Tag: Marvel Studios

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Widow’: Disney CEO Bob Chapek Insists Marvel Movie Still Heading To Theaters

Despite consist demand from Marvel fans, it doesn’t look like Disney is going to be dumping Black Widow on their streaming platform Disney+ at this time. Disney CEO Bob Chapek reiterated the studio’s position from December where they reaffirmed the Scarlett Johansson spy flick would indeed be released in theaters as planned. This statement coming from Disney’s quarterly earnings call where many had expected to hear plans to finally release Widow on streaming as it’s coming up on being delayed for a full year soon.

Our good friend Nicholas Whitcomb aka Whos Nick was listening to the Q1 earnings call yesterday and was able to tweet this out about the comment made by Bob Chapek. However, things are fluid and another possible release date push is likely coming given the amount of studio films that have already exited the winter/spring.

Disney has had plenty of opportunities to pivot from their theatrical plans for Black Widow over the last year and didn’t seem to be terribly swayed by the HBO Max day-and-date announcement. It likely doesn’t help that Wonder Woman 1984 reportedly is going to lose Warner Bros. over a $100 million because of it’s dismal box office performance.

We’ll have to wait to see if they ultimately push the release to the fall or finally cave-in with a hybrid model releasing the film earlier.

It’s current release date is still set for May 7th.

BLACK WIDOW – In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News

The Russo Brothers Still Keen To Tackle Wolverine & Advises Marvel Take Some Time Before Rebooting

While promoting their upcoming film Cherry, directors Joe and Anthony Russo spoke with the Lights Camera Barstool podcast (spotted and transcribed by The Playlist) and revealed they’d still love to get their hands on Marvel’s reboot of Wolverine. The pair continually brings up Wolverine and Secret Wars as things that could draw them back to Marvel Studios.

JOE RUSSO: “Wolverine has always been such a special character for me. To realize him on screen, it’s very hard because Hugh Jackman‘s performance is definitive. It’s like Batman; you have to really think of a way to, you have to really find the right actor to come in and give a really different take to that character. But I would really love to see him on screen.”

However, Joe advises that the studio give the franchise some time before jumping into a reboot.

JOE RUSSO: “I think the best thing is to take a break, without question. You need a [palate cleanser], you need to rinse the towel a little bit, let everyone enjoy what was, and then come up with something new. But I’d love to take a crack at Wolverine at some point.”

We already got some signs from Marvel’s Kevin Feige they’re not in any rush to reboot as they’ve chosen to go with Fantastic Four first. It’s still unknown what they ultimately plan to do with Wolverine and the X-Men reboots. Even though, they’ve introduced things like S.W.O.R.D. and Madripoor that are directly connected to the X-Men comics.

There is a good chance they could be able to convince Marvel Studios to allow them direct a Wolverine or X-Men project if they’re that persistent about being able to play with the characters. They were able to bring new blood to both the Captain America and Avengers franchises, with the latter Marvel now hold the box office record for the highest grossing film as Avengers: Endgame toppled James Cameron’s Avatar.

Given their experience working with large groups of heroes and villains, The Russo Brothers could be alongside screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus might be the team to reboot the X-Men. We’ve already seen Marvel look at their existing directing bench for the Fantastic Four reboot as they announced in December that Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts would be tackling it.

Wolverine certain could deserve to have his origin retold for the Marvel Cinematic Universe either connected to Alpha Flight or the Weapon X Program. I also believe that a project set during WWII giving them an excuse to have Wolverine in a period action-film. A solo project could give a new actor a great entry point and give the main X-Men reboot some space, as one of the big gripes that fans had with the Fox franchise is that Wolverine was the predominate character when he isn’t supposed to be.

Ryan Reynolds revealed on Twitter last month that one of the ideas they had for Deadpool 3 before the merger was convincing Hugh Jackman to end his retirement as they wanted Logan and Wade to do a road trip movie. They could also eventually meet up in an X-Force film.

