Tag: Wonder Man

'Spider-Man 4': Marvel Studios Hires 'Shang-Chi' Director Destin Daniel Cretton To Shoot Sequel Early Next Year
Posted on in Film News, News

‘Spider-Man 4’: Marvel Studios Hires ‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton To Shoot Sequel Early Next Year

In a surprising reveal today, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures have selected director Destin Daniel Cretton to helm “Spider-Man 4,” the fourth installment of their Tom Holland-led string of MCU-set Spidey movies. This comes after Destin had previously made “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings” and is still actively involved with its untitled sequel. An exciting update on the superhero pic that comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter and is backed up by other outlets like Deadline, ending over a year of speculation and rumors of who would take the reigns from Jon Watts.

Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning with an expectation that filming could begin as early next year. We shouldn’t be terribly shocked if Destin adds his own contributions to the script like he did with “Shang-Chi.”

Cretton had previously returned to the MCU with the upcoming Disney+ series “Wonder Man.”

Marvel Team-Up (1972) #141 | Comic Issues | Marvel

No official plot details have yet to be revealed for “Spider-Man 4,” but Marvel is in a very good position to do an event-level crossover with Charlie Cox‘s Matt Murdock (who briefly appeared in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as a lawyer working on behalf of Peter Parker) as the series revival “Daredevil: Born Again” has Daredevil, Punisher, and The Kingpin inhabiting the same MCU space as Parker in New York City. Perhaps, allowing the studio to bring the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man back to his roots as a crime-fighter and tackling crooks like The Hand (aligned with Wilson Fisk) and the New York City mafia by way of The Maggia (Hammerhead, Tombstone, and other mobsters could finally get their big-screen live-action debuts).

A potential mob war plot wouldn’t be exactly a stretch or challenge for Destin, as he previously tackled The Ten Rings in “Shang-Chi,” a criminal syndicate led by Shang-Chi’s father, Wenwu, and is now being overseen by his sister.

Other street-level heroes operating in the same city include Luke Cage/Power Man, Danny Rand/Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones.

The filmmaker had been once attached to make “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” before the project was re-tooled into “Avengers: Doomsday” with Robert Downey Jr. set to star as a version of Victor von Doom and landed the Russo Brothers as Cretton’s replacements.

A release date hasn’t been mentioned, but there is a good shot that “Spider-Man 4” could be ready for the summer of 2026 if production starts up in the new year.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Shang-Chi’ Director Destin Daniel Cretton Turning Beloved Manga/Anime ‘Naruto’ Into A Live-Action Movie At Lionsgate

While just the other day it was reiterated by “Shang-Chi & The Ten Rings” actor Simu Liu (“Barbie”) that writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton would still be developing/directing “Shang-Chi 2” for Marvel Studios once he wraps up with his Disney+ series “Wonder Man.” It sounds like Cretton has landed another big martial arts project and this time it’s a manga/anime adaptation.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Cretton, who recently exited “Avengers 5,” has been hired by Lionsgate to write and direct a live-action film based on “Naruto.” Given Cretton’s experience with “Shang-Chi” and “American Born Chinese,” he seems like one of the best choices to put together this feature film adaptation.

Naruto Fans Are Toasting the Series' 21st Birthday

A coming-of-age story focused on a young and enthusiastic ninja named Naruto Uzumaki who wants to grow up to be the leader of his ninja village but also happens to have the spirit of a dragon inside him. 

“Naruto” creator Masashi Kishimoto had the following to say about the hiring of Cretton for the live-action feature film incarnation:

“When I heard of Destin’s attachment, it happened to be right after watching a blockbuster action film of his, and I thought he would be the perfect director for ‘Naruto,’” said Kishimoto in a statement mentioned in THR’s article. “After enjoying his other films and understanding that his forte is in creating solid dramas about people, I became convinced that there is no other director for Naturo. In actually meeting Destin, I also found him to be an open-minded director who was willing to embrace my input, and felt strongly that we would be able to cooperate together in the production process.”

