Over the course of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, an ongoing feud was established between Obi-Wan Kenobi and the cybernetic Separatist General Grievous. Star Wars fans will remember well how the feud ended but some interesting new comments from series’ writer Henry Gilroy indicate it could have started much differently.
I’m an interview with /Film, Gilroy revealed that while crafting Grievous’ origins, Star Wars creator George Lucas initially considered giving him a much more personal connection to Kenobi.
George was considering that Grievous was Maul behind the armor plate. It made sense. He’s cut in half, and he’s in this robot body or whatever. I’m glad that Grievous is his own thing anyway, but I thought it was interesting that the concept guys almost talked George into that
Henry Gilroy
Maul and Kenobi’s paths first crossed on Naboo where Kenobi and his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, battled the Dathomirian Sith Lord. After Maul killed Jinn, Kenobi avenged his Master’s death by cutting the Sith in half, apparently ending his story. Obviously, Lucas went in an entirely different direction with Grievous instead, choosing to craft his origins from scratch which also allowed for the creators of The Clone Wars and Rebels to find a way to bring Maul back into canon. Maul’s rage and ongoing feud with Kenobi served as a recurring plot point in the animated series until the two dueled again. Though Kenobi won their rematch and killed Maul, the two reconciled in Maul’s final moments.
While the idea of Grievous being Maul may have been compelling, choosing to go a different route proved to create not only a second, worthy antagonist for the franchise but also give Maul fascinatingly rich follow-up chapters to his own story, ultimately serving the franchise in the best possible way.
In 2019, Kevin Feige announced that Marvel Studios was developing a FantasticFour film much to the excitement of fans of the property. Four years and two directos later, little is known about the upcoming project. No actors have been announced for any member of the First Family and only the vaguest of rumored details about the potential plot have made their way online. However, according to a new rumor, the film’s villain may have been revealed.
Twitter users My Time To Shine Hello and Tom Smith have indicated that Galactus will be the villain of 2025’s Fantastic Four.
The rumors kicked off during a Q&A with My Time To Shine Hello. When asked who the main villain of the project would be, she simply stated “Galactus.” A matter of hours later, Smith backed up the claim that Galactus would be involved.
Starting off the franchise with a threat such as Galactus would be a bold move for Marvel Studios. While the character is one of the most well-known antagonists of the team in the comics, it’s been generally believed Marvel would start out with a less enormous threat. It’s unknown what route director Matt Shakman‘s adaptation of the character might take, but hopefully, if the rumors are true, fans will get to see Galactus fully revealed as Jack Kirby intended and not a cloud of cosmic dust in the wind.
Marvel Studios 2024 team-up film, Thunderbolts, has been in the news quite a bit recently as rumors about one of Marvel’s crazier characters, Sentry, have excited fans. The film is set to introduce the titular team, under the watch of Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Val, to the MCU. Among the team are a trio of characters who debuted in 2021’s Black Widow and it seems like that’s more than just a coincidence.
In an Instagram post, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park explained that Thunderbolts is serving as a sequel to Black Widow.
It’s not the first time the comparison has been made, but having Park seemingly confirm it is fantastic and gives fans an idea of what to expect from the tone of the film…and who the lead might be.
As word came that Titans and DoomPatrol were coming to the end of their run on HBO Max, fans of the two DC streaming series voiced their displeasure online. One such fan took to Twitter to blame newly christened co-chairs of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran, for the cancellations. As usual, however, Gunn used social media to set the record straight.
“The decision to end the series precedes us,” said Gunn. He added, “But I certainly wish the best for the talented group of creators, actors and the rest of the crew that produced both shows.“
The decision to end the series precedes us. But I certainly wish the best for the talented group of creators, actors, and the rest of the crew that produced both shows. https://t.co/jdqDc9TqU1
The two series have grown devoted followings over the years with DoomPatrol routinely being among the most well-received DC projects. Gunn is expected to make news soon by revealing some of the projects on the new DC Studios’ slate.
New information from insider Daniel RPK seems to have indicated that a Variant of Kang known as Victor Timely is set to make his debut in the MCU in 2023. Via his Patreon, Daniel RPK shared that Loki Season 2 will feature another new Variant of Jonathan Majors‘ Kang who is “an inventor from the past wanting to buy stuff from people to affect the future.” Though RPK added he could not confirm that this Variant will be Victor Timely, speculation about the character has revolved around that identity. This isn’t the first time the character’s name has come up, either, given that the insider teased a mention or appearance of Timely in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Who is Victor Timely and why are so many fans sure this is him? Fascinating questions to which there are probably multiple great answers, to be sure, and while we can’t provide the correct answer we can theorize!
