Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Black Panther

  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Set Photo Seems to Indicate Becky Lynch Has Joined the MCU

    ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Set Photo Seems to Indicate Becky Lynch Has Joined the MCU

    As we’ve seen with stars like John Cena, Jon Moxley and Ronda Rousey, the linkages between the squared circle/octagon and your local AMC theatre have always existed. With bigger stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Sasha Banks and Dave Bautista, the runway from the WWE to the big screen is more pronounced than ever, and it becomes especially true when we notice that the latter have all now dabbled in the world of comic book movies and properties. Bautista is suiting up as Drax for his sixth go around, Banks joined the Star Wars universe in the critically-acclaimed The Mandalorian, and the Great One will next be seen in DC’s Black Adam. Now it seems we might be adding “The Man” Becky Lynch to that list.

    As WWE fans know, Lynch took some time off from the ring to get married to the Architect Seth Rollins and have a new baby. She promptly returned at WrestleMania this year, turned heel and became the WWE Raw Woman’s Champion amidst some controversy. Rumors surfaced last year that the Irish Lass Kicker would be joining the MCU and a set photo from last weekend may have given new life to that rumor.

    The picture above, found on Atlanta Filming’s Instagram, looks to be WWE superstar Becky Lynch on the set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Lynch looks to be dressed for the part of a mercenary for hire which makes sense given the context of the scenes shot this past weekend. Other photos indicate Lynch is part of a larger team of mercs, likely there to protect some researchers working on a vessel that was also photographed and shared on social media. Given that the scenes were filmed near the water, it’s possible that Lynch’s character could find herself face to face with Tenoch Huerta’s Namor or some of his forces.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be in theaters almost one year from now on November 11, 2022

    Source: IG

  • BREAKING: Production on ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Delayed Indefinitely

    BREAKING: Production on ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Delayed Indefinitely

    As star Letitia Wright continues to recover from an injury suffered during filming earlier this year, production on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has come to a halt. According to a trade report, the production has worked around the injury as Wright heals but, at this time, have filmed everything they can without the actress who is rumored to be among the favorites to assume the mantle of Black Panther in the film.

    The studio has its eye on resuming filming at some point early next year and with the film recently has seen its release date shifted from July to November, the film should easily make its scheduled date if things go according to plan. It’s uncertain if perhaps these events were also playing into the delay to ensure it wouldn’t have to cut it close.

    It’s good that they aren’t forcing production if Wright isn’t healed enough to play her role. Interestingly, they filmed all the scenes that don’t involve her, which may hint that they are going to wrap up production soon, or also hints at her strong presence in the sequel. As of now, it seems very likely the film won’t face any delays if they can resume production in early 2022. They might use this time to finish up other work

  • Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar, V3

    Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar, V3

    Marvel Studios rendered our previous 2022 hypothetical release calendar meaningless when they shuffled their entire release slate a couple of weeks ago, so we took another shot at it. Of note to this new effort is that we have considered that it looks like Disney does not want to stream live-action Star Wars series and live-action Marvel Studios series concurrently. And so while this isn’t a hypothetical Star Wars calendar, we will mention some of those series along the way.

    It looks like Marvel Studios will have to wait a bit to start streaming in 2022 as a Lucasfilm series is going to start in late-2021 and carry over into early-2022. The Book of Boba Fett could end up completing its run on February 16th, allowing Marvel Studios to kick off its 2022 Disney Plus release calendar with a couple of episodes of Marvel Legends. We could catch up not only on Bruce Banner but also on The Abomination. It’ll be interesting to see what other characters, if any, they cover and to see how much of the events of The Incredible Hulk are part of the story that leads us to She-Hulk.

    She-Hulk is set to be Marvel Studios’ longest streaming series to date, with 10 episodes scheduled. Placing it here allows Marvel to stream one episode per week, should they choose to, and helps it avoid overlapping any other live-action projects.

