Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Black Widow

  • EXCLUSIVE: Yssa Mei Panganiban on Being A Filipina Black Widow

    EXCLUSIVE: Yssa Mei Panganiban on Being A Filipina Black Widow

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be 13 years, 27 films, and 5 TV shows deep but even Kevin Feige‘s billion-dollar franchise has its fair share of ‘firsts’ this late in the game. Case in point, this week’s episode of Hawkeye that gave Filipino audiences a Black Widow of their own. Yssa Mei Panganiban, appears as Sonya, a Black Widow working alongside Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova in a mission to save the remaining brainwashed Black Widow assailants in the world.

    We got to speak to Panganiban about her experiences working on the set with directors Bert and Bertie, Florence Pugh, and what it’s like to be a Filipina in the MCU.

    The works of directing duo Bert and Bertie have been unanimously praised by fans these past 3 episodes of Hawkeye, prompting some fans to rally behind the call to have the duo direct the next Spider-Man films. Panganiban had nothing but nice words to say about the duo, who made sure her first time on a Marvel set was a warm experience.

    Everyone on set was so kind. They mentioned to me, “This is your first time? It’s not gonna be your last time for sure.” They were so sweet because at the time, I had no credits on IMDB but they just said, “That doesn’t matter to us.” The fact that Marvel took so many green artists onboard for Hawkeye was unbelievable. They were super kind enough to bring me on.

    Florence Pugh makes up most of Episode 5’s memorable moments, sharing the screen with not only lead Hailee Steinfeld but also Panganiban herself. The two share a very intense fight scene with another Black Widow named Anna yet filming that sequence with Pugh was anything but, according to Panganiban.

    She’s so kind. Yelena and Florence are kind of the same person in terms of their humor. It was really lovely working with her. She hyped me up the whole time. I let her know it was my first time on set. She was so supportive the entire time. When I wrapped, she had everyone clap for me. She was just the kindest soul.

    Sonya is one of a handful of Filipino characters to appear in a speaking role in the MCU, with the most notable ones being Dave Batista‘s Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and Jacob Batalon‘s Need Leeds in the Spider-Man series. For Panganiban, she hopes for the role to resonate among her Filipinx peers who want to see more of themselves in the industry.

    To give Sonya a voice has been so amazing. To be a Pinay Black Widow is so amazing. I hope Filipinos can go, “She has the same skin tone as me. I don’t have to whiten my skin.” I really just want people to feel seen. To feel like they can love themselves as they are. I think that’s the whole thing of being an actor and an artist.

    Our interview can be watched below:

  • How the ‘Black Widow’ Post-Credit Scene Ties into ‘Hawkeye’

    How the ‘Black Widow’ Post-Credit Scene Ties into ‘Hawkeye’

    The most recent social media spot for the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye promised some big surprises for the second half of the season. Prominent among the teases in the spot was a character, who was supposed to be mysterious, dressed in black with some rather interesting headgear. Fans of the comics immediately recognized that character as Yelena Belova, wearing her signature headgear from her days working for A.I.M. as the Adaptoid.

    Rather than working for A.I.M., the MCU’s Yelena was revealed to be working for Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. While Val’s larger agenda is yet to be revealed, we do know that in the short-term, she has put Yelena on the trail of one of the heroes of Hawkeye: Clint Barton. When Val and Yelena met during the post-credit scene of this Summer’s Black Widow, we didn’t have enough information to fully understand the threat Yelena’s pursuit of Barton could pose. Thanks to a trade report, fans already knew Florence Pugh was going to appear in Hawkeye and the scene spelled out that she and Barton would be facing off against one another, but it wasn’t until fans worked through the first 3 episodes of the series that we could truly see the kind of trouble Belova could make for Clint.

    The first 3 episodes of Hawkeye have spent a significant amount of time dealing with the fallout of Kate putting on the Ronin suit. The suit put Kate in danger, brought her and Clint together and put them both on the radar of the Tracksuits and their boss and, as we learned in Episode 3, “Echoes”, brings back painful memories for Maya Lopez as the Ronin was responsible for the death of her father. As Episode 3 ended, Clint’s secret was still safe but it seems like it’s only a matter of time until his past truly comes back to haunt him. And now that we can tie it all together, it seems like it’ll be Yelena that brings everything crashing down on Barton.

    Who Is Valentina Working For? Val Is Back And Seen Recruiting Yelena Belova

    Despite only a couple people being shown to have been aware that Clint was the man behind the Ronin mask, it turns out that Val, who seems to be pretty resourceful, was in the know all along. As our friend Caleb Borchers pointed out on Twitter, Val didn’t just sent Yelena after Clint, she sent her after Ronin Clint. And that’s going to cause Clint a whole lot more headaches.