Who is Victor Timely?
Interior art from Avengers Annual #21(1992)
Kang is a complex villain and the convoluted and continuous retconning of the character in the pages of Marvel Comics over the years has made a true understanding of him daunting. In one respect, that’s actually worked in the favor of those penning whatever the latest adventures of the character are because they can be as mysterious and crazy as they want given pretty much nobody knows exactly what went on with Kang to begin with and when time travel is involved, anything is possible…and that is the essence of Victor Timely.
Victor Timely’s origins come from a retcon to Kang’s story first published in 1992’s Avengers Annual #21. The issue tells the story of what happened following Kang’s first defeat at the hands of the Avengers. Kang retreated to the past, where under the alias of Victor Timely he founded a city and rose to fame as an inventor and industrialist. His work as Timely quietly shaped the century while he built a fantastical and quasi-temporal base of operations, Chronopolis, from where he could access timelines that other versions of himself had conquered. On Earth, Timely worked from a location–complete with a door that transported him to Chronopolis–and his advancements in technology ultimately put his products into every robot, cyborg and computer, allowing him full access to nearly every piece of technology on the Earth.
Why Does Victor Timely Make Sense for the MCU at This Point in Time?
The short answer is time. One of the reasons fans debated whether or not Kang would make for an appropriate villain in the MCU is the convoluted nature of the character’s comic book past. Marvel Studios seems to have addressed that fairly well in Season 1 of Loki by indicating that He Who Remains was the victor of a Multiversal War among Kangs who has since spent his time pruning timelines and making sure that the Multiverse doesn’t come back into existence and bring Kang Variants back with it. When Sylvie killed He Who Remains, it set loose a chain reaction of events (the repercussions of which will be explored in Season 2 of Loki) including the emergence of an infinite number of Kangs. It’s all pretty confusing, but by the time Loki Season 2 comes around, the Kang Variant that we are theorizing to be Victor Timely will have already lived a life full of experiences and opportunities we are unlikely to see in full on screen.
By following the rules of time travel and the Multiverse as they are currently understood, should a Kang Variant travel back in time (as Timely did in the comics), it would create a Nexus Event and a new timeline. The new future for the Variant, which takes place in the past, can’t change what happened on his old timeline, but it certainly can be conquered in the new timeline. So the Avengers may have beaten that Kang, but can they beat this Kang? And what is this Kang up to? The comics–and an Easter egg from Season 1 of Loki–could give some hints.
While the Variant of Kang set to appear in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror, is stuck in the Quantum Realm, he also seems to have lived quite a life already and is well aware of his multiple pasts. It’s possible that this Variant is an older version of Victor Timely. In the comics, Timely traveled time to get a head start on the Avengers by cornering the market on technology while also secretly constructing Chronopolis from where he could access all timelines. The fantastical city within the Quantum Realm that’s been seen in promotional material for Quantumania is almost certainly Chronopolis and Kang almost certainly used it for its intended purposes for a long, long time before being trapped there. It’s possible that the Victor Timely Variant of Kang set to appear in Loki Season 2 is there, in part, to explain to audiences how Chronopolis came to be and to fill in the gaps about who the Conqueror that fans meet in Quantumania is.
If that half of Timely’s story could be adapted from the comics, the other half could be adapted just as easily. RPK’s information suggests that Timely is an inventor in the past and in a very Back to the Future twist (that’s Kevin Feige‘s favorite movie, by the way) is looking to impact the future. That future, a future in which Timely’s technology, not Tony Stark’s, is what drives the world may have already been glimpsed in the Void in Season 1 of Loki. The fifth episode of Season 1, entitled “Journey into Mystery”, revealed an alternate version of Stark Tower, Qeng Tower, had been cast into the Void following the reset of one timeline. That timeline would have been reset at the behest of He Who Remains, whose main purpose was to keep other Variants of himself from taking control. In the comics, Timely continued on by feigning death and “handing down” the company from Victor Timely to Jr. to III. It wouldn’t take much imagination to change it up in the MCU and have him “sell” the company to a new owner who might rename it Qeng.
So why is Victor Timely right for the MCU right now? Telling his story in Season 2 of Loki after meeting him in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania not only tells the past of the Conqueror trapped in Chronopolis but also why he’ll be a threat to the Avengers in the future as the man behind Qeng Enterprises.
What is Qenq Enterprises?