    We should have several episodes of Marvel Legends leading up to the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In addition to catching up on Stephen, we’ll almost certainly see a Wanda-centric one. Given the role Wong is set to play in the film, he may get one of his own, too. And then there’s Mordo…and yeah, we’ll see how these turn out, but it seems like they’ll stream the Wednesday of release week.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first domino in the wave of release date shifts for Marvel Studios. It’s a wildly ambitious film from a director who is noted for both his pursuit of perfection and his understanding that perfection is never achieved in the first draft, so waiting a little longer to have someone like Sam Raimi put together the best version of his vision isn’t he worse thing for fans. Hopefully, come May 6th, 2022, we all walk out in awe and forget that the film was delayed for an entire year.

    Following the Strange sequel, we might not see another Marvel Studios series until mid-June. Recent rumors suggest that the Lucasfilm Obi-Wan series is slated for May (I mean May 4th IS a Wednesday); what’s curious is that if we allow for it to run for 6 weeks, we run into June and that’s when Mohan Kapur, one of the stars of Ms. Marvel, recently said he expects that streaming series to begin! Even though Ms. Marvel is introducing Kamala Khan and a WHOLE bunch of new characters, it will also feature an appearance from Carol Danvers, so we might get an episode of Marvel Legends on June 8th; either way, Ms. Marvel could kick off its run on June 15th and conclude on July 13th, coinciding nicely with Kapur’s comments.
    *Note we are predicting a two-episode premiere for Ms. Marvel to avoid overlap with Moon Knight.

    While we might not get an episode of Marvel Legends for Ms. Marvel, we’re sure to get a few for Thor: Love and Thunder. In addition to keeping up with Odinson’s adventures, fans could also use a refresher on Jane Foster, Korg, and Miek, Valkyrie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy before they hit the screen together.

    Thor: Love and Thunder, like Doctor Strange 2, was bumped down the road a few months giving director Taika Waititi time to really fine-tune this film which, coincidentally, was supposed to come out just about one year ago on November 5th!

    In this hypothetical situation, Moon Knight does some big moving. I originally thought Moon Knight might run in May, but it’s getting bumped 2 months (seems like a pattern, right?). It’s reportedly a 6-episode series which means if it follows up Thor 4 and doesn’t have any ties to any existing characters that we know of, so it can go just about anywhere. For what it’s worth, this could easily switch places with Ms. Marvel, moving Ms. Marvel a little bit closer to The Marvels which was bumped into 2023.
    *Note we are predicting a two-episode premiere of Moon Knight to avoid overlap with Season 2 of What If…?.

    We got a few episodes of Marvel Legends ahead of Season 1 of What If…?, so there’s no reason to think we won’t see some ahead of Season 2.

    What If…? is, according to Disney, set to be an annual event and it would seem totally possible that they could even keep it in the same general slot every year, too. Season 1 kicked off on August 11th, and this hypothetical would see Season 2 debut on August 24th. This timing would work out well for Marvel Studios because this same time could also see Lucasfilm’s 12-episode Andor hit Disney Plus as well. As stated in the opening, keeping Star Wars live-action away from Marvel Studios’ live-action was a priority here and the whole calendar works out very nicely if we have What If…? and Andor going around the same time.

    What If…? could wrap up just in time for Marvel Studios to stream one of its two 2022 holiday specials: Werewolf By Night. Now to be clear, we aren’t 100% sure exactly what is going on with this project, but if it is just a one-shot holiday special, its February start of production would give the team plenty of time to have it ready for October 26th, just ahead of Halloween.

    Marvel Legends episodes for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever should hit D+ on November 9th, a couple of days ahead of the film’s release. We’ll certainly need to catch up on T’Challa’s journey along with Shuri, Ramonda, M’Baku, Okoye and the Doras and even Killmonger, you know just in case he shows up.

    Of all the films getting shuffled around, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever might have needed it the most. Production was delayed when Letitia Wright sustained an injury and it was in mid-production when the new IATSE/AMPTP agreement went into place, meaning some adjustments were made on the fly. You can absolutely guarantee that Ryan Coogler will use these extra 4 months to put together an absolutely amazing sequel in memory of Chadwick Boseman.

