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  • Tom Holland Calls ‘SPIDER-MAN 3’ “The Most Ambitious Standalone Superhero Movie Ever Made”

    Tom Holland Calls ‘SPIDER-MAN 3’ “The Most Ambitious Standalone Superhero Movie Ever Made”

    Trying to keep up with the rumors around Marvel Studios and Sony’s third Spider-Man film hasn’t been easy. What’s more, even the facts around the movie (the returns of Jamie Foxx and Alfred Molina) make it hard to get a handle on just what is going on. Is it a full-blown live-action Spider-verse film? Is it a Sinister Six film? Is it both? While we could go on all day about what it might be, we now know at least something about it thanks to Tom Holland: it’s going to be a can’t miss event.

    In an interview with Variety, Holland was asked if he could shed any light on the upcoming film. His response, while measured by Holland’s standards, was still informative:

    What’s funny is like, I nearly told you then. You were so close to getting what you want.I can say that it’s the most ambitious standalone superhero movie ever made. You sit down, read the script, and see what they’re trying to do, and they’re succeeding. It’s really impressive. I’ve never seen a standalone superhero movie quite like it. And I’m just, you know, again, that lucky little shit who happens to be Spider-Man in it. We got a lot more shooting to do. We started before Christmas and shot for like seven weeks. We stopped for the Christmas break, and then we’re starting again. I’m just as excited as everyone else to see it, let alone be a part of it.

    We’ve seen some pretty impressive standalone superhero films in the past and Holland, while occasionally prone to hyperbole, knows well that fans are going to take him at his word on this, so it’s safe to say that he’s not trying to overhype the film. His comments also allow room in our heads for our idea of just what is going on here to grow. Maybe, just maybe, all those wild rumors are true, to some extent, and we’ll see a Sinister Six, Spider-Verse, Daredevil, multiversal event unlike anything we’ve seen before.

    Spider-Man 3 is still on track to swing into theaters in 2021.

     

  • Theory Thursday: Ding Dong! Guess Who?

    Theory Thursday: Ding Dong! Guess Who?

    Small Spoilers for Episode 4 and Potential Spoilers for Episode 5

    Last week’s episode blew the mystery of behind Westview wide open. A barrier that transforms things that go in it into “TV-friendly” props or people. A sitcom starring two Avengers. The town of WestView being cast in this sitcom as other people. Something clearly wrong with Vision, but it’s going over my head. And Wanda at the center of it all. Thanks to *DR.* Darcy Lewis (put some respect on her name), we know that the town of Westview is emitting a high level of CMBR, aka Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation. For those of you not familiar with the term, Director of S.W.O.R.D. later referred to the term as “relic radiation dating to the big bang.” If are unfamiliar with the term, then perhaps you’ll remember a certain Collector talk about how “before creation itself, there were six singularities. Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots…” Yes, I’m talking about the Infinity Stones, particularly the Mind Stone, which is the stone that “activated” Wanda’s abilities, as per the Wakanda Files. If Wanda is indeed doing this, then Wanda’s abilities are clearly going beyond anything that we’ve seen previously in the MCU and it seems she’ll only grow more and more powerful, which leads me to today’s theory.

     

    The 80s episode looks like things will go wild.

    Amongst fans, the 80’s episode is perhaps one of the most highly anticipated episodes because collectively, it’s perhaps one of the sitcom episodes with the least amount of footage shown in the trailers. And the little amount we’ve seen seems crazy. Wanda and Vision tending to their newborn children, Agnes popping in for a visit, the possible first look at the family dog, Sparky, and what looks like Wanda and Vision having a somewhat heated argument that escalates to the use of their powers. A possible foreshadowing of Wanda and Vision facing each other later on as the series progresses? Apart from all that, there’s a certain scene that’s really interesting to me.