Qeng Enterprises appeared in just a couple of comics during Mark Waid‘s 2015 Avengers: Ultron Forever but could be set to play a much larger role in the MCU. In the comics, Qeng Enterprises was the Earth-bound base from which Kang planned to launch his New Qeng Dynasty. In the MCU, it could be the equivalent of the point from which he accessed Chronopolis in the comics and the temporal location that the Avengers choose to target him as he wages his Multiversal War. In Loki, the tower has clearly taken heavy damage and given the crazy time-traveling shenanigans in play now, fans may already have seen the outcome of the Avengers’ war on the Kang Dynasty in a blink-and-you-miss-it Easter egg.
Why is Kang Stuck in Chronopolis?
How does a man like Kang, who has conquered so many timelines become trapped in a city of his own design? in the comics, the ability to move discretely between timelines was powered by an object of unfathomable chronal power: the Forever Crystal. More than one theory has discussed the possibility that the Forever Crystal has already been seen in the promotional footage for Quantumania and that it is the McGuffin of that film. If Scott Lang retrieves the Forever Crystal for Kang, he could put into motion the events of The Kang Dynasty.
Summary
The Kang Variant known as Victor Timely sets up shop on Earth, shapes a century or two through his own technology while building and then using Chronopolis to conquer other timelines. At some point in his journey, he becomes trapped in the Quantum Realm. Once he escapes, hehas enough power and/or weapons at his disposal to take on the Avengers, who had previously defeated him, he launces his attack from Qenq Tower. Looping in a previous theory, the Avengers have acquired powerful weapons (potentially created by other Kang Variants) and defeat Kang. What impact could an assault on Qeng Tower and or Chronopolis have on the Multiverse? That’s a theory for another day.
Director Paul Feig‘s next film is ramping up for a March production and has landed a pair of stars to take the lead. John Cena and Awkwafina have signed on for Feig’s new film, which will be produced by Amazon.
The untitled production is set to follow the adventures of Awkwafina’s character who after winning the lottery becomes the target of the desperate population of a near future where her winnings could be claimed by anyone who kills her before the end of the day. As she seeks to survive until sundown, Katie finds herself under the protection of Cena’s character, who works for a professional protection agency.
Awkwafina pictured with John Cena during the premiere of Crazy Rich Asians. Getty Images
Feig, the director of Bridesmaids and 2016’s Ghostbusters, will also serve as an executive producer on the film along with Laura Fischer, Jeff Kirschenbaum and Zack Roth, all of whom worked with Feig on Netflix’s The School for Good and Evil. No release date or platform has been announced for the film.
Since Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was canceled in 2020 after a seven-season run, fans of the ABC melodrama have pined for a number of the show’s stars to reprise their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Leading the pack of those that fans wish to see return is Chloe Bennet, who played the role of Inhuman Daisy Johnson/Quake. Now it seems like they might get their wish.
Rumors have swirled recently that Bennet, who recently voiced Yi on the Hulu streaming animated series Abominable and the Invisible City, was tapped to join the MCU in an unnamed future project. While responding to online criticism of her performance in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Bennet seemed to confirm those rumors and indicate that she’d be reprising the role of Quake in the MCU.
Bennet’s response stemmed from a response to a question that evolved into a nearly day-long conversation about her role on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The conversation began when Charles Murphy was asked the following question “So I get that you’re trolling. But if they were to reintroduce Quake as a mutant like what they did with Kamala, do you (with your expertise) think would she still be played by Chloe Bennett or a new actress?” Murphy responded by saying, “I’ve said this before and will say until I see something to change my mind: I can’t imagine Bennet sharing the screen with talent like Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld or Samuel L. Jackson (could keep going). Just not the same caliber of actress.” The responses to those tweets and other parts of the online dialogue ultimately reached Bennet who responded to Murphy in a Quote Tweet.
hey man, you seem like a…mean loser?also, i have a strong feeling your tweets aren’t going to age well
Chloe Bennet
hey man, you seem like a…mean loser?also, i have a strong feeling your tweets aren’t going to age well 😬😎 https://t.co/hHREgcQz7c
It’s a fascinating way for Bennet to seemingly reveal her return to the role. Marvel Studios is renowned for keeping a lid on castings; for talent to reveal their role as part of an online dispute is unprecedented. In the Fall of 2022, an Instagram post by Bennet had fans fired up about a potential appearance in Marvel Studios Secret Invasion, a possibility the actress put to rest by saying “I am in no way attached or involved, even at all or a little bit, in the Secret Invasion Marvel thing. I honestly don’t even know really what that is.” If that statement is to be taken at face value, something that can’t always be done with talent working on Marvel Studios’ projects, then Bennet’s return to the MCU might be a bit further out yet.
Rick and Morty will be looking for a new Rick and Morty. Co-Creator and the voice behind the show’s two main characters– and all their variants–Justin Roiland has been cut loose by Adult Swim. The series will continue without Roiland, who was recently charged with felony domestic abuse.
