In a stunning move, executive Victoria Alonso has parted ways with Marvel Studios. According to THR, Alonso’s final day with the studio was Friday, March 17th and no reason has been disclosed for her move.
Alonso has served as an executive producer on dozens of Marvel Studios’ projects dating back to 2012’s The Avengers. In 2021, she assumed the position of president of physical, postproduction, VFX and animation at the studio and has taken the lead in the studio’s push to increase diversity in its projects in front of and behind the camera.
The move ends a 17-year career for Alonso who began working as the studios’s chief of visual effects and post-production in 2006. She also co-produced the studio’s first film, Iron Man, in 2008.
Principal photography on Daredevil: Born Again is well underway in and around New York City with various parts of different neighborhoods being transformed into key settings for the streaming series. Last week, pictures of a corner store in Harlem being remodeled as Hell’s Kitchen and Delicatessen made their way online and now filming has begun at that location and revealed it is part of a flashback sequence.
— Daredevil: Born Again Behind the Scenes (@DDBAbts) March 20, 2023
The location stretches down the block a bit and judging by the cars on set, seems to be set in the late 1970s or later. As seen below, a stack of newspapers on set are dated November 1, 1999 but while it’s tempting to believe that’s the time period for this setting, those are actually real newspapers. Valley News is a publication that serves the New Hampshire and Vermont region and the Patriots did really beat the Cardinals 27-3 on October 31, 1999 so they may serve only as a prop and the date may not come into play in the series. There’s also an issue with the fact that the posters seen on the store are all classic 70s posters (the Raid poster, for example, is from 1978), making the newspaper anachronistic.
— Daredevil: Born Again Behind the Scenes (@DDBAbts) March 20, 2023
Given the difficulty in nailing down the exact time period when this scene is set, it’s all but impossible to determine exactly what might be going on without further context. However, star Charlie Cox indicated in a 2022 interview that as part of Daredevil: Born Again being a “whole new deal”, the series may include a retelling of some events that had previously been seen onscreen in Netflix’s Daredevil series.
What’s great about that is that we potentially get to tell some of the stories over and over again, in the same way that they do in the comics. Every now and then they start back in the beginning of Murdock’s journey as a little boy and they tell the whole origin story again, so maybe we’ll get to do that. I don’t know.
Charlie Cox
Could that be what’s going on here? This scene looks to be set in the late 1970s. In the canon established through the Netflix series, Matt Murdock was 30-32 years old, meaning he was born sometime in the mid-1980s. That Daredevil series was set in 2015 while the MCU is currently set in 2025-2026 depending on what project is being viewed (Cox’s most recent appearance in She-Hulk is widely believed to be set in 2025). With the big-time jump, that would make Matt 40-42 years old in the present day of the MCU. If Matt was out and about in the 1970s, he’d be pushing 50 years old in present day.
It’s also possible that it’s not Murdock’s story being told at all but another of the series’ main characters: Wilson Fisk. The casting of Sandrine Holt as Vanessa Fisk in Daredevil: Born Again has raised some questions about just what parts of the Netflix Daredevil series are being considered canon in the MCU. It’s possible, given the length of the series, that Marvel Studios may be choosing to retell the origin of Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock for the MCU.
Paul Dano‘s Edward Nashton drove Robert Pattinson‘s Batman to the edge in 2022’s The Batman; ultimately, the World’s Greatest Detective discovers the endgame of Nashton’s riddles and nabs Carmine Falcone. Of course, as Riddler is “captured” and shipped off to Arkham, Batman discovers too late the secondary plan to flood Gotham and wash away its history of corruption. While Batman was able to intervene to some extent, Riddler’s extravagant plan was a success and Gotham will certainly be in all manner of disarray when it’s next seen in the HBO Max series The Penguin and again in 2025’s The Batman-Part II.
Set to film in late 2023, little is known about Matt Reeves‘ The Batman-Part II. It survived the great purge when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over at DC and formed DC Studios and will be released under that studio’s new Elseworlds banner which means the stories developed by Reeves will take place outside of the DCU’s main continuity. What story is The Batman-Part II going to tell? There are plenty of rumors out there but the truth is nobody knows what Reeves has in mind; however, a new rumor from a reliable insider might at least give fans an idea of who some of the key players will be in the new chapter.
According to Daniel RPK, both Colin Farrell and Paul Dano will reprise their respective roles in 2025’s The Batman-Part II. To be sure, most everyone probably expected Farrell’s Oz to return; the streaming series The Penguin is set in the immediate aftermath of the events in The Batman and looks to be diving into the turmoil unleashed in the criminal underworld of Gotham following the death of Carmine Falcone. Dano’s return, however, might come as much more of a surprise, especially given the breakdown he suffered in the film’s closing moments.
