Your host John Locke is back with more tales from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Earth is facing a culture shock, as it seems that Atlantis might be real? Not just that, New Asgard is finally opening up to the world while new findings in Egypt might open up the question: How many Gods are still out there?
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Looks like the current season is taking skins from all over the multiverse, as recent leaks for Fornite have revealed a variety of new skins joining this season. During the Game Awards, they revealed Halo‘s Master Chief and two characters from The Walking Dead were joining. Many wondered if we would also see more skins from Marvel after they took over the last season. Well, it looks like they weren’t quite done yet, as a group of well-known Fortnite hackers took to Twitter to share a variety of new skins showing off Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and even a comic-accurate Taskmaster.
That is not all, as we also got the reveal for a DC skin based on the popular CW show Arrow will be included in the game based on Stephen Amell‘s iconic rendition. We also get a good look at the entire set, which reveals the character’s iconic punching arrow and a quiver.
https://twitter.com/HYPEX/status/1338820848707317760
Fornite has been turning into a center for pop culture. This season also saw the addition of Kratos and The Mandalorian‘s Din. So, we can expect a lot more appearances throughout this season. Nintendo fans are hoping for the potential addition of Samus Aran from Metroid. She would make complete sense within the wacky Battle Royale world, and it seems there are no limits on who they might include at this point. So, whoever had their fantasy of having Stephen Amell‘s Green Arrow take on Deadpool can do so now. Now that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate announced Sephiroth as their next DLC character, could we see Sora end up on Fornite?
We finally got an official word on what we can expect from Black Panther 2. Kevin Feige honored the late Chadwick Boseman by confirming that he will not be recast in the upcoming film. So, it looks like Shuri (Letitia Wright) might be taking over the role and continue the legacy of the Bast. Feige only confirmed that they want to continue the story of Wakanda, so anything is possible in whatever direction they go. It is likely that the film has been pushed back into their release pipeline, as they will be rewriting the script. Black Panther might’ve had a massive role moving forward in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so this is a great gesture by the company to honor his death and not just recast the character he certainly made his own. We will see what the future holds for Black Panther.
Source: Disney Investor Day 2020
Today is a sad day, as it would’ve been Chadwick Boseman‘s 44th birthday. It was still a shock to many when a few months ago he had tragically passed away after complications in his fight with cancer. Our hearts still go out to his friends and family, as it can’t be an easy time in an already turbulent year. It was revealed that he kept his cancer from many in the industry, so it had caught many off-guard when it was officially announced. Now, Marvel Studios prepared a touching tribute to the Black Panther actor by replacing the intro of his iconic film with a brand new one that showcases his legacy within the franchise.
Marvel Studios has done something similar when Stan Lee passed away. His appeared during the opening for Captain Marvel and was just as heartbreaking as this. Right now, our mind should not be focused on the sequel but rather the legacy that the actor is leaving behind. His last film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is scheduled to release on Netflix in mid-December. Here he plays the trumpeter Levee alongside Viola Davis‘ Ma Rainey. She previously played his mother in the James Brown biopic Get On Up, who probably summed up his legacy best in an interview with the Guardian back in October.
Chadwick was an artist. That is just what he was … he loved it, he demanded it in every single way. For someone so young it was incredible to watch.
Source: Twitter, The Guardian
With the news that Deadpool 3 is in development, Charles and Charles dare to discuss how the Merc with a Mouth will fit in the MCU! We also talk the Black Panther 2 news, WandaVision’s release date and review Chapters 11 and 12 of The Mandalorian. Have a listen!!
Black Panther is one of Marvel Studios’ biggest franchises from a financial and cultural standpoint. It was gearing up for the second entry before suddenly tragedy hit. T’Challa Chadwick Boseman has tragically passed away. It hit many that were involved with the project by surprise, as Boseman kept it very close to the chest. Of course, it opened up the question if they would postpone production until they can decide how to move forward. Well, it looks like they are still eyeing to start production next year. According to Hollywood Reporter, Black Panther 2 is preparing to shoot in Atlanta by July with around six months planned out.