Mark Ruffalo has also voiced his own desire to have Hulk interact with Wolverine in a project as the mutant debuted in the pages of Hulk comic books.

SOURCE: LIGHTS CAMERA BARSTOOL

Posted on in Film News

Tom Holland Denies Rumors ‘Spider-Man 3’ Will Feature Tobey Maguire & Andrew Garfield – “They Will Not Be Appearing In This Film”

Despite rampart rumors for Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 that included unconfirmed rumblings that former Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be reprising their roles in a Spider-Verse-type event film, actor Tom Holland is denying that is happening.

In a recent interview with Esquire posted this week, the young actor while promoting his crime drama Cherry states that he’s unaware of Tobey and Andrew being involved with the project. The outlet noting the disappointment in his voice while delivering the bad news.

This particular Spider-Man installment has been subject to a host of rumors about casting decisions. When we talk in December, several outlets are reporting that Holland’s forebears, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, will appear alongside him in some kind of ultimate Spider-verse moment. When I ask Holland about this possibility, he is suddenly positive he knows what he’s talking about.

“No, no, they will not be appearing in this film. Unless they have hidden the most massive piece of information from me, which I think is too big of a secret for them to keep from me. But as of yet, no. It’ll be a continuation of the Spider-Man movies that we’ve been making.”

While Holland could be lying here, none of the trades who have been actively covering the casting of the Spider-Man sequel have corroborated the rumors of their involvement. Even unconfirmed rumblings they’ve been spotted on set, however, no photographic proof of that has materialized. Tom Holland would be the first person to tell you that he can’t keep a secret as his persona is that of someone who inadvertently spoils things.

Holland also said they’re about eight weeks into the production and still have much more to go.

What we do know about the film is that Benedict Cumberbatch will be appearing as Doctor Strange with former franchise actors Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina reprising their roles as Spider-Man villains Electro and Doctor Octopus.

It’s possible we might end up with a version of The Sinister Six though.

Sony Pictures has given the film a release date of December 17th, 2021 but that might be moved if they need to find a new spot for Venom sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage, as the studio might bump it’s July release to another date.

SOURCE: ESQUIRE MAGAZINE

Posted on in Film News

Michael B. Jordan Won’t Say If He’ll Appear In ‘Black Panther 2’ But Keen On Returning To The Franchise

There have been multiple unconfirmed rumors that Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger would be returning for Black Panther 2, however, this has yet to be supported officially.

Michael B. Jordan today spoke with ABC’s Good Morning America while promoting his upcoming Amazon action flick Without Remorse. During his chat with the morning show, he was asked if he’d return for the sequel but wasn’t confirming his involvement while reaffirming a previous desire to return to the Black Panther franchise and Marvel Cinematic Universe if asked by the studio.

JORDAN: “I can’t say too much about that one, man. Honestly, with the year that we’ve had and the loss of a dear friend. They were figuring out whatever they need to do or what’s best for the franchise. They’re family, so if I ever have the opportunity to get back into that franchise, I would.”

Marvel Studios and Ryan Coolger have yet to reveal what their ultimate plan would be in the wake of the death of Chadwick Boseman, as Kevin Feige has repeatedly said they wouldn’t recast the T’Challa role or use a digital-double.

Fans have speculated the Multiverse could open the door to heroic (also alive) incarnation of Killmonger, allowing the character to take the franchise reigns from T’Challa. However, this is only a theory as characters such as Shuri and M’Baku have also been fan-favorites to take the mantle.

Coolger is developing multiple series for Marvel and Disney+ starting with one set within the Kingdom of Wakanda.

Production on Black Panther 2 is said to begin this June in Atlanta, Georgia with a release date of July 8th, 2022.