With all the talk of Mr. Freeze somehow being incorporated into the sequel, a return by the Riddler might not be exactly what fans are hoping for. Of course, Dano’s return doesn’t mean he’ll play a major role or be the primary antagonist once again, especially as Reeves looks to build Batman’s Rogues Gallery throughout the different projects set within his Gotham-verse. Given there are over two years until The Batman-Part II hits theaters on October 3, 2025, this is just the first turn of the rumor mill for the cast of the film.
Bob Iger‘s return to Disney has thrown a monkey wrench into Marvel Studios streaming plans. Iger has forced the studio to rethink the pacing of its streaming releases, rethink its budget and generally slow the big wheel that includes production, marketing and release. So slowed down has it become that with a quarter of 2023 almost gone, audiences don’t know when they might catch Secret Invasion, the first of the studio’s streaming offerings. While it’s likely to be a while before Disney gives in on that end, they may have given fans something to chew on.
It was recently discovered that an official Disney site that features upcoming streaming series had removed date windows from every Marvel Studios project and replaced them with “Coming Soon.” This is true for every project listed on the site from Secret Invasion to the animated Spider-Man: Freshman Year. In doing so, the order of the studio’s live-action projects were also reshuffled and that reshuffling may have given fans a glimpse into the order they should expect the studio’s live-action offerings.
Secret Invasion, which has recently been rumored to debut in June, will take the lead as expected. It’s been expected for some time now that Season 2 of Loki would follow the spy thriller but beyond that, the slate has been up in the air with Echo’s showrunner confirming a delay, word that Ironheart and Agatha: Coven of Chaos were pushed to 2024 and the lengthy production schedule of Daredevil: Born Again. While there’s no confirmation and no guarantee, it’s possible that the official Disney site rearranged the projects in anticipation of a coming announcement and put at least the live-action projects in order of expected release.
Should that be the case (and I can’t state strongly enough that this is JUST A GUESS), Secret Invasion looks to be followed in 2023 by Loki Season 2 and Echo. Just what changed behind the scenes to make Echo releasable in 2023 remains to be seen, but it would represent a significant shift in thinking should that series make a late 2023 debut on Disney Plus. With those three live-action projects taking up the last half of 2023, it would seem that Ironheart would kick off 2024 and be followed by Agatha: Coven of Chaos and then at least part of Daredevil: Born Again. Given the mandate to spread releases out a bit more, it would seem tough for all 18 episodes of Born Again to be released in 2024 but there’s no reason they all have to, either.
There’s currently no hard evidence to support this but, to some extent, it fits some of the rumors making their way around (both publicly and privately) about the current and very, very tentative live-action slate of Marvel Studios streaming projects. In the past, I’d have only given this a 33% chance of working out but in the current climate, 25% would be generous. However, it’s certainly worth pointing out so we can all kee an eye on things.
Just recently, some set photos found their way online from the recently started Daredevil: Born Again set. Now, People magazine has shared a close-up shot of Charlie Cox and Nikki M. James on the New York City set for the latest Disney+ venture.
While it doesn’t give away any big new look at the characters, it does highlight that we’re going to get quite a bit more of Matt Murdock the lawyer in the new Marvel Studios sequel. While we did get a glimpse of it in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk, Attorney at Law, it definitely seems like the ambitious 18-episode Disney+ series will be more than just him jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
It’s great to see his iconic red glasses return and he even has his walking stick in one hand. Kind of a shame we don’t get a cheesy red tie to bring the “I am definitely not Daredevil” ensemble together, but who knows what fun little moments we’ll have in this new adaptation. Either way, it’s always great to see Cox back in the iconic role.
We still don’t know who James is playing but it does seem likely she’s a fellow lawyer. Perhaps his next romantic venture will have him work with a colleague that could add some interesting tension throughout the series run. We can still only speculate but the project might become one of their most ambitious.
Fans of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have celebrated the live-action debuts of many of their favorite characters over the past several years. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have found a way to bring fan favorites like Bo-Katan Kryze, Ahsoka Tano and Cad Bane to life in their lineup of New Republic-era series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Sometime later in 2023, another handful will make their live-action debuts as the core characters from Star Wars Rebels, including Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger, are set to appear on Disney Plus in Ahsoka.
