Tag: Marvel Movies

New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Artwork Offers Closer Look at Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s Suits
There have been many rumors surrounding Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now that the film has finally been released, we have some closure on the various multiversal guests that appear throughout the film. Luckily, Marvel updated their site and offered a closer look at the new villain’s designs. Luckily, they also offered some artwork on the two most iconic returning characters, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfields‘ take on Peter Parker.

The interesting thing is that their characters are given names to make them easier to distinguish from each other. While Garfield‘s already has the “Amazing” moniker, Maguire‘s gets the added “Our friendly neighborhood hero swings into the MCU in his iconic suit,” which is a nice touch given he’s the first live-action version of the character.

Of course, you can’t forget Garfield‘s take on the character, whose design was a bit more streamlined when he donned the suit. Sadly, he never got the one he wore in The Amazing Spider-Man but the more recognizable version from the sequel. He comes with the tagline “The one and only Amazing Spider-Man webs his way into the MCU.”
These namings do make you wonder what Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man goes by. He seems like the perfect choice to go by the Spectacular moniker. We don’t know if the next entry will follow the current title setting, but it would be good to move away from the “Home” tagline that has persisted so far. While No Way Home and Far From Home are surprisingly fitting subtitles, it does seem like their options are slowly running out to make it work.

Source: Marvel via The Direct
December 21, 2021
Oscars’ Visual Effects Shortlist Includes ‘Shang-Chi’, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ And More

It looks like the shortlists have found their way online and Marvel Studios is dominating the Visual Effects category for the upcoming Oscars. Keep in mind, these are not the actual nominations, which won’t follow until January 27th until February 1st. The final announcement for the Oscars will follow on Tuesday, February 8th. As of now, Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as Spider-Man: No Way Home are all up for the category.

No Way Home may have a good shot this year given its massive success and cultural relevance, especially during the pandemic. The competition is fierce with 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy, Sony’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, MGM’s No Time to Die, Warner Bros.’ Dune, The Matrix Resurrection, and Godzilla vs. Kong. It’s once again very noticeable that this category is mainly dominated by blockbuster releases.

The latest Spider-Man entry has also entered the shortlist for the Sound nomination alongside big hitters like West Side Story, and Tick, Tick … Boom!, who might have the best chances given their respective musical foundation. Jon M. Chu‘s In the Heights is surprisingly absent though. DC also has gained some attention with The Suicide Squad nabbing a spot in the Makeup and Hairstyling part, which ironically its predecessor won back in 2017. So, we’ll see if it has the same chances.

Source: Variety

December 21, 2021
New Spider-Man Suit Featured in Latest ‘No Way Home’ Teaser

It looks like spoilers are fair game, as the official Spider-Man: No Way Home account has shared the official first look at the new suit featured in the film’s ending sequence. After going through the multiversal madness, Peter creates a new suit on his own merits that pays tribute to the original design the character is famous for, as it focuses on the red-blue from the comics that many tend to call his “classic suit.” It is briefly showcased in the opening of the new trailer, which you can check out here:

Check off your holiday list by seeing #SpiderManNoWayHome, now playing exclusively in movie theaters! pic.twitter.com/75i17iMcOJ
— Spider-Man Movie (@SpiderManMovie) December 21, 2021

The design is probably one of the film’s best, which is filled with some great designs as Peter moves on from his Stark suit era. We don’t know if his eyes will move as they did before, but it would seem unlikely they’d move away from the expressiveness it provided to the character stuck behind a mask. We also don’t get a good look if he started creating any elements to add his arsenal in combat against thugs across New York City. We are moving into a new era for the MCU’s take on the character and perhaps we’ll get a bit more straightforward version, who mainly relies on his web-shooters and agility moving forward. It’s an exciting new era and with a fourth entry on the way, it’ll be exciting to see what the future has ready for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

Source: Twitter

December 21, 2021
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Artwork Offers Closer Look at Classic Villains Updated Designs

Spider-Man: No Way Home has been breaking records at the international box office. It builds upon the previous two film entries and continues the journey of Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker, while also paying tribute to what came before. Villains from the previous Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man franchises make a grand return, but with a twist. Marvel Studios and Sony have given these familiar faces a new look to highlight the meeting of old and new. Luckily, it seems that artwork has found its way online showcasing the details behind these new takes on familiar faces.

