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  • Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals When Doctor Strange Will Return

    Benedict Cumberbatch Reveals When Doctor Strange Will Return

    When last seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Stephen Strange hopped off to an undisclosed alternate universe with Charlize Theron‘s Clea with the promise that he’d return again. However, despite a third film in the franchise rumored to have been fast-tracked, there’s been no official announcement from Marvel Studios just yet, leaving fans wondering when they might see the Master of the Mystic Arts again. As it turns out, his next appearance may not be as far away as some might think.

    In an interview with Nick Hackworth, Benedict Cumberbatch revealed that plans are in place for him to step back into the role of Strange. After describing his next role as Pete Seeger in James Mangold‘s upcoming Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, Cumberbatch teased his return to the MCU.

    “After that [A Complete Unknown],the only thing I think I know for certain is there are some Marvel capers in the making next year,” revealed Cumberbatch. And while the actor went on to clarify that he knows very little about the plans–and given the current climate in Hollywood, it’s easy to believe him–a little Sherlockian deduction might lead to some possible explanations.

    Following Disney’s major reshuffling of their future slate of films, only two Marvel Studios films, Blade and Fantastic Four, are currently intended to release in 2025. Of those projects, only Fantastic Four is known to be scheduled to film in 2024 with Blade believed to be nearly ready to enter production as soon as the ongoing WGA strike comes to an end. Given Strange’s travels to Earth-838 make him one of only three MCU characters to have met that Earth’s version of Reed Richards, it isn’t too hard to imagine Strange interacting with the main continuity’s Mister Fantastic. Of course, that doesn’t take all other options off the table. There’s an Untitled Marvel film slated for February 13, 2026 which could potentially be either Doctor Strange 3 or another film in which Strange appears and it’s certainly worth pointing out that while Cumberbatch will be filming next year, he never indicated he was working on a film. With that in mind, it’s possible he’s joining any number of Disney Plus projects that are either known to be or rumored to be in the works. Unfortunately, with Marvel sitting out SDCC ’23, we’ll likely have to wait quite some time to find out what’s next for Strange.

    Source: YouTube

  • Evan Peters’ Ralph Bohner Rumored to Pop Back into the MCU

    Evan Peters’ Ralph Bohner Rumored to Pop Back into the MCU

    It appears that Marvel Studios did NOT learn anything from WandaVision. Marvel Studios first streaming series generated an inordinate amount of buzz each week as fans theorized that everyone from Reed Richards to Magneto to Mephisto would appear and then went into frenetic outrage when their theories came up empty. Adding to the frenzy was the appearance of Evan Peters who after portraying Quicksilver in the Fox X-Men franchise, popped into WandaVision as Wanda’s twin brother only to be revealed to be an out-of-work actor named Ralph Bohner. Week to week, the outrage over Bohner grew and grew as it became clear that Peters‘ Bohner was nothing more than a misdirection. Despite all the rage over Bohner, a new rumor suggests that Marvel Studios is ready to revisit the flaccid role in its WandaVision follow-up.

    According to insider Daniel RPK (via @ScarletWitchUpd), Peters‘ will take another stab at Bohner in the WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos.

    It might seem that revisiting Peters‘ Bohner might not have much left to offer the MCU following a disappointing first ride but clearly Jac Schaeffer and the powers that be don’t see it that way. However, while it seems unlikely that Bohner will fill a huge gap in the plot of the series, given where WandaVision left his character and Kathryn Hahn‘s Agatha, there’s probably a little space for the character to slide into the plot in some satisfying way.

    Agatha: Coven of Chaos is currently expected to stream on Disney Plus at some point in 2024.

    Source: Twitter

  • First Reactions of New ‘One Piece’ Footage from Anime Expo

    First Reactions of New ‘One Piece’ Footage from Anime Expo

    Anime Expo dropped quite a bit for One Piece, as not only did we get a little trailer for the latest volume of the manga, but even a new video for the live-action adaptation. Netflix’s Japanese dub will feature the original voices, as Inaki Godoy got to meet Mayumi Tanaka. As it turns out, some influencers also got a sneak peek of a few clips from the series, which gives us a better indication of what the series is going to look like.

