Murphy's Multiverse

Category: Features

  • An ‘Eternals’ Retrospective: Behind the Screen of Marvel Studios Divisive Film

    An ‘Eternals’ Retrospective: Behind the Screen of Marvel Studios Divisive Film

    It has been more than a year since Marvel Studios released Eternals, a blockbuster film that has been met with a multitude of reactions from audiences and critics alike. As we commemorate the first anniversary of its release, it is fitting to reflect on the film’s production, its place within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the creative process of its director, Chloé Zhao.

    Upon its initial release, Eternals garnered 400 million dollars in revenue, cementing its success as a new franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, its future within the franchise remains uncertain due to its more mature tone and lack of humorous elements, which diverge from the usual “aesthetic” of Marvel films.

    Despite its financial success, the release of Eternals was not without its challenges. The film faced significant censorship in Chinese markets and faced a boycott campaign in the United States by conservative political parties due to its premise of diversity and representation. This irony is not lost on Zhao, who aimed to create a film that truly represents the diverse world we live in, a world where people of all backgrounds and experiences coexist and shape our society. In doing so, Zhao also sought to bring together a cast that represents those who are often seen as misfits, outcasts, and underdogs in mainstream media, showcasing their strength, resilience, and inherent worth. The ultimate goal was to give the audience a sense of connection to these characters, to see them not as representatives of their ethnicity or nationality, but as a loving family.

    On the technical side, the flick is a masterclass in visual storytelling and technical proficiency. From the very beginning of the film, Zhao’s unique visual style is evident, as she uses a variety of techniques to draw the viewer into the world of the film.

    One of the most notable aspects of Zhao’s direction is her incorporation of elements of classical cinema into the film. She frequently employs long takes and elaborate camera movements, reminiscent of the work of directors like Stanley Kubrick, to heighten the emotional impact of key moments in the film. Additionally, she incorporates elements of classical Hollywood glamour, such as glamorous costume design and sweeping, epic score, to add a sense of grandeur and timelessness to the film. These nods to the golden age of cinema lend Eternals a sense of timelessness and classicism, and further reinforce the themes of legacy and eternity that are central to the film’s narrative.

    Eternals (2021)
    2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

    Eternals has the potential to be more than just a typical superhero film and offer a deeper and more complex viewing experience. One possibility for showcasing Eternals within the MCU could be to present it as an anthology series, separate from the main MCU story, which would allow for a more in-depth exploration of the characters and world without being restricted by the overall continuity. The final decision on how to present Eternals in the MCU will depend on the filmmakers and the studio, but it is definitely an exciting possibility worth considering.

  • Ikaris Should Return in Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’

    Ikaris Should Return in Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’

    Marvel Studios’ Eternals is suddenly back in the conversation, and its possible resurgence could open quite a few doors for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A new rumor making the rounds online has the film’s third act impacting several future MCU projects, with 2024’s Thunderbolts at the center of it all. Industry insider Daniel RPK reports that the reformed supervillain team will gather for a trip to Tiamut, the massive Celestial that froze solid in the middle of the ocean at the end of Eternals, which has since become a full-blown island. According to RPK, there’s a chance Tiamut has become a natural supplier of a valuable new resource, Adamantium, which the team and several other parties have grown an interest in. How this could potentially play out is still a mystery, but if true, it might indicate the surprise return of a major Eternals character – Ikaris.

    Ikaris, portrayed by Richard Madden in his first cinematic appearance, was last seen flying directly into the sun after betraying his fellow Eternals in the name of Arishem and the Emergence. It was assumed this act of self-punishment resulted in Ikaris’ death, but as Eternals so distinctly showcased, this does not exactly spell the ultimate end of an Eternal. Created by Celestials, the Eternals are built to last, and come with a near-endless amount of backup bodies should their current form be destroyed. It’s not a stretch to imagine Ikaris will make a comeback at some point in the MCU’s next phase, even if it’s not the exact version of the cosmic warrior fans previously saw perish. In fact, if Ikaris’ body was completely melted by the intensity of Earth’s sun, it would stand to reason Arishem and the Celestials would feel there’s enough at stake to send out another Ikaris with a new mind and a new mission. Return to Earth, and protect what’s left of Tiamut.

