Hulk Might Appear In ‘Moon Knight’ After Mark Ruffalo Spotted At Oscar Isaac’s Hotel In Budapest

It’s starting to look like Marvel’s Moon Knight series might have a bigger connection to the Avengers than previously expected. Oscar Isaac’s Marc Spector has been a member of the Avengers in the comic books and even had a romance with fellow member Tigra.

Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac), a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant — in order to better fight the criminal underworld. But later he was established as being a conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Most recently, the character was a consultant who dresses in all-white and goes by the name Mr. Knight. 

How exactly we’ll see the character interact within the MCU beyond the solo has yet to be revealed. Fans had assumed he would be hanging out with more of the darker characters. However, we might see Spector’s Avengers connections explored sooner rather than later.

Over the weekend, a fan/celebrity spotter located in Budapest snapped and posted photos within hours of each other with both Oscar Isaac and Mark Ruffalo. The two photos taken at the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest in Budapest, Hungary.

The city is where Marvel Studios are currently filming the Moon Knight series and Ruffalo had recently wrapped work on She-Hulk in Atlanta this month. I think the easy assumption here is that Ruffalo might be appearing in the show and sharing the same hotel in Budapest could suggest this, however, not confirmed. But rushing himself out to Budapest after just wrapping on She-Hulk in Atlanta could suggest he’s there for MCU-related reasons.

There were rumblings that WandaVision writer Peter Cameron was working on an unannounced Marvel Studios series, but Cameron himself refuted this on his Twitter account by clarifying that the project has been already announced by Marvel. We’re now hearing that project is actually Moon Knight and Cameron is expected to be contributing/writing on the superhero series alongside Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four, The Umbrella Academy) and Beau DeMayo (The Witcher, The Originals, The Witcher: Nightmare of The Wolf).

We previously reported on a rumbling that Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter might appear too.

The directing team consists of Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead.

Both Moon Knight and She-Hulk will debut sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: DORA MAGYARI

‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ VFX Supervisor Janek Sirrs Confirmed For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’

Director Sam Raimi has returned to the world of Marvel Comics, after tackling the original Spider-Man trilogy, with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

We’ve learned of yet another Spidey connection to the Marvel Studios sequel.

The Ronin has been able to confirm that seasoned visual effects supervisor Janek Sirrs is working on Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. The name might sound familiar since he worked on Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Avengers, Iron Man 2, Batman Begins, Terminator Genisys, and The Matrix Reloaded.

Here’s an impressive effects heavy scene from Spider-Man: Far From Home that pushes more in the horror realm and might be what they’ll be going for in the Doctor Strange sequel.

The cast of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness far consists of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAams as Dr. Christine Palmer, and newcomer Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez.

We first reported Sam Raimi’s production team would include cinematographer John Mathieson (Logan, X-Men: First Class) and production designer Charles Wood (Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame).

Spider-Man composer Danny Elfman confirmed back in February to Inverse he’d be reuniting with Raimi.

The team of stunt coordinators consists of seasoned vets such as Jo McLaren (Overlord, Annihilation) and Brycen Counts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man & The Wasp) with Liang Yang (Morbius, Wonder Woman 1984) taking the role of fight coordinator.

Filming took place at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England and is the current stage facility being used for Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.

While unconfirmed, we’ve assumed for almost a year that Tom Holland might be showing up in the film as Spider-Man. There is a strong possibility he may have shot scenes already as he recently stated that he’s fulfilled his contractual obligations with Spider-Man: No Way Home. Originally, when Disney and Sony made-up it was reported by trades Holland had two more movies to make with one for Sony (No Way Home) and one for Disney/Marvel (In The Multiverse of Madness?).

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is set for release on March 25, 2022 (baring any further release delays) and Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will be seen next in Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME – For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

‘She-Hulk’ Introducing Another Asgardian To The MCU?

Marvel’s She-Hulk series has wrapped filming in Atlanta (with some extra stuff expected to shoot in Los Angeles), but it looks like another Marvel Comics character is part of the show.

An IMDB listing from stunt woman Angela Lynn Hollis seemingly reveals that Runa from The Mighty Valkyries might be appearing in the show. The first time it’s been hinted that Asgardians or New Asgard could be involved in the show.

Hollis isn’t a new hire for Marvel Studios as she previously worked on Ms. Marvel and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier in Atlanta. Along with recent work on Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam.

Runa is a relatively new character to Marvel Comics and likely won’t have a huge role.

We recently had confirmation of the inclusion of Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery in Shang-Chi, thanks to his stunt double, making these listings something to consider. Kingsley would show up on the red carpet premiere.

The 10-episode series will be directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia with Emmy-winner Jessica Gao (Rick & Morty) set as head writer. Its crew consists of cinematographer Florian Ballhaus (RED, The Devil Wears Prada), production designer Elena Albanese (Lovecraft Country), costume designer Ann Foley (Godzilla Vs. Kong, Altered Carbon), and stunt coordinator Monique Ganderton (Loki, Avengers: Endgame).

Led by Tatiana Maslany (Black Orphan) as Jennifer Walters, the Disney+ project will officially see the return of Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky aka Abomination (the new updated design recently revealed in Shang-Chi trailer), Mark Ruffalo back as Banner aka Professor Hulk, Jameela Jamil (The Good Place) was recently announced to be playing the super-strong villain Titania, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Amelia, Josh Segarra, and Ginger Gonzaga.

Jennifer is the defense lawyer cousin of Avengers member Dr. Bruce Banner aka Hulk and after a blood transfusion from Bruce is granted her own Hulk powers becoming She-Hulk. 

