Author: João RP

All We Know About ‘THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS’ So Far

The Matrix Resurrections is the upcoming fourth feature film in the Matrix movie series and after a long wait, the first trailer finally dropped. The franchise has gone beyond its initial trilogy. It has given us an animated anthology film in The Animatrix, comics, and video games to tie us over to this day. 1999’s The Matrix is still, to this day, one of the most influential movies ever made. It still holds up thematically and in terms of pure movie-making prowess, but after both sequels didn’t manage to resonate as much with audiences there never seemed to be much certainty surrounding an eventual return to the world created by the Wachowskis.

In 2017, almost fifteen years after The Matrix Revolutions premiered, it got reported that a relaunch was in development at Warner Bros. At the time neither of the Wachowskis, who directed the trilogy, was attached to the project. It wasn’t until the summer of 2019, following the official announcement that the studio had greenlit a sequel, that Lana Wachowski was confirmed to be returning as writer and director. This time she was returning without her sister Lilly Wachowski by her side. It also got reported that Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss would be reprising their iconic roles as Neo and Trinity.

In the following months, the cast grew significantly, with the additions of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Watchmen), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist, Game of Thrones, Love and Monsters), Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci (The Addams Family, Monster). As for other returning actors, Jada Pinkett Smith and Lambert Wilson signed on to the project meaning Niobe and The Merovingian will also return.

Principal photography began in February 2020 in San Francisco, before moving to Chicago and Berlin, Germany. While filming in California, it shared the city as a stage with both Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Venom: Let There be Carnage, before moving to the studios in Germany, where Uncharted was also filming. Production wrapped in November 2020, around the same time the project’s final release date was settled with the studio eyeing a December 2021 release date. It took another nine months for the title to be confirmed as The Matrix Resurrections in August 2021, after some leaks already hinted at it for some time.

The first footage was privately shown at Cinemacon before the trailer announcement on September 7 giving us a few glimpses of the full trailer that finally dropped. You can check it out right here:

https://twitter.com/TheMatrixMovie/status/1435951131071500296?

Source: Variety, SFGATE, Deadline, The Verge

September 9, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: ‘CAPTAIN MARVEL’ Producer Teases Ronan the Accuser’s Possible Return

Jonathan Schwartz has been involved in the MCU for over a decade, having served as an assistant to Kevin Feige before tackling the role of producer in a number of Marvel productions. Before Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, he was involved in projects that deal more with the cosmic side of the MCU, having produced both Guardians of the Galaxy volumes and Captain Marvel‘s debut feature. Having similar settings means that there are a few characters that appeared on both IPs, one of the most notable being Ronan The Accuser. This makes Schwartz, a member of Marvel Studios’ Parliament, the studio’s creative committee, a voice to be heard when regarding the Kree warlord.

We saw Ronan’s apparent death in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy with the character being brought back in Captain Marvel as that movie’s plot was set 20 years earlier. Being a fan favorite it’s fair to say many would like to see Ronan returning in all his glory. We asked about that possibility and Schwartz had this to say:

I’m a big fan of Ronan. I’m a big fan of Lee [Pace]. And I would say “Never say never.”

With all current Marvel storylines having moved past the point of Ronan’s death, it might be fair to assume that if he does make a comeback, it won’t be the same Ronan we met in 2014. But with Marvel Studios introducing the Multiverse in their projects, with What If…? opening the door for many characters to return to the MCU after being killed off in the main timeline, Ronan should indeed be on the top of the list of characters that could return in order to fulfill their comic book potential on the big (or small) screen.

September 3, 2021
What If… It All Leads To Secret Wars?

With four episodes behind us, Marvel Studios’ What If…? is slowly but surely becoming a staple of Phase 4’s approach to the Multiverse. What, for some, was initially seen as a minor entry in the MCU, is not only allowing for the exploration of alternate realities in a way only animation allows to but also building some of the foundations of future live-action events. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe turned into the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, branching out its storylines deviating from the Sacred Timeline, the path ahead of us could be one similar to our own Universe’s.

