Disney Will Reportedly Announce New Projects From Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm At Investor Day 2020 On December 10th

In a report from Deadline, Mike Fleming claims that Disney will make announcements at Investor Day 2020 on December 10th concerning new projects (theatrical films and television) from Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and Pixar.

Details aren’t mentioned or what those “new” projects will be.

Disney on December 10 will announce its upcoming slate. While the studio will solidify what Deadline revealed recently – that the Tom Hanks-starrer Pinocchio, Peter Pan and the Emma Stone-starrer Cruella will bypass movie theaters to become Disney+ releases, the studio will also announce new projects from Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar that will encompass TV as well as theatrical. It will be a gesture toward not abandoning the exhibitors. 

Fans will be curious to hear if Disney will attempt a similar day-and-day model that was recently announced by WarnerMedia for their entire 2021 film slate, as delayed Marvel films such as Black Widow and Shang-Chi could be part of that hypothetical announcement seeing large theatrical films landing on Disney+.

Collider recently suggested that Disney might be considering merging Disney+ and mature content from Hulu into a single service, another big update from Disney that could be announced (if true) at Investor Day this week.

Kevin Feige would likely confirm castings concerning Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk. A Nick Fury series was announced to be in develop, which we assume will star Samuel L. Jackson and possibly include Skrulls/S.W.O.R.D. but that would need to be confirmed. They could also announce their plans for an MCU reboot of Fantastic Four on the film side or updates concerning things we know are happening officially like Ant-Man 3, Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, Deadpool 3 and Blade.

Concerning Lucasfilm, we know that Star Wars shows such as Boba Fett, Cassian Andor, Kenobi, The Mandalorian (Season 3), and a series coming from Leslye Headland are in varying stages of prep/production. There are a couple of films in development from Taika Waititi and Rian Johnson as well.

They’re also about to begin shooting their Willow sequel series in Wales with director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and we might finally get a concrete update on James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5.

Hopefully, we get some new details on December 10th and we’re not hearing new information for projects already made known.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Hawkeye’ Confirmed To Be The Next Disney+ Series To Shoot In Atlanta

The Ronin can now confirm that Marvel’s Hawkeye series under the working title Anchor Point is about to begin shooting (if it hasn’t already) in Atlanta, Georgia. This would make the Jeremy Renner project to be the next series entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to shoot after Ms. Marvel officially started filming last week.

Jeremy Renner is reprising the Clint Barton role and will be mentoring a young female protege named Kate Bishop, one of the Young Avengers.

A previous report from The Hollywood Reporter stated that She-Hulk (Atlanta) and Moon Knight (London) wouldn’t begin their shoots until March. With WandaVision and The Falcon wrapped (Loki about to wrap) this gives Marvel the extra space needed to shoot both Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye simultaneously.

There was also a production grid making the rounds suggesting a September start which obviously wasn’t accurate as the pandemic led to extended shoots on Falcon and WandaVision not leaving much room for new shows to jump in. COVID-19 has been throwing production dates into a tizzy for months and as studios adopt bubbles they might be able to avoid future delays once filming starts.

Also filming in Atlanta, is Spider-Man 3 aka The November Project which is rumored to be using a production bubble to keep cast and crew safe during filming on the Spidey sequel.

There still isn’t official confirmation about who exactly has taken the Kate Bishop (Barton’s young protege) role in the show despite Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit, Bumblebee) being in the mix for the part early on as reported first by Variety. It’s expected to become a key role not just in the series but for future MCU films as well.

Renner posted this image on his Instagram stories yesterday leading fans to believe this means filming has started, although, could have been connected to a workout picture he posted from the gym.

Another Disney+ show on the horizon includes a Nick Fury series starring Samuel L. Jackson and written by Kyle Bradstreet (Mr. Robot) that could end up tackling the Skrulls/S.W.O.R.D. depending when and where it’s set in the timeline.

There are also other shows in development stages that have yet to be made official by Marvel/Disney.

