Filming on Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Secret Invasion continued yesterday in Halifax, UK and, as has been the case, much of what went on was caught on camera. Twitter user @bishopluvbot was on the scene and captured dozens of pictures and videos of yesterday’s scenes, all taking place on the Piece Hall set. Most of the main cast of the series has been on set all week, including Samuel L. Jackson, BenMendelsohn and Cobie Smulders, who are back in their respective roles, and newcomers Emilia Clarke and Kingsley Ben-Adir, whose roles are unknown outside of vague descriptions.
The above video captured a major explosion set during a scene being filmed on “National Unity Day” in the interior courtyard of Piece Hall. While it’s no surprise that Ben-Adir’s character, who is playing a Skrull and the main antagonist of the series, was involved in the explosion, another video does include a shocking revelation that may be considered a spoiler.
The second video shows the aftermath of the explosion, with wounded extras leaving the site. A few seconds into the video, Clarke’s character can be seen walking away from the explosion and getting into a car with Ben-Adir’s villainous character. This obviously casts doubts on Clarke’s motivations in the series, as earlier in the week she was seen exchanging a hug with Maria Hill.
Is Clarke a villain as well? Not much is known about her character, but she is known to be an “up and coming spy” who also has powers. Is she working with the Skrulls? Has she been simmed her? Given that the series is meant to be a paranoia-based thriller, it’s likely that fans will often be left wondering who is or is not a Skrull and what side anyone is on at any given moment. Seeing Clarke’s character working with Ben-Adir here is just the tip of the iceberg.
Secret Invasion will stream on Disney Plus sometime before 2075.
In 2014, James Gunn introduced the Guardians of the Galaxy to the MCU. In the years since, the ragtag bunch of losers who were, at the time, unknown to all but the most hardcore of comic book readers, have become household names and among the most beloved characters in the MCU. Gunn and the cast are now deep into production on the third volume of their story, one that Gunn has called the last go around for this version of the team, and the film is set to hit theaters in May of 2023.
Chief among the characters that Gunn brought into the public eye through the films is Nebula, played by Karen Gillan. Over the course of the two Guardians’ films and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the character has gradually grown into a bigger role as Gillan has grown into a bigger star. Gillan’s latest film, a sci-fi movie about clones titled Dual, premiered last week at Sundance. During a recent AMA with Dual co-star Aaron Paul, Gillan talked about what it’s like working with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.
It’s a juggernaut movie, right? Like all the Marvel films are but what James Gunn brings to it is this real indie spirit. Like it doesn’t necessarily feel like…like you’re not so aware that you’re making a giant movie. It’s like…it fells as loose and free and as flexible as an indie can feel sometimes. And he always directs with a microphone. And so you’re always just getting like this booming voice from God, essentially. He’s like, “Do it again. Do it like this.” And then he throws out lines that aren’t even in the script. And you know, “Call him this. Do this.” And then you literally hear him laughing over the microphone, which is also maybe the best feeling ever, too. Your like, “Yes, I made him laugh.”
There is no doubt that Gunn will look to tell a monster of a story in Guardians of the GalaxyVol. 3 as not only is it the last go around for the characters that he’s spent the better part of a decade developing, but also potentially his last time in a director’s chair for Marvel Studios as he looks to work more closely with DC. Given the quality of Gunn’s two most recent superhero projects, The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, MCU fans could be in for something very special.
Through its first four episodes, Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, The Book of Boba Fett, hadn’t generated the same volume of discussion around the proverbial water cooler as had its predecessor on Disney Plus, The Mandalorian. While The Book of BobaFett hasn’t really been divisive among fans and has been treated kindly by critics, it simply seemed to lack the same “pop” as Mando.
Surely some of that is the result of the reality of the show not matching fan expectations: fans wanted Boba Fett kicking ass like he did when he first appeared in The Mandalorian but, instead, have seen a story unfold much more along the lines of The Godfather: Part II, in which flashbacks a bring us up to speed on how Fett rose to his current station. And so, through its first four episodes, much of the buzz had been generated by the live-action debut of Black Krrsantan, Danny Trejo’s Rancor keeper and the hope of something greater just around the corner. And today, in Chapter 5, “The Return of The Mandalorian”, the hope that fans had been clinging to arrived.
