SPOILERS: Episode 8 of ‘WandaVision’ Pulls The Curtain Revealing Multiple Motivations

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR WANDAVISION AHEAD

Last week, it was finally revealed that everything bad that was happening withing the Hex bubble was Agnes, who was rumored during production is actually Agatha Harkness. Not exactly a villain in the comic books, but seeming is a villain in the MCU. Episode 8 starts off showing her in the 1600s killing her own coven of witches including her own mother and potentially stealing their powers after they accuse her of using dark magic.

Agatha, a witch who uses spells, has been trying to figure out how Wanda was able to change reality and resurrect Vision. She uses the twins as a way to force Wanda show her how she was able to change things on such a large scale and I assume steal the power for herself. Yet again, it’s confirmed that Evan Peters version of Pietro isn’t Wanda’s brother and was used to manipulate her. Sorry folks, no Singerverse era of X-Men for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While Agatha has been meddling, it’s really was Wanda behind the Hex and bringing an entirely new version of Vision out of thin air. Something that completely puzzles/frustrates Agatha as Wanda is able to do such “magic” effortlessly and without spells.

Watching old sitcoms being Wanda’s way of dealing with grief and explaining the homages, as her father Oleg Maximoff used to bring them home as a way for the kids to practice their English. This further illustrates that Magneto won’t be showing up in some secret cameo.

During the flashbacks it’s revealed that Hayward lied in earlier episodes when he said Wanda broke into the S.W.O.R.D. facility and stole Vision’s body parts, as we see see a flashback to her being let in and calmly leaving without him.

We also see the real motivations of S.W.O.R.D. and Director Hayward as they were trying to nudge Wanda to resurrect the dead body of Vision so they could use him as a weapon. Wanda conjures a new version of Vision which is likely why Hayward had been attempting to track him within the Hex bubble. Hayward and S.W.O.R.D. have been trying to figure out how to power-up Vision and in the end credit scene use the Hex charged drone to bring their version of zombie Vision back online. He’s is now ghostly white (a nod to the comic books) and will likely be used as a weapon against Wanda in the next episode.

The episode ends with Harkness holding the twins and calling Wanda the Scarlet Witch as she uses chaos magic, the first time Wanda has ever been referred to her X-Men name.

Episode 9 feels like it’s going to be some sort of standoff and possible establish the events of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. It’s a smart move on the part of Marvel Studios as people following WandaVision will likely be more inclined to go see the Doctor Strange sequel. The original while a fine installment, but wasn’t the most memorable or anticipated Marvel film to date and didn’t set the box office on fire.

It’ll be interesting to see if further trauma (possibly in Episode 9) pushes Wanda to become a villain herself or if Agatha/someone else is revealed as the main antagonist for the Doctor Strange sequel.

‘Secret Invasion’: Kevin Feige Says They Won’t Have As Many As Characters The Comic But Will Tap Into The Paranoia

We knew that a Nick Fury series was on the way from Marvel Studios and it was confirmed during the Disney Investor Day event as Secret Invasion starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn returning as Skrull leader Talos

The Secret Invasion is a story in Marvel Comics that reveals various characters had replaced with the alien baddies Skrulls leading to a huge clash between superpowered Skrulls mimicking the powers of many Marvel heroes and villains. This element had been directly connected to the Fantastic Four rights via the Super-Skrull, but with those rights finally returning to Marvel it allows them to use those other Skrull abilities beyond shapeshifting. 

In the comics, it’s a massive event on the level of Avengers: Endgame but the series seemingly won’t be on that scale according to Kevin Feige while speaking with Comic Book to promote WandaVision‘s debut on Disney+ later this month. Revealing that fans shouldn’t expect the volume of characters in the show as the comic since they’ll be focusing on Sam and Ben’s characters. 