    It seems safe to say that once Yelena enters the picture, Clint’s secret identity will be revealed to all interested parties in some way. How will Kate deal with the fact that her hero is a murderer? How will Echo respond to finally learning the identity of her father’s killer? What will Wilson Fisk’s move be when he learns it was an Avenger that nearly wiped out his criminal empire? Of course, Yelena is operating on bad info from Val, so what will happen when she learns the truth about what happened to Natasha? The second half of this season might not quite have the surprises the spot promised, but it certainly will have a lot of drama all tied to Kate putting on that damn suit.

    The first 3 episodes of Hawkeye are now streaming on Disney Plus.

  • Meister Rolling Out a Limited Marvel Studios Watch Collection This Week

    Meister Rolling Out a Limited Marvel Studios Watch Collection This Week

    Through an officially licensed collaboration with Marvel Studios, Meister Watches is releasing an exclusive line of watches this week ahead of Black Friday. The 7 watches, inspired by Black Widow, Guardians of the Galaxy, WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, are each limited to 50-100 watches and will be available for order online at Meister’s Marvel shop.

    Releasing Tuesday, the Falcon Ambassador MK4 and the Winter Soldier Ambassador MK4.

    Soar high with our new Falcon Ambassador MK4. The new Falcon MK4 is equipped with a stealthy black case and matching black leather with contrasting red stitching. The black dial is accented with custom white arrows on the index, Falcon’s logo, and the functional chronographs with a red ring. Finish the mission with this limited MK4 now. Limited to only 100 pieces, each timepiece is individually numbered on the back case.

    Never forget whose side you’re on with our new Winter Soldier Ambassador MK4. Deep blue steel case with black bezel set off Bucky’s best accessory. The black outer ring in the face of the watch has a grey middle and the black and blue chronograph rings with silver stars serve as hour markers. Bucky’s blue star logo completes the one-of-a-kind watch. Limited to only 100 pieces, each timepiece is individually numbered on the back case.

    Releasing Wednesday, the Wanda Ambassador Ultra Slim and the Vision Ambassador MK4.

    Enhance your WandaVision with our newest Ambassador Ultra Slim. Equipped with a black case constructed of 316 NASA grade stainless steel, the genuine red leather band matches the red sunray dial face. The dial features a custom white luminescent index with the Avengers logo in silver. Only 100 of these timepieces have been produced and each is individually numbered on the back case.

    Synchronize your synthezoid with our new Vision Ambassador MK4. The blue steel case and matching band and face are contrasted with gold hexagon bolts, crown and pushers, and maroon index. Gold hands on the functional chronographs, Vision’s V logo and the Soul stone are details that tie-in the Avengers outfit. Limited to only 100 pieces, each timepiece is individually numbered on the back case.

    Now releasing Thursday, the Black Widow Ambassador Ultra Slim.

    Go deep undercover with our newest Black Widow Ambassador Ultra Slim timepiece, featuring a stealthy all-black case with matching interchangeable steel band or black leather band. The custom hour index with red and white lining, red functional chronograph, and Black Widow symbol all pay homage to the female Avenger. Limited to only 50 pieces, each timepiece is individually numbered on the back case.

    Releasing Thursday, the Star-Lord Ambassador MK4 and the Gamora Ambassador Ultra Slim (not pictured).

    Defend the galaxy in style with our newest Star-Lord Ambassador MK4. Matching Star-Lord’s fit, the case is Gunmetal with a burgundy leather band. The two-tone face, burgundy outer layer with gold center carry on the theme as does the red index with Star-Lord’s logo. Limited to only 100 pieces, each timepiece is individually numbered on the back case.

    Stand your ground like a true warrior with our newest Gamora Ambassador Ultra Slim. constructed of 316 NASA grade black stainless steel. Multi-layer green sunray dial face complemented by glowing luminescent index. Gamora logo completes the warriors ultra slim. Limited to only 100 pieces.

    The 7 new watches join Meister’s already impressive collection of Marvel products, including their line of Eternals timepieces which are now on sale.

    Meister’s Black Friday releases kick off tomorrow. With each watch being limited, make sure you make your way to the site early to ensure you get the one on your list!

  • ‘Eternals’ En Route to Pass ‘Black Widow’s Global Box Office, Eyeing Potential $425M+ Run

    ‘Eternals’ En Route to Pass ‘Black Widow’s Global Box Office, Eyeing Potential $425M+ Run

    There has been much discussion surrounding Eternals when it came to its measure of success. It hasn’t been accepted as much by critics as other films of the franchise and even got a B Audience Score which showed it was less the crowd-pleaser that many are accustomed to. Still, it opened to the fourth-biggest opening of 2021 and since the pandemic began. It did face a harsher drop in the second weekend but was on par with other recent releases like Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Still, it looks like the film is on track to pass Black Widow‘s worldwide box office.

