Rumors are swirling that a fly on a wall saw Hailee Steinfeld sign on the dotted line, alleging she has landed the role of Kate Bishop hours after she hadn’t and just a few more hours after it was reported by another site. Can this all be true? Charles and Charles talk about it here!!!!
Author: Charles Murphy
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Report: Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop
She’s everyone’s first choice and now, despite what seemed like mounting evidence to the contrary, Hailee Steinfeld has reportedly crossed the necessary “I”s and dotted the necessary “T”s and will portray Kate Bishop in the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye.
The Illuminerdi broke the news of Steinfeld finally agreeing to the role (news that was later given a 100% confirmation seal of approval by MCU Cosmic) just about a week after members of Disney Insider mentioned that the actress was no longer in contention. However, MCU Cosmic, who was privy information about the moments leading up to Steinfeld’s signing of her contract, expects a trade announcement might come shortly.
The Illuminerdi’s report also indicated that Hawkeye, originally set to start production in late-September, is now looking at an October start date with filming expected to wrap in March. If all things stay on track, we should see Hawkeye hit Disney Plus as early as next August.
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‘HAWKEYE’ Series Searching for The Clown
A new report from The Illuminerdi indicates that an interesting and unexpected villain might play a major role in Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye. According to the report, a new cast listing may point to Kazimierz Kazimierczak, a merc known as the Clown, squaring off with the Hawkeyes.
First appearing in Matt Fraction and David Aja’s acclaimed Hawkeye run, Kazi is a Polish mercenary who was hired by the ongoing antagonists of the series, the Tracksuit Draculas, a European mafia group that made things tough for Clint and his neighbors in their apartment complex. The casting breakdown calls for an Easter European male in his 20s-early 30s to play a character code named ‘Arek.’ The character is reportedly a series regular, set to appear in 5 of 6 episodes.
Hawkeye is set to begin filming this Fall.
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‘OBI-WAN’ Sets Production Date
Yesterday’s news that 3 coming Star Wars films were all delayed by a year was unwelcome but understandable. Today, however, we get some good Star Wars news from our friends at the Illuminerdi who have learned when production is slated to begin on the much anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series! According to their report, cameras are currently set to roll in Los Angeles in March of next year.
As the article smartly points out, the Deborah Chow helmed series will almost certainly take advantage of the Volume technology that was used so successfully on The Mandalorian and that technology is located in L.A. Many rumors have swirled around the show, including some recent ones that claim Hayden Christensen would be returning to his role as the Chosen One alongside star Ewan McGregor. With a smaller episode count, a March 2021 start should provide enough time to get the show completed on on the streaming service in late 2021!
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SCOOP: ‘WANDAVISION’ To Be Loosely Based on John Byrne’s Vision Quest
Thanks to the Disney Plus feature Expanding the Universe, we already know that House of M, Tom King’s Vision, James Robinson’s Scarlet Witch and the 1985 limited series The Vision and The Scarlet Witch are among the comics from which the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series WandaVision will draw inspiration. Now it looks like we can add another run to the source material as a series subplot will be very loosely based on John Byrne’s run on West Coast Avengers (currently in a collected edition titled Vision Quest) as I have learned that WandaVision will indeed see Wanda go on her own Vision quest.
When Byrne took over writing duties on the title with issue 42 in March of 1989, he kicked it off with Vision going missing from the compound and Wanda went looking for him. Over the next 8 issues, Wanda comes to learn he’d been taken by a multinational group called Vigilance, finds him totally deconstructed on a table, and learns that all his memories (data) have been wiped and he has no recollection of their life together. There’s more to it of course but it certainly isn’t all relevant to the upcoming streaming series.
This information comes from a pair of valuable sources we have worked with in the past but, as is often the case, it’s missing a bit of context that would be incredibly helpful in understanding the big picture. With that being said, here’s what we know:
We’ve long been aware that WandaVision will be taking place both in what seems to be an altered reality (inside the TV) and in the real world where organizations like S.W.O.R.D. have a presence. It looks like one of the subplots in the real world centers on Wanda going Humpty Dumpty and trying to reassemble Vision after his parts have been scattered around the world. This is the part where a little context would go a long way but, unfortunately, none exists. The last time we saw Vision, he was “dead” but fully intact after Thanos plucked the Mind Stone out of his noggin.