    It looks like Marvel Studios’ offerings for 2022 will end with the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on November 23rd. James Gunn has said he’ll be introducing an important new character in it and while a lot of folks believe that’s going to be Santa, I’ve heard rumblings (nothing concrete, so I’m not too excited myself just yet) that the new character might be one of the shinier ones in Marvel’s toybox.

    After the GotG special, Disney Plus could stream something from Lucasfilm (a second season of The Bad Batch is reportedly coming for 2022) and it’s also important to note that the now Disney owned Avatar 2 is still slated for release on December 16th, 2022, meaning the parent company will still have a lot going on even if there’s no other Marvel Studios’ series ready to stream. Of course, we’ll have a much clearer picture of things in just two weeks following the first annual Disney Plus Day, so bookmark this and come back and throw tomatoes at us then!


  • Breaking: Marvel Studios Makes Major Changes to Upcoming Slate

    Breaking: Marvel Studios Makes Major Changes to Upcoming Slate

    In a press release, Disney announced a slew of changed to their upcoming slate, including moving all of their upcoming Marvel Studios release dates and removing 2 Marvel Studios dates from the schedule.

    DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS which was previously dated on 3/25/22 moves to 5/6/22

    THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER  which was previously dated on 5/6/22 moves to 7/8/22

    BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER which was previously dated on 7/8/22 moves to 11/11/22

    UNTITLED INDIANA JONES/Indiana Jones 5 which was previously dated on 7/29/22 moves to 6/30/23

    UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION which was previously dated on 7/14/23 is removed from schedule

    THE MARVELS which was previously dated on 11/11/22 moves to 2/17/23

    ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA which was previously dated on 2/17/23 moves to 7/28/23

    UNTITLED MARVEL which was previously dated on 7/28/23 is removed from schedule

    UNTITLED MARVEL which was previously dated on 10/6/23 is removed from schedule

    UNTITLED 20TH CENTURY which was previously dated on 10/20/23 is removed from schedule

    UNTITLED MARVEL which was previously dated on 11/10/23 moves to 11/3/23

    No further information was given by Disney as to why the films were moved. While production of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was briefly delayed, productions on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder have wrapped and The Marvels and Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania have, as far as we know proceeded without problems.

    The updates mean Marvel Studios will only have 3 films in theaters in 2022. And while they still look to put 4 in theaters in 2023, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has now been moved to July, meaning it’s release will now be AFTER Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

    Four films remain on Marvel Studios 2024 slate with flags planted on February 16th, May 3rd, July 26th and November 8th.

    In total, one film was removed from the upcoming Marvel Studios slate.

    With the changes, the updated release slate looks like this:

    November 5, 2021: Eternals
    December 15, 2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home, in collaboration with Sony
    May 6, 2022: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
    July 8, 2022: Thor: Love and Thunder
    November 11, 2022: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
    February 17, 2023: The Marvels
    May 5, 2023: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    July 28, 2023: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    November 3, 2023: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    February 16, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    May 3, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    July 26, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    November 8, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film

    Captain America 4 and Blade were expected to be the next two films to enter into production, and Fantastic Four and Deadpool 3 are believed to be high up on the list as well.

    We’ll continue to update this story as it develops.

  • How ‘Black Panther’s Themes Can Inspire An Indigenous Mesoamerican Atlantis

    How ‘Black Panther’s Themes Can Inspire An Indigenous Mesoamerican Atlantis

    Black Panther is the highest-rated Marvel Studios film by critics. The themes of the film are powerfully and efficiently woven into the characters and plot. Ryan Coogler is celebrated for his worldbuilding with production designer Hannah Beachler. They spent 10 months weaving real-world African history and culture into a 500-page guide to Wakanda and will likely repeat the process for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Namor, Attuma, and Namora will reportedly be joining Coogler’s sequel with Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures as worldbuilding inspiration. All of this might help us speculate what direction the story and characters might take in the highly-anticipated sequel. 

