Tag: Marvel Studios

Posted on in Film News

Taron Egerton Has Met With Marvel’s Kevin Feige For Mystery Project & Wants To Play Wolverine Succeeding Pal Hugh Jackman 

Hugh Jackman’s tenure as Wolverine has had its ups and lows, thankfully, the Aussie actor got to give his beloved X-Men anti-hero a perfect send-off with James Mangold’s Logan and has since retired the role leaving the stage for the next actor to pick up the claws. Jackman once gave his support to a pre-Venom Tom Hardy to play the next Wolverine, but it looks like someone closer to him might end up landing the role. 

His Eddie The Eagle co-star Taron Egerton has been a fan favorite to be recast as the Canadian X-Men member and has previously brushed off casting rumors over the last couple of years. However, during a recent interview with The New York Times, he revealed a mystery meeting with Marvel’s Kevin Feige but wasn’t clear what it was for (outlets making the leap it was about Wolverine without the actor naming role/project). 

Separately, at the same time, Egerton said it would be a challenge but is game to succeed his friend as the next actor to play Wolverine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

“I don’t think it would be wrong to say that,” Egerton said of taking on the Wolverine reboot. “I’d be excited, but I’d be apprehensive as well because Hugh is so associated with the role that I’d wonder if it’d be very difficult for someone else to do it.” He paused, then flashed a grin. “But hopefully, if it does come around, they’ll give me a shot.”

Wolverine is a huge crossover character and also had his own film trilogy, which means whoever ends up playing him might be signing on for multiple films and television series on Disney+ meaning their commitment might have to be similar to Ms. Marvel actress Iman Vellani, who has her own series (expected to get a Season 2 announcement soon) but also has a major role in The Marvels. 

While Deadpool 3 is expected to be the first big mutant project post-merger with Shawn Levy set to direct the R-rated film with Ryan Reynolds carrying over as Wade Wilson, the plans for the X-Men reboot haven’t been fully revealed by the studio and likely won’t happen before 2025.  There is some hope Marvel will reveal their X-Men plans at Comic-Con or at D23 Expo.

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‘Black Panther 2’: Official Merchandise Promo Art Confirms Namor, Atlantis & Attuma 

When Narcos: Mexico breakout actor Tenoch Huerta was announced as playing a villain of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, everyone jumped on the idea he would be playing the MCU incarnation of Prince Namor McKenzie, aka, The Sub-Mariner. One of Marvel’s first superheroes and mutants that predates the popular Stan Lee era. 

Now, Huerta’s role as Namor has been confirmed thanks to the official promo artwork that circulated on Twitter (via @MCU_Facility) over the weekend. It shows Namor in mesoamerican Indigenous garb along with another image with Namor wearing a headdress that seems to be honoring Tepeyollotl, the Aztec jaguar god that might share superhero similarities to Wakanda’s own feline god Bast. 

A welcomed update on the character’s origin. His original heroics saw him mostly destroying America’s WWII enemies including very racist depictions of the Japanese forces but would eventually be an important cog in the Fantastic Four comic books and the greater Marvel Comics universe. Namor has played both anti-hero, and villain at varying points of the comics and almost went to all-out nuclear war with Wakanda in the pages of The Defenders. So, having him join the Black Panther sequel was something many of us wanted to see going back to 2018. 

Not only that, the artwork also featured the Atlantis villain Attuma, who is expected to be an antagonist. How exactly Atlantis will be featured in the film remains to be seen but will hopefully be extremely different from the Aquaman films. 

Universal Pictures for the longest time held the solo film rights and even once attempted a feature film with Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines), but it never went in front of cameras. However, it looks like Marvel Studios figured out how to include him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but we don’t know if he’ll end up getting his own solo series or film down the road. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that Namor could factor in future things like the Fantastic Four reboot, Doctor Strange 3, Captain America 4 (via a McGuggin like the Serpent Crown), or even a big crossover event like Secret Wars as a supporting character. 

We’ll likely see some first-look images or even teaser footage at San Diego Comic-Con later this month as the Black Panther sequel is heading to theaters on November 11 and promotion for the film will likely begin as soon as Thor: Love & Thunder is released into the wild later this week.

