Tag: Marvel Studios

Posted on in News

‘Ant-Man 3’: Director Peyton Reed Announces Filming Has Wrapped

It’s official! Ant-Man 3, aka, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania has finally wrapped production and it was announced by director Peyton Reed on Twitter, who also added a piece of concept art from artist Mark James Hiblin.

“Principal photography on Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania is now complete! Can’t wait to show you all what we’ve been up to,” the filmmaker said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

In the third installment in the Ant-Man franchise, we will see Jonathan Majors play the new big Marvel Cinematic Universal villain, Kang The Conqueror. A nastier and scarier incarnation of the variant was first seen in the Loki series earlier in the year.

Kang will be one of the first major threats from The Multiverse and could become just as big of a problem to the universe as Thanos. It’s unclear at this point if The Multiverse will be mixed together with the Quantum Realm, as the title would suggest.

We’ll have to wait and see if Marvel wants Ant-Man 4 or if the studio will decide to stop at three movies, pivoting their resources and energy into something else.

Other members of the cast include Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope, Kathryn Newton as the newest incarnation of Cassie Lang, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet, and Bill Murray confirmed his involvement not too long ago, but his part is still a mystery.

A reminder that Ant-Man 3’s impressive crew is expected to consist of production designer Will Htay (No Time To Die, Rogue One, Solo, Andor), cinematographer Bill Pope (The Matrix Trilogy, Shang-Chi Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy, Alita: Battle Angel), second unit director Dan DeLeeuw (Eternals, Avengers: Endgame), and costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ (Eternals, Jurassic World: Dominion, Ant-Man, X-Men: First Class, Hellboy II: The Golden Army).

It will debut in theaters on July 28, 2023, after Disney adjusted their Phase 4 schedule.

SOURCE: PEYTON REED

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Kevin Feige Reveals Scarlett Johansson Reteaming For “Top Secret Marvel Studios Project”

During an event where actress Scarlett Johansson received the American Cinematheque Award, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has revealed that the studio will reunite with Johansson for a top-secret project that won’t involve her character Natasha Romanoff, aka, Black Widow (via Deadline).

Johansson will also produce too after being an executive producer on Black Widow.

Among those in attendance to pay tribute to the two-time Oscar nominee was Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, who praised her for her “talent,” “vision”, intelligence and savvy, both as an actress and a producer, also teasing a “top secret Marvel Studios project” on which the studio is reteaming with the actress, which he said has nothing to do with her Black Widow character, Natasha Romanoff. Feige noted that Johansson, who became the first Marvel actor to exec produce one of the studio’s movies with Black Widow, will also serve on the upcoming project as a producer.

This comes after Johansson attempted to sue Disney after the company dismissed her calls for renegotiations when they dumped Black Widow on Disney+’s Priemer Access (streaming VOD option), which she believed would ding her bonus potential connected to box office returns by $50 million. Disney aggressively countered leading to a PR nightmare with a sexist response to the lawsuit but was ultimately resolved with a settlement.

It’ll be interesting to see what the mysterious project will be and what she’ll be doing on it outside of producing.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Former Superman Contender Jamie Dornan Has Met With Marvel Studios

Irish actor Jamie Dornan is getting a lot of awards buzz and critical praise for his lead role in the Kenneth Branagh family drama Belfast. His other credits include The Siege of Jadotville, A Private War, Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, and the spy thriller Anthropoid.

The actor spoke in-depth with The New York Times about his career, focusing on the past and future. Concerning the latter, Dornan revealed that he has met with Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige about a mystery project/role.

Dornan is open about the movies he covets, and he has met with the Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige about donning a cape and tights. “I’m more ambitious than I’ve ever let on before,” Dornan said.

What that project or role could be is a bit of mystery but we know that Marvel Studios are likely aiming to find people to lead their X-Men and Fantastic Four reboots along with rumored projects like Nova, which could be seeking someone to play Richard Rider.

It isn’t like Jamie Dornan is new to the superhero world as he was one of the many actors that auditioned to play Superman in Man of Steel before Henry Cavill (who has mentioned a desire to play Captain Britain in the MCU) was ultimately selected.

What role do you think Dornan would be perfect for?