She-Hulk will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: IMDB

UPDATE: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Confirmed To Have Been Shot By ‘Avatar’ Cinematographer Mauro Fiore

Earlier this week, Sony Pictures finally released the first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and ended up landing an impressive 355+ million views, dwarfing Avengers: Endgame.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a Super Hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

The movie is still set to be released on December 17, but it’s unclear, officially, who shot the superhero sequel. However, a potential listing on IMDB might point towards the cinematographer of James Cameron’s Avatar and Fox’s Dark Phoenix, Mauro Fiore.

The former pic landed Fiore an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2009 with other film credits such as Infinite, The Island and Training Day.

UPDATE: Gaffer Josh Davis mentioned in an interview with to Lite Gear back in February that he’d be working with Fiore on the Spider-Man sequel. Looks like he’s been confirmed.

“I’m currently working on the third installment of Spider-Man with actor Tom Holland, DP Mauro Fiore, and Director Jon Watts. It’s my largest job as a gaffer thus far, and wow– what a ride! Be careful what you ask for. Be thankful for the people that help you get there. Be grateful for the ones that help you get it done.”

We should be clear that we haven’t been able to confirm this listing is legit, but will likely be able to know either way when the marketing really kicks in.

The cast consists of Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Jamie Foxx as Electro, Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, Jon Favreau, Hannibal Buress, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, Marisa Tomei, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, Tony Revolori, Paula Newsome, and J.B Smoove.

We’ve now have concrete confirmations that Benedict Wong and possibly Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn/Green Goblin will appear as well. We see a pumpkin bomb show up, someone trying to attack Peter in the shadows, Electro using his powers, and Alfred Molina’s glorious Doctor Octopus.

The Ronin first reported that Paula Newsome would appear and she is seen in the trailer.

If you feel like it, check out the Spider-Man: No Way Home for the 100th time.

SOURCE: IMDB

‘Armor Wars’: Marvel Enlists Don Cheadle’s ‘Black Monday’ Co-Star Yassir Lester As Head Writer

Marvel Studios announced back in December that they would be moving forward with a War Machine series led by Don Cheadle. Armor Wars would be directly inspired by the classic Iron Man comic book story that sees a heap of armor suited villains coming out of the woodwork.

On Friday, it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that the series has finally landed a head writer with Black Monday writer/producer/actor Yassir Lester landing the gig. Cheadle leads Black Monday, which is a comedic take on the world of Wall Street and the show is essentially of the more bonkers things on television.

Lester could also land a supporting role given his acting career, but that remains to be seen and it’s interesting that Cheadle will be reuniting with a creative from Black Monday, will they pursue directors as well?

An interesting element of the comic book run of Armor Wars is that Justin Hammer is part of the story and would allow Marvel to bring back Sam Rockwell.

We’ll likely have to wait a little longer to know when Marvel Studios plans to announce a target release date or cast members/characters that will appear. I think there is a good shot we’ll see Iron Man baddies such as Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, and many others finally getting their live-action adaptation.

I wouldn’t be shocked if Sharon Carter/The Power Broker and Riri Williams/Ironheart showing up in the project.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘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

New ‘Eternals’ Trailer Gives Us First Looks At Black Knight, Kro, New Celestials & The Deviants

Marvel Studios is getting a lot of strong buzz for their next release, Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings, but they’re already kicking into gear the promotional campaign for Chloe Zhao’s Eternals.

The studio has just dropped a new Eternals trailer that mixes iconic Jack Kirby imagery with new takes on his character Kro along with fellow Deviants. It’s certainly visually striking and Marvel is leaning into Zhao’s recent Oscar win for Nomandland, which we all assumed would happen.

Patrick Burleigh (Power Rangers, Ant-Man & The Wasp) co-wrote the screenplay with Chloe Zhao.

Eternals is still set to be exclusively released in theaters on November 5.

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).

Chloé Zhao directs the film, and Kevin Feige and Nate Moore are the producers, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and Kevin de la Noy serving as executive producers. The story is by Ryan Firpo & Matthew K. Firpo, and the screenplay is by Chloé Zhao & Patrick Burleigh.

SOURCE: MARVEL

‘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

Marvel Studios Promotes Brad Winderbaum To Head Of Streaming, Television & Animation: Multiple New Animated Series In Development

Big news was made yesterday when longtime producer Brad Winderbaum was promoted at Marvel Studios.

Winderbaum’s new role at the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter, will be head of streaming, television, and animation. Essentially, overseeing all the work at Disney+ and other platforms that will be developing animation/television projects using their huge lineup of characters.

Kevin Feige will still keep his role of Marvel Studios head and chief creative officer at Marvel. This just allows someone else to do a lot of the day-to-day business on the television side of things and we have to assume that Winderbaum’s role will be similar to what Jeph Loeb did before Marvel Television was dissolved (rebranded as Marvel TV Studios after Loeb’s exit).

Variety also spoke to Winderbaum, who indicated multiple animated series were on the way and are in “various stages of development” at Disney+, although, no new titles were mentioned. He also indicated that Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige will continue to be closely involved with future projects.

“All of our animation ambitions are going to still be under Marvel Studios, which means they’re going to be produced by Kevin Feige and they’re going to be born of the same stuff that makes the rest of our content.”

Winderbaum also commented on the idea of working with Pixar and Disney Animation at some point, however, isn’t indicating that is something that is actively happening.

“It’s something that we’d be open to under the right circumstances. It all depends on the project.”

We already know that Captain Carter is returning for multiple seasons of What If…? and there had been previous reporting at HN Entertainment that a Power Pack animated series was heading to the streaming service.

Marvel Studios is expected to make a big announcement about their upcoming lineup in the near future and may include a heap of streaming projects alongside new movies.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER & VARIETY