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Gugu Mbatha-Raw Reveals That ‘Loki’ Will Explore Ravonna Renslayer’s Origin

It was revealed two months ago that Gugu Mbatha-Raw‘s character is actually Ravonna Renslayer. Now, the significance of this role is huge for comic fans, as she is the love interest of the one and only Kang the Conqueror. Now, we know that Jonathan Majors will play the character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but his casting was already nine months ago. This led to a lot of speculation on him potentially appearing in an earlier storyline. The introduction of the Time Keepers and the Time Variance Authority in the upcoming Disney+ Loki made it seem like the perfect place for him to appear. In the show’s press junket, Mbatha-Raw revealed that the upcoming season will act as an origin story for the comic character.

Well, luckily or unluckily for me, Kate explained to me that this was sort of more of an origin story for Ravonna Renslayer. You know, sort of predating some of the stuff in the comics. All that stuff is there, but theres also the opportunity to feel like starting with something fresh with the TVA that hadn’t been seen before by fans on screen.

Interestingly enough, she also teases that there might be a bright future ahead for the character beyond Loki.

There’s so much there, that I’m, you know, I feel like there’s plenty of potential for her in the future as well.

Now, the implications are huge if you consider that this also means we might see her first meeting with Kang. In an earlier interview with Vanity Fair, he did hint that the series will also play around with romance in an interesting way. Perhaps we’ll get a star-crossed romance between Kang and Ravonna throughout the Disney+ series that builds up his character before he takes a darker turn once Quantumania releases 2023. Who knows if Loki might also be the reason why Kang becomes the Conqueror we all know him as from the comics.

Source: Vanity Fair

June 7, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Season 1 Will Be a Standalone Season

There has been one major rumor circling the Disney+ series Loki. Okay, there are quite a few but one of the standouts was the potential of it receiving a second season. Almost a year ago, there seemed to be rumblings of it happening, but we never got any confirmation. There was the report that head writer Michael Waldron signed up a deal with Disney that included his work on Kevin Feige‘s untitled Star Wars film. It also confirmed a reference to a potential second season. Charles Murphy got a chance to ask Waldron if he could say anything on the rumors, but he swiftly played coy on the fact but did tease that the upcoming season will tell a complete story.

It was really always my hope and intention with this to tell a complete story with this season. Season 1 would stand on its own and, you know, is there more story to tell in the future? I don’t know, time will tell.

There are a lot of hints that there is something happening and we hope to see a lot more TVA in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Waldron also teased the potential of a Secret Wars connection. So, even if they don’t move forward with Loki, there is always a chance that they explore another Variant of a popular Marvel character. There are a lot of creative ways to utilize this simple premise and continue building upon the TVA mythology we can expect from the upcoming series. Now that they are opening up the rest of the multiverse, it feels like there is no more limit to what stories they may tell.

June 7, 2021
RUMOR: Bossk to Appear in ‘The Book of Boba Fett’

It’s no surprise that once Lucasfilm starts developing a Boba Fett show, some bounty hunters from a galaxy far, far away are due for an appearance. And few would gather as much interest as the return of Bossk to live-action Star Wars. It seems we are indeed getting the Trandoshan back in the upcoming Disney+ limited series The Book of Boba Fett, according to a report by LRM. Bossk was first introduced in The Empire Strikes Back as Darth Vader gathered a few bounty hunters to track, find and capture Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the Millennium Falcon. He has since made many appearances in both comic books, videogames, and even The Clone Wars. In live-action, he only got a brief mention in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Now, after reintroducing Boba Fett in the second season of The Mandalorian, the deep dive into the world of the galaxy’s scum and villainy in the spin-off seems like a perfect place to bring Bossk back. Following the current massive comic crossover event that the Star Wars side of Marvel comics has been developing, The War of The Bounty Hunters, Lucasfilm appears to be doubling down on amplifying characters outside of the usual Empire or Resistance pairing. The Book of Boba Fett is due to premiere later this year, only on Disney+, with Temuera Morrison returning as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen reprising her Fennec Shand role. Plot details still remain under wraps and here’s hoping we get a trailer in the near future to give us a glimpse into what direction this series is heading.

Source: LRM

June 7, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: There May Be A ‘Secret Wars’ Connection in ‘Loki’, Says Head Writer Michael Waldron

It’s been a long break since the finale of Falcon and the Winter Soldier aired on Disney+. Now, we are just a few days away from the first episode of Marvel Studios’ next venture airs on the streaming platform with the return of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. The series will take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Our favorite team of heroes accidentally let a version of Loki escape his fate when he got his hands on the Tessaract. To keep the timeline safe, he gets captured by the Time Variance Authority and will journey off into a brand new adventure.

Our very own Charles Murphy got a chance to sit down with head writer Michael Waldron to discuss the Disney+ show. Murphy asked if an animated sequence that details the TVA’s history, a previous “multiversal war” and the potential for altered timelines to create more multiversal conflicts might tease a connection to the famous Marvel storyline Secret Wars possibly being adapted for the MCU. Waldron had the following to say:

We’ll see. You’ll probably know, as well as I do, not everything is just in there. If the purpose of that whole thing was to just indoctrinate the audience and everything. Yeah, we’ll see how this plays out in the MCU moving forward.

Of course, he doesn’t outright confirm anything but the inclusion certainly seems intentional. Ever since Endgame was released, Secret Wars seemed like the perfect follow-up event. We’ve already witnessed Thanos snapping half the world out of existence and our heroes travel through time. So, the next major event would need to top even that and it seemed like a natural fit with all these multiversal stories that they would collide at one point. We cannot wait to see where the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is heading.

June 7, 2021
REPORT: Attuma and Namora Joining Namor in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

Around four months ago, it was revealed that Marvel Studios was actively casting two Mayan Warriors for the upcoming Black Panther sequel. It made many of us wonder how they might connect to the story surrounding the fictional African city of Wakanda. Well, Illuminerdi just broke the news that Tenoch Huerta might be playing Namor the Sub-Mariner in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In their article, they also revealed that these two warriors are actually well-known supporting characters for the Atlantean king. They believe that the warriors are actually Namora, his cousin, and the warlord Attuma.

Now, fans of the comics will instantly recognize these characters. Namora is similar to her cousin and is half Atlantean and half mutant. She is also known as Aquaria Neptunia in the comics before taking on the nickname. Attuma is part of an Atlantean tribe that is known to be barbaric nomads. He is the leader of his kind and believes that he is the true king of Atlantis. It is uncertain if we might see some infighting or he might even be the one to nudge Namor into getting in conflict with Wakanda.

Overall, it looks like the film will include a very impressive cast of characters. Of course, the Atlanteans will be at a disadvantage on land, but we’ve seen a river that goes through the fictional country. So, they might try to steal something from the capital that ends up putting a big red target on their back from the Wakandans. We might not get any news on its development for some time. So, we’ll see if we get an official casting announcement in the near future. There is also the tease in Avengers: Endgame when some underwater tremors hit Africa by Okoye. We’ll know more once the film premieres on July 8th, 2022.

Source: Illuminerdi

June 7, 2021
REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ to Feature Tenoch Huerta as Namor

We’ve all been keeping a close eye on what the sequel of Black Panther might have in store for us. The tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman made its direction uncertain as director Ryan Coogler continued to push forward. The subtitle Wakanda Forever showcases that his spirit will live on in the project and Marvel Studios confirmed they will not be recasting T’Challa in the upcoming film. We’ve been wondering how they might tackle the sequel and it looks like there will be some surprises in store. Illuminerdi has exclusively shared the news that the upcoming second entry will feature the Sub-Mariner himself, Namor. It seems that the Atlantean will be played by Tenoch Huerta. It is interesting to note that the actor has already been cast for the film almost seven months ago.

There have been some rumors that he would potentially appear in the Black Panther sequel and his inclusion may hint at a big war happening between the two cultures. Atlantis has actually teased quite a long time ago in a sequence of Iron Man 2, where Fury had a marking in the middle of the ocean. Now, the big reveal regarding the casting of Huerta may also hint at a very different origin for the Atlanteans, as we know that there was some casting going around regarding Mayans for the film. As such, we can suspect that they will try to make the MCU’s version their descends. It’ll be interesting to see if we get any official confirmation on his casting in the future.

Source: Illuminerdi

June 7, 2021
‘Loki’: First Funko Pops Revealed for Marvel Studios’ Next Disney+ Series

We are only two days away from Loki finally premiering and it seems that everyone is gearing up for it. Marvel Studios has been dropping quite a few featurettes and even the first few clips on their Twitter channel and now Entertainment Weekly unveiled the first Funko pops for the Disney+ series. They are only featuring our main two cast members Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki and Owen Wilson‘s Morbus. There aren’t any major reveals or hints in these images, but we do get a good look at Mobius’ weapon of choice that was briefly hinted at in the trailers.

Entertainment Weekly also unveiled a variety of other new merchandise that includes some of the Miss Minutes merchandise that leaked some months ago. She is the TVA mascot and will have a prominent role throughout Loki’s journey with the inter-dimensional bureaucracy. The new show will also continue the tradition that a variety of Funko Pops will get released as the show goes through its six-episode run. We still know very little of what to expect from the series. So, it’ll be interesting to see what other Funkos are heading our way in the upcoming weeks.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

June 7, 2021
Kevin Feige Teases the Importance of Disney+’s ‘Loki’ for the MCU’s Future

Finally, the long wait is about to end as Marvel Studios’ next Disney+ series is about to premiere this Wednesday. Loki will introduce the world to the Time Variance Authority and the return of the beloved God of Mischief. We’ve all been wondering how the exploration of time travel may affect the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward and it looks like their next series will do exactly that. In an interview with Empire. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that Loki might be the most important of the series so far.

It’s tremendously important. It perhaps will have more impact on the MCU than any of the shows thus far. What everybody thought about WandaVision, and was sort of true, and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, which was sort of true, is even more sort of true for Loki.

The introduction of the TVA is a considerable indicator that the multiverse is only truly opening up. There have been concerns about how these shows would affect the bigger picture and it seems that the upcoming series will do exactly that. Feige also hints at how Tom Hiddleston’s character will change throughout the six-episode run, as they want to use these series to let their characters grow in new and unexpected ways. So, here’s hoping we might see more of the trickster god in the future, especially with the uncertainty if he might return in a film as well. Of course, the introduction of Variants and the upcoming What If series could also be a good indicator that the MCU might tackle a lot of new perspectives from across the multiverse.

Source: Empire

June 7, 2021
‘The Boys’: First Look at Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy Revealed

After months of building up excitement with fans, Jensen Ackles has finally unveiled his latest “superhero” look to fans. The first look comes after Ackles and an official Vought International Twitter account teased the reveal of a comic-inspired suit on social media. The actor, best known for his leading role on the cult phenomenon Supernatural, is set to play Soldier Boy in the next season of Amazon’s The Boys. The character is a riff on Marvel’s Captain America, portrayed as a supposed WWII veteran and the United States’ very first superhero. However, fans of the series should be smart enough to know Ackles’ newest character isn’t as heroic as his corporate sponsors want the people to think. After a long wait, our official first look is finally here:

The Boys costume designer Laura Jean Shannon shared the inspiration for his new look with Entertainment Weekly:

Our goal was to highlight a bygone era of overt masculinity and grit. With that pedigree we dove headfirst into baking in an all-American quality grounded in a military soldier’s practicality with a heavy dose of old school cowboy swagger. We knew that the actor had to have Steve McQueen looks and chops with a John Wayne attitude, luckily Jensen Ackles embodies all of that.

Ackles was cast as Soldier Boy in mid-2020, reuniting with his former Supernatural showrunner for The Boys’ third season. Since then, the fan-favorite actor has been toying with followers by sharing images of himself performing superhero workouts at the gym and recently surprised everyone with the debut of a shaggy new beard. While the facial hair is a fun new addition to the character, the design of his trusty shield and the overall look is fairly faithful to the source material. A WWII-era design for Soldier Boy was also shown via a statue in the series’ second season. However, much like his Marvelous inspiration, it seems the character has received a modern makeover with a more advanced suit. Perfect for wreaking havoc alongside Homelander in the modern world.

Source: Entertainment Weekly, Twitter (Comic)

June 7, 2021
First ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Set Photos Reveal Stunt Double Wearing a Harrison Ford Mask

In the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing quite a bit about the next entry in the Indiana Jones franchise. The fifth film will see the return of Harrison Ford and will be the first not directed by Steven Spielberg. Logan‘s James Mangold took over directing duties and will give the franchise a fresh layer of paint as it enters the modern era. After all, it’s been almost thirteen years since Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull released in theaters. Lucasfilm has already been busy casting, as they added Phoebe Waller-Bridges the female lead alongside Mads Mikkelsen in an undisclosed role. Just recently, the film entered production and the first set photos have already found their way online revealing a stunt person wearing a creepy Harrison Ford mask.

Now, what stands out about the face mask is the hair color. The main star is 78 and even in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens was rocking silver hair. In the last entry of the franchise, they didn’t shy away from his age. So, the fact that the stunt double is wearing the mask with dark brown hair implies this is a flashback of some kind. It seems there was a brief accident but luckily no one was injured on set, but the head-mask did fly off. Daily Mail also revealed that the production is a bit delayed due to COVID-19 but it seems only to be a brief one. They are currently eyeing a release on July 29th, 2022 and we’ll see if the production gets affected by any other delays. Here’s hoping we get a look at Harrison Ford in his iconic gear soon.

Source: Daily Mail

June 6, 2021