Missing the hows and whys of Vision being in pieces is a bit frustrating, but knowing he’s in pieces and that Wanda is on the hunt for those pieces still provides a key piece of the story. I think it also might go a long way towards explaining some old set photos that saw Wanda outside a S.W.O.R.D. building. To me there are two choices here: they are either helping Wanda put Viz back together again or they’re responsible for taking him apart. Either way, to nobody’s surprise, Wanda is going to find the pieces and reassemble Vision but, as it happens in West Coast Avengers, he won’t be the same Vision he was before and will be missing some key bits of data including any knowledge of the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
It’s also worth mentioning that Byrne’s Vision Quest run introduced the white Vision and produced one of the most iconic Marvel Comics covers with issue 45. If you’ll recall, Marvel employee Shawn Sendio, who often uses his Instagram to tease various elements of upcoming productions, posted a picture of that cover last year.
This was, at the time, interpreted as a hint that we would see the white Vision in WandaVision and we just might, though I have no information on that. However, the symbolism behind the white Vision is probably just as important as the look and that’s something that might be missed if you haven’t read Byrne’s run. As the West Coast Avengers start work on getting their Vision back, Hank Pym explains that while he can recreate Vision’s mind, the data is gone, leaving Vision a blank slate, a plain white canvas waiting to be filled in.
And so the pieces of the puzzle are on the table and we can all start moving them into place. You can imagine Wanda’s passion as she searches for the parts to her synthezoid lover and you can imagine her disappointment when the recreated Vision is, symbolically and literally, a blank slate. How would you react? Hopefully we’ll find out later this year when it streams on Disney Plus (fingers crossed!).
You can pick up a copy of Vision Quest by clicking the Amazon link below!
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‘SPIDEY 3’ Gets Another New Release Date
In a story that actually makes a lot of sense, the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel has been given another new release date. Originally scheduled for July 16, 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the release to November 5, 2021. With star Tom Holland currently filming Uncharted (and filming these days ain’t what it used to be), the film has now been moved to December 21, 2021, a date JUST recently abandoned by the planned Avatar sequel.
As originally reported here, Spidey 3 had planned to film in late-September or early-October. A recent video interview with Holland revealed that the studio hoped to complete filming in February of 2021. Given that info, this one month delay gives the studio time to test the film, schedule and complete reshoots and finalize the theatrical cut. All in all, this is good news given all the “indefinite delays” we’ve seen. Hopefully Spidey 3 hits theaters for Christmas 2021!
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How the MCU’s Illuminati Could Take Shape
When the Illuminati were introduced in 2005, Brian Michael Bendis dropped a nuke in arguably the most wide-sweeping retcon in the history of Marvel Comics. Bendis’s concept idea that these heroes shared a secret history worked brilliantly at the time and though the roster has changed some over the years, the group has continued to be an integral part of several major story lines since. Yesterday’s report by the Illuminati that The-One-Above-All is developing an Illuminati-centric project is hardly surprising (fans have been speculating about it for years), but the timing of the project is.
