It looks like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been a big release on Disney+ even while it’s still available in theaters. The film has been building up quite a bit over the last few weeks in cinemas, as it’s likely to end its run with at least $950M. While it isn’t a billion, it’s quite the jump from the previous entry and further proves that Marvel Studios has a hold at the box office. Now, they also released the film on Disney+ to grab a home audience and it looks like the film performed quite well.
According to a study by Samba TV, a third-party analytics company, the film pulled in 2.1M US households that watched the Doctor Strange sequel in its first 5 days of streaming. To put it in perspective, SambaTV reported that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Teen Rings pulled in around 1.7M viewers back in November. Eternals also pulled in a strong 2M which now puts Doctor Strange on top with 2.1M.
It needs to be pointed out that this value is only a temporary look and might not truly represent how these projects are truly performing. Still, from a third-party perspective, it does seem like the project is doing quite well. 2M viewership seems to be the core audience for Marvel films, which is a curious benchmark for future projects. These numbers could be quite a bit higher due to it relying on Samba TV’s household panels but it at least offers us a little glimpse of how our favorite projects are performing.
The news comes courtesy of Variety, with the outlet revealing the Hacks breakout has nabbed a guest role in the forthcoming series. She joins a cast that includes the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, and Ke Huy Quan. Liu will portray Princess Iron Fan, a character described as “enchanting” and having magical powers.
The Disney+ series, American Born Chinese, is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. It follows Jin Wang, who’ll be played by Ben Wang, who is described as a high schooler trying to juggle a social life with his immigrant home life. After meeting a foreign exchange student named Wei-Chen, played by Jim Liu, the duo soon see their worlds colliding as Jin soon finds himself in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.
Liu, who first broke out with the role of Kiki on the HBO Max series, Hacks, is building a busy resume. Along with American Born Chinese, Liu is confirmed to appear in the AMC anthology series, Tales of the Walking Dead, as well as the Amazon series adaptation of Dead Ringers. Outside of Hacks, she has previously appeared in shows like Better Call Saul and Hulu’s recently canceled Dollface.
American Born Chinese hails from writer and showrunner Kelvin Yu, as well as Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), who’ll serve as a director and executive producer on the series.
The beginning of Episode 3, titled “Destined”, brought forth a lot of information supposedly explaining much of Kamala’s origin and background. Najma, Kamran’s mother and the woman Kamala had visions of, tells Kamala that she and Kamala’s great-grandmother Aishia were not human. Specifically, Najma claims that she and some others she appears to live with are actually Djinn, who were exiled from their home Noor dimension. She states that they are called many names, including Clandestines.
The explanation of who Djinn are that we get in Episode 3 of Ms. Marvel is pretty sparing. Kamala’s dad reads Bruno’s research, which says that Djinn are mythological beings of pre-Islamic folklore, sometimes referred to as genies. We also know from references throughout the series that Djinn seem to be viewed as demons to the superstitious, including Kamala.
Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel Episode 3
Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel Episode 3
There are still a lot of questions about the group, but they appear to be a patchwork group of loosely-related Djinn who live together. It is unclear if anyone is closely related other than Kamran and his mother, but there is a clear theme of family and belonging within the Clandestines which Najma uses to manipulate Kamala.
ClanDestine in the Comics
ClanDestine #1 (2008)
The Clandestines of Ms. Marvel are clearly influenced by the ClanDestine comics, although ClanDestine seems to provide minimal inspiration rather than being directly adapted into live-action. In the comics, ClanDestine is a large, kind of odd family comprised of the progeny of Adam Destine and a being named Elayath. All of their children inherited superhuman abilities of some kind. Adam himself is immortal and many of the children are decades or centuries apart in age.
The family primarily sought to operate in secret rather than identifying themselves as super-powered beings or superheroes, though certain members try to follow this path. ClanDestine stories in the comics are driven by family conflict, such as when Adam killed his son Victor because he believed he had become evil.