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‘4vibes Productions’ Confirmed For Marvel Studios, May Tease UK Shoot For ‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot

The Ronin has been on hiatus but is back to share an interesting tidbit about another new Disney Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) and also can confirm it’s indeed for Marvel Studios.

Titled 4vibes Productions, this “might be” the long-gestating Fantastic Four reboot that Marvel has been developing given the “4” aspect. Not only that, it looks like whatever the MCU project is it will be shot in the United Kingdom, which would suggest it’s a live-action project and would need studio space likely at Pinewood UK Studios or Longcross Studios.

At one time, director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) was attached to the reboot before he bailed on the superhero project to focus on other film projects including a new Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew that will star Jude Law (Peter Pan & Wendy, Captain Marvel).

*Minor spoiler*

John Krasinski played a Multiverse version of Reed Richards alongside Patrick Stewart’s Professor Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange 2 but there aren’t any indications either of those actors will reprise those Marvel characters for the MCU’s main 616 universe moving forward.

There have been some indications from trades that a new director might be hired by the time D23 Expo 2022 takes place in September where Kevin Feige is expected to make all sorts of announcements. Perhaps, giving fans new information on things like Echo, Ironheart, Armor Wars, Captain America 4, Harkness, Daredevil, Nova, Thunderbolts, Wonder Man (we likely first caught wind of the project last September), Secret Wars, and their highly-anticipated X-Men reboot.

Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot (confirmed for a shoot in Atlanta) and Shawn Levy’s Deadpool 3 (the R-rated sequel is confirmed to be a co-production with 20th Century Studios and could be potentially released by them) are expected to be the next films going into production in the near future as well, so there is some hope we’ll get casting/characters details soon.

We previously reported that Seasons 2 of Loki (confirmed by cinematographer Isaac Bauman) and Ms. Marvel (this might be announced in the coming months) will also be shooting in the United Kingdom. Most recently, things like Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, The Marvels, Ant-Man 3, and Secret Invasion have been shooting in/around the area. However, things had slowed down a little seemingly due to the pandemic.

Fantastic Four, Blade, and Deadpool 3 are without release dates but that is assumed to change soon.

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‘Moon Knight’: Khonshu Will Be Voiced By F. Murray Abraham Marvel Confirms

Marvel Studios will release the next event series with Moon Knight on March 30 and a brand new actor has been revealed joining Oscar Isaac (Grant/Spector) and Ethan Hawke (Arthur Harrow). Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham has been officially announced as the voice of Khonshu, the Egyptian god that gives Marc Spector the powers of the Moon Night.

The casting update comes from a Marvel press kit on the Disney press website.

Abraham is best known for his recent work on shows such as Homeland and Mythic Quest, with his film credits consisting of Scarface, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Star Trek: Insurrection, Mimic, and Amadeus. The Syrian-American actor famously won Best Actor in 1984 for his role of Antonio Salieri in Amadeus.

When Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life, he discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.

SOURCE: DISNEY

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New ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Trailer Teases X-Men & Possibly The Savage Land Too

Director Sam Raimi returns to the world of Marvel Comics with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, further exploring The Multiverse after things like Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home has introduced audiences to the idea of variants alongside many different universes within the established Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The new trailer released during the Super Bowl might confirm some previous rumors about the Doctor Strange sequel.

Doctor Strange seemingly meets a variant of Professor X played by Patrick Stewart, as his voice is unmistakably used in the trailer saying “We should tell him the truth.” Is the Illuminati going to a version of the TVA in the film?

But, that might not be the only X-Men-related tease in this new footage.

We see a glimpse of a T-Rex in a quick shot that might be teasing The Savage Land, a location like Madripoor that has connections to the X-Men comic books.

Once upon a time, Marvel Studios was trying to develop a Ka-Zar movie focused on a Tarzan-like superhero that lives in the Savage Land. The X-Men location is hidden from the world in Antarctica and has all sorts of creatures living there including dinosaurs.

In Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further than ever before. Journey into the unknown with Doctor Strange, who, with the help of mystical allies both old and new, traverses the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the Multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, with Michael Stühlbarg, and Rachel McAdams. The film is directed by Sam Raimi, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Eric Hauserman Carroll and Jamie Christopher serve as executive producers. The screenplay was written by Michael Waldron.

The Doctor Strange sequel will debut on May 6th.