    Kukulcán's Pyramid (Chichén Itzá, 9th century-12th century) | Structurae

    Colonization is a theme that is inherently entwined with Wakanda’s history as the animated sequence that opens Black Panther shows. Vibranium enabled Wakanda to defend itself from the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade and the colonization of Africa by European nations. The threat of it intensely affected T’Challa’s perception of his father, T’Chaka, who killed his brother to keep Wakanda hidden. He states that all of his ancestors were wrong to turn their backs on their neighbors. He speaks about interdependence and taking care of others as he rejects isolation to open up Wakanda. The cultural trauma of colonization provides the personal connection to the film’s themes that Coogler has described as bringing him “closer to [his] roots.”

    With the MCU’s Atlantis being inspired by Indigenous Mesoamerican cultures it seems likely that these themes will also be present. Rooting Atlantis in the history of an ancient cataclysm could mirror the real-world colonial destruction of Aztec and Maya civilizations. The Yucatan Peninsula’s historical connections to meteorites hint at a hidden society, mirroring Wakanda’s creation legend of a vibranium meteorite. A sunken yet technologically advanced state like that might be of particular interest to the U.S. In Namor’s first comic appearances he wages a war against the “surface-dwellers” (Motion Picture Funnies Weekly Vol 1 #1, 1939 Bill Everett). Yet the cultural-historical inspiration suggests Atlantis will be the state to be discovered and attacked for its resources. Like T’Challa in Black Panther, Prince Namor’s leadership will likely be tested in the face of colonial tension. 

    Fate of Killmonger's Mom in 'Black Panther' Is So, So Sad

    Wakanda’s leadership tensions set the stage for more complex explorations of governance. Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing impacts the sequel in such a way, suggesting Wakanda might use more collective leadership going forward. If Shuri, Nakia, Okoye, and M’Baku can unite in a leaderful way, there may yet be hope against the rising tide of Atlantis. Prince Namor’s leadership in contrast could be challenged as Namora and Attuma have different intentions in their comic histories. Namora, despite being Namor’s cousin, has spent much time away from Atlantis with surface-dwellers. Attuma is a barbaric warlord banished from Atlantis who wants to conquer it. While undiscovered in the MCU, Atlantis’ leadership could be somewhat united, splitting as the world becomes aware of its existence. How these once hidden societies treat outsiders interested in exploiting them will tell us a lot about their leadership. 

    Much of Black Panther’s plot is driven by outsiders discovering Wakanda. In the case of Erik Killmonger, he uses his “blood right” as T’Challa’s first cousin to challenge for the throne. The question then becomes whether birthright or culture is the maintaining force in bringing people into society. The cultural trauma of America’s exploitative culture which he grew up in, clashes with the more supportive culture of Wakanda. Killmonger sees no future beyond himself, burning the heart-shaped herb, stating “the sun will never set on the Wakandan empire.” By contrast, T’Challa opens Wakanda up with a learning center in Oakland rather than violent empire and colonialism. The consequences of opening Wakanda’s resources, potentially placing them in the scopes of America’s military-industrial complex is an open question. 

    Black Panther: Wakanda's War With Namor Almost Ended the Marvel Universe

    Similarly, Atlantis might have resources that place them under the spotlight of outsiders to their society. They might even have outsiders within their existing ranks. Conflicting identities play a role in Namor’s life as they did with Killmonger. He is a mutant in the comics and has a mixed heritage from his human father and Atlantean mother. In the film, Namor will likely have to negotiate with elements of Atlantean society that frown upon his human origins. Similarly, Tenoch Huerta who is reportedly playing Namor has Indigenous origins through Purepecha and Nahua heritage. In the comics, when allied with mutantkind, Namor attacks Wakanda with the full weight of the sea. Whether outside incursions from surface-dwellers or aggressive internal factions will compel him to do so in the MCU is unknown. 

    Cultural trauma, whether it be from historical colonial violence or exclusion leadership policy, is a rich vein for powerful themes. It seems clear Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will continue some themes of the first film in the worldbuilding for Atlantis. Various other comic adaptations could also take this route. A British-Indian Braddock family would organically confront colonial themes, and provide a strikingly powerful Captain Britain. Similarly profound, could be, a Romani writer writing a Scarlet Witch film, introducing a Romani actor playing Victor von Doom. Magneto’s Jewish heritage could be part of a multi-heritage background. It’s exciting to think that Ryan Coogler’s films can act as a blueprint for how themes of cultural trauma are explored across the MCU. 

