When 2017’s Black Panther introduced Wakanda to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it became an instant sensation. Ever since, director Ryan Coogler has been hard at work on expanding the fictional nation’s corner of the Marvel world. A sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is almost in theaters. After that, Coogler will look ahead to the release of Ironheart on Disney+, a series which he is producing based on a character – Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams – debuting in his film, Wakanda Forever. On top of this, there are two more Disney+ projects reportedly in development from Coogler. One that’s set to delve into Wakanda and its people, and another that will tell the origin of Danai Gurira’s Okoye.
It’s possible that these shows are one-in-the-same, though this has yet to be confirmed or denied. In fact, not much has been said about these projects at all in the time since they were announced. That finally changed this past weekend. Speaking to Collider ahead of Wakanda Forever’s premiere, producer Nate Moore gave an update on the Wakanda series. Unfortunately, it would seem the show is still quite a ways off:
Because of the amount of time and attention that went into this film, and frankly the Ironheart show, that is probably not as far along as people want it to be, but there are certainly great ideas that we’re still talking to Ryan about. So, we’ll see how far we can get with it.
Nate Moore
The good news is that Coogler is putting a lot of time and care into the projects in front of him. The downside is that fans will have to wait much longer for anything else. That being said, Moore does not say the projects, or project, are dead. So, there’s no reason to panic yet.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11th. Ironheart lands in late 2023.
Heartstopper breakout Joe Locke is set to join the cast of Agatha: Coven of Chaos. The news was revealed by Variety, with the outlet reporting that details regarding Locke’s role are being kept under wraps. Locke joins Kathryn Hahn and Emma Caulfield Ford who will reprise their WandaVision roles of Agatha Harkness and Dottie, respectively.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos will mark the second television series Locke has starred in following Netflix’s mega-successful Heartstopper. That series was quickly renewed for Season 2 & 3 shortly after Season 1 was released. In that series, Locke stars as Charlie Spring, a gay teenager who falls in love with a popular classmate; it’s based on the webcomic and graphic novel Alice Oseman.
Coven of Chaos hails from WandaVision creator Jac Schaefer, who serves as the head writer and executive producer.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in talks to star in the Wonder Man series for Disney+ and Marvel Studios. The news was revealed on Monday by Deadline with the outlet reporting that the actor is officially in talks for the titular role. News of the actor’s casting comes after he was reported as being up for the role in the past few weeks.
Abdul-Mateen, who currently portrays DC’s Black Manta in the Aquaman films has also starred in HBO’s Watchmen, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Nia DaCosta‘s Candyman, and The Matrix Resurrections where he played Morpheus. He’s currently coming off the Suzan Lori Parks play Topdog/Underdog where he’s earned rave reviews for his performance. He’ll join the previously announced Ben Kingsleyin Wonder Man, who is set to reprise his role as Trevor Slattery.
Wonder Man hails from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton, who is executive producing the project, and Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), who will serve as the head writer on the series. While not yet set in stone, Cretton, who is also on board Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, could potentially direct an episode or more, too.
As of note, Wonder Man does not have a release date on Disney+.
We have gotten quite a few set photos from Ironheart throughout its production. that teases a different kind of series than what some might expect from a tech-based hero. While there are still quite a few details we don’t know about, the story direction seems to be mixing magic into Riri William’s everyday struggle as a heroine.
The latest set photos that have hit the web don’t show off much from the comics, but tease the friendship between Lyric Ross‘s Natalie Washington with Dominique Thorne‘s leading character. It seems that both are wearing jumpsuits of some kind, which could be hinting at both of them working on a project together potentially. It’s still unclear if this series will act as a direct follow-up to her appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
What makes these set photos so interesting is if we take a look at the character of Natalie Washington in the comics. She was Riri Williams’ best friend that tragically passes away early in her life. She would live on however as the AI in Riri’s Ironheart suit. Of course, there’s no word if the Disney+ series will follow the same direction as the comics, but there’s a possibility that they could explore a similar concept.
Her inclusion in the series opened many questions if we are seeing a flashback of some kind, or if the AI element isn’t something they will explore for Ironheart, as they would try to avoid too many similarities with Tony Stark. Of course, there’s always a chance that she is featured in flashbacks throughout the series and her loss could be what ties Riri to the Wakanda Forever theme of grief and loss.
Perhaps, it becomes the driving factor for her character in the series. It’s just a theory but that’s what can happen when set photos give us just enough of a glimpse to theorize what Marvel Studios may have planned for the character.
In 2020, before the onslaught of Marvel Studios’ fourth Phase truly began, the idea of minor side characters getting their own spin-offs was still a little absurd. Major supporting players had already been confirmed for semi-solo projects on Disney+ – mostly paired with related names – in the form of series like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but there had yet to be any announcements for shows like Agatha: Coven of Chaos that would indicate just how loose Marvel was willing to play it. This is why, at the time, it seemed like such a longshot when Dave Bautista revealed James Gunn had pitched a Guardians of the Galaxy spin-off film starring Drax and Pom Klementieff‘s Mantis to Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel.
Speaking with Collider in support of his movie My Spy, the former wrestler stated that he was interested in teaming with Gunn and Klementieff for a side project on top of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. His character and Klementieff‘s shared a surprising chemistry when they met in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Bautista felt Gunn was correct in wanting to mine that relationship for more gold. The revelation came after the actor was asked if he’d be willing to star in his own Disney+ series:
I wouldn’t do a series because Drax as a series would be really rough with the make-up and everything, it would just be too tough. What I would like to do is, honestly, and this is not my idea, I’m stealing this idea, James Gunn had the idea to do a Drax/Mantis movie, and that’s what I’d be up for because there’s just too much fun there.
True. But this was never ruled out. I still think it could be amazing.
James Gunn, in March of 2020
For a year following the news, not much was heard in the way of Drax and Mantis movie. However, there was movement on an entirely different Guardians of the Galaxy spin-off. At the 2020 Disney Investor’s Day presentation, only nine months after Bautista and Gunn had voiced their Drax-based desires, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was unveiled. Marvel pulled the curtain back on a short film, a new type of project they would later dub a ‘Special Presentation,’ that would be written and directed by Gunn for a holiday release, with Bautista, Klementieff, and the rest of the Guardians line-up returning for more intergalactic antics.
The mini-movie seemed to be a completely separate idea at first, something reinforced by more comments made by Bautista in 2021. In an interview with Digital Spy, after once again being asked about the status of a Drax/Mantis film, the Army of the Dead lead was far more pessimistic about the project’s chances of seeing the light of day:
There were talks for a while about a Drax and Mantis film. It was really because it was James Gunn’s idea. He really wanted to do a Drax and Mantis film. He laid it out to me. I thought it was such a brilliant idea, but I haven’t heard any follow-up from the studio. I don’t think they’re very interested, or it doesn’t fit into the way they have things mapped out…
Dave Bautista, in May of 2021
Bautista‘s remark about the studio not fitting the project into their schedule, once again, felt correct at the time. Marvel’s Multiverse Saga is jam-packed with new series, films, and special presentations, and a Drax/Mantis story falling by the wayside in the midst of it all was fully believable. After all, the Holiday Special had been in the works for a good while at that point, and it seemed logical that Bautista would know the extent of his character’s future by then. Furthermore, when the Holiday Special was first announced, Gunn had specifically stated on his social media that it was an idea he had in the tank for a very long while, making it appear as though the short and any other Guardians-related concept pitched in the year prior weren’t one-in-the-same:
One of my favorite stories ever, which I have bugged Kevin Feige endlessly about over the years. I can’t believe we’re actually doing this. And, yes, I unironically loved the Star Wars Holiday Special as a kid.
James Gunn, in December of 2020
In another tweet, posted months later, Gunn stated that he had outlined a treatment for the Holiday Special “years ago,” but had only just finished the actual script in April of 2021. Again, this felt completely innocuous and raised no suspicion among fans who might have been trying to speculate the special’s plot. With the script done, Gunn moved to work on Vol. 3, and the Holiday Special would not begin filming until February of 2022.
Then, just this month, the Holiday Special dropped its first round of marketing. The trailer, a hit with fans, showcased the short film’s plot – with Peter Quill sunk into a depression, Drax and Mantis decide they can brighten his Christmas by heading to Earth and kidnapping his childhood hero, Kevin Bacon. While the released footage features nearly every member of the Guardians, Drax and Mantis seem to get the most screen time, haplessly wreaking havoc across Los Angeles in their quest to bring home the Bacon. Additionally, the poster dropped by Marvel to accompany the teaser featured only two members of the titular team:
Drax and Mantis on the Holiday Special poster
Marvel Studios has a long history of repurposing unused ideas and concepts. It seems plausible that, with Marvel unwilling to play ball on a full-blown Drax/Mantis film, Gunn was able to combine the idea with his long-brewing Holiday Special. Although the creative has seemingly had the Special Presentation in mind for years, he did not actually develop its final script until after conceptualizing the Bautista/Klementieff vehicle. In theory, Gunn might have been able to increase Drax and Mantis’ roles in the special after seeing their spark in Vol. 2 and realizing they would not get another opportunity to star in a project together following Vol. 3. Bautista‘s 2021 claims that a Drax/Mantis movie was not happening predate filming by nearly a year and could have simply come from the fact the actor had yet to see the short’s script and was unaware it had largely become focused on himself and Klementieff. Or the Stuber star simply doesn’t consider the Holiday Special a true Drax/Mantis spin-off.
Of course, it’s also possible that none of this is true. It could just be that the Holiday Special organically shifted towards focusing on the featured duo as the story came together, or that the other Guardians play a much bigger role than the trailer suggests. Still, it’s fun to imagine that the Holiday Special is secretly the Drax/Mantis movie that Gunn has spent years asking for. Perhaps when he said he’d been bugging Feige about the Special for a long time, he didn’t mean the Holiday part specifically. Only time, and pure unwarranted speculation, will tell.
It looks like it didn’t take too long to confirm the recent rumor of a Vision Quest titled spinoff of WandaVision. This marks the second continuation of that storyline besides Agatha: House of Harkness, which would later be renamed to Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Paul Bettany will, of course, lead the project and it’ll be another series on Disney+ with the writers’ room confirmed to open next week. Jac Schaeffer, the showrunner for WandaVision, is overseeing the project but it’s unclear if she’ll once again take on the role.
It also seems that Deadline got its hands on some first story hints, as they share that it’ll follow Vision on his path to regaining his memories and humanity. With the writer’s room only opening soon, there is likely only the base concept. There are also expectations that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) may also appear, which would add weight to her surviving the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It seems that while Vision Quest is the likely title, it’s been given the codename “White Vision” due to the version that was introduced at the end of WandaVision.
We played around with the idea of a spinoff back in March of 2021, especially with how it is perfectly set up to further explore this new version of Vision. It’s unclear how this might tie into recent events but if a writer’s room is coming together, it may take Armor Wars‘ place and potentially lead into that project given Vision’s ties to Tony Stark. We’ll have to see once more information comes out from the project.
Ironheart is slowly building up momentum, as not only is the unique direction for the project grabbing quite a bit of attention but it’s also getting set up in the upcoming Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever. Surprisingly, many believed we wouldn’t see her fully realized armor until the Disney+ series, but early toy leaks hinted at her already getting her hands on it earlier than expected.
Yet, early set photos from Ironheart also hinted at her having other armors to play around with and a new image featuring the Disney+ productions wrap gifts hints at the design for two of the armors. Of course, we don’t know how many she may have access to, but it’s quite interesting that we see a grey design that may be the one leaked through the set photos alongside socks with the design that’s closer to her comic design. The images come courtesy of @ironhnews who shared them from one of the crew’s private Instagram account.
A member of the #Ironheart production team has shared new wrap gifts!
This gives us our first look at a faceplate for one of Riri’s newest Armors.
The faceplate on the hat looks like it would fit the design we saw in the first set photos from the Disney+ series. Perhaps she develops an armor that can tank some magic attacks, or she doesn’t have a fitting power source to keep her “main” suit running for long periods of time. So, she ends up experimenting to find the perfect way to make full use of her design. For now, we can only speculate but the more we see from this project, the more promising it gets.
Surprisingly, we’ve gotten quite a few set photos of the production of Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart. Continuing the story of Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams was expected to be a straightforward coming-of-age story focused on the world of technology. Yet, the more we hear about the project, it seems more and more like it’ll explore the conflicts between tech and magic. One of the reasons was the reveal that Anthony Ramos will take on the role of The Hood in the film.
We got a set photo of him in action before he was officially confirmed in the role by Marvel Studios, but it seems a new set photo has found its way online offering a new look at the actor. As shared by @ironhnews, we can see Ramos’ character chatting with someone while wearing his name-giving hood.
The set photo doesn’t reveal much, but it does hint that we’ll spend quite some time with The Hood. We don’t know if he’s a full-on antagonist in the project or may even be portrayed as an anti-hero. There is a lot we don’t know about the project and what direction they might be heading with the project, but it definitely is sounding like one to definitely keep a close eye on. Plus, there’s a good reason Thorne will debut her character in one of the biggest releases of the year with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
It looks like the Sanderson sisters put a hex on Disney+, as the Nielsen ratings have revealed that Hocus Pocus 2 has become Nielsen’s biggest-ever recorded opening. The film was watched a whopping 2.7 billion minutes after its September 30th premiere on the Disney-owned streaming platform. Not only is it quite a testament to the cult status of this film, but it also reveals that people were just waiting for a fun Halloween special. It does make you wonder if this is another proof of the power of legacy sequels in the modern market, or perhaps the urge for something different on the platform.
That isn’t the only record that was broken from the week of September 26th to October 2nd. Ryan Murphy‘s Jeffrey Dahmer series, Monster, once again took the top spot in the Nielsen Top 10 ratings with 4.4 billion minutes viewed. Not only is it a massive success for Netflix; even with the controversies surrounding the project, but it managed to break the previous record and is now the seventh most-streamed program within a single week.
It looks like it was a great week for the streaming market. Some have been pushing ongoing online wars on what “series is winning” the various weeks; most notably with the House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings debates, as well as people trying to prove personal beliefs on if She-Hulk: Attorney at Law‘s a success. Yet, direct comparisons between streaming services with unique viewership demographics and various KPI basis makes any direct comparisons nothing more than personal discussions rather than
As Disney further continues into the era of Bob Chapek serving as their CEO, more changes to the creative structure of the company appear to be on the way. It looks like one change that the head of Disney would like to see further discussed is for the company to broaden its programming into more adult-oriented content. Chapek went on record on the topic in relation to the company’s history of leaning more toward family-friendly content while talking with The Wall Street Journal.
I want to respect what this brand is. But at the same time, I know that we may be even more precious about what is ‘Disney’ than the consumer base is. If the consumer base has more elasticity, we probably ought to listen to our audience, which means we have more degrees of freedom than we probably thought.
Bob Chapek
This new direction from Chapek flies in the face of the old mentality of Bob Iger, his immediate predecessor. Ultimately, a shift to including more mature content would be a relatively rare concept in the history of Disney as a company. In terms of whether this will be an effective creative business strategy, it will of course come down to the quality of the projects themselves. The concept of making R or TV-MA-rated content has often been a false equivalence to “high quality” to some fans. For instance, a project like Andor has successfully been covering many serious themes in a mature way without pushing the needle toward a more explicit rating.
It will be interesting to follow if this loose edict will have any effect on future Marvel Studios projects. As of now, the only true “adult-oriented” content on the way from them includes Deadpool 3’s theatrical release in 2024 and the Marvel Zombies animated series heading to Disney+.
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