Let’s start off with the first confirmed return, which was Alfred Molina‘s Doctor Octopus. His design has mainly remained the same, especially as Marvel Studios used their de-aging technology to make you believe that they are continuing their journey from the moment they were about to die.

We also have the updated look at Green Goblin, as Willem Dafoe drops the mask for the iconic purple scarf, but just in the form of a ripped-up sweater. He still has his iconic green suit underneath, which ties the elements and adds a bit more usage to it.

Next up is Thomas Haden Church‘s return as Sandman, who spends most of the time in his sand form. We get a brief appearance of the actor at the end.

The Lizard makes a return from The Amazing Spider-Man and remains mostly the same. They sadly didn’t update his humanoid-reptile face, but it’s still a design that many fans of the film will be happy to see return.

Last, but certainly not least, Jamie Foxx returned as a very different take on Elektro. He’s gone through the most changes and they managed to find the perfect balance to make it work, especially with the nice touch that electricity creates his iconic mask.

These are some great designs and it makes you wonder if they ever considered changing more elements as production was underway. You never know how much has changed once they get into the draft phase, which may never see the light of day.

Source: Marvel via The Direct

December 20, 2021
Keanu Reeves Offers Update on Talks with Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige

John Wick and The Matrix‘s Keanu Reeves has been actively talking about his hope of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe one day. We heard that there were talks between him and Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige but it was uncertain what has come of them. Luckily, Phase Zero’s Brandon Davis had the chance to sit down with the actor during his press tour for The Matrix Resurrections, where he revealed that they’ve indeed had talks but that they “don’t have it yet” and they “got to find something.” He is still actively working towards a potential role and

Keanu Reeves has met with Marvel & Kevin Feige.

Says Feige is a "cool cat." pic.twitter.com/fPtJIjBLwp
— Phase Zero – MCU (@PhaseZeroCB) December 20, 2021

If they still haven’t found the right role as of yet, it might still be quite some time before we see Reeves join the franchise at some point. There was a point when Sony wanted him to tackle the role for the upcoming Kraven the Hunter spinoff series, but it seems unlikely he’ll join a Marvel project that doesn’t involve Feige, who spearheads the MCU. He has been a popular pick to take on the role of Ghost Rider, but it’s uncertain how committed he’d want to be while also juggling his other franchises. Here’s hoping they find the right character sooner rather than later.

Source: Twitter

December 20, 2021
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Overtakes ‘Infinity War’ for Second Highest Opening, Swings Past $600M Worldwide

Just yesterday, we discussed that Spider-Man: No Way Home just barely scratched the $600M milestone at the box office. The film became the third-highest opening for the US, but it turns out the final numbers had a little more to say. Normally, you don’t see strong shifts from Sunday into the Monday finalized numbers, but the film#s $252M jumped to $260M. As such, it has passed Avengers: Infinity War‘s $257.7M to take the second spot after all. Internationally, the film now stands at $340.8M – still missing China mind you – but remains at the third spot for its international opening.

Its Sunday numbers now stand at $64.175M domestically, which keeps it at the third spot ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Black Panther. The interesting number is that 83% of colleges are closed today according to Comscore, which means that it might have an incredibly strong Monday showing. Plus, the holidays are around the corner which will add another layer to its box office run. It’s now the biggest December release of all time and has set a new benchmark for what the future has in store in 2022.

Source: Deadline

December 20, 2021
A Brief History of Denials by Marvel Studios Actors, V2

Charlie Cox

After reports of his return to the role of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home began to circulate, Charlie Cox was peppered with questions for nearly a year. Steadfast in his denial at first (“My answer is no comment; I don’t know what’s going to happen. I genuinely don’t know.“), Cox softened over time. Cox made a brief but memorable cameo in No Way Home and is expected to show up again in She-Hulk.

Benedict Cumberbatch

Back in 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch spoke to MTV about the possibilities of him portraying Doctor Strange and he mentioned that at the time, it couldn’t work out because he was doing a little play called ‘Hamlet’ in London. “So I don’t think I could even if that was in the cards. It sounds like a fantastic project. It’s a shame if I miss out, but who knows?” Of course, Cumberbatch has already portrayed the character 6 times and just completed reshoots on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where he’ll be playing multiple versions of the character in his 7th MCU appearance.

Andrew Garfield

After more substantial rumors about his return as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home began to show up online, Garfied began to feel the heat. When asked about his potential reprisal in the Spring, Garfield said, “They might be doing something, but ain’t like I ain’t got a call.” To his credit, he kept up the lie up until the film’s release, telling Wired, “No, I’m not. I’m not! Crying out loud. But I’m really excited to see what they’re gonna do with the next movie because I just love them,” just a week before the film’s release.

Tom Holland

Unfortunately for Holland, nobody was forced to lie more about the returns of previous Spider-Man Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire. The denials are too numerous to list here, but the poor guy has to be feeling relieved now.

Brie Larson

Larson was revealed as Captain Marvel at SDCC ’16 but rumors of her involvement pre-dated that by quite a bit. In a 2015 interview with MTV, Larson did less denying and more playing dumb when asked about the character:

So would I be playing a man? This is interesting, I’m kind of into it… I thought I was always forever going to be stuck playing female roles but I’m down to play Chris Evans. Oh wait no, Chris Evans is Captain America. Who’s Captain Marvel? I have no idea what I’m talking about. But people want me to play this? OK good to know. I guess I gotta start reading the comic book.

Larson finally appeared as Carol Danvers in 2019’s Captain Marvel and recently completed filming on The Marvels after making a cameo in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings and is expected to be a Marvel Studios mainstay over the next decade.

Evangeline Lilly

Taking the lead from her Ant-Man co-star, Evangeline Lilly denied the rumors of her being the female lead in Ant-Man back in 2014. She stated back then that “No, I can’t. I don’t know anything about those rumors.” Lilly’s character became the first female MCU title character and joins Rudd in returning for the third Ant-Man film.

Jonathan Majors

After Jonathan Majors was cast as Kang the Conqueror, rumors surfaced that the character would first appear in Loki. Given the timing of his casting, the rumors made a lot of sense, but Majors went on record denying the rumors saying, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” To be fair, the rumors weren’t entirely accurate as he portrayed He Who Remains, technically a Variant of Kang, so Majors might have some wiggle room.

Tatiana Maslany

Just a month after a trade reported that Maslany had signed on for the role of Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, the actress went into full denial mode, saying:

That actually isn’t a real thing and it’s like a press release that’s gotten out of hand. I’ve been connected to these things in the past and press has gotten onto it, but it’s not actually a thing, unfortunately. I don’t know how these things get – I don’t know, I don’t know. You know better; I have no idea.

Trade reports are about as good as it gets in terms of accuracy and this one hit the mark as well. Maslany will be seen in She-Hulk sometime in 2022.

Jeremy Renner

Even an original core member of the Avengers had denied he was cast. Back in 2010, Jeremy Renner stated that the Hawkeye rumor was “just one of those things that got blown way out of proportion. It was an idea…So there’s truth that we talked about it, but there’s no truth to me doing it. “ The actor first popped up for a cameo in Thor and now Renner has been an MCU mainstay, finally leading his own project and potentially moving into a second decade of work as the Avenging Archer.

Paul Rudd

Let’s all go back to a simpler time, 2013. Paul Rudd is fresh off production from Anchorman 2. By that time, Variety had released a report saying that Rudd and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were the frontrunners to portray Ant-Man in the MCU. When asked about the subject, Rudd stated said “It’s all rumor, man!”. Rumor indeed, Paul! Rudd just completed principal photography on Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which will be the 7th time he has portrayed the character he was only rumored to portray, including voicing him in What If…?.

At this point, it’s modus operandi for Marvel Studios but it truly serves no purpose other than to create a sense of mistrust in the actors. However, it is unlikely to change, so we’ll just keep updating this list.