It’s been a fun time for fans as Filoni and Favreau have carried on the stories of these characters; however, the pair have also come under fire for questionable decisions about the appearance of the characters like the Grand Inquisitor and for being a bit too generous in fan service by having too many characters make the jump. In fact, Filoni has been accused of making too much of an effort to bring his animated creations to life. Filoni addressed that accusation and gave some insight into his process in an interview with The Wrap.
“Very rarely,” replied Filoni when asked if he often thinks “How can I get my cartoon characters into live-action?” “I know people think it’s the other way around, which is fascinating to me,” he continued, “but I think there’s two ways to look at that, which is that, yes, they were animated characters, but to me they’re just characters. And now I’m over here working in live-action. I’m comfortable with those characters, I know them, I like them and I like to see them around.”
It’s an interesting position for Filoni given that he created and curated the characters over a decade of animated story-telling and now has the ability to call on them to help define a new era of the galaxy far, far away. Even for Filoni, who knows the characters inside and out, brining them to live action is not without its challenges. “It changes when they’re suddenly in a different medium,” explained Filoni. “Katee’s [Sackhoff] talked about it a little bit, and the difference between performing Bo-Katan as a voice actor versus performing her physically and being present on set as her – it’s a different vibe. I’m always cautious. And Jon [Favreau] and I talk about who will we bring in? I try to do it when it makes the most sense.”
For instance, as Filoni explained, when the plot of The Book of Boba Fett called for “a gunslinger to go up against some of our characters,” Cad Bane was the obvious choice. The character’s live-action design came under fire from fans of his time in the animated series. Filoni addressed why the character’s distinct look changed a bit for his live-action debut. “I think looking at that, the first thing I think is, ‘Well, how do we do that and make it believable?’ Like the character, he’s so lean and gaunt in The Clone Wars,” explained Filoni, “and if we don’t do that, is it all CG? How are we going to portray that? If we don’t think we can do that effectively, then we shouldn’t do it.”
The reality of the situation is that in the recent social media climate, the decision to faithfully recreate Cad Bane through CGI would have taken just as much heat as the decision to change it for live-action. The criticism, however, doesn’t seem to faze Filoni. “At the end of the day, I’ve been very happy with the ones that have gone over,” he said before teasing fans with the notion that he’s not done quite yet. “There may or may not be more in Ahsoka, if that’s your thing. If you’re excited about that, I’m just saying that one might have a few more, which makes sense, by the way. As you know, I wrote it. You can’t fault me there.” Who can blame the guy?
The book ends of Chapter 19 of The Mandalorian, The Convert, left fans wondering what Bo-Katan Kryze was up to following her experience in the mines of Mandalore. The episode’s opening picked up in the aftermath of Chapter 18’s plunge into the Living Waters where she encountered a massive Mythosaur, an encounter she chose to keep from Din Djarin after asking if he had seen anything alive in the pool. Bo-Katan’s dip in the Living Waters also put her in a position she never thought she’d be in: walking The Way of the Mandalore as a member of the Children of the Watch. With her home world of Kalevala destroyed by a fleet of Imperial remnant TIEs, Bo-Katan, now washed free of her apostasy, was invited by the Armorer to remain with the covert of Mandalorians. Needless to say, it was a pretty busy day for Bo-Katan.
Did those experiences change the skeptical Bo-Katan, however? Fans aren’t so sure and much of the social media discussion after the episode centered around the character’s decision to remain mute about the Mythosaur, wondering if she intends to use the knowledge of the beast to her advantage. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Bo-Katan actress Katee Sackhoff assuaged those concerns, saying her behavior was rooted in something much less malevolent. “She doesn’t trust necessarily what she saw. She might have thought that she imagined it,” explained Sackhoff. “There’s so many things that she’s trying to process in her head that I don’t necessarily think that it’s something that she wants to tell anyone about right now.“
Part of what Bo-Katan may be trying to process is that the beliefs that Din Djarin has held dear–beliefs she called “cute”–may hold some water. According to Sackhoff, Bo-Katan’s attempts to reconcile her past with Din’s “cult” with her own past and the very recent events of her own present have given her quite a bit to ponder which is why she remained so quiet when she was accepted into Din’s Tribe.
The mistakes of her past — with Death Watch and the resulting death of her sister Satine — weigh heavily upon her, and she’s in a more vulnerable state than we’ve ever seen her before when Din brings her in. But because of the disagreements with Din’s cult in the past, the Watch welcoming her to their clan with open arms is a surprise to her. To be immediately accepted by people is new for her. She may or may not be trying to figure out if that’s a place where she should potentially stay.