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Posted on in Features

Dangers Of The MCU Relying Too Heavily On Multiverse Gimmicks

Yesterday evening we saw Sony Pictures finally drop the second trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home as the pic focuses on Peter Parker having to deal with at least five villains from previous Spider-Man films with Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro, The Lizard, and Sandman seen in the last two incarnations of the franchise.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero’s identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.

While the Multiverse can be a fun thing to explore, there are some landmines that Marvel Studios needs to avoid so audiences don’t get bored or exhausted by the new plot device that is expected to play a huge role in multiple films and television shows.

Story and character development shouldn’t take a backseat to Easter Egg hunts and cameos.

It’s hard to deny that the potential return of existing Marvel characters/actors has seemingly overshadowed projects like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse by focusing on cameos rather than the movie itself being able to stand on its own. Feeling like more of a marketing gimmick than doing something that serves a story, the Marvel Cinematic Universe allows for plenty of existing cameos without pulling from the Multiverse at all times.

Bringing back characters from the dead lessens the impact of those on-screen deaths.

The neverending merry-go-round of resurrecting fallen characters sort of downplays the sacrifices in previous projects. It would be a really bad idea to trot out endless versions of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff just so fans can see those actors back for fan-service reasons. Deaths become meaningless and the stakes of the universe vanish.

An example would be seeing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine showing up for a random fan-service cameo via the Multiverse which wrecks the excellent emotional send-off in Logan and would make it harder for the next Wolverine actor to be accepted.

The Multiverse becoming a plot device that will be abused just as quickly as if time-travel was the crux of an entire Phase of the MCU. Instead, letting them go and having other characters take up those mantles is sort of how it normally works in the comics and how we get multiple incarnations of those characters, to begin with.

Relying too much on nostalgia and not giving audiences new villains by recycling old ones can give the impression of a lack of ideas or imagination. While something like Loki is giving more new things by setting up a major character like Kang The Conqueror (will be fully introduced in Ant-Man 3) and the TVA. Establishing a new wing of the MCU and pushing things forward should always be the goal of these projects.

Not every superhero group or new wave of characters needs to be introduced via The Multiverse.

One problem that could develop story-wise is that instead of coming up with organic ways to introduce things like X-Men/Mutants, the Fantastic Four, Ka-Zar/Savage Land, Agents of Atlas, and Squadron Supreme in an existing MCU, they end up getting default Multiverse additions because Marvel gives up on explaining how these factions can exist in the same universe.

“Everything happens because of the Multiverse” will become dull very quickly.

Adapting alternative universes/settings like Earth X or 2099 for live-action in the future becomes less interesting or viable because the studio has already squeezed all the juice and goodwill out of the Multiverse at that point.

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‘Agatha: House Of Harkness’ Series Announced By Marvel Alongside ‘Marvel Zombies’ & ‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year’

WandaVision’s Kathryn Hahn was announced to lead her own series from Jac Schaeffer and Marvel Studios has given the Disney+ live-action project the title of Agatha: House of Harkness. They also announced two new animated series, Marvel Zombies and Spider-Man: Freshman Year.

Here’s how Marvel Studios describes the projects:

Agatha: House of Harkness will reveal more about the character first introduced in Marvel Studios’ WandaVision. Jac Schaefer, who served as head writer and executive producer on WandaVision, returns for Agatha: House of Harkness. Be sure to hide all dogs named Sparky.

The animated series from Marvel Studios reimagines the Marvel Universe as a new generation of heroes battle against an ever-spreading zombie scourge. Directed by Executive Producer Bryan Andrews and written by Executive Producer Zeb Wells.

The animated series follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots. Written by Executive Producer Jeff Trammel.

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‘X-Men ’97’ Will Be Disney+ Revival Of Popular 1990s ‘X-Men’ Cartoon

There has been talk of a revival of the beloved X-Men cartoon series from Fox Kids in the 1990s, it goes back to director and producer Larry Houston stating back in 2020 he was talking with Disney about the possibility.

Well, it looks like that animated revival is indeed moving forward.

The GWW was first to mention that a new X-Men cartoon was in the works for Disney+ and there has been confirmation from The Wrap that it is indeed happening, adding more concrete details that it will be a revival titled X-Men ’97 continue the previous series and is debuting in 2023.

