Author: Charles Murphy

‘WandaVision’: Feige Fulfills His Promise as Wanda Faces Her Destiny

“Wanda is in fact the Scarlet Witch.”

In December 2019 during CCXP, Kevin Feige promised fans that WandaVision would see Wanda Maximoff become the Scarlet Witch, a moniker that had not been associated with the MCU version of the character. The-One-Above-All told us that Wanda’s transformation into the Scarlet Witch would be scary and he told us that it would have repercussions for the rest of Phase 4. With one episode left of WandaVision, it’s clear that Feige has kept his promise to fans and that while WandaVision is coming to an end, Wanda is just beginning her journey down the witches’ road.

Episode 8 took Wanda and the audience on a harrowing journey down memory lane that not only showed us how Wanda’s past grief led her to her present situation in Westview but also what the future holds for her. Agatha spelled it out pretty clearly: Wanda’s a witch (and a thumpin’ good’un), has always been a witch and she’s only just now coming into her powers. Agatha’s reveal that she believes Wanda is the Scarlet Witch of myth, a being so dangerous and powerful in her ability to wield Chaos magic that she shouldn’t exist, works so well because both the audience and Wanda have waited a long time to find out something we probably should have known all along. We finally have a clean and complete origin story for Wanda in the MCU, something that’s not always been so easy to accomplish in the comics.

Few Marvel Comics characters have suffered through more complex and confusing retcons than Wanda Maximoff. Mutant or not? Magneto or the Whizzer? High Evolutionary or Django? It goes on and on but what’s relevant here is that Feige, Jac Schaeffer and Matt Shakman chose to avoid all the mess and turn to James Robinson’s 2016 Scarlet Witch for inspiration. Robinson’s book follows the 2014 retcon that revealed that Wanda and Pietro are not mutants. For decades, their mutantness defined them as characters and to readers and Robinson cleverly turned Wanda finding out who she isn’t into a way to explore who she is. Wanda meets the specter of her dead mother and learns that the Scarlet Witch is a title that has been passed on through generations of her family, firmly anchoring her to the mystical corner of the Marvel universe.

It would seem that Feige and company have chosen to take Wanda down that same witches’ road here. Unless they’re planning to complicate what right now is a very clean origin by later explaining that her ability to use magic comes from her being a mutant (something that’s entirely unnecessary at this point), it seems that Wanda is simply a witch, albeit an incredibly powerful one whose power was made greater after exposure to the Mind Stone and one who seems to have experienced a full psychotic break and unleashed her power to create a new reality. The flashbacks show us a witch so powerful that she seems to be converting energy into matter as she builds a house, a neighborhood and a Vision. Now that Wanda has learned who she is, it’s clear that the answers to the questions of how she’ll handle her grief, her power and her destiny are going to shape the MCU in Phase 4.

WandaVision‘s final episode is set to stream this Friday.

February 28, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: ‘BLACK ADAM’ Looks to Explore the Origins of Doctor Fate

Production on the long-awaited Dwayne Johnson superhero vehicle Black Adam is set to get underway in Atlanta this April and as the start date draws nearer, director Jaume Collet-Serra is looking to round out the cast. Our first look at the film at DC Fandome teased Teth-Adam’s slave origins in ancient Khandaq and a new casting search indicates the film might be spending quite a bit of time exploring Adam’s origins.

Black Adam is currently on the hunt for what appears to be a young version of Johnson’s Teth-Adam along with characters who would appear to be his father and another warrior from the time period. Additionally, the production is looking an actor to portray a magician described as a “powerful being prepared to do what they must to protect the world.” Given the time period the film is set to explore and the foundations it is expected to lay, it’s HIGHLY probable that Black Adam will introduce Nabu to the DC Universe.

Nabu is an incredibly ancient and powerful cosmic entity whose spirit is contained in the Helmet of Fate, the magical artifact worn by those taking up the mantle of Doctor Fate. Nabu prophesied the arrival of a Thangarian ship to Earth and was with Black Adam and Khufu, the Egyptian prince whose soul was eventually reincarnated as Carter Hall, aka Hawkman, when they discovered the ship and the Nth metal. The pieces all fall into place nicely for Black Adam to serve as an origin story for Adam, Hawkman and Doctor Fate.

Black Adam, originally set for a December 2021 release, is still without a new release date.

February 26, 2021
First Look at Disney and Pixar’s ‘LUCA’

Disney and Pixar have officially released the first teaser trailer for their upcoming feature film, Luca. The film, directed by Enrico Casarosa, is described as a fun and heartwarming story about the friendship between two teenage sea monsters who step out of their comfort zones to experience a life-changing summer.