Rick and Morty was created by Roiland alongside Dan Harmon. It become so popular that Adult Swim made an ambitious 70-episode order back in 2018. At this point, that deal hasn’t even hit its halfway mark and the controversy surrounding Roiland had many wondering how exactly they’ll move forward.
It seems that the series order is not going to get dropped anytime soon and rather they’ll simply recast the voices of the maniac genius Rick and his grandson Morty. There’s no statement if they already started the process of finding the successor, but they’ll likely try to move forward as fast as possible.
We also don’t know if they’ll keep some existing recordings from Roiland or completely replace any work he may have done for the next season of the series. The last episode of Season 6 released in December and we’ll have to see how far along the next season already is.
Of course, Rick and Morty isn’t the only project that Roiland is involved with, such as his work on a variety of characters in High on Life. There’s also his other spinoff series Solar Opposites, where he voices Korvo and the recently released KoalaMan. For now, we’ll have to wait for more information to arrive on the other projects.
Since her first appearance in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been recruiting some folks who are comfortable living in a moral grey area. Following a big reveal at D23 Expo 2022, audiences learned that Val’s full team will come together in the 2024 film Thunderbolts. Since the concept art of the team was unveiled, speculation about potential missing members of the squad began and recent rumors seemed to confirm that at least one member was withheld: Robert Reynolds, aka, Sentry. While the super-powered Sentry seems like he might be a bit too wack to fit into the MCU, there are some changes that could be made to make him fit the rumored “evil Superman” bill. However, despite having a plethora of problems, Sentry has never truly been a bad guy–at least not on his own merit–and a new rumor suggests that might not be the case in Thunderbolts either.
According to Twitter user CanWeGetSomeToast, while it’ll be Sentry going into battle against the Thunderbolts, Val’s the one pulling his strings.
The user suggests that Val will be behind whatever new Super Solider project is responsible for (presumably) turning Reynolds into Sentry and somehow making him her puppet. Additional rumors suggest that Sentry begins Thunderbolts as a member of the team before turning on his allies. From the sounds of it, whatever manner or method of control Val will have over Sentry won’t last and the Thunderbolts will have to come together to either take him down or get cooked.
Sentry being under the thumb of a manipulative and duplicitous leader isn’t a new concept. During the Siege era from the pages of Marvel Comics, Sentry finds himself a member of Norman Osborn’s team of Avengers (Dark Avengers) and is used by Osborn as a one-man hit squad before being taken out by Thor. With Thor not currently expected to appear in Thunderbolts, one must wonder who will stop Sentry.
Following in the footsteps of the last Avengers film, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, can’t be an easy task; however, it’s one that Rick and Morty and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania scribe Jeff Loveness seems to have embraced. Loveness’ task on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was simple: find a way to have Kang out-Thanos Thanos. Kang, who will be introduced in his full glory in Quantumania, poses a very different kind of threat than Thanos and one that Loveness believes audiences might find a bit more terrifying because as he explained in SFX Magazine, Kang is just one of us.
To me, it’s all about the humanity. Obviously, Thanos is a great, iconic villain, but he’s also a big purple CGI guy. He’s an alien from outer space. The thing I really wanted to lean into is that Kang is a human being. Kang’s also a very lonely character. We’re going to be seeing a lot of him in a lot of different ways going forward, but I really wanted to introduce the humanity and even the vulnerability of this character before he gets to such apocalyptic, Avengers-scale heights.
Jeff Lovenss
If Quantumania is then about introducing the very human and vulnerable Kang, The Kang Dynasty would seem to be the place to unleash Kang. Loveness indicated that’s exactly what will happen and it might be more than Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can handle.
Kang is a top-tier, A-list Avengers villain. What do you do when you feel you’re not enough against that? How do you step up to face the challenge of this generation, who is Thanos on an exponential level? He’s almost this infinite Thanos. I think we’re setting things up for a pretty dynamic story.
Jeff Loveness
Phase 4, which consisted of 14 live-action projects, recently concluded with the emotional Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Many of those projects introduced new heroes who are likely to be among those assembled to take on Kang. According to Loveness, when that tie comes, Marvel Studios will be ready to “put the pedal to the gas again.”
As I’m building to Avengers I want it to feel like a generational struggle. Phase 4 felt like the birth of new characters. You’re giving everyone a little bit of a breath, you’re broadening out the universe, you have fun Disney Plus shows that are elevating characters. And now I think it’s time to put the pedal to the gas again, and really take all these new characters that we like and throw them into the fire.
Jeff Loveness
You had us at infinite Thanos. Fans will catch their first glimpse of just how dangerous Kang is when Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17th before watching him take over time in 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
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