    The Celestials, or at least Arishem, are now keeping a keen eye on Earth and its people. If Tiamut is actually an unexpected means of the MCU gaining Adamantium, the Celestials could view that as an undue advancement of humanity and send Ikaris to prevent the massive changes that might come with societies claiming the alien metal as their own. Whether or not this could make Ikaris the “evil Superman” figure rumored to act as the secret villain of Thunderbolts is, of course, still unknown. Other reports have made claims for the Sentry fitting that role, starting as part of the Thunderbolts roster sent after Tiamut’s Adamantium before losing his mind and becoming the main threat of the film. Perhaps both Sentry and Ikaris will appear in the movie, becoming rivals throughout the story. After all, if Sentry is a major antagonist in the project, the Thunderbolts will need a little extra help from someone a little more powerful if they have any hope of emerging victorious.

    Aside from the undeniable “cool factor” of pitting two God-like superbeings against each other, the inclusion of Ikaris in Thunderbolts could also be a very smart “big picture” move on Marvel Studios’ part. If Eternals 2 is indeed coming, and it’s truly based on the recent Judgement Day comics written by Kieron Gillen, then Ikaris’ potential role in Thunderbolts would become a very useful throughline between the Eternals and the wider MCU. Judgement Day features a conflict between the Eternals, the Avengers, and the X-Men, over new discoveries in the Eternals’ purpose and the mutants’ gene code. If Tiamut is actually destined to transform into Genosha and play a role in the impending mutant side of the MCU, having a version of Ikaris aware of the way it affects the planet would act as an excellent prelude to an Eternals: Judgement Day film. Maybe, if Marvel Studios really wanted to get crazy, they could even have Ikaris’ meddling on “Genosha” factor into the island’s mutant evolution. It’s important to remember these are all just rumors at the moment. However, the events of Eternals and the franchise’s future playing such a vital role in the MCU would be a wonderfully unexpected way to resolve the Eternals’ arc and push the greater universe forward in a creative manner.

  • The Unintentional Gambit of Using Z-Listers to Create Sony’s Spider-Man Universe

    The Unintentional Gambit of Using Z-Listers to Create Sony’s Spider-Man Universe

    As studios continue in the age of developing cinematic universes, one notable example that remains steeped in mediocrity is Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). The studio’s attempt to counter the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t had the most promising start between two commercially passable, yet critically mixed Venom films and the unmitigated flop that was Morbius. Not to be deterred, Sony is still persisting with various other films based on Spider-Man supporting characters. Their choices continue to bring up some major question marks with some of the obscure characters that will be adapted in El Muerto and Hypno-Hustler. It doesn’t immediately put the best foot forward for a logical cinematic universe plan, and it’s certainly very easy to lampoon. However, Sony Pictures may have stumbled upon what could be a genuinely unique and fruitful way to stand out in the world of major franchises.

    Many questions can certainly be asked about the logic of creating a cinematic universe around Marvel characters connected to Spider-Man, while never actually using the titular character in any of the films in that universe. However, scraping the bottom of the barrel allows the chance to essentially create new characters and original intellectual property. It’s a concept that studios should be thrilled to have on their hands and what would actually help push it over the edge into cinematic success would be allowing the creative teams of these projects to get truly experimental with them by being visually and narratively distinct from most superheroic-fare. Letting Bad Bunny dive deep into the world of professional wrestling for the role of El Muerto has the potential to be an audience draw for Sony Pictures. And more importantly, letting Donald Glover star in a feature-length film about a deranged club musician could bring out the strong artistic quality found in the tracks and music videos of Childish Gambino. That could truly turn Hypno-Hustler into a household name and a critically successful film.

    Some may scoff at the idea of Hypno-Hustler and El Muerto having any potential of being “household names” but for casual audiences, there’s no real difference in awareness of comic characters beyond the upper class of characters. The general knowledge for the characters mentioned above from the common film attendee is essentially equal to that of the Guardians of the Galaxy before 2014 and while of course the success of James Gunn’s film was built around his strong craftsmanship, the SSU could potentially find some level of benefits with unfettered work from good filmmakers. As an additional plus, the usage of Z-list comic characters will allow the filmmakers to take whatever creative liberties they’d need to as they’re not beholden to any sanctity of lore.

    While there are potential positives from using these obscure villains, there are equally strong reasons to avoid the current strategy of using more recognizable Spider-Man villains in solo outings. If the SSU remains insistent on not using an interpretation of the Wall-Crawler in their films, then it’s a waste of resources to use characters intrinsically tied to him. Audiences don’t have any tangible reason to watch a film about a villain without their main rival present. The first two Venom films have barely been able to pass as successful films thanks to the individual cache the character has had from 1990s nostalgia. Meanwhile, a character like Morbius that holds none of that cache led Sony Pictures to one of the most major flops in the superhero genre in a good long while. 

    With that in mind, Kraven the Hunter has all the earmarks to be a flop based on these metrics. Making the villain a seemingly pure protagonist has the potential to remove any of the interesting elements of the character (something that wouldn’t need to be worried about with obscure villains with no love lost). It’s obvious that Kraven would have been much better served being used as a villain for a Tom Holland-led, Marvel Studios co-produced Spider-Man film. These types of more recognizable villains would be much better served in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (aka Sony Pictures actual cash cow in terms of Spider-Man films).

    If the SSU does go in the direction of building around these untapped characters, they cannot take half measures in creative decision-making. The studio must fully embrace these types of weird characters and provide the filmmakers with the trust for them to maximize their potential. This sounds strongly rudimentary for the process of filmmaking, but they need to actually have a strong story concept that can be built upon by your main creative team. The notion of simply matching a random celebrity to a Z-list character obviously does not make a successful film. There’s interesting potential in films such as El Muerto and Hypno-Hustler, but if the only idea there is the surface-level pitch, then Sony Pictures are in for a continued world of hurt.

    Sony Pictures does have a dark horse chance to turn their odds and ends into something truly distinct in the superhero cinematic landscape. Of course, it seems likely that this was a plan created without much forethought going in and it will be an uphill battle for it to actually work. This strategy will have to involve Sony trusting its filmmakers to independently create unique projects, something that the studio has struggled to do in most of its live-action projects based around Spider-Man. Speaking of the titular character, an attempt to create this sort of universe could’ve been more successful if Sony chose to adapt essentially any of the pantheon of Spider-people that are set to appear in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Ultimately, this whole conversation could be a moot point in the potentially probable event that all these films are shuttered following another financial and critical flop from the studio.

  • Hope Springs: As ‘Eternals’ Blazes its Post-Zhao Trail, A Prestige Series Would Represent A Bold New Path

    Hope Springs: As ‘Eternals’ Blazes its Post-Zhao Trail, A Prestige Series Would Represent A Bold New Path

    2021’s Eternals was a divisive film. With an Academy Award-winning director at the helm, it boasted an all-star cast while exploring themes of humanity, spirituality, and sacrifice. It also used Z-list Marvel characters that very few audience members had a connection to, and the course of the movie’s runtime proved inadequate to develop that connection with any of them. Add in a very underdeveloped primary antagonist, and the result is an extremely low consensus as to its quality, with a Rotten Tomatoes score that reflects that.

    But one recurring comment in discussions about the film’s scope was that the story might better have been served by a series instead of a film. And considering that the film stretches from 5000 BCE to the present, there’s a lot of jumping around in the timeline that makes it harder for a viewer to find proper grounding. That being said, Chloé Zhao had a vision, and it’s doubtful that she would have signed on to do the project, nor would have had the ability to attract the wide range of global stars for it, if it was “just” a show.

    But as we reach the cusp of 2023, things have changed quite a bit. A new rumor suggests that Zhao is not expected to return for the Eternals sequel, and the progression of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Multiverse Saga has shifted the focus to its Big Bad, Kang. Whatever our interest in the ongoing exploits of our synthetic lifeforms cosplaying as deities while being the harbingers of worldwide cataclysm, they have surely been diminished, Harry Styles notwithstanding. That isn’t to say that these exploits aren’t worth getting into, though. There’s rich storytelling ground and fantastic actors who deserve the opportunity to be showcased. That’s why Eternals should return as a “prestige” series, telling the stories of individual Eternals in an anthology format.

    There are a number of reasons that this is preferable to greenlighting a sequel, shepherding it through the development and production process, and trying to promote it against the backdrop of much more high-profile and anticipated projects featuring more beloved characters. Because of the narrative around the first film, getting people out for the sequel is going to be an even tougher sell. Even though the next director they might choose brings a certain amount of differentiation, it’s hard to do better than the previous year’s Best Director. And the cast was already top-notch. What possible new actor could enter the mix and move the needle?


    But for a streaming show, you’re not getting people to load up the family and settle in for two or three hours in the cinema. You’re asking them to boot up Disney Plus at their leisure and watch something poignant, thought-provoking, and moving. We just recently saw that with Andor, Star Wars was able to reset the narrative around that franchise because of the elevated quality of the storytelling and filmmaking of Tony Gilroy, even with lower-than-average streaming numbers. The calculus was that if you make something truly great, people will find it eventually, even if it isn’t fully steeped in the zeitgeist.

    The Eternals, by their very nature, have stood apart from the MCU meta-narrative until now. And with 7000 years to explore for each character, each Eternal should easily be able to command his or her own standalone narrative, shaped around a different director’s vision, and showcasing that character in more depth. And for each cast member, instead of having to find the time in their busy schedules for a full movie shoot, they can carve out their availability in tandem with the production, unconstrained by the continuity of one main story.

    Just think of the different styles that could be displayed, and the levels of experimentation that would allow them to deviate from the oft-derided “Marvel House Style.” Shooting one episode could be a way to get daring filmmakers like The Daniels in the door without holding them to the parameters of traditional MCU guardrails. And the endpoint of this experimentation would be the differentiation of each Eternal to a greater degree, and a bigger investment in those characters in the future, regardless of whether they appear together or apart.

    As much as we love Marvel, it’s really hard for them to make prestige television that still feels like it fits within the same universe as the films — especially when, for the most part, connectivity is a draw. But in the case of Eternals, they already leaned into the idea of these characters’ limited connections. So stories told in that space can just concentrate on being as interesting and powerful as possible. And Marvel should be able to attract interesting and powerful storytellers and filmmakers as they deepen and add more texture to the world of the Eternals. And that, in many ways, would do a lot more for the Eternals brand than any sequel film could.

  • 5 Directors Who Could Chart the Course for ‘Eternals: Judgement Day’

    5 Directors Who Could Chart the Course for ‘Eternals: Judgement Day’

    There were so many things we enjoyed about Eternals, but it is safe to say that it ended up being one of Marvel’s most divisive films. It had the unenviable tasks of building the world Post-Endgame, retconning heroes into key events of said world, and explaining their absence during an all-hands-on-deck situation versus Thanos. As it turns out, it also had to set the tone for the conflict ahead in Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts (if some of what we’ve heard is to be believed). Now, with a new rumor suggesting that Chloé Zhao will not return to helm an Eternals sequel, we thought it made sense to look at five directors who could take over for her and deliver on the things that worked in the original while not repeating the things that didn’t.

    Brad Bird

    The director of Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol and The Incredibles tops this list because of his experience with big ensembles, ability to craft action sequences and the talent to juggle the absurd with the serious when it comes to plots.

    Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

    Everything Everywhere All At Once is, without question, one of the best films of 2022, and its directors deserve the opportunity to helm a big-budget adventure like Eternals 2. They, also, nailed the time-travel/Multiversal ideas of that film, which will come in handy as they navigate an Eternals sequel that could tap into those themes. Keep in mind that Marvel Studios already wanted them to direct Loki, so it’s not like Kevin Feige and Co. don’t know who they are.

    Steven Spielberg

    Kevin Feige got his white whale when Harrison Ford agreed to take over as Thaddeus Ross following the death of William Hurt. Could he go big game hunting for the Eternals sequel? It’s definitely possible, but this isn’t the only reason Feige has to make the call. Spielberg’s ability to craft nuanced stories around dysfunctional family-like units would lend itself well to a group that is trying to find their kidnapped family members. There is, also, something kismet about Feige snagging the director of Close Encounters of the Third Kind after he basically shat all over superhero movies.

    Deborah Chow

    Fresh off delivering the incredible Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+, there’s something poetic about a Chinese female director being replaced by another Chinese female director just as Marvel Studios talks about continuing to diversify their director suite. Chow crafted something fresh for Obi-Wan, and she was able to find a way to make people care about a character who we had seen so much of already. She respected the lore of Star Wars, all while really expanding the universe in very intriguing ways. Given the role that we believe Eternals will play in the MCU going forward, Chow could do the same for this part of the world.

    Travis Knight

    The man responsible for giving us an actual Transformers movie and not whatever Michael Bay gave us, Travis Knight showed that he could juggle emotional beats and serious action in one film. However, it’s his work on Kubo and The Two Strings that make us excited about him potentially directing this. That movie brought some beautiful visuals to a really heartwarming story, and while you don’t want the next director to replicate everything Zhao did, you must admit that it was a stunning movie. Knight could do 70% of that while improving the action significantly.

    Of course, at the moment there’s no indication that Eternals 2 is in the works or that Zhao wouldn’t be on board if it were. In that case, this could also just be a nice list of directors who we’d like to see working with Marvel Studios at some point down the road.

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 2, Havok

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 2, Havok

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts.

    The X-Factor

    One of Fox’s most mysterious decisions in rebooting their own X-Men franchise in 2011’s X-Men: First Class was the choice to make Alex Summers the older brother of Scott and a member of Xavier’s first team of X-Men only to sideline him fairly quickly. Without being able to access the depths of Simon Kinberg’s mind, it’s impossible to know why Alex was underutilized but it really just seemed like Fox didn’t have a long-term plan for him. That’s good news for Marvel Studios because it allows them to make the easy choice to introduce Alex alongside Scott and then set him on his own path; a path that sets him on course to become the leader of his own team: X-Factor.

    Telling the best version of Alex’s story means having him separated from Scott. Rather than being given the advantages provided to Scott by Xavier, Alex’s struggles with his self-confidence and his emerging powers result in an alpha-level mutant whose lack of control makes him fairly dangerous. Ultimately though, like Scott, Alex is a born leader and allowing him to grow into his powers and then put together his own team would be a fantastic way to set him apart from Lucas Till’s forgettable version.

    Among its many failures, foremost of Fox’s foul-ups was that it never allowed its X-Men universe to grow and evolve beyond the core X-Men teams. The comics are loaded with mutant teams outside of the X-Men: X-Force, Excalibur, Generation X, hell even X-Statix all exist. Other than the brief assemblage of X-Force in Deadpool 2 and the ill-fated New Mutants, Fox stayed away from these teams. That means Marvel Studios can (and almost certainly will) dive headlong into developing them and Havok’s X-Factor should be one of the first and most important. While the team was originally just Scott’s X-Men working with the government, Alex put his own squad together and that squad is among the most memorable and powerful versions of X-Factor to have existed.

    Marvel Studios would be wise to let Alex grow into a leader of X-Factor and ultimately come into opposition to his brother and his more authoritarian approach to leadership. Though the brothers can’t harm one another with their powers, they could certainly go toe-to-toe and break out the fisticuffs should Havok still be around long enough to see his brother cause a schism among mutantkind. Marvel Studios certainly loves brother vs. brother drama. Beyond that, a Havok-led X-Factor team provides a fantastic way to grow the mutant-corner of the MCU beyond the adventures of the core and introduce some other incredibly important characters who were criminally underused by Fox: Polaris and Jamie Madrox. Whatever it is Marvel Studios has planned for the mutants, they should certainly make room for a proper portrayal of Alex Summers.

