Category: News

SCOOP: Jenny Slate & Scott Haze’s Characters In ‘Venom’ Revealed

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy on MCU Exchange on January 26, 2018.

Filming on Ruben Fleischer’s Venom has moved to San Francisco for the time being, but during its time in Atlanta we were fortunate to get a look at some photos and videos taken on location. Among the photos were several looks at star Tom Hardy, a handful of co-star Scott Haze (including one of the two men fighting, seen below) and a couple of Jenny Slate (also seen below).

The photo of Slate was reportedly taken outside the American Cancer Center, which is being used as one of the locations of the Life Foundation, an organization crucial to the plot of Venom. We can confirm that Slate’s role in the film will find her working as a scientist named Dora Skirth who works for the Life Foundation. There had been some speculation online that Slate might be playing Dr. Ashley Kafka, the founder of the best spider vein removal los angeles Institute for the Criminally Insane where Cletus Kasady was once kept. As far as we can tell, Skirth is an original character developed for the film, though she turn out to be an amalgamation of several minor characters.

Scott Haze‘s role has also been subject to much speculation with many originally believing he might be portraying Casady. As it turns out, Haze’s character will also be a part of the Life Foundation, though his character is much more firmly rooted in the comics. Haze will portray Roland Treece, the founder of Treece International and a member of the Life Foundation’s Board of Directors along with Carlton Drake, played by Riz Ahmed. Additionally, we can expect to see other Life Foundation members lifted from the pages of Lethal Protector in Dr. Collins and Dr. Emerson. This confirms speculation first made by The Venom Vlog based on set pics and video they were able to find online.

Oh and here’s a first look at Michelle Wiliams‘ Anne Weying!

https://twitter.com/Kulturpat/status/956646847526948867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Fvenom-movie-set-video-michelle-williams%2F

Weirdly enough, there’s zero word yet on who exactly is supposed to be playing Carnage, the purported villain of the movie for several months now. But with more than 50 days into production, it’ll only be a matter of time until we learn who has the honor of playing Spider-Man’s most violent baddie. Venom, featuring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, will be in theaters October 5th!

January 26, 2018
SCOOP: Hawkeye To Take On A New Identity in ‘Avengers 4’

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy on MCU Exchange on September 8, 2017.

Fans have theorized the possibility of Clint Barton assuming a new alter ego in Avengers 4. With part of the film taking place in Japan and Jeremy Renner sporting a very different haircut while prepping for the film, speculation has centered on the possibility of Clint Barton shedding Hawkeye and adopting not just a new look, but possibly a new name as well. Thanks to our source, the same source that delivered the goods on the children of Thanos and Steve Rogers’ new look, we can tell you that Barton is set to appear as Ronin (or at least an iteration of it) in Avengers 4!

In the comics, Barton has been known to take on multiple superhero identities. He took on the mantle of Goliath back in the day and underwent a very brooding gun-toting image overhaul in Ultimates 3 when tragedy struck his family. The most notable recent change the character went through happened after the events of Civil War in New Avengers #27. . Donning a totally new costume, complete with a mask to hide his identity like fraudsters would do, Barton, who had been trained with numerous weapons over the years, picked up some samurai swords and became the masterless samurai known as Ronin, a mantle that began with Daredevil ally Maya Lopez aka Echo. Though he eventually resumed his career as Hawkeye, Barton wore the mask for some time, including the events surrounding the Skrull invasion.

As with nearly all things MCU, the film won’t follow the template from the comics. We don’t want to get to deep into spoiler territory here, but we are told that the events of Avengers: Infinity War (one specific event in particular) leaves Barton in a VERY dark place and is the inciting moment in the archer’s shift into this darker superhero mantle. Given the nature of events that cause the shift, it’s possible that they may not make the final cut of the film, but trust us when we say that if they do, you will absolutely know it when you see it.

As always, while we are confident that our source delivered accurate information to us, it’s important to remember that we are talking about a film that is 20 months away from hitting the big screen. In that time, scripts can change, cuts can be edited, things can be added and, of course removed. Things that may have been shot for one film could end up in another. Having said that, this absolutely seems like a series of events the Russos would throw in given their knowledge of the comics and their penchant for throwing things in that the most hardcore fans can appreciate.

What do you guys make of this news? Are you excited to see a different, darker Clint Barton? Let us know!

