on “Lady Loki” in the next episode.

Posted on in Features

Marvel Studios Should Consider ‘Loki’ Director Kate Herron For Their Reboot Of The ‘X-Men’ Franchise

When the Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox, the rights to Marvel Comics projects such as Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Silver Surfer returned to Marvel. We know that Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Cop Car) is attached to direct their Fantastic Four reboot, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 is officially in the works with The Molyneux (Bob’s Burgers) handling the script, and writer/director Adam McKay (The Big Short, Vice, Ant-Man, Don’t Look Up) has been publicly interested in tackling a solo Silver Surfer movie.

What seems to be something that won’t be anytime soon is their X-Men reboot, which likely won’t get a release date before 2025, as hinted to by Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige. How they’re going about with Fantastic Four could suggest that Marvel Studios may end up looking at their existing director lineup to handle the X-Men reboot.

A director that is quickly becoming a strong standout is Loki’s Kate Herron, as the series has a strong cinematic feeling and look despite being a Disney+ series. It also echos what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are doing with The Mandalorian slightly more than the two previous Marvel/Disney+ shows.

I bring up Kate Herron because she recently revealed in an interview with Trey Mangum that her first introduction to Marvel was the X-Men cartoon series that originally aired domestically on Fox in the 1990s.

“Basically, my first introduction to Marvel was that I loved the X-Men cartoons growing up, I was obsessed with it. I remember trying to turn my dolls into Storm…but I’d always play X-Men with my toys. I think loved it because they were outsiders and I connected with that, I was really drawn into that story,” Kate Herron said.

Having a director with that sort of connection with X-Men would be the complete opposite of Bryan Singer, who was notoriously ignorant of the source material (altering characters at whim) and according to Hugh Jackman, actively banned the comics from the set. Herron has proven she has a visually striking eye and the ability to have the scope needed for a project as big as X-Men, also being able to juggle a good amount of characters as each episode of Loki adds more players into the mix.

It wouldn’t hurt to have someone that might champion the Jim Lee era costumes that were highlighted in the Fox Kids cartoon. Going that route with the character designs would also help separate itself from the Fox films and allow Marvel Studios have their own stamp on the live-action X-Men.

I also think one key element of the X-Men franchise is the high-volume of female characters on the roster, something that wasn’t always handled properly with Fox’s era of the franchise as Bryan Singer/writers/producers took liberties with characters like Rogue and Storm. Those characters alongside Psylocke didn’t get proper adaptations with the previous incarnations. Herron’s Loki series has a strong/diverse female presence and those characters have been given a little more depth, there is hope that she could give a bigger stage to female members of the team.

While some fans will likely be keen to see The Russo Brothers return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for X-Men, they’ve been clear that what they actually want to tackle is Wolverine and Secret Wars. If they were to oversee the Secret Wars event, the X-Men would likely be involved and scratch that Wolverine itch.

I could see Kate Herron fitting nicely as the architect or godmother of the new era of the X-Men and fans like myself may feel more comfortable with the franchise in her hands after seeing her impressive work on Loki.

Posted on in Television News

Disney+ Will Continue Dropping Original Series Episodes On Wednesdays & Original Films On Fridays

When Marvel’s Loki series moved from the traditional Fridays to Wednesdays, it felt like a shift in how Disney+ would be dropping original programming as Fridays had been traditionally meant for their big Star Wars and Marvel shows.

However, Deadline is reporting that the streaming is planning to keep original shows for Wednesdays as Fridays will be for original films. The news seems to stem from a new press release of show release dates.

Going forward, the streamer will drop all of its originals on Wednesdays. This will include all original scripted, unscripted and animated series. ..Disney+ Original Movies will continue to premiere on Fridays.

I have to assume this will include Premier Access films are continuing to stick with Fridays such as Marvel’s Black Widow and other projects that will be heading to that added pay service in the future. I’m slightly curious if this means they’ll be aiming to release a greater number of original films weekly and could suggest some stuff that was meant for the big screen could be tossed on Disney+ instead, like the last two Pixar films, Soul and Luca.