    Sources: Rotten Tomatoes, NPR, Thomson Reuters. 

  • Marvel Studios: Viewing Orders

    Marvel Studios: Viewing Orders

    With over two dozen projects comprising the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s sometimes easy to lose track of the order through which audiences should experience them. It is, of course, something pretty fluid as personal preferences might have some skipping a couple of projects in favor of their favorite ones. All in all, there are two general viewing orders that contain the entirety of the MCU. A Release Order, which respects the order in which projects were made available through the years, and a Chronological Order, which takes into account when each project’s plot takes place.

    Personally speaking, the Release Order should be followed when watching all MCU projects for the first time, with the Chronological Order being something to use on rewatches. This is mostly due to the fact that major plot points would be spoiled if not watching the entirety of the franchise as it was released, similar to the way audiences watching Star Wars for the first time would be spoiled The Empire Strikes Back‘s major plot twist by having previously watched the prequel trilogy.

    CHARACTER VIEWING ORDERS

    When it comes to following specific characters, we got together individual viewing orders with their appearances through the years. These can be as a central character to the plot or as blink-and-you-miss type cameos, many on mid or post-credit scenes. Keep in mind this is a work in progress, as new characters will keep being added.

    Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

  • Andy Serkis Shares His Excitement to See More of Wakanda in ‘Black Panther’ Sequel

    Andy Serkis Shares His Excitement to See More of Wakanda in ‘Black Panther’ Sequel

    As a veteran of some of the biggest film franchises in the world, Andy Serkis knows a few things about what to anticipate in upcoming projects. From performance capture in Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, and Star Wars, and now directing his third feature film with Venom: Let There Be Carnage. He’s also had a rather important role in the MCU.

    His character, the arms dealer Ulysses Klaue, appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Panther, and even in the animated What If…? series. Given his fate in the original, it’s unlikely he’ll return for the sequel. Still, while talking about Venom: Let There Be Carnage to Gizmodo, Serkis was asked about an element of the MCU he is most excited about. He used the opportunity to share his love for Wakanda and his thoughts on the Black Panther sequel.

    Wakanda as a world, as a place, as a philosophy is such an extraordinary thing. So I’m really excited to see how it evolves, how it unfolds. Obviously, it’s very, very sad in the wake of [Chadwick Boseman’s] departure, but I’m sure that the story will go some way to memorialize such an extraordinary performance and such an incredible actor and person in that movie.

    Andy Serkis

    It’s not surprising to find that someone with Serkis‘ interest in bringing digital to life has quite an interest in this digital world. Ryan Coogler‘s worldbuilding might be one of the most memorable due to interweaving real-world African history and culture into a fictional city. Coogler famously spent ten months on a 500-page worldbuilding document envisioning a futuristic urban space for Wakanda alongside Black Panther’s production designer Hannah Beachler. It seems, with reports of Namor that a version of Atlantis may appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, that they might be repeating that worldbuilding process. It will be fascinating to see the contrast and similarities between Atlantis and Wakanda, as well as how Wakanda evolves in itself.

    Source: Gizmodo

  • Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar, V2

    Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar, V2

    Back in January, we looked at one hypothetical 2022 release calendar for Marvel Studios. We’ve been through another round of production delays and release date shifts and with 2022 just a few months away, have a little bit better idea of when we might expect to see Marvel content next year. With that in mind, here’s version 2.0 of a totally made up and hypothetical way Marvel Studios 2022 release schedule might look.

    Originally set to stream on Disney + in 2021, rumored production delays pushed Ms. Marvel’s MCU debut to 2022. With the number of streaming series Marvel Studios has to get through in 2022, it would seem like they’d want to kick off the new year with a bang, debuting Ms. Marvel as soon as possible, dropping the first of the expected 6 episodes on January 5th.