They also mention that Moon Knight writer Beau DeMayo is the head writer along with the voice cast.

Head writer and executive producer on the series is Beau DeMayo. Supervising director is Jake Castorena and supervising producer is Charley Feldman. Consulting on the new series are X-Men: The Animated Series writers Eric and Julia Lewald, and director Larry Houston.

Returning cast members include: Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Adrian Hough, Christopher Britton, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alison Sealy-Smith, Alyson Court.

X-Men ‘97 is also welcoming a number of new voices to the cast, including Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, AJ LoCascio.

It was more a matter of time when the revival was announced.

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Henry Cavill Open To Playing Captain Britain For Marvel Studios

There is a huge uncertainly with actor Henry Cavill’s future in the DCEU as Superman, as while he’s still keen on the idea of returning for a Man of Steel sequel, the studio seems to be more concerned with multiple other Kryptonian cohorts.

During an extensive chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Cavill was asked about who he might want to hypothetically play within the world of Marvel if he had the chance to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brian Braddock aka Captain Britain seems to be of interest for him given he’s not often playing British characters.

“I’m never going to say a Marvel character that is already being played by someone else because everyone’s doing such an amazing job. However, I have the internet, and I have seen the various rumors about Captain Britain, and that would be loads of fun to do a cool, modernized version of that — like the way they modernized Captain America. There’s something fun about that, and I do love being British.”

As far as we know, there aren’t any official plans to use the Brit superhero anytime soon, however, he was briefly referenced as being part of SHIELD in the 1970s in Avengers: Endgame by Peggy Carter. It wouldn’t be terribly shocking if Braddock appeared in the upcoming Captain America 4 led by Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Captain America.

It wouldn’t be like Marvel hasn’t teased English superheroes before.

Kit Harington is playing Dane Whitman/Black Knight in the Eternals and there could be some linkage given the Arthurian connections. Joey Chapman aka Union Jack had an Easter Egg in Iron Man 2 as one of the racers competing against Tony Stark.

With the X-Men rights firmly at Marvel Studios, they could easily bring Braddock’s team Excalibur into the mix as well and allow for his MI6 Agent sister Betsy Braddock (becomes Psylcoke when her mind inhabits a Japanese woman, Kwannon) to join the MCU too.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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UPDATE: Old Guard Productions Confirmed As Unannounced Marvel Studios Project

Back in August, The Ronin first revealed two new LLC companies potentially being put together for upcoming Marvel Studios projects with Ionic Productions and Old Guard Productions, a month later we were able to confirm the former was indeed a Marvel project.

Well, today we can also confirm that Old Guard Productions is part of a wave of announced films/television shows coming to Marvel at some point. It’s unknown what the property will be and if it’ll be for the big or small screen.

If I had to guess, perhaps, it’s related to Jon Watt’s Fantastic Four reboot, X-Men, or maybe even something more obscure like the Marvel Comics version of Illuminati. I’m sure Winter Guard or Red Guardian projects could also make sense given David Harbour’s openness to reprising his Black Widow character.

Live-action projects on the horizon include Hawkeye, Spider-Man: No Way Home (collaboration with Sony Pictures), Ms. Marvel, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love & Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, The Marvels, Secret Invasion, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, Ironheart, Echo, Armor Wars, Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3, Blade, Captain America 4, Deadpool 3, Fantastic Four, X-Men, untitled series featuring Agatha Harkness, untitled Halloween Special, and an untitled Wakanda series from Ryan Coogler.

Here is a rundown of the recent wave of Marvel Studios LLC companies so far.

  • GRASS-FED PRODUCTIONS (SECRET INVASION)
  • BAD EGG PRODUCTIONS (IRONHEART)
  • FREQUENT PRODUCTIONS (EHCO)
  • MAGLEV TRAIN PRODUCTIONS (WAKANDA DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • NATURAL HISTORY PRODUCTIONS (DISNEY+ PROJECT)
  • BLUEBERRY WAFFLES PRODUCTIONS
  • STANDOFFISH PRODUCTIONS
  • CHANGEUP PRODUCTIONS
  • SOLVE EVERYTHING PRODUCTIONS
  • ON YOUR MARK PRODUCTIONS
  • CANTINA PRODUCTIONS
  • BATTLE ANYONE PRODUCTIONS
  • ACID POP PRODUCTIONS 
  • SPEYSIDE PRODUCTIONS 
  • RICHMOND STREET PRODUCTIONS
  • IONIC PRODUCTIONS
  • OLD GUARD PRODUCTIONS 

Between Disney+ Day and D23 this month, there are some expectations of a new wave of announcements from Marvel’s Kevin Feige, which could mean we’ll have a better idea of what these mystery projects are. People I’m sure are hoping to hear announcements for things like Nova, Namor, Young Avengers, Shang-Chi 2, and much much more. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens this month.