Avengers: Infinity War will hit theaters on May 4, 2018 and Avengers 4 will drop one year later on May 3, 2019!

September 8, 2017
EXCLUSIVE: New Details About ‘Captain Marvel’ Revealed

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy at MCU Exchange on August 2, 2017.

The excitement around the SDCC announcement that Captain Marvel would be a period piece taking place in the 1990s was absolutely tangible. From the time period to the involvement of the Skrulls, people were absolutely blown away but also left asking a lot of questions. We reached out to our most trusted source who helped us out with the Children of Thanos and Nomad stories and were able to land a few details that should hold us over until Marvel Studios is ready to give us more info.

In 2014, Badass Digest revealed that Carol Danvers would make her debut in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The introduction, they reported, would be an end of the movie cameo that would include Ms. Marvel among the new members of the Avengers. The site included a disclaimer that while it was possible, it was just as possible that the studio was a little concerned about introducing such a major character in a short cameo.

Avengers: Age of Ultron did debut a new team of Avengers (which we never saw in action, by the way) but there was no Carol Danvers. With her own film having been announced in the time between the initial report and the premiere of the film, it seemed Marvel Studios chose to hold off and give her an introduction more in line with her high profile. The reports, however, were confirmed and Marvel even went as far as to shoot VFX plates for her entrance into the New Avengers facility, but those shots were ultimately used on Scarlet Witch’s arrival in her new costume. Kevin Feige explained his decision in keeping Danvers out of the film:

“There were drafts that maybe people somehow got their hands on and read early on that included some characters – maybe others, but certainly one, which is why it’s dangerous to read scripts early on, and talk about them early on…

[Captain Marvel] was in a draft. But to me, it would have done that character a disservice, to meet her fully formed, in a costume and part of the Avengers already when 99% of the audience would go, ‘Who is that?’ It’s just not the way we’ve done it before.”

And so Carol Danvers’ introduction to the MCU was put on hold as the minds at Marvel Studios went to work on how to best introduce her, but what was revealed was that Captain Marvel would have been a fully formed, known quantity as a superhero at the time. Now, we at the MCU Exchange have exclusive details on how Kevin Feige, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck will bring Meg LeFauve and Nicole Perlman’s script to the screen and we think you’re going to love it!. As noted above, it is still very early in the process (they won’t film until winter 2018) and all of this is subject to change, but what we currently know sounds absolutely amazing.

Brie Larson’s absence from the filming of Avengers: Infinity War has people asking just where the most powerful of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was when they most needed her. While it was widely believed that Carol wasn’t in the fight because she hadn’t been powered up yet, we now know that’s not the case; however, if she’s been a superhero for 20 years so you think she would show up when the fate of the entire cosmos was at stake!

So where has Carol been all this time? We are told that the comments by Marvel Stuido’s physics consultant, Dr. Spiros Michalakis, about the Quantum Realm playing a major part in Captain Marvel have an awful lot to do with where she’s been and why she sat out the events of Infinity War. With Captain Marvel releasing between Infinity War and the as-yet-untitled Avengers 4, we believe we have an answer to Danvers’ location and see her return to join the fray in Avengers 4.

Long time members of the Carol Corps are going to love the way the story pays homage to her long history. We know the Kree will have a large presence in the film and, according to the source, the film will absolutely include the Kree hero Mar-Vell! It’s well-established in Marvel Cinematic Universe mythology that the Kree have been to Earth before, so we aren’t surprised to find out that Mar-Vell might have been on Earth in the past to observe and report on the activities of humans especially given that film’s plot is expected to be driven by the longstanding Kree-Skrull war.

Though we don’t know if we’ll be seeing him on Earth as Dr. Lawson, we are told to expect to see a version of the Psyche-Magnitron accident from the comics and that accident will be responsible for altering her DNA and giving her powers. Furthermore, we are told that her unique half-Kree/half-human DNA will be used to explain why she hasn’t appeared to age since her disappearance, meaning they won’t need to age/de-age Brie Larson. Just like Thor and the Asgardians before her, Carol won’t necessarily age in the MCU.

Additionally and in somewhat of a surprising move, the earliest drafts of the script include references to her functioning as Ms. Marvel and that there will be a version of her early Ms. Marvel costume seen onscreen. Marvel Studios have been great about updating classic looks that respect the mythology without causing too much controversy and we expect something similar will be done here.

