After yet another long layoff, Charles and Charles are back to talk about the big ScarJo law suit, Bob Chapek’s comments on Shang-Chi, the struggle to save Iron Fist and more.
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Author: Charles Murphy
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Sony Delays Venom Sequel Again
Sony Pictures has formally delayed Venom: There Will Be Carnage for a fourth time. The film, originally set to debut in October of 2020, is now set for release on October 15, 2021 in U.S. theaters.
A report by Variety indicates that the “rocky film landscape” caused by a surge in the delta variant of COVID-19 weighed heavily in Sony’s decision to move the film. Sony remains committed to making sure the film debuts exclusively in theaters and is, apparently, hoping that things will clear up significantly over the next couple of months. At this point, it seems equally likely that this is just another place holder for the film and another movie is possible.
The move also calls into question whether or not Sony’s other major Marvel release, Spider-Man: No Way Home, will be delayed as well. To this point, the film’s first teaser trailer hasn’t been officially released to the public, causing fans quite a bit of consternation about what might happen with the Spidey threequel.
Source: Variety
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UPDATE: Deborah Ann Woll Denies Photos With Kirsten Dunst In Midst of Reported ‘NO WAY HOME’ Reshoots
UPDATE: It looks like it may be a look-a-like of Deborah Ann Woll, as the actress took to Twitter to state that it isn’t her in the photos shared by @Peli_Comic.
Additional photography for Spider-Man: No Way Home is ongoing in Los Angeles as fans are still anxiously awaiting their first look at the upcoming film. Rumors and plot leaks have run rampant over the last year and all point to the film including characters from not only previous live-action Spider-Man franchises but also Netflix’s Daredevil. Today, a fan may have caught a glimpse of those worlds colliding as actresses Kirsten Dunst, who played Mary Jane Watson in the Sam Raimi trilogy, and Deborah Ann Woll, who played Karen Page in Daredevil, were spotted together in Los Angeles.
The photos, shared by Twitter user @MaguireDunst, seem to have caught the two actresses out for a walk together. It could just be a coincidence that the two are out together in Los Angeles, but it could also point to even more characters joining the cast. Dunst has been rumored to be a part of the film for months now and a recent IMDB listing indicated that a personal costumer for the actress was part of the crew. Woll, on the other hand, has not previously been associated with the Spidey threequel, but with Cox rumored to be working as Peter Parker’s lawyer in the film, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Karen Page make an appearance given that she was part of the Nelson, Murdock and Page law firm established in the final episode of Season 3 of Daredevil.
Source: Twitter
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EXCLUSIVE: A Father-Son Stark Episode Almost Made the Cut in Season 1 of ‘WHAT IF…?’
After screening the first three episodes of Marvel Studios What If…?, I had the chance to talk to the series writer, AC Bradley, and director, Bryan Andrews, to get some insight into the creative process behind the studio’s first animated series.
With only 10 episodes and a wealth of ideas from which to choose, I asked Bradley if there were any characters, ideas or places that didn’t make the cut but stood out to her.
“We had dozens of ideas that, hopefully, some of them will pop up in Season 2. But there’s been a few characters that we just couldn’t touch because we didn’t have room or time. I’m happy that we got Howard the Duck in there because that’s such a fan kind of favorite little character-I said, “Let’s give him a moment”-because I doubt he’s going to be joining the Avengers anytime soon. We did have some great story line for multiple characters, like there was an Iron Man story that I really wanted to do, exploring a relationship with his father, but we already had another great Iron Man story. We only have 10 spots, you kinda gotta spread around the love. I’m a sucker for a good kind of sins of the father on the son kinda story.”
Tony’s relationship with his father, Howard, was an integral part of the first 3 phases of the MCU and the idea of Howard’s sins coming back to haunt Tony were central to Iron Man 2 but who knows what other hidden sins of Howard’s could have been explored and how they might have impacted Tony in another universe? Like Bradley said, there’s hope that some of these lost ideas make their way into future seasons, so since she was so keen on this one, maybe it’ll make the list for Season 2.
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What I Heard This Week: Namora and ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’
Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road. With that in mind, understand that this piece of news is NOT confirmed by Disney, Marvel or any other source and, for now, should fall under the category of rumor until further confirmation comes through.