FEIGE: “Well, there were more characters in the Secret Invasion comic series than there were in Endgame so, no. It’s not that but it very much is a showcase for Sam Jackson and Ben Mendelson and tapping into the paranoia elements of the Secret Invasion comic series that was great with the twists and turns that that took. So, that’s certainly our focus more than, ‘Can we cram in more characters than Endgame? like publishing?'”

Expectations certainly need to be tempered a bit considering that the Marvel series will have more limitations with more targeted casting than the films because the time commitment to a series is likely a lot more of an ask than with a feature film with a runtime of two-plus hours. 

S.W.O.R.D. is all but assumed to be involved in the series and will be introduced in WandaVision

The series is expected to shoot around the same time as Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2 in the United Kingdom, so there is a good shot that there could be some crossover with those characters rather than others that might be harder to connect. We’ll be excited to hear if the project will indeed have a direct crossover with Olivia Wilde‘s Spider-Woman film given that Jessica Drew has a role to play in Secret Invasion

Stay tuned for more information on the Skrull event in the coming months.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ Debut Officially Delayed To January 15th On Disney+

The mystery of WandaVision’s release date has been finally solved!

While there was an expectation back in August that they would be able to begin airing episodes before the end of 2020, that isn’t the case. Disney has officially announced on social media that the series will begin airing on Disney+ starting on January 15th.

Many fans had tried to convince themselves that WandaVision could be ready before December but that obviously wasn’t realistic given that production delays due to COVID-19 has seemingly impacted multiple Marvel Studios even the film slate.

Back in August, in The Ronin’s report on the delay of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier to sometime in 2021 there had been an expectation that WandaVision was much further along in the production/post-production process and could have been ready in late 2020.

Fans will really need to dig deep down to find their patience because targeted release dates are written in sand and not stone. We’ll likely see many more delays and shifts throughout 2021 as situations are influx leading to date changes/production pauses.

This news would confirm that 2020 will be the first year without new MCU projects in a long time.

Other live-action series officially on the way include Loki, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Hawkeye.

WANDAVISION – Marvel Studios’ WandaVision blends the style of classic sitcoms with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany)—two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Disney To Prioritize Content For Their Streaming Services From Sports, Television, and Film Arms – Adds New Division Called Media & Entertainment Distribution

Yesterday, the Walt Disney Company announced a new initiative to get more content going for its streaming services such as Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu from its sports, television, and film divisions. The new division will be called The Media & Entertainment Distribution group led by Kareem Daniel. 

It sounds like they’ll be dedicating a lot more resources and money than they have previously as means to compete with competitors like Netflix and Amazon. However, this announcement says nothing about them throwing their 2021 theatrical slate on Disney+ and never mention a thing about ending theatrical releases altogether only pushing to place more content on their streaming services. 

We will get more details on these plans on December 10th. 

During an interview with CNBC, Disney’s new CEO Bob Chapek was quick to point out that they aren’t looking to stop the theatrical experience and would be announcing further details. 

Also, specifically downplayed COVID-19’s role in the decision. 

CHAPEK: “I would not characterize it as a response to Covid. I would say Covid accelerated the rate at which we made this transition, but this transition was going to happen anyway. Because essentially what we want to do is separate out folks who make our wonderful content based on tremendous franchises from the decision making in terms of prioritization is on how it gets commercialized into the marketplace. And what we want to do is leave it to a group of folks you can really see objectively across all of the constituents we have and various considerations we’ve got and make the optimal decision for the company as opposed to having it predetermined that a movie is destined to theaters or that a TV show is destined for ABC. So what we really want to do is provide some level of objectivity and really make it a decision that benefits the overall company and its shareholders.”

When pressed on Disney’s commitment to the theatrical model Bob said the following that gives the impression they’re not giving up on the theatrical model just yet. 

CHAPEK: “We’ve benefited from a tremendous relationship with theatrical exhibition for many many many years as dynamics change in the marketplace though we want to make sure that we are giving consumers who want to go to theaters to experience everything that a theatrical release can give them, we want to continue to give them that option but at the same time there are a lot of consumers that want to experience a movie in the safety, comfort, and convenience of their own home for whatever reasons they do.”