Upcoming Disney+ original series coming in the not too distant future include Willow, What…If?, Ms. Marvel, The Book of Boba Fett, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Secret Invasion, Armor Wars, The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special, Ironheart, Echo, and much much more.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’ May Have Already Started Shooting In London According To Paul Rudd

As Tom Hiddleston’s Loki series could help introduce audiences to Jonathan Major’s Ant-Man 3 villain Kang The Conqueror, the sequel shooting under the working title Dust Bunny might have already started filming in England.

Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd mentioned on an Instagram post on NFL player Tyreek Hill’s account (spotted by The Direct) that he’s filming the sequel in London (Pinewood Studios UK). Franchise co-star Evangeline Lilly had previously stated on Instagram it would have a July production start, so, it’s possible Paul Rudd meant he’s simply in London to film Ant-Man 3 (actually filming happening later as he doesn’t say it specifically started) or it may have indeed already started production. Either way it’s exciting stuff for Ant-Man fans.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQHcrvRhfxb/

SOURCE: TYREEK HILL

Posted on in Film News

‘Thor’ Actress Jaimie Alexander Teasing Role In Fantasy Action Flick ‘Red Sonja’?

Are we getting another casting addition to the Red Sonja remake from director Joey Soloway? Red Sonja was a supporting Conan The Barbarian character that was born in the Marvel Comics run, she eventually got her own solo film in 1985 starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sonja was created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics’ Conan the Barbarian comic in the early 1970s and was an amalgam of several characters from Conan creator Robert E. Howard. The character, fiery and strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Conan while refusing his advances, proved popular enough to get her own book, continuing to this day even as the Howard and Conan licenses have moved through several companies. Millennium is saying their movie is based on the comic published by Dynamite Entertainment

Thor franchise actress Jaimie Alexander has posted an image of herself reading the new Red Sonja script on a flight. The image below was posted on her Instagram stories. Normally, actors don’t humble-brag about reading high-profile scripts unless they’ve joined the project or are at least considering it.

At one time, Jaimie Alexander was in the mix to play Wonder Woman before Gal Gadot ultimately took the part for Batman v Superman. She talked about losing out on the major superhero part to Variety back in 2016.

Fellow Marvel actress Hannah John-Kamen (Resident Evil, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ant-Man & The Wasp) took the titular role recently, which could mean that Jaimie might be taking a supporting role as either friend or foe.

If I had to guess what the role might be, The Pirate Queen Belit could be an interesting choice for Jaimie Alexander. However, we don’t know if they’re even allowed to use Belit as she is a cohort/lover of Conan The Barbarian.

Speaking of Conan, Netflix secured the rights to make films, series, and animated projects based on the iconic character created by Robert E. Howard. So, it’s possible that Belit might be connected to that package.

It’s more likely an original character crafted by the screenwriters or from the extensive run of comics.

Alexander is best known for her series Blindspot and playing Lady Sif in the MCU. She is reportedly set to appear in both Marvel’s Loki series and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder.

RED SONJA – Power-hungry Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman) captures the priestesses guarding the Talisman, a mystical orb that created and can destroy the world. But one of the priestesses escapes and seeks out her warrior sister, Red Sonja (Brigitte Nielsen), to warn her about Gedren’s plan for world domination. Lord Kalidor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the Talisman’s keeper, insists on helping Sonja, and though she scorns the assistance of any man, she soon gains respect for Kalidor’s fighting prowess.

SOURCE: JAIMIE ALEXANDER

Posted on in Television News

‘Kong: Skull Island’ Actor Eugene Cordero Reunites With Tom Hiddleston In The First ‘Loki’ Episode

There was an interesting reunion in the first episode of Loki as comedian Eugene Cordero (The Good Place, Star Trek: Lower Decks) has a small role as a Time Variance Agency employee named Casey.