    @newworldartur, who also revealed they also contributed to the lore of the adaptation, shared a few insights into what the series was like. We got a glimpse of what’s to come in the teaser trailer but they go on to praise that what the show does well is it’s “goofy and fun-loving” just like the original series.

    Some negative remarks were that there was some cheesy or “cringe” dialogue but still praises the script. So, perhaps only a few lines here or there are a bit more awkward than others especially not uncommon with shows finding their footing early on. There were some comments about the CG but does highlight it works for what the show is going for, but also has some time to finish work on.

    They do highlight that they are faithful to the original, but they still tweaked some of the characteristics to make them a tad more “realistic.” One of the bigger changes seems to be that Nami seemingly joins Luffy and Zoro in Shells City, as hinted at in the teaser. They do highlight that the changes give it a better flow which matches the later storylines.

    One highlight seems to be that they believe there are small instances that come from Eiichiro Oda, like Luffy being able to “hear something from the Merry“. Overall, seems they quite enjoyed what they saw and it gives us a little sense of what we can expect from the series next month.

    They weren’t the only ones, as YouTubers Volume One also shared their reaction to a scene, which seems ripped straight from the manga, where Nami tricks members of Buggy’s crew. They highlight that her costume seemingly ripped from the early Nami concept art, but also highlighted that the show feels “piraty” and highlights the scale. Seems that seeing more of the character also greatly helps how the characters come to life, with even praises of the cinematography which was criticized in the trailer.

    Source: Twitter, YouTube

  • ‘One Piece’ Lore Analyst Contributed to Netflix’s Live-Action Series

    ‘One Piece’ Lore Analyst Contributed to Netflix’s Live-Action Series

    We all know that the upcoming One Piece series heading to Netflix has a big challenge. Not only do they have to tackle one of the most popular manga out there, but there is also 1,000+ chapters worth of world-building that would need to fit into a live-action setting. Showrunner Matt Owens is a long-time fan of the manga and would likely know what elements would fit into the East Blue to tease what future seasons could explore.

    A big plus that Owens also brings to the project is that he’s very involved in the online One Piece community. As it turns out, he also wanted to make use of the knowledge that people have gathered throughout the many years of the manga’s run and had analyst and One Piece influencer Artur – Library of Ohara (on Twitter as @newworldartur) to support the production.

    They took to their Twitter account to share that they contributed to the live-action series by helping with references to the franchise’s lore, Easter eggs, and even timeline. They do highlight that they weren’t directly involved with the production but it’s definitely great to see the production team also involve the community to ensure that every bit fits into the franchise many have come to love over 25 years.

    They aren’t the only influencer that has been involved, as @RogersBase even openly confirmed he got a chance to visit the sets of Netflix’s One Piece series. @RandyTroy has even hosted Owens in his streams after the trailer dropped to discuss some of the details that were revealed. The showrunner is showcasing the potential of this series by having those that’ll share it with the wider community involved to create a stronger sense of authenticity.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Underwhelms With $60M Opening Weekend

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Underwhelms With $60M Opening Weekend

    Going into the summer, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s opening box office was the talk of the town. Many pointed out that it would be on the lowest end of what has been released yet it somehow managed to be the best-performing live-action blockbuster all season. Animation hits like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and The Super Mario Bros. Film have shown some strong legs, it’s been a rough year in 2023 even as cinemas had hit after hit ready to release.

    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the next in line with a soft opening box office at $60M. It is a dream for a smaller project, but the film costs a whopping $295M excluding its marketing costs. So, it would take incredible legs for the film to end up profitable though the B+ CinemaScore is weighing that chance down quite a bit. It almost feels like the box office has lost all momentum, as many films in the previous weeks have just not been performing as one would hope.

    Sadly, the film didn’t do much better internationally, as it pulled in $70M which is lower than even what The Flash did. So far, only Fast X managed to speed past anyone in its international box office while most are trying to even hit Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3′s opening, which was slightly mocked for being lower than Marvel’s usual. Who would’ve known that they were performing as usual just matching the overall year’s performance.

    This weekend proved that not even animation is a safe bet, as DreamWorks debuts its latest film, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, at $5.2M over the weekend. That is quite a disappointing box office for the film after the earlier success they saw with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. So, while The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the latest Spider-Verse film made us believe families are back in theaters, harsh reality has set in once again.