To me, it sounds like either they are going to pursue a shorter theatrical window or a mixed model of day-and-date which obviously the theater industry wouldn’t be terribly pleased about on either front. 

Here is the official press release from the Walt Disney Company website that gets a little more into the weeds about what all this means.  

In light of the tremendous success achieved to date in the Company’s direct-to-consumer business and to further accelerate its DTC strategy, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) today announced a strategic reorganization of its media and entertainment businesses. Under the new structure, Disney’s world-class creative engines will focus on developing and producing original content for the Company’s streaming services, as well as for legacy platforms, while distribution and commercialization activities will be centralized into a single, global Media and Entertainment Distribution organization. The new Media and Entertainment Distribution group will be responsible for all monetization of content—both distribution and ad sales—and will oversee operations of the Company’s streaming services. It will also have sole P&L accountability for Disney’s media and entertainment businesses.

The creation of content will be managed in three distinct groups—Studios, General Entertainment, and Sports—headed by current leaders Alan F. Horn and Alan Bergman, Peter Rice, and James Pitaro. The Media and Entertainment Distribution group will be headed by Kareem Daniel, formerly President, Consumer Products, Games and Publishing. All five leaders will report directly to Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. Disney Parks, Experiences and Products will continue to operate under its existing structure, led by Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, who continues to report to Mr. Chapek. Rebecca Campbell will serve as Chairman, International Operations and Direct-to-Consumer. Bob Iger, in his role as Executive Chairman, will continue to direct the Company’s creative endeavors.

“Given the incredible success of Disney+ and our plans to accelerate our direct-to-consumer business, we are strategically positioning our Company to more effectively support our growth strategy and increase shareholder value,” Mr. Chapek said. “Managing content creation distinct from distribution will allow us to be more effective and nimble in making the content consumers want most, delivered in the way they prefer to consume it. Our creative teams will concentrate on what they do best—making world-class, franchise-based content—while our newly centralized global distribution team will focus on delivering and monetizing that content in the most optimal way across all platforms, including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ and the coming Star international streaming service.”

Under the new structure, the Company’s three content groups will be responsible and accountable for producing and delivering content for theatrical, linear and streaming, with the primary focus being the Company’s streaming services:

  • STUDIOS: Messrs. Horn and Bergman will serve as Chairmen, Studios Content, which will focus on creating branded theatrical and episodic content based on the Company’s powerhouse franchises for theatrical exhibition, Disney+ and the Company’s other streaming services. The group will include the content engines of The Walt Disney Studios, including Disney live action and Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
  • GENERAL ENTERTAINMENT: Mr. Rice will serve as Chairman, General Entertainment Content, which will focus on creating general entertainment episodic and original long-form content for the Company’s streaming platforms and its cable and broadcast networks. The group will include the content engines of 20th Television, ABC Signature and Touchstone Television; ABC News; Disney Channels; Freeform; FX; and National Geographic.
  • SPORTS: Mr. Pitaro will serve as Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content, which will focus on ESPN’s live sports programming, as well as sports news and original and non-scripted sports-related content, for the cable channels, ESPN+, and ABC.

The Media and Entertainment Distribution group, led by Mr. Daniel, will be responsible for the P&L management and all distribution, operations, sales, advertising, data and technology functions worldwide for all of the Company’s content engines, and it will also manage operations of the Company’s streaming services and domestic television networks. The group will work in close collaboration with the content creation teams on programming and marketing.

It’ll be interesting to see if Disney+ will start mining IP from the 20th Century Studios side of things soon as Disney+ series and limited series focused on properties like Avatar and Planet of The Apes could be extremely successful. In the press release they suggest that they could end up making episodic projects based on 20th Century properties.