    The film officially passed the $300M mark over the weekend and already beat Free Guy’s global $331.4M cume. At this rate, it might pass Black Widow‘s $376M in the next few weeks Shang-Chi currently stands at $418M and there is a chance that the latest installment could pass that film’s box office if it hits the higher end of its speculated $445M global run. The film is carried by a very impressive international run and has seen some mid-week impressive numbers even with harsher drops on weekends. South Korea has been a strong market for the film with $21M and leading the international markets.

    Even with some of the criticism surrounding the project, it does look like the film is still having an impressive box office run without a Chinese release. Spider-Man: No Way Home may be the first to get that release and many are predicting it’s going to be the first post-pandemic release to pass the billion mark. So, Marvel Studios is doing quite well even with the challenging situations posed by the pandemic.

    Source: Twitter, The Numbers (Black Widow), The Numbers (Shang-Chi), The Numbers (Eternals)

  • Scarlett Johansson Working On A Top-Secret Project With Marvel Studios

    Scarlett Johansson Working On A Top-Secret Project With Marvel Studios

    It has looked fairly certain that Scarlett Johansson wouldn’t be working with Marvel Studios again anytime soon. Her version of Natasha Romanoff met her end in Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow recently released on Disney+. There are also others to continue the stories of the Widows and the Red Room. Variants of Natasha were introduced in What If…? and Yelena Belova suggested she would free the rest of the Widows across the world. So it comes as a surprise that Johansson is working on a top-secret Marvel Studios project already. 

    An awards ceremony seems the least likely place to hear of a new Marvel Studios project. The 35th American Cinematheque Award where Scarlett Johansson’s contribution and engagement in the industry was where this news was revealed. During a speech, Kevin Feige honored “Marvel Studios’ first and longest-running female hero.” He also praised Johansson’s producer skills saying she was the “first time an actor had also worked as a producer.” Towards the end of his remarks Feige revealed a bit of fun secret we can speculate on:

    “We already are working with Scarlett on non-Black Widow-related top-secret Marvel Studios project.”

    Kevin Feige

    So what is the project Marvel Studios and Scarlett Johansson are already working on? Feige noted it wasn’t a Black Widow-related project, though he could be referring in shorthand to Johansson’s Romanoff specifically. Deadline has reported Johansson will have a producing role on the upcoming project. Having produced Black Widow, it could be related to any of the characters in that film including Red Guardian, Melina Vostokoff, or Taskmaster. Maybe it could also be a Thunderbolts project involving Yelena Belova. It could potentially be an A-Force project, with Natasha almost certain not to be involved if that project went ahead. It’s exciting to think about the possibilities, given the small amount of information we have! 

    Sources: YouTube, Deadline

  • Jeremy Renner Comments on ‘Black Widow’ Post-Credits Scene

    Jeremy Renner Comments on ‘Black Widow’ Post-Credits Scene

    Even before the character was officially announced as part of the show, fans had a feeling that Marvel’s upcoming Hawkeye series would feature the next generation of Avenging Archer in Kate Bishop. What few people expected was for Hawkeye to also usher in the next generation of Black Widow. 

    It was revealed in December of last year that Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova would appear in the new Disney+ series after first debuting in Scarlett Johansson‘s long-delayed solo outing. The post-credits scene of Black Widow finally gave fans a reason why, with Belova’s character swearing revenge on Clint Barton for his supposed role in the death of her sister figure.

    During a recent interview with Variety, series star Jeremy Renner was asked about his reaction upon seeing the scene play out for the first time. His response was perhaps more light-hearted than some might have expected:

    Well, I was with my niece…and she said ‘Uncle Jeremy, what did you do?’ I didn’t do anything! I had no reaction, I was laughing at my niece.

    Jeremy Renner

    It was a very sweet non-answer from the actor, who has been playing in the Marvel sandbox long enough to know when he should keep his comments short. Nonetheless, it’s interesting to note Renner didn’t say he knew about the scene before watching Black Widow. The fact that he learned about it with his niece and the rest of the fanbase could be an indicator that Clint and Yelena’s interactions in Hawkeye won’t play out as most viewers expect.

    All will be revealed when Hawkeye begins airing it’s season on November 24th.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Black Widow’s Family Dinner Scene Almost Didn’t Happen

    ‘Black Widow’s Family Dinner Scene Almost Didn’t Happen

    Black Widow has recently been released on Disney+ for all subscribers to watch. The film finally gave Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff her own story to explore the past she believed she could leave behind. It introduced us to her extended family with Yelena Belova, Alexei Shostakov, and Melina Vostokoff. It explores this dysfunctional family and how their relationship continued to live on even after they had to flee the United States. It all culminated in one of the most memorable scenes of the entire film, but it seems it almost didn’t make it in.