SOURCE: GOOD MORNING AMERICA

Posted on in Television News

‘The Falcon & The Winter Soldier’: Marvel Drops A Fantastic Full Trailer For Their Action-Packed Disney+ Series

Marvel Studios revealed a full trailer for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier during the Super Bowl yesterday and it certainly revealed how action-focused the Disney+ series will be. Highlighting that Baron Zemo is indeed the big-bad of the show and is returning to his anti-superhero schemes. It’ll be interesting to see whatever villains are introduced in the show beyond the return of Batroc The Leaper.

We also see Bosch actress Amy Aquino seemingly in some therapist or case worker role.

Don Cheadle revealed he’ll be appearing as War Machine in the show before his solo series Armor Wars, but how big the cameo is hasn’t been revealed.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier will kick-off on Disney+ starting on March 19th.

Fans had been anticipating first looks at Shang-Chi and Eternals, but everyone was attempting to save money this year. Having Disney focus on next month releases such as Raya & The Last Dragon and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier made the most sense from a spending stand point. However, unless there is another delay for Shang-Chi we should be seeing some footage in the very near future for the summer flick.

SOURCE: MARVEL

Posted on in Television News

‘Armor Wars’: Don Cheadle Says His War Machine Series Begins Shooting In “A Couple of Months”

After revealing that his character Rhodey aka War Machine would be appearing in Marvel’s next Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Don Cheadle has given Entertainment Tonight an idea when production of his own solo series Armor Wars will begin. Stating things will begin filming in “a couple of months”, however, didn’t mention where that will be taking place.

CHEADLE: “It’s going to be dope. We’re really going to have a chance to explore a lot of stuff about [James] Rhodes. I mean, you look at what we’ve done so far, there’s a lot left to be explored. So I think there’s a lot of real estate that we’re going to dig into.It’s going to be just fully wide open.”

“We’re going to start filming in a couple months and we’ll see.”

The series will focus on War Machine cracking down on Tony Stark’s technology getting into the wrong hands, the comic book it takes inspiration from included Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer giving Marvel Studios a big opening to bring the character back to the MCU.

The assumption is that it would be shooting in Atlanta, Georgia as with the other Disney_ shows but it’s odd that with it starting so soon they haven’t announced writers, showrunner or director for Armor Wars at this point.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

Posted on in Features

SPOILERS: Reasons Why That Cameo In ‘WandaVision’ Episode 5 Might Not Be As It Seems

WARNING SPOILERS FOR WANDAVISION AHEAD FROM EPISODES 1-5

There seems to be an assumption from those watching this week’s episode of WandaVision that Marvel Studios has ushered-in the Fox era of the X-Men franchise, despite the fact the studio has multiple times used the word reboot when talking about their plans for the X-Men moving forward. It’s worth noting among a bunch of iffy things about the cameo, Wanda and Darcy don’t seem to recognize the Evan Peters version of Pietro standing in the doorway.

Here are some things to think about as most viewers have taken the cameo as a literal introduction/recast and now believe that Evan Peters is taking over the Pietro/Quicksilver role from now on which seems a little shortsighted given how the show has previously manipulated the audience from the start. Taking the surprise at face value instead of stopping to think of the multitude of reasons why Peters playing Pietro from now on is extremely unlikely and potentially more of distraction or red herring if anything else. 

