Author: Charles Murphy

Marvel Studios Reveals Full Titles for ‘BLACK PANTHER’ and ‘CAPTAIN MARVEL’ Sequels, Updates Release Slate

Marvel Studios has updated their Phase 4 release slate this morning and, in doing so, given full titles and logos for the sequels to Black Panther and Captain Marvel. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters July 8, 2022. The Captain Marvel follow up, now titled The Marvels, will land November 11, 2022.

Additionally, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has been confirmed for a February 17, 2023 release date while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been slotted for May 5, 2023. Marvel Studios Fantastic Four still has no release date and there was no mention of either Blade or Captain America 4.

May 3, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm Spellman Talks Carl Lumbly and A Potential Isaiah Bradley Series

Following the finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, I was able to sit down for a short chat with showrunner and Captain America 4 co-writer Malcolm Spellman.

Charles Murphy: “Carl Lumbly was fantastic; stole every scene he was in. What kind of discussions did you have with him in his prep for the role.”

Malcolm Spellman: “Kari prepped the actors and they called me off the first rehearsal. I was getting phone calls like “Oh my God, he just gave us chills. In all honestly, when I saw the audition, that day, he had it. I kinda got choked up watching him just in the audition. That dude was dialed in. He owned that. He’s of a certain age and he owned that in a way that no one could have imagined.”

CM: “If Marvel gave you the call and asked ‘Do you want to work with us on an Isaiah Bradley series?’, you’d be there?”

MS: “Instantly! Instantly!”

There’s no doubt that Lumbly’s emotional performance caused fans across the world to react similarly to Spellman and the Marvel Studios crew. Should Marvel Studios decide to tell more of his story, a series where Bradley tells his story to his grandson, Eli, could feature flashbacks that would make his story feel even more complete.

April 28, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Hawkeye and Westworld’s Zahn McLarnon Set to Lead AMC’s ‘DARK WINDS’ Adaptation

Zahn McLarnon (Hawkeye, Westworld and Doctor Sleep) has landed the lead role in AMC’s upcoming adaptation of author Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee series of crime fiction novels. McLarnon will play Navajo Nation Police officer Joe Leaphorn, a role previously played by Fred Ward in the 1991 film adaptation of the fifth novel in the series, The Dark Wind, and by Wes Studi in the PBS adaptations.

The AMC series, which seems to be a bit of reimagining of Hillerman’s series, will see Leaphorn investigating the murder of a Najavo woman in Arizona’s Monument Valley in the 1970s. Leaphorn will be joined in his investigation by new deputy, Jim Chee, a half-white, half-Navajo FBI agent working undercover to dig into some darker forces working behind the scenes. Chee was a major character in Hellerman’s novels, starring in 15 of them over the years.

AMC is currently prepping the pilot for production which is set to begin filming this August in New Mexico. Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal member Chris Eyre is directing the pilot based off a script from Graham Roland, who wrote and executive produced Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan for Amazon.

April 27, 2021
Murphy’s Law: Episode 89

Charles and Charles talk about the biggest news of the week including Marvel Studios green lighting Captain America 4, the new Shang-Chi teaser, Secret Invasion landing some big names and more!

April 26, 2021
How ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ Sets the Stage for ‘Armor Wars’

The finale of Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier not only nicely wrapped up the stories of the two series leads but also nicely positioned several characters for their next moves in the ever-expanding MCU. Sam is Cap, Bucky has begun to make amends in earnest and Walker has transitioned into the all-to-eager-to-serve U.S. Agent. Perhaps no character’s next move, however, is as interesting as Sharon Carter’s. The one-time S.H.I.E.L.D. and CIA operative revealed herself to be the Power Broker (about 4 episodes after it was made glaringly obvious) and took full advantage of our new Captain America by using his promise to get her a pardon to sink her hooks into the U.S. government’s secret stash. As the post credit’s scene indicates, Carter is lining up buyers for “government secrets, prototype weapons…something for everyone.”

While Sharon’s motives are still a source of debate for fans, this isn’t an article about the “true” nature of them; instead, this is taking her words at face value and following a path that leads the Power Broker to a place where the buyers she’s lining up can buy prototype weapons in the form of Stark Tech. While Don Cheadle is the only actor currently confirmed to be a part of Armor Wars, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, along with Iron Man 2, could give some clues as to some key participants in the 2022 event.

In the comics, an old school Iron Man villain, Spymaster, was able to get his hands on some of Tony Stark’s designs and sell them to Justin Hammer who, in turn, designed Stark-based armors for an array of villains such as Stilt-Man, the Controller, Beetle and more.

Given Carter’s status as the MCU’s Power Broker, a title that puts her in charge of Madripoor, a haven for people like Spymaster, it’s not a Reed Richard’s reach to believe Carter’s new pardon could put her in a position to find out that the U.S. government has been experimenting with some Stark Tech (maybe putting it to use to arm their Guardsmen), send Spymaster in to acquire it and then find a way to bring Hammer back into the picture to work with her. From here it’s not much of a stretch to imagine characters like Basil Sandhurst and Wilbur Day making their ways into the MCU and, hopefully, having Hammer assemble a Mandroid for the final showdown with Rhodey.

The Armor Wars announcement came as a surprise to pretty much everyone but it’s foolish to think that Marvel Studios The-One-Above-All wasn’t several steps deep into the plan when he revealed it. For the time being while we all wait for some real news about the event, all we can do is speculate how it might come together; as is always the case, fan theories and speculation won’t come close to the final product, but it doesn’t take away from the fun of it.

April 24, 2021
First Look at Tatiana Maslany on the Set of ‘SHE-HULK’

Marvel Studios second Disney Plus streaming series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, finished its run today but the big wheel keeps on turning. Production on one of the studio’s first 2022 series is underway and today, courtesy of Atlanta Filming, we have our first look at Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters.