That is not all, as they also seem to be eyeing Tenoch Huerta to play one of the main villains. The Narcos: Mexico star would play one of the antagonists that will terrorize Wakanda. We still know nothing about the story currently, so it is difficult to pinpoint which character he might be playing. THR did highlight that Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett are all set to reprise their roles. There was an emphasis on Wright‘s role being expanded. There is currently still no set plan on how to move forward without Boseman.
There was an interesting statement regarding their focus on Disney+. After all these years, they have their systems down for film production, but a lot of priority is set on the new streaming shows to adjust to this new extension of the franchise. The pandemic has certainly changed the company’s priorities as most of their film line-up was postponed by an entire year. It has been a heavy year and we will see what the future of the MCU brings, as they move forward with their projects.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Marvel’s Avengers teased during its premiere that we will see Black Panther added to the game at one point. The reveal was shortly after the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman, so they decided to postpone it out of respect to the actor. It was a fitting decision at the time, and we’ve been very anxious about what design they may have cooked up over at Crystal Dynamics. A while back, someone shared a cropped version of what looked to be a Black Panther costume. This snippet was then confirmed by Avengers data miner @mmmmmmmmiller to be true at the time, but we never got the full view of it. Well, as Miller was sharing some icons from the game, which seem to be connected to future missions, a user going by @Evan18217824 shared the first full look at Black Panther.
The thing that confirms this design is that it matches the snippets we saw initially. The additions on the shoulders are a dead giveaway that this is the same design that was confirmed. This take on the character is unique, but it does feel fitting. Instead of a bodysuit, it has these armor-like elements to highlight T’Challa’s Royal position. I especially love the attention to detail here, as his symbol is on the chest plate surrounded by what seems to be traditional Wakandan inscriptions. Of course, we will get various other costumes, so this may be the default design for his story arc.
In general, I like this design, as it’s such a unique take on the character. The idea of using a traditional king’s armor is an interesting one to focus more on his role within the African country. I am curious to see what other costumes they include and if we get this design in action once the promised November War Table video is released. Still, we finally got a good look at the character and something to tie us over until Kate Bishop is playable.
Source: Twitter
Marvel’s Avengers players are starving for content. So far, we only got the Mega Hive as post-launch addition with more on the way. Just recently, the community manager took to Reddit to share that they are taking current concerns seriously. It was a necessary touch to give players some reassurance. They did confirm we would receive a confirmation for the timings by next week. To build up to that moment, I’ve been rewatching old War Table videos. My goal was to get a feeling for what the plans may have been for the game. As such, I just felt like playing around with a theory as we wait for the official reveal of future content by the developer Crystal Dynamics.
The game’s release kicked off with quite a few bugs, so a delay is part of the course in the Games-as-a-Service model. Yet, we wouldn’t get our first real addition until the end of October with Kate Bishop. The reveal trailer at the time included a brief tribute to Chadwick Boseman with the info that Black Panther would not be included as originally planned. I started wondering when they planned to reveal him, as we haven’t heard anything about the character in over a month. I was rewatching the War Table that gave us our first DLC reveal, and something caught my eye while going through the initial reveal for Hawkeye. His symbol was the second among the four.
Every Avenger has a unique symbol in the game, which is used in the character select menu. It seemed like initially, they were planning to reveal four characters at one point. Optimistically speaking, maybe they planned on four DLC characters for 2020. There is no confirmation for that, but it could’ve been a monthly release once the game was made available. Still, what we are focusing on is the placement of Hawkeye’s symbol.