    In the scene depicted above, Wanda is opening the door to someone and she has a bit of a stricken look on her face. Marvel included that scene in a recent promotion called “Triumph.” It appears right after Vision says “Did you really not see what I just saw?” This line carries a double meaning because the intent of that line is to make us focus on this scene in particular, but it’s actually a misdirect from the scene where Wanda and Vision are with Agnes and she asks if they should take it from the top and starts acting weird around them. So, who could Wanda be opening the door to? Let’s discuss that.

     

    It’s NOT Agnes

    I want to kick off this theory straight off the bat by saying that I don’t think it’s Agnes. We can see Agnes visiting Wanda and Vision earlier in the trailer and, in nosy neighbor fashion, lets herself in. So I don’t really see Wanda having the need to open the door for this neighbor in particular.

     

    It could be whoever Evan Peters is playing.

     

    We know from way back that Charles talked about Evan Peters having a mystery role in the show. Now, what character he could play is the million-dollar question. The most prevalent theory at the moment is that Peters could be portraying Wanda’s deceased brother, Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver. Peters is no stranger to the role, given that he already portrayed Quicksilver before in the X-Men Fox franchise. I suspect that his arrival to the show was foreshadowed in Episode 3 when Wanda talked about Pietro and sang that lullaby. Could she have wished him into the reality? Time will tell, but having him appear as Wanda’s brother could be quite the surprise, given that it might be a complete recast of the character, who was previously portrayed by Aaron Taylor Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Others believe that Peters could be portraying whomever the antagonist of this series is, whether it’s Mephisto or Nightmare.

     

    It could be James Spader as Human Ultron.

    This more of a personal wish, but I’d love to see more of James Spader as Ultron in the MCU. Just imagine the shock on Wanda’s face seeing some random stranger at her home, not recognizing him and the moment he opens his mouth and speaks, she recognizes his voice, having her flashback to her trauma during the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. I still wanted to include it here as a possible appearance. Though I did want to share a more likely theory for Ultron’s possible appearance in WandaVision in a totally different manner via one of the commercials that appears during the sitcoms. A theory our fellow writer Lizzie Hill shared is that we could have Ultron appear in a possible toy robot commercial and he speaks quotes from his previous appearance. Imagine your kid playing with a robot that sings “I had strings, but now I’m free. There are no strings on me…” or says “I was designed to save the world.” That toy robot may have already made his appearance during the trailers as seen below. Look inside the basket.

    Of course, Marvel does enjoy playing its game with us and it could potentially be nothing just to keep up guessing. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens when WandaVision‘s newest episode airs tomorrow on Disney+.

  • Throwback Thursday: That Time Elizabeth Olsen Spoiled ‘WANDAVISION’…in 2015

    Throwback Thursday: That Time Elizabeth Olsen Spoiled ‘WANDAVISION’…in 2015

     

    Over the past several years, Marvel Studios has displayed an increased willingness to allow their start to help shape the creative visions of their characters. For example, Mark Ruffalo has on more than one occasion mentioned that he and Kevin Feige have had discussions around what’s next for the Hulk and Chris Hemsworth has made it clear that it was the willingness of Thor creatives (including Taika Waititi) to allow the star some input on the direction of Thor that has kept him around in the MCU for a fourth solo film. It’s quite possible that Elizabeth Olsen may have planted some seeds in the brain on the One-Above-All as well, seeds that have now come to bear fruit in Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series WandaVision.

    In 2015, Olsen sat down alongside Aaron Taylor Johnson to talk about Avengers: Age of Ultron with Screen Rant. You can check out the full interview below, but  around the 1:40 mark when asked what she’d like to see Scarlet Witch do next, Olsen had this to say:

    “My favorite is House of M but that would never happen. If she could have two fake babies and everyone tell her that they don’t really exist and her just go nuts that would be unbelievable but I don’t think they’re going to do that. It might be a little too dark for the Marvel Universe. When she loses her mind it’s my favorite thing in the comics.”

     

    That wasn’t the only time Olsen talked about House of M. In fact, she brought the comic arc up again when promoting the DVD release of AoU later that same year. It’s safe to say that the arc has been on Olsen’s mind for some time and while we don’t know just how hard she pushed for Marvel Studios to adapt House of M, it’s clearly in line with how the studio treats its top talent. We know that House of M was one big inspiration for the series even though it can’t be adapted beat for beat. However, Olsen’s focus on Wanda “losing her mind” after learning about the true nature of her children is definitely something that could be adapted and, quite honestly, seems right in line with what we know about the series so far. It also might be an example of the actress spoiling a series that wasn’t even conceived, much less written when she talked about it 6 years ago.

    The nature of Wanda’s twins in the comics was pretty confusing and this could be an opportunity for Marvel Studios to streamline it a bit in order to make it easier for general audiences to swallow. Something as simple as Wanda’s kids being created with magic inside the hexagonal hex and being incapable of leaving that reality could REALLY be the last straw for a character who has lost everyone dear to her so far. We can also see from the mid-season trailer that S.W.O.R.D. is going to become more aggressive in their investigation of the hex bubble over the second half of the season, raising another option and an interesting question to ponder: what happens to Billy and Tommy if the bubble pops? Sure Wanda and Monica can survive outside of it because they existed before it did, but will the twins have that same ability? Should any of these ideas be even remotely on the mark, you can see how it’ll set up a MAJOR showdown between an enraged Wanda and S.W.O.R.D., an idea you can read more about here. On more than one occasion, Feige has mentioned how we will see Wanda become the Scarlet Witch during WandaVision and that most likely means we’ll see a major display of her true powers and, quite possibly, a heel turn that sets her on a very different path…perhaps even into conflict with the Sorcerer Supreme himself when she gets done wiping the floor with S.W.O.R.D. One thing is for sure: we are in for a wild ride over the next 5 episodes and beyond.

     

     

  • ‘Batwoman’, ‘The Flash’, and Many Other CW Shows Get Early Renewal

    ‘Batwoman’, ‘The Flash’, and Many Other CW Shows Get Early Renewal

    The pandemic has changed up the TV landscape with many shows seeing a postponed release. We are a far cry away from the original September release date. Still, some broadcasters put a lot of trust in their shows even before they even officially aired. Among them, The CW is quite famous for its trend of early renewals. Well, it looks like they have started 2021 with a bang by doing exactly that. Their renewal includes various veteran shows, such as The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and Riverdale. Jared Padalecki‘s Walker was picked up for an early second season before it officially aired. Various shows were also renewed for their third or fourth season, such as Batwoman, In the Dark, Legacies, Nancy Drew, and Roswell, New Mexico. Superman & Lois is also getting an additional two episodes for its upcoming season.

    CW’s CEO Mark Pedowitz gave the following statement on this early renewal strategy:

    Though we’re just a few weeks into the new season, we wanted to get a strategic head start on next season with these early renewals, which allows our production teams to start laying out story arcs and hiring staff, and at the same time, continues to provide us with a strong, stable schedule to build on for next season.

    It is hard to deny that the ongoing pandemic might still have a strong influence on this decision. Cinemas are still closed, so TV is the dominant offering for those seeking some escapism. It was the perfect season for streaming services to grow, but it also was an opportunity for channels to gain a wider audience. CW is aiming to expand with some spin-offs, such as one focused on Painkiller from the recently canceled Black Lightning show. There was still the surprising cancelation of Green Arrow and the Canaries, which was going to continue on the show that put the channel’s DC shows on the map. We’ll see what direction the CW heads with its 2021 series and what the future has in store for its DC line-up.

    Source: Variety

  • Don Cheadle Reveals ‘Armor Wars’ Eyeing Next Month to Start Writing Scripts

    Don Cheadle Reveals ‘Armor Wars’ Eyeing Next Month to Start Writing Scripts

    With all the projects Marvel Studios has announced lately, it’s kind of hard to keep track of everything that’s coming in the next few years for the MCU. There are a few standouts that are still in the early stages of development, we’ve been anxiously waiting for some kind of update. Luckily, that day has come, as Armor Wars star Don Cheadle has offered an update in a recent interview with BroBible. He will reprise the role of James Rhodes, who has to face Tony Stark’s biggest nightmare. At some point, his tech seems to have gotten into the wrong hands, which could connect to Falcon and the Winter Soldier for which he confirmed an appearance in the same interview. While the show doesn’t have an official release date yet, it seems that they are aiming for March to start writing the scripts.