Katee Sackhoff
Still, it’s hard for fans to believe that the militant Bo-Katan won’t look to weaponize her newfound friends in another attempt to avenge her sister’s death and ascend to lead the reborn Mandalore. According to Sackhoff, that’s not in the cards, however. “I truly believe at this point that she hopes someone else steps up,” Sackhoff said. “She doesn’t want the responsibility. The responsibility cost her everything,” she explained. “Leading didn’t work, so maybe fitting in will.” With more than half the season still ahead, Bo-Katan’s choice to be a leader or a follower will likely have a huge impact on the events of not only TheMandalorian Season 3 but also the shape of the New Republic.
We know Marvel Studios’ new “Endgame” for the Multiverse Saga. As many could’ve predicted the moment we saw the opening and final moments of Loki, the franchise is heading to a live-action adaptation of the iconic Secret Wars storyline in a new Avengers film. It opens up many possibilities to revisit some characters from the past and it seems one actor is down to return.
After once again reprising the role of Norman Osborne in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Willem Dafoe reveals that he’s certainly open to potentially playing the character one more time “if everything was right.” He highlights how much joy he has playing the character(s) and the depth it allows him to bring to the role.
I mean, that’s a great role. I liked the fact that it’s a double role both times. Twenty years ago, and fairly recently, both times [were] very different experiences, but I had a good time on both.
Willem Dafoe
It definitely would be great to see him return, especially with No Way Home’s focus on a recognizable version of the character. We haven’t had the chance to meet a unique take on the character in live-action as the Green Goblin. So, they could use the opportunity to introduce a good version of the character appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars joining an unlikely alliance.
There’s also the fact they could experiment with the look of the Goblin, as the previous iteration mostly re-used his Power Rangers-style suit from the original Spider-Man film. So, we could potentially ee the mechanical version that was scrapped make an appearance once again with Dafoe once again having fun in the role.
The debates over the box office results of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was quite all over the place, as the film faced a steep drop after its initial weekend. Yet, it still made a big splash that one expects from a Marvel Studios offering and fizzled out faster due to higher expectations on such projects and the fact that there’s always a Disney+ release around the corner, as taught in the past by how releases were handled.
Yet, it seems 2023 isn’t kind to superhero films in general as the latest DC film, Shazam! Fury of the Gods faced an even harsher box office release with one of the worst openings for a DC Extended Universe entry. With an $11.7M Friday, the film is projected to end at around $30M. That would put it quite a bit below the initially expected $35M to $40M. Many had believed the film had a chance to garner some momentum going into the weekend but it seems it has swiftly fizzled out.
What makes this hurt, even more, is that it’s quite a bit lower than 2019’s Shazam! which opened at $53.5M at the box office. It does have the same $100M price tag as the previous entry but with a B+ CinemaScore, the question will be how its legs perform. Many have used it as a way to get a feeling for where it’s going but its key audience families are still struggling to get back to theaters. It was a hope they might strengthen even Ant-Man‘s box office run as they had a much higher affinity with the film, but it seems they are still a market that has yet to find their way back.
Perhaps there’s a correlation between more family-friendly offerings and the recent drop in box office for animated releases. If you’re not a “must-watch” released in theaters, they simply won’t make the trip like with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish or even Minions: Rise of Gru last year. The box office is certainly doing better but not every target audience is quite where some might have hoped it would be. So, more adult and teen-driven releases like the recent successes of Scream VI and Creed III might be on the horizon.
As Shazam: Fury of the Gods pushes through its opening weekend, early reviews don’t seem to be helping it at the box office where it only pulled in $3.4M in its Thursday previews and estimates have it finishing up between $30-35M after adding $7.6M more on Friday night . Poor early reviews aren’t always a death knell for films; sometimes positive word of mouth from fans can help propel a film beyond the estimated projections. However, it’s not looking good for the Shazam! sequel on that front either.
After polling opening night audiences about the film, Cinemascore has revealed a B+ grade for Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
B+ seems to be the sweet spot for DC projects. Black Adam, Birds of Prey, Joker, Justice League, Suicide Squad, TheSuicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984 all received B+ Cinemascores from moviegoers. It’s an interesting grouping to be sure as some of those films are held in a bit higher regard than others, yet they all sit at the same Cinemascore. For comparison’s sake, 2019’s Shazam! was given an A Cinemascore by audiences.
Currently sitting at a 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, Fury of the Gods has taken a hit by critics for not living up to its predecessor in terms of comedy or plot and for lacking the charm that made Shazam! a bit of a surprise hit. It was already highly unlikely that the franchise would continue on at the new DC Studios, but its performance and fans’ general lack of interest and awareness would seem to cement the fact that this will be the last adventure for the this iteration of the Shazamily.
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