    It gets worse once you realize that The Flash, one of Warner Bros. biggest bets and highest hopes of the summer, fell to the 8th spot in its third weekend. It now only made $5M and hasn’t even crossed $100M yet after that harsh 67% drop. It’s especially painful for high-budget fare that has been whelming or just disappointing at the box office this summer.

    What exactly is the cause? Perhaps exhibitors were just a tad too excited going into the summer as they piled on film after film. Yet, the prices have not gone down and continue to soar which makes people’s choices way more selective going in. Plus, there was already an onslaught of films early in the year which means interest has just slowed down if the film isn’t reaching a much higher threshold than usual; not surprising given what one is looking for to justify the prices or just wait it out until streaming. Add in high production budgets that are all-in on making their money back and Hollywood is facing a bit of an uphill battle.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘One Piece’s Original Japanese Voice Cast to Dub Netflix’s Live-Action Version

    ‘One Piece’s Original Japanese Voice Cast to Dub Netflix’s Live-Action Version

    Here’s a rather great surprise, it looks like the original voice cast of the Japanese One Piece series will return for the live-action adaptation heading to Netflix later in August. In a cute video revealed during this year’s Anime Expo, Inaki Godoy met with the original Monkey D. Luffy voice actress, who has been playing the character since 1999, Mayumi Tanaka. In a way, it also acts as a “passing of the torch“, as she also praises Godoy for his work as the character.

    Of course, while the rest of the voice cast did not appear in the video, they have confirmed that everyone is set to reprise their iconic roles in the adaptation. Godoy and Taz Skylar also confirmed that they will be reprising their roles in the Spanish dubs as well, which is a great touch given their own cultural background and just adds a little fun. Funny enough, the German voice cast of the anime has also been teased as part of the live-action adaptation.

    What a great little surprise to come out of Anime Expo, plus we also had the cast of the live-action One Piece together once more. Cowboy Bebop’s live-action adaptation also featured the original cast but it didn’t have this much of a push besides a short confirmation on Social Media. Netflix seemingly knows what this show is all about and is using the dynamic of this cast, and now having the voice since 1999 of the iconic lead passing on a straw hat. Hard to deny, there’s a lot of hope to see this show succeed.

    Watch the video here:

    Source: YouTube

  • Marvel Stuntman Claims Marvel Studios Was “Going to Batgirl” an Upcoming Disney+ Show

    Marvel Stuntman Claims Marvel Studios Was “Going to Batgirl” an Upcoming Disney+ Show

    There are always a lot of eyes and ears out there trying to get the latest scoop on whatever Marvel Studios is up to. Rumors have been circulating far and wide that they’ve dragged down the overall experience and likely are a big factor in the “fatigue” discussions online, as we constantly hear reports of things that may never even happen or aren’t even true. Now, it seems a long-time Marvel stuntman, Chris Brewster, is joining the game with a rather curious statement.

    Taking part in the Ikuzo Unscripted podcast, the stuntman claims that one of the upcoming Disney+ shows was almost canned, or as he puts it: “They were going to Batgirl it.” The show he’s talking about is nonother than Echo, which was seemingly postponed quite a bit throughout its production as we’ve heard some time ago. While they are still moving forward with the show, he claims that is due to the strike.

    Uh, yeah, well, they… I always get the word of mouth. I heard they were going to ‘Batgirl’ it, because they weren’t happy with it and now they’re doing reshoots and are planning on airing it. But I think that could also have something to do with the fact that there’s a strike and there’s not a lot of content right now, so like, ‘We have it made already.

    Chris Brewster

    While there have been some discussions about not having enough time to make it work by head writer Marion Dayre, the series was delayed quite a bit. Of course, he also mentions reshoots that could make up for a lot of the troubles they faced and if it weren’t for the Internet we likely would’ve never known this. Who knows if the “word of mouth” he’s hearing isn’t also someone hearing it from another and things slightly alter from there. We can’t say if this was just an option on the table in a meeting, or if they generally were looking into the option fully. The drawback of these kinds of stories.