  1. Dr. Darcy Lewis makes it clear that whoever Evan Peters is playing in the show, that this person at the door is not her brother (previously played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson). Lewis shockingly states “they recast Pietro?.” This is somewhat reinforced by Wanda seemingly not recognizing the person at the door, something you can tell by the puzzled look on her face as it finally sinks in this is supposed to be her brother. We’ve seen actors recast in the MCU before but Darcy makes a point that isn’t Pietro,
  2. Wanda’s father is reaffirmed to be the very dead Oleg Maximoff by Agent Jimmy Woo and not Magneto also using footage from Avengers: Age of Ulron. This could crush speculation that the Fox version of Magneto will either have a family connection or even appear on the show at all. If they wanted to establish the previous X-Men universe within the MCU that ship has long sailed after the merger as they originally announced Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool was the only character they were keeping.
  3. Agnes is shocked to learn Wanda can bring things back to life using her abilities as she mentions her brother to the twins (in front of Agnes) and conveniently later in the episode Wanda’s “brother” is brought back to life. We never see how that happened exactly or where he even came from. 
  4. When Vision and Wanda get into a scuffle about what is going on in the bubble the doorbell rings, something she says she didn’t do and if she didn’t bring that version of Pietro back, who did?
  5. Despite Wanda having “control” of everything in the bubble, she could stop their dog Sparky from dying or use her powers on the twins when they wouldn’t stop crying or aging. If she is 100% in control of everything and everyone you’d think she could have done something there. 
  6. Nothing can be trusted in the Westview bubble. Many things are distorted and they’re not all as they seem, making it less likely that Pietro is really Pietro. Mostly everyone within Westview is given a new name and persona. There is a good chance that Evan Peters is simply playing someone that was trapped in the town and given the role of Pietro as a way to torture or distract Wanda. 
  7. There have been teases via concept art that Wonder Man aka Simon Williams will be part of the show, an actor/superhero. There is a chance that Evan Peters was selected by whoever within the bubble to be recast in the Pietro role because he is Simon and picked because of acting experience as a way to be more convincing to Wanda and Vision as others have dropped character in various scenes. Agnes mentions doing another take in the episode and Wanda materializes a dog collar without her noticing.
  8. Peters’ Pietro could be just a figment of her imagination and will disappear alongside the bubble. 
  9. Pietro might be Mephisto or another villain simply manipulating Wanda while pretending to be her dead brother. 
  10. Could both the twins and Pietro be manifested by someone else in Westview such as Anges or another mystery character?
  11. Hiring Evan Peters, the former Quicksilver, is a great way to confuse audiences and help keep everyone guessing about what is really going on. If they had hired someone else for this part it likely wouldn’t have had the same impact. It seems like the entire point of the show is to keep fans on their toes and create their own theories. It certainly feels like the concept of the Disney+ series is to mimic water-cooler television.

I think we’ll know more in the next couple of episodes and I would not be shocked if ultimately we don’t see Peters in this role for very long revealing himself to be something else entirely.

Posted on in Television News

‘Shang-Chi’ Star Simu Liu Wants To Appear On A Jimmy Woo Spinoff Series – ‘Agents of Atlas’ Crossover In The Cards?

After someone on Twitter suggested that Marvel Studios consider giving Randall Park‘s Agent Jimmy Woo his own X-Files-type series as Woo returned in WandaVision, Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings star Simu Liu wants in on the hypothetical pitch for a spinoff series and says he’d like to cameo on it.

Jimmy Woo and The Agents of Atlas

Jimmy Woo isn’t the regular side-character as he predates a bulk of Marvel superheroes debuting back in 1956 from Atlas Comics (precursor to Marvel Comics) and eventually became the team leader of the Agents of Atlas, a team that feature a bunch of obscure heroes such as Gorilla-Man, Human Robot, Venus, The Uranian, and Namor’s cousin Namora.

The more recent incarnation of the team includes Simu’s Shang-Chi alongside other Asian superheroes. There has been speculation that we’ll see the upcoming solo film plant seeds for Agents of Atlas as Shang-Chi, The Mandarin, and Jimmy Woo are expected to have direct ties to Atlas Empire/Atlas Foundation which in the comics has it’s headquarters located underneath San Francisco, California. A location that ties Shang-Chi to Park’s Ant-Man franchise.

In theory, there is a place for Jimmy in the MCU to lead his own team as it has been established in the comics.

Simu Liu isn’t a stranger to television since once he finished work on his Marvel movie in Australia he returned to Toronto to shoot the CBC sitcom Kim’s Convenience. Liu’s co-star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is already part of the Disney+ family as he played Captain Carson Teva in Season 2 of The Mandalorian and most likely will appear in the spinoff series Rangers of The New Republic. The Shang-Chi star has also been hinting he’d like to join the Star Wars universe as well.

