BLADE REBOOT CONFIRMED BY MARVEL AS R-RATED

‘Blade’: Marvel’s Kevin Feige Says R-Rating “Inherent, Like Deadpool, To The Character” Confirming Mature Tone For MCU Reboot

Kevin Feige, the co-president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer, is doing press rounds for “Deadpool & Wolverine.” It’ll be the first R-rated superhero attempt from Marvel Studios on their own (they helped out by advising on Lionsgate’s “Punisher: War Zone”) and many of us had assumed that more would be on the horizon, including something like their gestating “Blade” reboot that has Mahershala Ali attached to play the new Eric Brooks.

Well, while speaking with BlackTree TV (See that interview below), Feige seemingly has confirmed that “Blade” is going to be echoing the previous trilogy of movies by taking a mature angle toward the vampire hunter when asked about an R-rating for their reboot.

“I think that’s right; I mean, for the last few years, we’ve been trying to crack that movie, and the most important thing, for us, is not rushing it and making the right ‘Blade’ movie. Because there were some great ‘Blade’ movies years ago they were all rated R. So, I think that’s inherent, like Deadpool, to the character of Blade.

You might remember that before director Yann Demange (“White Boy Rick”) exited the reboot, he said they planned to make the new film with an R-rating in mind. Feige’s new comments would seemingly support his November statement.

“They gave me the R, which is so important,” Demange said.

Of course, “Blade” has been having some issues as Feige does mention they’re not “rushing” as they’re trying to “crack” the reboot of a successful franchise. The project was first announced back in 2019 with Ali starring without any sort of plan in place, which has been partly the reason for all the delays and hiccups; it’s one of the few feature films at Marvel Studios that started with an actor before they were ready to go ahead.

Since then, we’ve seen Demange replace first director Bassam Tariq and exit with an overload of various drafts, polishes, and rewrites to the script. “Black Widow” screenwriter Eric Pearson is reportedly handling the latest version of the action-horror project.

As far as we know, both actors Mia Goth (“MaXXXine,” “Pearl”) and Delroy Lindo (“Da 5 Bloods”) are still involved with the movie. Also, a more recent trade report revealed Goth is playing the main villain of the film, Lilith (The vampire incarnation of the character, not the Mother of Demons from “Midnight Sons”) who is canonically in the comic books is the daughter of Dracula.

I’m sure we’ll get more updates about “Blade” at San Deigo Comic-Con (fingers crossed for a new director announcement), so stay tuned for those.

SOURCE: BLACK TREE TV

‘Blade’ Director Bassam Tariq To Contribute As A Writer On The Marvel Reboot

We’ve been somewhat kept in the dark about Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot as the project is currently in development stages with two-time Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage, Moonlight, Green Book) attached to play a new MCU incarnation of vampire hunter, Eric Brooks. Trade reports suggested that filming could begin as early as next year.

The Ronin has learned that director Bassam Tariq is expected to be involved with the writing process alongside previously announced screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen, Hunters), however, how much he’ll be contributing isn’t terribly clear at the moment.

Tariq wrote both the story and screenplay for his buzzed-about drama Mogul Mowgli starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, Venom, Sound of Metal).

It isn’t uncommon for Marvel directors to get involved with a script after a screenwriter has been hired, there are some recent examples with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings), Sam Raimi (Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness), and Chloe Zhao (Eternals).

The filmmaker has already hinted to collaborative working environment with Ali and Osei-Kuffour, praising the two in interviews, including while speaking with IndieWire.

“What’s exciting about the film that we’re making is [there] hasn’t been a canon for Blade, as we’re reading through the comics and everything. Him being a daywalker is the one thing that’s been established, and you know we can’t deny what Wesley Snipes did, which was he basically got this whole ball rolling. A Black man created the superhero world that we’re in, that’s just the truth. For me to now be working with somebody as talented and a juggernaut as Mahershala Ali, and the writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour, I’m just so — I’m so honored to be working with real Black juggernauts and Black talent. For me to just be with them in this room and listen and learn as I build this out, it’s really an honor.”

