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  • Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier Might Have One More Death in Him in ‘Deadpool 3’

    Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier Might Have One More Death in Him in ‘Deadpool 3’

    Few actors are as deeply associated with comic book movie characters as Patrick Stewart is with Charles Xavier. Stewart has portrayed Professor X in seven films, a post-credit scene and even voiced him in a few video games and has become inextricably linked to the character. He most recently returned to the role as a member of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and after a memorable entrance was dishonorably discharged from his service by the Scarlet Witch. That wasn’t the first time Stewart’s Charles kicked the bucket on the big screen; according to him, it may not be the last.

    Marvel Studios is just a few months away from beginning production on the third installment of the Deadpool franchise, a film that will introduce Ryan Reynolds‘ Merc with a Mouth and Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine to the MCU. While Stewart hasn’t been confirmed for the film, he did tell Comic Book that he’s “been told to standby,” before adding, “I know nothing more than that, honest.”

    Given the connection between Wolverine and Charles, it wouldn’t be remotely surprising to see the Professor in the film. However, one of the most sensible theories about the film–and one that seems to be picking up steam–is that its plot will be an adaptation of the Marvel Comic series Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe. Should that be the case, the film might find room for a fourth and final (?) death for the character before Marvel Studios begins their work on the X-Men and recasts the role.

    Deadpool 3/Wolverine and Deadpool begins production in May ahead of its November 8th, 2024 release as part of Marvel Studios’ Phase 4.

    Source: Comic Book

  • John Leguizamo Explains How He Was Almost in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’

    John Leguizamo Explains How He Was Almost in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’

    John Leguizamo has a long history with the world of comics. The actor starred as Violator in 1997’s Spawn, played Javier in 2013’s Kick-Ass 2, created PhenomX for Image Comics in 2021 and voiced The Riddler in the podcast Batman: The Audio Adventures through 2022. It seems Leguizamo almost had one more big role to add to his resume until another icon swooped in and took it.

    In an interview with Comic Book, Leguizamo revealed that he was set to play Adrian Toomes, aka the Vulture, in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. That role ultimately went to Michael Keaton but as Leguizamo explained, it was a last-minute switch.

    I was supposed to be the Vulture. We had negotiated and I was about to play him, and they said that Michael Keaton wanted it back and they asked me if I would give it up. I said, ‘Well, okay I guess.’ They said, ‘No, we’ll work with you again, we’re gonna…’ That’s what happened there.

    John Lequizamo

    Leguizamo‘s story calls to mind Keaton’s interesting history with the role. After being reported as in talks, Keaton dropped out of negotiations before swooping back in and landing the role a month later. After being expected to reprise the role of Toomes in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Keaton’s character was nowhere to be found.

    Leguizamo added that he has since turned down another role with the studio. “They offered me something tiny,” he said, adding,”I went, ‘Nuh uh.’” That means that fans of the talented actor can still hold out hope for him to find the right role in the MCU a some point down the road.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Fantastic Four’ Director Matt Shakman Recently Met with Mila Kunis

    ‘Fantastic Four’ Director Matt Shakman Recently Met with Mila Kunis

    Casting for Marvel Studios Fantastic Four is underway and while it seems a new front-runner for the role of Reed Richards emerges each week, another and potentially more important role of the film never gets quite the same amount of attention. While Reed is the brains, Sue Storm is the heart and soul of Marvel’s First Family and any successful film adaptation of the source material would benefit from a strong actress in the role. Though the rumor mill for Sue had been quiet, it’s likely about to heat up now.

    Thanks to the Daily Mail, it’s been revealed that Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman recently met with That ’70s Show star Mila Kunis. While there’s no indication that the two met to discuss a role in Fantastic Four, it is possible that Kunis has the star power necessary for the part. While she’s a strong comedic actress, Kunis received Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors’ Guild nominations for her supporting role in Black Swan.