Following The Big Bang, one of the theories regarding the ultimate fate of the universe is The Big Crunch, where the average density of the universe will be enough to stop its expansion and the universe will begin contracting. The storylines could then eventually begin to merge, bringing together characters that weren’t ever supposed to exist in the same timeline. But such an event, that could very well be an adaptation of Jonathan Hickman‘s Secret Wars (2015) comic book storyline that deals with a similar premise, in order to connect with audiences the way it should, people need to care about the characters, both new and old ones. The gimmick of introducing Captain America or Spider-Man variants could be a fun one to experience, but it’s only by devoting time to each of those characters beforehand that their appearance might mean something more.

So being, the timelines explored so far in What If…? have eventually left us with a focus on a central character, that while maintaining a few of the traits already seen in the movies have gone through very distinct experiences that ultimately left them in a different place in their life. When and if they do manage to show up down the line on a live-action project, their motivations and impulses will have been properly explored allowing for more dynamic interactions and for the movie itself to hit the ground running as only minimal exposition will be required.

A project of this size and scope could still be years away, but with What If…? planned as an annual release on Disney+, it seems the waiting time will be well spent, with more characters added to the MCM roster every year, as we all await a possible Russo Brothers return for what might be the mother of all crossover events. A Marvel Studios led Secret Wars.

September 1, 2021
How Marvel Studios Solved Everything

It’s been already heavily discussed how the fact that Marvel Studios not having the rights to its current catalog of characters from the start was probably a good thing. It allowed for a number of trilogies devoted to specific characters to have the room to be developed, something that was crucial to the relevance those same characters achieved, not only whiting the MCU itself but in pop culture as a whole. From there, with its Cinematic Universe already established and with a need to infuse it with new characters, Marvel Studios had to figure out how to do so all while also giving audiences a pretty good reason why those characters didn’t show up earlier, at times when the Earth needed every helping hand it could find.

So being, Marvel decided to tackle introducing new characters in various ways. These were either someone wanting to keep a low profile (Ant-Man), others were in outer space (Guardians of the Galaxy), another was in a secluded African nation that wanted nothing to do with the outside world’s problems (Black Panther), one was a kid from Queens that kept mostly to his part of town (Spider-Man), another was introduced through a prequel meaning she was there all along, just not on earth (Captain Marvel), while a neurosurgeon turned sorcerer managed to fulfill his duty behind the scenes (Doctor Strange). All in all, it went pretty smoothly, but with its growing catalog of characters, and specifically referring to most of the ones Marvel got back from Fox, Kevin Feige, and the Parliament (Marvel’s unifying creative committee) wouldn’t have such an easy task.

How to introduce both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men to the MCU was always a bit of a head-scratcher, more so with each passing year. Both have an almost inherent need to have been there from the start and, especially in the case of the Mutants, it’d be hard to have them stay away from the public eye since the beginning of the MCU. They have always been the outcasts, the marginalized, enduring a lifetime of being seen as less than they’re worth, which eventually leads to a breaking point. But for this stage to be set, you would need a different context than the one the MCU holds at this time.

Going back to the Fantastic Four, it would also be tough to swallow that Reed Richards, one of the smartest men on the planet, would be left out of the story being told so far, even if Marvel’s First Family hadn’t gained its powers yet, only to show up now. And even if the route chosen would be to have the team vanish in the middle of the space race that started in the 50s, only to return in the present day, there should be references, technology left behind, something that would have already alerted audiences to their presence in the MCU.

But after Loki, by going the route we all saw, what Marvel Studios has done is allow for all the optimal scenarios one might conjure to introduce the former Fox residents to the MCU. Ever since the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney we all knew it was coming, but there always seemed to be a few tough decisions left to be made to make the overarching story make sense. One of those would be Magneto’s origin. Someone who was so clearly defined by the horrors of Nazi Germany and their concentration camps. Introducing such a character beyond 2022 would make him an elderly man, far from the ideal age for such a relevant character in the MCU’s coming decade. But now, both this, the issues raised above, and many others, are almost magically solved, without much compromise

With slight deviations to the Sacred Timeline at specific points in time, you could create these character’s origin stories free from all the constraints more than a decade of MCU projects have ultimately created. With the timeline-hopping we’re probably in store for in the next few years, it won’t take much to get already fully-formed characters with specific backgrounds we already know of (much like we pretty much skipped Spider-Man’s origin in Captain America: Civil War) into the main timeline, with their development from then on being specific to the MCU.