Cordero appeared alongside Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson in the Monsterverse film Kong: Skull Island playing one of the soldiers. He also appeared in Season 1 of The Mandalorian as one of the farmers that begs Mando to protect their village from bandits, making the comedian part of two rather large universes now.

Loki tracks down Casey to get his hands on the Tesseract, only to discover that in the TVA cosmic and magic power doesn’t work. His desk drawer is full of infinity stones as they’re just shiny objects that are often used as paperweights in the office.

We’ll have to keep watching the series to see if Eugene’s character is just a one-time thing.

Posted on in Features

SPOILERS: ‘Loki’ Episode 1 – ‘Glorious Purpose’

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD FOR LOKI EPISODE 1

The episode opens with Loki grabbing the Tesseract in 2012 during the events of The Avengers. He’s apprehended by Hunter B-15 and her Minutemen in Mongolia and brought to the Time Variance Agency to stand trial for his time crimes as a Variant. Eugene Cordero’s (The Mandalorian, Kong: Skull Island,The Good Place) Casey is handed the Tesseract as it seems harmless in the building.

A cute yellow robot removes Loki’s Asgardian clothes and puts him in a convict uniform. He’s told by the TVA staff walking through a device that photographs his temporal ora can melt you down if you’re a robot. Loki suddenly questions his own existence and if he’s a robot, he survives.

The adorable Miss Minute, a cartoon clock, has a Southern accent and explains who/what the Time Variance Agency is.

Miss Minute talks about a vast Multiverse war almost ending everything, an obvious nod to Secret Wars, potentially teasing Marvel Studios finally giving the Russo Brothers their wish. Three all-knowing Time Keepers emerged to reorganize the Multiverse into a single timeline, the sacred timeline. Variants stepping off the path of the timeline creating a Nexus and could lead to another Multiversal war.

Another variant was disintegrated for not having his ticket in the queue to be seen by a judge.

Judge Renslayer tells Loki that The Avengers using time-travel in Avengers: Endgame was supposed to happen, according to the Time Keepers. This comes after Loki volunteering to take them down after using time-travel themselves. Tony Stark used the Mobius strip to create a time-travel algorithm, which could explain why it was allowed to happen.

Magic powers don’t work in the TVA and means Loki’s powers are useless against the TVA, a lesson he has to learn the hard way. This is reinforced later as Casey has a desk drawer full of infinity stones, he mentions some of the TVA employees use them as paperweights. Highlighting cosmic powers don’t work there either.

Agent Mobius decides that he can use this version of Loki to help with track down dangerous rogue variants. The Loki Variant is considered a “pussycat” compared to the Variants that Agent Mobius chases. It’s in his nature to lose and they reiterate that Phil Coulson is dead as a doornail leading to the Avengers coming together to fight Loki leading to his capture before grabbing the Tesseract.

Agent Mobius looking into Loki’s history reveals that he was D.B. Cooper (a real-life criminal) and jumped out of the plane only to have Heimdall bring him home from Midgard. It happened because he lost a bet to Thor.

Also, showing him his future events from Thor: The Dark World and the death of his mother by his actions. He also gets to see Odin tell him he loves his sons before he dies and Thor embraces him in Thor: Ragnarok. Sees his death at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

They need his help to hunt a dangerous Loki Variant that has been killing Minutemen, which might be Sophia Di Martino’s Lady Loki as a cloaked figure (possibly Lady Loki) took out a unit of Minutemen at the end of the episode.

I wouldn’t be shocked if we find out that Lady Loki is from a timeline where the male MCU characters have had their genders flipped, which might be how we get Jane Foster’s Lady Thor in Thor: Love & Thunder. Having Jane Foster becoming the Dr. Donald Blake proxy from the comic books that was never used in the films. Dr. Blake, a real human from Midgard with health/mobility issues, was able to transform into the Mighty Thor. Blake was sort of tossed away as a former flame of Jane’s and they used him as a cover-name for Thor.