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‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 3’: James Gunn Announces ‘Peacemaker’ Actor Chukwudi Iwuji For Mystery Role

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 is finally moving forward at Marvel Studios with James Gunn rehired and already securing British actor Will Poulter (Midsommar) as Adam Warlock, a role that will likely continue beyond the Guardian franchise as Marvel expands the cosmic side of the MCU.

James Gunn has announced on Twitter that they’ve officially started shooting and posted an image of the cast revealing that Nigerian-British actor Chukwudi Iwuji (John Wick: Chapter 2, Peacemaker) has joined the third installment in a mystery role. Mentioning that the role is something that “every big name actor in Hollywood wanted.”

It’s unknown if that is a joke or if the role is actually that large.

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1457792078050590720

Fans are already making wild speculation about what the role could such as The High Evolutionary, Nova (Richard Rider?), and even more outlandish Norrin Radd/The Silver Surfer. However, none of these roles are confirmed despite James Gunn once writing a Silver Surfer movie for 20th Century Fox during his early screenwriting days.

The returning cast will be Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Dave Bautista as Drax, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot. 

Dave Bautista has said multiple times in interviews this will be the last time playing Drax The Destroyer, which could be telegraphing that Gunn might end up killing off the character to potentially stop Marvel from recasting the role with another actor. He’s been disillusioned by the Drax part as it hasn’t really gone into his comic book roots.

Its crew is expected to include production designer Beth Mickle (The Suicide Squad, Drive), cinematographer Henry Braham (The Suicide Squad), the visual effects supervisor will be Stephane Ceretti (Eternals, Guardians of The Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man & The Wasp), and will have Hawkeye stunt coordinator Heidi Moneymaker crafting the film’s action sequences.

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 has a release date of May 5, 2023

SOURCE: JAMES GUNN

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SPOILERS: Chloe Zhao Confirms Secret Cameo In ‘Eternals’

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ETERNALS YOU’VE BEEN WARNED*

This weekend finally sees Chloe Zhao’s MCU debut with Eternals after multiple delays due to the pandemic and brings the Jack Kirby characters to the big screen alongside Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman, aka, The Black Knight Knight.

Without getting too deep into the other big post-credit scene, a second one features Whitman and another unseen character that is only heard. Director Chloe Zhao has now confirmed to Fandom that this character is indeed Mahershala Ali’s Blade, who will lead his very own solo film directed by Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli).

Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) is by himself, staring at a case with his family crest on it. Dane has to psych himself up, saying “You can do this, you can do this,” before he opens the case and reveals a sword inside, as an eerie sound briefly erupts from within the case. Dane translates words inscribed on the inside of the case, reading “Death is my reward.” He looks down at the sword, which has some sort of strange, liquid-like movement rippling across it. As he prepares to touch the sword, Dane declares, “I’m sorry, I have to try,” only to be interrupted by the voice of a man, who we don’t see, but who says to Dane, from off-camera, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”

“That was the voice of one of my favorite superheroes, Mr. Blade himself. Blade, Blade, Blade, yeah,” Zhao tells Fandom confirming Blade’s cameo in the post-credit scene.

This isn’t a huge revelation as Mahershala Ali’s Blade was announced all the way back at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 and the reboot movie is said to begin production next year, potentially for a release date in 2023/2024.

However, Eric Brooks’ interest in the Ebony Blade or preventing Dane from using it is unclear, but it’ll be interesting to see if Blade/Brooks will be showing up in other projects before his solo film. Then again, Brooks has been known to get involved with all sorts of occult heroes and Black Knight would technically be part of that group given the supernatural death curse attached to the Ebony Blade.

Could Blade be recruiting Whitman for The Midnight Sons?

SOURCE: FANDOM