A live-action Flash Gordon series stands out as a property that Disney really could do justice with on Disney+ and be a counter of sorts to their Star Wars shows as it could be way more swashbuckling than the Lucasfilm property that was inspired by it. Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love & Thunder, Jojo Rabbit) is attached to direct an animated Flash Gordon film and at one time 20th Century was developing a live-action feature as well from directors Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Stardust, Layer Cake) and Julius Avery (Overlord) involved at different points.

I wouldn’t even put it past Disney to reboot John Carter eventually given the Volume/StageCraft would allow them to make a series more cost effective that world like Flash Gordon is different enough from Star Wars it would be worth pursuing.

Of course, this could mean a major influx of more shows from Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar universes but might also see Hulu getting a bump of adult content as well with franchises like Alien (Noah Hawley pitched an Alien series to FX) and Predator just collecting dust while they could be helpful to get more eyeballs on Hulu. HBO Max had recently crowed about Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series Raised By Wolves being the most popular original on their service when announcing they were moving forward with a Season 2 order. 

Matthew Vaughn has also been talking up the idea of a Kingsman spinoff series that could fit nicely at Hulu.

Disney certainly has a massive gap in the adult market and places like Canada don’t have access to Hulu and that really needs to change if they want to compete with Netflix/Amazon on an international level as those services offer content to both kids and adults alike. Cornering the kid market just won’t be enough for Disney if they want to grow their streaming presence. 

I guess we’ll have to wait for December 10th to get more concrete answers about what all this actually means for content that is already in the can or is about to begin filming. 

SOURCE: CNBC & DISNEY

Samuel L. Jackson Reportedly Reprising Nick Fury Role For New Disney+ Series From Kyle Bradstreet – Is This The S.W.O.R.D. Show?

Samuel L. Jackson will return to the Nick Fury role for an unnamed Marvel Studios series for Disney+ according to a report from Variety. Kyle Bradstreet will write and executive produce. His television credits include Mr. Robot, Berlin Station, and Cooper.

The exact plot details of the show are being kept under wraps, but multiple sources say Jackson is attached to star with Kyle Bradstreet attached to write and executive produce. Like all the other Marvel shows at Disney Plus, Marvel Studios will produce.

Variety stops short from saying what the new series which most likely is the rumored S.W.O.R.D. series. The last time we saw Nick Fury was on a space station being built by Skrulls in outer space and we’ll see S.W.O.R.D. introduced later this year in WandaVision with what looks like Monica Rambeau is an Agent of S.W.O.R.D.

S.W.O.R.D. could become the Phase 4 replacement of S.H.I.E.L.D. given that future threats in the MCU are most likely going to be coming from beyond the stars and the Multiverse. With Skrulls on Earth and established there is also the possibility that a version of the Secret Invasion could also be explored.

I’m sure fans will be hopeful that if this turns out to be a S.W.O.R.D. series that characters such as Abigail Brand will be involved and with Cobie Smulder’s television series Stumptown being cancelled I wouldn’t be shocked if Maria Hill is eventually attached.

Captain Marvel 2 has director Nia DaCosta attached and there is an expectation that S.W.O.R.D. will have large presence for Earthbound scenes in that sequel allowing for Fury, Monica Rambeau, and even possibly Ms Marvel aka Kamala Khan to get involved.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Tatiana Maslany’s ‘She-Hulk’ Could Become The MCU’s Crossover Queen

Yesterday, Deadline reported that Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany (Perry Mason, Destroyer, Orphan Black) had landed the Marvel Studios role of Jennifer Walters for the upcoming superhero comedy series She-Hulk that will be exclusively on Disney+, airing possibly in 2022 given the VFX involved. 

The Emmy winning actress had previously tested for major roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so Tat had been on Disney’s radar for quite some time now. 

Jennifer is a defense attorney and cousin of Bruce Banner, who transforms into the superheroine She-Hulk after a blood transfusion from Bruce gives her superpowers of her own. 