We know that when Kevin Feige and the creative team of Marvel Studios adapt comic properties they aren’t out to make exact replicas of the books and that is going to have to be the case with the Illuminati as well. Out of the original comic book crew there’s only one member alive and well in the MCU and 4 who don’t exist in the shared cinematic universe (sorry guys, the ABC Black Bolt is NOT a legit MCU character), so the make up of the group will certainly have to change but the notion of forming a secret society does not. So who could make up the MCU version and what would bring them together? Let’s take a look…
The Team
A few current members of the MCU seem to be locks to me: Carol Danvers, Bruce Banner and Stephen Strange. Noticeably absent from the list is T’Challa, but I absolutely love the idea of him being ideologically opposed to the formation of such a group and standing apart from his allies. In addition to these 3 “gimmies”, I think you might well see someone like Salma Hayek‘s Ajak join the team as a replacement for Black Bolt. That gives a lineup that keeps some of the ideas Bendis had about the structure of the group intact and looks something like this:
Carol: representing the Cosmic corner of the MCU
Bruce: representing the science sector of the MCU
Stephen: representing the mystics of the MCU
Ajak: representing the long history of super humans on Earth
However, that leaves one fairly large missing piece: the common man. As strange as it seems, that was Tony Stark’s role on the original team. While everyone else was gifted with incredible powers, it was Stark’s ingenuity that made him Iron Man. While it might not be a popular choice with fans, I think the best fit among the current MCU roster is actually Hank Pym. Pym has been around for a long time and seen a lot of things and has quite the secret history himself. I don’t know if this makes up for the slight against him by making neither him nor Wasp founding Avengers, but Michael Douglas is enjoying playing Pym and fits the “common man” archetype better than anyone else. So yeah a really different looking team than what Bendis had in mind, but you work with the tools you have.
What Brings Them Together
In the context of the MCU, this SEEMS pretty easy. If you go back and watch the films and keep track of all the stuff the core Avengers held secret from one another and how those secrets started to tear the team apart and lead to Thanos winning, you can see why a group of folks who sort of cover the major bases might decide it’s best to get together with the intention of making sure something like this never happens again.
So bringing them together at a time when there are no Avengers with the intention of avoiding any major, future issues works just fine; however, the best part about the comic book Illuminati is the unwitting part they play in Skrull Invasion of Earth and, interestingly enough, news of the Illuminati project being developed arrives shortly after news of a Secret Invasion project being in the works as well. I don’t believe this to be coincidental and I think, as I am well aware many of you do, that someone among this crew will be revealed as a Skrull sleeper agent and, if I were to choose RIGHT NOW, I’d choose Carol.
We have no idea what Carol has been up to in the years since she left Earth and we have no idea how advanced the Skrull’s have become. We’ve seen Super Skrulls in the comics with the ability to replicate the powers of the Fantastic Four and while Carol’s powers are enormous, they are a part of her and, therefore, could potentially be reproduced with advanced enough technology. The setup for Carol being a Skrull sleeper agent is there should they chose to go that route. Carol being revealed as a Skrull, after her history as a sort of hero to the people, would cause a seismic shift in the MCU.
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Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 57
After spending a week away, the Charleses got back into the groove by dissecting the Lando news, the latest Tenet delay and that New Mutants situation. Give it to your ears RIGHT HERE.
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‘MS. MARVEL’ Production Update
Now more than ever, production dates seem to be “best guesses” rather than chiseled in concrete but, as we’ve seen recently in the case of Uncharted, things can get back underway and “on time” in this new normal. While we wait for Marvel Studios to resume production on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, WandaVision and Loki, we now have something new to look forward to as the studio has set a NEW start date (verified by Discussing Film) for Ms. Marvel. As of this week, Marvel Studios plans to roll cameras in Atlanta on the streaming series from November through March of 2021!
This new, November start date replaces what was originally supposed to be an August start. Not only does it track with other information we’ve been hearing (such as the studio beginning to zero in on their Kamala Khan) but it also might give us some insight into some other aspects of production. If Marvel Studios is looking to get Ms. Marvel started in November, that might mean that, as of now, that’s when they expect to have studios space open once production on Loki wraps in Atlanta. Additionally, we might deduce that if production on Ms. Marvel is kicking off about 3 months later than originally expected that we could, potentially, see Hawkeye, originally scheduled for a September start, get in front of cameras before the end of 2020 as well!
Keep in mind there are still a lot of obstacles to clear before any productions get underway, but we can tentatively start piecing things together here under the assumption that things get running again soon. Before I go, I’ll leave you with this incomplete tidbit as to why Marvel Studios is keen on casting Kamala Khan sooner than later even though her series isn’t set to film until November: Ms. Marvel won’t be the first time we meet Kamala Khan. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll already know why.