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‘Shang-Chi 2’: Destin Daniel Cretton’s Dream Addition Would Be Jackie Chan

It’s really hard to miss the multiple nods to the films of Jackie Chan in Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Rings. Between hiring the late Brad Allan as the film’s stunt coordinator, a protege, and member of Chan’s stunt team. Not to mention hiring Chan’s Police Story 3 co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Yuen Wah in key support roles.

Marvel is officially moving forward with Shang-Chi 2 and we might have an idea who they might be gunning for after landing iconic Hong Kong actor Tony Leung as the charming and compelling antagonist, Wenwu.

During a recent chat with Cinema Blend, director, and co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton revealed that he’d be pleased-as-punch if he and Marvel were able to wrangle martial arts legend Jackie Chan for sequels.

“If we could ever get Jackie [Chan] into a movie that would be a lifelong dream of mine. Yeah. Let’s put it out there.”

I’d personally love to see Jackie Chan play Shen Kuei, aka, Cat having crossed paths with Shang-Chi in the comics. It would also allow Chan to play another complex character playing both antagonistical rival and potential ally.

Shen Kuei is a man based in Hong Kong who dealt in espionage and counterespionage and who became known as Cat because of his cunning, stealth, and mysteriousness.

Destin is set to direct and write the sequel, but other than the button scene teasing the origin of the Ten Rings being explored we don’t know what direction the second film will go along with what characters they’ll attempt to use. However, seeing The Makluans (an alien race of giant dragons) and The Xian (god-like beings from The Seven Cities of Heaven) is likely extremely good.

The filmmaker also teased wanting to use a specific location in the first film but stopped short of revealing where that would be.

“There was one setting that we were not able to do in this movie, but I won’t say what it is because I really hope that we get to do it again in another film.”

Meanwhile, fans are crossing their fingers that the Shang-Chi franchise might be a good place to reboot the Iron Fist characters/mythology for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the film studio is seemingly rolling out new versions of the Netflix characters in projects like Hawkeye with Vincent D’Onofrio back as The Kingpin.

It’s worth mentioning that Iron Fist actress Jessica Henwick was asked to audition (not reprise the Colleen Wing role) for an unnamed part in Shang-Chi, only to make The Matrix Resurrections instead.

We’re still waiting for Disney to give Shang-Chi 2 an official release date.

SOURCE: CINEMA BLEND

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Kevin Feige Says MCU Incarnation Of Daredevil Will Be Played By Charlie Cox

Despite various online rumors, Marvel Studios didn’t end up automatically reviving the Marvel/Netflix shows on Hulu/Disney+ as it was once speculated would happen when the character rights reverted back to Marvel.

Instead, it’s been revealed by producer Nate Moore, James Gunn, and a book published by Marvel themselves that the Netflix projects produced by Jeph Loeb’s Marvel Television (later dissolved by Kevin Feige) wouldn’t be considered hard-canon Marvel Cinematic Universe shows. The exception seemingly being Agent Carter.

This led to some confusion given that Daredevil actor Charlie Cox is rumored to be showing up as Matt Murdock in both Spider-Man: No Way Home (fans bending over backward to spot him in footage) and even the upcoming legal workplace series, She-Hulk. It seems like some of those Netflix characters like Murdock/Daredevil might be getting soft reboots for the MCU.

Cinema Blend spoke with Kevin Feige, who is promoting Spider-Man: No Way Home, and indicated that when they do bring Daredevil into the fold that Charlie Cox will be playing him. However, he stopped short of saying when or where that would happen.

“If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil. Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen.”

Does this mean every Netflix actor is coming back?

There are already indications that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will be appearing this week on Hawkeye and could play the character in other future projects. However, Iron Fist actress Jessica Henwick revealed that Marvel wanted her to “audition” for a new role in Shang-Chi, which would suggest that Netflix folks just like her and Luke Cage’s Mahershala Ali (tapped to play Blade in the reboot) may find second chance roles moving forward.

Just because Feige is cherry-picking a handful of actors doesn’t mean everyone is carrying over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I think fans will just have to be a bit patient to see what characters the studio ends up keeping or recasting.

SOURCE: CINEMA BLEND

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‘Shang-Chi 2’ Officially Moving Forward With Director Destin Daniel Cretton Returning

Yesterday, it was made official via Deadline that Marvel Studios is indeed moving forward with a Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings sequel with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to both write and direct the superhero pic.