ClanDestine #5 (1994)
ClanDestine #5 (1994)
ClanDestine #5 (1994)
The clear connection that the makers of Ms. Marvel made to ClanDestine is that the matriarch, Elayath, is a Djinn. Adam freed her from a wizard that had trapped her in a jewel around 1200 A.D. In return, she granted him his immortality and invulnerability.
Why Would Ms. Marvel Adapt ClanDestine?
ClanDestine #12 (1995)
The comics’ ClanDestines and Ms. Marvel’s Clandestines seem extremely different in history, nature, and group members. The connection between the two seems to boil down simply to the name and the Djinn aspect. Even so, how the two groups incorporate Djinn is entirely different, as ClanDestine is a family descended from a single Djinn, whereas the Clandestines in the show appear to all be a type of being, known as Djinn, from another dimension.
Why would Marvel make this connection between an extremely obscure group from the comics and a very different group in live-action? It all likely comes down to the series attempting to give Kamala’s background and origin the same type of explanation as her Inhuman heritage in the comics. Everything in the series suggests that Marvel Studios wants to mimic Kamala’s comic story without invoking Inhumans. So, in Ms. Marvel, the Clandestines are a family-like group of super-powered, or at least mystical, beings that Kamala is related to in some way, similar to her relationship to Inhumans in the comics.
Ms. Marvel #7 (2014)
That connection is relatively obvious, but the series clearly wanted that familial theme to be tied to Kamala’s religious and cultural heritage. This leads, of course, to using beings of pre-Islamic folklore, Djinn, as an option to explain why Kamala is more than human. There is very little comic basis for this, but ClanDestine happens to already contain those essential elements of Kamala’s story in Ms. Marvel.
Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel Episode 3
To be fair, Najma’s explanation of the Clandestines should be taken with a grain of salt given the fact that she is a clear villain and there is not much evidence yet to back up her claims. Still, Ms. Marvel certainly made a bold creative choice in adapting ClanDestine from the comics to build Kamala’s Khan’s story.
The first three episodes of Ms. Marvel are now streaming on Disney+.
Ms. Marvel has been quite the standout in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only does it offer a window into the life of Muslim-Americans with the touch that many have wanted from these kinds of stories, but also one of the visual standouts in the franchise. While the series may be the most down-to-earth for the franchise, Ms. Marvel‘s sound mixer Chris Giles teases the final episodes as “dynamic” in an interview with The Direct.
In the interview, he especially highlights how the later episodes will be “touching on things that a lot of Westerners may not even be aware” of and it may offer a culturally relevant backstory that we haven’t seen yet in the MCU.
The standout ones will be, somewhere in my mind, for me, will be later in the series. Because we start touching on things that a lot of Westerners may not even be aware of existing. Maybe if you follow the canon of Ms. Marvel and a few other things, you might be able to kind of piece it together and figure some of this out. But I’m fascinated that there are some stories that are going to be told through this medium. And it’s kind of to me, it’s backstories, it’s sort of things that help develop these characters.
Chris Giles
He also goes on to highlight how this new series format offers a way to further explore the origin stories of the characters and continues to tease that “some really, really cool things coming” our way in the Disney+ series.
Because, you know, Marvel gets critiqued a lot for, oh, there’s no character development, oh, it’s just flashing and banging and blowing things up, and this and that. Especially these episodic streaming projects, they’re able to flesh out a lot of backstories. So, whenever you do greet them on the big screen, you’re like, oh, I was able to read up on such and so, this is why they are at, you know, an adversary to this other person that I thought was a good person or bad guy, or whatever the case is. No, there are some really, really cool things coming.
Chris Giles
What stood out in the interview is that he also teases a “dynamic differently” direction as the backstory is further explored. The last episode already offered us a glimpse into a very surprising new direction with Ms. Marvel’s origin and we may get a better look as more puzzle pieces fall into place moving foward.
I can’t say. When they start building more of the backstory, it gets more dynamic differently than I think a lot of MCU things have typically. So, if nothing else, because it’s different. It stands out in my mind. I hope it translates to the audience because we can perceive it one way, because we’ve read the scripts we’ve been through the process. And we can applaud our ways all the way to release. But, until the audience sees it, you have no idea if it registers, or if it speaks to people. Mostly because the demographics that it serves are what speak to me the most. If nothing else, the more youthful audience.