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Our Favorite Costume Changes in Marvel Comics
We’ve had a lot of time on our hands over the past few months and it’s found both of us digging through and rereading old comics. What started out as a side comment while recording the podcast turned into this list of our favorite alternate takes on the costumes of some classic Marvel characters, which, in some cases, came from alternate universe takes on those characters. Enjoy!
Charles M.
The Immortal Iron Fist
In this case at least part of the appeal of the costume to me is that it debuted in what’s undoubtedly the best Iron Fist story ever told. Ed Brubaker’s The Immortal Iron Fist put a legendary spin on the story of Iron Fist and created an incredible history behind the iconic mask worn by Danny in addition to adding the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven to the mythology both of which gave so much more meaning to the symbolism of Danny’s costume.
This sleeker, stripped down version is now the default in my head for Iron Fist. I also loved the simple addition of the fist wraps to a guy who can channel the power of the Iron Fist. This subtle redesign absolutely stands out as one of Marvel’s best.
Earth X Black Bolt
Settling on just Black Bolt when thinking about the Earth X designs was tough because, in all honesty, as much as I love the Inhumans, they always felt TOO human, especially the Royals. Yeah, I know Gorgon and Triton look like creatures and Karnak has a forehead you could show a drive in movie on, but for a group of individuals with alien DNA who are mutated by Terrigen, I always thought they looked pretty average. Then came Earth X…
Earth X totally redesigned the Inhumans making them way more alien while still staying true to the characters and it was Alex Ross’s Black Bolt design that absolutely stole the show. By adding the full face mask and taking away any visible facial features, Ross turned Black Bolt into something actually inhuman and terrifying. The look was so terrifying that it was recently used as the basis for an Inhuman villain, Vox. I have a real love for almost all of Ross’s work, but if I was asked to pick just one that made the jump to the big screen, it would be his Earth X Inhumans.
Masked Doctor Strange
Roy Thomas is a legendary writer and one of my all time favorites. He created some of Marvel Comics iconic characters and teams over the decades and his work fueled my imagination throughout my childhood. One day, in 1969, for no particular reason at all, he thought to himself, “I’m going to put a mask on Doctor Strange” and thus was born the best looking version of the character to date.
Now the origin of the mask and all the associated nonsense that went with the weird villain who tried to steal Stephen’s identity and why Stephen continued to wear it don’t really support how cool of a look this was for the Sorcerer Supreme, but we can’t fault a guy named Dr. Stephen Strange trying to protect his secret identity as Doctor Strange…
Marvel NOW! Cyclops
A costume that made no sense for a man who had utterly lost his way. Cyclops has had a lot of costume designs over the years, but this one is by far the one that makes Scott Summers look like a verified bad ass. While fans were certainly divided on Brian Michael Bendis writing Cyclops as an outright baddie (although a lot of fans would tell you at the time that “Cyclops was right!”), there’s no denying that Chris Bachalo’s design gave him the look he needed to fill the role, even if I still don’t know how Cyke’s powers worked through that X-shaped visor…
I loved the look and really enjoyed watching Scott continue to try to follow his version of Xavier’s dream after killing his mentor, losing control of his powers and basically ostracizing himself from everyone he’d ever known. If there was ever a time to totally redesign the character, it was then and this look absolutely stands out among the various other versions.
Spider-Man Noir
Sometimes excellence can be found in simplicity and that’s Spider-Man Noir. You’d have to look really hard to find someone who doesn’t know what Spider-Man looks like. Spidey is one of the most recognizable heroes in the world and his brilliant, original costume design is part of the reason why. The brilliant colors, the detailed patterns, they symbol…it’s a perfect super hero costume. So why take it all away? Why take away the colors, the patterns, the symbol? I don’t know why, but when you do and you dress Spidey up all in black, give him a trench coat and some guns, you get one hell of a great look as well.
The costume looks so good that it inspired Peter’s stealth suit in Spider-Man: Far From Home, was featured in Into the Spider-Verse and was put into production as a Marvel Legend. It’s a stark contrast to everything Stan Lee and Steve Ditko built into Peter Benjamin Parker’s legendary design, but for me it stands out as one of my favorites because it took everything away and worked because it was so simple.
Charles V.
THE MAKER
The Ultimate Universe is the home to some of comics’ most absolute garbage storytelling. But sometimes, they do get some things right. Setting up a fall-from-grace arc for Reed Richards, culminating in his transformation into one of Marvel’s scariest villains, is one of them.
And boy, does Maker have a great look to him. What makes this costume so great is that it plays right into the characterization of Reed Richards as an insecure nerd. Reed knows he’s never going to be the most attractive guy in the room. But what happens when the smartest person on the planet snaps and stops giving a shit about everything and anyone but himself and his obsession with knowledge? He increases his brain mass by completely deforming his face, amplifying his intelligence by a thousandfold, and creates a sentient city capable of overtaking the planet in a span of days.
I believe that the Maker is a character that needs to be in the MCU. The Fantastic Four is known to traverse alternate realities. In the comics, Prime 616 Reed Richards was inaugurated into the Council of Reeds, a clandestine society of versions of Reed Richards throughout existence. The Maker could be brought into the MCU through that idea.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Hulk
Anytime the Hulk gets a gimmicky redesign, it’s always something to look forward to because you know it’s some bullshit to make an indestructible god-like being interesting. In the Marvel NOW relaunch of the character, Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu decided to let Bruce Banner don a S.H.I.E.L.D. biosuit to assist him in particular situations. Along with the biosuit, Bruce had his own R2D2 in the form of R.O.B., a talking robot sent by Maria Hill to babysit the Hulk.
To me, what makes this Hulk revamp such a change that’s worth noting is because for once, Bruce has his sights set on the betterment of mankind and not just himself. A big part of the story is Bruce coming to terms with his gamma-radiated condition (treating it not like a disease you can magically cure but a disease that should be controlled and managed) and dedicating his scientific expertise to help the world progress. The saying goes, “Hulk destroys. Banner builds.” Such a cool approach to the character.
Ultimate Goblin
Like most of the Ultimates, turning Norman Osborne into a literal monstrosity in the Ultimate Universe was such a mixed bag. On one hand, turning him into a firebreathing hulking strips away the silliness that came with dressing up in a Halloween costume, riding a glider, and throwing exploding pumpkins at bystanders. For once, the Green Goblin became an actual destructive threat. On the other, that silliness is what made the character so iconic and striking in the first place. As a monster, he’s kind of boring since he just punches his way through everything. Him being a monster, however, merits the character a spot in this list of ours simply for being such a drastic change from the iteration.
Basilisk
Cyclops has gone through some pretty cool alternate universe changes through the years, such as his long-hair evil Age of Apocalypse self or the African American Civil War soldier in X-Treme X-Men. Easily my favorite is the Age of X version where Cyke is known by a different codename, Basilisk. For the uninitiated, the Basilisk is a mythical creature with the ability to kill through its stare, a codename that ingeniously apt for Scott Summers.
Given how Age of X is a dystopian reality for this version of the X-Men, Scott in this world is a lot darker than the 616 version. For one, he spends most of his life in a mutant internment camp where his eyelids get surgically removed and powers are used to execute prisoners against his will, earning him the Basilisk nickname. Scott eventually escapes and joins Magento’s mutant resistance in Fortress X to make amends for all the people he executed unwillingly.
Citizen V
If you wanna talk about superhero glow ups, then you have to talk about Baron Zemo as Citizen V. One look at Zemo’s Citizen V should show you just how bonkers this change was. The blank mask, giant sword, USA motif, flowing cape, the over-the-top monologuing about scum and villainy, all make for one of the best alternate costumes for any comic book characters ever.
It also a kickass backstory to boot. You see, back in the day, when all the superheroes disappeared in the fight against Onslaught, creative team Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley conjured up a idea to introduce a new batch of heroes into the Marvel Universe but with a twist: reveal them actual bad guys in disguise led by a sword-wielding Baron Zemo dressed in the American flag. Alas, the Thunderbolts were born.
