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  • What Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Means for the Future of the Character

    What Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Means for the Future of the Character

    Late last night, Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, confirmed that Charlie Cox would be returning to the dual roles of Matt Murdock and Daredevil. Cox first appeared in the roles in 39 episodes of the Netflix streaming series, Daredevil, and in 8 episodes of the crossover miniseries, The Defenders, which brought the hero together with Netflix’s other Marvel heroes, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Danny Rand.

    Cox’s work in the role was universally well-received and when the series was cancelled in 2018, it came with a promise that the character would “live on in future projects for Marvel.” The non-renewal sparked the creation of the #SaveDardevil social media campaign and a great deal of social media outrage. It’s reasonable to assume that Feige saw and heard how beloved Cox was in the role and when Marvel Studios regained the rights to the character, found a way to start integrating him into the MCU’s Sacred Timeline narrative, beginning with Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    While Cox’s involvement in No Way Home was first reported nearly a year ago, the star did his best to evade questions about the topic. Over time, however, Cox softened and began to at least entertain questions about what a potential return to the role might entail. Now that Feige has confirmed Cox’s return, not only can Cox, who often looked uncomfortable while having to keep that return secret, breathe easy, but fans can also look back at some other rumors that linked Cox to future MCU appearances.

    Cox’s role in No Way Home has been reported to amount to an extended cameo as Matt Murdock but that appearance should set the stage for the actor to appear in multiple projects over the next several years. As I was told by a bulletproof source nearly a year ago, after his appearance in No Way Home, prepare to see a lot of Cox. Rumors persist that the next time we’ll see Cox will be the 2022 Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series She-Hulk. She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany recently confirmed that the series was heavily influenced by the Dan Slott and Charles Soule runs on the comic; the latter is especially interesting in connection to a potential appearance by Cox. Soule, whose 12-issue run on the book began in 2014 (and is available for purchase here), is a lawyer himself and found a way to bring the two comic book counselors together for some fun. She-Hulk would be a great way for Marvel Studios to introduce that “reimagined, upgraded version” of Daredevil that he mentioned, including a new suit that would really set his MCU character apart from the one previously donned on Netflix. Something in a nice yellow should do the trick.

    Beyond She-Hulk, confidence in the rumors dwindles but the connections that exist between Daredevil and other characters currently in the MCU can point fans in the right direction when thinking about where he’s likely to appear next. Hawkeye, which is now streaming on Disney Plus, introduced both Alaqua Cox’s Echo and recently teased Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, who will be played by Charlie Cox’s Daredevil co-star, Vincent D’Onofrio. With an Echo series in development, it’s possible that both Daredevil and Kingpin appear in supporting roles. Recent rumors also point to Marvel Studios now developing a solo Daredevil project, though whether it’s a film or streaming series was unknown. With She-Hulk in 2022, Echo in 2023 and a potential Daredevil project in 2024, it’s safe to say audiences will find themselves seeing a lot of Cox over the next 3 years. But could there be more than that in store for fans?

    The beauty of integrating Daredevil into the MCU’s Sacred Timeline is that it allows the character to operate both in his own street-level corner and interact with other characters in an already fully-developed world. Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk are just the tip of the iceberg in this regard. Daredevil and Spider-Man have a long standing friendship and with Marvel and Sony reportedly getting ready to collaborate on another trilogy, fans could see the two spending some time on some rooftops in the future. For fans of the comics and the animated series, it’s a relationship they’ve been waiting to see and one that couldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. With D’Onofrio hinting that he’d like to see his character take on Spider-Man down the road, it’s possible that a future Spider-Man or Daredevil project could see the two bringing one of their classic comic book Team-Ups to the screen to take on the Kingpin. The possibility also exists of seeing Daredevil join the Avengers down the road. While the character has always been more comfortable in the confines of Hell’s Kitchen, he did join the New Avengers for a spell during the “Fear Itself” event.