    He also offers a little insight into what we can expect in Rhodey’s journey moving ahead past the events of Endgame.

    Where we’ve been sort of progressing Rhodey—even in the last film where he’s now up again and he’s now walking again and he’s now mobile again—so as the technology continues to develop and we keep making innovations in the suit and what happens, I imagine there’s gonna be another elevation and another way that we’re going to keep digging into that part of Rhodey.

    Of course, a story focused on the iconic Armor War storyline will have some connection to Tony Stark. There is also the confirmed series focused on Ironheart that may have a larger role moving forward. We could expect some kind of news on the head writer in the coming month. There are still a lot of different aspects we have yet to explore within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially after the events of the Blip. WandaVision gave us a small glimpse of how it might continue being an important factor in the story moving forward, so the five-year gap could’ve also given many of Tony’s enemies a chance to upgrade. It seems that Tony’s prediction in Iron Man 2 on when they might catch up has finally come true.

    Source: BroBible

  • Don Cheadle Confirms Appearance in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’

    Don Cheadle Confirms Appearance in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe is growing and starting to become more and more interconnected. WandaVision already set the first steps, as classic characters like Darcy Lewis and Jimmy Woo had a larger role in the overarching narrative. Now, it seems like Falcon and the Winter Soldier has one icon from the franchise making an appearance. In an interview with the BroBible’s Post-Credit Podcast, the actor may have accidentally revealed that he will be making an appearance in Falcons and the Winter Soldier. In the interview, he states that:

    It’s really a fun and interesting and, by all imagination, completely open-ended — this can go anywhere. It’s great, I can’t wait to get in the room with the writers and figure out how all those things [connecting Armor Wars to the MCU] happen. You know, Rhodey shows up in Winter Soldier and Falcon’s show. So, it can be a lot.

    Cheadle might have joined the ranks of Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland, who are notorious for accidentally leaking information on the films. His addition also opens up the wider universe, as we didn’t know what role War Machine would have after Avengers. Endgame. There is also a chance that the storyline of Armor Wars may also connect to the series. Rhodey is also in a similar spot to Sam, as he will have to carry on the suit that many connect with Iron Man. Even if he has a different branding, it still is heavily tied to Tony. I can imagine Sam and Bucky meeting up with him to get their hand on some information, or even the plane we see them take in the latest trailer. Whatever his role may be, it is always great to see Cheadle return, and cannot wait to see what the MCU has in store for his character.

    Source: BroBible

  • Marvel Studios Should ‘TEAM-UP’ On Disney+

    Marvel Studios Should ‘TEAM-UP’ On Disney+

    It’s been almost two years since we last saw Marvel Studios grace the famous Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con, and what a doozy that last presentation was. We were lucky enough to be granted a plethora of project announcements that included everything but the kitchen sink. From the bold new film horizons of Eternals and Shang-Chi to the comforting return of fan-favorite characters to the small screen with Hawkeye and WandaVision. Yet one of the most exciting announcements was also perhaps the least talked about. In 1977, Marvel Comics launched a series titled What If…?, a comic book that explored what the Marvel Universe might look like if key events in its history occurred differently. At the aforementioned 2019 Comic-Con, Marvel Studios revealed it would produce an animated series by the same exact title, serving the same exact purpose, albeit for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s an experimental work for the studio, featuring their first foray into animation, and is sure to aid in Marvel’s quest to diversify their storytelling heading into the future, but there’s one aspect of the series that is particularly exciting. Just like the comic it draws inspiration from, it’s an anthology. The show gives the viewers a chance to see a new adventure, starring different characters, every week. It’s an exciting format that opens up countless possibilities in terms of expanding what fans already know about the MCU, and if it goes over well with the general audience, I don’t think Marvel should stop using it after What If…?. After all, why quit adapting disco era anthology magazines after only one? Mr. Kevin Feige, if you’re reading this, I’m here to make a case for Marvel Studios’ Team-Up, the greatest Disney+ original that doesn’t exist. Yet.