    Of course, even if the meeting was for a role in Fantastic Four, there’s no guarantee that it was for the role of Sue. With Jonathan Hickman‘s influence being felt across the Multiverse Saga, it’s possible Shakman could be ironically looking at Kunis for the role of Yabbat Ummon Turru, Marvle’s own Black Swan who played a large role in Marvel Comics’ 2015 event Secret Wars. Kunis also has a wealth of experience as a voice actor, having voiced Meg Griffin on Family Guy in 393 episodes over the past 24 years as well as doing voice work on Stoner Cats, Wonder Park and more.

    Though no casting announcements have been made officially, Shakman is deep in the process. Production on Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to get underway early in 2024 ahead of a February 14, 2025 release.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • ‘Spider-Man Noir’ Series in Development for Amazon Prime Video

    ‘Spider-Man Noir’ Series in Development for Amazon Prime Video

    A new wrinkle into the Spider-Verse is taking place at Amazon Prime. It has been revealed that a live-action series for Spider-Man Noir is moving forward at the streaming service with Oren Uziel is set to serve as a writer and executive producer for the new project. In addition, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Amy Pascal have worked on developing the project and will also be working as executive producers.

    The new Spider-Man Noir series is part of the partnership between Sony Pictures and Amazon Prime Video to create shows based on Spider-Man characters currently owned by the former. It will be the second of its kind with Silk: Spider Society well into development under showrunner Angela Kang.

    The series will be based in 1930s New York City and follow a grizzled version of Spider-Man. Not much is currently known in terms of narrative details for Spider-Man Noir, though according to sources with Variety, the main character of this series will not be a Peter Parker variant. This assumedly eliminates any connection from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, as Nicolas Cage played the Peter Parker version of the Noir-themed Spider-Man.

    Spider-Man Noir will be notable as the first project in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to have a live-action version of the titular character, even if it’s based in a separate universe. This comes after being built around an array of Spider-Man’s villains thus far.

    No word has been given on when audiences should expect Spider-Man: Noir to release on Amazon Prime Video.

    Source: Variety

  • Ike Perlmutter’s Whims Nearly Derailed Marvel Studios in 2015

    Ike Perlmutter’s Whims Nearly Derailed Marvel Studios in 2015

    Ahead of Marvel Studios’ 2016 release, Captain America: Civil War, Kevin Feige found himself as the focal point of a civil war at Disney. Long frustrated by interference from Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter and the influence of the now infamous creative committee, Feige nearly left Marvel before coming to terms on a new deal with CEO Bob Iger that allowed him to skip Perlmutter and report directly to Disney Studios chair Alan Horn. After a brief retirement, Iger has returned to Disney and in an interview with CNBC, shed new light on the old dispute.

    According to Iger, Perlmutter and Feige’s feud reached the point where the former was set on firing the latter. Iger’s interference made Perlmutter unhappy and Iger says that those hard feelings exist to this day.

    It’s hard to imagine what Marvel Studios might have looked like had Feige been broomed in 2015. Perlmutter’s preferred slate of films included Inhumans and had no place for films such as Black Panther and Captain Marvel. Perlmutter‘s notes on a potential Black Panther film, which grossed almost $1.35B, included “Black characters” underperforming globally. Iger, who has long championed diversity at Disney, pushed back and pushed both films, through. Captain Marvel took in $1.31B and joined Black Panther earning sequels. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has grossed $842M to date and Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels, is set to open later this year.

    Since Feige split away from Perlmutter, Marvel Studios has produced 3 of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time in Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Though his tenure has not been without some bumps in the road and the studio’s latest phase, Phase 4, has been under fire for the uneven quality of its projects, Feige has certainly accomplished something unprecedented in Hollywood, something that nearly never got off the ground.

  • ‘WandaVision’ & ‘Moon Knight’ Writer Peter Cameron Set to Serve as Executive Producer on New Horror Short ‘Hunger’ (Exclusive)

    ‘WandaVision’ & ‘Moon Knight’ Writer Peter Cameron Set to Serve as Executive Producer on New Horror Short ‘Hunger’ (Exclusive)

    Peter Cameron has become a go-to guy for Marvel Studios. Cameron served as a writer on WandaVision, Moon Knight, Werewolf By Night and is currently in the writer’s room for Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Though he’s certainly not turning his back on his writing days, Cameron has begun to expand his footprint, recently serving as the executive producer on the disaster movie Doomed and will now add another project to his resume.

    Cameron will next serve as executive producer on the Indie horror short, Hunger, created by Junayed Alavi, which will be screened at the First Cut Youth film festival in Ireland and at Lift-Off Global Network festival. Alavi provided Murphy’s Multiverse with details on his background and his new short, Hunger.

    Junayed Alavi is a 24 years old Independent filmmaker from West Bengal, India. Previously, he has written, directed and produced many short films. He is also a podcast host of Bengal’s only live Hollywood podcast show called “Late Night Show with Alavi”, where Hollywood A-listers join and share their journey to inspire the next generation of artists. Till now, many hollywood celebs like Avengers Endgame actress Lexi Rabe, Back to the future actor Jeffrey Weissman, Narnia and The Martian Music Composer Harry Gregson-Williams, Wrong Turn Director Rob Schmidt, Director of Disney’s Black Beauty Ashley Avis, Oscar nominated Make-up Artist of Dune, Blade Runner 2049, Spider-Man: Far From Home Donald Mowat and many more. Junayed met Peter on a podcast episode. They were in touch since 2021. Peter liked one of his short films Eventually. Junayed planned a short film after watching Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night, directed by Michael Giacchino, co-written by Peter. After watching some glimpses of Junayed’s short film Hunger, Peter wished to executive produce it. Hunger is a fictional horror story based on The great Bengal famine of 1770.   

    Cameron also worked as a writer on Carnival Row and has continued to show a penchant for combining classic horror elements with more modern sensibilties.

  • ‘Daredevil’ Stunt Double Chris Brewster Won’t Return for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    ‘Daredevil’ Stunt Double Chris Brewster Won’t Return for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Stunt performer Chris Brewster has a long history with Marvel Studios. Beginning with Iron Man 3, Brewster worked as a stunt double, stunt performer and fight coordinator on nearly a dozen projects, including doubling as Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. More memorably (and as Brewster told us in our May 2020 interview), Brewster worked closely with Daredevil star Charlie Cox to develop the hero’s iconic fighting style in the Netflix Defenders-verse series while also serving as Cox’s stunt double.

    Brewster and Cox worked closely together for years, developing close personal and professional relationships, and the latter credited the former with being a key to the success of Daredevil. With all that history in place–and with Brewster working with Marvel Studios as recently as Ms. Marvel–it seemed a no-brainer that Brewster would go to work with Cox on Daredevil: Born Again. However, that will not be the case.

    In a response to a Tweet from #SaveDaredevil/#WeSavedDaredevil member @Kristina4109, Brewster revealed that not only is he not working on Daredevil: Born Again but also that Marvel Studios denied him the opportunity to interview for “the job.”

    Everyone involved with Born Again has hinted that the series will take the character in a new direction while also indicating that Marvel Studios would hang on to the pieces of the Netflix series that resonated with fans. While She-Hulk showed off some more acrobatic moves by the character, it seemed likely that Daredevil would still retain the bulk of the incredible martial arts abilities he showed off over 3 seasons of the Netflix show. With Brewster no longer part of the process, it seems as though Marvel Studios has chosen to completely reinvent the wheel and leave one of their longest standing and most talented stunt performers on the sideline.

  • Elizabeth Banks Wanted to Direct ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

    Elizabeth Banks Wanted to Direct ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

    Elizabeth Banks, who is currently promoting her newest film Cocaine Bear, recently revealed she tried to direct a Marvel Studios film in the past. In an interview with Variety, Banks admitted she had reached out to Marvel Studios to direct Thor: Ragnarok. The actress-turned-director said she decided to put herself out there for the job because it was an opportunity most women directors don’t get.

    “I definitely wanted to make something muscular and masculine. I wanted to break down some of the mythology around what kinds of movies women are interested in making,” she explained. “For some bizarre reason, there are still executives in Hollywood who are like, ‘I don’t know if women can do technical stuff.’ There are literally people who are like, ‘Women don’t like math.’ It just persists.”

    Unfortunately for Banks, Marvel Studios never called her back and the gig ultimately went to Taika Waititi, who would also go on to helm the fourth Thor installment. As it stands, Banks harbors no ill will toward Waititi, as she feels the right person landed the gig. “No one called me. Taika Waititi got the job. Rightfully so.”

    Next up for Banks is Cocaine Bear, which she directed and calls a “ginormous risk.” That film will hit theaters on Feb. 24th.

    Source: Variety.

  • Director Peyton Reed on How the Father/Daughter Dynamic Remains the Core of the Ant-Man Franchise

    Director Peyton Reed on How the Father/Daughter Dynamic Remains the Core of the Ant-Man Franchise

    Though it could be argued that Scott Lang’s MCU history is largely comprised of “stealing some shit”, anyone who has seen the films knows how important his daughter, Cassie, has been to his journey as Ant-Man. Upon leaving prison, Lang tried to forge a strong relationship with Cassie, which seemed to be going well until Thanos’ snap trapped him in the Quantum Realm. Lang emerged from there to find he’d missed five years of Cassie’s life and that idea is central to the choices he makes in Quantumania, which puts their father-daughter relationship front and center once again.

    “The Scott/Cassie dynamic is the spine of these movies, right?,” said director Peyton Reed in an interview with Comic Book. Reed went on to explain that from a storytelling perspective, the five-year Blip provided Quantumania’s creative team with a “gift.” “He’s an Avenger to be sure, but his biggest goal in life is to be a good father to his daughter and the events of Endgame gave us this gift, which is this [five-year time jump]. He’s always trying to find time with his daughter and he’s lost five more years.“

    Cassie Lang, now played by Kathryn Newton, is no longer the little girl who wanted to be Ant-Man’s partner but rather a young adult who has her own ideas about what it means to be a hero. “Before he can blink an eye, he’s been relating to her as a little girl and now she’s a young woman,” explained Reed. “She’s 18 and now she has her own ideas about justice and about what being a hero looks like and she can be quite critical of her dad, and that’s seemed like a fun dynamic to fulfill.”

    With talk of a fourth Ant-Man film and a Young Avengers project in development at Marvel Studios, it seems like Quantumania will serve as Cassie’s opening act as a hero. Now that she’s apparently a full-fledged member of the Ant-Family, it’ll be interesting to see the continued development of the dynamic with her father and follow their continuing adventures.

    Source: Comic Book

  • Amazon Adapting Scott Snyder and Jock’s ‘Wytches’ as Adult Animated Series

    Amazon Adapting Scott Snyder and Jock’s ‘Wytches’ as Adult Animated Series

    The Image Comics horror series Wytches, written by Scott Snyder with art from Jock, has been picked up for adaptation at Amazon. The six-issue series, which debuted in 2014, is being developed as an animated series aimed at adults, joining Vox Machina and Invincible on the streaming series.

    “Wytches is possibly my most personal work,” said Snyder, who recently saw another of his Image Comics titles, Nocterra, picked up for series as well. “It’s all about the monsters that dwell beneath the surface of things, both literally and figuratively. I’ve been intimately involved with this animated series from the start, and I can honestly say that I love this show as much as the book, if not more.”

    Scottish artist Jock, with whom Snyder also worked on several different Batman-centric books at DC, put together some terrifying work on Wytches. According to Snyder, the animated nature of the Amazon series provides a better medium for Jock’s creations than live-action. “The animation brings the incredible art by Jock to life,” Snyder said, “and the episodic format expands the world of Wytches, taking the characters and mythology to terrifying new places. Jock and I are deeply grateful to Plan B Entertainment, Kevin Kolde, and Amazon Studios for believing in Wytches and giving us a chance to make this show dark, personal, twisted, and very special.“

    No time frame for the development of the series was given, though Melissa Wolfe, head of animation at Amazon Studios, sounds eager to get the project to the screen.

    Driven by the pairing of Scott and Jock along with our partners at Plan B and Project 51 Productions, Wytches fuses nail-biting horror and evocative drama while unearthing the dark lore surrounding an ancient burrow of witches. Given the haunting and intimate nature of Scott and Jock’s well-regarded comic series, we are looking forward to delivering their creative vision to our global audience and expanding our growing roster of animated series.

    Melissa Wolfe

    Source: Variety