WandaVision is the the first Disney+ series to release and will officially debut on January 15th.

Jaimie Alexander’s Sif Returning For The ‘Loki’ Series? – Actress Heads To Atlanta For “Work”

Yesterday, actress Jaimie Alexander seemingly revealed on her Instagram account that she was heading to Atlanta, Georgia for work reasons without stating what the project is. There is a genuine possibility she could be reprising the Sif role in Marvel’s Loki series but that remains speculation for the time being. The Sif character has been in limbo concerning the MCU since Thor: The Dark World and potentially escaped being killed by Hela in Thor: Ragnaork due to scheduling issues with her series Blindspot.

Marvel Studios has previously confirmed that Loki still has 4-5 weeks of filming before wrapping-up which is likely why people are leaning towards Jaimie potentially flying in to work on the Disney+ series. However, given how many things are filming in Atlanta it could be non-Marvel work as well.

Jaimie spent the evening with hanging out with friends.

Back in October, she posted an image of herself from Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. which had people buzzing about her getting ready to bring Sif back in some shape or form. Many making the leap it could be for Thor: Love & Thunder but it’s more likely it could for Loki if there is a return at all.

There had been rumblings that Season 2 of Loki could also be starting-up in the new year but Marvel/Disney hasn’t even confirmed that is even happening, while we’ve known for a while that Loki was going to get multiple seasons.

We’ll have to place this one in the speculation folder for the time being.

Is Richard E. Grant Playing Another Incarnation of Loki In The Disney+ Series?

Take the following with a pinch of salt but there is seemingly some evidence on who British actor Richard E. Grant could be playing in the upcoming Loki series from Marvel Studios.

A stuntman working on Loki listed on IMDB (spotted by Murphy’s Multiverse) that he was doubling for “Richard E. Grant – Classic Loki“, however, it’s worth noting that “Classic Loki” could also be referring to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki as stunt people are known to double multiple people as Richard and Tom are sort of the same build. It’s also believable that Grant could be playing an older version of Loki as well given his track record at playing villains as most recently established in Logan and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The listing has since been removed from IMDB but it’s certainly interesting to consider.

We already know that the series will involve The Multiverse and The Time Variance Authority, but how many different Loki incarnations in the show will show up is extremely unclear and a number hasn’t been confirmed beyond that British actress Sophia Di Martino is playing Lady Loki revealed via set photos of her in the Loki costume.

The series takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame where Loki escapes with the Tesseract and seemingly time travels getting the notice of TVA, as the first look footage from the series showed the God of Mischief in their custody but in set photos was working alongside Owen Wilson’s character.

Marvel Studios’ Victoria Alonso confirmed that Loki has another 4-5 weeks left of filming but we haven’t seen too many set pictures recently. All signs are pointing that it’s Disney+ debut in 2021 is still on track and I’m sure fans are excited to get some new footage.

SOURCE: IMDB

Marvel Studios Confirms The ‘Loki’ Series Has 4-5 Weeks Left of Filming

When asked by Clarin the production status of their upcoming Marvel series in a recent interview, Marvel Studios executive vice president Victoria Alonso confirms that both WandaVision and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier have indeed wrapped filming.

However, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki series has about four to five weeks left of shooting before they are finished.

ALONSO: “We finished filming The Falcon… and WandaVision , because it is almost, almost, almost finished. Loki  (with Tom Hiddleston) still have four or five weeks to go.”

Loki has resumed filming in Atlanta, Georgia and potentially could be all wrapped-up by end of the year depending if they’ll take breaks for the American holidays.

While WandaVision (January 15th) and The Falcon have been delayed until 2021, the Loki series was always planned to drop next year and likely won’t be pushed too far down the road because of the production delays caused by COVID-19. Disney+ has yet to give the Marvel series an official debut date.

Unconfirmed but possible rumblings have suggested that Loki will jump straight into Season 2 next year but this has yet to be announced by Marvel Studios, as the only series they’ve officially confirmed has a second season will be What If…?, an animated anthology show inspired by the comics of the same name.

There is an expectation that the Loki series will inform the plots of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love & Thunder, and possibly even Ant-Man 3 given it will explore The Multiverse via The Time Variance Authority.

SOURCE: CLARIN

‘Thor: Love & Thunder’s Working Title of ‘The Big Salad’ Might Be Another Nod To A ‘Seinfeld’ Episode

The other day, Production Weekly posted what seems to be the official working title for Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder which apparently will be The Big Salad during the filming at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia early next year.

While many believe this could be a hint to “Fat Thor” going on a diet it more likely is director Taika Waititi following in the footsteps of Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts and honoring classic Seinfeld episodes.

Here are the previous Seinfeld references from the Spider-Man working titles.

Spider-Man: Homecoming = Summer of George

Spider-Man: Far From Home = Fall of George

Spider-Man 3 = Serenity Now

The Big Salad, just happens to be a title of a Seinfeld episode from Season 6, where as you’d guess a “big salad” happens to be part of the plot.

At Elaine’s request, George purchases a “big salad” to go for her from Monk’s. George’s girlfriend Julie hands Elaine the salad in Jerry’s apartment, and Elaine thanks her. George is displeased that Julie took the credit for the salad, and tells Elaine that he bought it. Elaine is irritated at George for making a point of such a trivial matter, and briefly vents to Julie about this. Julie is so irate that George told Elaine she didn’t buy the salad that she breaks up with him.

All four working titles seem to connect directly to the George Constanza character and I’m a little curious if there could be a Spider-Man connection to the Thor sequel.

The cast will consist of Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie The King of Asgard, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster aka Lady Thor, Taika returning in a bigger role as Korg, and Oscar-winner Christian Bale is reportedly playing the film’s villain.

With Tom Hiddleston’s Loki wondering around the Multiverse in his Disney+ series there is a good chance he could end up appearing in Thor: Love & Thunder or even Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

We don’t know much about the film but Natalie Portman suggested that they will indeed include Jane Foster’s cancer journey when adapting the Mighty Thor elements for the feature film while speaking with Yahoo! not too long ago. Having a superhero dealing with cancer could be incredibly powerful for kids that are on treatment or are cancer survivors.

PORTMAN: “I can’t tell you that much. I’m really excited. I’m starting to train, to get muscles. If there can be all these female superheroes, the more of them they are, the better it is. I’m trying to think — it’s based on the graphic novel of the Mighty Thor. She’s going through cancer treatment and is a superhero on the side.”

For the time being the sequel is going to be released theatrically by Disney on February 11th, 2022, as week before Valentine’s Day.

SOURCE: PRODUCTION WEEKLY

Marvel’s ‘Loki’ Series Resumes Filming In Atlanta According To Gugu Mbatha-Raw

While speaking with Forbes, Loki actress Gugu Mbatha Raw revealed that the cast of the Marvel Studios series have returned to work in Atlanta, Georgia to resume production and talked about what she’s been up to since the pandemic paused production earlier in the year. 

MBATHA-RAW: “I was in the middle of filming when the pandemic happened, so I had a real break, I’ve been painting and reading. Like so many others, I was at home for a long time. Not to make light of the suffering going on, but in some ways, it has been an opportunity for me to get a fresh perspective on things. It is downtime that perhaps I might not have had, and now I’m thankful to be back to work. It’s been a journey for everyone, but it’s all for a greater reason and the greater good.”

“I’m obviously sworn to secrecy about everything to do with Loki, but it feels great to be back. Everyone is trying to do it as safely as possible under the circumstances, and it feels good. I’m excited. It’s a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to see it.”

The series will explore the Multiverse and is expected to help establish characters/plot points for upcoming films like Thor: The Dark World and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. 

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier has officially returned to Atlanta for filming as there are a bunch of set photos to prove it.