  • Murphy’s Team-Up Volume 28: Marvel’s Most Wanted 2023

    Murphy’s Team-Up Volume 28: Marvel’s Most Wanted 2023

    Marvel Studios 2022 slate was as uneven as any the studio has put out in some time. Strong streaming offerings such as Ms. Marvel and Werewolf by Night gave in-home entertainment a boost while theatrically Marvel put out one of its biggest duds in Thor: Love and Thunder. Will 2023 be a stronger year? Like 2022, all of the studio’s films are sequels but unlike 2022 none of the streaming series will add new heroes to the MCU. For 2023 to be a success, Marvel Studios had better have some good stories ready to roll!

    Which stories are the members of Team MM looking forward to the most? We ranked them by most anticipated movie, most anticipated series and most anticipated overall…and asked our Twitter followers to do the same! Here’s what we found out…

    Charles Murphy

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ironheart
    • Secret Invasion
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Loki, Season 2
    • The Marvels
    • Ironheart
    • Secret Invasion
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

    Torbjorn Frazier

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Secret Invasion
    • The Marvels
    • Ironheart

    Meghan Hall

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart

    Brandi Blahnik

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • Loki, Season 2
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2

    Darian Scalamoni

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Ironheart
    • The Marvels

    Joao Roque Pinto

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Secret Invasion
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Secret Invasion
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ironheart

    Shashwat

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • The Marvels
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart

    Anthony Canton III

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • The Marvels

    Hunter Radesi

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • The Marvels

    Dalbin Osorio

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • Loki, Season 2
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2

    Jeffrey Peterson

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • The Marvels
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • The Marvels
    • Ironheart

    MTF III

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • The Marvels
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Secret Invasion
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Secret Invasion
    • Loki, Season 2
    • The Marvels
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ironheart

    Jared Kirschenbaum

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    • Secret Invasion
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Loki, Season 2
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Ironheart
    • Secret Invasion

    Lanfranco

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • The Marvels
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Secret Invasion
    • The Marvels
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • Ironheart

    Mary Rowe

    Most Anticipated Movie
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    Most Anticipated Series
    • Secret Invasion
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ironheart
    Most Anticipated Project
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    • The Marvels
    • Secret Invasion
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    • Loki, Season 2
    • Ironheart

    MM Twitter Followers

    Over the course of the week, we ran 3 different polls asking our followers to vote on the same 3 categories. Here are the results…

    Most Anticipated Movie (4,930 votes)
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (38.8%)
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (37.4%)
    • The Marvels (23.8%)
    Most Anticipated Series (1,873 votes)
    • Loki, Season 2 (54%)
    • Secret Invasion (40.3%)
    • Ironheart (5.7%)
    Most Anticipated Project (3,983 votes)
    • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (35.3%)
    • Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (34%)
    • Loki, Season 2 (16.1%)
    • Secret Invasion (14.6%)
  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 1, Cyclops

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 1, Cyclops

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts.

    The First X-Man

    No character took it on the chin harder during Fox’s reign of terror with the X-Men than Scott Summers. The original trilogy sideline James Marsden‘s version and the Simon Kinberg films reduced him to a guy who just screamed an awful lot. A properly planned out X-Men franchise within a franchise should take Scott Summers on a 10-year arc from Xavier’s yes-man to a controversial mutant revolutionary. Anything less is doing the character yet another disservice.

    One of the easiest ways for Marvel Studios to set their vision for the X-Men apart from Fox’s is to put Scott, in fact, the entire Summers family, at the center of it. One way to ensure the Summers become integral to the future of the X-Men in the MCU is by introducing them and telling their story through a Starjammers trilogy. The first film could introduce Christopher and Katherine Sommers and their two, young sons, Scott and Alex, tell the tragic story of their separation, and tell parallel stories in space and on Earth. On Earth, Scott and Alex end up in an orphanage and come under the care of Doctor Essex, setting up a villain in Mister Sinister that Fox failed to capitalize on.

    In the comics, Sinister took a great interest in Scott Sommers and believed that the child of Scott and Jean Grey would perhaps be one of the most powerful mutants to ever live. Starting Scott’s MCU story at a young age and including the connection to Sinister would put the spotlight on the Sommers’ line and set up an ongoing antagonist who could cause all sorts of problems over a decade of X-Men stories. Of course, that’s only a part of Scott’s potential MCU story.