The series is expected to skew more comedic given that Jessica Gao (Rick & Morty) is the head writer and they’ve seemingly hired Kat Coiro (The Mick, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) to direct multiple episodes. It’s also said that Mark Ruffalo may reprise the Bruce Banner/Professor Hulk role for the show to help connect Jennifer to the greater MCU. 

Kevin Feige has confirmed that these new Disney+ characters would most certainly make the jump to the feature films and She-Hulk has the potential to become their next big crossover characters given that is how she was utilized in the comics books. 

Here is a rundown of just some of the film projects I think she makes the most sense for. 

SPIDER-MAN 3: There have been plenty of team-ups over the years in Marvel Comics and planting seeds for upcoming projects has always been something Marvel Studios has always been keen on doing. 

Spider-Man 3 is a strong candidate to introduce the regular human version of Jennifer Walters before the She-Hulk series. 

At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Quentin Beck aka Mysterio’s death was spun as murder at the hands of Spidey by J. Jonah Jameson and he also outed his secret identity as Peter Parker. Plenty of fans have suggested that Peter Parker if caught by authorities would be in great need of a defense attorney. A noble profession that doesn’t only fall on the shoulders of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil in Marvel Comics but also Walters, who happens to specialize in superpowered cases. 

Interestingly enough, Jennifer has a connection to J. Jonah Jameson as she married J. Jonah Jameson’s son John Jameson aka Man-Wolf. 

A nifty connection to the Spider-Man franchise is that Tatiana just happened to co-star in the Boston bombing drama Stronger alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Quentin Beck aka Mysterio.

It is worth noting that according to production grids (take with a grain of salt) making the rounds online both Spider-Man 3 and She-Hulk shoots are expected to overlap at some point next year in Atlanta, Georgia. This potential shooting schedule could theoretically allow Tatiana shoot scenes as Walters due to the proximity to each other, but this is only speculation. 

Potentially seeing Jennifer seriously injured during the events of Spider-Man 3 via a villain trying to kill Peter Parker just might be a reason to lead to her cousin Bruce Banner to give her the blood transfusion that not only saves her life but gives her superpowers. A perfect way to help establish her origin outside of the Disney+ series and also connect her to the MCU beyond Banner.

There is also the possibility that Spider-Man 3 sees Parker simply on the run from authorities with the help of parental figures Happy Hogan and Nick Fury being tracked down by the film’s villains. 

I don’t see the entire film being a courtroom drama, do you? But if Peter needs a lawyer, Jennifer could be easily suggested by Bruce or Happy. 

FANTASTIC FOUR: After the merger between Disney and 21st Century Fox, Marvel Studios finally got full rights to use both the X-Men and characters connected to the Fantastic Four. 

She-Hulk happens to be an official member of the team.

While there have been hints that there is quiet development on the MCU reboot of the franchise (via Slove Everything Productions LLC), neither a director nor screenwriter has been officially announced by the studio. 

Ant-Man 3 will include Avengers villain Kang The Conqueror played by Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors, who happens to be a villainous ancestor of Reed Richards from the future. Nothing says at the moment that Marvel Studios will carry over that tiny family connection from the comics with the MCU version of Kang but it is worth considering. 

I’m also extremely hopeful that the Fantastic Four franchise will be an excellent excuse for Kevin Feige to take a second crack at The Inhumans, as Crystal was a member of the team. The introduction of Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel in her own Disney+ series, who is part of The Inhumans, would certainly open the door for the studio to explore those other characters in more accurate way than the sub-par ABC series. 

Marvel Studios is expected to make some announcement soon if they are indeed gearing up to shoot Fantastic Four within the next two years or so.

SECRET WARS AKA AVENGERS 5: The Fantastic Four wasn’t the only big-league superhero team that Jennifer joined as she was part of the Mighty Avengers and could easily be involved with the Secret Wars lineup given she was included in the original comic book run. 