I’m sure the upcoming Multiverse Saga ended up being developed partially because, much like Reed Richards himself in Jonathan Hickman‘s Fantastic Four run, Feige and his team were on a quest to “solve everything”. To figure out how to best move forward beyond the Infinity Saga by following a different structure, and at the same time deciding on how to best integrate two of the most iconic comic book teams into the character playground the MCU has become. Knowing that arriving late to the party might be a downside, by choosing the Multiverse route they are not only allowing their entrance into the MCU in a fairly straightforward fashion but also for it to become the home of the best versions these characters have ever seen on the big screen.

August 13, 2021
Connecting Imaginary Dots: Ethan Hawke is Playing The Profile in ‘MOON KNIGHT’

The Moon Knight Disney+ series that is currently filming in Budapest has, ever since its announcement, been at the top of the list for many fans. That is solely due to how the character might allow for some of the most eccentric pieces of storytelling Marvel Studios has ever put on the big or small screen. Those expectations surrounding the show were later increased when Oscar Isaac signed on to play Marc Spector as well as early this year when academy nominee Ethan Hawke joined the project in, at the time, an undisclosed villainous role.

But last night, while being interviews on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Hawke might have given us enough clues to finally figure out who he’s playing in the upcoming Marvel Studios show. While recalling how Isaac was the one who approached him personally to join him on the project, he said:

I was at a coffee shop and he came up to me and (…) he went “Hey want to be The… want to be in the Moon Knight [series] with me?” and I was like “Yeah!”
Ethan Hawke

It almost slipped out after he had just mentioned how he had to sign several non-disclosure agreements before joining the show. And here, he seemed to have stopped mid-sentence, backtracked a little, and then and rephrased the encounter in another way, but that “The” still sticks out. Going back to a rumor from last September, Moon Knight was looking for an actress to play “a manipulative operative in a secret organization”. Given how this hints at The Committee, “a secret organization of anonymous businessmen and financiers”. Connecting these dots, Ethan Hawke could potentially be playing a character with deep ties to The Committee, and who usually is referred to as The Profile.

Being a character that has the ability to read people, this is something that also goes along with another tidbit shared by Hawke in the interview. He claims to have based his character on David Koresh, the leader of the Branch Davidians cult behind the Waco massacre in 1993. Koresh managed to manipulate his congregation leading to their demise, displaying a personality that allowed for people to open themselves to him, perhaps sharing what they didn’t intend. And this is yet another aspect that might connect to The Profile’s abilities. Another one being his slick look from the comics, similar to the look Hawke is sporting.

The Profile is known to have been both an ally and an enemy to Moon Knight. If we’re indeed having an actor of Hawke‘s caliber play a character with such duality to it can only mean good things regarding the upcoming series. Of course, Moon Knight has quite an extensive rogue’s gallery and there are many other candidates that he could play, but The Profile would make for an unconventional enemy for the Marvel hero to face. We’ll still have to wait for a confirmation on who he is playing, but if you are interested in checking out the interview, you can do so here:

Source: YouTube

August 13, 2021
The Brilliance Behind ‘WHAT IF…?’

Ever since disclosing its Phase 4 lineup, Marvel Studios has been pretty straightforward in that it’s making the Multiverse a reality within the MCU. From the Doctor Strange sequel title to the way Loki played out. We also can’t forget the cameos set to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as we are heading down a very strange yet fascinating rabbit hole. It’s a concept that, if done right, can propel the MCU to new heights, but that comes with a few hurdles along the way. And What If…? seems like the right way to try and overcome some of those.

As we’ve heard many times, the possibilities in terms of storylines are now pretty much endless. There’s an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of characters defining their own paths in an infinite number of ways. In order to capture the magnitude of all of this, Marvel Studios needs to step up and not limit itself in terms of what it will and will not feature in upcoming projects. To barely scratch this concept’s surface would feel like a disservice to audiences that have now been led to believe that anything can happen. This means bringing into the franchise a significant number of new characters, stemming from all those infinite possibilities the MCU has opened itself to.

By introducing those new characters, or Variants as we’ve learned to call them, that’ll end up playing an important role going forward, you now need to make sure audiences acknowledge the differences between them. You need to make sure those same differences are felt on a deep level in order to make them appear singular. As such, it becomes more meaningful. Spider-Man: No Way Home is somewhat bypassing all those concerns by bringing back variations of characters people already have a connection with, which is certainly one way to go about it. It is something that might happen with a few more characters down the line. But as for all the others, you needed a vehicle to let them shine and present themselves before bringing them into the larger picture. And that’s where the What If…? concept proves a worthy one.