Blade fans like myself are extremely curious what this new incarnation is going to look like and if they’ll ultimately bring in The Vampire Nation to the MCU with a mature franchise or water it down for a family-friendly audience. At the very least, continuing this idea they are this global entity while also have their own ancient texts and language.

Despite having most of the key players hired, Marvel Studios has yet to give Blade an official release date. Hopefully, they’ll announce one before the end of the year.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

‘Eternals’: Dan Stevens All But Confirms He’s Playing Deviants Leader Kro

With Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings released, the next big Marvel Studios project will be Eternals from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomandland). While we have some idea about the film there is slightly less known about The Deviants and how exactly they’ll be factoring into the film.

It’s been rumored that Legion actor Dan Stevens (The Guest, Beauty & The Beast) could be playing Kro in the film, the leader of the Deviants as the character appears in the trailer.

While speaking with Collider, Stevens seemingly confirmed the role with a cheeky response when asked if he was in Eternals.

“Kro comment…I said ‘Kro comment’ but I don’t know if that is cryptic enough.”

Dan Stevens isn’t a stranger to Marvel Comics projects as he led the X-Men series Legion that saw him play David Haller (son of Professor Charles Xavier in the comics) and would join Chris Evans as an actor previously playing a Fox era Marvel character only to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Evans you might remember played Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four movies.

In the comics, Kro started out as a villain only to switch sides and join the Eternals team thanks to his romance with Angelina Jolie’s Thena. Their relationship is somewhat teased in the trailer with their brief, yet, not hostile interactions.

It wouldn’t terribly shocking if Kro and Dan Stevens took on a heroic part by the end of the film allowing him to return for multiple installments, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what Marvel plans to do with him.

ETERNALS – The immortal heroes, the Eternals, came here 7,000 years ago, since the dawn of man, to “protect humans from the Deviants.” Sersi reveals that she hasn’t seen some of the other Eternal teammates for centuries. With the monstrous creatures, the Deviants, long thought lost to history, mysteriously return, Ikaris decides that it’s time for them to “find the others” and defend humanity once again. As the epic story unfolds, Sersi and Ikaris reunite with Kingo (played by Kumail Nanjiani), Sprite (played by Lia McHugh), Gilgamesh (played by Don Lee), Thena (played by Angelina Jolie), Makkari (played by Lauren Ridloff), Phastos (played by Brian Tyree Henry), and Druig (played by Barry Keoghan).

SOURCE: COLLDIER

‘Shang-Chi’ Heading Towards $36M In Second Weekend

Shang-Chi & The Legends of The Ten Rings is doing pretty decent all things considered, as the new numbers for this weekend have arrived. Deadline says the current weekend estimates for the film’s second weekend at the domestic box office is $35.7 million, which is a 53% drop from their $75.3 million opening and impressive $94.6 million four-day over the Labor Day long weekend.

The new Avenger has made quite the global impact earning $258 million and counting. Disney might have to settle with lower than normal international earnings as it’s looking less likely that Shang-Chi will secure a release date in China due to the increasingly disgruntled government censors that are now looking for excuses to reject western films.

There is already chatter that Eternals might also be passed over for Chinese date too.

Disney recently mentioned that Chloe Zhao’s Eternals will be keeping a theatrical window, not unlike Shang-Chi, meaning that they’ll be avoiding a hybrid release with Premier Access. They also announced four mystery MCU films for 2024, could one of them be for Shang-Chi 2?

It’s not so great for James Wan and New Line Cinema though, as the horror pic Malignant earned a poultry $5.5 million. Not the best news when the high-profile genre project likely is essentially a flop when production, marketing/distribution costs are factored in, it will be impossible for the film to turn a profit from the domestic box office alone.