    The real work ahead for Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios Parliament is to find a way to evolve Scott over the course of 6 or so films. Cyclops is a divisive character in the comics and while they certainly won’t go beat for beat in adapting him to the MCU, they should certainly take inspiration from his journey over the years. Introducing Scott as a strong, young leader of the X-Men who whole-heartedly believes in Charles Xavier’s dream and then setting him on a path to develop his own, radical ideas about what Xavier’s dream really should be and ultimately rebel against Xavier would present a compelling character arc. After doing so much to save humanity time and time again, Cyclops became convinced that humanity would never accept them. It’s a lost opportunity for the MCU if at some point in time in Cyclops’ story, they don’t find a way to work in one of the most popular Marvel Comics memes ever: Cyclops was right!

  • The Hypothetical 2025 Marvel Studios Release Calendar, V2

    The Hypothetical 2025 Marvel Studios Release Calendar, V2

    Trying to predict what 2025 might look like when changes to 2023 are still happening is just ridiculous! But here we go…

    *NOTE* we are no longer tracking animated projects nor including them on the hypothetical calendars.

    Though this has not been officially announced by Marvel Studios, rumors suggest that this is in the works and that it will stream on Disney Plus ahead of Fantastic Four. For now, Fantastic Four is slated for Valentine’s Day so giving the Sentinel of the Spaceways his own project a month or so out would allow plenty of time for audiences to get to know him.

    Fantastic Four was shuffled into 2025 since our last update, but with Matt Shakman on board to direct based on a script from Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, it seems like things are headed in the right direction! Fans are understandably hungry for this movie and by the time it releases, nearly 6 years will have passed since Kevin Feige announced it at SDCC ’19!

    Nova has a writer and is rumored to be a project that’s destined to become a Special Presentation. It’s time for The Man Called Nova to enter the MCU.

    Reiterating old news here, but way back in the day the word was that the studio expected whoever it was that ultimately took on the role of Kamala Khan to shoot Season 1, a movie and Season 2 all in a fairly short amount of time. Iman Vellani is that actress and she’s going to be pretty busy as it’s expected she’ll play a rather vital role in the overall story of the Multiverse Saga, too.

    This is one of the bolder moves on the calendar, but since it’s hypothetical, it doesn’t really matter. I know absolutely nothing about the plot of this movie and the only thing I’ve ever heard was that it would arrive before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Until I know something else, I’ll stick with that nugget. That means shuffling around the slate a bit and bumping The Kang Dynasty to a new spot even though Marvel Studios has it slated for May 2nd.

    Oscar Isaac and Mohamed Diab seem to want everyone to know a second season of Moon Knight is in the works and we believe it is. Logistically, placing it on the slate before The Kang Dynasty makes quite a bit of sense as it would allow the character to emerge from his own shadowy world into the larger shared universe and help audiences understand how he might get involved with the Avengers.

    Tom Holland will have a new deal with Sony and Marvel Studios. Spider-Man 4 is happening and some rumors suggest it could happen as soon as 2024. However, if it really will involved Daredevil and Kingpin, it will have to happen after Daredevil: Born Again streams on Disney Plus and as indicated in version 4 of our 2024 hypothetical calendar, that series may not roll out until mid-2024 and that would have a domino effect on this film. Sony’s done the July 4th long-weekend release before with Spider-Man: Far From Home, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see them do it again. Of course, if they do release it then Marvel Studios would have to shuffle one of their release dates just a tad.

    Originally intended to be the May 2025 film, we’ve moved Avengers: The Kang Dynasty down the road a piece as a result of the shuffling of other projects. As it currently stands, August 1st isn’t even on the slate, but if Spidey 4 does drop in early July, Marvel Studios could push the July 25th date a week to let Spidey 4 do its thing before dropping the fifth Avengers film. One would think Spidey will certainly be in it, so having his story first is fine and all nonsense aside, it doesn’t matter when Marvel Studios releases this film. It’s going to make its money in any month on the calendar.