The Russo Brothers have teased an interest to tackle the Secret Wars as a follow-up to their box office smashing Marvel film Avengers: Endgame. I’m sure if Secret Wars does materialize they’ll want to wait for the Eternals, Fantastic Four, and X-Men to be well established beforehand so they’re not spending all their time on character introductions. 

Romance hasn’t been a huge part of the MCU but Eternals is expected to change that slightly and could allow She-Hulk’s love life to be explored in the series and films. 

In more recent comics, Thor and Jennifer are in a relationship that could be used for future films. 

She-Hulk has also has had romantic encounters with Hercules and Eros of Titan aka Starfox the womanizing brother of Thanos both are expected to be part of the Eternals franchise the two just happen to be fellow members of The Avengers. Gemma Chan’s Sersi and Kit Harington’s Black Knight are likely also going to join the Avengers ranks just like their comic book counterparts. 

A-FORCE: Marvel actresses approached Kevin Feige on the set of Avengers: Endgame to pitch him an all-female superhero film which most have suggested could be a live-action version of A-Force. A feature film that could easily see characters like She-Hulk among those ranks. 

I also wouldn’t rule-out cameos in stuff like Thor: Love & Thunder, Ant-Man 3, and Captain Marvel 2 to help establish Jennifer’s relationships with Hope (a surrogate for Janet), Valkyrie, and Danvers leading up to an A-Force film. 

There is a lot of crossover potential with a character like She-Hulk and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of her in the future beyond this Disney+ series. 

Olivia Wilde Talks About Landing Her Rumored ‘Spider-Woman’ Movie and Teases Marvel Studios Involvement

There has been an assumption since it was reported that Booksmart director Olivia Wilde was hired for an unnamed Marvel film for Sony Pictures, rumored to be Spider-Woman, that Marvel Studios would be involved as a co-producer. Potentially making the film for Sony like they are with the three Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland. 

While reaffirming she landed the gig during a chat with the podcast Shut Up Evan hosted by Evan Ross Katz (via Entertainment Weekly), Wilde invoked the name of Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige but stopped short from saying Marvel Studios are directly involved with the project or even confirming its indeed Spider-Woman. 

WILDE: “God, listen to me trying to avoid Kevin Feige’s pellet gun.”

Olivia went on to talk about more women being able to bring their own perspectives to the superhero film genre which is has been dominated by male directors/writers. 

WILDE: “Look, we are seeing this incredible influx of female directors and storytellers getting to take hold of this genre, of the superhero space, and infuse it with their own perspective. So, not only do I get to tell this story as a director, but I get to develop this story, and that was what made it so incredible for me.”

“I’m just honored to be amongst this wave of women who are showing up and saying ‘we are not only going to step in and try and tell this story like men do, we’re actually going to reframe the stories themselves. And the industry is, as far as I can tell, really supportive of that. There is a sea change and it’s because of these decades of trailblazers who demanded this over and over and over again and it’s finally broken through and I’m very fortunate to be there with it.”

I’m not entirely convinced just yet that is will be another Sony/Marvel co-production as they haven’t come out and made this official. I don’t really understand why they would hide this information after the report of Wilde was directing the film and her confirmation, unless they’re waiting for some event to make the big announcement. 

Then again, Jessica Drew the traditional version of Spider-Woman, is a product of HYDRA brainwashing (not unlike The Winter Soldier) with a connection to Captain America villain Ophelia Sarkissian aka Viper (also known as Madame Hydra), who pretended to be Jessica’s birth mother. Jessica also became an Agent of S.W.O.R.D., the cosmic counterpart of S.H.I.E.L.D. that will be introduced in WandaVision and is expected to have a larger role in Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2.

Drew did not debut in the pages of Spider-Man comic books and means that Marvel Studios has direct access to her.

Even with movies like Venom, Morbius, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Kraven The Hunter you’ll see them interact directly with Marvel Entertainment (still under Kevin Feige’s purview), their liaison branch, does work alongside filmmakers and studio producers at Sony Pictures to make sure the characters are being properly represented to the public. 