Chris Giles
It definitely sounds like Ms. Marvel may continue to evolve and if it hits the landing, could find its place among the top of the Marvel Studios’ offerings on Disney+ so far. It has the most “weekly” feeling, unlike some of the other dramas that have a more “six-hour film” approach. So, it’s going to be exciting to see how the story comes together.
Obi-Wan Kenobi has come to an end and ended on a high note for the limited series (you can read our review by clicking here for the finale). There were some big surprises towards the end but nothing had people more excited than the return of Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn. After famously stating he wouldn’t make an appearance, the final moments of the show had the former master and padawan reunite.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Liam Neeson revealed what inspired his return and also why he decided to give Qui-Gon Jinn another shot after his recent statement. It seems a lot of it has to do with George Lucas and Ewan McGregor.
I certainly didn’t want anyone else playing Qui-Gon Jinn, and I wanted to show my respect for George [Lucas] and that mythical world that he created. Plus, Ewan [McGregor] is a pal, and I loved working with him during The Phantom Menace 25 years ago.
Liam Neeson
This marks the first live-action appearance of the actor since he played him in The Phantom Menace back in 1999. Jinn died at the hands of Darth Maul and passed on the responsibility of teaching young Anakin Skywalker to his padawan at the time, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Sadly, we didn’t get that many interactions between the two, but perhaps they kept the door open for further exploration. For now, we’ll see what the future has in store for McGregor‘s Kenobi in the Star Wars franchise.
We know that a new Disney+ Day is just around the corner alongside D23 and SDCC. So, it seems like we’ll get a look at some of the already announced projects and maybe even some new productions heading our way. Now, it seems we may have gotten a small update in regards to Agatha: House of Harkness. It seems that work on the project may start on it by 2023.
Insider Daniel Richtman has seemingly shared a grid that hints at production eyeing a start from January to May 2023. As such, we may see some casting announcements in the coming months as they prepare to kick off the new year with its production.
There’s also a hint at a new character known only as “Tyler.” They are casing someone between the ages of 17 and 20 years that is a “formidable and dark sense of humor, incredibly witty, astute, and of the moment.” He’s even highlighted as a “fan-boy at times.” While DisInsider believes this might be the character of Billy, there is also the possibility they introduce Agatha’s son Nicholas Scratch.
It’s an exciting prospect to see what they do with a series focused on Agatha Harkness, especially after KathrynHahn‘s amazing performance in WandaVision. While we can only speculate for now, here’s hoping we get more details on Agatha: House of Harkness in the near future to build up what exactly Marvel studios has planned for this character.
It’s never easy adapting a real story like the tale of the Antetokounmpo family. These are real people that are seeing their own story romanticized to tell a story within a specific format. Disney+ has undertaken this tale with Rise, as Nigerian director Akin Omotoso explores the story of basketball stars and the history that their family faced moving from Nigeria to Greece before they’d eventually find themselves in the NBA playing field making a name for themselves. Yet, can the Disney+ film pull off their story?
Surprisingly, this film takes a heartfelt direction and avoids the general trappings of any sports film by simply not really being about the sport. Yes, we do get elements of that sprinkled throughout, but it’s not a basketball film. It’s more about the family of Antetokounmpo and their journey to the point that Giannis (Uche Agada) and Athanasios (Ral Agada) find their passion in the sport. The National Basketball Association is a big part of their journey but it’s mostly the big tension builder within the climax that brings their journey together into the successful career the brothers have built.
What this film is about is the Antetokounmpo family. It’s exploring their roots as they fled Nigeria and started their life in Greece, which is where most of the film takes place. It was great to get a focus on their story and a lot of time is spent with their parents Veronica (Yetide Badaki) and Charles (Dayo Okeniyi). Especially with an emotional speech at the end, you see why this choice was made. It’s a story about immigrants and the challenges they faced being undocumented. It’s a story that will always be relevant and it doesn’t shy away from the harsh treatment they had to face.
Still, there’s a hopeful message here. It’s about finding your passion and going for it. Charles Antekounmpo‘s past as a soccer player and he wants his kids to enjoy sports the same way he did. Yet, there’s the constant fear of losing everything due to their undocumented status and putting his family at risk throughout. The story isn’t creating a definite “villain” but does showcase various people as selfish that are trying to benefit from the family’s situation. The conflict is simply the constant fear of them being discovered and fighting the system that refuses to give them documents, to begin with.
Once the spark of passion is discovered for Giannis and Athanasios, it gives us some truly heartwarming moments. Seeing the brothers share shoes due to them only being able to afford a single pair is powerful. We don’t have traditional “bullies” but have some typical reactions from people, but the story isn’t then suddenly about them handling people mocking them for poverty. The film focuses on the hopeful message at its core and it does that wonderfully. There are times when the story drags slightly, but it’s an emotional tale that takes its time.
Rise is a film about inspiring people and it does that well. It also needs to be highlighted to not focus only on their NBA history. This is a story about a Nigerian-Greek family struggling in that environment and trying to get by. Finding hope and passion in basketball, but never purely focusing or defining its story by it. The act that Akin Omotoso tells this story is a delight, as the Nigerian director brings something to the table that makes this project stand out in interesting ways. Nothing is truly glorified in this story, it feels grounded and human with many influences from the many countries that represent the Antetokounmpo.
If you’ve been looking for a film to just give you that spark to follow your dreams again, this film might be exactly the one you’re looking for. It’s also a story that definitely was worth telling and gives some talented newcomers a chance to tell this story. The ending hits you emotionally, even for those that may not have a connection to the NBA and these players’ stories prior to watching this film. There’s something powerful about a hopeful message and just seeing a success story that seemingly beats the odds.
Moon Knight, despite the character’s relatively low-profile presence in the comics, is now firmly entrenched in the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the successful run of the series on Disney+ from March to May. The show was filled with firsts for Marvel Studios, including a deep look into dissociative identity disorder (DID) with Oscar Isaac’s characters Steven Grant, Marc Spector, and Jake Lockley.
Most importantly, Moon Knight introduced audiences to the first Egyptian hero — May Calamawy as the Scarlet Scarab. Calamawy co-starred alongside Isaac as Layla El-Faouly, the estranged wife of Marc Spector. Instead of being just a love interest for the main character, Moon Knight empowered El-Faouly to be independent and powerful on her own as her story in the Disney+ showcased.
In a recent interview with Yasmine Kandil from Discussing Film, Calamawy was asked if she like feels like there has been a recent shift in MENA representation both in front and behind the camera. Here’s what she had to say:
I really do. I experienced it on Moon Knight and I’m lucky to experience it also on Ramy, there are Arabs on that show which is a testament to Ramy [Youssef], he’s very selective with who he brings on board. With Moon Knight, it’s a testament to Kevin Feige and that whole team for creating that space. We are in a time where I think we’ve realized that the only way to get closer to how a region really feels is to have people most intimately bring it there, and usually that will be either people who’ve lived there or understand it at a very deep level.
May Calamawy
She goes on to also compare how creating these spaces for all is important and how opening beyond Western beauty standards also further anchors the importance of modern representation.
I know so many women who are from the Middle East, one of my best friends is from Pakistan, we’re all actors working on our craft and I really want there to be a space for us all. I never want someone to question if they are pretty enough because I went through thinking I wasn’t pretty enough to be in a Western production and it’s an embarrassing thought to have, but I’m not going to say it wasn’t there. Often Western beauty standards don’t include how everyone around the world looks and representation is going to help us to feel that freedom and I think that’s happening more and more.
May Calawamy
Calamawy also discussed her decision to keep her curls for the show, which is something she said she struggled with growing up:
One thing that’s been amazing to see is that so many women have posted that they are wearing their hair curly, or that they’re throwing out their hair irons and that’s what makes me happy because I had to go through my own journey of accepting my curls and feeling beautiful. There was a time when I left them curly and I can’t say I felt beautiful, looking back it pains me. I went through that and thank god I feel good in my curls now, but I wish everyone grew up that way. If that’s something Layla can bring to others, then I’m so happy.