     

    First off, a little history lesson. Marvel Team-Up is a comic series that originally ran for 150 issues (plus seven annuals) from 1972 until 1985. The basic premise was as simple as the title: in each issue, one Marvel character would unexpectedly bump into another Marvel character while dealing with a problem, and then the two characters would work together to solve said problem. Oftentimes, the objective of the book was to promote minor characters by throwing them into adventures with major ones (i.e. Spider-Man meets Werewolf by Night), and then to fill the spaces in between with marquee pairings that could maintain sales and keep interest with readers (i.e. Spider-Man and the X-Men). The villains of these stories also had a tendency to be lesser-known threats, such as Zarrko the Tomorrow Man or the Grey Gargoyle, so that the arrival of big-name baddies could be saved for more mainstream titles. Although it wasn’t advertised as a Spider-Man series, the web-head was featured as one of the main characters in 140 issues and all but one of the annuals, and the series was subsequently replaced by a new ongoing Spidey book after a 13-year run. The popularity of the team-up concept persisted, however, and Marvel Team-Up found itself revived three more times, in 1995, 2005, and 2019, for a handful of issues each, while alternate versions of the Spider-Man character found themselves meeting all kinds of super powered individuals in the similarly short-lived Ultimate Marvel Team-Up and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up.

     

    If Marvel Studios thinks they can find success copying the What If…? formula and pasting it onto their own Marvel universe, I think they can find success doing the same thing with Marvel Team-Up. Maybe I’m biased, considering the series was among the first I ever read as a kid and does have a hefty amount of sentimental value, but the idea makes a lot of sense in context as well. If you think about it, the general idea behind the original Team-Up was even used in a reverse fashion by Sony to some effect for their newest Spider-Man trilogy, co-produced by Marvel Studios, in which they found ways to team Spidey up with established MCU characters (Iron Man, Nick Fury, and reportedly, Doctor Strange) in an attempt to promote his new brand. Now imagine, for a moment, that strategy being applied to a hypothetical show wherein each week, two MCU characters, who wouldn’t be likely to interact often in any sort of film, cross paths and take down a relatively minor threat in the time span of an hour-long episode. The show’s objective would function much like that of the comic, mixing the marvelous misadventures of less popular MCU heroes or side-characters with bigger names, in an effort to give the spotlight to actors who wouldn’t normally have a chance to show what they’re made of and create fun new character dynamics that fans might not even know they needed. It would also be a chance for Marvel Studios to flesh out their universe in an organic way, showing what their protagonists and deuteragonists get themselves into when the big events aren’t happening, and opening the door for a litany of quirky new villains to make their live-action debut without taking time or space away from the main films and television series. Obviously, this kind of show would cost a small fortune to cast if every episode featured Spider-Man or Doctor Strange-level characters, but following the book’s given format would mean that the majority of episodes could center around cheaper names and faces, and the proof that folks would still tune in to watch is already in the WandaVision-flavored pudding. One of the latest episodes mainly featured Randall Park’s Jimmy Woo (side character from Ant-Man and the Wasp) teaming up with Kat Dennings‘ Darcy Lewis (side character from Thor) to solve a supernatural mystery involving Teyonah Parris‘ Monica Rambeau (side character from Captain Marvel), and half of Twitter is already calling for Marvel to make a spin-off.

    A potential Team-Up series could also capitalize on the same kind of behind-the-scenes hype that The Mandalorian has used as a mixed marketing and creative golden goose since its inception. With the Team-Up pitch acting as an anthology, every episode could also feature the work of a different director, famous or otherwise, lending their talented touch to the script and conversation-inducing name to the credits. It would give Marvel Studios the opportunity to work with boundless talent from every race, gender, and creed (should they take it, and they should), and would allow multiple directors to get their hands on the world of Marvel, if only for an hour or so at a time. Perhaps Edgar Wright was never able to make his Ant-Man movie as intended, and perhaps we’ll never get the “young Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne series” that many fans found themselves clamoring for a couple of years ago, but we could hypothetically get an Ant-Man and the Wasp team-up episode set in the 1960s, directed by Edgar Wright as a consolation prize. As a bonus, should a certain director prove more than capable of handling the MCU, the studio could even make the move to give them a larger project, which is once again something we’ve seen work with The Mandalorian and Deborah Chow, who, after an impressive showing in the debut series, is on her way to direct every episode of the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show. The same goes for guest appearances from new characters. The second season of The Mandalorian made headlines when Timothy Olyphant seduced audiences as Cobb Vanth for only a single sultry episode, and it now seems possible that he could appear in more Star Wars content down the line. Envision the kind of damage he could do in an episode of Marvel Studios’ Team-Up, playing long-lost Asgardian warrior Balder the Brave, as he fights alongside Jamie Alexander as Lady Sif and Simu Liu as the misplaced Shang-Chi, against the evil forces of the witch Karnilla and her magic Norn Stones in the realm of Nornheim, all directed by Rick Famuyiwa. Wouldn’t you like to see a Disney Gallery inside look at that episode? Put it back-to-back with the Jimmy Woo/Darcy Lewis reunion and you have yourself a show. Also keep in mind that the MCU is only growing, and soon a series like Marvel Studios’ Team-Up would be able to include characters from the world of X-Men, Blade, and the Fantastic Four, which most of us would see as an absolute win.

     

    One quick side note, should Marvel Studios not be able to afford such a series in live-action, it wouldn’t be heartbreaking to bring the project to life via animation, like What If…? before it. Animation is a wonderful medium for all ages, and the market for exclusive animated shows on Disney+ has never been better, thanks to the valiant effort of The Clone Wars seventh and final season. We now know that the entertainment juggernaut has no problem getting its impressive stable of performers to return for one-episode vocal parts, and if Marvel can strike another deal with Quebec-based animators Squeeze, they could create any environment for any episode, without having to build a set.

  • Super Bowl to Feature Disney Trailers for ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’, ‘Falcon and the Winter Solider’ And Potentially More

    Super Bowl to Feature Disney Trailers for ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’, ‘Falcon and the Winter Solider’ And Potentially More

    The Football event of the year is just around the corner. Everyone has their eyes on the Super Bowl for different reasons. Some are there to cheer on their team, while others can’t wait for those exclusive trailers. Well, after a year-long pandemic, some are wondering if anyone will risk the investment. According to Deadline, we will see a smaller line-up than in the past few years. Many streaming services like HBO Max, Peacock, Apple TV, and Netflix will skip this year. Luckily, it seems that Disney is willing to take the risk. They plan to release at least two to four trailers that will be on par with previous years.

    Raya and the Last Dragon is a safe bet to be one of the trailers, as they want to test out their second Premier Access film that releases next month. Last year, Disney+ made a major splash with their first official teaser for their Disney+ slate. It was a short trailer that showcased Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, and even Loki. None of these series got a release date at the time, but it certainly left an impact when it initially aired. So, there is a good chance we will get another trailer that teases their 2021 Marvel slate. Deadline does not rule out a possible trailer for Black Widow, which is still set to release May 7th. They highlight that you shouldn’t expect a sudden announcement that the film will be made available on Disney+ during the event.

    It is crazy to think that Black Widow released a trailer last year and was only a few months away from release. If they do end up including the upcoming Marvel film, there is a good chance we might not see another delay. They could be waiting out to see how Raya performs before making any decisions. It is understandable after Mulan underperformed last year on the service. The release of Pixar’s Soul saw a massive increase in app downloads. However, it probably was nowhere near as profitable as a regular cinematic release. Well, no matter which direction they end up going. There is no competition this year, and Disney will be able to dominate the post-game buzz with anything they decide to release.

    Source: Deadline, Digital TV Europe, Deadline (Soul)

  • McGregor Confirms Late Spring Production Start for ‘Kenobi’ using StageCraft Tech

    McGregor Confirms Late Spring Production Start for ‘Kenobi’ using StageCraft Tech

    Ewan McGregor was a guest on Eddie Izzard‘s final A Run For Hope marathon (you can donate right here), and his upcoming Star Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi series was briefly discussed. After several news outlets reporting that the show would shoot in places like Boston, MA, or even in the UK, McGregor confirmed that the show will actually be filming in Los Angeles, starting this spring, around May/June. This could eventually mean that we could be looking at an early to mid-2022 release date.

    When it was initially confirmed that he would indeed be returning to the role he last played in 2005’s Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, McGregor talked about how excited he was to go back to a galaxy far, far away as it would probably mean he could be using the StageCraft technology that those behind The Mandalorian developed. This was also basically confirmed by McGregor and so being choosing LA was a no-brainer. With this technology being an essential part of the success achieved by the first live-action Star Wars series, the head of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kenedy has since confirmed that new stages are being set up in the US, the UK, and Australia. In the meantime, the LA location used by The Mandalorian remains the only operational sound stage featuring StageCraft, and so it makes sense for McGregor to be confirming that principal photography on the show will take place in the City of Angels.

    Obi-Wan Kenobi will see the return of both Ewan McGregor, as the titular character, and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. It will be directed by Deborah Chow who directed two episodes of The Mandalorian‘s first season.

  • ‘THE BOYS’ Season 3 Set To Begin Filming in Toronto

    ‘THE BOYS’ Season 3 Set To Begin Filming in Toronto

    It looks like COVID-19 can’t keep The Boys from waging war against all those incredibly problematic supes. Series creator Eric Kripke and the man behind fan-favorite protagonist Billy Butcher, Karl Urban, have both recently confirmed they’re en route to Toronto to film the third season of Amazon Prime’s hit show. While production hasn’t publicly been given an official start date, it’s now safe to say that filming will begin much sooner than later, presumably after the cast and crew complete the required 14 days of post-travel quarantine.

    News of the impending shoot first came about in mid-January, when Antony Starr, who plays the terrifying villain Homelander, told Comicbook that the series would resume production “in a month or so”. This was seemingly confirmed by Urban yesterday, when he posted a masked-up selfie to Instagram announcing his departure from COVID-free New Zealand in order to film The Boys in a safe, quarantined space in Toronto. His reveal was subsequently backed up by Kripke, who also posted a masked selfie with a caption stating he was smiling on his way to film Season 3.

    *Spoilers for The Boys*

    Now that we know the series’ third go-around is on track to release without delay, the real question becomes focused on the plot. When last we saw our fowl-mouthed heroes, Billy was dealing with the accidental death of his wife Becca at the hands of her super powered son, and Hughie (played to perfection by Jack Quaid) left the crew to join forces with anti-super politician Victoria Neuman, though her intentions were dramatically revealed to be less-than-heroic in nature.

    While we haven’t gotten much in the way of information on how these threads will continue, we do know that the season will introduce fans to a new character, the WWII-era supe (inspired by Captain America) Soldier Boy, set to be portrayed by Kripke alum Jensen Ackles. Not surprisingly, the comic version of the character isn’t the kindest metahuman in the bunch, and much like the now-stumpy Stormfront before him, his origins are a little suspect. This will more than likely be explored in the live-action adaptation as well, but the character’s sometimes-romantic relationship with Homelander himself is perhaps more up for debate, though the show has not shied away from this sort of thing before. In fact, it’s also been confirmed by Kripke that the new season will include an episode based around the Herogasm story from the comics, in which all the Vought-sponsored supes meet on a remote island, and well, do what adult superheroes do. Hopefully, the season manages to strip the characters down in more ways than one and we learn enough to keep the story going into Kripke’s planned fourth season.

    Source: Instagram