Interestingly enough, a majority of Wan’s films that he directors or produces tend to do well at the box office, but Malignant, for whatever reason, didn’t seem to interest mature audiences this time around.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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

‘Shang-Chi’ Earns $90M+ At The Domestic Box Office Over The Long Weekend

Surpassing industry and studio box office projections, Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings is said to be looking at a four-day total of $90 million, according to Variety. This number could increase given we won’t have total numbers for Monday until later in the week and estimates can always go up and come down.

UPDATE: Deadline is reporting that the final weekend numbers are $94.4 million domestically for the four-day long weekend.

It’s three-day total of $75. 5 million not only did better than Black Widow, it also broke a Labor Day weekend record that had been previously held by Rob Zombie’s Halloween back in 2007, when the pic earned $30. 6 million. A weekend not really known for huge box office takes.

The film has already earned an impressive $146.2 million globally on a possible budget of $150 million, which should make Marvel and Disney quick to put a sequel into development very very soon (if it isn’t already).

While YouTubers are trying to convince themselves and their subscribers that the film is a flop, everyone else living in reality can see how successful the film is going to become given that it really doesn’t have much competition until October unless James Wan’s R-rated horror flick Malignant surprises everyone.

SOURCE: VARIETY

The Xian & Seven Capital Cities Of Heaven Could Play A Large Role In ‘Shang-Chi 2’

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOTH SHANG-CHI & POST-CREDIT SCENES

After the recent box office performance of Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings and the stinger at the end of the film, it’s obvious that Marvel Studios will be moving forward with more films, possibly even a Disney+ series.

In the post-credit scene, Wong seems baffled by the Ten Rings and the objects’ origin alongside a possibility they’re now calling upon an outside force using a beacon.

One strong possibility might be The Xian or pantheon of Chinese gods in Marvel Comics.

They could be part of the expansive secret interdimensional inhabitance that Michelle Yeoh’s Auntie Nan was talking about when giving a rundown of Ta-Lo. Wenwu’s Ten Rings may have come from their dimension and might explain why there is a beacon calling to them, potentially because it’s a weapon of their making and Shang-Chi activating them in the village set it off.

One of the first instances of Ta-Lo in Marvel Comics was in the pages of Thor. There we are introduced to the Jade Emperor, aka, Yu Huang when the God of Thunder is traveling to the various pantheon of gods.

Basically, a group of powerful immortal beings that could easily either be friends or foes to Shang-Chi/Earth. There is a heap of characters that could be introduced some that jump out is Guan Yu The God of War, Yen-Lo Wang The God of Death, Zhurong The God of Fire, and Xi Wangmu The Goddess of Immortality.

Another interesting Xian character that might conflict with either Shang-Chi or Xialing could be the Demi-God Sun Wukong (The Monkey King). Best known from the iconic Journey To The West tale. In recent Marvel Comics, Sun Wukong is a crime lord that could easily cross paths with Shang-Chi on Earth with a magical staff, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, making him a formidable adversary.

The Immortal Weapons of Seven Capital Cities of Heaven, could also have a connection to The Xian and allow Marvel Studios to do a hard-reboot of Iron Fist/Danny Rand, K’un-Lun, and Shou-Lao The Undying after the lackluster Netflix series.

Iron Fist and K’un-Lun don’t really have to be that far apart from the new Shang-Chi franchise and could allow the new Avenger to have another MCU character that might have some insight into this secret world of gods and martial arts.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s love for the genre was highlighted in the first Shang-Chi film and it would be a fantastic excuse to reboot Danny Rand, unless they feel he’s too similar to the version of Shang-Chi they just gave us.

The Seven Capital Cities could expand the interdimensional realm of Ta-Lo beyond the village seen in the first film. The cities include K’un-Lun, K’un-Zi, Tiger Island, Peng Lai, Kingdom of Spiders, Z’Gambo, and Under City each having their own protector (maybe even their own dragon too?).

While not the traditional threat in Secret Wars, The Xian testing the might of heroes from various realms and The Multiverse seems like an interesting version the studio could with instead of simply rehashing the comic book incarnation.