She may have genuinely spoken with Kevin Feige but it remains to be seen if this was via Marvel Entertainment or Marvel Studios, I’ll be hoping for the latter alongside everyone else. 

Olivia Wilde is currently busy directing the New Line Cinema thriller Don’t Worry Darling starring Florence Pugh, Dakota Johnson, Chris Pine, and Harry Styles, which takes in a California desert community during the 1950s. 

SOURCE: SHUT UP EVAN 

FEATURE: ‘Captain Marvel 2′ Guaranteed To Include Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau In A Significant Role

We finally got a big update on Captain Marvel 2 with the hiring of director Nia DaCosta and it might be yet another hint that Marvel Studios is preparing to give Monica Rambeau a sizable role in the upcoming sequel. 

Here is a string of reasons why actress Teyonah Parris will likely be showing up in Captain Marvel 2 as Monica. 

  • A young Monica Rambeau was introduced in Captain Marvel setting up Carol’s friendship with her mother Maria, a fellow female Air Force pilot. 
  • An adult Monica Rambeau will appear alongside S.W.O.R.D. (cosmic counterpart to S.H.I.E.L.D.) in WandaVision, played by actress Teyonah Parris. Both having an important role to play in Captain Marvel 2 wouldn’t be at all shocking. 
  • WandaVision writer Megan McDonnell is currently working on the sequel’s script and has already tackled the character.
  • Captain Marvel 2 director Nia DaCosta recently worked with Teyonah Parris on her horror film Candyman
  • Rambeau took on the Captain Marvel mantle before Carol Danvers in 1982. She more recently uses the hero name Spectrum, a member of the Ultimates team alongside Carol Danvers and T’Challa aka Black Panther.
  • There is a good shot that Monica could replace Nick Fury as Carol’s buddy/sidekick in the sequel as their friendship was previously established.

‘Captain Marvel 2’ Reportedly Adds ‘Candyman’ Director Nia DaCosta

It looks like another Phase 4 film has landed a director!

Deadline is reporting that Marvel has chosen a new director for Captain Marvel 2 instead of bringing back Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, who directed the first installment. According to the new report they’ve hired Nia DaCosta the director of Little Woods and the upcoming Candyman film for MGM Studios that is produced by Jordan Peele.

This news has yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios or Disney.

Brie Larson is returning as Carol Danvers and it’s a little unknown when cameras will begin rolling.

Considering the current release date of the film is July 8th, 2022, starting production next spring/summer would make sense, however, it’s unknown if the backlog of projects at Marvel Studios due to COVID-19 will have an impact on that.

Feature films like Thor: Love & Thunder, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man 3, and Ant-Man 3 are most likely going to shoot in 2021 alongside various new Disney+ shows. There is a small chance that stuff like Black Panther 2 and Captain Marvel 2 might see their shoots pushed to 2022 with rescheduled release dates sometime in 2023.

Details on the upcoming project are scarce but with WandaVision‘s Megan McDonnell having been tapped to write the sequel this would suggest that it could have a huge connection to S.W.O.R.D. (S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intergalactic counterpart) and an adult Monica Rambeau played by Teyonah Parris, both being introduced in the Disney+ series.

We most likely will see the return of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, who last we saw was busy on vacation as a group of Skrulls were building a space station. That station would most likely end up being The Peak or another base of operations for S.W.O.R.D. considering that humans aren’t likely able to building something like that as quickly as Skrulls.

It remains to be seen if Ms. Marvel‘s Kamala Khan will also join the project but there is a good shot the teenager might have a role to play in Captain Marvel 2.

There have been unconfirmed internet rumors of the sequel tackling the Secret Invasion storyline from the comics. That might just be a little too ambitious given the scale of that story and the volume of heroes/actors needed to be involved for that to come together.

SOURCE: DEADLINE