We’ll keep working with our source to find out more, but Marvel Studios has been on lockdown for a long, long time but this is a genius move by Marvel Studios. With the film being set in the 90s it gives them the opportunity to do a lot of things in the 20 years that have passed and also deal with the repercussions of those events.

August 2, 2017
SCOOP: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Will See a Different Steve Rogers

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy on MCU Exchange on July 17, 2017.

The Avengers: Infinity War trailer shown at D23 was full of a lot jaw dropping moments but one of the ones that seems to have really caught the interest of fans was the appearance of a bearded Steve Rogers. While the secrets of Infinity War have been well-kept, we do have a little info about that bearded Rogers and what you can expect from him when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters next May!

When we last saw Steve Rogers in Captain America: Civil War, he had put down the shield after his battle with Tony Stark, broken his buddies out of the Raft and took up residence inside the nation of Wakanda. Having turned his back on his past, Rogers is now a man without a country (even a war criminal?) and, as a result, will be taking on a new alias in Infinity War. The Russo brothers have proven themselves as knowledgeable fans of the comics, finding incredibly deep cuts that only the truest of believers would pick up. We’re told that they’ve done it again and that we should expect Captain America no more as the Steve Rogers we see in Infinity War will be a Nomad!

Comic readers will remember an incredibly short-lived run (Captain America #180-184) where Rogers, disillusioned by the revelation of the Secret Empire running America, took off his Captain America costume and donned a caped blue and yellow uniform. While we won’t be seeing an exact duplicate of that costume in Infinity War, Rogers’ costume will pay homage to his time as Nomad. It’s also worth noting that the bearded look, which is Chris Evans‘ preferred look anyway, does resemble Rogers’ time in Dimension Z from Rick Remender’s recent run.

The move towards Nomad is more than a nice nod to the comics. Rogers, as he did in the comics, has become disillusioned with what he has had to sacrifice to do the things he knows he must. The Russos sowed the seeds of this move early in Civil War and Rogers has had a tremendous personal arc over the course of the films in which he has appeared. His decision to become Nomad is representative of him no longer looking to follow orders or even give them, but to simply do what he believes is right.

Given what we’ve heard about the scale of destruction in Infinity War, there’s no telling if Rogers will ever pick up the shield again or if it’s time for someone else (looking at you Sam Wilson) to take on the mantle of Captain America. What do you guys think of this nod to a classic story line? Are you headed out to find a copy of Captain America #180?

July 17, 2017
EXCLUSIVE: Details on Hannah John-Kamen’s Role & Luis’ New Love Interest in ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’ Revealed

Notes: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy at MCU Exchange on June 28, 2017.

The cast of Ant-Man and The Wasp will be heading to Atlanta to begin filming soon, but very little is known about who will be joining the returning stars from the first film. One addition is actress Hannah John-Kamen, who joined the cast earlier this month in an unspecified role. Thanks to a source with knowledge of the production of the film, we were able to get a little more info on the role!

Kamen will be portraying a character named Dawn. Though the exact nature of Dawn’s role was not revealed, she is described as charismatic, eccentric, unpredictable and damaged. It’s not clear if Dawn is a new character created for the film or if she is adapted from the comics; while there are several characters named Dawn from which to draw in the comics, none of them seem to have a rich history as a supporting character in any Ant-Man stories. A character named Dawn Starr does catch the attention of fans of the comics who recognize the last name as the same one as Hank Pym’s nemesis Egghead, or Elihas Starr. However, Dawn and Elihas were not related in the comics, though Marvel Studios could certainly find a way to make that change if they wanted, so we can’t exactly settle on her.

Kamen’s Dawn is one of 3 female roles added to the sequel, joining the yet to be cast Janet van Dyne and one more surprise role. While the role may well be cast at this point, we can tell you that the studio was searching for a Latino actress for the role of Victoria, who will join the cast as the love interest for Michael Pena’s Luis. Described as a bit of a “loose cannon”, Victoria will be a part of the film’s comic relief but is also described as tough and smart with a “dangerous edge.”

With production beginning soon, possibly as soon as this Friday, we can expect some confirmation on these roles soon along with some other additions to the cast. Ant-Man and The Wasp will hit theaters July 6, 2018.

What do you think of these new casting details for Ant-Man and the Wasp? Excited that a new character is being added to the Three Wombats? Let us know in the comments below!

June 28, 2017