Not only that, but he’ll also develop an untitled Disney+ series that will most likely involve The Ten Rings, now being led by Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing (alluded to in the film’s button scene). It’s also possible he could be behind other things like Thunderbolt or something new like an Agents of Atlas/Atlas Empire project, we’ll just have to be patient.

Shang-Chi has been one of the more successful films of the pandemic era earning a decent $432 million at the global box office and seemed odd that Marvel/Disney took this long to announce a sequel given how well-received the film was back in September.

Iron Fist actress Jessica Henwrick recently revealed she turned down a role in Shang-Chi to join The Matrix Resurrections, will Marvel circle back to the actress for another part in the sequel? Many fans are hoping that some Iron Fist incarnation/incarnations will appear in the sequel and could align with Marvel Comics’ new Asian Iron Fist being introduced in the comics.

While it’s not entirely clear what direction the sequel will go, co-writer Dave Callaham and Cretton revealed that they might explore the origins of the rings, which was ultimately cut from the first installment and teased in the film’s big button scene suggestion the alien nature of the items. Also, giving Marvel an excuse to visit the cosmic (Fin Fang Foom) and continue the fantasy side of things.

The Ronin shared our own ideas where the franchise could be going back in September.

Shang-Chi 2 is currently without an official release date, but we shouldn’t be shocked if cameras start rolling in 2023 with a debut sometime in 2024. Given the efficiency of shooting in Australia (even during the pandemic) I could see Marvel returning to the stages of Fox Studios Australia in Sydney for the next installment.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Keanu Reeves Says “It Would Be An Honor” To Join The MCU

Canadian actor Keanu Reeves is having a bit of a second career bump thanks to the success of his action franchise, John Wick, recently seeing the fourth installment wrap production in Paris. His newfound mainstream audience popularity eventually led to Warner Bros. reviving The Matrix films with Matrix Resurrections coming out next month.

Interestingly enough, around the time of the original Matrix, Reeves was in the mix to play Wolverine in Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film. The role ultimately went to Hugh Jackman but in recent years Keanu has been vocal about finding someone else to play in the world of Marvel Comics. He had been linked to playing the lead Kraven The Hunter in Sony’s upcoming solo film and has been trying to find something in the MCU as well, rumored to have almost played Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel.

During a recent chat with Esquire to promote the Matrix sequel, Reeves reiterates his desire to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe and sounds like he’s well up-to-date with what is going on with the films/sows.

“Isn’t it bigger than a universe? It’s almost like a multiverse… It’s a Marvel-verse. It would be an honor. There’s some really amazing directors and visionaries, and they’re doing something no one’s ever really done. It’s special in that sense in terms of the scale, the ambition, the production. So it’d be cool to be a part of that,” Reeves told Esquire.

In 2019, Kevin Feige confirmed they’ve been trying to find a role for Keanu Reeves.

“We talk to him for almost every film we make. We talk to Keanu Reeves about it. I don’t know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it,” Feige told Comic Book.

He’s obviously too old to be considered for Wolverine again, but given his obsession with motorcycles for nearly 40 years and starting his own company Arch, a character like Johnny Blaze, aka, Ghost Rider feels like the perfect part for him.

SOURCE: ESQUIRE

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Marvel’s New ‘Blade’ Movie Adds Veteran Actor Delroy Lindo

Marvel Studios has been getting a string of character rights returned to the company. The rights deal expired as seen with Daredevil/Blade/Ghost Rider or in the case of X-Men/Fantastic Four, they had been absorbed into the Disney umbrella when they acquired 21st Century Fox.

In 2019, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali would be replacing Wesley Snipes as the action-horror superhero Blade in a reboot film. It was later revealed by Marvel’s Kevin Feige that Ali had directly asked about playing Blade, despite them not having current plans for the character outside of ideas of doing a series at the now-disbanded Marvel Television.

Last week, it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that veteran character Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods, The Harder They Fall) has taken a mystery role in the film from director Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli).

Days before the report, I mentioned on Twitter about Lindo joining the reboot.

Filming is said to begin the late summer but has yet to get an official release date and Marvel hasn’t confirmed if they’ll be pursuing an R-rating or not.

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.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER