Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Disney Plus

  • First Logo, Tentative Release Date Revealed for Marvel Television’s ‘Wonder Man’

    First Logo, Tentative Release Date Revealed for Marvel Television’s ‘Wonder Man’

    A dozen years after The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron director Joss Whedon dismissed the character, Simon Williams’s time in the (Marvel) spotlight is almost here. Revealed to be in development in the summer of 2022, Marvel Studios Wonder Man streaming series has been shrouded so heavily in mystery that some fans have questioned its existence. Developed for Disney Plus by Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man 4 director Destin Daniel Cretton and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer Andrew Guest, the streaming series has never been included in any of Marvel Studios’ head honcho Kevin Feige’s convention presentations despite originally being slated for a late-2023 release.

    Pretty much everyone but Wonder Man. I never did figure out what he was for.

    -Joss Whedon on which Avengers he’d like to add to the roster of a sequel to 2012’s The Avengers

    In early 2023, Marvel exec Stephen Broussard confirmed the series’ development, saying, “Destin is doing a television show for us called Wonder Man,” before joking that, “I think that’s out there in the world.”With Yaha Abdul-Mateen II set to lead the series as the eponymous character, Wonder Man began principal photography in Los Angeles in the spring of 2023 with Just Mercy director of photography Brett Pawlak charged with crafting its aesthetic. However, as the Hollywood writers’ strike grew, Marvel Studios was forced to halt production on the series. Following the timeout, which saw some Marvel Studios rethink their approach to streaming series, production resumed on Wonder Man under the Marvel Spotlight banner and then quietly wrapped with no word from the studio on when it may see the light of day. Now it seems as though the studio might have some idea of when it’ll be Simon Williams’ turn to shine.

    As per the Disney All Acess for the project, Wonder Man is tentatively scheduled to stream on Disney Plus in December 2025.
    wonder man series

    Based on the character of Wonder Man, one of Marvel’s oldest characters, first introduced in 1964 in the pages of Avengers No 9. Known as Simon Williams, a celebrity actor and stuntman. In a nutshell, it is a story of two actors struggling to make it in the Hollywood of the MCU, [asking] the big question what does Hollywood look like in a world where super heroes are real?

    –Reported logline for Marvel Television’s Wonder Man

    Given Marvel Studios’ current plan to slow the development and release of Marvel Television’s streaming series, a 2025 release for Wonder Man is a pleasant surprise. With Daredevil: Born Again debuting on D+ on March 4, 2025 and Ironheart expected later in the year, Wonder Man, which was expected by many to kick off the streamer’s 2026 slate, would become the third streaming series of the year.

    [Wonder Man will] be definitely influenced by the comics. One of the things that we’re excited about it is that it’s going to feel very unique. It’s not going to feel like anything you’ve quite seen in the MCU before. And the kind of stories we can tell on Disney+, which has been fun. Like streaming, serialized storytelling is a totally different muscle. So, we’re having a blast making that one.

    –Marvel Parliament member Stephen Broussard

    In addition to Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man will also see Ben Kingsley return as Trevor Slattery and feature Demetrius Grosse as Eric Williams, the villainous Grim Reaper and the brother of Simon. Ed Harris, Josh Gad, Lauren Glazier and Werner Herzog were also reportedly added to the cast of the series which is being helmed by a team of directors including Stella Meghie and James Ponsoldt.

  • Marvel Studios Adds Two Projects to Its 2026 Slate

    Marvel Studios Adds Two Projects to Its 2026 Slate

    Coming out of the 2024 summer convention circuit, Marvel Studios’ plans for 2026 were almost a complete mystery. Short of Avengers: Doomsday being slotted in for a May 1st release, the studio’s schedule was mostly the subject of speculation. However, over the course of a few hours, that’s all changed as a pair of projects have been tabbed by the trades as having been slated for release in 2026.

    Shortly after the news that Sony set Spider-Man 4 for a July 24th release, a trade report indicated that another Avenger is set to join the fray with a solo project in 2026. According to THR, Paul Bettany‘s untitled Vision streaming series is “reportedly set to arrive on Disney + in 2026.”

    While at the premiere of his new film Here, Bettany was asked about the Vision series, which will see him return to the role for the first time since 2021’s WandaVision. “We’re cooking up something that I’m really excited about,” said Bettany before adding that “snitches end up in ditches” and refusing further comment.

    Marvel’s 2026 Theatrical Slate

    As it stands, there will be four MCU-set films in theaters in 2026. However, at this time only Avengers: Doomsday and the Untitled Sony/Marvel Studios Spidey collaboration have been identified. Marvel Studios still has stakes placed in the ground on February 13th and November 6th although it’s unclear what projects will occupy those dates.

    Our most recent best guess was that the studio would continue to try to have Blade ready to get in front of cameras early in 2025 and in theaters for February 2026. That said, it’s easy for Disney to continue to kick that can down the road until the project is ready and eventually choose another date.

    • February 13, 2026 (Untitled Marvel Studios)
    • May 1, 2026 (Avengers: Doomsday)
    • July 24, 2026 (Untitled Sony/Marvel Studios Spider-Man sequel)
    • November 6, 2026 (Untitled Marvel Studios)

    Marvel’s 2026 Streaming Slate

    Since debuting on the streaming service in 2021 with WandaVision, Marvel Studios has been notoriously stingy with details about release dates for Disney Plus projects. At this time, the only known release date for an upcoming project is Daredevil: Born Again‘s planned March 4, 2025 premiere which was just revealed. Ironheart, which has been in the can for some time, is expected to join Born Again on the 2025 release slate though Disney has not officially confirmed a release window. Keeping all that in mind, it’s hardly surprising that there’s no official word about what projects will stream in 2026 but it’s not incredibly difficult to take some educated guesses.

    Though it has yet to be included in any of Marvel Studios’ presentations, Wonder Man completed production some time ago and with the studio slowing the rate at which its streaming series release, it’s likely to be the first live-action series on Disney Plus in 2026. With Bettany confirming that production on Vision is set to get underway next year (earlier reports have indicated that it should kick off in the UK in July) it’s possible it will be ready for release in late 2026.

    • First half of 2026 (Wonder Man)
    • Second half of 2026 (Untitled Vision series)

    Obviously this does not include any of a number of animated series being developed at the studio. In the case of those projects, any sort of predictions feel unsafe given that two series set for release by Disney in 2024 are apparently no longer on the docket.

    Source: THR

  • Marvel Studios Reveals Official Synopsis, Rating and Premiere Date for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ at NYCC

    Marvel Studios Reveals Official Synopsis, Rating and Premiere Date for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ at NYCC

    New York Comic Con ’24 is in full swing and while Marvel Studios has not typically used the convention to promote projects, they took full advantage of being on Daredevil’s home turf. In a surprise move, Daredevil: Born Again stars Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio were in attendance as the studio showed a trailer for the first season of the new Disney Plus streaming series and officially revealed the premiere date as well as a new synopsis and the rating every Netflix fan had been hoping for.

    Though it has been known for some time that Daredevil: Born Again was set to debut in March 2025, today’s NYCC presentation revealed that the series, which received a TV-MA rating, will hit Disney Plus on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025.
    NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 19: Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox speaks onstage during the Marvel Fanfare with C.B. Cebulski at New York Comic Con at Javits Center on October 19, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Disney)

    In Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox), a blind lawyer with heightened abilities is fighting for justice through his bustling law firm, while former mob boss Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) pursues his own political endeavors in New York. When their past identities begin to emerge, both men find themselves on an inevitable collision course.

    -Official synopsis for Daredevil: Born Again

    Additionally, Marvel Studios released a partial list of cast members for the project, confirming the return of many veterans of the Netflix series. Joining Cox and D’Onofrio in the series are Margarita Levieva, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Michael Gandolfini, with Ayelet Zurer and Jon Bernthal.

    Following a creative overhaul, Dario Scardapane took over as showrunner for the series which will be directed by a team of directors made up of the duo of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead as well as Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd.

  • ‘Agatha All Along’: Teen’s Big Episode 6 Origin Reveal Explained

    ‘Agatha All Along’: Teen’s Big Episode 6 Origin Reveal Explained

    Through its first six episodes, Marvel Studios’ first WandaVision spinoff, Agatha All Along, has been nothing short of spellbinding. In Episode 5, “Darkest Hour/Wake They Power”, creator Jac Schaeffer revealed that Joe Locke‘s unassuming Teen was actually Wanda Maximoff’s son, Billy. Though it was certainly not a surprise to hardcore fans of either the MCU or Marvel Comics, general audiences who don’t read comics or scour the internet for every leak, rumor and scoop may have found themselves not only surprised but a little confused about how Earth-616 Billy, who disappeared when Wanda undid The Hex, could be alive and rather well. More multiversal shenanigans? More magic? Fortunately, the wait to find out was not a long one as Episode 6, “Familiar By Thy Side”, set out to explain the previous episode’s twist.

    Though the big Billy reveal was indeed part of multiple and widespread leaks about Agatha All Along, the “how” of it all was not necessarily front-page news. And as is Marvel Studios’ way, Schaeffer chose not to follow along step-by-step with the way Marvel Comics handled Billy Maximoff’s “rebirth”, opting to create a more connected in-universe option. For those who haven’t seen it yet or find themselves a little confused, let’s look at how it all went down.

    Teen (Joe Locke) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024

    Even if the mechanics of it all aren’t quite clear right away, the bare bones explanation for what’s going on is that just as Billy Maximoff and his brother, Tommy, disappeared as their mother ended the hex that created them, a teenager named William Kaplan (Locke) was killed in a single car accident. As Kaplan’s soul left his body, Billy’s soul moved into the “empty vessel” and as the body reanimated, it was Billy behind the wheel.

    As he explains in the episode, Billy has none of William Kaplan’s memories and has been essentially posing as the teen for three years, a stranger within the body of another person. Interestingly enough, Billy retained the psionic powers he displayed in WandaVision while also, obviously, learning spellcraft along the way.

    Moving forward, it should be clear that Locke’s Teen is truly Billy Maximoff wearing the skinsuit of William Kaplan. How the studio will choose to proceed with identifying the character is already a topic of conversation among Marvel Comics fans with the very simple solution of calling him Billy Kaplan deemed as a solid compromise. Whatever the case, it’s now clear that Locke’s character has a future beyond Agatha All Along, though with the studio taking its time producing new streaming series, it could be years until we see the next chapter.

  • Marvel Studios Officially Reveals the Identity of Joe Locke’s Teen

    Marvel Studios Officially Reveals the Identity of Joe Locke’s Teen

    For MCU fans who are also comic book fans or those who spend a great deal of time online, the identity of Joe Locke‘s Teen was never truly a mystery over the first 5 episodes of Agatha All Along. More casual fans, however, may have found themselves a bit more engaged in the series’ fun teases that led to the revelation in Episode 5 that Teen was a powerful witch in his own right. While the episode’s ending, which showed Teen in a magical blue crown, was all the confirmation most fans needed of who Locke was playing, Marvel Studios has erased all doubt ahead of Episode 6.

    In a post shared across its various social media platforms, Marvel Studios has confirmed that Locke is playing Billy Maximoff, the son of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch!

    Though the secret was out long ago, series’ creator Jac Schaeffer and the writing room did an admirable job of attempting to lead the audience in other directions. Those misdirects worked so well that, according to Locke, the majority of fans missed a tease that linked his character to Wanda in one of the series’ earlier episodes: his mother’s crown stitched into the back of his sweater.

    You can do the most unsurprising thing in the most surprising way, and that’s how you hook an audience.

    -Joe Locke on his character reveal in Agatha All Along

    As the series heads into the back half, Locke, now free from the stress of keeping secrets, teases how the shift in power dynamics will play a major role moving forward. “The show starts with Billy being very much the familiar, the secondary to all the witches. Now we know he is also a witch, and that changes things,” explained Locke. “Also, we now know that he has the ability to cause harm to them. Therefore, he is now the most powerful person on the Road. What does that change in the dynamic of the group and how does that change the future of those relationships?“

    Just how powerful is the most powerful person on the Road? Fans of the comics may have already figured that out and given the character’s ability in the comics to manipulate reality, they may well be right…

    Source: EW

  • ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’: Meet The Resistance

    ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’: Meet The Resistance

    With Deadpool & Wolverine now available digitally after a record-breaking theatrical run, some fans are catching the buddy comedy for the first time from the comfort of their home theater. Though Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are the film’s stars and the ones out to save the day, they get plenty of help from a surprising group of heroes.

    Despite being made by Marvel Studios and containing a scene set in the MCU’s Sacred Timeline, most of Deadpool & Wolverine takes place on Earth-10005, multiple other Earths across the Multiverse or in The Void at the End of Time. While there’s plenty of fun had as Wade hops from Earth to Earth in search of the right Wolverine for the job, it’s in The Void where the film really flexes its creativity, bringing in a ragtag team of washed up heroes known as The Resistance. The Resistance generated a lot of buzz during the film’s theatrical run and is likely to do so again as the project’s second life begins. So, who are the characters who make up The Resistance and why are they there? Let’s take a look!

    The Members of The Resistance

    Johnny Storm/The Human Torch

    Played by: Chris Evans

    References: Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

    The first member of The Resistance met by Wade and Logan, Johnny Storm also meets a horrible fate at the freaky hands of Cassandra Nova. The film cleverly exploited Evans‘ return, baiting the audience into believing they might be seeing the triumphant return of Captain America. While that didn’t turn out to be the case, Evans gave Johnny a proper sendoff which includes a profanity-laced tirade for the ages.

    Thank you to Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy for letting me be a part of such an incredible movie! They’re three of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Special thank you to Ryan for making it all happen. Playing Johnny again was a dream come true and he’ll always have a special place in my heart.

    Chris Evans

    Elektra Natchios

    Played by: Jennifer Garner

    References: Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005)

    After debuting as the character along Ben Affleck‘s Matt Murdock/Daredevil in 2003 and leading an Elektra film in 2005,  Jennifer Garner suited back up as the assassin almost 20 years later and didn’t miss a beat.

    I didn’t know that Elektra and I needed an ending, but Shawn and Ryan did. They are gifted in many ways, but seeing and elevating people around them is at the top of the list.

    Jennifer Garner

    Eric Brooks/Blade

    Played by: Wesley Snipes

    References: Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004)

    A decade before the MCU kicked off with Iron Man, Wesley Snipes brought Blade the Vampire Hunter to the big screen, lending legitimacy to superhero properties and changing the pop culture landscape forever. Despite Reynolds and Snipes having a fairly well-known feud with one another while filming Blade: Trinity, Reynolds reached out and the two found a way to not only bring Blade back but give him the proper send-off he never got.

    Well, if you can make it happen. Sure. I’ll come and do it. I did not think it was possible. I didn’t think he would be able to pull it off. I didn’t think that Marvel was into it. Disney was into it.

    Wesley Snipes

    Remy LeBeau/Gambit

    Played by: Channing Tatum

    Reference: None

    Though a version of Gambit appeared in the absolutely awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, there’s little more to the story of this particular version portrayed by Channing Tatum. When Disney and Fox merged in 2019, Tatum’s long-developing Gambit film went by the wayside as the Fox X-Men franchise was euthanized. Tatum’s passion for the character came through in Deadpool & Wolverine, leading for fans to call for his return as the Cajun down the road.

    I thought I had lost Gambit forever.

    -Channing Tatum

    Laura/X-23

    Played by: Dafne Keen

    Reference: Logan (2017)

    Dafne Keen first starred as X-23, a clone of Wolverine, in 2017’s Logan and instantly became a fan favorite. While her return to the character was rumored months ahead of the film’s premiere, Keen kept the secret from almost everyone. Unlike the other members of The Resistance, Laura eventually ended up on Earth-10005, seemingly promising more in store for the character in the MCU.

    Shawn [Levy] told me this lovely story about him reading this scene where Deadpool was telling Wolverine about X–23, and thinking, ‘Maybe we should just have X-23.’ She’s a big emotional motor for Wolverine, and Wolverine is her entire emotional motor.

    Dafne Keen

    Deadpool & Wolverine is now available for purchase on digital platforms.

    Sources: Variety, THR, Deadline

  • Lucasfilm Reportedly Planning to Introduce Popular Star Wars Character into a D+ Streaming Series

    Lucasfilm Reportedly Planning to Introduce Popular Star Wars Character into a D+ Streaming Series

    Though Lucasfilm chose not to renew their most recent Star Wars streaming series, The Acolyte, the studio’s Disney Plus projects have certainly been an overall success. Andor remains the crown jewel of the bunch but live-action projects such as The Mandalorian and Ahsoka have also been generally well received as have animated series like The Bad Batch and Tales. Under new Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni‘s watch, Lucasfilm has not hesitated to bring animated characters to live action or to cross over into Legends continuity or pull from other canon media to borrow characters or ideas to help flesh out their D+ series and it sounds as though the studio is planning to do it again.

    According to trusted insider Daniel RPK, Lucasfilm is preparing to use Jedi Cal Kestis in an upcoming Disney Plus series. A survivor of Order 66, Kestis first appeared in the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and then again in its sequel, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

    I’ve seen a lot of chatter online about that. It could be really interesting. It’s not something that’s front and center right at the moment, but what’s interesting in the company that we do is that everybody across all these different lines of business, we all talk to one another. That often doesn’t happen in situations like this, but because so many of the people at Lucasfilm, are used to working together, we’re very transparent about what the storytelling is that’s going on — whether it’s in the streaming space or the movie space, or books, animation games, whatever it is. Eventually, it’ll be some kind of immersive entertainment.

    -Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy on the possibility of Cal Kestis appearing in a live-action Star Wars project, EW, April 2023

    Due to the popularity of the gaming franchise, Kestis is an incredibly well-loved character and one that fans have hoped would appear in a live-action project for quite some time now. The buzz around fans’ hopes grew so loud that it reached the ears of Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, who during Star Wars Celebration 2023 teased the possibility saying “There are many things we talk about just in terms of how we use technology with ILM inside the company. So this constant cross-pollination of ideas to determine just exactly what stories move into the movie space, what stories move into the TV space — you never know, because the creative process is very similar in all of those different spaces. And so you don’t have a crystal ball. You see what works, and then if it does, you draw from that.“

    Though it sounds as though the plan is for a live-action debut for the character, no mention of a particular project was made. Kestis is a human character whose canon adventures in the video games occur around 9 BBY. While it’s not clearly defined, Kestis would be in his early to mid-40s in the New Republic era that is currently unfolding on Disney Plus. Whether it is relevant or not, actor Cameron Monaghan, who portrayed Kestis in the games, is 31 years old, making it entirely reasonable that he might appear in something like Skeleton Crew or Season 2 of Ahsoka, which Filoni is currently writing.

    Source: EW

  • Speak of the Devil: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 3 Lays Bare Its Bad Witch’s Shocking Secret

    Speak of the Devil: ‘Agatha All Along’ Episode 3 Lays Bare Its Bad Witch’s Shocking Secret

    Despite being the lead character of a Disney Plus series, Agatha Harkness is no hero. Kathryn Hahn‘s wicked witch with over 300 years of dirty deeds to her credit. Flashbacks in WandaVision revealed that in the 1690s, Agatha broke the rules of her coven by practicing dark magic. Accused and put on trial by the coven’s leader, her mother, Evanora, Agatha revealed the extent of her abilities by absorbing the powers of all the other witches and killing them all, including her mother. She done a bad, bad thing…but unfortunately, as revealed in the third episode of Agatha All Along, “Through Many Miles of Tricks and Trials”, she was just getting started.

    Episode 3 pits Agatha and her coven of chaos against the first of their many trials as they walk the Witches’ Road and, according to series’ creator Jac Schaeffer‘s grand design, lays bare each witch’s worst nightmare. While the house by the sea is technically where Jennifer Kale’s trial as a potions witch is held, a little is revealed about each member of the coven after they drink the wine poisoned with Alewife’s Revenge and begin to hallucinate. Working to locate the ingredients for an antidote for the poison, everyone who drank the wine is forced to relive her worst nightmare and for Agatha it’s a shocking revelation that lays bare the depths of her depravity and lust for power…and one that likely explains not only why the rest of the witches don’t trust her but also why Rio is rip roaring angry with her and wants her dead.

    (L-R): Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata) and Teen (Joe Locke) in Marvel Television’s AGATHA ALL ALONG, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. © 2024 MARVEL.

    Dating back to WandaVision, there have been plenty of teases–both subtle and not-so-subtle–about Agatha’s comic book son, Nicholas Scratch. From the bunny she called Senor Scratchy to the child having an empty room in the house her spellbound persona Detective Agnes O’Connor inhabits, Agatha’s son has made quite an impression by NOT being there. And now we know why. As shared with Teen by Jennifer Kale and confirmed by Agatha’s hallucination, Agatha traded her son to Mephisto in order to acquire the Darkhold. Kale’s story alludes to the possibility that Teen may well be Scratch but we all know that’s just more misdirection but it does help make clear why Agatha has been so protective of the character: even she’s not sure how her own son might look. At this point, Agatha seems pretty irredeemable and there’s really no longer any reason to wonder why Rio–obviously a former lover of Agatha’s–wants her dead. It would seem Scratch wasn’t Agatha’s son but the son of both Agatha and Rio.

    With these shows, so often there is something that is at once a joke and a wink and a nod, and actually has something legitimate underneath it. As we all know, Mephisto is a character who’s very wrapped into Agatha’s storyline. I mean, people have to watch, but we’re always playing with the audience in that way.

    -Jac Schaeffer on Mephisto’s role in Agatha All Along, EW, September 25, 2024

    While theorists who’ve been claiming for the past three years that Mephisto will show up in every MCU project can finally thump their chests at the name drop, the search for Scratch continues. In the comics, Scratch went on to father the members of the Salem’s Seven. That spooky group of shape-shifting freaks showed up in Episode 2 but don’t expect them to be Agatha’s grandkids in the MCU. Once Mephisto has his claws in someone, it’s typically for good but who knows exactly what becomes of a baby raised by a Class Two demon? Maybe we’ll find out at the end of the Witches’ Road.

    Source: EW

    AGATHA ALL ALONG. © 2024 MARVEL.
  • One of Marvel Studios’ Highest-Rated Series Reportedly Facing a Major Season 2 Slowdown

    One of Marvel Studios’ Highest-Rated Series Reportedly Facing a Major Season 2 Slowdown

    After a rough 2023, Marvel Studios turned to the X-Men to help reclaim its position at pop culture’s top dog in 2024. Deadpool & Wolverine was always expected to do big business at the box office (and it did just that, currently sitting as the 5th highest-grossing MCU project of all time) but it was another X-Men project that provided a spark of renewed hope when the studio needed it most.

    While Deadpool & Wolverine landed as expected, Marvel Studios’ animated streaming series, X-Men ’97, delivered more than anyone could have hoped, immediately capturing its audience and holding onto it over its 10-episode run. The animated revival, dripping with nostalgia, showed fans just what stories about the band of mutant heroes can be and left fans on the edge with its season-finale cliffhanger. In the wake of the finale, the studio shared encouraging news that Season 2 wouldn’t be too far off but now, a new report brings some potential bad tidings on that front.

    According to Nexus Point News, Season 2 of X-Men ’97 is unlikely to hit Disney Plus before 2026, citing changes to the story following the firing of showrunner Beau DeMayo earlier this year.
    (L-R): Beast (voiced by George Buza), Roberto Da Costa (voiced by Gui Agustini), Jubilee (voiced by Holly Chou), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), and Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

    Before his dismissal, DeMayo had completed work on the scripts for the sophomore season and had outlined a 5-season plan for the series which he teased involved the villain Onslaught and an adaptation of the revered Age of Apocalypse Marvel Comics crossover event. Ms. Marvel and What If…? scribe Matthew Chauncey landed the job as the new head writer of the series and while his duties were expected to begin with Season 3, NPN reports he is now rewriting DeMayo’s drafts for Season 2.

    Earlier this year, it was reported that Season 2 of X-Men ’97 was in post-production and eyeing a 2025 debut on D+. However, in May, Marvel TV and Animation head honcho Brad Winderbaum cautioned fans to exercise patience, saying the series was “still in animatic phase“, adding that “animation takes so long to make.” Should this new report hold true, it looks like fans will have to exhibit a bit more patience than they’d probably care to do.

    Source: Nexus Point News

  • Marvel TV Boss Finally Addresses Long-Standing ‘Ghost Rider’ Rumors

    Marvel TV Boss Finally Addresses Long-Standing ‘Ghost Rider’ Rumors

    While the events of Agatha All Along spin out of Marvel Studios’ first streaming series, WandaVision, the new Marvel Television also plays as a bit of a spiritual successor to Werewolf By Night. Darker and spookier than WandaVision, Agatha All Along examines witchcraft through a far more supernatural lens than its predecessor, embracing old-school horror in a way reminiscent of Michael Giacchino‘s 2022 Special Presentation. Curses, demons, ghosts, haunted houses and more await Agatha’s coven of chaos, fleshing out the MCU’s supernatural corner in a way no project other than Werewolf By Night has done.

    While choosing Agatha All Along as the vehicle to explore the supernatural world further, that exploration is something that Marvel Studios has been rumored to have an interest in for years. In addition to the studio’s struggling Blade feature film, rumors have suggested that development on projects such as Midnight Sons and Ghost Rider has been underway at different points in time over the past several years.

    In the case of Ghost Rider, rumors have ranged from the studio having lined up The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus to portray Johnny Blaze to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Gabriel Luna jumping to the MCU to reprise the role of Robbie Reyes to Nicholas Cage making a cameo appearance as the character in Deadpool & Wolverine. To date, of course, there’s been nary a Ghost Rider to be found but that may change soon if Marvel’s head of streaming, television and animation, Brad Winderbaum, gets his way.

    In an interview with Collider, Winderbaum revealed that if he had the option to green light one Marvel Television streaming series, it would indeed be Ghost Rider; however, there’s a catch…

    “I would wanna do the Danny Ketch era of Ghost Rider,” revealed Winderbaum. “I think there are a lot of people who would be here for some Ghost Rider.“

    On Winderbaum’s last point, there can be no doubt. While any version of Ghost Rider may never be one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters, the character’s aesthetic is inarguably one of their most iconic. And while Blaze was the comic’s OG Ghost Rider, he’s hardly the only character to house the Spirit of Vengeance. And while Winderbaum’s choice to focus on Ketch may catch some fans by surprise, it would certainly not preclude Blaze from making his MCU debut. Indeed, making Ketch the lead of a Ghost Rider series almost certainly means that Blaze, who is Ketch’s brother, plays some role.

    Of course with Winderbaum continuing to trot out the company line that Marvel Television is developing more projects than it intended to produce, don’t start your Hell Cycle engines just yet on that Ketch-focused Ghost Rider series ever being more than an idea than a reality.

    Source: Collider