However, the one questionable aspect of the project is that Avi Arad is producing, who has been behind a string of dud “Spider-Man” spinoff movies and a “Metal Gear Solid” movie at Sony that keeps stalling despite having scripts, a director with Jordan Vogt-Roberts, and Oscar Isaac playing the lead role of Snake. We’re a little more hopeful that “Naruto” doesn’t linger in limbo with Cretton now involved.

Lionsgate of late has been really making a push to bring back their status as the action genre studio with things like a “Highlander” reboot from Chad Stahleski (“John Wick” franchise) expected to shoot this year with Henry Cavill in a lead role, Guy Ritchie‘s WWII commando action-comedy “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” led by Cavill, their “Guardians of The Galaxy” proxy film “Borderlands” (Had reshoots from “Deadpool” director Tim Miller after Eli Roth bailed to make “Thanksgiving” instead of finishing his film), “The Crow” remake from Rupert Sanders (“Ghost In The Shell”), their “John Wick” spinoff movie “Ballerina” led by Ana de Armas, and a new satirical action flick “Boy Kills World” starring Bill Skarsgård.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’ Series Adds Director Stella Meghie & ‘Mindhunter’ Actress Lauren Glazier

Marvel Studios has certainly been experimenting with genres and obscure characters when it comes to their Disney+ series with things like She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Choas, and Echo. Another upcoming project that will test the waters of what Marvel fans are willing to watch is Wonder Man. The super-strong character has villainous origins as he was given superpowers by villain Baron Zemo to then battle The Avengers but eventually shook-off his villainous ways becoming an official member of team alongside folks like Dr. Hank McCoy aka Beast and is also a Hollywood movie star, which certainly would make things complicated.

There has been a decent update coming from Deadline as the outlet has revealed that Marvel Studios has tapped Canadian director Stella Meghie (Minx, Insecure) to work on multiple episodes on the Disney+ series alongside Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty). That’s not the only update for Wonder Man, as the same outlet also announced that Mindhunter actress Lauren Glazier has joined the cast that already includes Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Watchmen) as our protagonist Simon Williams and a returning Ben Kingsley reprising his Iron Man 3 role of Trevor Slattery, last seen in Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.

It’s unknown if any of Wonder Man’s connections to Baron Zemo will actually happen in the live-action incarnations as Marvel Studios is well-known for taking liberties to the source material and the origins of their superheroes/villains. However, we’ll take any excuse to bring back Daniel Bruhl as the super-soldier hating baddie and giving us a chance to see more of Zemo’s dance moves.

We’re sure more casting announcements will be made in the near future. Stay tuned for more updates.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in News

UPDATE: Ionic Productions Confirmed To Be A Marvel Studios Project

A while back, The Ronin listed off a heap of new Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) established by the Walt Disney Company for a bunch of untitled Marvel Studios projects (film and television). We’ve been now able to confirm that one of the companies we listed off in the past, Ionic Productions LLC, is indeed at Marvel Studios.

We could theorize that Ionic Productions is alluding to characters like X-Men’s Rogue (less likely) or Avengers member Wonder Man, given the two superheroes have ionic-based powers.

At one time, Canadian actor Nathan Fillion (Slither, The Suicide Squad, Guardians of The Galaxy) was in the role of Simon Williams aka Wonder Man in James Gunn’s Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2 (was cut from the final film) and he recently played the Avengers character in Hulu’s M.O.D.O.K. series, however, it remains to be seen if he’ll return to the part in any live-action capacity.

In August, Fillion took to Twitter during The Suicide Squad watch party to campaign to play Walter Langowski aka Sasquatch in a hypothetical Alpha Flight (Canadian mutant team) project at Marvel Studios. It’s an interesting character pick since Nathan’s longtime pal Ryan Reynolds is playing Canadian mutant Wade Wilson in Deadpool 3 and could lead to those characters interacting.