We’ve known for a while now that Marvel Studios was looking to cast two major, supporting characters in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The Illuminerdi were first to report that the casting calls for two Mayan warriors, codenamed Zyanya and Cadmael, were for the roles of Namora and Attuma, two major Atlantean characters from the comics set to join Tenoch Huerta’s Namor in the 2022 sequel. Now, we may be able to associate a name with one of those roles. I heard this week that actress Mabel Cadena has joined the cast as Namora, the cousin of Namor and one of the original members of the Agents of Atlas!
The 30-year old Mexican actress checks all the boxes for the role of Namora. Marvel Studios was looking for an Hispanic or Latino actress, 20-40, with previous experience in physical roles. Cadena, who recently starred in Dance of the 41 (now available on Netflix) and Hernan (now available on Amazon Prime), has been in the Atlanta area and been hitting the gym to prep for the role.
Huerta also recently began interacting with Cadena on Instagram, which may add a little more fuel to the rumor mill fires, if you’re into that sort of thing. Again, at this point there is no confirmation from any official source, so this should be treated as a rumor; however, a lot of supporting evidence does exist.Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit theaters next summer!
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‘WHAT IF…?’ Marvel Legends Arrive, Hint at a Live-Action Captain Carter
During today’s Hasbro Pulse Fan First Wednesday, the latest wave of Marvel Legends, this time for the upcoming animated series What If…?, were revealed and may have given away more than just a good look at the characters. The wave, which goes up for pre-order this afternoon at 1:00 PM ET, comes with 7 figures and a Build-A-Figure Uatu. Of the 7, 6 are set to debut in the Disney Plus streaming series What If…?, and the other is labeled “Marvel’s Sylvie” from the recently concluded Loki series. A closer look at the packaging for each character reveals that Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter is called “Marvel’s Captain Carter”, an indication that the character may well make the transition to live-action.
There have been rumors that Carter would appear in an upcoming live-action project, but this is the first evidence of that possibility. The labeling seems intentional to set Captain Carter apart from the other What If…? characters, none of which are labeled as “Marvel’s” characters.
The rest of the wave is comprised of T’Challa as Star-Lord, “Heist” Nebula, Zombie Captain America, a Zombie Hunter Spidey and Doctor Strange Supreme. These Variant characters are likely to be revealed as having come into existence following the death of He Who Remains at the hands of Sylvie, making her inclusion here sensible.
If one had to hazard a guess as to when we might expect Atwell’s Captain Carter to appear, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would seemingly be a heavy favorite as it is expected to deal with the fallout of Loki.
What If…? will begin streaming weekly on Disney Plus on August 11th.
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‘WANDAVISION’ and ‘CARNIVAL ROW’ Writer Heading New Marvel Studios Project
Peter Cameron, who served as a writer and story editor on Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series WandaVision, is heading up a new, unannounced project for the studio as a co-producer. Cameron wrote 2 episodes of WandaVision, including the “All-New Halloween Spooktacular”, and also served as both a writer and story editor on Amazon Prime’s fantasy series, Carnival Row. Most recently, he worked as the story editor on Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Mark Millar’s The Magic Order, a fantasy-horror series produced by James Wan.
Marvel Studios currently has 9 unannounced streaming series at various stages of development with projects such as Ghost Rider, Secret Warriors and Nova potentially among them. Given Cameron’s affinity for fantasy/horror projects, Ghost Rider would seem to be a natural fit. Cameron joins Marion Dayre as creatives in charge of unannounced Marvel Studios projects.
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‘Better Call Saul’ Writer Marion Dayre Set as Showrunner for Mystery Marvel Studios Series
Better Call Saul writer Marion Dayre has been tapped as the showrunner of an upcoming and unannounced Marvel Studios television series. According to her Instagram and an announcement made by San Francisco State University, where she’ll be working with students in the Fall, Dayre has landed the coveted role as lead writer for one of Marvel’s upcoming projects.