May Calamawy
She highlighted that she brought in a hairpiece that mimicked her hair during production. It mostly served as a way to keep continuity.
They brought in a hairpiece that mimicked my hair. In the beginning, they even suggested we straighten it and I did that too much growing up. I didn’t want to go back to that, so I was really adamant about them getting a hairpiece for continuity’s sake because curls, they will do what they want. Marvel really delivered because I loved it and they could just put it on and my hair was ready. It really helped me step into Layla and it was bigger than my own hair which was really fun.
May Calamawy
As for the future of the Scarlet Scarab in the MCU, no project has been officially announced involving the character. While there have been rumors of a Moon Knight Season 2, nothing has been revealed. But with the cliffhanger ending to the first season, it would not be a surprise to see these characters on-screen again in the future.
It’s not an easy task when an actor has to now only bring a performance to life but also based on someone that really existed. So, imagine if that person is still alive and you have to take on the role of one of the NBA all-stars Giannis Antetkounmpo. Well, that task landed in the hands of Uche Agada who shared his story during the Disney+ film’s press conference.
The young actor revealed that this was his first role, and it was him sending in a video after he saw that Giannis shared a link to getting cast in his Disney+ film. Somehow, he ended up getting the callback and would eventually get the role. Not only that, but
And for me, I was never an actor prior to this, so this was very weird for me. So, when it said callback with a director of a movie, in my mind, I’m like, yo, that’s crazy. But I did that callback and did another callback. And eventually, they told me I got the part, which is absolutely incredible.
Uche Agada
He also reveals that he would be asked a rather curious question, as a “couple of weeks later, they asked me if I had any siblings” which would lead to his real-life brother, Ral Agada getting cast as Athanasios Antetkounmpo in the Disney+ film. He even revealed that they had the brothers to have a chemistry read.
So, I go on the court, put in some clips, and then they asked me to do a chemistry read with my brother. I’m like, “Hm, all right.” ‘Cause he is my brother. It shouldn’t be hard to act like that.
Ral Agada
It definitely sounded like an interesting experience and it’s a nice touch to have actual brothers portray the two main characters of the film. It seems that it didn’t take long after he sent in some clips that they were called up to film the film during the summer. They even got to film on location in Greece, as revealed by Ral Agada. It’s crazy to think what a random Instagram post can lead to.
We are only three episodes into Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, but the show is already a huge hit among critics and fans. With a total of 202 critic reviews, Ms. Marvel is now officially “certified fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes “Tomatometer” at a staggering 96 percent.
The 96 percent rating makes Ms. Marvel the highest-rated show in the MCU on Rotten Tomatoes, surpassing What If…? (94 percent) and Loki (92 percent). As well as being the highest-rated show, Ms. Marvelis tied withBlack Panther as the top Marvel project on Rotten Tomatoes.
The “Critics Consensus” on Rotten Tomatoes writes: “Ms. Marvel is a genuinely fresh addition to the MCU — both stylistically and substantively — with Iman Vellani ably powering proceedings with her super-sized charisma.”
The certified fresh rating has to be a triumph for those involved with Ms. Marvel as doubt was cast on the show even before the first episode aired. When it was revealed that Kamala Khan’s power set was going to differ from the comics, some fans expressed frustration that the on-screen adaptation was going to be unsuccessful.
In the comics, Kamala is exposed to Terrigen Mist, which in turn activated her latent Inhuman powers. Kamala is mostly known for her polymorphic abilities — akin to Reed Richards — allowing her limbs to grow in many shapes and forms. But with the Inhumans not a factor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the decision was made to align Iman Vellani‘s Kamala Khan powers with her hero, Captain Marvel.
It looks like that decision is paying off as we have already seen Kamala display embiggening powers, a trademark of her wildly popular character from the comics, and the connection to Carol Danvers is building in each episode as the story unfolds. Audiences are clearly loving the show’s vibrant cinematography and upbeat attitude with the certified fresh rating.
Ms. Marvel is currently streaming on Disney+, with new episodes releasing each Wednesday.
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