Wonder Man has connections to established MCU characters such as Baron Zemo, Captain Marvel, Vision, and Scarlet Witch.

There is still a good chance this might be simply another Disney+ spinoff either focusing on Paul Bettany’s Vision (Wonder Man teaser art was spotted in a WandaVision promo) or even Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, but we’ll have to wait to get real confirmation on what the project actually is.

Wonder Man concept art appeared in WandaVision promo

In May, WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer signed an overall deal with Marvel Studios/20th Century Television, but future projects haven’t been announced. If this turns out to be Wonder Man, given the concept art in the WandaVision production office, I wouldn’t be shocked if Schaeffer is involved given her extended deal with Marvel.

It’s noteworthy to mention WandaVision’s LLC was Static Productions, so a connection to characters from the show wouldn’t be a surprise to us.

Old Guard Productions LLC is another LLC we first uncovered that is expected to be for Marvel Studios, but we’ll still trying to get that one confirmed. It’ll be interesting to see if Old Guard might be liked to X-Men, Fantastic Four, Winter Guard/Red Guardian, or the original Guardians of The Galaxy lineup (who appeared in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2).

Here is a rundown of the other LLCs.

  • 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 (UNCONFIRMED)

There is certainly an expectation while this stuff is for new projects (sequels don’t get new LLC names), some of the LLCs are likely for known/announced things like Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four or stuff that hasn’t been made official like X-Men/Secret Wars/Avengers 5/Silver Surfer.

New animation projects for the Disney+ lineup are also coming from Marvel.

Other live-action projects on the horizon include Eternals, 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, and an untitled Wakanda series from Ryan Coogler.

Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige could easily announce the new film titles at D23 Expo and then television projects at the Disney+ Day event on November 12, as an info dump by the end of the year on their upcoming slate is expected.

Posted on in Television News

Marvel’s ‘M.O.D.O.K.’ Series Adds Jon Hamm, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Fillion & Bill Hader To The Voice Cast

Today, it was revealed at WonderCon@Home’s Q&A for the upcoming animated Marvel series M.O.D.O.K. that they’ve added some big names to the voice cast. Those new names include Jon Hamm as Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Whoopi Goldberg as the villain Poundcakes, Nathan Fillion getting a second crack at Wonder Man, and lastly Bill Hader will be doing double duty voicing both The Leader and Angar The Screamer.

They’ll be joining a well-rounded main cast that consists of Patton Oswalt, Melissa Fumero, Aimee Garcia, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ben Schwartz, Beck Bennett, Jon Daly, and Sam Richardson.

The series will debut May 21, 2021 on Hulu.

In “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.,” the megalomaniacal supervillain M.O.D.O.K. has long pursued his dream of one day conquering the world. But after years of setbacks and failures fighting the Earth’s mightiest heroes, M.O.D.O.K. has run his evil organization A.I.M. into the ground. Ousted as A.I.M.’s leader, while also dealing with his crumbling marriage and family life, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing is set to confront his greatest challenge yet!

You can check out the full panel below along with a special cameo and nifty clip.

SOURCE: WONDERCON@HOME

Posted on in Television News

‘WandaVision’ Featurette Seems To Confirm Wonder Man Appearance – Will Nathan Fillion Reprise The Avenger?

A full room of concept art in a new WandaVision featurette might have revealed a special cameo. A piece of artwork featuring fellow Avenger Wonder Man has been spotted which could mean the character may end up in the Marvel Studios series that has already started airing on Disney+. You can see the Marvel superhero with the “W” on his chest in the top left corner in the image below.

You might not remember but Simon Williams aka Wonder Man had once been set to appear in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2 and played by Nathan Fillion, there were multiple faux movie posters made up with him as Williams. The cameo was ultimately cut from the film and it remains to be seen if the actor would be asked to reprise the role again if he’s truly in WandaVision.

SOURCE: DISNEY+