December 20, 2021
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Almost Featured Morgan Stark

Spider-Man: No Way Home is filled to the brim with characters from across the multiverse. The story is a love letter to Spider-Man and his cinematic history, as well as pushing Tom Holland‘s character forward in new and interesting ways. Who knows how many scenes ended up on the cutting room floor due to just how much they already had to balance from the get-go. Well, it seems we found out about one, as Avengers: Endgame‘s Lexi Rabe, who famously played Tony’s daughter Morgan Stark, revealed she was cut from the film.

View this post on Instagram

It’s a curious surprise, as it makes you wonder what role she may have had specifically in the story. Of course, it’s still too early to discuss what was in the film, but there are a few moments where we may have had a brief moment of her appearing. The Stark connection does exist, as Tony did end up deciding to change the world to bring Peter back, who he probably saw as a surrogate son. We’ll see whatever storyline that could’ve been set up with her appearance might get revisited, as it is uncertain what future the character has in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Source: Instagram

December 19, 2021
Murphy’s Team-Up, Volume 11: Reviewing ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’

Anthony Canton III

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the epitome of what an epic superhero film should be. It’s attention to the history of Spider-Man films is in some ways so on point it’s jarring. Emotionally it’s gut wrenching and heartbreaking, yet hopeful. Tom Holland is a superstar of the highest order. It’s a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful trilogy yet it leaves something on the table for the future. It enters my top 5 MCU films as even with its long awaited hype and knowledge, it still delivers. There are character performances from many that are excellent and full of depth. Willem Dafoe specifically delivers a performance the likes of which we might never see again. The theater experience was at Infinity War/Endgame levels. They have a tough act to follow to top this film, but I’ll be happy to see them try. The opportunity to tell new stories will be excellent for the franchise going forward.

Filip Manka

Wow, they made it. After all the misgivings, disastrous leaks, and promotional material, I got a really good and coherent Peter Parker/ Spider-Man story. It’s not a perfect movie. There’s a lot of bad editing and scripted scenes, the visuals and CGI are miserable for the most part, and the dialogue in many scenes leaves a lot to be desired. However, the amount of heart, the understanding of this character, the world with really surprising interactions, and the meta layers were something really good. It was an amazing experience, a fan event that did a great job of embracing a large amount of fan service emotionally.
I had a great time. There was a lot of emotion, laughter, and at times embarrassment, but I’m happy that underneath all that content, we got a good conclusion to the trilogy. The future promises to be wonderful!

Hunter Radesi

I’ve been disappointed in this Spider-Man for months. I never wanted this movie to tackle the multiverse, and I definitely didn’t want what felt like a clear trajectory for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to be sidetracked by studio-driven money grab. This is why, against all odds, it brings me great joy to say I actually really liked No Way Home. I suppose what I wasn’t expecting was for the film to be so aggressively Spider-Man in nearly every way. Holland’s Peter gets an arc that works with his previous story, while propelling him forward into his next era. As much as I wanted to see new villains close out this trilogy, I could not contain my nerdy excitement when personal favorites like Willem Dafoe and Andrew Garfield showed their faces again. And boy, did they show them. Absolute top tier performances from the duo, as well as Holland and Zendaya. While I did miss the lower-level, high school hijinks of the previous installments, there’s just something about a theater going insane together that can’t be beat.

John Sabato

Spider-Man: No Way Home is an incredible closing film of the Homecoming trilogy. While the film’s biggest fault is the spell plot, it makes up for it with brilliant character work and performances from everyone. Tom Holland shines in this film, truly his best performance as Spidey: he’s giving it everything he’s got. Willem Dafoe is another standout here; his return is unhinged and wildly unpredictably, the way he’s able to just turn it on and off is what makes him so interesting, and almost sympathize with him. The end of the film is what really seals the deal and promises an interesting path forward and will surely give the fans everything they’ve wanted with MCU Spider-Man in the next trilogy.