    Echo is set to be the first binge drop for the franchise on November 29th, at least for a live-action show. It has big ties to the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again series, which he also complained about not including Netflix’s original production team in the same interview. Though, one could argue that they aren’t tied to having to do the same project the exact same way and have a pool of talent that gave us some great stunts in the past. Plus, we don’t know what direction the production is heading given its many episodes.

    Source: Ikuzo Unscripted via The Direct

  • First Look at Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Merchandise for Luffy and Zoro

    First Look at Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Merchandise for Luffy and Zoro

    Just a few days ago, there was the announcement that S.H.Figuarts would be doing a collaboration with Netflix for the upcoming live-action One Piece series. It’s certainly a step further for them actually pushing merchandise before the series released, as Cowboy Bebop was more of a wait-and-see approach before it got rushed out. Luckily, they hinted that we’ll likely get our first look during the Anime Expo 2023 and the first images have already found their way online.

    YouTuber @DesnesCitrus shared an image, which initially came from Kaboom Kollectibles, from the Anime Expo that unveils a first look at two figurines from this new series line. We get a good look at Mackenyu Arata’s take on Roronoa Zoro and Inaki Godoy’s Monkey D. Luffy. While we don’t know if all the main Straw Hat members are getting their own figurines, it does seem fitting given the big push of the cast as the live-action series’ big selling point.

    The figurines look great and are quite detailed. It’s still crazy to think that Netflix is already going all-in to bank off of this series. One Piece is a franchise that managed to even outsell Batman’s entire lifetime comic sales and likely has a chance to surpass Superman by the time it eventually ends in the coming years. So, it has quite a massive audience built-in and if they manage to draw in a strong audience for the live-action series, they might be able to also build a strong base for additional sales.

    This is a way how Marvel Studios’ various projects are far more than just their box office revenue. If people buy merchandise, they end up generating additional revenue with Intellectual Property that also gives them a reason to keep it around longer. So, we’ll see if this strategy might end up reflecting what Netflix saw with Squid Game and Stranger Things, which could carry this series for many years to come.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Dune’ Spinoff Recasts and Adds New Director

    ‘Dune’ Spinoff Recasts and Adds New Director

    Dune’s second part is about to release in theaters later this year, but there is also a spinoff that seemingly was in development hell long since the first film was released in theaters. Now, it seems that Dune: The Sisterhood finally getting some momentum as they enter a second try on the project.

    The Crown’s Olivia Williams is now set to take over the role of Tula Harkonnen, which originally was going to be played by Shirley Henderson before she left the project in February. They also have added a new director Anna Foerster set to take on multiple episodes and the pilot, which she is taking over from Johan Renck.

    The story is set to further explore the galaxy introduced by Frank Herbert in his Dune book series. Dune: The Sisterhood would take place 10,000 years before Paul Atreides’ journey as we follow the Harkonnen Sisters, who would found the sect of Bene Gesserit. The story will be an adaptation of Sisterhood of Dune, which was written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Tron: Ares’ Cast Continues to Grow With Jodie Turner-Smith and Greta Lee

    ‘Tron: Ares’ Cast Continues to Grow With Jodie Turner-Smith and Greta Lee

    Disney is finally returning to the iconic Tron franchise once again. It’s been quite some time since Tron Legacy was released in theaters, but the latest entry decides to move into a whole new direction that’ll likely only loosely connects to how the Grid was brought into existence.

    So far, we only knew that Jared Leto was going to star in the film, who shortly after even “accidentally” leaked the title of the film that will be known as Tron Ares. Now, they are seemingly gearing up for production with quite a few different casting additions that are quite promising for the latest entry.

    Now, they have also added Past Lives breakout Greta Lee and Queen & Slim’s Jodie Turner-Smith to the cast, who is also going to join another Disney property in the Star Wars Disney+ series The Acolyte. We’ll see if some more casting announcements are heading our way in the coming weeks.

    Leto is set to play Ares the program that ends up becoming sentient and ends up in the human world. Lee will take on the role of a video game programmer and tech CEO, who wants to change the world. As one knows about technology, it definitely looks like a cautionary tale is going to explore the effects of programs entering the human world. Even if it makes you wonder if director Joachim Rønning will bring back the visual style we saw in Legacy.

    Source: Variety