This visual would confirm he was always going to be the second addition. A month later, we learned Kate Bishop would be our first official post-launch character. As mentioned previously, Black Panther seemed to have a larger role in that War Table’s reveal until he was delayed. Both Bishop and Hawkeye’s operations are confirmed as a double feature so he may have been the third DLC character. Yet, something doesn’t quite add up once you take a closer look at later showcases of the video. If you rewatch the brief tease of Bishop’s operation, you’ll notice a similarity between hers and Clint Barton’s. The unique symbol is identical to the one we saw during Hawkeye’s reveal.
The initial reveal video showed something more akin to the Fraction comic’s bullseye logo. Even early leaks seemed to reveal a unique logo for potential echo characters like War Machine. So, it would’ve made sense for her bullseye visual to be Kate Bishop’s unique design. Even if the Hawkeye stories are a double-feature, why give characters one-of-a-kind visuals if they aren’t the operations? In reality, we never actually saw her symbol transition into an in-game design. It was just a visual flair during the video to call back to the comics. It also opens up the question of how character selection would include both characters. Crystal Dynamics might be giving you the option to chose Hawkeye with an additional choice between the variations. If this is the case, why is Hawkeye’s symbol the second one if both characters share it in-game?
It seemed that Black Panther was going to be an aspect of the first character reveal. At one point, he may have been the first DLC in the game. It may also explain why Kate’s DLC release is delayed until the end of October. There is also the addition of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Substation Zero operation will lead to Kate’s storyline. It will introduce us to the Tachyon Rifts that will play an important role in the Avengers Initiative campaign. So, if Black Panther was going to be the first released, his story may have built up towards these rifts. The delay also could mean that some parts of the story had to be rewritten or adapted, which added to the current content delays.
Keep in mind, this is nothing more than a theory but it is an interesting one with the information that was originally given by the developers. In some way, maybe the lack of a release date for Kate Bishop may also be caused by the upcoming Disney+ show. Marvel Studios confirmed her inclusion in Hawkeye, so they were forced to wait for the official reveal of the actress to build upon that hype. The synergy between Marvel’s ventures is great for the shows but may have also added to the issues that plagued the game’s release. No matter what may have been the reason, it is interesting how these things come together.
This week’s episode was a tough one as Charles M. and Charles V. talked about the passing of Chadwick Boseman. One of the most charismatic and brightest stars of the MCU, Boseman’s death shook us all and created a lot of tough questions that we tried to discuss as well as we could. We also caught up on all the big production news as Marvel Studios resumes and gets started on projects all over the globe! Check it out below…
We’ve talked about video games, films and comics so far. Now, it’s time to explore a completely new part of the media multiverse, audio dramas. Marvel is no stranger to these kinds of projects. They’ve created a series focused on everyone’s favorite Wolverine titled Wolverine: The Lost Trail. There also is an audio drama focused on the king of Wakanda, T’Challa. The story Black Panther: The Young Prince explored his childhood.
It seems that they aren’t quite done yet with the cat-friendly superhero, as they are expanding with one more titled Marvel’s Black Panther: Sins of the King. It will be released in January, as it follows the T’Challa facing a reality where his father was accidentally brought back to life. Now, it was revealed that The Good Place‘s William Jackson Harper will be narrating the story. He shared his enthusiasm in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I remember seeing Black Panther in the theatre and just being giddy about how many kids like me will have this be one of their first and formative sci-fi experiences, and how open they will be to seeing all kinds of people inhabiting these worlds as they grow older, which is why I am thrilled to be a part of this project.”
It’s always great to see companies branch out and try new approaches to reach audiences. Stories that focus on characters like Black Panther are especially important to share, as Harper points out. DC has also started exploring the world of audio drama with its recent release of The Sandman on Audible. Hopefully, this could also kickstart Harper‘s chancing of joining the upcoming sequel to Marvel Studios’ Black Panther. He was amazing in The Good Place and would make a great addition to that film’s cast. Either way, it will be exciting to hear his narration once Marvel’s Black Panther Sins of the King releases.
Source: Wolverine Podcast, Penguin, The Hollywood Reporter, Audible