    Director Cate Shortland sat down with Empire to discuss her work on the film and revealed that the famous dinner scene almost didn’t make it into the film. It seems they had a hard time nailing down the dynamic and considered taking it out. Yet, it was Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige who insisted that they keep it in. As she highlights:

    He doesn’t give you many directives, he’s very free. But that was a scene he really felt needed to be in the film, and Scarlett and I kept fighting him on it, saying, ‘How will this ever work?’ But it became a very alive thing. You’ve got this bunch of people shipwrecked together, who are still desperately trying to cling onto the roles that they had in Ohio, because that’s all they know. That’s all they have. And it’s beautiful for me

    Cate Shortland

    Considering it was one of the most emotionally resonant scenes in the film, it was great that Feige pushed for it to make it in. It’s the strange relationship that exists, as they saw each other as a family unit while living in Ohio. It was quickly ripped apart when their secret was uncovered and Alexei’s obsession with fame left a dent in their relationship. Now, they were trying to make amends before they face the Red Room together, as a family. The film might not have been the same without it.

    Source: Empire

  • Scarlett Johansson, Disney Settle ‘Black Widow’ Lawsuit

    Scarlett Johansson, Disney Settle ‘Black Widow’ Lawsuit

    Scarlett Johansson and Disney have settled the Black Widow lawsuit, with both parties stating they’re excited over future collaborations. Details of the settlement have not been made public.

    “I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” Johansson said in a statement. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.”

    “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow,” Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman said. “We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and look forward to working together on a number of upcoming projects, including Disney’s Tower of Terror.”

    Johansson filed suit against Disney back in July when the studio failed to work with her over her compensation for Black Widow. While she was paid $20 million for the film, Johansson was also due back ends based on the film’s box office numbers, which were impacted when Disney released the film in theaters and on Disney Plus Premiere Access the same day.

    Source: THR

  • 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

  • ‘BLACK WIDOW’ Lawsuit Continues As Scarlet Johansson’s Lawyer Calls Out Disney

    ‘BLACK WIDOW’ Lawsuit Continues As Scarlet Johansson’s Lawyer Calls Out Disney

    Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow lawsuit caught the world’s attention when she moved against Disney on their new release model through Disney+ Premier Access. Believing it undermined her film’s success, she made the bold move. After some public shouting matches, Disney made the first move towards the lawsuit with them starting an arbitration against the actress. Not only did it offer some more insight into the actual lawsuit but forced Disney’s hand to release their Disney+ income as a result.

    Black Widow“: Feminismus, Sexismus und Familientragödie – Marvel wird mutig (Kritik & Stream) - Rolling Stone

    So, the interesting aspect about this lawsuit is that it’s not against Marvel but Disney. It constitutes that Disney allegedly induced the Marvel division to breach the initial contract on a theatre-only release. As such, the subsidiary is excluded from the lawsuit. Johansson proclaims she was promised an exclusive release while Disney states that the film was made available on 9,000 screens with the contract only including above 1,500. Her attorney, John Berlinski, gave the following statement on Disney’s move:

    After initially, responding to this litigation with a misogynistic attack against Scarlett Johansson, Disney is now, predictably, trying to hide its misconduct in a confidential arbitration. Why is Disney so afraid of litigating this case in public? Because it knows that Marvel’s promises to give Black Widow a typical theatrical release ‘like its other films’ had everything to do with guaranteeing that Disney wouldn’t cannibalize box office receipts in order to boost Disney+ subscriptions. Yet that is exactly what happened – and we look forward to presenting the overwhelming evidence that provides it.

    John Berlinski

    The litigation did offer some insight into the film’s current standing on the Disney+ streaming service. Supposedly download retail and streaming garnered the film a total income of $125M. That is on top of the $367M that it made in theaters worldwide. So, the film currently stands at a strong $492M with it definitely passing the $500M mark if counting the streaming income. There is no certainty if it will release in China, which could boost it to pass the $600M mark.

    Black Widow« mit Scarlett Johansson: Dieser Film ist wie ein verdammt guter James Bond – ohne James Bond - DER SPIEGEL

    For now, the lawsuit is not a good look for Disney, as they push forward with this strategy. There was the highlight of the contract’s wording benefiting the company than its talent. Plus, the mention of a confirmation that it’ll release in theatres back in 2019 which was before COVID changed everything. Both sides are forced to represent their perspective. So, there’s no real “winner” in these kinds of scenarios. It’ll be curious to see if Disney can take the case out of the public eye moving forward.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter