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‘Indiana Jones 5’ Adds Boyd Holbrook and Shaunette Renée Wilson

The highly anticipated fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise is currently in development and is currently rounding out its cast. Many new faces are set to join Harrison Ford in what would be his first appearance as the character since 2008’s Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. Plot details for the upcoming film are still under wraps for the first film in the series to not be directed by Steven Spielberg, as the honor of the role will go to James Mangold, best known for his work on Logan and Ford vs Ferrari.

It’s now being reported that Indiana Jones 5 has added Boyd Holbrook, best known for his work in Narcos and Logan, and Shaunette Renée Wilson, known for her work on The Resident and in Black Panther, to its ever-expanding line of talent. This news comes following the announcement that German actor and star of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thomas Kretschmann had joined the project in an unknown role. The roles for Holbrook and Renée are both under wraps as well while Mangold still meets with talent for the upcoming project before getting behind the camera sometime this summer.

Indiana Jones 5 is currently set to be released on July 29th, 2022. The cast of the upcoming film also includes Madds Mikkelsen and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in undisclosed roles alongside Ford’s iconic explorer.

SOURCE: Deadline

May 14, 2021
Marvel Studios’ ‘Power Pack’ Could Be Disney+’s Anti-‘Invincible’

Amazon’s Invincible may be the start of a new era in comic book adaptations. The series’ first season was a surprisingly enjoyable R-rated jolt to the industry’s usual page-to-screen machine. Yet, the show’s novelty had very little to do with its willingness to be edgy. We’ve seen superhero stories get dark and introspective before, most notably in the form of Amazon’s other immensely popular show The Boys, and HBO’s award-winning Watchmen. What made Invincible so special was its courage to be animated in a world where live-action dudes-in-tights are the only ones being taken seriously.

Sure, comics have a long history with cartoons. From 1941’s Max Fleischer adaptation of Superman to the critically-acclaimed Batman and X-Men series of the early ’90s. It went all the way to modern cult classics like The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice. There’s no denying animation has always played a large role in bringing comic book characters to the forefront of popular culture. Unfortunately, despite the success surrounding these projects, the unwritten rule of geekdom has always been that adults watch real people in costumes while the children focus on cartoons. Only the biggest nerds do both. Thankfully, with the help of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Invincible, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, that rule has begun to change.

Tales of heroes in capes are the new norm, and it would seem their atmospheric rise in popularity has made the general public aware of their storytelling merits. If Invincible did anything, it was finally showing people what animation can allow a studio to pull off. A huge scope without big sets, a stellar cast without coordinating schedules, and pulse-pounding action drama without the restraints of CGI. Marvel Studios is set to make its first ventures into “adult-inclusive” animation with the debut of M.O.D.O.K. later this month and What If…? later this year. If those star-studded series go well, it hopefully won’t be the last time the studio feels confident enough to greenlight a potentially MCU-canon cartoon project. Luckily for Marvel, they already have the perfect set of characters just begging to be part of the animated scene, The Power Pack.

One of Marvel’s more obscure super-groups, this team of tween heroes consists of the four Power siblings Alex, Julie, Jack, and Katie. Introduced in 1984, the children’s story found them wielding unique abilities after coming across a dying alien. It had come to Earth in search of their genius father. As a result, Alex can control gravity, Julie learned to fly, Jack manipulates mass, and Katie can disintegrate any form of the matter before expelling it as a ball of explosive energy. Initially tasked with protecting the world from the deceased alien’s rival race, the kids end up donning costumes to hide their identities and act as Earth’s newest superhero team. Though they would occasionally bump into Marvel’s bigger guns, like Spider-Man or the Avengers, the Power Pack mostly operated on their own, taking down some of the planet’s biggest threats before the likes of Iron Man even knew there was a problem.

The concept screams Saturday morning cartoons and would act as their perfect answer to Invincible. Despite featuring four children as the protagonists, the comic series was known to tackle some pretty heavy subject matter. The Pack was imbued with great power and often ended up in situations that called their moral standings into question. Before they even hit puberty, the kids were forced to deal with topics like sexual assault and drug abuse. The comic was a great way to present these issues to America’s youth through characters their own age, and an animated series featuring the group could perform the same task for young fans of today’s MCU.

Much like Invincible, a Power Pack show would juggle all the classic coming-of-age superhero tropes with the darker realities of life. It could do so without dipping into any of the prior project’s R-rated territory. In essence, it would be the anti-Invincible. Hitting all the same thematic pressure points, but with brighter accessibility to adults and children alike. Making the series animated would also allow for the bigger stars of the MCU to easily appear in voice roles, and the isolated nature of the Power Pack’s traditional stories means they wouldn’t have to appear in live-action productions very often. If the show were to age its characters with the voice cast, it would make these potential crossovers far easier and permit the vocal performers to reprise their roles on the big screen if need be.

A Power Pack adaptation has been in varying degrees of production since 2000. Marvel boss Kevin Feige has expressed interest in bringing the group to the MCU in the past, and even commissioned a film script to be written as recently as 2017. While a movie would be better than nothing, it would seem like a missed opportunity to make something more unique. No Power Pack updates have come in quite some time, so hopefully, there’s still time to make an animated series happen.

Source: The Hashtag Show

May 14, 2021
Zack Snyder Offers First Look at Wayne T. Carr as Green Lantern

It has been a long uphill battle for Zack Snyder but he was able to finally complete his work on Justice League. After initially leaving the project, he was given the chance to bring his original vision to life in a four-hour cut featuring all unused footage. He even got the chance to add some of the missing pieces he wasn’t able to shoot originally. The title Zack Snyder’s Justice League confirmed that the project was fully in his hands, but that didn’t mean that Warner Bros. didn’t influence the project. Sadly, one aspect that got scrapped was the inclusion of Wayne T. Carr as Green Lantern at the end of the film. It looks like Snyder didn’t want to leave that part forgotten and shared the first look at a Q&A event in Cinemark Playa Vista. Twitter user @IshaanShangha shared the first look:

https://twitter.com/IshaanSangha/status/1393075160383561736

It is uncertain if we might get an HD image of the character in all its Green Lantern glory, but it is good to know they did prepare a visual. If you look closely, you can see that it is closer to that of the comics, unlike the body-suit style the Green Lantern film went with. We did get a brief member of the intergalactic police joining the fight against Uxas when he initially tried to invade Earth. Carr would’ve played John Stewart, who was a prominent member of the Justice League in the comics and the animated series. It is uncertain if he might have a chance at playing the character in the upcoming HBO Max series, but it is great that Snyder is open to showcase the actor in full Green Lantern gear so this final piece of his full vision sees the world.

Source: Twitter, ScreenRant

May 14, 2021
Marvel Studios’ ‘What If’ Eyeing an August Release Date

In about a month we will get introduced to a new perspective on time travel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney+’s next project, Loki, will see the return of our favorite God of Mischief from the altered timeline due to the Avengers meddling in Avengers: Endgame. There are still three more shows set to release in the latter half of the year with Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and What If. It is still unclear when we can expect these series to release, but it looks like an article by Entertainment Weekly may have offered some more details. They offered an exclusive look at what we can expect in summer 2021.

It kicks off with June 9th’s release of Loki and goes through various shows that are set to premiere in the coming months. It includes the recently announced Masters of the Universe: Revelations, Ted Lasso, and many more. At the 22nd spot, Marvel Studios’ What If was highlighted and they reveal it is eyeing an August release. It makes sense as Loki will run for around six episodes with it ending in July. They might have some time between the seasons to promote it.

The series will feature various alternative timelines, where the events we have witnessed in the MCU took on a unique form, such as Peggy Carter taking the Super Soldier serum. It will also be the last work that Chadwick Boseman did for Marvel Studios before his tragic passing. He will voice T’Challa who set out into space instead of Peter Quill. It’ll be interesting to see if we get an official release date announcement before Loki premieres, as we haven’t gotten a new trailer since December’s Investor Days.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

May 14, 2021
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Casting for Foreign Mercs, Diplomats

According to a report by POC Culture, Marvel Studios is currently searching for actors to portray foreign mercenaries and diplomats for an upcoming film. The report indicates that the roles are for a production getting underway in the U.S. in July and the only film that fits that description is Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The report indicates that the studio is casting for males and females, 40-60, to play a French and Dutch diplomat and males and females, 20-40, to play French and Dutch mercenaries.

Little is known about how the film will move forward with the story of T’Challa given the tragic death of star Chadwick Boseman, but should the film deal with the death of Wakanda’s protector and King, it’s likely that the nation could face threats from the outside as it deals with his passing and naming the next Black Panther. If what we’ve heard about the film is true, French and Dutch diplomats and mercs will be the least of Wakanda’s worries.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to begin production this July and will be in theaters July 8, 2022.

Source: POC Culture

May 13, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios Casting a Young Lead for ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is preparing to start filming in the UK this July and while most of the buzz has been around Kathryn Newton stepping in as Cassie Lang and Jonathan Majors being cast as Kang, we can now share that Marvel Studios is looking to add another major character to the mix. The studio is currently looking for a young female of any ethnicity, 9-12, to play an unnamed lead character in the film.

The character is described as a 10-year old and the studio is looking for a young actress with singing, dancing and comedic chops. It’s unlikely that they’re looking for a young actress to play a younger Cassie Lang as Abby Ryder Fortson still fits the description, so unless she is unavailable, this is for a new character set to play a major role in the 2023 release.

May 13, 2021
‘WandaVision’s Kathryn Hahn Joins ‘Knives Out’ Sequel

It looks like our theory is turning out true, as we are getting daily announcements for new Knives Out 2 cast members. Deadline has just dropped the news that Kathryn Hahn has officially joined the all-star cast that already includes Janelle Monae, Edward Norton, and Dave Bautista. Of course, Daniel Craig will return as the protagonist, Benoist Blanc. So far, it seems that Craig is the only returning cast member from the last film. He’ll be facing a brand new mystery that may twist up genres similarly to how the first entry in the franchise again.

Hahn is hot off of her time as Agatha Harkness on WandaVision. This casting news has already gotten a lot of attention and harking back on the Disney+’s show’s gag that it was her “All Along.” The film will be heading to film in Greece as its plot remains under wraps. We might have another extended family on our hands that gets rudely interrupted by murder during their vacation at the beach. They may also portray locals that get wrapped up in an unlikely case.

The first film’s cast was quite expansive. So, we might have barely scratched the surface and already see some impressive names joining the project. Rian Johnson‘s passion project garnered more attention after Netflix purchased the sequels for a record payment. It seems he is currently only planning out two sequels, but we may see if there are even more entries in Blanc’s repertoire in the future.

Source: Deadline

May 13, 2021
Phase 4 Is Man-Thing’s Time to Shine in the MCU

For over 80 years, Marvel Comics have taken fans on adventures spanning the cosmos, the multiverse, the depths of Hell and more. Thousands of characters have gone on countless journeys and saved the universe time and again and, over the past 13 years, have begun to make their respective ways into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel stable of comic characters is so vast that fans can’t reasonably expect all their favorite characters will find their ways to the MCU but, as we learned from our interview with Malcolm Spellman, Marvel Studios lets their writers work and then going to their expansive roster of characters to find just the right one for the job. As the MCU moves into Phase 4, there’s a character on Marvel’s bench that could serve as the connective tissue to a couple of key Phase 4 themes while also setting the stage for some properties in development: enter the Man-Thing.

Man-Thing already exists in the MCU. We saw his loveable face on the Grandmaster’s tower in Thor: Ragnarok, met his comic book ex, Ellen Brandt, in Iron Man 3, got a name drop in Season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Nexus of All Realities, of which he is the guardian, was seemingly referenced in WandaVision and definitely referenced by Erik Selvig in Thor: The Dark World. However, other than the look at his mug, we’ve never seen him in action but the revelation that Isaiah Bradley is a part of the MCU and that his blood has been used to attempt to recreate the Super Soldier serum could finally open the door for Dr. Ted Sallis’ story to be told and for us to finally meet the Man-Thing!

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was all about the legacy of Steve Rogers and the Super Solider serum that made him Captain America and, as we found out, that serum has been at the heart of some terrible things. In the comics, Dr. Ted Sallis worked for the U.S. Army on a project which was intended to create a way to help soldier survive biological warfare. Before long, he found his way down the same road many Marvel Comics’ scientists have: attempting to recreate the Super Soldier serum. Betrayed and sold out to A.I.M. by his wife, Ellen, Sallis injected the only existing sample of the new serum into himself (as all good scientists do) and crashed into the swamp where, because magic, he was transformed into the Man-Thing. Sallis’ story has some other twists and turns, such as working alongside Curt Conners and also having a bit of his regen serum in him as well (I guess he could get his hands on that if say Curt Conners were to show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home), but the MCU is actually set up really well to retrofit his story and insert his story into the present day.

The Past: Sallis’ Research and Brandt’s Betrayal

Much of Dr. Ted Sallis’ comic book origins could easily be kept intact and adapted into the existing MCU, especially now that we know samples of Bradley’s blood have been the subject of experimentation since the 1950s. We know from The Incredible Hulk that the U.S. Department of Defense has experimented with Super Soldier serum during the interim and we could easily see Sallis retconned into being a part of the DoD’s research and working into the Everglades. While not something they necessarily need to do, Marvel Studios could easily retcon Ellen Brandt’s story (we only know that she was in the military herself and lost an arm) by having her be one of Sallis’ partners on the project, acting as an agent of A.I.M. (another organization that could really use some retconning). In the current MCU timeline, A.I.M. came into being sometime after 2000 and Brandt joined up in 2009. Sallis’ story could easily take place in the early-to-mid 2000s and allow him to meet and fall for Brandt, have her betray him and try to steal his work and have him encounter her one time as the Man-Thing, explaining the scarring on her face. Maybe we could even find out how he won the Contest of Champions!

The Present: The Nexus of All Realities

Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to bring all sorts of characters from their respective multiverses to the MCU, a theme that seems like it’ll spill over into both What If…? and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the comics, the Nexus of All Realities is the type of interdimensional gateway that would allow for characters like Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker or Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock to travel from one universe to another and it’s Man-Thing’s job to protect that gateway as it is the crossroads for the entire Multiverse. As the guardian of the Nexus, Man-Thing has the ability to transplant people and places from their home reality into this one by opening portals to other realities. While we’ve never heard anything about Man-Thing showing up in any of these projects, if there were ever a time for big fella to arrive in the MCU, that time is now.

The Future: Midnight Sons

Doctor Strange is present and Brother Voodoo is expected to join him shortly. Moon Knight is coming soon. Blade is headed to the MCU. Ghost Rider is in development. The supernatural side of the MCU is about to get crazy and bring in any manner of vampires, demons or other horrific creatures. Should the threat get bigger than any one hero could handle and a team-up be necessary, the Midnight Sons are that team and one that fans have been hoping to see come together for quite some time. Having first come together in the early 1990s, the team reassembled recently in Doctor Strange: Damnation with a few changes to the roster. If we were to meet Manny sometime soon, we could see him join this team in time for something like the third Doctor Strange film or even an event series on Disney Plus.

Given that the set up exists thanks to the MCU’s past, the great opportunity for him to tie into so many of Phase 4’s projects and the fact that the spooky side of things is going to make its way into the MCU, Man-Thing might be the nexus point of the shared cinematic universe if they give him a chance.

May 13, 2021
‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Reveals First Red Room Takeover Details and New Champion System

Marvel’s Avengers second event had a soft launch with the Rooskaya Protocols, which was a small tie-over event to farm some resources. With only one more week to go, Crystal Dynamics offered some more details on the second half that will see the true Red Room Takeover. It will kick off after Jimmy Woo notices that anomalies are in the HARM Rooms that seem to be linked to a virus. It turns out it’s the same hacked IP address as the Rooskaya Protocols, which were all manipulated by Yelena Belova. Players will get access to new mission chains and play through the single-player event, as multiple of the hacked rooms will be available to play. They will scale from one to 120 in power level.

The interesting aspect is that these aren’t just battle simulations, but will also test traversal and evasion abilities. There will be various hazards including Techno Lava that can kill you instantly. Red Lightning can also cause a lot of damage if you get too close. They did confirm you can get some tips and tricks in next week’s weekly blog, but each HARM room will have a unique layout. The event will reward an exclusive animated nameplate, a lot of XP. That is actually important, as they are introducing the first post-Level 50 content, the Champion System.

Every hero’s level is capped at 50 at the moment. So, to expand your character’s capabilities, you’ll be able to gather so-called Champion XP. It’ll upgrade you to receive a unique Champion Skill Point that can be used on various skills. These are available in the menu and add permanent increases to your character’s perks. It’ll release next Tuesday before the Red Room Takeover event starts on May 20th. The hacked HARM Rooms will be playable until May 31st.

Source: Play Avengers

May 13, 2021
Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill Returning for ‘Enola Holmes’ Sequel

It looks like Netflix has another hit on their hands, as it was just revealed by Deadline that Henry Cavill and Millie Bobby Brown will be reprising their roles for a sequel. The film is based on Nancy Springer’s book series The Enola Holmes Mysteries that consisted of six entries. It explores the family dynamic between the Holmes and explores the rebellious teenage sister, who is just as much a super-sleuth as the rest. As such, it seems logical that we can expect around the same number of films as their new go-to film franchise.

I can’t wait to collaborate again with my Enola Holmes family! Enola holds a special place in my heart – she’s strong, fearless, intelligent and brave. I look forward to fans seeing how her journey continues!

Sherlock Holmes has seen countless adaptations throughout the years. So, the focus on his younger sister adds a new perspective to the classic whodunnit story structure we’ve come to love from the franchise. There s no word if others of the original cast will also return or if they will truly follow the books one by one. They could also add their own twist and take a new direction with the franchise. Legendary’s team will return with Harry Bradbeer set to direct the sequel. It’ll be based on a script by Jack Throne, who also was involved with the first film. We can’t wait to see where the franchise heads and we wouldn’t be sad if Cavill‘s Sherlock gets his own spin-off.

Source: Deadline

May 13, 2021