    As of our last update, this project was totally unknown, but given the rush to put together a writer’s room for it before the end of 2022, it would seem like a project that could easily stream on Disney Plus in 2025. We like to think of this one as a little Young Avengers, a little West Coast Avengers and a little “let’s keep Paul Bettany around because he’s that good.”

    This wasn’t even a film the last time we ran this exercise! As far as we know, the story of Armor Wars has always had a role in the Multiverse Saga so until we hear otherwise, the project will stay part of it even as the winds have shifted. Its connection to the events of Secret Invasion also helps us place it here, where it’s not too far away from the 2023 streaming series.

  • The Hypothetical 2024 Marvel Studios Release Calendar, V4

    The Hypothetical 2024 Marvel Studios Release Calendar, V4

    Just ahead of September’s D23, we rolled out V3 of The Hypothetical 2024 Marvel Studios Release Calendar. Kevin Feige did nothing to change the outlook during D23, but quite a bit of shuffling has gone on since then that needs to be accounted for and so we present V4!

    *NOTE* we are no longer tracking animated projects nor including them on the hypothetical calendars.

    Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but showrunner Marion Dayre took away your Christmas present when she confirmed that Echo was moving from its Spring 2023 slot. We’ve heard “early 2024” and Dayre’s comments that the show would be out “about a year from December 2022” are close enough to that for a hypothetical calendar Assuming the series keeps what’s currently a very deep connection to the events of Daredevil: Born Again, moving it to 2024 would allow the two series to stream fairly close together.

    Recent reports suggest that Wonder Man may have been bumped up in the queue and take the place of Agatha: Coven of Chaos as the late 2023/early 2024 release. This potential news doesn’t spell doom and gloom for Kathryn Hahn‘s series, however (more on that later). Wonder Man isn’t set to complete filming until August, so an early 2024 start seems much more likely than late 2023, which is why it finds itself here, starting what currently looks like a 10-episode run in mid-March.

    Though it didn’t get a new date at D23, Captain America: New World Order was a big newsmaker at the event. The film will feature the return of Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader and see Harrison Ford replace the late William Hurt as Thaddeus Ross who is rumored to not only be the President of the United States in the film but also make his long-awaited transformation into Red Hulk. The plot is one of the crazier ones Marvel Studios has put together recent memory and is going to tie into several projects both past and future. My most anticipated project of 2024.

    If Echo keeps the relevant plot threads and moves to 2024, Daredevil: Born Again will have to get bumped down the road a bit from the original “Spring” window and from where we slotted in V3. There’s still absolutely no information on how Marvel Studios plans to roll this 18-episode monster out, but we’ll throw a mid-June through an early-October run out there for now.

    Another big newsmaker at D23, Thunderbolts is shaping up to be a Super Soldier-gone-wrong film that’s now rumored to feature an “evil Superman” character that’s widely believed to be Sentry. The events of Captain America: New World Order allegedly play a part in setting up Thunderbolts, making the 2024 slate look like it’ll have a couple of continuous stories being told between projects both theatrical and streaming.

    With Daredevil: Born Again taking over Disney Plus for several months, it will end up bridging the gap from Thunderbolts to Blade. Blade has had a rough start but seems headed in the right direction with a new creative team on board. The multiple reshufflings of this project should actually stand out as an indication of how the release date some projects (perhaps like Agatha: Coven of Chaos) don’t really influence the release of others while other projects (perhaps like Echo and Wonder Man) do.

    Through no fault of its own, Agatha: Coven of Chaos may end up getting bumped down the road a bit and, as it turns out, that’s ok because it could end up kicking off right around Halloween. It’s reportedly a nine-episode series, so a late October start would run it right up until Christmas 2024. Of course, it could also start a little later and end up having some episodes stream in 2025, but this is all hypothetical and likely to change multiple times anyway, so we dropped it right here for now.

    Originally slated for February 2024 (as per V3), this one has gotten a whole lot more interesting since then! Hugh Jackman’s return for what sounds like an adaptation of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe sounds pretty wild and something that might make the film something that even those who weren’t fans of the first two Deadpool films might look forward to.