The episode waited roughly 20 seconds before introducing Din Djarin to the story and, from there, the character never relinquished the spotlight. As fans have rightly pointed out, this episode was in every way, shape and form, an episode of The Mandalorian that happened to be part of The Book of Boba Fett. It’s not until the end that Fett is even named and the events of this episode have nothing to do with the events of the first four episodes of the series. Outside of the setting and a brief reference to the Pyke Syndicate, Chapter 5 doesn’t even share the same narrative tapestry as the rest of the series.
What it is, however, is a great reminder that The Book of Boba Fett is part of much larger narrative that’s been developing for nearly 15 years, since Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau started to plant the seeds of it over the course of several season of The Clone Wars. Filoni and Favreau seem to have a deep and true understanding of the Galaxy Far, Far Away that George Lucas dreamt up and created. They have a passion and knowledge for the stories and characters that have built Star Wars into the entertainment empire it has become and have rightfully been lauded for their work with the direction they’ve begun to steer the live-action Star Wars series. Following today’s episode, it’s clear that fans need to start sending some of that praise in the direction of director Bryce Dallas Howard.
Chapter 5 stands apart from the rest of the chapters of The Book of Boba Fett. Sure it’s not telling a story about Fett, though it’s obvious Djarin is going to play a big role in the remainder of the series (the creators were kind enough to throw some metahumor at us “Hey, look, everyone. It’s Mando”, as if we had forgotten about him), but it’s also the best episode of the series so far despite a decent chunk of time in it being spent watching Djarin and Peli Motto rattle off a bunch of crazy names for parts of the Naboo starfighter they are rebuilding. Howard shares that same deep understanding of Star Wars that fans love to use to adulate Filoni and Favreau and she shares it because, just like them, she’s a lifelong fan of the franchise.
Howard’s father, Ron Howard, worked on the 1988 film Willow, written by Lucas, and Bryce has talked in the past about how Lucas both mentored her father through his directing career and gave her advice ahead of her directorial debut on The Mandalorian in the first season’s fourth episode. Howard was even present at a dinner in which her father and Lucas met with Akria Kurosawa, the legendary Japanese director whose 1958 film, The HiddenFortress, served as inspiration for Lucas to create Star Wars and whose influence is still felt even as creators other than Lucas are now taking the reigns of the franchise. Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian, “The Jedi”, directed by Filoni, was the most overt homage to Kurosawa, but it is very clear that Howard values Kurosawa’s influence on the franchise, too. Her first episode of The Mandalorian, “Sanctuary”, was very much in the Kurosawa mold.
What “The Return of the Mandalorian” made very clear was that while Filoni and Favreau may be creating the live-action world unfolding on Disney Plus and are the ones driving the shared narrative that certainly seems like it’s headed for a big battle to reclaim Mandalore, they are incredibly comfortable letting Howard take the wheel and be in charge as they lay the groundwork. Chapter 11 of The Mandalorian, “The Heiress”, also directed by Howard, introduced key characters, storylines and artifacts into live-action that will play major roles in the resolution of this shared narrative. In “The Return of the Mandalorian”, Howard’s voice was again the one Filoni and Favreau chose to tell not only the past of Mandalore (with a little Terminator influence thrown in for good measure), but also set up some key points for the future, such as how Djarin can redeem himself in his religion. For an episode that spent a lot of time repairing a beat up ship, it sure seems like it was a can’t miss to understand things moving forward.
And so with Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, “The Return of The Mandalorian”, the hope fans were waiting for did arrive…and her name is Bryce Dallas Howard.
Apple TV made a big splash last week picking up the rights to Legendary’s MonsterVerse streaming series. The series, written by Chris Black, is set to focurs on the Monarch organization present throughout the recent Godzilla and Kong films. Little info was shared last week about the series, co-created by MattFraction, but now we are able to exclusively reveal some new details.
The Monarch-spinoff is tentatively titled Hourglass, a clear reference to the secret organization’s logo. Casting is currently underway for the series, with production currently scheduled to get underway in May. Cameras are expected to roll until November as the series moves around the globe, splitting time between Tokyo, Vancouver and Hawaii.
Hourglass picks up “following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real. It’s said to focus on “one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.”
Loved every second of it. From the shot of Egypt that made me immediately think of the Eternals to the use of one of Marc’s alter-egos to the shot of the criminally underrated Ethan Hawke (he’s who everyone pretends Jared Leto is), it set the tone far more than a teaser should. It gave us our first shot at many intriguing things (was that a Lycan? An Animus?), While also setting the stage for what seems to be a more visceral show than we’ve gotten from the MCU on Disney+. FWS had it’s moments, but this seems to up the violence ante. There’s some concern that Marvel didn’t cast a Jewish actor in the title role and that this means they’re going to retcon that for Isaac’s character, and this trailer did nothing to confirm/deny that. It left me wanting more, especially considering I believe MoonKnight will tie into Blade and some of the other properties coming down the pipe. All in all, mission accomplished.
Filip Manka
That trailer put me at ease. Despite my huge hype for this show, I still had some concerns in the back of my mind about adapting this character into a live-action feature. However, the trailer is absolutely fantastic for me and I can’t remember the last time I looked forward to a Marvel project this much. The trailer gave me the emotions I was expecting: disorientation, surreal atmosphere, and confusion.
The focus on DID and the character’s psychological problems is gratifying. The beginning of the trailer in terms of execution is very much in the style of directors Moorehead and Benson, enclosing the character in tight frames with a close-up camera. Somewhere in the back, there is the symbolism of the surroundings being reflected in puddles and mirrors, which I also think will at times serve as an interesting means of expression in portraying Marc’s problems.
Another huge plus is that the story will begin from the perspective of Steve Grant, Marc’s alter ego. I like how the subconscious has repressed Marc’s death, which by the way is very consistent with how DID works. The subconscious has separated the trauma and grief to protect the person from themselves. Such a theme gives room for many interesting narrative treatments, and I hope that the further into the woods the story becomes less linear.
I was also very positively surprised by the fact that the series will be mostly based on the series from 1985. Ethan Hawke’s character himself is named Arthur Harrow, who debuted in the comics in 1985, and the hero himself was studying the theory of pain. Here I think that they will combine Harrow with Sun King and I know that Moon Knight’s fans may turn their noses up a bit because the plot with Sun King was poor, but such a synthesis of these two characters may come out on a good note.
I do love this outfit. I’m glad that they didn’t go for any armor, but something mystical and out of the ordinary for the MCU. Once again, I associate it with the 1985 run where the theme of Egypt and mysticism was present, and according to the description, this element will also be important in the series.
Mary Maerz
I loved it. Take out the last 10 seconds or so, and you wouldn’t even know it was a Marvel or superhero-type series. It definitely came across as more of a psychological thriller with a smattering of horror and a smidge of action. I really like that combination, but it will be interesting to see what that balance actually is in the series, since it’s a solid bet the action (and actual Moon Knight part) will be more prominent. I’m extremely curious how they will handle and explore Marc Spector’s D.I.D., and I hope it doesn’t take 5 episodes to explain it or to reveal Jake Lockely. I definitely felt some elements of the Lemire run with Marc (or Steven) going in and out of perceived realities in really abrupt and harsh ways, and I would love if they played into that consistently throughout the whole series. If Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow is actually who I think he could be, I’m very interested to see how they develop the dynamic between the two in this context. We only really saw Moon Knight going to town punching something in a bathroom for a few seconds, so honestly in my mind the jury is still very much out on the Moon Knight himself. But it’s looking good.
Nathan Miller
I enjoyed thetrailer. I think Marvel Studios got almost exactly the right mix of attraction for a casual audience and for more dedicated fans. The trailer makes it clear we are going to have Steven Grant as a gateway to the character of Moon Knight with some subtleties of the wider Moonie mythos. There is a mystery to unravel for Steven as there is for the audience. All of my friends who watch Marvel Studios TV and films in a late-casual way thought ‘it was unlike any other Marvel thing’ they had seen, and were really excited about it. So in that sense, it’s job done. The only thing I think could maybe have been improved on is the music for this particular trailer, as it didn’t get me as hyped up as other Marvel Studios trailer music has done, but it’s not a deal-breaker by any means in my enjoyment of the trailer. I’m excited for the next trailer and for the show itself!
Charles Murphy
My thoughts are simple: the most non-Marvel trailer I’ve seen in a while and I love it. The only real piece of info I had on this show was that it would be partially inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Memento: the trailer showed us that is probably the case and that makes for a very interesting dynamic for the audience, especially anyone who doesn’t have a good handle on who Moon Knight is. I love the quasi-Earth X inspired costume. I think this has the makings of an incredibly fun series that will probably have weekly conversation on the level of WandaVision as fans try to piece together the mystery.
Anthony Canton III
The trailer is interesting in so many ways. First, for the MCU at large this feels like something entirely different than anything we’ve ever seen. For the uninitiated to the character it has to feel trippy as it not only is mysterious, but incredibly psychological. The tone of the trailer is a dark one, bringing us inside the mind of someone who’s clearly lost theirs. Oscar Isaac has a chance to do something special here in playing multiple personalities. Ethan Hawke’s character seems very influential without us knowing exactly who he is. There’s intrigue in all of this, and the Moon Knight suit itself looking so good on screen. Lastly, the brief physicality of seeing Moon Knight hammering a creature of some sort (Anubis perhaps) is exciting as we haven’t seen a fighting style like this one in the MCU. The fans are in for quite the ride with Moon Knight.
Joseph Aberl
The Moon Knight trailer probably goes down as one of my favorites alongside WandaVision and Loki. There’s something about the atmosphere that makes it stand out, especially with the psychological thriller aspect. Khonshu’s arrival as this horror monster makes me wonder just how they might approach the story, and even the strange accent by Oscar Isaac adds that something is off throughout. I really hope the series completely leans into that aspect and sticks to it throughout its runtime, as us questioning if Moon Knight is real or not could make for a great storyline before he enters the wider MCU.
Joao Pinto
For me what stood out the most in the Moon Knight trailer was the project’s apparent cinematic-quality. All other Disney+ MCU series have been great in terms of bringing a lot of the Marvel Studios big screen expertise to streaming, but Moon Knight’s footage seems to be on a different level. The series will be the first MCU show not to count on previously established characters within the franchise to help sell the property and therefore it might be going the extra mile in terms of presenting itself as a must-see television event based on looks alone.
The trailer itself hasn’t given out much in terms of plot, but if the feeling of its footage is anything to go by in terms of the overall quality of the series, one of the most enigmatic characters Marvel has decided to bring into the MCU might very well end up with the best-looking show, on par with the movies. Something that Marvel has been promising ever since its streaming strategy was announced, but that seldomly has been delivered.
Disney Plus has now added all of Marvel Studios One-Shots to their streaming library, giving fans a chance to relive some of the memorable shorts that once accompanied the home releases of their films. Agent Carter, All Hail the King and more are now streaming on the service and have all been added into the official, chronological viewing order. Interestingly enough, one of the One-Shots has knocked one of Marvel Studios biggest hits out of its place as a bookend to Phase One.
As you can see from the screenshot, the 2012 One-Shot Item 47, which was released on The Avengers Blu-Ray, is now the official end of Phase One. The 12-minute short, which was heavily tied to ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., starred Lizzy Caplan and Jesse Bradford as a couple who, in the wake of the Battle of New York, find a Chitauri weapon and use it to go on a crime spree. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Sitwell and Blake, played by Maximiliano Hernandez and Titus Welliver, respectively, intervene on the couple’s spree and eventually incorporate them into S.H.I.E.L.D.
While the events of the series were never mentioned again and neither Caplan nor Bradford’s characters were ever seen again, the One-Shot, directed by Louis D’Esposito, led directly to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. getting the green light on ABC. Bob Iger, who was Disney’s CEO at the time, gave the go ahead on AoS after watching Item 47 and the series debuted one year later on the network. Of course, Agents Sitwell and Blake continued on in the series and, in Sitwell’s case, the films with Sitwell dying during the events of Captain America: TheWinter Soldier and Blake pretty much just disappearing.
Paramount Plus continues to be a major player in the streaming wars with hits like Yellowstone, its prequel 1883, The Mayor of Kingstown and Picard all puling in good numbers and positive buzz. Three of those four series were written by Taylor Sheridan, who has been tapped by the studio to develop what looks to be another big time series, Kansas City. Set to star Sylvester Stallone, Kansas City follows an NYC mobster who relocates to Missouri, where he’ll have to restart his life after serving 25-year prison sentence.
The show will be co-written by Terence Winter, who served as a writer on Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos, and we can now add that Allen Coulter. who worked with Winter on both series, is on board to direct. The series, which will film in New York City and in Oklahoma, is rounding out the cast now ahead of a March start of production. Stallone’s Balboa Productions is among the production companies backing the show and Stallone will also serve as an executive producer.
Horror icon Tony Todd has stayed very busy over the past several years. The actor reprised his role as Candyman in Nia DaCosta’s 2021 thriller, voiced Scare Glow in Netflix’s Masters of the Universe: Revelations and has nearly half a dozen projects in post-production. And now we can add one more project to the mix as Todd has signed on in a lead role in the upcoming horror film Werewolf Game.
Written by Jack Payne II, and directed by Payne and Cara Brennan, Werewolf Game is based on the game Mafia, also known as Werewolf, created as a social experiment by Dimitry Davidoff, in which a group of people portray villagers and try to deduce who among them is a “werewolf” while the werewolves choose who to kill. Todd will play the film’s antagonist, The Judge, and is also serving as an executive producer on the film, which is set to debut in 2023. Casting is currently underway for nearly a dozen lead roles and production is scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in late-March. The film’s storyline, according to IMDB, is included below:
Adapted from the adult party game of social deduction, created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986, Werewolf Game is a death-game, horror mystery film. Twelve kidnapped strangers must play a game where they vote on who amongst them to murder. At night, the “werewolves” hidden among them come out to brutally kill one of the 12 “villagers” in return. The days repeat until one winning group remains.
Amazon Prime’s long-gestating Lord of the Rings series now has an official subtitle and a confirmed release date. The streaming network revealed today that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut this Fall on September 2nd.
The series, which has been in development since 2018, will debut with an 8-episode first season set during Middle-earth’s Second Age, the time that saw the rise of Sauron and his eventual defeat at the hands of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Pre–production on a second season is underway and filming is expected to take place in the UK this Spring. Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi and Tom Budge lead a huge, ensemble cast.
Sony’s Kraven the Hunter is currently set to release on January 13, 2023 and it’s been some time since fans have had any updates on the film. Outside of the film’s star, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and director, J.C. Chandor, details on the film have been hard to come by. That all should be changing rather soon, however, as it looks like things are set to get started on the project.
Production start dates have always been tentative and now, more than ever, it’s important to keep that in mind, but assuming no delays, it sounds like Kraven the Hunter will begin production in the UK next month. Given the film’s January 2023 release date, it’s a very sensible timeline for principal photography, leaving plenty of time for any additional photography, which is always factored into these projects.
Taylor-Johnson has taken his prep for the role VERY seriously. As fans of the comics know, Kraven is a physically imposing specimen, carrying well over 200 pounds on his frame and having enough strength to tangle with dangerous foes even before he was enhanced through the potions of the voodoo goddess Calypso, who is rumored to be played by Jodie Turner-Smith in the film. Should they follow the comics and juice up the character, he’d be superhumanly strong and word is that Taylor-Johnson has done the work to look the part, having gone to great lengths to transform his body for the role.
Fans caught a quick tease of the character in last act of Spider-Man: No Way Home and with the multiverse now in play, it probably won’t be long before one of the Spideys finds himself tangling with Kraven, giving Sony the chance to adapt The Last Hunt, something that has been discussed and teased as long as there’s been rumors of a Kraven film. We’ll see what role Spidey has to play in the expanding Sony universe and which actor will fill that role.
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