Mary Maerz

I thought No Way Home was wonderfuI was impressed that it managed to be a great movie and experience despite the ridiculous build up to it. It somehow delivered on all of its “promises” but yet the movie didn’t really suffer from the “it’s trying to do too much” plague that caused plenty of other comic book movies to not be successful, including past installments of Sony’s Spider-Man franchise. While Tom Holland’s Peter Parker definitely got a genuinely emotional and strong story, the best parts of the movie (to me, by far) were still the Sony crossovers. The dialogue and character interactions were very strong, especially considering how forced the situations in which the characters found themselves in actually were. I do not truly understand the Endgame comparisons–yes, it was a very ambitious crossover and finale-type event, but Endgame was a culmination of 22 movies worth of essentially the same story, whereas No Way Home was more of a celebration of the three live-action eras of Spider-Man within Holland’s third solo movie. So No Way Home is no doubt one of the biggest solo movies of all time, but it didn’t hit anywhere near as hard as Endgame did for me. Because of how much it relied on the Sony crossovers, I am curious to see how this movie ages once the novelty wears off. Last but not least, No Way Home’s plot really made no sense and there are countless plot holes or at least major questions that the movie just completely ignores. To be fair, No Way Home was great even with that caveat, but I’m always going to be frustrated by that.

Charles Murphy

The most comic booky Marvel Studios movie to date. The most Spider-Man Spider-Man movie to date. The most Peter Parker Spider-Man movie to date. Spider-Man: No Way Home is all these things. Emotionally, this film is on par with Infinity War and Endgame. And while part of that comes from Tom Holland, who has delivered on these scenes time and time again, there’s no doubt that the return of Andrew Garfield, whose masterful understanding of the character was enhanced by his turn here as an older, embittered Spider-Man, caused an emotional overload. Peter has been put through the ringer during his first few years as Spider-Man and No Way Home boldly tackled those themes and allowed Holland’s Peter to learn the true cost of being Spider-Man. Parker Luck was on full display. The returning characters served the story well and their arcs show that both Spider-Man and the Marvel Studios crew have grown in the way they deal with and treat villains. Helping people is what Spider-Man is supposed to do and, at the end of the day, that’s what happened here. Easily the best movie of the year and the best live-action Spider-Man film to date.

Megan Murphy

Spider-Man: No Way Home has got to be the best Marvel Studios production yet. Differing from other Marvel movies, I never had a moment to blink or a hint of boredom. This movie had such an intriguing plot that never skipped a beat. The incorporation of both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield has opened up a whole new world for Marvel (literally and metaphorically). Although characters from other universes have shown up in Loki , What If?, and Into the Spider-Verse, this movie by far takes the cake on opening new opportunities. With Spider-Man being such a popular character and the popularity the Spider-Man movies have gained, I think that the true idea of the multiverse will be able to come to light after Spider-Man: No Way Home. Marvel Studios will now have so many opportunities to introduce new characters and the audience will have a better understanding of the multiverse and its extremities. In the end, this movie was one of the best ever Marvel movies with many to choose from.

December 19, 2021
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is Sony’s Biggest Opening Weekend Ever With $587M Worldwide

the news just broke that Spider-Man: No Way Home has taken the spot of third-highest opening weekend in the domestic box office. Well, the international numbers are just in and it has continued that very trend worldwide. The film is just shy of a $600M opening with $587M. It’s now only the sixth film to open past the $500M mark and has instantly taken the sixth spot of biggest openers of the year. Keep in mind, what makes this an impressive accomplishment lies in the fact it is without a Chinese release.

There are still hints it’ll open in the Middle Kingdom at some point, but the fact it’s already the biggest opening of the year and very likely to pass $1 billion internationally. It managed $253M domestically, which is great if you consider that no film since before the pandemic could scatch the $100M surface. It has managed to take in $334M worldwide as we enter the end of MCU Spider-Man’s trilogy that reintroduces some familiar faces of the character’s cinematic past.

At this rate, even if it faces a 70% drop, there’s a good chance that the film will pass $1 billion around its third week. There’s no defined release date in China, but if it does manage to release in the coming weeks, there’s a good chance the film might near around $1.5 billion potentially, but anything near $2 billion seems a bit unlikely. There is a chance that the stories surrounding the Omnicom variant may also shift its development, but its performance is certainly impressive.

Source: Deadline

December 19, 2021