    Now that Wednesdays are the new Fridays, we know that Marvel Studios has no aversion to dropping a new film while a series is streaming. With that in mind, it’s possible that the they get She-Hulk’s 10 episode run started as early as February 23rd, one week after an episode of Marvel Legends catches fans up on the stories of Bruce Banner and Emil Blonsky, two characters who will have big roles to play in the series.

    While She-Hulk is in the middle of its run, fans will FINALLY get the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange on March 25th, 2022 when Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness hits theaters. Marvel Studios will almost certainly have a few episodes of Marvel Legends ready to view to prep fans to remind fans not only of what Stephen Strange, Wong and Mordo have been up to, but also to remind them of the journey of the film’s primary antagonist, the Scarlet Witch.

    Right after She-Hulk finishes its extended run (remember, it’s 10 episodes and will stretch from late-February through late-April), fans will be able to head to theaters for the next chapter in the saga of the God of Thunder when Thor: Love and Thunder comes crashing in on May 6, 2022. Marvel Legends episodes covering the journeys of Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy are almost a sure thing and we’ll certainly need to catch up on Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who will have been absent from the MCU for almost a decade when this film releases.

    From the God of Thunder to the avatar of the Egyptian God of the Moon…Marvel Studios Moon Knight, featuring Oscar Isaac in the lead role(s) could hit Disney Plus as early as May 11th. In our first draft, we had Moon Knight streaming about one month earlier, but with Ms. Marvel moving to 2022, it got pushed. Realistically, should Marvel Studios wish to do so, they could move Ms. Marvel to this slot, much closer to the character’s next appearance in November’s The Marvels.

    We’re not sure if Marvel Studios will go this route, but interestingly enough the mythology of Moon Knight has some ties to the mythology of Black Panther. Should Kevin Feige and crew wish to make that explicit on screen, there could be some small connection between the two that would make Black Panther: Wakanda Forever fit nicely in order after the completion of Moon Knight’s expected 6-episode run. Wakanda Forever is one to keep an eye on as well, as production delays due to an injury to Letitia Wright have pushed the expected completion of principal photography into early 2022.

    Marvel Studios intends for the animated series What If…? to occur annually and we know they’ve already done a lot of work on Season 2, so it’s likely it’ll be ready for a Summer 2022 debut. Season 1 was 9 episodes, so we’ll go with that for now and slot July 20th as the drop date for the first episode of Season 2, which will see the return of Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter and adapt a scenario from this year’s Black Widow film.

    Marvel Studios seems to be aiming to have Secret Invasion ready to stream just ahead of The Marvels. Production on the series in kicking off in earnest in October in the UK, allowing for some actors to complete work on The Marvels before shifting over to Secret Invasion. If everything goes smoothly, the series should be ready for Disney Plus by September 28th, 2022, leaving a week to recover before the Captain Marvel sequel hits theaters on November 9, 2022. Truthfully, we have no confirmation that the two projects are tied together, but we’re pretending they are for the purposes of this experiment. Presumably, both of these projects would be preceded by some Marvel Legends episodes recapping the adventures of Nick Fury, Talos, Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau before telling the next chapters of their stories.

    While Secret Invasion is doing it’s thing, Marvel Studios might have to find room to drop the first of its Holiday Specials. Rumor has it that the Halloween special might just feature Werewolf By Night, a character originally believed to be starring in his own streaming series. Production on the special is set to take place early next year, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have it ready to go for, let’s say, October 26th.

    Even though the entire piece is hypothetical, this one has the greatest uncertainty. I’ve recently heard a rumor that production on Echo might get pushed JUST a bit, to April 2022, making it almost impossible for it to stream in 2022. Should it hold to its originally reported January 2022 date, however, we could easily see it debut on Disney Plus by November 16th.

    Should the calendar hold, Marvel Studios could wrap up 2022 with its second holiday special, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This one will film during production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so it’ll be ready to drop whenever they choose, maybe even on December 28th, 2022!