With a voice cast of Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan, Luca boasts an incredible array of talent for this coming of age story. Luca is set to release in late Summer of this year.

February 25, 2021
Angel Manuel Soto Set to Direct DC’s ‘BLUE BEETLE’

As they continue to develop their slate of DC films, Warner Bros. has signed up director Angel Manuel Soto to helm their upcoming adaptation of Blue Beetle. According to a trade report, Soto’s film will feature Jamie Reyes, making this Warner’s first Latino-led superhero film.

Blue Beetle was first introduced as a Fox Comics character by the name of Dan Garrett back in 1939. The character made his way to Charlton Comics and eventually to DC. Following Garrett, both Ted Kord and Jamie Reyes have filled the shoes of the character, but the film, written by Scarface remake writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer will follow Reyes, who assumed the mantle during the 2006 DC event Infinite Crisis. The film has been in development since late 2018 and is looking to begin production this fall.

Source: The Wrap

February 23, 2021
What I Heard This Week: James Gunn and ‘Krypto’

When James Gunn and Marvel Studios parted ways in mid-2018, it wasn’t long before the director found himself in talks with Warner Bros. to develop one of their DC properties. Gunn eventually chose The Suicide Squad, which is headed to theaters this summer. That decision led to the development of the HBO Max streaming series Peacemaker, starring John Cena, which is currently filming. While Gunn and Marvel Studios reconnected on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will begin production later this year, it seems that the director has already started thinking about what’s next. During a fan Q&A on Instagram, Gunn teased that he’s testing the waters of his next DC project for Warner Bros.

As is the case with all the information in our “What I Heard This Week” pieces, this information should be taken as an unverified rumor. For us, that means that I was not able to confirm it with a second source. In this case, given that it involves Gunn who is incredibly interactive with rumors on social media, we’ll know very soon how valid it is. That having been said, I’ve been told that the project that Gunn is dipping his toe in is Krypto. Though this is JUST a rumor, it checks a lot of boxes as far as believability. In a 2019 THR Heat Vision newsletter, the trade mentioned that one of the original DC properties that Gunn considered creating for Warner was Superman. During his research, Gunn took an interest in Krypto:

When Warners was courting Gunn, the studio gave him his pick of properties, including Superman. Though Gunn never got far enough along to seriously consider tackling a Superman movie, the filmmaker did take a shine to the Man of Steel’s superpowered dog Krypto during his comics research — which makes sense for a man who turned a talking raccoon into one of Marvel’s most popular big screen characters.

Gunn revisiting Krypto now makes a ton of sense. Those who follow Gunn on social media will recall that his beloved dog, Dr. Wesley Von Spears (who was the inspiration for the MCU version of Groot and appeared in both volumes of Guardians of the Galaxy) passed away just about a year ago while Gunn was filming The Suicide Squad. Production on the film was put on pause for a time so Gunn could come home to be with Von Spears, who had been a part of his life for 17 years. A year out from Von Spears’ passing, Gunn could be processing his feelings into a Krypto project that honors his longtime best friend.

Gunn himself says he’s just got “one toe dipped in” the project and, in the same IG chat mentioned above, he stated he has no plans after he completes work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. With Gunn looking for some downtime following Vol. 3, this is something that, should it move forward, wouldn’t be headed to production until next year, allowing for plenty of time to go through the writing process and determine if he’s committed to the project. Many projects that begin development never make it to the screen but given Gunn’s previous interest in the property, his love for dogs and his own personal experiences, this is one of the more believable things I’ve heard this week.

February 23, 2021
SCOOP: Daredevil Season 3 Production Timeline Revealed

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy on MCU Exchange on August 23, 2017.

Just last week we broke the news that the third season of Daredevil would begin shooting in October. Since then, Charlie Cox himself reiterated that the show would indeed film “later this year” and now we can confirm not only the October date, but also the entire production timeline.

As it stands now, Season 3 is scheduled to begin production on October 15th and wrap on June 30th. While anyone who has followed a production will understand that those dates are never set in stone due to the unpredictability of logistics, that is the plan for now. Given that information, it’s likely that casting will start to take place over the next several weeks though it may not be officially confirmed until later in the process. The eight and a half month timeline is quite a bit longer than normal, but given the fact that it also runs through the holiday season, it’s reasonable to assume there may be some downtime. Assuming production stays on schedule and wraps around early July, it’s possible that the series could debut late in 2018!

Given the state of things at the end of The Defenders, it seems a foregone conclusion that Daredevil Season 3 will be adapting Frank Miller’s beloved Born Again arc so while many fans are itching to see Bullseye in action, we may be looking at the return of Wilson Fisk alongside another new villain. Who would you like to see take on Daredevil in Season 3?