While a Jimmy Woo series is possible, there is a better chance that he’ll join the ranks of S.W.O.R.D. to potentially have a supporting role in things like the Secret Invasion series and Captain Marvel 2 as both are expected to have a heavy S.W.O.R.D. presence. Woo having a larger role within the MCU as a crossover character feels like the right move and it could eventually lead to a project like Agents of Atlas, something that could be worthwhile as a feature film franchise given the multiple untapped superheroes on it’s roster and not just a Disney+ series.

Also, given the title Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been previously used, I wouldn’t be shocked if Marvel Studios just referred to the team as simply Atlas, if and when they bring them into the MCU.

Posted on in Television News

Ryan Coogler Alludes To Working With Marvel Studios On Multiple Shows For Disney+

Following-up to the Deadline report that Black Panther director Ryan Coolger is making a Wakanda series with Marvel Studios for Disney+ as part of his new development deal between Disney and his production company Proximity Media, we might be getting more Marvel shows from Coogler.

In an official press release from Marvel Studios that was also cited in the Deadline report, Ryan reveals he’ll be working on “select MCU Shows” giving us the impression we’ll see him involved with more than just one show. However, they stopped short from revealing what those projects could be.

COOGLER: “It’s an honor to be partnering with The Walt Disney Company. Working with them on Black Panther was a dream come true. As avid consumers of television, we couldn’t be happier to be launching our television business with Bob Iger, Dana Walden and all the amazing studios under the Disney umbrella. We look forward to learning, growing, and building a relationship with audiences all over the world through the Disney platforms. We are especially excited that we will be taking our first leap with Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and their partners at Marvel Studios where we will be working closely with them on select MCU shows for Disney+. We’re already in the mix on some projects that we can’t wait to share.”

There is a good chance that he could be exploring characters outside of the Black Panther/Wakanda franchise.

Ryan is said to be getting ready to shoot Black Panther 2 this summer in Atlanta.

SOURCE: MARVEL

Posted on in Television News

‘Black Panther 2’ Director Ryan Coogler Developing Wakanda Series For Disney+ As Part of An Overall TV Deal With Disney

Deadline has breaking news that Ryan Coogler has secured a five-year overall television deal with Disney and that he’s already going to develop Black Panther spinoff series for Disney+ that will take place within the Kingdom of Wakanda.

However, there are no current details about who that show will be focusing on.

Disney has made a five-year overall exclusive television deal with Coogler’s Proximity Media, which he runs with principals Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ludwig Göransson, Archie Davis and Peter Nicks. Coogler, who is working on the Black Panther feature sequel he will direct this year, will develop new television series for the studio. The first one will delight Black Panther fans: a drama based in the Kingdom of Wakanda for Disney+. The deal also enables Proximity to develop television for other divisions of the Company.

Coogler is currently prepping and writing Black Panther 2, which Marvel Studios is hoping to begin filming this summer in Atlanta, Georgia. Marvel has gone the record multiple times they will not be recasting the T’Challa role after the death of Chadwick Boseman and are not exploring a digital double either.

Will we see the adventures of The Dora Milaje or The Jabari Tribe?

This looks to be part of a push from Marvel Studios to cement their commitments to having a stronger presence of black characters in their growing cinematic universe which has been mostly seen on the television side of the MCU thanks to new Disney+ shows. The three big new series announcements revealed back in December included Samuel L. Jackson’s Secret Invasion, Don Cheadle’s Armor Wars, and newcomer Dominique Thorne playing engineering wiz-kid Riri Williams in Ironheart.

We’re also starting to see Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau in WandaVision becoming an integral part of the MCU before joining fellow cosmic heroines Carol Danvers and Kamala Khan in Captain Marvel 2.

SOURCE: DEADLINE