    The reality is that there plenty of options out there for Cox to continue to give the character new life. Feige’s confirmation of Cox returning to the role is no small thing. Daredevil has nearly 60 years worth of stories, some of which stand among the best in the history of Marvel Comics. His rebirth into the MCU as an all-new, all-different Daredevil allows for the studio to keep what they liked about the character (which is pretty much just Cox) and retell the parts of the story they think need retelling. Future projects could dive back into Frank Miller’s work and allow the character to have another run in with Elektra, a showdown with a comic-accurate Bullseye and the reworking of the Hand to make it the threat it deserves to be; it could also take an entirely different route and follow the spirit of other great runs by the likes of Brian Michael Bendis, Charles Soule or Mark Waid. While fans wait to see how Marvel Studios adapts the Fantastic Four and X-Men to the MCU, they should be equally excited to see how they handle Daredevil.

  • ‘Hawkeye’ From Page to Screen: Episode 3.1

    ‘Hawkeye’ From Page to Screen: Episode 3.1

    The live-action Hawkeye series has openly taken bits and pieces of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye comic run. We looked at how Episode 1 incorporated the introduction of Lucky the Pizza Dog, and Episode 2 featured Clint’s capture by the Tracksuit Mafia that had some clear ties to the comic. This week, Hawkeye Episode 3, “Echoes, adapted one of the comic’s most iconic sequences: the trick arrow car chase. Unlike previous episodes, the car chase sequence is based heavily on Fraction and Aja’s work, and is as close to being “directly from the comic” as the series is likely to get. You might be surprised to see what the episode borrowed straight from the comic and what they changed.

    ‘Hawkeye’ #3 (2012)

    What They Borrowed

    The Chase

    Of course, the car chase sequence happens both in Hawkeye Episode 3 and Hawkeye #3. In both stories, Clint and Kate are being chased by hoards of the Tracksuit Mafia with one Hawkeye hanging out of the window to shoot arrows at their assailants, causing mayhem throughout the streets of New York. A major difference, though, is that in the comic the two archers are also the original chasers. But more on that below.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    The Arrows

    The car chase wouldn’t be the car chase without the endless barrage of random trick arrows that Clint has on hand. We could write an entire article on the arrows in this episode alone…so we did. Check out the next “From Page to Screen” for that.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    The Banter

    As is their thing, Clint and Kate have a lot of back-and-forth throughout the chase in both the series and comic. It’s a bit different in the live-action version, however, because Clint mostly can’t hear Kate. For example, a running joke in Hawkeye is that Clint set out to label his trick arrows on that day, which led him down a series of poor choices, including the car chase sequence itself. In the episode, Kate complains that Clint should label his arrows. Another running joke is Clint’s concern for the red 1970’s Dodge Challenger, and both versions end up wrecked.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    The Bridge

    In both, the chase ends on a bridge and in a stand-off between archers and the Tracksuit Mafia. In the comic, Kate saves Clint, who’s held at gun point. A classic visual is Kate pointing an arrow at the sky, which is replicated in Hawkeye—the major difference being that the live-action scenario involved both Hawkeyes and a Pym arrow.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    What They Changed

    The Car

    Hawkeye prominently featured a red 1970 Dodge Challenger. That car drove the plot as much as it drove the characters, so it’s no wonder that Hawkeye Episode 3 did give brief nod to a ’72 Challenger. But live-action Kate and Clint don’t use it, even though there isn’t too great of a reason for why not.

    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3

    The Archer

    The most iconic part of the car chase sequence in both the comic and series is that Hawkeye is leaning out the window shooting wild arrows that the other one hands to them at the Tracksuit Mafia. Hawkeye flipped the archer, though, and featured Kate as the one with the bow. This isn’t too surprising, as its a solid way to give her more time in the series as an archery master, something the comic had already established.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    The Reason for the Chase

    Like I said, the Challenger drove the plot in the Hawkeye comic. Clint meets a woman while looking for labelling tape. He offers the buy the car, and they end up sleeping together. It turns out this woman is dangerously connected to the Tracksuit Mafia, and Clint calls Kate for help after the Mafia knocks him and and abducts the woman. This begins the care change, but they find her pretty easily, because she’s tied up in the backseat of the Challenger next to Clint’s tracker arrow. They take the Challenger and keep fleeing the Mafia following them.