‘Shang-Chi’: Tony Leung Talks Reinventing The Mandarin & Kevin Feige Disavows Fu Manchu Connection

‘Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” will usher in a brand new MCU superhero, Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, and makes him their very first leading Asian hero. However, it’s not the only thing to be championing about the upcoming film as Marvel wanted to tackle a new incarnation of legacy villain The Mandarin with Tony Leung’s Wenwu, the father of Shang-Chi.

The Mandarin was originally a primary villain of Tony Stark’s Iron Man and founding member of the Masters of Evil, a supervillain team that combated The Avengers in sixth issue alongside Zemo, Nathan Garrett/Black Knight (Dane’s Whitman’s uncle), and Chen Lu/Radioactive Man.

Tony Leung recently spoke with Elle Singapore (via Slash Film) and revealed the creative process alongside how he was able to reinvention of The Mandarin for modern audiences.

“When [Marvel] offered me the role, what they wanted was for me to create a brand new Mandarin, so I got to develop my character along with the filming. I’ve never approached Wenwu from a villain’s standpoint. Rather, I tried to explore the reasons that led him to become who he is. He’s a man with a history, who craves to be loved. He is also human, and he has a family. As I read [the script], I began to consider the many reasons why he’d turn out the way he is — a sociopath, a narcissist, a bigot.”

“When director Destin Daniel Cretton first described the role to me, he said there are many layers to the antagonist role, and hoped that I could come on board. I accepted it because of the director. It just felt right. Plus, this is something I’ve never done before, to play an Asian supervillain. A chance to do something for Asia. I thought, why not?”

Shang-Chi and The Mandarin do have a racist history as multiple Asian stereotypes were infused into their comic book counterparts, but, thankfully, Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics have taken different approaches over the years.

Marvel’s Kevin Feige spoke towards those racist origins by disavowing Fu Manchu, Shang-Chi’s original comic book father. As Feige points out to Chinese outlet Sina Weibo (via Variety) it’s a character Marvel has had zero connection with for ages.

“Fu Manchu is not a Marvel character. Fu Manchu is not a character we own or would ever want to own. And that was changed in the comics many, many years ago. And we never had any intention of doing that in this movie. Fu Manchu is not in this movie in any way, shape, or form…. He was such an offensive figure and was never anything we had any interest in doing. We want heroes that look like all our fans around the world and heroes that our fans can look up to and feel that wish fulfillment to be a part of. And it’s about inviting people into our world, not keeping people out of it or keeping people separate from it. So, definitively, Fu Manchu is not in this movie, is not Shang-Chi’s father, has not been for decades. And again, is not even a Marvel character.”

Feige also said the following about Tony Leung’s Wenwu, who is one of the key elements of the film that is getting a lot of buzz.

“This is a very unique character that you can almost, almost not even call a villain. This is a story of love between a father and a son, but misunderstanding and conflict, and that’s what we’re anxious for people to see in the movie.”

‘Shang-Chi’ will hit theaters exclusively on September 3.

SOURCE: ELLE SINGAPORE & SINA WEIBO

‘Shang-Chi’: Kevin Feige Admits Marvel Had Been Dreaming Of Making A Movie For Two Decades

Simu Liu is about to make his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Shang-Chi. Some might assume that it was only in the last five or so years that Marvel Studios was itching to make Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings. That’s really not the cast at all according to the studio.

While on the red carpet for the film’s premiere, Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige confirmed to Variety that during his time at Marvel (joining in 2000) they had been trying to make a Shang-Chi movie for the last two decades.

“We’ve been thinking and dreaming about making a Shang-Chi movie for the entirety of the two decades that I’ve been at Marvel.”

In 2001, Blade director Stephen Norrington was reportedly attached for a feature film of Shang-Chi alongside an early incarnation of Ghost Rider too. He quietly retired after making 20th Century Fox’s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and headaches he had during that production. Norrington had originally wanted to cast Jet Li as Blade villain Deacon Frost but the actor was busy shooting Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon 4. You can tell from Blade that the filmmaker was heavily influenced by Hong Kong action movies with their use of wire-work, a year before The Matrix.

DreamWorks attempted to get things going again in 2003, as Variety reported they had hired Woo-ping Yuen (True Legend) to direct and script from Band of Brothers writer Bruce McKenna. Woo-ping Yuen had been the fight choreographer for The Matrix, Kill Bill Vol.2, Kung Fu Hustle, The Forbidden Kingdom, The Grandmaster, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Oscar-winner Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi) boarded as a producer in 2004, a year after his Hulk movie was released. However, the rights to Shang-Chi eventually reverted back to Marvel.

Even before that, a Shang-Chi television series was being cooked up at Marvel.

Inverse was able to speak with former Marvel Productions CEO and President Margaret Loesch, who revealed that Stan Lee met with Bruce Lee’s son Brandon Lee (Showdown In Little Tokyo, The Crow, Rapid Fire) at the Marvel offices for a potential Shang-Chi television series in the 80s. The late Bruce Lee and his film Enter The Dragon had been the template for the martial arts superhero. Sadly, Brandon had a tragic death as he was killed during the filming of The Crow.

You have to really question what took them so long to get here, but Ike Perlmutter was notoriously dismissive of diverse projects at Marvel until he was ultimately pulled off the film division by Disney, upon the request of Kevin Feige. Suddenly, we started to see movies spring up like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Blade once Perlmutter was nix from the film side of things.

Shang-Chi hits theaters exclusively on September 3.

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Joining Simu Liu in the Marvel cast includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, and experience it in theaters on September 3, 2021.

SOURCE: VARIETY

‘Shang-Chi’: Director Destin Daniel Cretton Confirms Post-Blip Setting & Talks Cinematic Inspirations

Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings will be the next big character introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also ushers-in one of the few Asian-led Hollywood blockbusters and could help nudge studios to take more of an active role in giving more opportunities to Asian casts/filmmakers to tackle action-adventure films.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton has spoken with Fandango about Shang-Chi, confirming that the film “is set in the present day in the MCU timeline” post-Blip. He gave an indication of what audiences should expect from the new film’s genre.

“I think Shang-Chi is a cross between a classic kung fu film and a family drama, but it’s also really funny.”

When Destin Daniel Cretton was asked about cinematic inspirations for the superhero film, the filmmaker’s answers were certainly interesting. Especially, the nod to Good Will Hunting.

“One of the very loose inspirations for tone and character was Good Will Hunting, which may be a surprise. Will Hunting is a character that I think has a lot of similarities to Shang-Chi, just in that they have a big secret and they have a lot of baggage that they have to learn to deal with in order to step into their fully realized shoes. Some of the other inspirations… every Jackie Chan movie ever made, the Ip Man series — there’s a big inspiration from Jet Li’s Tai-Chi Master, and, of course, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There is a long list. I cannot not give enough props to Kung Fu Hustle, which is one of my favorites. We watched a lot of these classic movies to make sure that we were paying proper respect to them and to the long history of martial arts and kung-fu movies that came before us.”

The shout-out to Kung Fu Hustle is curious since Destin recently posted an image of himself and the film’s star Yuen Wah in Sydney, Australia in 2020 on Instagram (see below). The actor co-starred alongside Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh (confirmed for a role) in the fantastic Supercop aka Police Story 3 in the role of Panther. Early on in his career, Yuen Wah appeared in Bruce Lee movies such as Fist of Fury, Enter The Dragon, Way of The Dragon, and Game of Death.

UPDATE: Michelle Yeoh has posted an image on Instagram of Yueh Wah, in costume on the set.

Could the famed martial arts actor be appearing in Shang-Chi?

Shang-Chi will hit theaters exclusively on September 3.

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Joining Simu Liu in the Marvel cast includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, and experience it in theaters on September 3, 2021.

SOURCE: FANDANGO