  • REVIEW: ‘What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?’ – Episode 6

    REVIEW: ‘What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?’ – Episode 6

    What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark? takes advantage of its freedom and the flexibility of the series to focus almost exclusively on upgrading an existing supervillain. It pairs with the Doctor Strange episode in terms of establishing a singular powerful villain as the overarching goal. The episode returns to previous What If… ? form by heavily tracking sacred timeline stories, though with dramatic alterations here. It’s an obvious mash-up of Iron Man and Black Panther, with hints of Iron Man 2, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and even a touch of Avengers: Infinity War—as a result, Episode 6 truly emphasizes how interconnected the existing MCU is in ways not obvious from the films alone.

    Michael B. Jordan continues his iconic and powerful role as Erik Stevens AKA Killmonger, and the episode gives the role proper respect and recognizes his overall merit as a character. He is eight steps ahead of virtually everyone he encounters and completely dominates the entire plotline with hardly any difficulty. He continues a trend in the series of eliminating major characters and superheroes from the main MCU—in this case, Killmonger swiftly takes out Tony Stark, T’Challa, and James Rhodes. 

    Overall, though, Episode 6 falls flat. While it definitely explores more of Killmonger, it comes across as a kind of standard remix to our known universe’s plot without much more depth or even a solid grasp on what Killmonger’s bigger picture might be. His motivations—which are one of the strongest aspects of the character and what, along with Jordan’s portrayal with them, makes him as interesting as he is—are noted more heavily towards the end of the episode, but they are glossed over compared to their treatment in Black Panther. While Killmonger is given his due as a powerful character, it a fairly surface-level take on him.

    The episode hones in on the general premise that one small change in a hero’s story can dramatically change the course of everything we know to be true. As our friend the Watcher reminds us, heroes are made, not born. If they miss their opportunity to “make” themselves, they merely become pawns in someone else’s story. Killmonger rescuing Stark—as a Navy Seal involved in an undercover operation with the Ten Rings—is all the grease Killmonger needs to succeed where he failed in Black Panther. Apparently, he already had plans for a weaponized automated drone called the Liberator, and Stark’s technology and help seals the deal to create these machines in contrast to the Iron Man suit. 

    In terms of performances, the voice acting in this episode is solid across the board. Michael B. Jordan is unmistakably great. Don Cheadle is quality, and Jon Favreau is very true to Happy. Andy Serkis is absolutely phenomenal and honestly gives one of the best performances of the series to date. Chadwick Boseman’s talent goes without saying. Mick McGill is decent as Tony Stark—the writing and his performance definitely capture the character well, but it’s near impossible to not stand out as not being Robert Downey Jr. in that role.

    Episode 6 also continues a growing trend in the series of ending on a very obvious cliffhanger and/or generally being an unfinished story. Earlier episodes always left the door cracked for future implications, but this episode and the immediately preceding zombie episode very much leave the door wide open for their respective stories to continue. It certainly implies that What If… ? is building to something bigger and something that likely involves interconnecting episodes.  

    Even so, the Watcher—who certainly acts as a connector—does not involve himself whatsoever, leaving the Doctor Strange episode as the sole exception to his general narrator-only role. He does, however, look noticeably unhappy and disturbed as a giant head in the sky at one point. While Killmonger certainly rules the day in this episode as he makes his way to become the Black Panther, the Watcher does cue that heroes—specifically our classic heroes—never die as they live on in those they inspire. Perhaps we will get to see later in this season or further down the line what Shuri and Pepper have to offer against Killmonger in this universe.

  • From Ta Lo to Atlantis: How Marvel Studios Might Introduce Namor’s Home

    From Ta Lo to Atlantis: How Marvel Studios Might Introduce Namor’s Home

    Following the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become home to yet another fictitious location, Ta Lo. With Namor scheduled to make his MCU debut as early as next year in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it’s likely that audiences will get to see yet another mythical location, the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. While little is known regarding how the studio will introduce Atlantis on the big screen, it’s fair to assume that its upcoming introduction may take some hints from Shang-Chi. Like with Ta Lo, Atlantis will need to touch on how it’s imprinted with its cultures’ mythology, how it has managed to stay hidden up until now and even its access points.

    With over a decade of movies under its belt, Marvel Studios will need to take a new approach when introducing fantastical new locations in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Part of Marvel’s problem is that, after twenty-five films, audiences may be confused as to why a location is only recently being referenced. And even though there are locations that could have only gained relevance due to The Blip, not all can fit those criteria. Due to this, many, especially ones that have been around for millennia, need a more careful approach regarding their MCU debut, and Ta Lo is a perfect example of that.

    What is Ta Lo?

    In the comics, Ta Lo was a small “pocket” dimension adjacent to Earth, and it appears to be something quite similar in the MCU. It is described as a mystical dimension, inhabited by Chinese mythological creatures, that have managed to stay hidden not only by being difficult to access but especially by making it unclear to the outside world if it’s even a real place or not.

    It can be accessed from Earth through a portal located in China, which is shielded by an enchanted bamboo forest, that only allows safe passage on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, the first day of the traditional Qingming Festival. Besides The Great Protector, its giant guardian dragon, several other Chinese mythological creatures are shown to live inside Ta Lo. From Dijiangs (Morris’ kind) to several Phoenix and Nine-tailed Foxes, Guardian Lions and Qilins.

    The way Marvel Studios managed to enrich the movie by embedding it with the spirit of such a vivid concept of what Chinese mythology should be about, managed to take the project to a whole new level. By intertwining these ideas with a real-world setting, they became a more credible concept within the MCU, contributing to the world-building Phase 4 seems to be all about. And this is where one is left to wonder if, knowing what Marvel Studios might be hinting at by casting Tenoch Huerta as Namor, and Mabel Cadena as Namora, Kevin Feige and his team are preparing to do something similar in its approach towards Atlantis.

    How does it relate to Atlantis?

    Following Ta Lo’s example, Marvel could treat Atlantis as a place beyond earth’s dimension. Doing so would allow for an easy explanation as to why it hasn’t been addressed previously. The founders of Atlantis, as some write, were half-god and half-human, so it wouldn’t be unheard of to make it a mythological place of its own, almost inaccessible, rooted in the mythology of a civilization. With both Huerta and Cadena both having distinct central American heritage, that seems to be playing a part in the uniqueness Marvel should want for its take on Atlantis, something like the Aztec Empire serving as the grounded real-world connection to a fictional lost underwater city sounds like a possibility.

    Tlālōcān

    When diving into Aztec history, one learns of their ancestors’ (the Olmecs) presence in the Yucatan Peninsula. Lying between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north and the Caribbean Sea to the east, it’s a place said to have a profound connection with the Aztec water Gods, who ruled over a paradise world called Tlālōcān. This world is said to be the home of those who died through drowning or lightning, ruled over by the rain deity Tlāloc. In the present day, it’s more of a concept embracing the subterranean world and its denizens. Aztec shamans were supposedly able to access this otherworldly realm through whirlpools, something very similar to the way Ta Lo was accessible to Shang-Chi.

    To understand how those whirlpools might come into play, we should remember that the Yucatan Peninsula is, amongst other things, famous for its cenotes, a.k.a. sinkholes. These were likely to have been formed several million years ago through the impact of an incredibly large meteor in the region. As a result, they are filled with shocked quartz, a byproduct of the extreme impact. One of the characteristics of this type of pressurized quartz is that it can convert Earth’s natural electrical vibrations into a form of energy, and it’s been theorized that it could be used in the creation of wormholes, through an electromagnetic reaction called the Casimir effect.

    A modern take on Atlantis

    Cenote Angelita

    We now have the idea of a mysterious location, deeply rooted in Aztec mythology, much like Ta Lo. We also have clearly defined access points. These access points prevent accidental outside access, defined by the geomorphology of the region. By taking a realistic approach to Atlantis, Marvel Studios can introduce its own fresh take on the world. More importantly, though, it also allows Marvel to preserve the verisimilitude of its universe by grounding it in real-world cultural concepts going back generations.

    Could we have found or Atlantis in Tlālōcān? Going back to Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings, Michelle Yeoh’s character, Ying Nan, suggests that there might be other cities in pocket dimensions. Will this be how audiences come to meet the kingdom of Namor the Sub-Mariner?

    Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings is in theaters now, while Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in production and expected to hit theaters on July 8, 2022.