    In the series, Kate and Clint and solely escaping the Tracksuit Mafia. There’s no tied-up woman in the backseat—they’re simply trying not to be killed by Echo.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 3
    ‘Hawkeye’ #6 (2012)

    At the end of the day, if you enjoyed Hawkeye Episode 3’s car chase sequence, you can thank Matt Fraction and David Aja. It’s Aja’s art in particular that causes the original to standout—there’s an impressive amount of apparent movement on the page. Combined with the expertly layered panels that make it feel like you’re watching little details simultaneously with big moments, the original chase sequence in Hawkeye is one hell of a ride.

  • Kevin Feige Teases The Future of the Netflix Marvel Characters in the MCU

    Kevin Feige Teases The Future of the Netflix Marvel Characters in the MCU

    With Charlie Cox’s return as Daredevil confirmed by Kevin Feige, there were always going to be further questions about whether other characters from the Netflix series could follow suit. Fans have been clamoring for some of the actors to jump into the MCU since the cancellation of the various shows. Now with Cox emerging as Matt Murdock once again, the chances of some of those other characters also appearing might go up. Screenrant spoke to Feige about the possibility of those Netflix Marvel characters appearing in the MCU, who had a rather curious statement on their potential future:

    I always say that whenever a character comes back into the Marvel sandbox, it becomes another tool in the storytelling ability of the MCU. As I said before, the good news is, all will be revealed when people actually finally watch.

    Kevin Feige

    Feige suggesting that the MCU is ‘the Marvel sandbox’ suggests a clear line in the sand for characters outside it. It could be suggested that characters outside of the sandbox may not get the full range of freedom those inside do. It still remains to be seen whether those Netflix Marvel characters will be exactly the same ones we previously saw on screen, but with Marvel Studios liking to do things their way, as with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, it seems clear that these actors could be playing MCU variants of their previously played characters. It’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for these characters.

    Source: Screenrant 

  • Murray Bartlett Accidentally Confirms Nick Offerman Joined HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’

    Murray Bartlett Accidentally Confirms Nick Offerman Joined HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’

    Sometimes you never know when you get a confirmation bout an actor joining a project. Normally, trades report when an actress or actor joined a project, but there are some they try to keep a secret. Just like with Bill Murray in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, they may just confirm it personally even if the studios wanted to avoid it becoming public information. Alternatively, a fellow actor might accidentally confirm it, which is the case here. In an interview with The Guardian, actor Murray Bartlett accidentally revealed that Nick Offerman is involved with HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us.

    It’s co-created by Craig Mazin, who did Chernobyl. The scripts he’s written blew my head off. It’s an epic show, but beautifully human and intimate. We filmed it in Calgary. A lot of my scenes are with Nick Offerman. Playing off him was awesome.

    Of course, this now raises the question of what character he might potentially be playing in the upcoming series. The series might stray in some ways from the original, especially with some set photos teasing elements from the game’s sequel getting implemented into the adaptation. So, while the core story might remain the same they’ll build up to a unique take on its core storyline moving forward. Of course, we won’t know for sure until the series officially premieres on HBO.

    Source: The Guardian

  • EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Kinney Updates the Progress on Wimpy Kid Sequel ‘Rodrick Rules’

    EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Kinney Updates the Progress on Wimpy Kid Sequel ‘Rodrick Rules’

    An animated adaptation of the 2007 classic children’s book, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, hit Disney Plus last weekend and seemed to land with the target audience. Author Jeff Kinney served as writer and executive producer for the film and chatted with our own Arlyn Murphy last week.