Dayre has been involved with Better Call Saul since its inception, working originally as a writer’s assistant and script coordinator, then as a writer, story editor and executive story editor on 2020’s Season 5. While it is unknown what project she is working on, Marvel Studios has as many as 9 unannounced DTC (direct-to-consumer) streaming series at various stages of development. Over past year, Marvel Studios has been rumored to be developing projects such as Ghost Rider, Nova, Secret Warriors, and Illuminati, so it’s possible she’s taken the lead on one of those. It’s also worth noting that no announcement has been made as to who the head creatives will be on Armor Wars, set to begin production next Spring. It is also unclear whether or not this series is intended to stream on Disney Plus or be distributed through another network.
Sources: Instagram and SFSU
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Sylvester Stallone Returning for ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3’
Sylvester Stallone’s appearance as Stakar Ogord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was a pretty tightly kept secret up until just a few months before the film’s release. Stallone’s Ogord, who was incredibly loosely based on Marvel Comics character Starhawk, an enormously strange and powerful member of both the 31st century and “present day” Guardians of the Galaxy, was a Ravager captain who exiled Yondu after the blue space hillbilly broke the Ravager code by trafficking children. Yondu’s funeral served as an impromptu reunion for Stakar’s old Ravager buddies who decided to reteam and get back to thieving together.
Gunn has always hinted that we’d see more of the Ravagers in the future and now, according to director Randall Emmett, a close personal friend of Stallone, it looks like Stakar (and presumably the rest of the gang) will be back for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In a Zoom Q&A following a screening of his new film Midnight in the Switchgrass, Emmett revealed that Stallone is working on “the next Expendables and Guardians of the Galaxy.” The threequel is confirmed to begin work in Atlanta this November and is expected to be Gunn’s last go with the franchise, so it’s not surprising that he’ll have the team of Ravagers, including Michael Rosenbaum’s Martinex, Ving Rhames’ Charlie-27, Michelle Yeoh’s Aleta Ogord, Mainframe and Krugarr back to wrap things up.
Source: Reddit
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently set to hit theaters May 5, 2023.
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Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘MOON KNIGHT’ Finds Its Bushman
CONNECTING IMAGINARY DOTS ARE PIECES WE WRITE HERE THAT ALLOW US TO BE WHAT WE ALL TRULY ARE: FANS. THESE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SCOOPS, EXCLUSIVES OR FACTS; JUST SPECULATION ABOUT THE THINGS FOR WHICH WE ALL SHARE A GREAT PASSION.
Marvel Studios Moon Knight has filmed in near complete secrecy in Budapest, Hungary. Other than a few fans snagging pictures with stars Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, vert little has made its way to fans. We know May Calamawy will play a key role in the series, but like Hawke, her role is unknown at the moment, and it seems French actor Gaspar Ulliel has snagged a supporting role as Moon Knight foe Midnight Man. Somehow, after months of filming, that’s all we know; however, if we connect some dots found on Instagram, we might be able to add one more to the cast of the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series.
A look at French actor Loic Mabanza’s IG page might just reveal that the actor has joined the cast of Moon Knight. A couple of recent posts indicate that Mabanza spent several weeks in Budapest, where the series has been filming. Additionally, Mabanza and Calamawy mutually follow one another on the social media app, which could indicate the two have spent some time together on set.
There are certainly plenty of other reasons the 31-year old Mabanza could be in Budapest and its possible that he and Calamawy met somewhere else (a quick check of IMDB does not list them as having worked together in the past); however, connecting the dots as done above leads to an interesting bit of speculation: Mabanza may have joined the cast of Moon Knight as Marc Spector’s archenemy, Raul Bushman.
Bushman was a mercenary who was working with Spector to protect an archaeological dig in Sudan. The job went sideways when Bushman killed the archaeologist and then shot Spector. As Spector lay dying, he was saved by the Egyptian god Khonshu and became Moon Knight. While Hawke is playing the series’ lead villain, Bushman plays a key role not only in Spector’s origin as the Fist of Khonshu but also throughout his career. Mabanza has the size and physique to pull off the physically intimidating Bushman and as a young, international performer, also fits the profile of actors that Disney has been casting for the show. Of course it’s entirely possible that Mabanza isn’t playing Bushman or even that he’s not part of the series, but if we connect the imaginary dots, we might have stumbled onto a key casting for the upcoming series.
Marvel Studios Moon Knight is expected to stream on Disney Plus early in 2022.