By giving us an anthology-like format, where every week we’ll be presented with updated characters with new motivations, as well as coming from new universes with different paradigms to them, you allow for a higher number of character introductions at a faster pace. There is no need for a long-form story. We’re basically being given plot beats that are already familiar, but that still need to be seen in a different light. As we eventually approach an event where most universes are brought together in live-action, the time given to all these variants will be worth it as it will make their introductions all the more impactful.

In terms of the style of the show, you can’t hide from the fact that we’re getting the first animated MCU series. And even though it may help in terms of bringing in a whole new segment of younger fans, it’s a choice that ultimately respects the scale and scope of the universes these characters must live and thrive in. Following a decade of movies where the MCU has gone to outer space, featured battles with armies of thousands, introduced time travel and magic, you needed to maintain the level spectacle that we‘ve come to expect from Marvel properties. Through animation, it’s easier (and cheaper, thus making it viable) to bring to life all the sets and setpieces needed to elevate each reality to the grand scale of their Sacred Timeline counterpart.

By going the animation route also makes it feasible to bring back so many familiar faces, even if not all of the actors are returning. Not mentioning the money that would have to be involved to get entire casts to return had these been live-action roles, the sheer magnitude of the scheduling would probably prevent many of the appearances we will end up getting on the show. By allowing each role to be recorded at a convenient time (perhaps lending to some lackluster vocal performances), scheduling conflicts are averted, and the story can go wherever it wants to with no limitations in terms of who can and cannot make an appearance.

So being, What If…? is instilling the MCU with a much-needed variety of universes that seem to manage to live up to the possibilities the MCU opened itself to. On paper, it seems to be just what the MCU needed going forward. With both its format and its style pointing in the right direction, all that’s left to be seen is if what matters most, the character development that’s been at the heart of the MCU’s success manages to deliver.

August 11, 2021
‘AHSOKA’ Seeking to Cast Live-Action Sabine Wren

It was with little surprise that Lucasfilm announced to be developing a live-action Ahsoka series, following her live-action introduction in the second season of The Mandalorian. Ever since that announcement on December 10, 2020, that fans have eagerly awaited the confirmation that Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren would be appearing alongside Rosario Dawnson‘s Ahsoka Tano, as her search for their long-lost friend Ezra Bridger continues.

This news has now seemingly been confirmed in a trade interview by Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming, television, and animation over at Marvel Studios, where, when referring that animation characters have often made the jump to live-action, it reads:

Dawson is leading a live-action Ahsoka spinoff for Disney+, with sources saying Lucasfilm is looking for an actress to star opposite Dawson as Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren.

With Mena Massoud reportedly being the front runner to play live-action Ezra Bridger, and Lars Mikkelsen linked to the Admiral Thrawn role, all that’s missing is from Ahsoka‘s main cast is someone for the Sabine part. And we now have confirmation that Lucasfilm is indeed looking for someone to play the former Ghost crew member.

If rumors are true, they’ll also be joined by The Clone Wars character Barriss Offee. It seems worlds are colliding in the upcoming Ahsoka series, which will unite many open story points from Star Wars many animated series. It always opens up the potential to also expand into additional spin-offs that continue to expand upon the galaxy’s lore and visit the many unexplored corners along the way.

Source: THR

August 11, 2021
‘Y: The Last Man’’s Turbulent Journey to FX

After what seems like an eternity, the Y: The Last Man trailer finally got released. With a little over a month to go before its September 13th premiere on FX, it feels like a good time to go back and remember just how difficult it was bringing the Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra iconic comic series to the small screen. In 2015, the series was announced to enter development over at FX. Since, the show has not only gone through different showrunners, a different main cast, but also a different title. From just the initial Y, it has since moved back to the source material’s original title, Y: The Last Man.