    Disney and Kinney must have been fairly confident in the public’s reception of the first film as the two have already teamed up on adapting the sequel into the same 3-D animated format. That film, Rodrick Rules, is slated for a release on Disney Plus sometime next year. During the interview, Murphy inquired into how efforts on the sequel were proceeding:

    (Things) are going very well. You know, we’ve got a really great script, we’ve got great performances, great actors and it’s a really different kind of story. The scope is a little bit bigger than the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie; the canvas is a little bit bigger and the themes are a little bit heavier. I feel really good about it. I can’t wait to introduce it to the world.

    This first film certainly seemed like a bit of an experiment for the streaming service and the results seem to have been mostly positive. The shorter runtime was a nice way to introduce the characters and the Wimpy Kid world through a lot of humor aimed at kids. The film did, however, touch on some other themes, themes that Kinney seems keen to explore in Rodrick Rules. As you can read here, Kinney hopes to keep the Wimpy Kid train rolling and adapt all the books into animated films and Rodrick Rules in the next step in that plan.

    The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is streaming now on Disney Plus.

  • Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige Teases More Incoming MCU Announcements Soon

    Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige Teases More Incoming MCU Announcements Soon

    The pandemic has changed quite a lot for many people, including movie studios. They have been pushing back releases and kept many projects close to the chest due to the uncertainty of when they might release. We got our biggest info dump from Disney during their new Disney+ Day event. Especially Marvel Studios used the chance to offer us a first look at some of their upcoming projects and even announced some new titles that were rumored or hinted at for some time. Well, it seems that they still have more news incoming, as Kevin Feige revealed in an interview with ScreenRant on what the future for the MCU has in store soon.

    There’ll be news. There’ll be various events. Obviously with the pandemic, the way we’ve announced things has changed and altered, and in some ways that’s been good, because it’s kept the focus on what’s next. It’s kept the focus on the projects as they come out, and certainly the anticipation for No Way Home, I would say, is as big as anything we’ve ever felt before, which is good timing as the movie’s about to come out.

    Kevin Feige

    It certainly has been a very different approach for Marvel Studios, as they usually announce their entire Phase. Well, they technically did back in San Diego Comic-Con in 2019, but the pandemic changed their entire release schedule and reshuffled what would release when. Black Widow was pushed back by an entire year and the Disney+ series weren’t released until January of 2020. It seems this new focus has given them the opportunity to reshuffle their approach to offer faster updates than waiting until an entire Phase comes to an end. With the mention of Spider-Man: No Way Home, makes you wonder if they have any plans to announce afterwards.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • Leaked Live-Action ‘One Piece’ BTS Photo Offers First Look at Zoro’s Three-Sword Style

    Leaked Live-Action ‘One Piece’ BTS Photo Offers First Look at Zoro’s Three-Sword Style

    Just last month, actor Taz Skylar teased his kicking techniques for the role of Sanji in Netflix’s One Piece series. As the cast slowly arrived in South Africa, it opened the question of when they might start production. Future Zoro actor Mackenyu was the only one missing, as the others started preparing for their respective roles. Well, it looks like he may have arrived finally and work has started on bringing these characters and their unique fighting styles to life. Zoro is famous for this three-sword style – also knowns as Santōryū – and a new leaked image from stunt training offers our first look at it in action.

    While it’s a bit hard to make out if this is a stunt double or Mackenyu himself, but we can definitely recognize that they are wielding the third sword during this training. If you are not familiar with the series, Zoro wields a blade in each hand with a third in his mouth, which the person is doing in this new photo which was provided by @OP_Netflix_Fan. It’s also a great confirmation that the team behind Netflix’s live-action adaptation is not going to shy away from the iconic elements of these characters.

    As stated, it’s uncertain if this is actually the actor Mackenyu or a stunt double. We don’t know how long they’ll be investing in pre-production but it seems unlikely they might start production before Christmas, but we might get an announcement similar to the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. So, we might get a set photo with the cast as they enter production, but we’re still waiting for any other casting announcements for the supporting cast.

    Source: Twitter

  • Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Confirmed by Kevin Feige

    Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Confirmed by Kevin Feige

    Almost a year to the date that Murphy’s Multiverse broke the news that Charlie Cox would be reprising his role as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, has confirmed the report.

    In an interview with CinemaBlend, Feige was asked if Cox would be the man for the job should Daredevil join the MCU and Feige was uncharacteristically forthcoming with his response:

    If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil. Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen.

    Cox filmed scenes as Matt Murdock for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which releases in less than two weeks, and has been rumored to appear again in She-Hulk and Echo as well as potential solo Daredevil project. Cox first played the character over three seasons of the Netflix series, Daredevil, as well as in The Defenders.

    Source: CinemaBlend

  • ‘The Boys’ Animated Anthology Series, ‘Diabolical’, Coming in 2022

    ‘The Boys’ Animated Anthology Series, ‘Diabolical’, Coming in 2022

    The Boys was an absolute mega-hit for Amazon Prime, adapting and reimagining Garth Ennis’s popular comics. The series now has two seasons on Prime with a third one on the way, alongside a spinoff in development that focuses on the next generation of supes However, it seems that this isn’t the only other project in the works in the wonderfully vulgar and gory world of The Boys.

    Amazon Prime and Karl Urban have announced that an eight-episode animated anthology series, Diabolical, set within the world of The Boys is coming in 2022. All eight episodes of the series are already near complete, but no specific release date has been given. Each episode in the series will feature a new writer, with some big names attached to the project. Awkwafina, Garth Ennis, Eliot Glazer and Ilana Glazer, Evan Goldberg and Seth Racioppa, Justin Roiland and Ben Bayouth, Andy Samberg, and Aisha Tyler were among the writers announced today.

    The Boys head writer Eric Kripke had this to say on the reveal of Diabolical:

    “We’re almost finished with eight episodes of our animated series, Diabolical. We gathered together some incredible creators and we gave them one rule…just kidding, there’s no rules. They blew the doors off it,” 

    No voice cast has been announced for the series just yet. Diabolical is set to be xecutively produced by Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, James Weaver, Evan Goldberg, Simon Racioppa, Garth Ennis, Pavun Shetty, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Darick Robertson, Michaela Starr. Amazon Studios, Sony Pictures Television Studios, and Kripke Enterprises will produce the series.

  • James Gunn Teases More Potential ‘The Suicide Squad’ Spin Offs

    James Gunn Teases More Potential ‘The Suicide Squad’ Spin Offs

    The Suicide Squad spin off series, Peacemaker, is set to make its streaming debut on HBO Max in just over a month and will continue the story of John Cena’s Christopher Smith. The 8-episode series looks like it’ll pick up Smith’s story right where it left off, finding him working with some of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X aides and also introducing some new characters, including Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante. The footage we’ve seen so far looks seems to indicate the series will play to the strength’s the Cena brought to the character in The Suicide Squad and, if we’re being honest, looks like it’ll be a hell of a lot of fun.

    Gunn genuinely seemed to love working on The Suicide Squad. He wrote and directed the film and took great care to develop the main characters, giving them all their time to shine. While Cena’s turn as Peacemaker certainly stood out for Cena’s willingness to be the butt of the joke, Harley Quinn, Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, Rick Flagg and Bloodsport all took turns captivating audiences. While the film marked the end of the road for a couple of their stories, several of the characters walked away from the wild events of the film, leaving room for more stories to be told.

    Gunn, who has always been responsive to fans on social media, was asked if there could be any more spin offs to The Suicide Squad, potentially for some of the characters mentioned above, and while he didn’t give a direct answer, he also didn’t say no.

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1467619864886099968

    Gunn recently indicated he had some more ideas about potential DC properties he’d like to develop in the future, so perhaps another spin off series is among them. Could the stars align for an Idris Elba-led Bloodsport series? Earlier this year, Gunn indicated that the potential for such a series existed, though it wasn’t something in development at that time. Elba seemed to truly enjoy playing the character and should he be open to reprising the role, certainly carries the star power required to lead a big budget series. Time will tell what Gunn has in mind, but until then fans have plenty to look forward to with Peacemaker streaming on HBO Max on January 13th.