February 22, 2021
Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 82

The Charleses M. and V. discuss the ridiculous Fantastic Four/Jennifer Lawrence rumor and come with a bunch of reasons why they hope it’s untrue. But they also manage to talk about Evangeline Lilly confirming the start date of Quantumania, the legendary Danny Elfman scoring Doctor Strange 2 and Mena Massoud being up for the role of Ezra Bridger!

February 22, 2021
Disney Releases new ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ BTS Featurette

Ahead of next month’s premiere, Disney has released a behind the scenes look at their new animated feature film, Raya and the Last Dragon. Like many productions, Raya and the Last Dragon faced unprecedented challenges in making it to screens, both big and little. Join Kelly Marie Tran, Awkwafina and filmmakers to find out what inspired the story, characters and martial arts in the film, and how the film was crafted by extraordinary artists, talent and filmmakers all working from home.

Raya and the Last Dragon will release simultaneously in theaters and on Disney Plus Premier Access on March 5th!

February 18, 2021
‘WandaVision’ Episode 7 Primer

Note: Arlyn Murphy will be back on the job next week!

Last week’s episode of WandaVision, The All-New Halloween Spooktacular, was highly anticipated by fans and it didn’t disappoint. From the great looks at characters in their classic costumes to the interesting and informative chat between Wanda and “Pietro”, to the twins beginning to use their powers, to the crazy last few minutes that saw Vision get “House of M’d” and hex expand to include S.W.O.R.D. headquarters and turn it into a circus, fans got a lot packed into a short time. Fans were also left, as usual, with more questions than answers but with only 3 episodes left, we know the answers are coming soon!

One of the biggest questions still out there is who exactly is doing this. In last week’s primer, Arlyn speculated that while we are being led to believe that Wanda is in charge, she might be under someone else’s control similar to how Doctor Doom manipulated her in The Children’s Crusade. There are no shortage of fan theories out there as to who that someone could be, but after Episode 6, Agnes seems to be the prime suspect. As we discussed on the podcast, Episode 6 seemed to confirm that while everyone in Westview is being controlled, only the residents who are part of the main plot of each of Wanda’s “episodes” seem to be active. It’s sort of like a video game where there’s a whole world out there, but the game only renders what needs to be on screen. During Vision’s exploration of Westview, Agnes was the only “non-active resident” of Wanda’s fantasy who seemed to be able to speak and be aware of what was happening. With only 3 episodes left, it’s growing increasingly unlikely that there’s enough time to introduce an entirely new antagonist and get their story told in a reasonable amount of time, so Agnes stands out as the best choice for the one pulling the strings. Of course, there’s still the growing threat of Tyler Hayward’s stubborn ignorance and after Wanda’s hexpansion, it’s almost certain that he’s bound to overreact.

Assumptions

Episode 7 is rumored to be another shorter episode, with a runtime of 38 minutes. That means the last 2 episodes would be a little bit longer, so 7 is likely to serve as our last “setup” episode before we really get down to that big Marvel Studios action film Kevin Feige promised us when he introduced WandaVision at SDCC ’19. With that in mind, we have to think about what would get us from “here” to “there” in a short episode. It’s grown apparent to me that the twins are much more integral to the plot of the series than I originally thought, so it seems like a safe bet that something is going to happen to them very soon that will push us down the path towards resolution. We’re also likely going to see Monica finally come into her powers, Hayward make one, last desperate attempt and then the realization that this is a threat that can’t be handled by the clowns at S.W.O.R.D. With Wanda’s hex threatening reality, there’s only one guy for the job: the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth!

Episode 7 of WandaVision will stream tomorrow!

February 18, 2021
Danny Elfman to Score ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’

According to a report from Inverse, Danny Elfman has confirmed that he has begun working on the score for Marvel Studios Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This marks a return to the MCU for Elfman, who scored 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and a superhero reunion between Elfman and director Sam Raimi as the two collaborated on the first two Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man films.

Elfman will now have made his mark on 5 decades worth of superhero films, having scored 1989’s Batman, 1990’sDarkman, the aforementioned Spidey films in the 00s, Age of Ultron in 2015 and now the Doctor Strange sequel in 2021. The gig also sees him once again at work with Raimi, with whom he’s collaborated many times in the past. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has mentioned that the sequel will tie into the upcoming third MCU Spider-Man film and with abundant rumors that the film will feature Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man via some multiversal shenanigans, Raimi and Elfman’s collaboration seems more than coincidental. It looks like the doors are about to be blown open on the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse!

Source: Inverse

February 18, 2021