Michael Green (Smallville, Heroes, American Gods) was once slated to serve as showrunner, and was co-writing the pilot with Brian K. Vaughan., After working on the show for four years, he left the production in 2019 following “creative differences” being replaced by Eliza Clark (Extant, Animal Kingdom). With principal photography for the pilot taking place in 2018, it’s perhaps fair to assume that, following the changes to the leadership behind the show, we’ll be getting little to no footage of that period to show up in the final product.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming got postponed to later 2020. It only concluded last month, July 2021. Around the time filming began, it was also announced that the show would feature an almost entirely different cast from the one initially announced in 2018. Barry Keoghan (Eternals), Diane Lane, Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later), Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel), Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland, Amber Tamblyn, and Timothy Hutton were all set to star in the show, but perhaps due to delays and the way the approach towards the show evolved, some ended up getting replaced. Ashley Romans and Olivia Thirlby (Dredd) stepped into the roles which initially belonged to Lynch and Poots. Ben Schnetzer replaced Keoghan as Yorick Brown, the series lead. Paul Gross also joined the show at a later stage as Hutton, another of the big names from the original cast list, left following a restructuring surrounding his role.

Getting the show off the ground was obviously an extremely turbulent affair, something that might probably end up hurting the series’ quality. But it’s rather poetic if a show that focuses on a global cataclysmic event, that got postponed due to a global pandemic, somehow found redemption to its lackluster development story in a series that does justice to the brilliant, Eisner Award-winning comic series it’s based upon.

As stated above, the show focuses on the aftermath of a cataclysmic event that ends up killing every single mammal on planet earth with a Y chromosome. In layman’s terms, only females survived. Enter Yorick Brown, who mysteriously manages to survive with no idea of how that came to be. Alongside Ampersand, his pet monkey, he becomes involved in a world of governmental espionage and international intrigue. All of this with the backdrop of humanity possibly being on the verge of extinction for simply not being able to reproduce. We’re led in a globetrotting adventure, across multiple continents as Yorick, the Last Man, fights not only for his own future but also for his race. It is set to premiere on September 13th, 2021, on FX.

Source: Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Variety, Deadline, GameSpot, Collider, Deadline, ScreenRant

August 5, 2021
‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Adds ‘Jurassic Park’s Cinematographer Dean Cundey

Academy Award nominee Dean Cundey has been revealed to be The Book of Boba Fett‘s cinematographer. He has collaborated in several projects directed by iconic filmmakers. The list includes Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and John Carpenter. Cundey might be best known for 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a Hollywood milestone in terms of combining live-action and animated sequences. This project earned him his only Academy Award nomination, eventually losing out to Peter Biziou‘s work in Mississippi Burning.

It’s certainly interesting that he is the choice to lead the camera and light crews in a Star Wars project, especially since The Mandalorian (from which The Book of Boba Fett spins-off off) has made a case of using a high number of practical effects that often, later on, have to be combined with CGI elements, something Cundey’s career has been all about.

The aforementioned Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Halloween, The Thing, the Back to the Future trilogy, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, Hook, and Jurassic Park are just a few of the iconic projects the cinematographer has worked on. All of them are heavily instilled with the mix of practical and computer-generated effects we’ll likely find in the upcoming Disney+ series.

The Book of Boba Fett is due to premiere later this year on Disney+. Temuera Morrison returns as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen will reprise her Fennec Shand role, which got introduced in The Mandalorian and later featured in the animated show The Bad Batch. Plot details remain under wraps and here’s hoping we get a trailer soon to give us a glimpse into what direction this series is heading.

Source: American Cinematographer, IMDb

July 25, 2021
Why MARVEL STUDIOS Series Can and Will Improve

The Marvel Disney+ shows have hit the ground running ever since WandaVision‘s premiere back in January. As we approach August we’ve now had 21 episodes spread through three different shows, that even with their ups and downs have managed to capture both the imagination of fans and good reviews from critics.

The aforementioned WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and now Loki have pretty much delivered on what was promised. Deeper dives into the lives of characters that had limited screen time in the movies, allowing time for each to introduce their own universe of surrounding characters in a way that perhaps not even the a-listers from the big screen managed to. The action set-pieces, something hard to match to the movies’, have mostly delivered and the scripts have, in many ways, felt like a breath of fresh air as the boundaries of a 150-minute blockbuster were nowhere to be seen.

But this is not to say that the upcoming shows don’t have room to grow. In fact, that is probably the only way to go, as with what happened in the early days of the MCU where it’s safe to say that they only hit their stride already a few movies in. The issues with the shows we’ve had so far range from normal and expected, to natural disasters and once-in-a-generation global-affecting events. Here are a few of those issues the shows have had to face, and why Marvel Studios will likely manage to overcome them in the future.

The Pandemic

WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were hit the hardest by the pandemic. We can all recall the early days when little was known about the virus and the responses were often a swift and total lockdown. These two shows had pretty much to stop production, at a time when FatWS was abroad in Prague, in the Czech Republic, with no idea of how or when they would be allowed to return. When productions were allowed to resume, both struggled with what they could do while maintaining safety on set, thus limiting their access to certain locations and the setup of specific set pieces involving a higher than usual number of actors. This might be a reason why WandaVision‘s finale felt a bit hollow and why there were times in FatWS where every Latvian building felt the same because perhaps they were. WandaVision might have even ended up shortening their episode count on behalf of the limitations production faced because of the pandemic, so even though shows like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk have all been impacted, in one way or another by safety concerns, it’s safe to say the first few Marvel Studios streaming shows were hit the hardest, in ways others wouldn’t be. With knowledge regarding the virus at an all-time high, with vaccinations going ahead at a fast rate, this is something upcoming shows will have n easer time dealing with than their predecessors, with minimal impact on the final product.

Earthquakes in Puerto Rico

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was set to shoot in the incredible locations the Caribbean island is known for, including the iconic Arecibo Telescope (which collapsed in late 2020). Due to a series of earthquakes on the island in early 2020, production was suspended and later abandoned altogether. Not having impacted the show in the same way the pandemic did, it certainly hurt the “globe-trotting adventure” we were somewhat promised, limiting the scope of the show as it had to settle with one less exotic location to explore, something upcoming shows won’t have to struggle with. With upcoming shows focused on limiting the way the pandemic might affect them in the coming months, traveling abroad should be limited whenever possible (not in Moon Knights, case, for one), and therefore avoiding unexpected naturally occurring phenomena that could impact productions should then become a by-product of that initial concern.

The available runtime

With the advent of streaming, most shows now have the power to decide what runtime suits them best. No longer limited by the constraints of network tv, there is no longer any excuse if you could do with those extra 10 minutes to tell your story, or if you feel that a shortened episode works best. From WandaVision to Loki we’ve seen Marvel dabble with shorter and longer formats, and even though most of the choices have worked it might be fair to say that the lack of constraints has allowed for a freedom that might need to be reigned in. There are still times when we could probably use a few more minutes and in others when the story managed to drag a little bit so, in a way, it feels production might have overcompensated at times. There obviously isn’t such a thing as a work of art that manages to please everyone enjoying it in the same fashion and the results so far have been very enjoyable, but I wouldn’t put it past Marvel Studios to try and hone down on what might improve these shows even further, and the pace of the storytelling seems like something that could be easily improved.

Dealing with the “twists”

I’m all for one new episode every week as it allows for the type of discussion that truly makes a show a communal event. But by going that route, Marvel has got to do better than just expand the runtime of their usual blockbuster and split it through 6 episodes, like they’ve stated many times as something these shows would end up looking like. Even though there has been enough substance to justify the added duration, there are subtleties to the “language” of a weekly that differ from the movies’. In terms of twists, while you might have been caught off guard in a movie by something you didn’t see coming, when you have an entire week to theorize, to digest, or even just to read what other people have to say about what you all saw the previous week this just isn’t the case. So being, audiences ask for a very different type of surprise from episode to episode than the ones they can handle in theaters. The Agatha and Powerbroker twists were something many saw a mile away due to this, and even if most didn’t, they probably read about it before the final reveal. And the same could have happened with the Taskmaster twist had Black Widow been a tv show and audiences had the possibility of spending days reading online articles in between watching acts 2 and 3 of the movie. The twists, if they do occur, should then be focused less on Marvel comic book history and more on less identifiable elements, so that at least audiences may keep themselves from figuring it out by a simple google search.

There are likely dozens of other aspects being currently addressed at Marvel Studios concerning the streaming shows. More than anyone, they know what’s been working and what needs some work. These are just a few aspects of how, in some cases with no fault of their own, it’s identifiable how the series can continue to grow, as things get back to normal in terms of production and as they get a few more shows, from which to learn from, under their belt.

July 14, 2021