Loki is still expected to begin airing sometime in 2021. 

SOURCE: FORBES

‘Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors Reportedly Joins ‘Ant-Man 3’ – Might Be Playing Avengers Time-Travelling Villain Kang The Conqueror

The other day I posted on Twitter that Ant-Man 3 won’t only be bigger as suggested by director Peyton Reed, but essentially an event film.

Well, it looks like there is some support to that as Deadline is reporting that Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors has joined the film and is said to be possibly playing the super-villain known as Kang The Conqueror, who first debuted as Kang in the pages of The Avengers comic books and is also known as Nathaniel Richards (possible descendant of Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards).

The studio had no comment, but sources close to the project say he is likely to play the super-villain Kang the Conqueror.

A character that has been long teased to be feature in Loki, however, never confirmed.

It’ll be interesting if Kang indeed has connections to the Fantastic Four, but this MCU version might differ from the comic book version as Marvel does take liberties with the origins of their villains very often. Also, he more or less is likely coming into the picture because of the use/invention of time-travel in Avengers: Endgame and not exactly because the Fantastic Four are now at Marvel. But we’ll see.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Kang will be a Multiverse villain potentially from Earth X, the version of Earth where everyone has superpowers. It could be one of many way to introduce an adult group of mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as they might have to abandon Earth X for the safety of 199999 aka MCU’s Earth.

Casting would suggest that they are gearing up to begin shooting in the near future and as I confirmed are indeed expected to released the film sometime in 2022, if all goes to plan. Filming is expected to take place at Pinewood Studios UK and most likely will implement ILM’s StageCraft technology which Reed used on Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Logan’ and ‘X-Men: First Class’ Cinematographer John Mathieson Confirmed For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness’

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.

Updates On Marvel Studios’ Disney+ Shows

The Ronin has caught-wind of some interesting developments concerning the releases of the first two Disney+ shows from Marvel Studios and the potential production order of the ones that haven’t started to begin shooting.

First, it seems like WandaVision may indeed be finished enough to debut before the end of the year. We know that the series is still planning to do some pick-up shots or reshoots but it doesn’t seem like it will be enough to hinder a 2020 release.

However, The Falcon & The Winter Soldier is expected to have been pushed back to 2021.

Disney has yet to make solid announcements recently about when either show will be released other than reaffirming that Season 2 of The Mandalorian will be ready to go in October.

One big reason for the delay might not even be related to The Falcon‘s production pause, as it’s been months since Disney+ content has been shot due to the pandemic and that will leave a content gap next year for many streaming services. This could see places being a little more reserved and Disney dropping two Marvel shows alongside The Mandalorian might be a little too much at once.

Loki was always set to be released in 2021, so that doesn’t seem to have changed in any major way.

Also, while this could change due to COVID-19 and location scheduling, below seems to be the current production order of the new shows that haven’t started shooting.

  • Hawkeye
  • Ms. Marvel
  • Moon Knight
  • She-Hulk

This does make sense since Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel are further along in the casting process. Then again, multiple Marvel shows were in production in Atlanta at the same time, so the start dates might not be as staggered as they are with the feature films.

She-Hulk might be done with their scripts but it’s possible that Mark Ruffalo’s schedule is a factor, if he has indeed signed-on as expected.

On the film side, release dates are influx as there is a very good shot that Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings might not make it’s May 7th, 2021 release because of the production delays in Australia shortening the post-production window.

It’s unknown if Black Widow will stick to it’s November 6th theatrical release date or will be bumped to Eternals‘ February 12th, 2021 spot instead. There has been plenty of fan speculation it’ll simply be dumped on Disney+’s Premier Access section like Mulan, but little evidence to support it.

It is a little upsetting that without San Diego Comic-Con Marvel hasn’t made any big announcements. Hopefully, they’ll give some updates in the very near future taking cues from the upcoming event DC FanDome and doing their own in-house version of it.