View this post on Instagram

While we have no details on the scene, Maslany’s hair and her sweatshirt could hint at flashbacks to Walters’ time in law school at UCLA, where she acquired her law degree in the comics. We know that the show will focus on Walters’ time practicing law, so a flashback to her origin stories as both lawyer and gamma-powered Hulk could quickly set the stage for the meat of the story.

Maslany will be joined by Mark Ruffalo and Tim Roth who will be reprising their respective MCU roles and newcomers Ginger Gonzaga and Renee Elise Goldsberry.

Source: Atlanta Filming

April 23, 2021
James Gunn Confirms Where the GotG Holiday Special Fits in the MCU Timeline

Last December it was announced that James Gunn would be writing and directing the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney Plus. The project is set to film while Gunn and company are together later this year for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and now the director has confirmed where the project falls chronologically in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Our friend Bryan Beggs tipped us off to this exchange between Gunn and Twitter user @Moses0507 that puts the project right between the Guardians next 2 feature films.

https://twitter.com/battyBofficial/status/1385285914599956480?s=19

The majority of the team is set to appear in Thor: Love and Thunder which is set to land in theaters next May. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 doesn’t currently have an official release date but could land in May 2023. Gunn’s confirmation means that not only will the Holiday Special air between the two films but also that the events of it will take place between them in universe.

April 22, 2021
First Character Details for the Paramount Plus ‘FAIRLY ODDPARENTS’ Live-Action Series

Paramount +’s plans for a live-action reboot of the incredibly popular animated series, The Fairly OddParents, have begun to come into focus of late. Discussing Film recently reported the series would begin production in Los Angeles this June with Christopher J. Novak serving as showrunner. In the report, Discussing Film noted that “It is currently unknown as to how much this reboot will deviate from the beloved Fairly OddParents everyone has come to know, or if the creators will even acknowledge the previous live-action films that starred Drake Bell as Timmy Turner.” Now, some details have emerged about the reboot and it seems that it will be an entirely new take on the property.

Paramount +’s Farily Oddparents will be told through the eyes of two young leads, 13-year olds “Vivian” and “Roy“, as their parents, high school sweethearts “Ty” and “Rachel“, reunite and merge their families together in the town of Dimmsdale. Vivian is described as a “fish out of water” in Dimmsdale, where she and her father, Ty, move to open a ballroom dance studio. She and her new stepbrother, Roy, an “eternal optimist” described as “generous, thoughtful and enthusiastic”, quickly become friends as Roy looks to show her just how awesome of a place Dimmsdale can be. The studio is also looking to cast another strong supporting role, “Zina“, a Dimmsdale Middle School student who has a big crush on Roy and is also extremely excited to have a new best friend in Vivian.

As you know by now, studios often use code names during casting so Vivian and Roy may not be Vivian and Roy, but it seems that unless we are getting a very unique take on Timmy Turner and family, Paramount + is starting from scratch with a new cast of characters and looking at an all-new dynamic in this comedic reboot.

April 21, 2021
Murphy’s Law: Episode 88

Charles and Charles talk about Alfred Molina’s blatant disregard for spoilers, Jon Favreau’s return, Lucy Liu joining Shazam! 2 and more!

April 19, 2021
‘FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’: Who is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine?

Episode 5 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has debuted and we can all stop guessing the identity of the mystery actress and character that we’ve been teasing for over a year and has been the source of quite a lot of buzz since showrunner Malcolm Spellman first teased the appearance several weeks ago. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, played by 11-time Emmy Award-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is now in the MCU and unless you’re a pretty dedicated reader of the comics, you might be wondering just who she is. Fortunately for you, we’ve got your back.

First appearing in a couple of panels in 1967’s Nick Fury story in Strange Tales #159, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has undergone a few retcons over the years that have made her one of Fury’s most acquaintances. The Contessa made her debut as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. who, over the years, had an on-again, off-again relationship with Nick Fury. She has an incredible tactical mind, is a formidable fighter, and became one of Fury’s most trusted allies over the years.

Her story took a turn for the more interesting during the Secret Invasion event and the subsequent Secret Warriors series, written by Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman. Early in the series, Fury meets with a “retired” Val with the hope that after he does one last job, the two of them can finally be together. As the series goes on, Val’s true past is revealed. After joining Hydra as its new Madame Hydra, Val betrays them, joins Leviathan, and reveals that she and her parents were long-term Russian sleeper agents working as plants. She currently resides in a prison somewhere and hasn’t emerged in the comics for some time.

While her comic book story is currently in an interlude, her MCU story could just be getting started and, should the Marvel Studios Parliament wish it to be, could tie into a number of properties old and new. In The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, she’s certainly connected to some big names and helps Walker with his post-Captain America career. If that’s all we see of her, it will have been a nice cameo by a big-time actress in Dreyfus; however, should Dreyfus be open to continuing on with the character, we could see her again very soon. As a friend of Fury, the Contessa could play a role in Secret Invasion, perhaps as an old ally of Fury’s that he thinks he can trust. Perhaps more interestingly, should the MCU writers make her a triple agent, Val’s story could tie into even more projects.

If Leviathan sounds familiar to you, it’s because it has already appeared in MCU continuity in Agent Carter where it had deep ties to the Red Room and the Black Widow program. If she has ties to Leviathan in the MCU, it’s possible she could be referenced or even show up in Black Widow (who knows what they got up to during all these delays). Of course, we also know that Marvel Studios is developing a Secret Warriors project which would be the BEST place for us to see more of JLD as Val. At this point, we’ll have to wait and see what direction they are taking her in the MCU before knowing more but it must be nice for them knowing they have the talents of Louis-Dreyfus on deck whichever way it goes.

April 16, 2021